Sonos update brings Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos audio to Amazon Music
Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can now enjoy Dolby Atmos and Ultra HD quality playback on a range of Sonos speakers and soundbars.
To activate the audio upgrade, all you need to do is make sure you’re running the latest version of the Sonos software, which can be checked in the Sonos S2 app. Just go to Settings > System > System Updates > Check for Updates to make you’re running the latest version.
After that, people listening with an Amazon Music Unlimited account will start to see badges indicating the audio quality of the song they’re playing, with an option to choose between HD, Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos where available.
For reference, 16-bit or HD audio is the lossless quality get listening to a CD; 24-bit or Ultra HD quality is the lossless quality tracks are laid down in a professional studio, and Dolby Atmos is a proprietary high-res surround sound technology promising 3D spatial audio.
- Related: read our Sonos Move review
To learn more, Sonos has put together this blog post on high-res audio, where it notes that the maximum sample rate supported on lossless audio is 48kHz. Alternatively, we have a guide explaining what high-res audio is as well.
Dolby Atmos music is only supported on two Atmos-ready soundbars, the Arc and Beam (2nd gen), while Ultra HD audio can be listened to on a range of Sonos speakers and devices, including their popular IKEA collabs.
Ultra HD music is now available on the following Sonos products for Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers:
- Amp
- Arc
- Beam (1st and 2nd gen)
- Connect (2nd gen)
- Connect: Amp (2nd gen)
- Five and Play:5 (2nd gen)
- Move
- One
- One SL
- Port
- Roam
- Sub (all models)
- Symfonisk Bookshelf
- Symfonisk Table Lamp
Sonos added that it hopes to bring hi-res audio to other music streaming services like Apple Music in the future, while Spotify has previously promised to bring 24-bit tracks to its immensely popular platform.
James Laird
Contributing Editor 
