As I mentioned in another thread recently, a new firmware update from Onkyo has enabled enhanced playback from Amazon Music and Tidal. If subscribed to the top tier of each service, 192kHz/24 FLAC and Dolby Atmos are now supported using Onkyo’s built-in Amazon Music and Tidal apps.
After applying the firmware update to my TX-NR6050, Amazon Music Unlimited worked as intended as lossy AAC signals that streamed before the update were replaced with lossless(HD) and hi-res(UHD) FLAC streams and Dolby Atmos versions worked.
Tidal update did not work at all and everything played at 44.1/16 with no Dolby Atmos. It was only after a factory reset of the receiver did it all work properly. I backed up the Onkyo settings to my connected Mac mini M1 before reset and uploaded them when powering things back up and connecting to the network. I’m still doing all of these things using wireless connections all the way around because I’m as fearless as I am foolish.
The primitive interface using these services in an Onkyo receiver will be a deal breaker for some for sure. Unlike Deezer or Pandora that can be signed into using the remote controller, Amazon Music and Tidal require signing into the services using the Onkyo Controller in a Smart Device. However bad the looks, the actual sound is as good as any streamer.
There are other features to consider in this firmware update, but those are for another thread
