Amarra - Page 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxper 

Are you sure it's not because FLAC is for a niche crowd. So what's the use in that....

 

Bandwidth

storage

limited benefits, etc...

Most certainly yes.

Edit... Neil Young is a huge proponent of lossless music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaywalk3r 


I import CDs with iTunes. I use XLD to transcode from FLAC to ALAC. My XLD settings are such that the resulting files are moved (not copied) into my iTunes library.

OK,  For us folks on the small buss.

What settings are you using when importing a CD into iTunes?

So when you buy flac music you are using XLD to convert the flac to an iTunes compatible format.... ALAC   (Apple Lossless Codec... see I know some stuff)

I can live with that....

Pure iTunes control and playback.

I buy my fancy flac music..... convert to ALAC, run everything in iTunes and lose external players.   Less is more.

And....  I set up the transport using Midi to my external DAC,  Which has superior analog interfaces than any PC or Mac.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaywalk3r 


You won't find FLAC in the iTunes store because it isn't known to be a fully open source codec, and Apple wish to avoid patent trolls. In a very real sense, you can use FLAC outside of itunes precisely because Apple do not let you use FLAC in iTunes.

Yes.

That's why you are using XLD as an intermediary so you don't use any "player" outside of iTunes..... correct?

lunch

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iamnothim 

A friend tels me I gotta go to a restaurant and try the chicken soup.   He doesn't tell me to go to the supermarket and buy some carrots and a chicken.

Wonderful analogy. XLD dealing with FLAC is much easier to me. But that's preference dependent.

The biggest thing is I do not believe Itunes error correction checks for 100% bitperfect. Unlike XLD which checks against online database.

If I'm not mistaken, Itunes just run the results twice and compare. However this isn't accurate for the many different factors

that would cause a imperfect rip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradoxper 

Wonderful analogy. XLD dealing with FLAC is much easier to me. But that's preference dependent.

 

The biggest thing is I do not believe Itunes error correction checks for 100% bitperfect. Unlike XLD which checks against online database.

If I'm not mistaken, Itunes just run the results twice and compare. However this isn't accurate for the many different factors

that would cause a imperfect rip.

Cool.

I hope I didn't open a huge Can-O'-Worms.

I now thing I have some tangible reasons to check out XLD and chuck Amarra.

So far the only thing that bothers me with Amarra is using the iTunes / Apple Remote to change the source volume.  The music is jumbled while changing volume.

With what ya'll are saying that may point to data manipulation by Amarra.

I do like everything I've heard with Amarra however I've never A/B'd it to iTunes.  If it sounds good to me, I stop.

Nonetheless, I've always subscribed to less is more and ALAC played by native iTunes to my external DAC is worth trying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iamnothim 

Cool.

 

I hope I didn't open a huge Can-O'-Worms.

I now thing I have some tangible reasons to check out XLD and chuck Amarra.

 

So far the only thing that bothers me with Amarra is using the iTunes / Apple Remote to change the source volume.  The music is jumbled while changing volume.

With what ya'll are saying that may point to data manipulation by Amarra.

 

I do like everything I've heard with Amarra however I've never A/B'd it to iTunes.  If it sounds good to me, I stop.

 

Nonetheless, I've always subscribed to less is more and ALAC played by native iTunes to my external DAC is worth trying.

Can-O-Worms? Watchout! Currawong is lurking near. 

I do not really think it's a big deal these days. Amarra's price has come down considerably, the reliability has improved drastically.

Personally, I feel Amarra does sound better, and I rather like how the updates have gone (opposed to earlier versions where it was practically falling apart or completely on the fritz).

Also, the parametric EQ is quite nice.

I think it comes down to preferences, we can argue pro's and con's, bias, placebo, etc. At the end of the day, it's your decision

and your listening experience.

Keep in mind your A/B tests won't be very meaningful (not controlled, etc) but do it for you, TRY HARD! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaywalk3r 


For lossless import:
Error correction on. Import as ALAC.
For lossy copy for portable use, I create AAC versions from the ALAC version. Depending on the album, I may or may not leave the lossless copy in the iTunes library after backing it up to an external drive.

Cool.

I got the recipe.

I'm going to give it a go.

I'm too old for portable music.

When I listen to music, I "listen" to music.

I appreciate the suggestions from you and paradoxper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaywalk3r 

Each reads the file into RAM exactly once, so the benefit of pre-loading is minimal, at best. There are certainly situations in which one would not want to read the file all at once if one wants to minimize noise caused by I/O processes. Plus, a single large read will create a larger noise (local) peak than a smaller read creates, and the larger peak is more likely to be audible. (To be fair, it's extremely unlikely either method is audible during playback, provided the machine has sufficient RAM and drive space available.)

This is incorrect. I think you're misunderstanding what I've been writing. 

Itunes, during playback is continually reading from disk. It does NOT read the file once from disk before playback. I can make a video of the activity light of my external music drive flashing during iTunes playback if you like?

Amarra (and others), before beginning to play the file loads the entire file into RAM, so there would be no "larger noise peak" because Amarra is NOT playing during that read.  Again, I can make a video to show you the activity light on my external drive flashing before playback, and not again while the track is playing.

Jitter is completely unrelated to whether or not playback is bit perfect. They are two entirely different things. It has more to do with electronics than anything, but in the case of audio playback, how the software controls the electronics.

Hope you guys have or give tube amps a try.

It's amazing.  (I will fight to the death with anyone that says there isn't a sound difference)

It's so counter intuitive to think that tubes from the 60's could sound better than todays.

That said tubes vs solid state is a matter of preference and music.

Anyway, it's a hobby within a hobby..... a sickness actually.