[Enforcer5981]

I have Amarra HiFi. Is the upgrade to the full 3.0 worth it? And having just discovered Tidal, does the Amarra sq come with Amarra 3.0?

 

[theboch]

From the website of the Amarra developer (Sonic Studio):
 

 Computers with a Solid State Hard Drive installed can sound significantly smoother than their spinning hard-disk counterparts. Same goes for a Network Attached Storage (NAS): it can sound grainy as compared to a locally-connected SSHD.

 
Are they serious?
 
http://www.sonicstudio.com/amarra/howtobuildaserver.php
 
Why would the type of hard disc have any impact on the played back sound of the audio file?
 

 
Either I'm missing something here or they just make up some BS.

 

[Mediahound]

FYI - I think I've determined via a bunch of trial and error that the different headphone presets in Amarra are supposed to be used with the corresponding headphones.

 

[Zoom25]

  FYI - I think I've determined via a bunch of trial and error that the different headphone presets in Amarra are supposed to be used with the corresponding headphones.

Yup. Macbook pro preset works really well with macbook pro without a DAC. LCD-2 and LCD-3 have that treble bump.
 
FWIW, the LCD-2 preset works nicely with D2000 on my setup.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Any reason to buy Symphony instead of the regular Amarra if one don't need the room correction feature? Or are there other differences as well?
And is Amarra SQ (or the upcoming SQ+) useful? Doesn't Amarra have a built in EQ already?

 

[longboy]

if one don'don't need the room correction featureQuote:

  Any reason to buy Symphony instead of the regular Amarraf one  if one don'don't need the room correction feature? Or are there other differences as well?
And is Amarra SQ (or the upcoming SQ+) useful? Doesn't Amarra have a built in EQ already?

 
If one doesn't need the room correction feature, there is no reason to buy Symphony. One can upgrade, should the need arise, in the future. Amarra's built-in EQ is off by default and requires a re-start for it to be activated. sQ(+)'s EQ is part of its raison d'etre. Although Amarra will run with any OS X-compatible plug-in, even if it's the antiquated Soundflower, which ceased development at v1.6.6b several years ago, sQ(+) installs Sonic Studio's own "SonicStream" plug-in.
 
All information, including freely-downloadable user's manuals and freely-downloadable trial versions of all Sonic Studio software:
 
http://www.sonicstudio.com/amarra/amarra_support#DOWNLOAD

 

[AppleheadMay]

   
If one doesn't need the room correction feature, there is no reason to buy Symphony. One can upgrade, should the need arise, in the future. Amarra's built-in EQ is off by default and requires a re-start for it to be activated. sQ(+)'s EQ is part of its raison d'etre. Although Amarra will run with any OS X-compatible plug-in, even if it's the antiquated Soundflower, which ceased development at v1.6.6b several years ago, sQ(+) installs Sonic Studio's own "SonicStream" plug-in.
 
All information, including freely-downloadable user's manuals and freely-downloadable trial versions of all Sonic Studio software:
 
http://www.sonicstudio.com/amarra/amarra_support#DOWNLOAD

 
Thank you for the info, I'll try Amarra again then.
So what you're saying is that not only does Amarra SQ work as a standalone app but also as an equaliser plugin for Amarra?
And does Amarra itself have other equalisers built in?
Where should I look for a good equaliser plugin for Amarra?

 

[AppleheadMay]

Or maybe I should try Fidelia again. It can play straight from iTunes as well and has the ability to use equalization.
I know it can use the built in OSX EQ but I wonder where I can get a good OSX equaliser that can be used as a Fidelia plugin as well. 
Does anyone have some info on the matter?

 

[Zoom25]

I have no idea what the differences between Amarra SQ 2.01 and the new SQ+ coming out tomorrow? I bought Amarra SQ in September for streaming stuff, and now SQ+ is coming out for streaming as well. They claim an even better sound....

 

[bussola]

amarra symphony and vox(free player) sound ******* IDENTICAL.cannot believe my ear

 

[tgdinamo]

  amarra symphony and vox(free player) sound ******* IDENTICAL.cannot believe my ear

 
Which hardware are you using (computer OS/processor/memory, dac, monitors, headphones, cables, etc)? Also, which albums and resolution have you used to compare (hires, cd, mp3)?
From my experience all those things add up to make quite a bit of difference (any weak links in this chain and comparisons will not make much sense - better software will not get the chance to shine).

 

[bussola]

   
Which hardware are you using (computer OS/processor/memory, dac, monitors, headphones, cables, etc)? Also, which albums and resolution have you used to compare (hires, cd, mp3)?
From my experience all those things add up to make quite a bit of difference (any weak links in this chain and comparisons will not make much sense - better software will not get the chance to shine).

 
 
macbook osx yosemite.amarra symphony3.0.3 without any signal working(just dither enabled to 24 bit)(cache playing off a 4gb ram)(system optimization)(SSD)
optical out to hugo(also use a usb/spdif converter)(gustard u 12)..HD800.I also have a bryston bpa1 headphone amp but I don't use it cause it kills the transparency of my signal.
This information is important to the point of making you understand that I can hear very well.
So: Audirvana Plus (latest firmware) is very good.great stereo separation and a sound of its own, that I can describe polite and solid, but it lacks the so called heart . example(brass sound are shaped in their high midrange and high range)lacks a bit of grit.But it sounds really good,especially if your goal is stereo separation and depth and image presentation.Stunnig from this point of view.
 
Vox (free software) sounds narrow in comparison with audirvana but it has a really nice grit and all the frequencies's spectrum is accurately reproducted.Don't know why but it seems to scale a -0.5dB in comparison with audirvana and amarra. I love this player.It is smart,light and cool.and FREE
 
Now, Amarra 3.0.3 it's just so much identical to Vox,It's impossible to tell If I am playing vox or amarra if I hide the player.The only thing that can make a difference is a really slightly nice energy in the low range(probably from 110-100Hz down).nice bass but a bit inflated .
 
I didn't believe my ears at first when comparing vox and amarra.I EXPECTED huge differences.I found almost nothing.Really.
 
If interest you, Decibel is a bit of a crap.
Hq Player is in another league, but I am a bit full of its super-analogic tube sound
I used redbook flac,Hd flac (96 and 192) and aac lossy.

 

[bussola]

I actually prefer Vox because in my humble opinion Amarra likes to play with phase response of the music.It surely does something ,but it is clever to hide it very well.You can hear this in a bit weird midrange presentation.Listen to voices and judge by yourself.In the meantime, donwload Vox.it's free

 

[santacore]

As an Amarra user I find this very interesting. Do you re-start your computer every time you switch players? I've read that's very important to do so. I assume that it re-sets the audio engine or something of the like.

 

[bussola]

  As an Amarra user I find this very interesting. Do you re-start your computer every time you switch players? I've read that's very important to do so. I assume that it re-sets the audio engine or something of the like.

No,I don't restar my mac.Never heard that this can be important