[punk_guy182]

Amarra looks very interesting but quite expensive.
Is there a cheaper alternative besides a well configured Foobar2000?

 

[BobMajor]

I haven't used it but have been researching comments on XXhighend player. People say that the latest version is really much better than Foobar2000. I haven't made the switch because I still want to use the equalizer in Foobar which xxhighend doesn't have.

 

[burnspbesq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by punk_guy182 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Amarra looks very interesting but quite expensive. Is there a cheaper alternative besides a well configured Foobar2000?

Can't speak to your question about alternatives, but "expensive" depends on the context.

Amarra cost me $995. The hardware upgrades I was considering, but am now willing to defer, would have cost well over $4k. So is Amarra expensive, or a bargain?

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamoneagain /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got my iLok so I can now listen without the pauses. It's getting much easier to hear the difference Amarra makes. Hear more depth and just a crisper sound.

Yes, this is exactly what it does but apparently I am the only one who feels it is not a positive difference. It puts too much treble into the music, and maybe if you aren't using a high-end DAC this would be of benefit, and of course depends on your headphones. The added depth is nice but it seems surreal. I think Amarra takes more away than it provides. And there is no way I could ever use the mini version, because taming that treble with the equalizer is a necessity. But even with my computer speakers I can tell that it's taking away from the natural tonal balance of the music. I really don't understand how they can claim it is bit-perfect. Maybe bit-perfect input from iTunes, but what is going to the DAC or your computer speakers has been modified, assuredly. How can I know this? Because I am familiar with many songs that I have been listening to for well over a decade on many systems, and everything now has a bright tinge added with Amarra. Amarra is basically an expensive SRS-WOW plug-in. This fad too shall pass.

 

[dallan]

That is an interesting view PJ because I find that Amarra just softens and smoothes out the digital edges that itunes has. There is some (a little) more depth and a smoother(analog?) sound that is not as harsh but I am not hearing any more treble at all. Guess we all really hear differently, normally I fall in line with a lot of your listening too.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallan /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is an interesting view PJ because I find that Amarra just softens and smoothes out the digital edges that itunes has. There is some (a little) more depth and a smoother(analog?) sound that is not as harsh but I am not hearing any more treble at all. Guess we all really hear differently, normally I fall in line with a lot of your listening too.

You are also using a tube amp. That may soften things up. Do you have computer speakers you can also try it with, or a solid state headphone amp you can try?

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnspbesq /img/forum/go_quote.gif Amarra cost me $995. The hardware upgrades I was considering, but am now willing to defer, would have cost well over $4k. So is Amarra expensive, or a bargain?

sounds like the deal of the century to me!

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, this is exactly what it does but apparently I am the only one who feels it is not a positive difference. It puts too much treble into the music, and maybe if you aren't using a high-end DAC this would be of benefit, and of course depends on your headphones. The added depth is nice but it seems surreal. I think Amarra takes more away than it provides. And there is no way I could ever use the mini version, because taming that treble with the equalizer is a necessity. But even with my computer speakers I can tell that it's taking away from the natural tonal balance of the music. I really don't understand how they can claim it is bit-perfect. Maybe bit-perfect input from iTunes, but what is going to the DAC or your computer speakers has been modified, assuredly. How can I know this? Because I am familiar with many songs that I have been listening to for well over a decade on many systems, and everything now has a bright tinge added with Amarra. Amarra is basically an expensive SRS-WOW plug-in. This fad too shall pass.

I'm not sure that you know what it does, do you? If you did you'd know that Amarra does not use Itunes for playback at all other than to tell it what song to load into its playback engine. That playback engine is Sound Blade from Amarra's parent company Sonic Studio. Sound Blade is one arguably the best sounding digital recording software available. So once again your supposition is incorrect as to amarra modifying the signal from itunes. When amarra is engaged itunes playback is muted and amarra is playing the music file simultaneously with itunes.

Also tube amps are neither brighter nor are they softer than their solid state counterparts. Tubes can be very linear devices it is purely a factor of design.

 

[dallan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif You are also using a tube amp. That may soften things up. Do you have computer speakers you can also try it with, or a solid state headphone amp you can try?

The Zana is not a very tubey sounding tube amp actually, but i know you have heard it. In a quick a/b just now with my DX1000s and my Lisa lll amp(solid state) which is very sterile sounding to me generally, the sound going back and forth is that Amarra is more dynamic and itunes is more flat sounding. Maybe that is what you are saying as the "wow" factor. There sounds like there is more space between the instruments and just more ummph...ya dynamics but not treble to my ear. I don't know that i ever tried a/b ing this lineup-very interesting difference.

My main comparing was with the HD800s and the stock cables and the Amarra really cut that digital shrill/edge that I was getting with the stark sound of the stock cables into the 800s with the Zana amp which is not warm and tubey but more detail oriented from my seat as i said above. A point of fact is that i seem to even get that digital edge from computer audio thru the Zana with the HD650s when not using Amarra.

I have to say that with the comparing with this set up - Lisa lll->DX1000s I really hear the improvement of the Amarra, maybe even more so than with the 800s with the new cables. The new DHC recable cuts the shrill too but at the expense of a tad of detail maybe so the Amarra change in that area is not as apparent. The improvement in the case of the Lisa-DX1000s seems more of a dynamic/soundstage opening. Considering that I am always trying to get away from the flat sounds of cheaper dacs and such, this is a good thing.

Merry Christmas by the way PJ to you and to the rest here on this thread as well.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Quote:

I'm not sure that you know what it does, do you?

Does anyone know what it does? If you do, please fill us in. Sonic Studios won't give it up.

P

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phelonious Ponk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know what it does? If you do, please fill us in. Sonic Studios won't give it up. P

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Amarra does not use Itunes for playback at all other than to tell it what song to load into its playback engine. That playback engine is Sound Blade from Amarra's parent company Sonic Studio. Sound Blade is one arguably the best sounding digital recording software available. When amarra is engaged itunes playback is muted and amarra is playing the music file simultaneously with itunes.

Now what they have not answered is why it sounds better but if you do a search on pro audio sites like gearslutz you find that recording engineers feel that audio software sounds different with many preferring the sound of sound blade which is the basis for amarra.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now what they have not answered is why it sounds better...

Right. 1) There is the data. 2) There is the possibility of analog noise being picked up by the lines that carry the data. 3) There is the timing of the data. 4) There is something new, previously undiscovered. An unprecedented breakthrough in the processing of digital information.

For reasons I'm sure you already understand, Amarra has to make its difference at #1 or #4.

p

 

[jp11801]

what you will find is every software sounds different, songbird sounds different from itunes, wave editor sounds different from Bias Peak and so on. I do not code software so I can not speak to the reasons they sound different but they do.

I am far from the only person saying this if you visit pro audio sites you'll see comments comparing the sound of different programs

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif what you will find is every software sounds different, songbird sounds different from itunes, wave editor sounds different from Bias Peak and so on. I do not code software so I can not speak to the reasons they sound different but they do. I am far from the only person saying this if you visit pro audio sites you'll see comments comparing the sound of different programs

I understand, and get that people hear differences between the programs, but pro audio evaluation doesn't really tell us anything, as pro use of these programs is radically different. When pros talk about the differences between programs like Soundforge and iZotope, they are talking about differences they hear in their daily use of these programs to manipulate, not simply play back, digital audio. Still, you're far from the only person saying this. There are quite a few audiophiles on the boards who hear differences in players, even when playing bit-perfect files into the same equipment. And still, if these differences exist, it is either analog noise, digital timing or an unidentified technological breakthrough.

Or the files aren't bit-perfect.

P

 

[iamoneagain]

Amarra 1.2 is now out. The big new feature is gapless playback. You need to select the tracks first to make a playlist is all. Also, the mini player is on sale for $295 until 1/20/10.

Amarra Computer Music Player
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