[longbowbbs]

I try and get my money's worth..

  I have over 200,000 miles on my Prius too...
 
I appreciate what Apple does. One of my PC frustrations is the legacy code getting in the way. MS tries to keep everyone happy and never let something expire. Doesn't seem to be as stable over time. The tradeoff is buying new gear every few years. 
 
As to Lion and Amarra, I don't think it matters much if the Mini is a dedicated music server. I followed the Amarra users manual guidelines and it has been a solid combination.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I try and get my money's worth..

  I have over 200,000 miles on my Prius too...
 
I appreciate what Apple does. One of my PC frustrations is the legacy code getting in the way. MS tries to keep everyone happy and never let something expire. Doesn't seem to be as stable over time. The tradeoff is buying new gear every few years. 
 
As to Lion and Amarra, I don't think it matters much if the Mini is a dedicated music server. I followed the Amarra users manual guidelines and it has been a solid combination.

 
Everything matters. Not too late for a rewrite, is it? My 2010 Mac mini dedicated music server. Tweaked with little on it and stuffed turned off/shut down. I have Lion & Snow Leopard on another Drive. 
 
My opinion isn't limited to Amarra and Lion. Rather, I'm indicting Lion with "Insert your go-to music player here." Other's mileage may vary, whether pushing Macs or 

 Toyotas down the street. 

 

[longbowbbs]

Gotcha!  Fortunately, I have had a smooth ride with lion (and the Toyota!)  It gets better this week as my CSP2+ arrives and I can go Emeril all over my hi rez collection....BAM!

 

[omasciarotte]

Quote:

I'm wondering whether anyone can weigh in on a strange issue. I'm listening to Amarra 2.4.1 from a MacBook Pro with 4G RAM outputting to a newly acquired (used) MHDT Havana tube DAC. I have to admit that I can't figure out what's happening. Fact is, it's sounding different from day to day...Has anyone experienced anything like this?

 

Hey mink70,
 
Have not heard of the described behavior but, you may want to reduce the number of variables to troubleshoot the problem. Eliminate Amarra and the DAC, and start with iTunes in bit-perfect mode, your old DAC or BIA (built-in audio), and your normal playback chain. Since the behavior seems severe enough, you should be able to tell in just a few seconds whether it's happening or not. Then, one factor at a time, swap out ONE SINGLE COMPONENT in the chain until you locate the source of the problem. Components include software, DAC, amp, cans/speaks, cable, pre, anything that's part of the playback chain.
 
With a hefty bit of patience and very methodical swapping, you will find the problem. Unfortunately, since the problem is intermittent, it may take a while to localize the culprit.

 

[longbowbbs]

^^
 
Second on this....Rebuild the chain one piece at a time and isolate the trouble,,,,,

 

[Silent One]

In what could be called an engaged listening session - sunset to sunrise overnight - I decided to tip across the street...under a cover of darkness. That, I did not successfully negotiate crossing in a straight line, resulted in the lone alley cat tracking my every move. Better it than the LAPD. 

 
Anyway, Thursday night, I installed a trio of big brass footers under my Mac mini music server - 3"x3" @ 6 lbs each, which sit atop an 18 lb Maple platform. Prior to this tweak, I preferred Amarra 2.3(4344) on Mountain Lion. In the middle of the session, Audirvana Plus w/Direct mode; Integer mode took over the #1 slot. 
 
The great thing about having cafes located on opposing corners is choice. When I decide Amarra is once again serving a tea I'd like to enjoy, I'll simply tip back across the street. Or, go back and forth as my mood and music library calls for.

 

[longbowbbs]

I appreciate that. I have the cafe JRiver right next door filled with lossless .WAV ready to serve....

 

[Silent One]

As someone with an open mind, I'll have a look at JRiver's port for OS X when it's ready...

 

[longbowbbs]

It provides a nice alternative to iTunes....

 

[mkegan]

Amarra has now come down considerably in price.  For $49 you can get Amara HiFi which does a very good job and definitely improves the sound compare with regular old Itunes.  It also alows the possibllity of import oversampled high bit rate FLACs into the iTunes library and playing them.  Well worth it, you can try trial download then compare with pure music, decibel ,audirvana etc.  Good summary article on this on Headfonia.
u

 

[Silent One]

Any thoughts on Amarra v2.4.3?

 

[longbowbbs]

It is working flawlessly on the MBPro and the MacMini so far....Great piece of software.

 

[paradoxper]

For once I have no issues to complain about either.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

It is working flawlessly on the MBPro and the MacMini so far....Great piece of software.

 
I'm just warming up the rig now (0500 hrs) to try and sneak in a 90 minute session before bedtime. The grand plan was to skip last night's session and do all my house chores for Saturday - finished up at 0415hrs. This overnight success frees me up for watching College Football all day/evening (NCAA Hoops as well).
 
Once I got Audirvana Plus w/Direct mode, and a TT, I ended up skipping updates. Didn't care much for the last revision a few months back on Mountain Lion. Will give myself some time to see what I think of this one.

 

[spahn_ranch]

Like previous updates it does drop out completely from time to time, meaning total silence for a whole track or more, but this appears less frequently with the 2.4.3.
 
I can easily say that this version of Amarra is the best digitally based sound reproduction I've had in my system. And likewise, although very difficult to compare when auditions are spread over long periods of time and on different systems, it *is* some of the best digital I've ever heard, computer based or otherwise. A note on that is the necessity of a USB/Spdif converter.