[chewy4]

Quote:

 
As far as I know, it doesn't alter the content in any way (unless you alter the built-in EQ or dithering is switched on), so this is incorrect. Way back I tried programs that try to enhance the music and they clearly distort the music. I had a problem with my computer once, years ago, where the treble had some harshness which turned out to be the result of iTunes Sound Enhancer somehow having been switched on.

Well if it doesn't alter the content in any way... then there isn't any difference between it and any other bitperfect player. Unless it's the only bitperfect player that isn't totally full of errors. But this is a technology that's been mastered for a very long while so I doubt that.
 
There's plenty of DSP effects that sound quite swell. I even like using Dolby Headphone every once and a while on certain recordings, it actually appears to let more detail come through in certain areas and sounds pretty cool on songs that mess around with positional cues and whatnot. 

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Well if it doesn't alter the content in any way... then there isn't any difference between it and any other bitperfect player. Unless it's the only bitperfect player that isn't totally full of errors. But this is a technology that's been mastered for a very long while so I doubt that.
 
There's plenty of DSP effects that sound quite swell. I even like using Dolby Headphone every once and a while on certain recordings, it actually appears to let more detail come through in certain areas and sounds pretty cool on songs that mess around with positional cues and whatnot. 

Have you even tried out Amarra? 

 

[chewy4]

Quote:

Have you even tried out Amarra? 

Nope, I don't have a mac so I can't.
 
I'm not denying that it could sound different, even better to most peoples ears, just the fact that it sounds different without any additional DSP effects and whatnot. I have my doubts on it being the first ever media player to successfully play an audio file without error. Digital audio has been around since 1967, and the theory behind it goes way before that.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Nope, I don't have a mac so I can't.
 
I'm not denying that it could sound different, even better to most peoples ears, just the fact that it sounds different without any additional DSP effects and whatnot. I have my doubts on it being the first ever media player to successfully play an audio file without error. Digital audio has been around since 1967, and the theory behind it goes way before that.

Just curious.
 
I have no quibble with your doubts. I just chalk it up to neither/none of us having the understanding
on Amarra's inner-workings. 

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

Amarra Demo:
 
http://app.streamsend.com/public/9h99/xcy/subscribe
 
I've been with Amarra for some time and like it.
The guys on the thread pointed me to XLD for import and conversion, then setting up MiDi for 96kHz output and running iTunes.
XLD would take your FLAC and convert it to ALAC for iTunes playback.  No sonic difference.  IMO
 
This method is free and sounds damn good.  Clean
 
 I found Amarra has a bit more warmth and that's my taste.
I did not like PureMusic at all.  IMO

I meant to thank you again for the demo.  I didn't realize you could also demo from the Amarra site directly.  Amarra as you pointed out has a much warmer feel than pure music.  I am running Amarra with an AQ Dragonfly and it is a smooth operation.  Amarra is making the midi setting adjustments automatically between the different bit rates of  iTunes.  Sounds amazing.  I have been running the Pure music demo as well and it keeps stopping and starting as did the Bitperfect app. incredibly frustrating.  So far with Amarra no problems and frankly it sounds better.

 

[Iamnothim]

IMO
Amarra has baggage too, but I share your opinion on its musicality.
Ive had some song transition issues that I am tolerating. When the next song that I click starts, it will play a small snippit, stop reset to the beginning and play the track. This is usually when changing to a new track, in the middle of another track.
This may be only the HiFi version. My headphone kit has HIFi and I haven't gone back and listened to my room kit with Full Amara lately.
Lastly adjusting the source volume on iTunes directly or iTunes via Remote jumbles the playback during adjustment.

ITunes works fine. As did PureMusic. But I found the musicality of PurMusic inferior to both Amarra and iTunes player.
It did have the best gimmick controls.

 

[Iamnothim]

**Warning**
Whatever you do, don't go to the Sound Science sandbox and say you thing something "Sonnds Better"
Enjoy the beautiful music whilst the SS boyz engage in mortal combat.

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

IMO
Amarra has baggage too, but I share your opinion on its musicality.
Ive had some song transition issues that I am tolerating. When the next song that I click starts, it will play a small snippit, stop reset to the beginning and play the track. This is usually when changing to a new track, in the middle of another track.
This may be only the HiFi version. My headphone kit has HIFi and I haven't gone back and listened to my room kit with Full Amara lately.
Lastly adjusting the source volume on iTunes directly or iTunes via Remote jumbles the playback during adjustment.
ITunes works fine. As did PureMusic. But I found the musicality of PurMusic inferior to both Amarra and iTunes player.
It did have the best gimmick controls.

Strangely I had the same issue but it was with  Bitperfect.  A beginning part of one song would play at the beginning of the song I was listening to, but it was with Bitperfect with integer mode on with full dither on, turning off those settings would take this problem away along with any improvement in sound.  So far this has not been a problem with Amarra.  My problem with Pure Music was constantly needing to re-handshake with iTunes and the DAC, or the music it wouldn't play at all..

 

[unseen]

I've downloaded this but am not sure I have it configured right. Turning it on and off from the dock icon doesn't seem to change anything. I'm running a mac mini on mountain lion USB'd to a nuforce udac2. Can anyone just tell me what I should have checked?

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

I've downloaded this but am not sure I have it configured right. Turning it on and off from the dock icon doesn't seem to change anything. I'm running a mac mini on mountain lion USB'd to a nuforce udac2. Can anyone just tell me what I should have checked?

Are you using it with iTunes?  If you are it should pull iTunes up when you use the Amarra app..  With the DAC make sure to rescan audio devices from the Amarra file.  Hope that helps.

 

[unseen]

Yes they're chained together, but is Amarra still in effect when I have it ticked to "itunes" like this: http://gyazo.com/46e084339303d9a3aa49a8689d4083bb or does amarra have to be lit up blue with the little blue dot on the amarra icon in the dock? Also is there a way to get gapless playback while still playing through itunes? I see this can be accomplished by adding it to your amarra playlist but that defeats the purpose of keeping the clean iTunes interface/last.fm scrobbles/etc. I'm on 8GB ram and have tried about all of the preload track/memory options to see if I can find something that doesn't skip between songs.

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

Yes they're chained together, but is Amarra still in effect when I have it ticked to "itunes" like this: http://gyazo.com/46e084339303d9a3aa49a8689d4083bb or does amarra have to be lit up blue with the little blue dot on the amarra icon in the dock? Also is there a way to get gapless playback while still playing through itunes? I see this can be accomplished by adding it to your amarra playlist but that defeats the purpose of keeping the clean iTunes interface/last.fm scrobbles/etc. I'm on 8GB ram and have tried about all of the preload track/memory options to see if I can find something that doesn't skip between songs.

If iTunes lights up it is a play through using iTunes only.  For example I have a 24/192 album on iTunes but my Dragonfly DAC only plays back 24/96 so Amarra flips off and it is played through iTunes only.  Outside of this issue I set Amarra preferences on playback to 8 then it loads as gapless as it plays through on Amarra.  If iTunes is lit then you are stuck with iTunes playback as the core.