[desik]

I hope you mean a tube amp because while compared Decaware combo to the Milo Amp the difference was noticeable enough for me regardless of the cable used

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

So you preferred Decware to Milo? Interesting. Any diff in bass quantity/dynamics you noticed?

 

[ProfFalkin]

Now that my headphones, amp and dac are burned-in, I downloaded the trial for Amarra 4 and compared it head-to-head with Foobar2000 while bouncing back on forth on the same songs. Amarra 4 seems fuller to me and there are slightly more details from Amarra 4. I also noticed Amarra 4 put out a higher volume than Foobar2000 as I had to adjust the volume to volume match. Amarra 4 just sounds better to me. Thanks for the recommendation!

I plan on purchasing Amarra 4 this weekend.

So I downloaded the Amarra 4 trial. You guys got me curious.

I installed it, set up my library, configured device for playback, and every single song plays back at twice the speed. The interface is laggy as hell. While I find it comical that all vocals sound like they're being sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks, it isn't something I seem to be able to fix. Multiple reboots, a re-installation of the software, and even switching devices have not resolved the issue.

Back to JRMC for me.

 

[jinxy245]

  Why would you be sorry?  A great tube amp with great tubes is a beautiful sounding thing!

I'm guessing it's his tube rolling wallet that's sorry....

 

[mwhals]

So I downloaded the Amarra 4 trial. You guys got me curious.

I installed it, set up my library, configured device for playback, and every single song plays back at twice the speed. The interface is laggy as hell. While I find it comical that all vocals sound like they're being sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks, it isn't something I seem to be able to fix. Multiple reboots, a re-installation of the software, and even switching devices have not resolved the issue.

Back to JRMC for me.

Not sure why it would play twice as fast. I have no problems with it, but I had planned to give JRMC a fair evaluation before I order if I can figure out how to set it up.

 

[mwhals]

I finally got JRiver Media Center 22 set up the way I want it. I compared it to Amarra and it sounds very similar to my ears. Comparing it to Foobar2000 gives me the same results I had comparing Amarra to Foobar2000. I agree that Amarra is a lagging interface and is just not a very smooth UI. JRiver is superior in the UI department and the sounds are similar to me with both being much better than Foobar2000.

I will listen some more and then pull the trigger for one of them.

 

[Khragon]

Jrmc is better armara for me because it can also play videos. I have a decent amount of music videos.

 

[mwhals]

I went with JRMC, because Amarra 4 for Wndows is extremely laggy. With around 700 albums, scrolling the album covers was ridiculously laggy. Search was laggy too. JRiver matched Amarra 4's sound to me. I deleted Amarra 4 and will buy JRMC.

 

[nScott89]

JRMC is awesome. I've been using it for 2 years now. Out of all the media players I've used, it's the best at handling network storage for music files, IMO of course. Plus the interface is really good at handling multi-disc albums. It's sound quality is among the best options available. You also get video playback, if you plan to utilize it. 
 
I think this thread has become more like a ZMF Dynamics Club than it is a discussion thread for the A+E. I don't mind, of course. It's just something I've noticed.
 
Back to the topic at hand, I'm still not terribly decided on getting the Atticus or a better amp first... I am leaning more towards getting the Atticus now and the amp later on though.

 

[Pharmaboy]

So I downloaded the Amarra 4 trial. You guys got me curious.

I installed it, set up my library, configured device for playback, and every single song plays back at twice the speed. The interface is laggy as hell. While I find it comical that all vocals sound like they're being sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks, it isn't something I seem to be able to fix. Multiple reboots, a re-installation of the software, and even switching devices have not resolved the issue.

Back to JRMC for me.

 
Don't understand why you're not delighted w/Amarra 4:
 
-- first you buy endgame ZMF headphones
-- then naturally all you listen to on them are Greatest Hits of Alvin and the Chipmunks
 
Sounds like a little slice of heaven to me...
 
Throw in "Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Sing Verdi," and I'll pay for a streaming subscription!

 

[Hansotek]

 
I know people keep saying that the Atticus should not be paired with a warm amp because it is dark. Then people may write off tube amps for the Atticus because they consider all tube amps dark. What you are after with the Atticus to hear it as 'intended' is driver control, responsiveness(micro and macro dynamics), and liveliness. A tube amp can 'wake' the Atticus up because it will have low damping and will sound less compressed and more reactive. The Atticus tuning begs to be 'waken up' by a dynamic amplifier and that's what tube amps usually are...dynamic. A tube swap on an amplifier that is transparent with tube rolling can 'open' up the Atticus and make it less dark if needed. 'Open up' vs 'Wake up' meaning two different things in this context.   
 
What is cool is that now there are a lot of tube amps that can have tight bass and while they still may sound less pristine and hifi'ish, they definitely sound more nuanced and lively with the right headphone...ehm...The Atticus.

 
^^ This.
 
I've been trying to tell people this about the Atticus since day one!! 
 
Don't fight the headphone. Pairing it with an OTL isn't going to do what you think it is going to do. Lowering the damping factor to a certain level seems to bring the mids out to play in a major, major way. I don't know why this is, but for whatever reason it works. 

 

[Hansotek]

So you preferred Decware to Milo? Interesting. Any diff in bass quantity/dynamics you noticed?

The DecWare CSP3 is incredible with ZMF dynamics, the Atticus in particular (and all 300 ohm headphones I tried with it). The only trouble is it doesn't drive Orthos or low impedance headphones very well at all.

 

[desik]

The DecWare CSP3 is incredible with ZMF dynamics, the Atticus in particular (and all 300 ohm headphones I tried with it). The only trouble is it doesn't drive Orthos or low impedance headphones very well at all.

Can you describe CSP3 vs Milo with Atticus?

 

[olegausany]

So you preferred Decware to Milo? Interesting. Any diff in bass quantity/dynamics you noticed?

The DecWare CSP3 is incredible with ZMF dynamics, the Atticus in particular (and all 300 ohm headphones I tried with it). The only trouble is it doesn't drive Orthos or low impedance headphones very well at all.

For driving orthos you should get a Taboo and use as combo, Taboo acting as preamp

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Hansotek]

Can you describe CSP3 vs Milo with Atticus?

With CSP3, Atticus has more forward mids and the bass response is more cohesive with the rest of the frequency range. On Milo and any other low impedance solid state, the bass is more forward and the mids move back a bit. CSP3 is also sweeter in the mids. IMHO, Atticus + CSP3 has one of the best vocal presentations of any combos I have heard period.

Milo is an amazing amp. It kills with the Eikon and IMO it is the best solid state amp under $3k for the Ori (what it does to planars is pure magic HE6, Abyss, HE1000... game over). It's good with the Atticus, but what happens with the CSP3 + Atticus is some kind of crazy super synergy.

Beyond the fact that the DecWare is a great amp, I SUSPECT this synergy has something to do with the 5-1 damping factor. I inserted a 100ohm resistor between the Atticus and the Chord Mojo earlier and did some A/B testing. Lo and behold, the mids came forward again. Granted dropping the damping factor all the way down to 3-1 created a host of other problems, but it appears there is a correlation between that and the mids pushing forward.

 

[Hansotek]

For driving orthos you should get a Taboo and use as combo, Taboo acting as preamp

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Like I said, the CSP3 can't drive orthos.