[liamstrain]

I just checked my applications folder and found Pure music (demo) - now expired. I remember now I hated the interface. And I did get what I assumed were memory related playback issues if I tried to use other memory intensive (photoshop/illustrator/indesign) software at the same time - which I must. 
 
I don't think I'll retry with AHP, but my guess is Pure music hogs memory and running another background intensive application (like AHP) would only multiply that. 
 
I will say, having demo'd Amarra as well as most all the other less expensive players (Play, Pure Music - apparently) - while all have offered very slightly better playback for me over iTunes, few have convinced me they are worth the cost and hassle - especially since I don't have a huge flac library, and alac or 320k mp3 are fine for 99% of my listening. Fidelia struck a good balance for me (cost/performance) without taking over my machine - since I need it to be a productive work machine as well as playback. 
 
Just my $.02

 

[AppleheadMay]

No stuttering here as well which is normal since I'm using a full option top of the bill iMac, 16Gb, latest version.
I always switch the load into memory option on.
The only player I had problems with is Pure Music which gave me terrible distortion.

 

[pigmode]

2011 MBP with 8 GB ram. In my system Amarra usually does not run well with Safari. With Safari on top Amarra gives loud artifacts, the worst sounding like a .25" tape piling up on the rollers and heads before the last minute increase in speed before jamming. Chrome solves most of the issues, although
its still crappy software.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Quote:

I just checked my applications folder and found Pure music (demo) - now expired. I remember now I hated the interface. And I did get what I assumed were memory related playback issues if I tried to use other memory intensive (photoshop/illustrator/indesign) software at the same time - which I must. 
 
I don't think I'll retry with AHP, but my guess is Pure music hogs memory and running another background intensive application (like AHP) would only multiply that. 
 
I will say, having demo'd Amarra as well as most all the other less expensive players (Play, Pure Music - apparently) - while all have offered very slightly better playback for me over iTunes, few have convinced me they are worth the cost and hassle - especially since I don't have a huge flac library, and alac or 320k mp3 are fine for 99% of my listening. Fidelia struck a good balance for me (cost/performance) without taking over my machine - since I need it to be a productive work machine as well as playback. 
 
Just my $.02

 
Agree on all counts:
- hating PM interface, but add distortion to that
- very slightly SQ improvement, but audible nevertheless
- Fidelia's p/p balance, though I still find it the better of all regardless price. And it's the first time I can really appreciate crossfade, even after having owned a Phonitor. And I hate apps that tend to take over my machine as well.
- No Flac here, all Alac except from a very small number of AAC from the ITunes store.
 
 
So ....  

 
 
 
 
Edit: haven't ran Amarra yet, only installed and deleted it right away because of the 32-bit problem.
Will not try it before it has 64-bit support.

 

[otinkyad]

So after reading the positive impressions of Fidelia, I've been trying it out again.  This time it pulled in the Redline plugin (possibly because I had installed the trial WaveEditor software from the same manufacturer, which seemed to do some plugin checking when it started up, and perhaps Fidelia reads that info).
 
In any case, how do you enable Fidelia's crossfeed?  I think someone (liamstrain?) mentioned Fidelia having its own headphones crossfeed, but I haven't been able to figure out where it is (or perhaps I don't know what to look for).  I thought I'd compare it with Redline monitor.  Any info much appreciated!

 

[AppleheadMay]

It's in preferences under the FHX tab.
You will only see it if you use the Beta version though, the regular version doesn't have it yet.
You will also need to ask for Beta registration codes, the normal codes don't work.

 

[liamstrain]

And when you go to the beta, the 32bit processing that is letting you use Redline monitor, will go away. 

 

[AppleheadMay]

Ah, good to know, I never had the regular version.

 

[liamstrain]

I prefer the beta, personally. But i did have to revert back to the Dec. 30th update for stability with my system.
 
One warning, once I installed the beta, I was never able to fully revert to the full previous version - some files and prefs apparently wouldn't uninstall. So now I'm permanently on the beta track. Good thing I like it.

 

[otinkyad]

Thanks for the information, AppleheadMay and liamstrain!

 

[AppleheadMay]

Quote:

I prefer the beta, personally. But i did have to revert back to the Dec. 30th update for stability with my system.
 
One warning, once I installed the beta, I was never able to fully revert to the full previous version - some files and prefs apparently wouldn't uninstall. So now I'm permanently on the beta track. Good thing I like it.

 
Maybe a tip on uninstalling stuff in OSX.
 
First check if the app has an uninstaller. (usually in the dmg package the app came with, sometimes as a separate download on the website.)
The I always uninstall apps by using an uninstaller like "CleanApp".
After that is done I search in spotlight for both the app name and developer name in this way:
- type the app or developer name in the spotlight search in the taskbar.
- there, choose show all in finder
- below the search field in finder click on the "+" button
- in the fields that appear choose "system files" and "are included"
- scroll through the list and manually delete any file associated with the name or developer
 
That should delete all plist and other system files associated with the app, except for some rare apps that place truly hidden files in the root directory or base of library folders. In that case you would need an app like "Forklift" to reveal those, but that is not needed for Fidelia, I checked it.
 

 

[Naim.F.C]

So I've been comparing the hell out of iTunes, Pure Music, Amarra, Fidelia and Audirvana for a big software comparison thread I plan to write up. I'll just say that the differences are extremely subtle. Highly finite and you almost wouldn't notice them unless you split second A/B'd like I've been doing lately, but still, differences do exist imo. You just have to concentrate very hard to find them. I won't give too much away (don't want to spoil the fun!), but I'll just say that the results don't really necessarily correlate with the cost of these programmes. Even then, which you prefer may also come down to preference and audio set up (whether you're using tubes, solid state, warm, sharp etc).
 
My favourite sort of depends on the music and my mood. One does seem to be the one that has the most realistic vocals, air, separation etc the majority of the time, in testing anyway, as a trade off, in place of some musicality and richness of the others. 
 
A brilliant testing track is Rene Aubry - Salento. At the 20-30 second mark, the thicker strings on the right, I find there's an ever so very slight variance in the way the decay and detail in resonance is handled with the different software. Perhaps some of you would like to try for yourselves and see if you too notice any difference. 

 

[pigmode]

Interesting. Although I haven't spent much time with Audirvana Plus, its earlier versions gave me the opposite impression. I find iTunes slightly bloated and given to a level of smearing.

 

[DarknightDK]

Looking forward to that comprehensive review.

 

[floydstyle]

sonora is a nice app as well.  My favorite to listen to music on my Macbook Pro