[IPodPJ]

Ok well I finally tried Audirvana.  It is the best.  It does beat Decibel.  Here's a scale I worked up for those interested in Mac programs:
 
6th place:  iTunes  -- bad sound quality, great interface  (cost: Free)
5th place:  iTunes + Amarra  --  decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $79 for basic)
4th place:  iTunes + Pure Music  -- decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $129)
3rd place:  Play  --  good sound quality, really poor interface  (cost: Free, stopped development in 2009)
2nd place:  Decibel   --  really good sound quality, poor interface  (cost:  $33, constant development, formerly AyreWave)
1st place:  Audirvana  --  superb sound quality, decent interface  (cost:  Free, constant development)
 
Of course this is only using the Mac Mini optical out, while still considered the best of any of the Macs is not up there with most good transports.  My modded Transporter would eat any of these for breakfast.

 

[ttan98]

Quote:

Ok well I finally tried Audirvana.  It is the best.  It does beat Decibel.  Here's a scale I worked up for those interested in Mac programs:
 
6th place:  iTunes  -- bad sound quality, great interface  (cost: Free)
5th place:  iTunes + Amarra  --  decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $79 for basic)
4th place:  iTunes + Pure Music  -- decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $129)
3rd place:  Play  --  good sound quality, really poor interface  (cost: Free, stopped development in 2009)
2nd place:  Decibel   --  really good sound quality, poor interface  (cost:  $33, constant development, formerly AyreWave)
1st place:  Audirvana  --  superb sound quality, decent interface  (cost:  Free, constant development)
 
Of course this is only using the Mac Mini optical out, while still considered the best of any of the Macs is not up there with most good transports.  My modded Transporter would eat any of these for breakfast.

Have you heard the music reproduction from a modified Mac Mini by Mach2Music? I heard it is very good. Maybe you should try a modified  Mac Mini before making this conclusion.
 

 

[khollister]

Quote:

Have you heard the music reproduction from a modified Mac Mini by Mach2Music? I heard it is very good. Maybe you should try a modified  Mac Mini before making this conclusion.
 

I do have a modified Mac Mini (not from Mach2, done myself) and I agree Audirvana is my top choice at the moment. I would put Pure Music next, followed Amarra in standalone playlist mode (not running with iTunes), followed by Decibel. Pure Music always seems to come out on top as far as soundstage, but the treble is slightly off to my ears. Amarra is very tubelike as far as timbre, but the soundstage is not great. Audirvana has the best balance between timbre, soundstage and air.
 
My Mini is a 2010 model with 40 GB internal SSD, 4 GB RAM and many services turned off/disabled in the OS for dedicated music use. It is hardwired via gigE to a switch also connected to my Mac Pro, which has the iTunes library. The music files are accessed through a network share on the Pro - there is no external drive on the Mini. The Mini is also headless and is controlled by VNC from my Pro or an iPad.
 
Bluetooth, Wifi and the IR remote receiver are turned off, as is Spotlight, Dashboard, Spell Checking, disk journaling and a few other things I don't recall off the top of my head. I am also using a Pangea AC14SE power cord on the Mini, and it is run from a PS Audio Power Plant Premier. I also quit the finder. 
 
And, no I didn't test all of that stuff for sound - I just did everything I could think of or read about out of general principle. 
 

 

[iamoneagain]

 
Quote:

I do have a modified Mac Mini (not from Mach2, done myself) and I agree Audirvana is my top choice at the moment. I would put Pure Music next, followed Amarra in standalone playlist mode (not running with iTunes), followed by Decibel. Pure Music always seems to come out on top as far as soundstage, but the treble is slightly off to my ears. Amarra is very tubelike as far as timbre, but the soundstage is not great. Audirvana has the best balance between timbre, soundstage and air.
 
 

I sort of agree with this and hear the same things.  I put Pure Music lower on the list because it's this treble balance that bothers me and ruins any benefit you get in soundstage. I believe the increased soundstage is only due to this extra brightness. Amarra has great tube-like tone but does have a narrow soundstage and imprecise instrument placement.  Audirvana and Decibel fight for the top spot in my system. Decibel has a little bit of a close in sound but has the best groove and very good layering. Takes a little bit of listening to appreciate it's sound.  Audirvana sounds great from first listen. Audirvana has nice open soundstage, good placement, and liquid tone. It's only missing in that extra groove Decibel provides but makes up for it with open sound.
 
Audivana might be top choice if it worked bug free.  Also, I don't like the CD interface.  I read that he's planning an alternative simple interface, sort of like Decibel.  I prefer the simple interface since I'm just bringing over iTunes tracks and playing them.  
 
I do like that all these players get regular updates and take customer suggestions to heart.  I wish Amarra would do a better job of this.   They usually take so long with updates and then we're still left with a buggy mess.  Think they should offer a public beta program to improve their process. Offer quicker and more timely updates in beta and then do a final release.
 

 

[santacore]

 
Quote:

1st place:  Audirvana  --  superb sound quality, decent interface  (cost:  Free, constant development)

Told you you would like it. 

  It's probably my favorite sounding player, although the interface is not the best, and the latest version crashes or give me digital ticks whenever I play something. What a bummer!!! Hopefully he will update it soon so that I can enjoy it once again.
 
For now I'll have to keep listening to Amarra (which I own) or Decibel.

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Ok well I finally tried Audirvana.  It is the best.  It does beat Decibel.  Here's a scale I worked up for those interested in Mac programs:
 
6th place:  iTunes  -- bad sound quality, great interface  (cost: Free)
5th place:  iTunes + Amarra  --  decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $79 for basic)
4th place:  iTunes + Pure Music  -- decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $129)
3rd place:  Play  --  good sound quality, really poor interface  (cost: Free, stopped development in 2009)
2nd place:  Decibel   --  really good sound quality, poor interface  (cost:  $33, constant development, formerly AyreWave)
1st place:  Audirvana  --  superb sound quality, decent interface  (cost:  Free, constant development)
 
Of course this is only using the Mac Mini optical out, while still considered the best of any of the Macs is not up there with most good transports.  My modded Transporter would eat any of these for breakfast.

 
This is very helpful, but it also means I'm stuck in the Middle Ages. Audirvana seems really cool, but I'll have to wait until I upgrade my operating system (which I don't see happening any time soon) to get it.

 
 

 

[MrQ]

Quote:

 
This is very helpful, but it also means I'm stuck in the Middle Ages. Audirvana seems really cool, but I'll have to wait until I upgrade my operating system (which I don't see happening any time soon) to get it.

 
 

 
By the time you are ready to upgrade the Lion will be loose.

 

[melomaniac]

so, this is with your Audio-gd Reference 7.1, right? because I suspect that it may depend a little on your DAC too. some (elsewhere) seem to find Audirvana a bit rolled-off and suggest it matches well with a sharper DAC, while a tubed DAC might be better matched with other software. I have no way to test that theory, if it is one, but it stands to reason. for what it's worth, I just downloaded Audirvana again after deleting it a few weeks ago in favor of PureMusic, and I'll test with my CIA VDA2 DACs on a couple of computers.
 
Quote:

Ok well I finally tried Audirvana.  It is the best.  It does beat Decibel.  Here's a scale I worked up for those interested in Mac programs:
 
6th place:  iTunes  -- bad sound quality, great interface  (cost: Free)
5th place:  iTunes + Amarra  --  decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $79 for basic)
4th place:  iTunes + Pure Music  -- decent sound quality, good interface  (cost:  $129)
3rd place:  Play  --  good sound quality, really poor interface  (cost: Free, stopped development in 2009)
2nd place:  Decibel   --  really good sound quality, poor interface  (cost:  $33, constant development, formerly AyreWave)
1st place:  Audirvana  --  superb sound quality, decent interface  (cost:  Free, constant development)
 
Of course this is only using the Mac Mini optical out, while still considered the best of any of the Macs is not up there with most good transports.  My modded Transporter would eat any of these for breakfast.

 

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

so, this is with your Audio-gd Reference 7.1, right? because I suspect that it may depend a little on your DAC too. some (elsewhere) seem to find Audirvana a bit rolled-off and suggest it matches well with a sharper DAC, while a tubed DAC might be better matched with other software. I have no way to test that theory, if it is one, but it stands to reason. for what it's worth, I just downloaded Audirvana again after deleting it a few weeks ago in favor of PureMusic, and I'll test with my CIA VDA2 DACs on a couple of computers.
 


 

It's with the Reference 7.  I won't have the 7.1 for at least a month as the current build time over at Audio-gd is 1-2 months apparently.
 

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

By the time you are ready to upgrade the Lion will be loose.

Oh, hell…

 

 

[xmurio]

I'm not a fan to iTunes. Thanks for the suggestion and I'll try them.

 

[WarriorAnt]

Can I access my iTunes library from Audirvana?   
 

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Can I access my iTunes library from Audirvana?   
 

You can't. Why don't you just download Audirvana and try it out? It takes just as much effort as asking around here =)

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

You can't. Why don't you just download Audirvana and try it out? It takes just as much effort as asking around here =)

Download Audirvana and try it out first.  What a great idea.  Oh wait I already did that and couldn't figure out how to access my iTunes list so I thought I'd post a question about it and get a little help.    If I can't access my itunes library then how do I add a playlist to it. iTunes is the app I use to coordinate my tunes.  
 

 

[drandall]

audirvana does not see itunes playlists...this you know.
 
hit the "playlist" button on the main interface. when the playlist window comes up, hit the + button and you'll get an open dialog box. navigate to the music you want to put into the playlist and hit "open". this will add what you've selected (songs/folders/etc)
 
you can also drag and drop into the playlist window.