Mac OS X Music Players - alternatives to iTunes

[Silent One]

Not sure. I'm nearly at the end of my third 15-day trial with Audirvana Plus (Beta) with Direct mode - Mac never panicked!  

 

[paullindqvist]

No kernal panics here either, not with final version or the betas that been out.

 

[paradoxper]

No problems to report here either.

 

[iamoneagain]

I've never had problems with Audirvana Plus either.  I have a test copy of BitPerfection that also does direct/integer in ML and that did cause the system to suddenly say restarting.  No other warning.  I believe that is still in the early stages so I'm not trying again until I get a newer release.  Gives a different sound than Audirvana but is also very clean because of the integer mode. I prefer Audirvana over it.
 
I retested Amarra again just to see if the newness of Audirvana's direct mode has worn off but I still find it a big improvement over Amarra.  Much blacker background and better separation.  Sound is much cleaner like another layer has been removed.  I can see how someone can find it too clean, but there is no harshness and it's still very musical. 
 
The other thing to keep is mind is that you need to make sure your system is actually integer capable.  Even with the boxes checked, won't guarantee direct/integer mode.  You need to check the player and see if you see a green INT on the right of it's display.  I was using optical to my DAC before and that doesn't work.  The sound quality wasn't even close to what I get with Hiface 2 converter. 

 

[markc2]

Been using PureMusic demo so far, haven't gotten any headaches yet. I really like the upsampling. Most digital gives me headaches, but this has been really nice so far. 
 
Thanks for listing all of these options.. 99 pages back
 
Mark

 

[Jmstrmbn]

Quote:

I've never had problems with Audirvana Plus either.  I have a test copy of BitPerfection that also does direct/integer in ML and that did cause the system to suddenly say restarting.  No other warning.  I believe that is still in the early stages so I'm not trying again until I get a newer release.  Gives a different sound than Audirvana but is also very clean because of the integer mode. I prefer Audirvana over it.
 
I retested Amarra again just to see if the newness of Audirvana's direct mode has worn off but I still find it a big improvement over Amarra.  Much blacker background and better separation.  Sound is much cleaner like another layer has been removed.  I can see how someone can find it too clean, but there is no harshness and it's still very musical. 
 
The other thing to keep is mind is that you need to make sure your system is actually integer capable.  Even with the boxes checked, won't guarantee direct/integer mode.  You need to check the player and see if you see a green INT on the right of it's display.  I was using optical to my DAC before and that doesn't work.  The sound quality wasn't even close to what I get with Hiface 2 converter. 

Sorry, are you saying integer mode is supported even through the Hiface 2?

 

[fordski]

Quote:

Sorry, are you saying integer mode is supported even through the Hiface 2?

I'm using the Hiface 2 with Audirvana + Beta and it works fine with direct and integer mode. I like it better than Amarra, which I also own, both in terms of sound quality and usability. Amarra seems to be quite flaky in iTunes mode when using a networked library on time capsule.

 

[mtkversion]

I've started using both Fidelia & Audirvana in tandem. I originally used Fidelia and shortly after replaced it with Audirvana but see that both have its benefits.
 
Fidelia is for mainly when I listen to headphones with the FHX processor.  I've been messing with it for a couple nights and really like the effect on certain albums/styles.  I also like having the waveform meter for spot checks and the ability to add EQ'ing if needed.
 
Audirvana handles .CUE files and is generally a bit more stable when I just want to throw some music on in the background.
 
I haven't really compared the sound of each player against each other because they both sound good to my ears.  Lately I've started to care less about sound quality and focus more attention on music quality.
 

 

[iamoneagain]

Quote:

I'm using the Hiface 2 with Audirvana + Beta and it works fine with direct and integer mode. I like it better than Amarra, which I also own, both in terms of sound quality and usability. Amarra seems to be quite flaky in iTunes mode when using a networked library on time capsule.

 
 
Yes, same as fordski said.  I always had problems with Amarra but it had best sound quality.  But with direct/integer mode on Audirvana Plus, this is first time I heard it sound better.  Hiface 2 is just plug-n-play and then just select it in Audirvana Plus and make sure direct and integer boxes are checked and you're done.  Very easy.
 
Edit: This is first time it had best sound quality after extensive listening.  I've gone back and forth in the past when just using optical out but always ended up back with Amarra.  Not so with direct/integer mode.

 

[Silent One]

I just concluded my third 15 day audition with Audirvana Plus Beta - Direct mode. Out of another shootout with three players/versions, A+(Beta/Direct mode) comes in at the number two position. But ahead of Amarra 2.4.1.
 
Amarra 2.3(4344) on Mountain Lion has yet to relinquish the top spot in my system.

 

[Grev]

I'm using Clementine, and am I the only one?  Anything wrong with it?

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I'm using Clementine, and am I the only one?  Anything wrong with it?

 
Never had it in the rotation. How do you like it so far? And have you experienced the other OS X players? If so, would like to get your thoughts.

 

[eron]

I'm loving Audirvana Plus, so much so I actually happily paid the full price for the app. 
 
A side question. Audirvana on Mac vs Foobar DS on Windows, which has better SQ?

 

[miceblue]

I'm using Clementine, and am I the only one?  Anything wrong with it?

I use it as an alternative to iTunes, and the music library media player alternative to Foobar for Mac OS X (it's especially convenient for showing your entire library rather than the limited list in Audirvana Plus or Fidelia). It's a great program for those purposes, but for high-fidelity, critical listening I wouldn't use it. I do like the internet capabilities of it though.

 

[Grev]

Quote:

I use it as an alternative to iTunes, and the music library media player alternative to Foobar for Mac OS X (it's especially convenient for showing your entire library rather than the limited list in Audirvana Plus or Fidelia). It's a great program for those purposes, but for high-fidelity, critical listening I wouldn't use it. I do like the internet capabilities of it though.

So which one has the best sound quality?