Amarra HiFi updates to 2.4.1

[REShaman]

thx REShaman

 

I will try Amarra 2.4, if not play fine I will return to PM, but in my opinion Amarra sounds a little bit better

 

regards

 

Your opinion and my opinion are the same. I own all the players and they are wonderful. My Amarra Symphony is a bit more wonderful. I believe you will be even happier with the performance of Amarra 2.4. Performance with Amarra is favored by the fastest/most powerful processor, ample RAM for Amarra's cache and Preload functioning and for your computer (or if a different server, that's another configuration). The demands of the software and features are thus favored. Hope you enjoy Amarra 2.4.

Best,

Richard

[Ray Fun]

Esprit,

Did u send email to report the problem to Amarra, if yes, do they give u a solution. I did send the mytek firewire issue to Amarra with no reply so far.

[Bob Stern]

Hog Mode?

Can Amarra, either HiFi or full version, be configured to Hog the output device (the DAC)?

[REShaman]

Hog Mode?

Can Amarra, either HiFi or full version, be configured to Hog the output device (the DAC)?

 

Hopefully my response is accurate, Bob. As a user of Amarra Symphony, there are actually two (2) modes. Stop me if you've heard this. In Amarra mode, one has the option of using Preload/"N" (number of tracks loaded up to album) and gapless is in order. Non-preload does not provide gapless play. No playlist need be loaded first. Just the album.

The Sonic engine is always in play and it is Amarra that does the SRC. Is that Hog mode? If you were to close down iTunes during play in AM that would defeat the engine in Amarra. Not so in Playlist mode.

In Playlist mode, one can add up to 99 tracks into the playlist which plays gaplessly. Is that Hog mode?

Never using Amarra Hifi I would not describe what is operational. But I believe it is comparable to AM without certain features which are clearly described at the Sonic Studio website for Amarra.

If I have not answered your question to your satisfaction, excuse me.

Best,

Richard

PS if you check the setting Follow Core Audio Setting: Automatically follow Core Audio Settings when changed. Use Audio Device Preferences to set your Output Audio Device to a different Audio Device. Is that Hog mode?

[Bob Stern]

Hog Mode

@Richard:

 

Hog mode, also called Exclusive Access mode, means that one program takes full, exclusive control of an audio device (ie, the DAC) so that no other program can access that device until the first program relinquishes exclusive access ("hogging") of the device.

 

In programs such as Pure Music and Audirvana Plus that permit sending audio data to the DAC in integer format in Snow Leopard, hog mode is a prerequisite for integer mode. Some people find hog mode sounds better even in Lion and Mountain Lion which do not permit integer mode.

 

Hog mode is the opposite of "Follow Audio MIDI Setup" in Amarra. The latter means that Amarra plays through the audio device (DAC) that is selected as the Default Output Device in either OS X Prefs > Sound or in Audio MIDI Setup. By definition, the default output device is shared, not exclusive, because multiple programs can run simultaneously and all send output to the default output device. In that case, the outputs of the programs will be summed. Audio data always is sent in floating point format for shared (non-hogged, i.e., non-exclusive) audio devices.

 

You can tell whether an audio device is hogged, and by what program, using the program "HALLab" that is included when you install Xcode developer tools.

 

Amarra's documentation fails to explain what happens if you un-check "Follow Audio MIDI Setup" in Amarra Prefs. There is no documentation regarding how to select an audio device in File menu > Extras > Audio IO Preferences. I tried it without success; only one channel played. (Since my DAC is the same as sold by Sonic Studio under the Amarra brand name, you'd think my DAC would work flawlessly with Amarra.)

 

Richard or anyone else: have you successfully used File menu > Extras > Audio IO Preferences?

[REShaman]

Hog Mode

@Richard:

 

Hog mode, also called Exclusive Access mode, means that one program takes full, exclusive control of an audio device (ie, the DAC) so that no other program can access that device until the first program relinquishes exclusive access ("hogging") of the device.

 

In programs such as Pure Music and Audirvana Plus that permit sending audio data to the DAC in integer format in Snow Leopard, hog mode is a prerequisite for integer mode. Some people find hog mode sounds better even in Lion and Mountain Lion which do not permit integer mode.

 

Hog mode is the opposite of "Follow Audio MIDI Setup" in Amarra. The latter means that Amarra plays through the audio device (DAC) that is selected as the Default Output Device in either OS X Prefs > Sound or in Audio MIDI Setup. By definition, the default output device is shared, not exclusive, because multiple programs can run simultaneously and all send output to the default output device. In that case, the outputs of the programs will be summed. Audio data always is sent in floating point format for shared (non-hogged, i.e., non-exclusive) audio devices.

 

You can tell whether an audio device is hogged, and by what program, using the program "HALLab" that is included when you install Xcode developer tools.

 

Amarra's documentation fails to explain what happens if you un-check "Follow Audio MIDI Setup" in Amarra Prefs. There is no documentation regarding how to select an audio device in File menu > Extras > Audio IO Preferences. I tried it without success; only one channel played. (Since my DAC is the same as sold by Sonic Studio under the Amarra brand name, you'd think my DAC would work flawlessly with Amarra.)

 

Richard or anyone else: have you successfully used File menu > Extras > Audio IO Preferences?

 

Thank you Bob. I appreciate the schooling about Amarra and Hog mode. I only had a vague understanding of Hog Mode which has not been associated with Amarra, but is with the other players which I also own. Is Amarra in Playlist mode, based on your description in your post in the order of a kind of Hog mode? As once tracks (up to 99) have been loaded, iTunes may be quitted without defeating the play function (as differentiated from Amarra mode which I guess as you described shares iTunes even when using Preload/"N". For if one closes quits iTunes while in Amarra mode, no more sound.

 

According to Jon Reichbach, if one un-checks Follow Audio Midi Setup then that defeats Amarra from "following" and playing through other devices. I am only describing it this simply as that is what Jon wrote in his short hand style to the beta-testers of whom I am one.

 

Bob, sorry, I have only used quit Finder from the Extras in File Menu. And briefly perusing the manual, Sonic doesn't even cover all the features in the Extras so I do not know what to make of it.

 

Realizing you can decide on your own to contact Jon and get accurate information from him or his staff, beyond stating the obvious, I am not of much help. Though I, myself, would appreciate learning more. Perhaps, I'll email Sonic and ask on behalf of myself what Audio IO Preferences does. If I get there first, I shall post what I have learned for you as well.

 

Best,

Richard

[Bob Stern]

Is Amarra in Playlist mode, based on your description in your post in the order of a kind of Hog mode?

 

No, because Amarra is still playing through the OS X default output device, which inherently is shared with any other program capable of outputting audio, regardless of whether iTunes is running. For example, you could have VLC or Safari running concurrently with Amarra and use them to concurrently output audio to the same DAC that Amarra is connected to. The audio from all programs would be summed.

[Esprit]

Esprit,

Did u send email to report the problem to Amarra, if yes, do they give u a solution. I did send the mytek firewire issue to Amarra with no reply so far.

No, I've not sent any mail. I've uninstalled the sw. I don't like how, as a windows sw, Amarra writes files anywhere on the Mac.

[mink70]

I'm wondering whether anyone can weigh in on a strange issue. I'm listening to Amarra 2.4.1 from a MacBook Pro with 4G RAM outputting to a newly acquired (used) MHDT Havana tube DAC. I have to admit that I can't figure out what's happening. Fact is, it's sounding different from day to day. When I first listened to it a week ago, from a Mac over USB, it sounded kind of edgy and still wiry in the treble. After a few days, the sound changed to the point where it began to sound very soft, with rolled off treble, reduced dynamics and detail. I figured that the new tube had burned in, but a day later the DAC was sounding forward and big again, with an edgy treble. NOTHING else had changed. This has been the story all along. Some days the Havana sounds lush and lovely, others it's edgy and harsh—even when nothing else has changed. Then I got a message in Amarra, after a few hours of playing, that I was running out of memory. No other apps were open. 2 gigs were allotted to memory play. I'm trying to figure out whether the DAC or Amarra/Mac are causing this. Is this the famous memory leak and could it be causing changes in sound quality? Has anyone experienced anything like this?

[REShaman]

I'm wondering whether anyone can weigh in on a strange issue. I'm listening to Amarra 2.4.1 from a MacBook Pro with 4G RAM outputting to a newly acquired (used) MHDT Havana tube DAC. I have to admit that I can't figure out what's happening. Fact is, it's sounding different from day to day. When I first listened to it a week ago, from a Mac over USB, it sounded kind of edgy and still wiry in the treble. After a few days, the sound changed to the point where it began to sound very soft, with rolled off treble, reduced dynamics and detail. I figured that the new tube had burned in, but a day later the DAC was sounding forward and big again, with an edgy treble. NOTHING else had changed. This has been the story all along. Some days the Havana sounds lush and lovely, others it's edgy and harsh—even when nothing else has changed. Then I got a message in Amarra, after a few hours of playing, that I was running out of memory. No other apps were open. 2 gigs were allotted to memory play. I'm trying to figure out whether the DAC or Amarra/Mac are causing this. Is this the famous memory leak and could it be causing changes in sound quality? Has anyone experienced anything like this?

 

My response is only to the memory leak. In my experience with Amarra since 2011, with Amarra Full which is now Amarra Symphony, 2.4.2, build 4420, I have never experienced a memory leak in my system. I do recall posts indicating they thought there was one. I monitored my system when those were posted and found no such leak. I suspect that the explanation for this problem lies somewhere else. I am however keeping my remarks strictly to your query re memory leaks.

Hope you find a solution.

Best,

Richard

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

The memory leak is a known issue with Amarra HiFi. Sonic Studios will not respond to my emails, so I've long since given up on Amarra. I've never before dealt with a company that flat out will not respond to emails, it's really unbelievable.

 

I've been using BitPerfect until Audirvana with Direct Mode is out of beta. I'm glad I'm only out $50 on Amarra HiFi vs the cost for the full package.