Amarra/audirvana+ release full remote app

[jotauve]

Hi all,

I am writing this post to suggest that Sonic Studio includes in the next release of Amarra a companion App for iOS devices to provide full control of Amarra in a headless mac.

 

I love the sound of current version of Amarra (Symphony) 2.5

I use a headless Mac Pro (tower) exclusively for Audio, and have trimmed down the OS (Mountain Lion) and disabled features as much as I could following many advices from other users.

 

I only use Amarra in cache mode and playlist mode (without iTunes) an I quit the finder.

Surprisingly, every single step improves the sound even though the computer is running almost at iddle (from Terminal "top" command).

 

The remaining piece to get rid of is Screen Sharing. I use and iPad to control the headless mac with VNC software iTap.

It works perfectly from the user point of view. But if I disable Screen Sharing, the already excellent sound gets even better.

The processor does not have to take care of updating the screen and sending over the network to the iPad.

 

However in order to use Amarra in the current setup, I need to have access to the Mac screen (with Screen Sharing).

 

Spotify has two remote solutions (Spot Remote and Remoteless) that use a small server application in the Mac which is much lighter at using CPU resources, and the sound - without Screen Sharing and with the small server app - is better than with Screen Sharing enabled operating directly Spotify on the iPad clone of the Mac Screen.

 

I also own Audirvana+ and even though I personally prefer Amarra Symphony, a remote App for Audirvana+ would be a welcome addition too.

 

My expectation is that getting rid of Screen Sharing through the use of a custom remote App for Amarra or Audirvana+ may bring further improvements in sound quality than another iteration of the already fine sounding engines.

 

Sorry if I became too technical or not too clear but for those avandced users I recommend experimenting at improving the Mac sound if it is used only for computer audio. It costs no money and you are rewarded with better sound.

 

Regards,

Jotauve.

[jotauve]

Thank you for you reply.

How do you activate screen sharing again?

Through SSH?

Which command do you use?

Once you disable screen sharing I assume you cannot pause, skip track, etc....when playing the Playlist?

Regards.

[jotauve]

Audiojim:

 

Trimmed down is uninstalling all apps that came in the Mac OS except the ones you need. I used CleanMyMac for that.Then uninstalled CleanMyMac.

I only keep Amarra, Audirvana, Spotify, SystemPreferences, Safari, Appstore and the Utilities Folder.

No Mail, Iphoto, ITunes, FaceTime, Mission Control, Contacts, LaunchPad, Notes, Reminders, ImageCapture.

Some of the Apple apps have services running in the background. By uninstalling them I make sure they are gone forever.

 

I would love to find a place on the web that explains what all running processes are, so that I could write a script to stop everyone that does not put the system at risk for playing audio; then open the player App of choice and the quit Finder.

 

Disable Screen Sharing is under SystemPreferences/Sharing and I mean unticking it from there. But you loose the connection with any VNC client you are using. (This is the problem I want to fix until there is a custom full remote app).

 

Yes I have bluetooth disabled because I was using iTap VNC and did not need bluetooth. I also have wired ethernet on the Mac, wifi is disabled too.

 

SSH I am just learning about it on the web. It stands for "Secure SHell" and allows you to remotely log into the audio MAC without Screen Sharing on. It is a command line interface that you run form Terminal on another Mac. There are SSH apps for the iPad but I have not tried them yet. I believe you are able to restore Screen Sharing sending the right command with SSH and then you can use again the VNC iPad app.

You need to have Remote Login ticked in Sharing preferences for SSH to work.

 

Regards and thanks for your input.