Jump to content
IGNORED

Which Amarra version do I really need?


Recommended Posts

Could someone really break down the differences of the 3 versions. Realistically I'm not gonna get the symphony version as it's too expensive (although I would like to know that irc is), but Amarra and Amarra HiFi are within my price range. I've demoed both and the only difference I can tell for my purposes is cache and playlist mode, neither of which I really use. But before I make my purchase I have a few questions. Is there a sound quality difference between the standard and HiFi versions? What benefit does playlist mode add? Is it worth paying extra for the standard version? I did a bunch of searching and just couldn't find clear answers to my questions. I hope someone can help! Thanks!

Link to comment

I found a minor, but noticeable sound quality difference between the two, and like to be able to use playlist mode for gapless playback (and more bug free operation, which Itunes integrated mode doesn't always guarantee. Other than that, if you don't use the EQ, you may as well stay with Hifi for the moment.

Link to comment
I found a minor, but noticeable sound quality difference between the two, and like to be able to use playlist mode for gapless playback (and more bug free operation, which Itunes integrated mode doesn't always guarantee. Other than that, if you don't use the EQ, you may as well stay with Hifi for the moment.

 

I typically use the iTunes built in EQ. Gapless would be nice though, especially since I listen to a lot of concept albums and the delay can be kind of annoying.

Link to comment
Thanks for the input. In your opinion, is the standard version, only considering sound quality, worth the price difference from the HiFi?

Hard to say. The difference is not huge, and unfortunately on my system even 3.0 is still buggy. Nevertheless, the sound quality has something magical about it, so I keep returning to the software more than it deserves from a user friendliness perspective.

 

So I suppose I got my money's worth out of it in one way. But if you're not sure, I'd start with Hifi, see if you're happy, and you can always upgrade later.

Link to comment
Hard to say. The difference is not huge, and unfortunately on my system even 3.0 is still buggy. Nevertheless, the sound quality has something magical about it, so I keep returning to the software more than it deserves from a user friendliness perspective.

 

So I suppose I got my money's worth out of it in one way. But if you're not sure, I'd start with Hifi, see if you're happy, and you can always upgrade later.

So, instead of just relying on memory, I went back to my existing 2.6 Hifi license and compared it on a handful of tracks to 3.0 "regular".

 

I can confirm my judgment above, the difference is not huge. However, "regular" just does more of the "je ne sais quoi" that differentiates it from all other players, and makes the sound so attractive.

 

We already had endless debates on this forum what it is that sets Amarra's SQ apart from everything else, including my regular favorite, Audirvana+ (I'm even a beta tester of the new 2.0 app). I still can't put my finger on it, but what Amarra has is some incremental "smoothness".

 

Probably the best analogy is this I just came up with (©)....

 

eg.jpg

 

The shiny ball is Audirvana, resolving, you can see everything reflected in the details, sparkling.

 

Amarra is the matt ball, softer, warmer, "organic".

 

Which one is better? No idea. I like both (co-incidentally, we have a mix of shiny and matte balls on our Christmas tree as well).

 

So after all this rambling: if you like the sound of Amarra, and want "more" of it, get regular. Otherwise just dip the foot in the water and get Hifi.

 

It all depends obviously also on the rest of your system, which you haven't shared.

Link to comment

Probably the best analogy is this I just came up with (©)....

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13869[/ATTACH]

 

The shiny ball is Audirvana, resolving, you can see everything reflected in the details, sparkling.

 

Amarra is the matt ball, softer, warmer, "organic".

 

 

In my setup analogy will be perfectly opposite - clean, transparent, detailed sound of Amarra Symphony 3.0 with iRC and blurred (call it "matte', if you like) sound of A+.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...