Potential Amarra Tweak

[indirstr8s]

 

After copying amarra and itunes to the virtual HD. How do you specify in amarra that it should auto invoke itunes from the new residence. Or do you invoke both the apps manually.

 

 

 

[silverlight]

Kaka - I like the XSlimmer comment (have used a similar application in the past to split up the universal binary to take out PPC build, but haven't thought of doing this recently). great call

 

indirstr8s - once both apps are copied over to the ramdisk, I just launch iTunes first (instead of Amarra), and then launch Amarra separately afterwards, it then works with the already-started copy of iTunes (launching Amarra as you've probably noticed from the ramdisk opens up iTunes from the OS's disc).

 

[kaka]

Thanks for the info on iTunes settings silverlight, I had to click one off. I have got everything in ramm now - and putting the music into a ramm disk adds some more resolution and edge, which no doubt explains why Sonic Studios intends adding a play from memory setting. Its not exactly day and night but it is certainly there. The gains may be less with a SSD rather than a mechanical drive.

 

You start to get an idea of the myriad of fiddles the top end CD player builders must go through.

 

I am topped out at 4 Gb which limits memory use sadly, so waiting for the Amarra upgrade might be the way to go. I am using Mini so I hope the feature makes its way there.

 

[kaka]

Thanks for the info on iTunes settings silverlight, I had to click one off. I have got everything in ramm now - and putting the music into a ramm disk adds some more resolution and edge, which no doubt explains why Sonic Studios intends adding a play from memory setting. Its not exactly day and night but it is certainly there. The gains may be less with a SSD rather than a mechanical drive.

 

You start to get an idea of the myriad of fiddles the top end CD player builders must go through.

 

I am topped out at 4 Gb which limits memory use sadly, so waiting for the Amarra upgrade might be the way to go. I am using Mini so I hope the feature makes its way there.

 

[tranz]

Thanks for all the info.

 

Has anyone taken out the superdrive in the Mac Mini and used the ATA connection for a music file harddrive instead of the USB drives? Is that even possible? Will it help?

 

Edited - Well if I google enough I will come across something:

 

http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5951

 

Anyone tried something like this?

 

Cheers.

 

[jean-michel6]

Hi Silverlight ,

 

Thank you,thank you, thank you....

I am currently using Amarra with a mac mini and a Weiss Minerva . I like the music i was getting from my system ( audio research and BW) but i felt i was still missing something.

After reading several post on SSD drive and your post on ram disk , i did try it this afternoon as it is very easy to do.

 

The result leave me speechless , my system has made tremendous progress , singers are here in flesh and it is just wonderful .

 

I recommend anybody with a decent system to try this as it is a truly wonderful and free tweak.

 

Cheers

 

[ted_b]

If your OS and Apps are on an SSD it is a minor tweak, IMO, and almost imperceptible (placebo tolerances too tight). YMMV.

 

[Mahesh]

As far as I know, when you start an app that is on your HDD, the OS loads it into RAM before running the code. Unless, of course, the app is to big to fit in RAM all at once. But with iTunes and Amarra and 4 GB of RAM, I can't see that happening with these two apps.

 

The OS sees a RAM drive as any other drive, and treats the files on it accordingly. So, by copying the two apps to the RAM drive and starting them from there, I think the OS will still put the code into the app space of remaining RAM, and run from there. What you gain is app startup speed, but I can't see how starting them from a RAM drive will improve the way the app runs; it runs in RAM no matter where it was started from.

 

Mahesh

 

[jean-michel6]

I agree , i am using a mac mini with 4 GB , the improvement in the quality of the music heard is very important ,even though i agree it seems a minor change compare to the way normally the computer operates.I will probably try the SSD , anydrive to recommend ?