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New Amarra 4


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IMHO Amarra sounds way better than A+, why is it?, I've been using A+ for several years and in every system I set up A+ sounded bright, no matter what filter you use soX/iZotope it always has the same character to the sound, A+ relies on MacOSX sound API which is not the best sounding whereas Amarra relies on its own sound API based on their experience and it sounds right to my ears.

 

A+ offers a more "airy sound" but that approach brings a bright sound and fatiguing listening. On the other hand Amarra offers a warm and full-bodied/meaty sound, instruments like drums come to life, it sounds more like a real performance and it doesn't add that "tzzzzzzz" artificial sound typical in some digital players, in the end Amarra offers a totally undigital sound , and as a plus it also sports a EQ that doesn't add distortion.

 

A+ doesn't have any EQ's of its own to play, and even though it allows using the Apple AU units, I don't recommend using those, e. g. the Apple: AUParametricEQ adds distortion, but if plan on using A+ with EQ I highly recommend you use FabFilter: FF Pro-Q 2 as it doesn't add distortion.

 

What Amarra lacks it's a smooth and fast user interface but when it comes down to sound Amarra is really nice. In the end it all boils down to personal preference, use what you like the most and let your ears guide you.

 

Regards,

MosfetMist.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

There is a very annoying issue I'm experiencing very... very often: when I play a track from a Tidal playlist for no reason Amarra keeps frozen for 5 or 10 seconds and then jumps to the next or the second next track. It's not what I want to listen it is what Amarra wants me to listen *bummer*.

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On 4/25/2018 at 10:39 AM, MosfetMist said:

There is a very annoying issue I'm experiencing very... very often: when I play a track from a Tidal playlist for no reason Amarra keeps frozen for 5 or 10 seconds and then jumps to the next or the second next track. It's not what I want to listen it is what Amarra wants me to listen *bummer*.

 

I can confirm this issue only happens when I use the native app or Safari (both using the same Safari engine), when playing on Chrome everything seems to work well without interruptions/jumps between tracks. 

 

On 4/26/2018 at 1:36 AM, ddalmas said:

before i will leave this forum i want to tanks all the ones that never replied to me! i will leave you with the consciousness that i will be here to hear wonderful vibration given out to my DAC from a wonderful and friendy  X50D ,meanwhile someone will still continue to crack his brain with click ,cracks . smacks and shit ,etcetera, by muddy softwares that will not have any chance to ever work properly ! i someone got the intention to  consider the opinion of  a stupid italian as me it will be pleasely welcomed if he will want to contact me 

ciao ciao

 

Hi!, don't leave us!, on the contrary you've been a very nice guy and I know at heart you're right when you say we should stay away from computers when it comes down to playing audio and use an audio streamer instead like your X50D, it is just that I don't have the money at the moment to get a nice audio streamer like yours, but I'll be looking for a nice streamer in a near future, thank you for your recommendation, hope to see you around again.

 

Cheers,

MosfetMist.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A new version has been released:

 

Changes since 4.2.401 Release

    • Fixes for handling iTunes artwork

    • Fix for TIDAL Master playback (wrong speed)

    • Fix for changing Tracks and not playing new Track

    • Bug fixes

    • Fixes and enhancements to scanning and

     loading local, iTunes and TIDAL music libraries

    • Amarra Play [NEW] / Amarra Remote new features,

fixes and enhancements

    • Fixes and enhancements to MQA playback

    • Fixes and enhancements to DSD/DoP integration

    • Artwork and Metadata display fixes

    • Enhancements to Exclusive Access mode

    • Fixes and enhancements to iTunes mode

 

Kind regards,

MosfetMist.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all!,

 

I've been using Amarra4L for the last few weeks and it works flawlessly, you all are right when you say it still needs a lot of polish and that we've been dealing with a unusable piece of unfinished software for so long, I hope SS read these comments and make the changes accordingly. I can't believe SS have been missing a gold opportunity to stand out as a definitive hi-fi player both sound wise and user experience wise.

 

A4L offers a full-bodied warm sound as opposed to A+ which sounds thin and a bit bright (tested on several audio set ups I have had), we now have at least a "working music player" to start from but user interface needs to be at least on par with the rest, hope SS have learned the lesson,

 

Kind Regards,

MosfetMist

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Hi Ralph, thank you for this post, it's good to know you're working hard on Amarra to offer a better user experience.

 

Amarra EQ sounds nice as oppose to Apple AU EQ, for example the 31-band graphic EQ adds audible distortion, Amarra EQ does not (unless you raise the bands all the way up).

 

Looking forward to the next Amarra version.

 

Kind regards,

MosfetMist

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On 6/14/2018 at 10:10 PM, copy_of_a said:

 

Anyway... this "one of the best sounding digital equalizers out there in both pro and consumer gear" sucks.

Select the "Flat" curve (so no alteration in the filterbands). Switch on/off the global EQ setting.

When enabled, it smoothes / suppresses high freuqencies (sound loses focus/space). Bummer.

 

Hi copy_of_a, I understand what you mean, the Amarra's EQ is not crispy on the highs it smooths out everything creating a mist/roll-off on the highs, sickeningly sweet highs some would say with no detail, this is the only downside I see on Amarra's sound, they should add a AU/VST option so that one can have a more realistic/crispy highs.

 

Kind regards,

MosfetMist.

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31 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

The “sweet highs” are the main thing I like about Amarra ??

 

Hi @DancingSea, in my case it is the warm/meaty sound Amarra adds to my music, on Amarra drums sound punchy and meaty and bass sounds more defined, on the contrary the highs sound weak, with no definition, way too sweet..., when I'm craving crispy highs I switch to A+, but then I need to raise the 300hz and the 80hz on the EQ to add some body to the sound, A+ lacks body and warmth.

 

Kind regards,

MosfetMist.

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I don't know why some people say that the browser mode sound better on Amarra, both modes use JavaScript and Angular, that is both are web apps, the Amarra app is just a container with a web page inside, the browser mode is the same web page but inside the browser, behind both modes there is the Amarra engine that gets called from the interfaces, that's all, by the way I'm still waiting for a sorting option by name/artist on Tidal's playlists,

 

Kind regards,

MosfetMist.

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Hi All!, in my opinion both A+ and Amarra manipulate the sound behind the scene to make it sound "better", so if you think you're getting the "purest sound" through those audio players you should look elsewhere, they both sweeten (and deteriorates) the sound in one way or another...

 

On 6/23/2018 at 1:28 AM, DancingSea said:

I find A4L has a pleasing tone, but less detail and a bit smaller soundstage than Roon/HQPLAYER. 

 

I’ve yet to be able to stomach A+ despite buying far too many plugins and adjusting every setting imaginable. 

 

@DancingSea you couldn't be more right, that's exactly what I found on Amarra: tube-like sound, warmth tone and full bodied sound but less detail, no crispy highs, a bit less soundstage.

 

As for A+, it sits on the other side of the fence: it has crispy highs but lacks body and warmth, a bit bright and thin sound but more soundstage. This can be improved by using a EQ plugin like Apple AUGraphicEQ or FabFilter Pro-Q 2

 

I will give Roon a try...

 

Kind Regards,

MosfetMist.

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1 hour ago, Jamesroy said:

Hi I use A+ and I'll search out these two EQ's but could you give me some starting settings for the, I also use the Micro Rendu my DAC it the Stellar Gain Cell also my power amps re the M700 mono blocks from PS Audio. Thanks

 

Hi @JamesroyApple AUGraphicEQ is free and it comes with MacOSX whereas FabFilter Pro-Q 2 costs $179 (you can try it for free for one month), there many others paid plugins Blue Cat comes to mind.

 

I recommend you try AUGraphicEQ first, to use it in A+ go to Preferences->Audio Units then select from the list: Apple AUGraphicEQ, as you will see there are many others plugins you can use (in A+ up to 4 at the same time), check "Use AudioUnits effects" and "Real time AudioUnits control and setup" so you can see and hear while tweaking the bands, then click "configure" and you'll see the EQ, you can choose to use 10-Band or 31-Band EQ as needed. Tweak with the EQ's bands gently until you find a pleasant sound, this is the easiest way to EQ in A+:

 

Config.thumb.png.0a46af2bc9d76b05f32b0064516a34f8.png

 

This is what AUGraphicEQ looks like in A+

AUEQ.thumb.png.1eaa90f1a437b63bc65a7a97a4695b17.png

 

And this is FabFilter also in A+

FAB.thumb.png.bcc487ac63ebfb15f40fa6cb3a5268cc.png

 

The FabFilter Pro-Q 2 is more complex to use, you need to know what you're doing, it is a parametric EQ with many options and settings.

 

 

1 hour ago, Frans said:

 

Hi MosfetMist,

 

I have also FabFilter Pro-Q 2 and I'am curious how you can get the Amarra sound with it.

And does anyone know how to connect the FabFilter Pro-Q 2 plugin and the Dirac plugin to Roon?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Frans

 

Hi @Frans, in Amarra you can't use Audio Units directly as in A+, you need to capture the audio output with applications like Audio HiJack (paid) or SoundFlower (free) (don't know if the latter stills exists though), this way you can EQ Amarra externally with any plugin including FabFilter Pro-Q 2.

 

This is how you can capture Amarra's output with Audio HiJack applying FabFilter Pro-Q 2, you can use it with Roon as well:

HiJack.thumb.png.a182c679ad5f7d3aa41137bfd50d3693.png

 

Don't know anything about Dirac, sorry.

Hope it helps.

 

Kind Regards,

MosfetMist.

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  • 9 months later...

Hi all!, for what it's worth I gave up using my Mac all together as a music streamer because I found something better, so I'm not using either Amarra or Audirvana+ anymore.

 

I found that using my mobile phone connected to my DAC through an OTG interface cable delivers a better sound than both Amarra and A+, I mean I get a pleasant crystal clear sound from my mobile phone, yes you read it! it's posible to get a hi-fi sound from a mobile phone.

 

We need to realise that current mobile phones are not just phones, they are pocket computers with plenty of RAM and multiple cores capable to deliver great sound as a digital source/streamer.

 

So to sum it up the sound I get from my phone sounds very natural as opposed to A+ which delivers a detailed but fatiguing and bright sound (at least on my system) whereas Amarra offers a darker, warmer sound with muffled highs. 

 

All in all Amarra sounds better to my ears than A+, so I suspect both apps manipulate the sound digitally so as to make us believe they sound better whereas my mobile phone gives me the real thing: a balance natural sound.

 

I'm using an Android phone and the Tidal native app with very good results, and if you're interested you can get this inexpensive mobile phone which unfolds MQA completely:  https://darko.audio/2018/09/lgs-g7-one-is-another-audiophile-smartphone/ + OTG cable to be connected to your current USB DAC, so you don't either need to spend a lot of money buying an expensive streamer nor using your Mac as a streamer. You can also use other music mobile apps such as Neutron and USB audio Player, the latter allows music streaming from Tidal, Qobuz etc. and it even plays DSD.

 

Greetings,

MosfetMist

 

 

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58 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

I do still like the Amarra sound.  iTunes integration mode functions well for me, but doesn't sound quite as good as stand alone.  Tidal streaming works great.

 

The last few days I have been playing around with the latest Audirvana 3.5 beta 21.  The new interface is great, somewhat Roon like.  Its still a beta, so there are a few minor bugs that are being sorted.  The remote is also quite good.

 

As for sound, using the attached Copy_of_A Amarra like Izotope settings for Audirvana, as well as the Wave Arts Tube Saturator (I have the paid version, but there is a free one) AU plugin, I have to say, Audirvana is sounding pretty good.  And I've not liked A+ for years, but the latest sound is better.  And the level of programming is way way beyond Amarra.  And it handles DSD via DoP, which Amarra *still*, after all these years, does not.

 

I've also been dragging AIFF files directly from iTunes into HQPlayer, and that works well also.

 

The upsampling below ought to be "Power of 2"....

Copy of A audirvana settings.png

 

 

@DancingSea bear in mind that a lot of DACs already do upsampling internally without even advertise it (PSAudio, Chord Qute etc.), so this settings would make no sense in many cases unless you have a NOS DAC or you're sure your DAC doesn't do any implicit upsampling (also DAC chips can do internal upsampling too, Burr Brown comes to mind).

 

Cheers,

MosfetMist

 

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23 minutes ago, NickDun said:

I tried Audirvana+ 3.5 and still found it a little too bright and harsh so have not been inclined to replace Amarra with it. 

 

 

Yes you're right, Audirvana+ is bright and a bit harsh, it manipulates the audio signal digitally to create artificial detail but it comes at a cost: it becomes ear fatiguing and sometimes boomy.

 

Cheers,

MosfetMist

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14 minutes ago, NickDun said:

 

I use Korg's iAudioGate on the iPod touch so I can play FLAC and ALAC etc. I can also use the Qobuz iOS app. So then I can pass the digital signal through the lightning port to my NAD DAC. Not sure what bit/data rate I will get but the DAC will tell me. I will try it and see.

 

That sounds good, let us know how it goes,

 

Greetings,

MosfetMist

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27 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

 

Amarra is a colored sound, one I happen to like

 

Yes, both Amarra and A+ are coloured sound, I just think "they should announce it" because I didn't know it and had lots of issues trying to set up my system to my liking, and on top of that they should offer a "direct source" option,

 

Cheers,

MosfetMist 

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