New Amarra 4

[DancingSea]

I have been beating the “use as a player only” drum since the earliest beta days.  It’s the only sane way to go ?

[DancingSea]

On 12/6/2017 at 1:18 PM, Amarra_Support said:

The result is that using iTunes for playback does not provide the best sound available, what we feel is the holy grail.  

best

Ralph

 

Our mental health is the primary holy grail, especially for our poor Italian friend ddalmas.  He was on the verge of suicide a few months ago.

 

Given us the option to use iTunes for library management is going to save lives

[DancingSea]

37 minutes ago, ThunderMac said:

Dear Ralph

 

 

I have bought an amarra 4 luxe but has been useless for me, there was many upgrades but essential problem still exists.

 

 

In many albums (after importing albums to Amara 4 Luxe library) track order is completely mixed. Scanning or Erasing and Adding folders albums again etc. don’t help.

 

 

PLEASE GIVE ME AN ANSWER what is happening here and what can we (you) do about it. I inquired about this problem several times before and never received an answer.  

 

 

I would like to use amarra library and do not intend to use iTunes integration mode in upcoming upgrade release.

 

 

Sure glad someone had the courage to finally take a stand

 

I suggest you start reading this topic from page 1.  It will quickly become obvious why so many are demanding iTunes integration mode....

[DancingSea]

7 hours ago, ThunderMac said:

I bought Amarra 4 luxe few days after it was released and since then I read this forum daily,  I know by heart every page of this topic and I have already ask this question at least three times and I would appreciate if Mr. Ralph could give me an answer. I have never done any antipropaganda, I never asked for a money refund … just want a fair play and professionalism. First step could be at least an answer from Mr. Ralph.

 

 

 

 

I appreciate your position.  These questions have been asked hundreds and hundreds of times, with answers being sparse or vague at best.  One is left to conclude they aren't capable of creating a functioning library management system.  There may be small incremental improvements, but the overall picture will remain the same.  Its just not their thing.

[DancingSea]

It would be nice to be able to choose between the pure sound of A4L stand alone or iTunes integration when convenient is desired. 

 

With my player only A4L approach I often end up using A+ iTunes integrated instead just for the sake of ease.  With the wave arts tubs plugin. 

[DancingSea]

13 minutes ago, deeejeee said:

I don't want Itunes integration, think many users think this way.

 

Then when they implement it, you can choose not to utilize that feature. The point is choice. And the reality that for many, the A4L library system is a giant mess.  

 

I’ve rarely seen a post here saying the current  library system is remotely adequate. 

[DancingSea]

Yes, Amarra SQ is exactly that, a virtual sound card. I found it to not sound as good as A4L - but still sounds good. 

 

It also has its own share of bugs and quirks. It monkeyed with my system sound settings to an uncomfortable degree. So I uninstalled the trial. 

 

I felt it was better to keep the buggy side of sonic studios software isolated to one app rather than give the bugs access to my broader system. 

[DancingSea]

11 minutes ago, ddalmas said:

Does anybody heard some sonic difference in the last iTunes version?if my ears still work it seems to me greatly better than before!! is it an illusion of my old mind and ears?

thks for feedback

ciaociao

 

Sounds way better!  (everyone, just tell ddalmas it sounds better, we don't want to upset him)

 

Aloha Ciao!

[DancingSea]

8 hours ago, ddalmas said:

hi my friend please be serious...i am not always upsetted ...i only seriously say what i think about truth! about A4 i know i have been very hard because they seems to joke of their users ,but when last update sorted out i also told good words for them!! please do not misunderstand me my dancing friend...and reply to me seriously please.Did you noticed any difference in last iTunes?

ciao

 

Aloha our favorite Italian audiophile!

 

I'll check it out, but I really never listen to iTunes on its own so I'm not really qualified to comment.  If I do use iTunes, its always integrated with A+ and the Wave Arts Tube Saturator 2.....

[DancingSea]

38 minutes ago, Jamesroy said:

John do you have this plugin preQursor2 ?

 

I opted for the Wave Arts Tube Saturator 2 because I’m a sucker for anything described as tubes. 

 

It also received Copy_Of_A’s blessing later in the discussion....

[DancingSea]

15 hours ago, ddalmas said:

thks my friend to share the same sensation! it seemed to me to have become mad when i  noticed that! I never meant to said that could be compared to A4 or A+ nor Fidelia SQ ,but at last now  it is not so scandalously sounding  as it was before....when Flac in Apple? does everyone knows?

ciaociao

 

Yes, maybe iTunes is a little better.

 

I've been experimenting with HQPlayer upsampling everything (ALAC & AIFF) to DSD 128 and playing through my DAC via DoP.  Have been using a Roon trial as a front end.

 

HQP for Mac is essentially free.  It plays for 30 minutes and quits, but can be relaunched right away - and perpetually.

 

So far I like the DSD upsampling results, it smoothes things out a bit.  And regular DSD files sound very good as well.

 

All in the quest to find a functioning Amarra type sound!

[DancingSea]

Aloha fellow long time Amarra sufferers,

 

Lately I've been exploring HQPlayer.  Upsampling everything to DSD 128, and have found a few filter settings that sound great.  Also have used Roon for the front end.

 

HQPlayer sounds amazing.  With the right settings, its in a class well beyond anything I've heard from Amarra.  Roon is very slick and functions great.  I'm not entirely sold on Roon's refusal to allow various view options on playlists.  The "Discover" mode is interesting for exploring one's music, and the whole package is much nicer to deal with than the HQP interface.   Not convinced on Roon's price.

 

Roon set aside in with a question mark, I can give a hearty recommendation for HQPlayer.  It sounds phenomenal.

[DancingSea]

4 hours ago, quark said:

Thanks DancingSea,

Serious competition for sonic Studio is great for everyone.

 

‘Where can I get HQPlayer?

How much?

is it a plug in?

care to share your settings?

 

id love Roon but very expensive, especially considering I’d have to get more hardware to get the best sound. 

‘Won’t playing audio over a local network add more noise?

 

Aloha quark,

 

HQPlayer is stand-alone audio player like Amarra.  On a Mac, the HQP free trial has no limit other than it quits every 30 minutes until a license is purchased. 

 

http://www.signalyst.com/consumer.html

 

The HQP interface is old school. This why it’s so often paired with Roon which can serve as an elegant front end for HQP. It’s easy to connect the two as Roon and HQP have both been designed to allow Roon for the user interface, and HQPLAYER for the sound engine. 

 

HQP costs $150. Though it’s possible to get it for $100. 

 

In the arrangement I described above, a local network is not used. It will play like normal. 

 

A very popular gizmo on CA is the MicroRendu. It purposefully separates your computer from your DAC by utilizing a local Ethernet network in order to reduce noise. But that’s a separate issue. 

 

Roon works out to be $10 per month. Which is expensive. But its level of programming is light years beyond Amarra, or even A+.  The Roon iOS remote apps function very well. 

 

Roon also provides a clever way to explore your library.  Is it worth $10 per month?  Perhaps not. But in another light, all the headaches disappear. It all works so well. 

 

I have a DSD DAC, which sounds great with everything upsampled to DSD 128. But HQP has PCM settings as well. I’d be happy to share some settings if you get that far. 

 

In another thread, a kind gentleman has created a script to allow iTunes to be the front end for HQPlayer. But I can’t get that to work yet. 

 

The HQP/ Roon combo is very popular on CA. And mixed with the MicroRendu, supposed to be greater. 

 

I will purchase HQP for sure, still debating about Roon. Given your situation, I think you’d have to have Roon. 

 

HQP takes some tweaking, but it’s not that hard. I did A/B with Amarra last night. It wasn’t even close. Amarra sounded very thin in comparison. And as you know, for the past year I’ve been Amarra’s biggest supporter on this thread!

[DancingSea]

4 hours ago, quark said:

Hi DancingSea,

 Thanks for the information.  I will look into it

I have a DSD DAC, Mytek Brooklyn, but always found upscaling less revealing than direct play.  But I am always interested in  experimenting :-) 

Roon let you have a free trial, so might try out. I would have to keep everything on my Mac Mini, external FireWire hard drive with music on plugged into Mac Mini, then USB to USB Reclocker and DAC. I know this isn’t the point of Roon, but I can’t afford any new equipment at the moment.  Have you experienced it this way? 

 I take it HQPlayer is a kind of plug-in for Roon?   Could you use Audirvana with Roon in a similar way? 

 

Roon would work very well with your setup. Its the way I have it.  Roon allows HQP to be its sound engine, but HQP doesn’t need Roon to function. But they do compliment each other as they have different strengths. 

 

A+ is not designed to work with Roon. 

[DancingSea]

5 hours ago, quark said:

 

I have a DSD DAC, Mytek Brooklyn, but always found upscaling less revealing than direct play.  But I am always interested in  experimenting :-) 

 

HQP doesn't have to upscale everything to DSD.  Its an option. What's most interesting about HQP is its array of filter combinations that effect dither, ringing, etc.  You can read about them on page 8 of the user manual.  Also do a google search to learn more.

 

http://www.icat-inc.com/image/HQPlayer-manual.pdf

[DancingSea]

I’m finding the HQPlayer DSD upsampling to provide a nice mix between a full, spacious, rich analog like sound and good detail. 

 

I find digital hyper details to often lack musicality.  

[DancingSea]

1 hour ago, copy_of_a said:

Since you like the great SQ of HQPlayer you could also use a mix of iTunes (your favorite library system) and HQPlayer.

It requires all music files to be in AIFF format, though (IIRC you are only using AIFF, no ALAC).

 

- open iTunes and reduce the window size on your screen to leave some room on the right side

- open HQPlayer and align the software interface on the right side of your screen

- drag an drop an album of your choice with your mouse from the iTunes interface into the library section of HQPlayer (so the middle section labeled "Artist/Performer/Album/Song"). Since we are talking about a MAC the actual files will be linked to HQPlayer and you just have to start playing the music. So you are effectively using iTunes as a kind of comfortable "Finder" in this case.

- you can feed further albums and/or tracks into your HQPlayer playlist while it is playing...

 

Not quite as convenient as Roon but certainly doable and much easier than your "playlist"-mode with Amarra 4.

 

 

 

 

Nice to hear from you, and thanks for the suggestion.  I've been trying to get this to work, unsuccessfully so far - which is disappointing:

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/37913-itunes-hqplayer-front-end-re-visited/

 

But its working for others.  It makes iTunes the front end for HQP.  Any format that plays in iTunes, will play in HQP.  And Geoffrey has a script that gets DSD into iTunes as well.

 

I have about 50K tracks, 85% of which are ALAC - so I need a solution like HQP Server or Roon.

 

I'm finding the upsampling of everything to DSD 128 achieves the smoothness I desire, with plenty of detail.  Have been liking the Minring FIR + DSD5/ ASDM 5 filter.

 

closed form fast + DSD5 or 7,

poly-sinc-xtr-mp + ASDM7 are also nice.

 

But keep returning to the Minring FIR...

 

PS Audio's (and I assume others) top of the line DACs upsample everything to DSD.  HQP gets it done for pennies in comparison.

 

[DancingSea]

3 minutes ago, Jamesroy said:

will it work with A+ AudirvanaPlus

 

HQP will not.  Unfortunately.  HQP has a special relationship with Roon.  I'm sure it took a fair amount of programming to get HQP to work so seamlessly with Roon.

[DancingSea]

1 hour ago, Jamesroy said:

want to share a copy of HQP with a friend?

 

Haven't bought it yet.... the Mac trial works well, just quits every 30 minutes, but can relaunch immediately....

[DancingSea]

Have been playing with the new A4L beta that has iTunes integration.  So far... knock on wood... the iTunes integration works perfectly and all sounds very good.

 

Its a relief to get away from the A4L library madness and be able to be in the relatively sane world of iTunes.

 

I still feel that HQP with DSD 128 upsampling played through Roon sounds and functions better - but the price to get there is significant.

 

Kudos and thanks to Sonic Studio for successfully (so far) integrating iTunes.

[DancingSea]

Despite my long time allegiance to the A4L sound, I too have drifted away and into HQPlayer. It’s DSD upsampling provides superior sound. 

 

Roon elevates the library management to new heights.  And HQP can be bought at a nice discount here on CA. 

 

As Copy_of_a suggested, one can skirt Roon and just drag AIFF files directly into HQPlayer from the iTunes window. 

 

And Geoffrey has created a fairly well functioning app that allows HQPlayer to be the backend for iTunes.  See the active thread on that topic. 

 

Audirvana had has always sounded aggressive to me, no matter its configuration. 

[DancingSea]

15 minutes ago, Jamesroy said:

So can you use HQPlayer with A+

 

No. Can use HQPlayer with iTunes. 

[DancingSea]

14 minutes ago, jos said:

Hello DancingSea,

 

I never tried this. How to do this, is my question?

I like to try it...

 

Thanks, Jos.

 

Copy_of_a provided the link to Geoffrey's thread....

[DancingSea]

15 minutes ago, Jamesroy said:

Thanks for your speedy reply. So is it possible to compare iTunes with A+, but I guess that is a little illogical of me to ask that question since I would be using HQPlayer with iTunes. And where on CA can you buy HQPlayer?

 

iTunes functions well with A+, as I'm sure you know.  Then there's the separate app created by CA's own Geoffrey that allows iTunes to be the front end for HQP.  Audirvana and HQP do not have a relationship.

 

You can PM bibo01 for a nice discount on HQP.

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/profile/10348-bibo01/

[DancingSea]

9 minutes ago, Jamesroy said:

I now have a working copy of  3.13.3. Thanks But I do like the Library setup on A+, I feel like I'm going backwards to viewing library in iTunes?

 

I prefe the iTunes library system over Audirvana’s. 

 

But the idea with Geoffrey’s HPQServer app is to provide an alternative to Roon as a HQPlayer front end. 

 

It all boils down to your relationship with HQPlayer ?