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Further to my previous post, as I couldnt deactivate my previous install, does that mean I have lost one of my possible two activations?

 

That's a very good question. With the first beta, I did the same, uninstalled and reverted back to the original release. I put the activation code in like normal. Perhaps Ralph can let us know if our beta testing efforts inadvertently used up our second activation. If yes, hopefully Ralph can reinstate us!

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Alright I've got to jump in cause I'm seeing some real funky things with A4 on Windows 10. Occasional reader, first time poster. Been using Amarra on my Mac for the last 2 years or so and really love it, was super pumped that the new version was coming to windows so that I can fuel my burgeoning headphone setup with it.

 

First question: is there no "scan iTunes library" button on Windows 10? My only options are Scan Music, Choose Folder and Add Folder. If I choose folder and direct it to where my itunes library is and then hit scan, it thinks for a second a message appears in the upper right hand corner saying "unidentified" added to library and then when I go to albums or artists there is nothing there. I have had success pointing to various folders and then scanning them, but if I cast the net too wide I end up with a ton of duplicates.

 

Secondly: I tried to create a playlist in iTunes, export it to a folder, and then load that folder into A4 as suggested earlier in this thread. Nothing happens, or possibly the same thing that happens in my first question (not exactly sure, not at that comp right now).

 

Thirdly: This is probably the most bizarre thing. Some music is playing at a faster speed than it should be. Like if you play a 33 1/3 record at 45rpm. It's not quite that dramatic but it is definitely noticeable, Billy Joel was sounding like a member of the Chipmunks. I thought it was maybe some weird quirk going on with 24bit files but I've got 24bit stuff that sounds fine and some that is sped up. Same goes for things I've ripped from CD, some sound fine, some are sped up. These files of course have never exhibited this behavior before, on iTunes or Jriver on Windows or using A3 on my mac.

 

Anyone else using on Windows and seeing weird stuff? I've yet to upgrade my mac machine cause I don't want to deal with all these hassles. When I get a non-duplicate, non-Chipmunk album it sounds great so here's hoping I'm just messing something up and I can at least get the work-arounds to work.

 

Sounds like the Windows version has even more hassles than the Mac [emoji28]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

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More issues--I turned the computer off overnight and now Amarra 4 (beta) won't load at all--"Amarra 4 quit unexpectedly." Several tries and a clean re-start of the computer hasn't changed the error.

 

I'll try a re-install but that means a whole library re-scan :-( if it works.

 

Ralph--this is really not good. It appears that despite being late by several months, it's still not ready for release.

 

Greg

I agree in the sense that Amarra 4 does not nearly achieve its original intent of being an iTunes replacement, or large library manager/ player. I have found both the original release as well as the second beta both perform reasonably well as a player. The shuffle still repeats a song before all have been played once, and multi disc sets merge all the track 1's together, all the track 2's together etc. Artwork remains spotty.

 

Thus far A4 has only quit for me when importing the iTunes library .xml.

 

They have nailed the sound.

 

While not entirely thrilled, I'm still glad it was released and have been enjoying it. I believe Ralph and crew are trying their best, these aren't intentional bugs, and they appear to be trying to fix them. Why its hard for Sonic Studios, I don't know.

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As is obvious, there are some problems with this release.

 

HOWEVER, the sound quality is terrific. Most striking is the product's ability to render spatial details. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but the illusion of space is markedly improved over version 3. To be honest, I didn't use version 3 so very often because I didn't care for the interface, but I always liked the sound. I do think the version 4 sound quality is better in almost every way.

 

There is also an improvement, to my ears, in how muscial subtleties and quiet passages are portrayed. Maybe there is a quieter background with less noise? Whatever the cause, the result is very refined and I find that I'm getting absolutely absorbed in complicated symphonic works.

 

Please keep going forward on this. You are doing the most important things just right.

 

Well said!

 

 

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I want to have that version too, but it will be based on this version, so Sonic Studio have to work hard to improve things (no time to lose). In the mean time Audirvana Plus 3 will come out with MQA, Tidal and other improvements. The problem with Sonic Studio is that they have a bad track record if it comes to software development. However, I hope for the best...

 

 

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Presumably, Luxe will have a trial version, thus I'll evaluate on its own merits. Yes, Sonic Studios has been beguiled with bugs for years. That's what is. For me, I'm not as fond of A+ or Roon, or Roon w/HQP. Those sounds are too digital for my tastes. Fidelia is better, but simplistic. Amarra 4, is by far my favorite sound. I dutifully tests the beta versions and report back to the mothership, yet I don't allow the problems to get me down. As Flatmap said, they are doing many, including the most important things (SQ), right.

 

Maybe Sonic Studios could buy Audirvana and hire Damien, a superior programmer, to whip Amarra into shape?

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Basically what I think I am hearing from Amarra 4 - as I think in retrospect was also the effect that got me drooling over earlier versions of Amarra - is a rounding down of the locational sounds or "edges" of the instruments (or instrumental sections of larger ensembles) and opening up of soundstage width and height by sacrificing precision of imaging. I also think Amarra is giving a bump to the upper end of the bass to further "enbiggen" the sound. The effect can be intoxicating, but at the end of the day, I think I am losing more than I am gaining from the "Amarra sound." Again, I used to love it, and I am not saying I now find it to be poor sound, but with a better-resolving digital front end, I think I am getting a better result from Roon + Dirac Live.

 

 

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At $1050 for Roon + Dirac Live + the mic to use Dirac Live - if there is a God, then I certainly hope it sounds better than the $49 Amarra!

 

I was able to use Terminal to figure out why Amarra 4 (beta 4.0.223-077) was crashing during my iTunes importation. Two items - out of 31,000 - were the culprit. Both were ALAC taken from SACD’s. Both were only one track, the songs had not been divided into separate tracks. One was 6 GB in size (Garcia/Grisman), and the other just over 5 GB (Garcia & Saunders). I removed both from my iTunes library and Amarra 4 was able to make it through scanning and importing about 31K tracks.

Its taking forever to save itself, only at 63% after an hour of trying to save. I realize my library is over the prescribed size limit. Oddly, importing 31K tracks directly from a folder only took about 20 minutes. The iTunes importation process is 2 1/2 hours and counting for the same amount of music.

Until I can easily manipulate playlists tracks in mass, and until there is a rating system (preferably importation of the iTunes ratings), I’ll likely wipe the Amarra 4 library clean and just use it as a player, importing a specific group of CD’s from iTunes before each listening session - as I have been doing. If Luxe does at least that, has an iOS remote, and deals with Tidal properly, I'll be satisfied.

 

To me, the only non-iTunes application with a satisfactory library, or comparable library management system is Roon, which exceeds iTunes. For life of me, cannot understand why Roon costs $500. Add in the cost for HQPlayer, and its simply further down the rabbit hole than I wish to go.

 

iTunes + our problem child A4 Luxe + Tidal shall be sufficient for me. Isn't it all about satisfaction? This hobby is so filled with dangling carrots and unfulfilled desires. But I sense an oasis is near.

 

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Amarra 4 completed the importation and saving - took 3 hours. All but about 200 of the 31K tracks made it. The iTunes playlists are all there, but not in my all important sub folders, with no option to create new ones. Multi disc sets still get jumbled altogether rather than be in the proper order. Manipulation of the playlists remains tedious as only one track can be dealt with at a time. And still no rating system. Within the playlists, can only view in track mode, there's no option to view the playlist in album or artist mode.

 

But hey, progress was made. Now off to delete the whole library ;) I feel that having an iTunes level library management system in A4 is a long long long long....... ways off. By removing that expectation from my mind I feel a sense of peace, and can enjoy Amarra 4 for what it is, an awesome standalone (sans library management) player. Bring on the Tidal!

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Same here. Downloaded zip file is labeled as 4.0.233 but extracts as 4.0.223. After installing the update, Amarra kept telling me to update when I opened it so I tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Now I'm locked out of Amarra because it says my license key is invalid. The program sent me to the Amarra website to request my license be resent. That was an hour ago and no email received yet.

 

It's all part of the standard Amarra experience.

 

I had exact same experience.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I continue to use Amarra 4 without significant issue as a player, not a library management system.

 

I have Amarra 4 setup to scan a separate "Amarra Selections" folder on my external hard drive. I use iTunes for library management and drag, from iTunes, a few CD's into the folder. Alternatively, if I want a particular playlist, I drag the whole playlist into the "Amarra Selections" folder.

 

Amarra 4 quickly scans the folder and imports the music. It plays perfectly, no bugs at all. Doesn't quit, freeze, or otherwise misbehave except that Amarra's shuffle repeats songs before playing the whole playlist or CD. I can also add other songs to the "Amarra Selections" folder and the app rescans without importing duplicates, just the new ones.

 

Before the next listening session, I completely clear the Amarra 4 library and repeat the process above.

 

The sound is phenomenal and I've grown satisfied with what the Amarra 4 player can, and cannot do. Having just tested A+ 3', its library system is only marginally better. Both are far behind iTunes in terms of management. And to my ears and tastes, the Amarra 4 sound quality greatly exceeds A+ 3.

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To my ears the sound quality of Audirvana is as good as Amarra 4. Perhaps a little cleaner, but that is just a matter of taste. You could also say: Amarra is sounding a little warmer. And of course, it also depends on the system. In the Audirvana section of this site everyone is quite happy with the improved sound quality and functionality. In my opinion: Audirvana is a far better choice if you want to spend some money for a player. I also think that Amarra 4 is no serious competitor anymore to Roon or Audirvana. Hopefully they can catch up in the future, but I think it's to little to late.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

 

We shall, as the saying goes, agree to disagree. In my system, A+ 3 is virtually unlistenable for a variety of music genres. Only low key new age type stuff sounds good.

 

I own both Amarra and A+ 2.6.

 

Indeed, it's a matter of personal preference. There is no right or wrong.

 

 

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Those are pretty strong words and seem at odds with most people's perceptions. Is Roon, or any other player, also "virtually unlistenable" in your system? Something must be wrong with your setup - software players can only be so different and, all else being equal, there is no way one app can sound amazing and the other unlistenable. When you make said comparisons, are you using similar upsampling rates, base settings, etc?

 

(Edit: I am no A+ fanboy, in fact just playing with it again now that v3 is out ... but in my short listening time I think it sounds better than Roon)

Well, I own A+ and have tested A+ 3 extensively. The gain in A+ 3 is too high for my system. The result is substantial clipping on the deep bass or extended highs. Its awful. Since I bought A+ last summer, I have never liked the, what is for me, jagged digital like highs of A+. I can only take about 5 minutes of listening on A+ with any other type of music than new age. The new age does sound good on A+.

 

So its a combination of my system and my personal tastes. And yes, it is my honest opinion that, in my world, A+ is unlistenable on anything but new age music, or maybe smooth jazz.

 

I am not a fan of digital sound. I'm from the analog/ tube/ vinyl camp. Amarra's sound satisfies enough of the that need for me to embrace digital music. Audirvana +, does not.

 

Yes, I wasn't impressed with Roon's sound either, but loved what they're doing otherwise.

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If one takes your words literally and you are getting digital clipping from added gain, that implies that you are adding some DSP/audio processing to A+ - either strong upsampling or PEQ or something else. Even upsampling can sometimes cause small boosts and minor clipping - so it is almost always recommended to have a negative gain adjustment when doing any DSP. But out of the box, with default settings and no upsampling, I don't see how A+ could be adding any digital gain/clipping to the audio ...

 

I don't even know what DSP is. I am doing no up sampling. Just playing A+ 3 as is. Several incarnations of Amarra, iTunes, Tidal, and Roon have all played through the same system - with zero adjustment - with no clipping. Only A+ 3 clips, in my system that is.

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I am also evaluation A+ 3 and find it is good on some files and very harsh on others. Almost sounds like sibilance that you would get on a record. I also have amarra sQ+ which sounds very good with iTunes or any other media through my Mac. I will continue to play with both A+3 and Amarra 4 to see if I can commit to either of them.

Yes, not every track is harsh or has clipping. But enough do to irritate me on A+ 3. With Amarra, never. So I put up with the idiosyncrasies and bugs to get the SQ I desire.... and honestly, when used as a player and not a library manager, I've had little trouble with Amarra 4.

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I am still thinking of buying Amarra 4, but I am not sure yet. I bought Audirvana 3 already and also own Pure Music. Amarra is sounding great but the software is so buggy. Every time it is crashing in my system after I change something, like deleting an empty playlist. And it would not start anymore. On the the other hand it's quit cheap now and perhaps it will improve, although that's not my experience with Sonic Studio; they always need al lot of time and in the end, it is still buggy. So, I am not sure yet.

 

 

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That makes sense. In my system described earlier in the thread, when I delete, I delete the whole library and reload - I don't delete individual things. Over several weeks now, very stable using that system of iTunes and cohabitation with the idiosyncrasies.

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I scan the whole library by pointing the xml-file, and that is time consuming if you have about 18000 songs. And then I play them random during the day. I normally do some adding/correcting in iTunes, so I want to have a background refresh functionality in Amarra. In Audirvana I only use the sync functionality and that is working fine. In Amarra I must clear and load again.

 

 

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Yes, I have 31,000 songs. I gave up on using Amarra 4 like that, loading the whole iTunes library. Just use Amarra 4 for one time listening of a few CD's, or of a full modestly sized playlist (1000 songs max) created in iTunes and dragged into Amarra using the method previous described. That works well.

 

The whole xml-file thing is looking for trouble.

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I scan the whole library by pointing the xml-file, and that is time consuming if you have about 18000 songs. And then I play them random during the day. I normally do some adding/correcting in iTunes, so I want to have a background refresh functionality in Amarra. In Audirvana I only use the sync functionality and that is working fine. In Amarra I must clear and load again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

 

Also, in my method, Amarra handles adding addition songs well. It's the difference between the scan iTunes feature vs the scan folder feature in Amarra. The folder option, of a modest amount of tracks - works well.

 

I'm completely over the scan iTunes feature. Ugh.

 

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