Audirvana Plus 2.6

[jamesg11]

I'm still on latest 2.6. - haven't gone with 3. though tempted by claim to better SQ. Got an iDSD micro dac recently & been trying to resolve some upsampling etc issues.

My modded up macmini (Uptone mods, 16gb ram) does get to 768 pcm ok with redbook upsampling with A+.

HQPlayer dsd sampling won't get to 256 without the macmini fan roaring, though 128 is good; & HQP produces the fan roar with native dsd256. But, A+ will play that same 256 file with no fan issue.

 

Thoughts on the logic behind what is happening & how the macmini situation might be improved?

[Bob Stern]

@jamesg11:  Since A+ is working fine but you need help with HQP, you should post your question in the HQP thread.

[Daudio]

Here are some A+ questions, some simple, some not, I’d like to get cleared up before making some changes. I have to ask some as I can’t recall exactly from all the past posts I may, or may not, have seen And some issues/problems that may have an answer, or not ?

Questions:
1) Does A+ 3.x still support iTunes integration ?

2) Does any v2.x version have the ‘dial home for a license check’ functionality that caused a lot of upset a while back ?

 3) Does the intermittent dropout problem get solved, or improved, between (my current) v2.5.4 and the ‘latest’ v2.6.8 ?

Problems:
4) I do not have the A+ preference setting ‘iTunes Play Position Control’ disabled, yet I can’t move the play position from within iTunes, or in the A+ UI, out of the loaded part of the memory load bar, which may sound reasonable, except that this worked just fine in A+ 1.5, and I made extensive use of it for track ratings during my new music check-in process. And why have a Preferences setting if it’s ignored ?

 5) My iTunes window shrinks to one half size if it’s displaying when the monitor (HDTV) is turned off, then back on (which I usually do once or twice a day). A real PITA ! I can Quit A+, and it still occurs. But then, the problem did start about the time I upgraded from v1.5 to v2.5, and it is still installed, even if not running. Could it have to do with an iTunes optimization preference setting ?

(see signature for s/w versions…)
TIA !

[Dmitrij]

Hello!

What kind of remote will work with A+ on my new iMac 27"2017? Old iMac had IR port and I'm using Apple IR remote.

iPhone Using with A+ remote software looks for me uncomfortable. I need only play/pause and next/previous buttons.

Thanks for advise.

[ToTo Man]

@damien78 Are there any AU plug-ins available for A+ 2.x.x or 3.x.x that provide separate parametric or graphic EQ for left and right channels?  I need to apply different EQ to my left and right speakers to make them sound the same.

[Bob Stern]

@ToTo Man:  You can investigate the various EQ plugins recommended here to see if any have separate L & R controls:

 

[copy_of_a]

@ToTo Man: 

 

The free Blue Cat Triple EQ mentioned by @Bob Stern in the EQ Plugins thread can handle seperated left/right in Dual Chanel mode:

https://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_TripleEQ/

Of course the extended payed version ($99) provides the same feature.

 

FabFilter Pro Q2 ($149) does this as well:

https://www.fabfilter.com/help/pro-q/using/stereo

 

Plugins that allow left/right equalization without integrated Dual Chanel mode can still be used - you simply have to load two instances of the same plugin (one for the left, one for the right chanel). This goes for example for the PSP Audioware plugins I've mentioned in the EQ Plugins thread. Functionality is basically the same but you have to use 2 AU plugin slots. Since Audirvana provides 4 slots this should be a non-issue, though.

 

Since it's free Blue Cat's Triple EQ should be a good starting point to evaluate whether or not such a "workflow" is suitable for your needs.

[ToTo Man]

On 20/10/2017 at 11:03 AM, copy_of_a said:

@ToTo Man:  You can investigate the various EQ plugins recommended here to see if any have separate L & R controls:

 

 

@ToTo Man: 

 

The free Blue Cat Triple EQ mentioned by @Bob Stern in the EQ Plugins thread can handle seperated left/right in Dual Chanel mode:

https://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_TripleEQ/

Of course the extended payed version ($99) provides the same feature.

 

FabFilter Pro Q2 ($149) does this as well:

https://www.fabfilter.com/help/pro-q/using/stereo

 

Plugins that allow left/right equalization without integrated Dual Chanel mode can still be used - you simply have to load two instances of the same plugin (one for the left, one for the right chanel). This goes for example for the PSP Audioware plugins I've mentioned in the EQ Plugins thread. Functionality is basically the same but you have to use 2 AU plugin slots. Since Audirvana provides 4 slots this should be a non-issue, though.

 

Since it's free Blue Cat's Triple EQ should be a good starting point to evaluate whether or not such a "workflow" is suitable for your needs.

 

I had three issues with my sound: 1) a room mode causing +6dB peak from 40Hz to 50Hz; 2) an interchannel difference of 3dB from 2kHz to 4kHz, and an opposite interchannel difference of 4dB from 8kHz to 18kHz.

 

I downloaded Blue Cat's free Triple EQ and applied a right channel -3db notch at 3300Hz and a left channel -3dB high shelf at 8.1kHz, and now my measured response is within 1dB between 500Hz and 20kHz and it sounds perfectly matched to my highly critical ears.

 

I also engaged an AU parametric plug in (the one that's already built-in to Audirvana+) to reduce the peak between 40Hz and 50Hz by -6dB.

 

All this took me a matter of minutes to configure and I cannot stress enough the positive effect it has had on my listening experience.  There are probably more sophisticated plug-ins available to achieve this, and I may well investigate these in the future, but for now I am absolutely delighted with the effect of combining these two plug-ins.

 

So thank you both for your recommendations!

[copy_of_a]

6 hours ago, ToTo Man said:

There are probably more sophisticated plug-ins available to achieve this, and I may well investigate these in the future, but for now I am absolutely delighted with the effect of combining these two plug-ins.

glad it worked out!

Sooner or later you should trial Fabfilter Pro Q2. It can handle all your needs in 1 step... and it provides minimum phase as well as linear phase mode.

 

Are you sure that you can't solve the 40-50Hz issue with altering the settings (or the position) of your subwoofer?

[ToTo Man]

41 minutes ago, copy_of_a said:

glad it worked out!

Sooner or later you should trial Fabfilter Pro Q2. It can handle all your needs in 1 step... and it provides minimum phase as well as linear phase mode.

 

Are you sure that you can't solve the 40-50Hz issue with altering the settings (or the position) of your subwoofer?

Fabfilter Pro Q2 looks amazing.  I've just watched the 8 minute video of it but am still trying to get my head around it!  Does it do left and right channels independently?  It's a pity is seems to be restricted to AU plugin, it would have been great if it could function as a standalone DAP like DiracLive, then I could route all my system audio through it, including DVDPlayer and VLC.

 

The 40Hz-50Hz issue is caused by my room dimensions 4.2m x 3.8m x 3.25m which are very close to being a cube shape, therefore all of the modes are gathered together around 40Hz-50Hz.  Speaker location doesn't help much, even before I added subs.  Moving things makes a difference on the frequencies above 55Hz but very little impact on the biggest peak at 43Hz.  I have my subs set to crossover at 25Hz at 24dB/oct so that they don't add  to the peak (my main speakers are run full-range and have good output down to the mid-30s Hz, so I just use the subs to fill in the lowest octave).

[copy_of_a]

1 hour ago, ToTo Man said:

Fabfilter Pro Q2 looks amazing.  I've just watched the 8 minute video of it but am still trying to get my head around it!  Does it do left and right channels independently?  It's a pity is seems to be restricted to AU plugin, it would have been great if it could function as a standalone DAP like DiracLive, then I could route all my system audio through it, including DVDPlayer and VLC.

 

The 40Hz-50Hz issue is caused by my room dimensions 4.2m x 3.8m x 3.25m which are very close to being a cube shape, therefore all of the modes are gathered together around 40Hz-50Hz.  Speaker location doesn't help much, even before I added subs.  Moving things makes a difference on the frequencies above 55Hz but very little impact on the biggest peak at 43Hz.  I have my subs set to crossover at 25Hz at 24dB/oct so that they don't add  to the peak (my main speakers are run full-range and have good output down to the mid-30s Hz, so I just use the subs to fill in the lowest octave).

ok, I see!

 

Yes, FF ProQ2 can handle left/right separately.

The link I've posted abaove actually points to the respective chapter of the help pages:

https://www.fabfilter.com/help/pro-q/using/stereo

 

[Bob Stern]

6 hours ago, ToTo Man said:

It's a pity is seems to be restricted to AU plugin, it would have been great if it could function as a standalone DAP like DiracLive, then I could route all my system audio through it, including DVDPlayer and VLC.

 

You can do that if you use Rogue Amoeba "Audio Hijack Pro" or Pure Music's Streamthrough driver to host the plugin.

[WAM]

Hello,

 

I am running 2.6.8., using a Bluesound Vault as a NAS. My MacBook is on High Sierra, the Vault is on 2.14. 

Was as smooth as a summer breeze.Till this weekend. The syncing does not work properly. It takes ages (90 minutes...) before Audirvana shows some visible action (apart from " syncing" ). Beside that, somewhere the syncing stops, Audirvana is empty, and the whole circus has to start again. I have already did a reset ont the Vault. I dit a reset on the MacBook. Makes no difference. Getting close on ditching Audirvana ... alas.. there is no alternative, try Amarra..).

I did some tests with other software (Vox, 5kPlayer, Clementine, Amarra), they all work/sync fine (except Amarra..).

But they are not Audirvana.  I like the features of Audirvana (by far the best UI) and SQ. 

What is going on? What am I doing wrong? 

 

Kind  Regards, WAM

[ToTo Man]

Audirvana+ 2.6.8 has just started given me problems out of the blue.  When a track ends, instead of going to the next track it gets stuck and produces an excruciatingly loud distorted sound like a mix between square wave and white noise.  The noise continues until I press the stop button.  I don't understand why this is happening because I haven't changed any settings or updated any software.  Turning off the AU plugins appears to fix the issue, but the plugins have worked perfectly for many months so I don't see why that would be the problem.  Has anyone else experienced this problem? 

[ToTo Man]

The problem is also fixed if I change the SRC in the 'Audio Filters' tab from iZotope to Core Audio, this allows me to switch the AU plugins back on without getting the loud distorted screeching at the end of a track.

[bazzvid]

HI toto man ,i had this problem really bad,the quick fix for me was to turned on system optimizer (accidentally turned it off)then i noticed that spotlight was doing something in the background  and 'Allow spotlight suggestions in spotlight and look up ' was ticked ,unticked it and its worked almost perfectly,obviously try this first.

The slow fix ,i wiped every thing on my mack and did a clean reinstall,since then it happened only once which was after i saved a playlist to desktop ?? advice in the past has been to deleat playlists in Library,this works for a while.

Which os are you running ?

[ToTo Man]

On 06/05/2018 at 11:32 AM, bazzvid said:

HI toto man ,i had this problem really bad,the quick fix for me was to turned on system optimizer (accidentally turned it off)then i noticed that spotlight was doing something in the background  and 'Allow spotlight suggestions in spotlight and look up ' was ticked ,unticked it and its worked almost perfectly,obviously try this first.

The slow fix ,i wiped every thing on my mack and did a clean reinstall,since then it happened only once which was after i saved a playlist to desktop ?? advice in the past has been to deleat playlists in Library,this works for a while.

Which os are you running ?

 

Thanks for your help bazzvid.  I'm running 10.11.6.  I checked my settings and SysOptimizer is still enabled and all external processes are still disabled as recommended.  I've tried lots of other things and think I found the solution, because I haven't had the problem since doing it.  A long time ago I enabled custom forced upsampling in the 'Audio Filters' tab and basically told it to resample everything to 44.1kHz, because I often use random play and Audirvana would sometimes get stuck between tracks if there was a change of sample rates.  I disabled this a few days ago and it has been playing ok since with the AU plugins enabled.  No sticking between tracks, and most importantly, no ear-shattrering bursts of noise.  So I'm keeping my fingers crossed I have solved the problem, but only time will tell.  I'm still very nervous about leaving my amplifier at a high volume setting, especially between tracks!