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Audirvana Plus 3 (official thread)


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@damien78 - I have a question about the MQA options.

 

When no MQA device is detected, A+ v3 give me the option to select (see screenshot). I'm guessing these options tell A+ how to handle MQA files for output.

 

1. Not MQA Device

2. MQA Renderer Device

3. MQA Decoder Device

 

 

I'm guessing if I select option 1, A+ handles software decoding of the core and option 3 just send MQA out bit perfect to the hardware decoder. But, what happens if I select option 2? Doesn't that also handle software decoding of the core just like option 1?

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]33872[/ATTACH]

 

I too am curious of what the difference is between the selections. If my DAC is not MQA capable, do I use only #1? Thanks.

 

1. Not MQA Device

2. MQA Renderer Device

3. MQA Decoder Device

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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Just downloaded the 3.1 trial version after reading all the good press. Thought I'd start with a clean slate and follow RunHomeSlow's directions for starting from scratch:

 

Go to the main library folder... PrivilegedHelperTools folder... Trash the com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus file

 

Go to the main library folder...LaunchDaemons folder... Trash the com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus.plist

 

Go to User... home Folder... library... Applications Support... Audirvana folder...Trash the AudirvanaPlusDatabase.sqlite (that is your database of music, back it up!)

 

Go to User... home folder... library... Preferences... trash com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus.plist (those are A+ software preferences)

 

Restart MAC just to be sure... This will reset pretty much Audirvana like new.

 

When choosing library at first it will sync in top right main window under the logo...

LET IT GO, even better don't try to adjust windows or edit files... even playing music while it is not finished...

 

Everything went well except I couldn't find the com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus.plist file. Anyone know where else I might look besides the User... home folder... library... Preferences... folder?

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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I've been running 2.6.x for a few months. But I didn't create any playlists, I just select the music I want to hear when I listen. Is this the playlist file, and since I didn't have any there was nothing to delete?

 

My trial upgrade went smoothly and I'm thoroughly enjoying the improved SQ. Thanks Damien! And thanks RunSlowHome for the "starting from scratch" details.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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if you didn't have A+ installed once, it should not be there..., but if you have it before it is strange to have nothing.

if all went well, don't bother, but now if you quit A+ and look back it should have one...

 

Probably didn't make sense without the attached quote.....duh

 

-----------------------

 

I've been running 2.6.x for a few months. But I didn't create any playlists, I just select the music I want to hear when I listen. Is this the playlist file, and since I didn't have any there was nothing to delete?

 

My trial upgrade went smoothly and I'm thoroughly enjoying the improved SQ. Thanks Damien! And thanks RunSlowHome for the "starting from scratch" details.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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That file is only for the preferences of the software, it means when you make your choices in the Preferences Menu of A+... your dac, memory... volume... library...

 

See mine... every software that you have in your mac have that file there... Since now it is working, it should be there. If not, i don't know, strange. Your A+ application is copied in your Applications folder?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]33983[/ATTACH]

 

Audirvana Plus is in my Applications folder. I just checked again for the com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus.plist file in the preferences folder and it's not there. However, it must exist somewhere because when I opened A+ 3.1 after deleting all of the other files and rebooting, A+ already had my DAC, memory... volume... library... etc.

 

I did a search in Finder for the file and nothing turned up (even when showing hidden files). Weird, but A+ is working so I'm slightly curious, but not too concerned.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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I don't see this issue.

 

I turned it on and off and was able to play music without any issues. I have mine set at extreme with all the boxes checked.

 

The Optimizer is running fine for me as well with the Extreme setting and all boxes checked.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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I've been running 2.6.6 and installed the trial version 3.0.1.

To my surprise, and contrary to most people's feedback, sound quality was definitely worse compared with 2.6.6. Also, I noticed that going back to 2.6.6 while 3.0 was still installed seemed to corrupt the album view which came up with a blank.

 

I'm wondering if 2.6 needs to be completely uninstalled before installing 3.0? Also, if using both versions together how does one keep the two libraries separate?

 

Just curious, can you describe what you mean by "worse"?

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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That file is only for the preferences of the software, it means when you make your choices in the Preferences Menu of A+... your dac, memory... volume... library...

 

See mine... every software that you have in your mac have that file there... Since now it is working, it should be there. If not, i don't know, strange. Your A+ application is copied in your Applications folder?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]33983[/ATTACH]

Mystery solved. My com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus.plist was in the LaunchDaemons folder instead of the Preferences folder.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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In my system, 3.0 sounded a bit harsh and sibilant. 2.6.6 is the best 2.0 version I tried.

 

That was a bit disappointing as I was looking forward to all the other features of 3.0.

 

Also, a question to @Jud. You suggested I changed the location of the library file. Is this to be done to the 2.0 version prior to installing 3.0?

 

Thanks alcarp. Interesting. My ears may not be hearing the sibilance (if that's a word) due to my ears being bludgeoned by numerous jet flights over many years.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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Settings are the same. Same chain. Integer mode two is a bit better though.

 

I agree, with 3.x I prefer integer mode 2 over mode 1; it knocks down the brightness a little and boosts the fullness. Mode 1 feels a little naked in my system in 3.x. With 2.6.6, I preferred mode 1 over 2 as it seemed to provide more clarity and roundness in notes and vocals.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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On my system the new version does sound cleaner, there is more separation and seems to be a bigger sound stage, but it also has lost something in the low end, to where my system does not sound balanced any more, where as before it sounded spot on with anything I put through it.

 

You might try integer mode 2 - more fullness and bass on my system with little deterioration of the soundstage.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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13 hours ago, trybeingarun said:

I am not able to get Interger mode to work properly. I am using Sierra 10.12.3 and have replaced IOAudioFamily.kext to get Direct Mode to work. Everything seems to work fine when with integer mode turned on until i plug the USB cable out or there is a power failure and the dac dies. When that happens my mac crashes. Anybody else experiencing the same issue?

 

The replacement IOOAudioFamily.kext with direct mode and either integer mode 1 or 2 works fine for me with Sierra.  I'm using a Benchmark DAC2.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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10 hours ago, TommyCat said:

Can you give some details on how you did that?  Would love to be able to use Direct mode.

 

I followed the attached instructions.  I can't remember who provided these (Katsu?), but I picked them up off the A+ 2.6 forum and they worked perfect for me.  It sounds like you have the El Capitan IOAudioFamily.kext file, but if you don't let me know.

Sierra Direct Mode.pdf

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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11 hours ago, TommyCat said:

Thanks to jhwalker discovered my dac does upsample to 211 kHz (Benchmark HGC dac2).  Question remains whether or not to upsample before sending to dac (my tendency would be not to; assume Benchmark has figured out to do that more efficiently than my guesswork inside of A+)

Since I have the Benchmark DAC2 also, I'm inspired from these various posts to do some A/B comparisons between the A+ upsampling and John Siau's.  Gotta love audio tweaking...

Sierra Direct Mode.pdf

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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8 hours ago, Jud said:

 

It will be interesting to see whether you even think you hear a difference.

 

Edit: You may want to try upsampling to DSD128 and see what that sounds like to you, if the Benchmark will accept that; if not, you can try DSD64.

 

Further edit: DSD will initially be lower volume, I believe.  So for any comparison you would want volumes equalized.

 

I initially was upsampling to DSD64, the highest the Benchmark DAC2 will accept.  Recently I tried maximum sample rate upsampling and feel it adds a bit more space and clarity in the sound stage. My DAC reports 192, higher than with DSD64. 

 

It seemed that DSD64 was richer than my DAC alone with A+ 2.6.  I haven't tried my DAC without any upsampling yet with A+3. That's my next experiment.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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3 hours ago, Jud said:

 

Yes, very true.  How did you learn about filters in graphics and photography?

 

It is nice that A+ will accommodate both of our very different approaches.

 

Ah yes, diversity and flexibility truly is the spice....  I compared my native Benchmark DAC2 upsampling with Damien's upsampling defaults in A+3.x (using maximum sample rate upsampling).  The native Benchmark placed the soundstage smack dab in the middle and had a nice full sound to it, whereas the A3+ upsampling provided more depth to the soundstage, front-to-back, with a bit more clarity and separation between vocals and instruments.  I tend to like like the A3+ upsampling on my system, but it's nice to have choice depending on the album and recording. So far I haven't run into any performance issues with my mini-mac.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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  • 2 weeks later...
17 hours ago, wgscott said:

 

A few weeks subsequent to the Vax-VMS and SGI-Irix versions.

 

Awesome, someone else remembers Vax-VMS, the first networking OS.  Wonder where it would be now if Ken was into audio instead of purist engineering. :-)

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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6 hours ago, damien78 said:

There is no impact on the user except the need to be connected to the Internet at least once every 15 days when launching Audirvana Plus. For those who fear to not have an Internet access for long period of travel, is it for more than 15 days not connected at all? Would you prefer a whole month?

Audirvana Plus connects to audirvana.com for only two purposes:

1. To check the license

2. To check and download updates

BTW, you connect your Mac for so many other purposes (checking email, going on the web, including here on CA, …), sending audio data to a network player, …

 

My mac-mini is dedicated to my audio system and basically just connected to my internal network so i can use my remote. The architectural software I use to design passive solar homes performs a check once every 30 days.  If it checks and I'm not on-line, it gives me a message that I need to connect to the internet within the next 30 days to continue using the software. I can usually do that pretty easily.

 

It's a tough call, I love the SQ in V3 but I don't like the feeling of being watched (I'm one of those odd balls that doesn't use google mail or facebook).  On the other hand I'm sure you have your reasons for doing the periodic license check.  If you can make the results of not being connected less abrupt, I'm sure many of us would appreciate it.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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Can someone please remind me what the latest version of 2.6 was and how I can get it?

 

Thanks.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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22 minutes ago, wwaldmanfan said:

 

Thanks.  The v3 SQ is slightly better on my system, but 2.6 was really good too, and having some SQ is better than no SQ if i'm not connected to the internet for awhile.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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1 hour ago, Jud said:

I

- There is a workaround to allow the installation, which is to patch the kernel, but people should not do this unless they understand the steps very precisely, have a printed copy of the instructions to hand, and have an up-to-date backup ready to install if something goes wrong.  This is not meant to scare people but to try to ensure against complaints of "I did just about what I thought you said and now my computer doesn't work!" from people who don't take these simple precautions.

 

I've done the work-around kernel file replacement twice - once right after I purchased 2.6 and then again a couple nights ago when I upgraded to the latest Sierra IOS version.  I was wondering if the upgrade would also replace my El Capitan kernel file, and yep, it sure did.  Both replacements took about 20 minutes worked worked flawlessly.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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8 hours ago, Indydan said:

 

I just updated my main iMac to Sierra (not the Mac I use for music) and I have been trying Audirvana on it. When I disable direct mode, the option of Mode 1 and Mode 2 for integer mode disappears. The integer mode box is still checked, but the option for mode 1 or mode 2 is gone. 

 

I am not sure what this means... 

 

On my Mac mini for music, running Yosemite, I have direct mode enabled as well as integer mode. I listened to both mode 1 and mode 2 in integer mode. I prefer mode 2. 

 

If you replaced the Sierra IOAudioFamily.kext file with the El Capitan  IOAudioFamily.kext file, I'm not sure why your integer mode choices disappear.  The Mode 1 and Mode 2 choices are still available to me on Sierra after doing the file replacement.  I prefer Mode 1 on my system.

2012 Mac Mini, Mac Sierra OS, Audirvana 3.x, WireWorld Ultraviolet 7 USB Interconnect, Benchmark DAC2 L, Wireworld Equinox 7 Balanced XLR Interconnect, Belles 350A Amp, DIY Speaker Cables (18 strands of 22awg wire in circular array), DIY Carver Ribbon Speakers & Dayton Woofers

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