Audirvana Plus 3.5

[S.Magus]

On 5/3/2019 at 3:47 AM, RunHomeSlow said:

God damn!!

i was just thinking the same as you @AudioDoctor seeing OldBigEars comment and All OTHERS...

all the same editing or features are there in 3.5 as they were in 3.2.x

what are you not trying do do all you guys complaining... can you see the icons, can you do cmd i,

clicking an icon you never see to look what it does, cmd + or - to big or minimize your albums or small them in layout.

 

i too, know that there is bugs or not complete layout or contrast in color to make it simpler... in blue or light options, but all was there in 3.2 can be seen in 3.5... open your eyes! click icon try something !! this is not photoshop with hundred of settings... takes 2 minutes to click everything on Audirvana and see all menus options... Arf you guys !!!

 

Hi RunHomeSlow, In that case maybe you can help me figure out how to return to the home screen (the entire catalogue screen split horizontally usually by genre). The only way I know is by clicking the back button. But if I'm several steps away from home screen then even the back button won't work. I tried clicking every button in sight, just as you suggested. The remote is definitely buggy and if, like me, you rely on it to do most of your stuff, then there's no option but to go back to 3.2.x. Contacting Damian through the support link is a waste of time as he doesn't reply. Either the email address is out of date or he's just plain unprofessional. 

[S.Magus]

12 hours ago, RunHomeSlow said:

Can you send a picture here... usually you click the word library on the left panel...

Well, what can I say, you solved my problem! I'm using Screen Sharing on my macbook and I didn't know that left column even existed. All I've been seeing were these type of layouts:

 

It only shows how inexperienced I am with the desktop app which I only use when working on the library, sorting out metadata etc. So that's that sorted. Thanks. 🙂 

[S.Magus]

9 hours ago, RunHomeSlow said:

For the remote, have you tried, removing it from your iPhone... push 2 seconds on it, the option with an X will appear. X it. Hard stop your iphone just for be sure... Close Audirvana on Mac. Open iPhone, Download remote again from Apple Store. Open Audirvana on Mac. Click Remote for opening on iPhone... put the code asked. Remote is not perfect, just need to show Year option for album somewhere...   but never had problem with it playing my music since begining...

Thanks for your suggestions, I do appreciate it. Yes, I tried reinstalling it previously. I had issue with it not connecting and me having to re-enter the code every time... Then I deleted that preferences file from Library folder and that solved the problem. But, my second main problem persisted - no skip-to alphabetical bar appeared where the big error points (see my pic). This bar to me is too important to not have because of my   catalogue browsing habits and without it I would need to scroll down endlessly just to get from classical to rock section of the library.  Are you saying that you have that bar on your remote when connected to 3.5?

My 3rd gripe is (see the thin arrows) the freeze associated with fast scrolling and the app's inability to refresh the screen properly. Again, I'm sure this will get fixed in due course but I need it now. 

 

The great thing about all this is that v3.2.6 is sonically excellent (for me) and visually not too bad at all. So I feel no compulsion to 'upgrade'. Luckily, I don't upsample (anymore) so that whole aspect doesn't affect me. 

 

p.s. I'm surprised so few comparisons of the two verisons' sonic merits have so far been posted. IMO the differences are clearly there! 

 

[S.Magus]

7 hours ago, RunHomeSlow said:

Put 2 fingers and shrink the covers by the center like for a picture on iphone to see 4 covers by row to see if bar come back... it is there for sure

Tried it and didn't work 😞 But look at the same app connected to 3.2 below. It seems like a minor niggle but it's actually a crucial part of a remote control without which a simple browsing exercise becomes a chore.

 

[S.Magus]

7 hours ago, RunHomeSlow said:

you know you could drag the columns too each field to fill your screen like mine... also right click on title field to get more choice... you can drag the fields to invert them like you want... also check your sorting option in the preferences, here is mine

 

 

I admit to slightly preferring this version to 3.2 in every way except sonically. Not that I regard it worse sounding, it's just that a small amount of hiss comes through on it and cymbals do sound a bit too sharp for my liking, in my set up. To mitigate that at one point I went from mode 1 to 2 which did indeed fix the 'issue' but also removed with it every other perceived benefit of 3.5. Strangely, despite the top end extension I didn't experience wider sound stage - on the contrary, it sligtly contracted. The truth is, I could probably live with either version, sonically, but I prefer the older one. (Don't ask why but 3.5 somehow strikes me as a bit more polished sounding which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course. I don't quite rule out a possibility of coming back to it for a second try in the near future).

[S.Magus]

16 minutes ago, RunHomeSlow said:

what happen if you select Artists instead of Albums... do you see the letters bar ?

 

Yep.

[S.Magus]

On 7/1/2019 at 10:12 PM, bnbayer said:

 

Check out the alphabet.

 

I will take this as a 'show us your freaky side bar' challenge. So here goes. 🙂 (or shoud it be 😞?)

 

 

 

[S.Magus]

On 10/26/2019 at 10:15 PM, bnbayer said:

A glitch (iPad only): if you approach a playlist from the Playlists screen, the little navigation alphabet appears as it should. HOWEVER, if you go into a title from the playlist, then go back to the full list, you get the album grid but NO NAVIGATION alphabet. (Hope that is semi-coherent...)

More worryingly still is the continued absence of the alphabet bar, on iphone, in Albums view. 

Another glitch finds the Remote app shutting down on you when you hit 'prune queue' in the list view. Also, if you're on the last song playing in the queue and you try to return to the list view (the little icon in the top right corner) the Remote shuts down immediately. So to avoid that issue you need to add some item to the queue before returning to the queue list view. 

Also missing from the previous itteration of the app is the touch on album feature that pops up the horizontal option menue: play album, play next, add to play queue. That feature was very useful. Instead you now have to touch to open the album list so that you can pick from the three dots drop down menue the desired option. Refresh rate is also nowhere as fast as the old app. But the lack of the alphabet bar for fast genre picking in Album view is the most serious omission - that really must be fixed urgently. I'm still using the old app because of all those other issues but no aphabet bar thing affects both, old and new remote. So, it's obviously a glitch that came with v3.5 and requires a solution within 3.5. I wonder if I'm the only one experiencing these issues? 

[S.Magus]

5 hours ago, bnbayer said:

The alphabet bar is present working on my iPhone (and iPad). I think my October post was before I updated the app to 2.1

 

I am having the app crash when I try to look at the play queue after the last track has played.

Interesting. I did my remote and my dektop update yesterday and the bar is not there. Could it be for the fact that I'm using a small 4 inch iPhone? But then v3.4. doesn't seem to mind it. I'll try uninstalling the remote and re-downloading it. 

 

Update: I've just reinstalled the remote on my iphone and bingo, the long missing alphabet bar is back! Thanks bnbayer for inspiring me to go and do it! Should;ve thought of it earlier, really. I'm really happy about this one!

 

Update 2: Something is definitely not working. The bar is only available when Title > Artist and Artist > Title sort option are chosen. It disappears when Genre option is selected. I don't get it at all. 

[S.Magus]

On 12/3/2019 at 6:54 AM, mkrzych said:

 

Hello Damien, 

I have a question if sound core engine for A+ 3.5 is significantly different than on A+ 3.2 or it's more about UI and other thing around? Asking that, because to be honest I like the 3.2 UI way better than 3.5 which kinda...well, not for me - I can leave with that UI, but honestly too much things I don't like beside the weird looks and behavior.

 

Second thing is I heard that is no more direct mode in El Capitan, but when I am using 3.5 indeed, INT indicator is off, while using 3.2 it is ON, why? I have both versions and I am trying to compare both by ear, but those information would help me. Also there is a problem, while using both of them, now 3.5 asking me about license, could I leave with two with the same license or what?

 

Many thanks for your hard work and A+,

Krzysztof Maj

I've done repeated comparisons between 3.2.8 and 3.5.x when I used each for for a couple of days before switching back. I did this twice, on El Capitan, which I'm still on. I really wanted to like the newer version but I couldn't. I'm talking SQ. I was surprised to find great majority of users preferring 3.5 when to my ears it lacked some essential qualities that the older version possesed (3.5 had thinner bass and patchy, uneven, midrange. It also had more 'processed' sound overall). Now that you're saying that 3.5 might not be utilizing direct mode, even in El Capitan (if that is what you were saying), I'm not surprised. I also agree that the newer version is too buggy compared to the old one, at least on El Capitan, and especially when the new Remote is used. The only improvement i find in the new remote is adding group to queue. 3.2.8 is the pinnacle of A+ development, imo. Not overly pretty, but the SQ is superb and it works like a charm. I must be extra careful not to update the old remote in App Store by accident. Once that's done there's no going back. 

[S.Magus]

12 hours ago, damien78 said:

Quote

This is quite surprising as it goes against the consensus on 3.5 SQ.... Maybe there was some specific fit between 3.2 and your equipment? Have you tried tweaking the SoX parameters?

Thanks for commenting Damian.

It's possible, as you suggest, that my particular set up finds 3.2 a better fit than the objectively superior 3.5. I don't upsample so SoX doesn't come into it. My DAC is NOS. I found the new version lighter in the bass region and a tad more refined in the HF. It's as if the whole audible spectrum is shifted upward a little, to the slight benefit of detail in the upper region but to the detriment of slam and body (in voices, cello, deep bass etc.) Ultimatelly, I found the presentation uninvolving and had to go back to 3.2 although I liked the looks and functionality of 3.5. 

But having read your technical comment on the issue, I tend to believe you, and I'm willing to try 3.5 again. I have recently found a way of making my system less noisy in the AC department, and that in turn may result in better synergy between 3.5 and the rest. With these things you just never know, do you? 

 

12 hours ago, damien78 said:

 

 

Quote

Regarding the UI, @S.Magus, could you elaborate on "the newer version is too buggy compared to the old one"?

 I was referring to Audirvana remote which for me is the primary means of operating A+.

The last time I tried to use it there were still two issues that remained out of order (other issues had been addressed in your latest update). One is the absence of scroll alphabet bar in Album view. The other one is remote crashing when the last song starts to play and you try to view the queue. You need to add a song to the queue first to avoid this thing happening. I had to weigh out in my mind the benefit of 'add group to queue' feature, which I need badly, against the frustration that comes with those two bugs, to decide whether to use the new remote or the old one. I chose the old one, which I find operationally perfect, except that it lacks the very useful 'add group to queue' feature. 

 

 

[S.Magus]

On 12/9/2019 at 11:07 AM, damien78 said:

This is quite surprising as it goes against the consensus on 3.5 SQ.

I have even sound engineers that told me how there were astonished with the SQ achieved with 3.5, telling me there are now able to tell the model of microphone used when hearing a recording.

Maybe there was some specific fit between 3.2 and your equipment?

Damien, could you please resolve a little mistery for me? I used to have Maximum Sample Rate (by mistake) set to 44.1 The Forced Upsampling switch is always kept deactivated on my machine because my NOS dac like it that way. When I noticed the other day that MSR is set to 44.1 I changed it to No Limit and to my ears the sound got much better (and not just on hi-res material). Q: Does the MSR limiter kick in even when redbook is played, or just hi-res? If it does, that would explain my earlier objections to v3.5, which I'm certain were not imagined, but which I no longer have, since flicking that switch to No Limit. Now everything is in place and the sound is super good. Actually, I love it. 

 

 

[S.Magus]

39 minutes ago, matthias said:

 

Just for clarification:

 

Do you use Audrvana via UPnP or via direct USB out?

 

Thanks

 

Matt

HI Matt, I'm going USB out of MacMini and into a USB bridge. Thanks, Simon

[S.Magus]

3 hours ago, rruffin said:

Hi Simon, this is a little off your topic, but do you have a digiOne (Signature) HAT connected to your USB Bridge/Raspberry Pi device? Or how are you connecting your dac to the USB Bridge? Thanks, Rick

Hi Rick, I'm not using digiOne but Singxer SU-1 which I connect to my DAC via HDMA. Since the MSR function is to downsample to whatever level you select, I thought that the limiter, with all its processing power, would not be invoked unless the file native sample rate is above the selected limit. In other words, when I play redbook material I would expect that the signal should clean bypass the MSR limiter, which in that case has no downsampling to do on the file. But I've no idea if that's how things work. It could be that in order for the limiter to recognize the sample rate, it has to process the signal in some way first. If so, that might explain why I disliked 3.5 until I changed the MSR setting to 'no limit'. (I also changed the PLL setting in my DAC around the same time, so it could also be that.) I hope I'm making myself clear enough. Or maybe I'm not? 

[S.Magus]

I also have a late 2012 MM. Mine is i5 with 8GB RAM and a 250GB SSD start up disk. It works perfectly with A 3.5. Would love a large external SSD in place of my WD Red HD which, though fairly silent, can just about be heard purring in the background. Other than that I've no reason to upgrade at the renderer end. As long as you have a Macbook to administrate your MM the late 2012 is all you need. Maybe even older, anyone?

 

Btw, I also use El Capitan and I don't do anything DSD.