Amarra 2.3 - Feedback & Trick

[jacquesr]

Hi,

Can't believe I am the first to post feedback about 2.3...

 

Good news: gapless playback _seemed_ perfect now.... My 2 test albums played just fine. Before, each track would stutter at the beginning... And Jazz at the Pawnshop now has no interruption between tracks.. You I feel I am at the club, not listening to a recording...

 

Trick: the "amarra window" will not show if you run iTunes full screen... Simply lower the iTunes window to allow for enough space and the window will appear... automagically.

 

That's all folks...

 

Oh- BTW... Optimized the placement of my V2s today, plus added a Shunyata Hydra-2... Wow....

 

[freddie40]

I have a headless Mac Mini (10.7, 8GB). Therefore, with Amarra I use the "Playlist Follows iTunes" feature in hopes that I will get gapless playback. After installing Amarra v2.3 and clearing the old prefs Amarra stutters between playback.

 

For $295 Amarra has consistently been a horrible piece of software. How hard can it be to make this work right.

 

Sure, Amarra sounds good, but have skips and stutters between songs makes this one horrible pice of software. I encourage everyone who is thinks of buying this piece to save your money. There are many other choices that are much better.

 

Dave

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Dave - Have you contacted Sonic Studio about your problems? These guys are not amateurs. They've had software in use in the pro industry for probably two decades.

 

I do agree with you though about your issues. They are unfortunate and annoying. Hope it gets figured out.

 

 

 

[tmornini]

Made a huge difference I'll bet!

 

Congratulations.

 

[dantheman]

Where is the 2.3? Only 2.2.3 for downloading.

 

[nicholas029]

Curiosity got the best of me. Incorporated Amarra Mini 2.3.1 today

 

System: MacBook Pro 8GB RAM, AR DAC8, Stax006tII

, AR REF5, AR REF110

 

 

I'm sorry, no comparison here. Pure Music is much, much better to my ear.

 

Most definitely different. Get the trial software before you buy.

 

[fjmcsu]

New version works well without skip, clicks etc. Great sound on CD redbook playback & so far playlist works well with my Hi rez music. After about 8 hours it is now my preferred software! Absolutley no isssues sonically or functionally except no art work on MINI player fascia plate. At this point preferred over Fidelia & Pure Music.

 

[Paul R]

I guess I am in the group having grief on this one. Usually it "just works."

 

I only have one question - how the devil are you getting the "Playlist Follows iTunes" to load more than a single track at a time? This totally freaking defeats me.

 

-Paul

 

 

[DiKarner]

Hi Paul,

if you select multiple tracks in iTunes and then select the "playlist follows iTunes " button ® and, if necessary, clear the current playlist, it should work. At least it does for me.

-Dieter

 

 

[The GAS Man]

So Nicholas029, in what ways do you hear Pure Music as being better? Don't leave us hanging.

 

[4est]

Well, they may have years of experience, but they appear to be acting like amateurs. When you are charged premium prices, you expect premium performance...

 

There really are no excuses for the continued issues with their software IMO.

 

[Paul R]

if you select multiple tracks in iTunes and then select the "playlist follows iTunes " button ® and, if necessary, clear the current playlist, it should work. At least it does for me.

 

Ah, but this is no different than manually managing the playlist from a screen, and defeats the purpose of "Playlist Follows iTunes."

 

You are supposed to be able to select a track in iTunes and start it playing, and it will automatically load and play in the playlist, which it does.

 

For one track.

 

For one track only.

 

Unless you select "Load more tracks by Artist", which also works

 

Sort of.

 

The next song is likely to be in some random album somewhere else in your library. Not the next track in the album you want to listen to. (*sigh*)

 

If it would just load the rest of the tracks in an album if you are browsing by album, or sequential tracks otherwise, it would be workable and quite usable.

 

-Paul

 

 

[Paul R]

In their defense, I will say that user interface programming is the absolute hardest thing to get right in a software program. That's one reason Apple is so far ahead of everyone else- they pay inordinate amounts of attention to the user interface.

 

What seems tiny and insignificant when you are creating or coding the program can drive users absolutely insane.

 

-Paul

 

 

[nicholas029]

My initial experience with Amarra was very frustrating (not great support) and led to serious buyer's remorse. My initial listening experience was not good. Sibilant, loss of bass, poor soundstage and imaging. This turned out to my problem and not Amarra as I began to fiddle with audio midi and my sample rate settings in relationship to my DAC. My bad. I need to correct my original posting about this software.

 

sonic problems solved I am now hearing what others have said about this product in playlist mode. It is quite outstanding, isn't it. All I am having now are the buggy things people are talking about with initial skips. I am vinyl listener primarily and therefore willing to put up with a few clicks and pops as long as it gets my toe tapping.

 

Now if SS would figure out a way to utilize iTunes visualizer I will be a happy guy.