Nusa

Well, I'm on OS X 10.10.3 on a 27 iMac i7 mid2010 12GB with Audirvana 2.1.1. Tried again this morning, the crackling noise only appears for 192 kHz, being the original rate of the track or upasampled by A+ itself, in conjunction with integer mode 2. Next week I'll try on another iMac with mountain lion just to see if the version of OS X is the culprit... Anyhow, integer mode 1 is good enough for me, so right now I'm just enjoying the simplicity of A+ with the plug-in. Still the question is, what's the difference between mode 1&2 that can trigger this?

Thank you Flavio for the effort of working on a release of the AU/VST plug-ins. As I am a lucky beta user, I would like to report that with Audirvana it works like a charm, as a matter of fact it greatly improves the usability of A+. So far, only one problem to report: the combination of 192 kHz files and the option Integer mode 2 gives the usual cracking noise. Whereas the same 192 files with Integer mode 1 no issues, just fantastic sound. Would be nice to see if I am an isolated case having this issue.

Thank you Richard for yet another kind and informative answer. Well that's odd; in 2.6 I was NEVER asked the admin password in order to purge the memory in Amarra. Twice in your case? This is very interesting; I must understand what I did in order to avoid it…. I might be into something here… I am not a whiner by nature so I want to give it some time in order to understand what relates to user errors and what are the real bugs. But one thing I can say that really pleases me, I no longer hear differences between playing songs in play-list mode over listening it in conjunction with ITunes. If that proves to be true, that's a big step ahead. bye.

Hello Richard, thanks for this informative thread, I successfully upgraded from 2.6 to 3.0 thanks to Ralph immediate reply to my query. I'm now evaluating the new toy but unfortunately many glitches are on the way of the fantastic sound it produces. One thing I cannot get rid of is that every time I purge the memory (File/Menu/Extra) the system requires the admin password. Is it something I will have to get used to or is there something I need to set properly? Many thanks and enjoy the music!

Thanks Flavio! I now understand! Dare I ask you for something else? Yesterday I've tried something just to get a rough idea if my favourite curve is really correcting the way it should. You know how we say here: fidarsi è bene non fidarsi…. For that I've opened the Dirac audio processor and loaded on the first slot with my favourite curve. Then, I've opened the Dirac Calibration tool and in the panel "Sound System" instead of selecting the XMOS of my DAC, I've selected "Dirac audio processor". Once this is done, theoretically, Dirac measurements should be done through the corrective curve and I should have a reading very close to the target curve. Shouldn't I? And indeed, when performing the "Test" inside "Output and Levels", it is clear that the pink/white noise the test is generating is "corrected" (I can tell, since toggling on and off Dirac audio processor would change the sound). But when performing the measurements (only sweet spot, just to have a quick look) I get a curve similar to the uncorrected one! Boh, Perché? By the way, in doing all the process described, when performing the "test" and when generating the impulses for measurements, there is also quite a lot of background noise associated with it, but does not seems to affect greatly the measurements… after all it is just to get an idea. Could you (or somebody else) please tell me why my assumptions are proven to be wrong?

BTW Flavio, I happen to have both Amarra+iRC and Dirac Live as I have benefitted from the cross-grade discount offered recently. I’ve obviously tested one against the other in playing along with Amarra, and couldn’t find any noticeable difference in SQ between them. However, one thing got my attention; with Dirac Live the sound level is much lower than with iRC, even if my iRC DSP gain control is set to -5db. As a matter of fact, when in iRC the DSP level control is set to 0db, the sound is as loud as when iRC is off. With Dirac Live, as soon as it is on, with or without a corrective curve loaded, the sound level is lower than without Dirac. Why such a different behaviour? Many thanks and keep up with the good work!

Richard, it's always a pleasure reading your comments. Yesterday I've installed maverick very early in the morning (like 5 am) and then forgot about it during a busy day at work. In the late afternoon, I listened to some music and immediately noticed that something was very different from the day before. It took me a while to associate that change with Maverick, and still now I wander if something else was in the equation. The SQ was for me much better. More energy and control, especially in the deep bass region, more clarity and definition and more warmth (yes!). I was absolutely delighted. As my family is very understanding I could redo iRC measurements after dinner, just to realize that the results are no different from last weekend measurements. But, I had to modify my favourite curve, and tame down a bit the emphasis I've put in the bass region. The reason why you don't particularly like Maverick SQ, could be because you now get more detail and clarity which in conjunction with the default curve of iRC emphasises a bright and cold sound. I strongly believe that a gentle roll-off in the high frequencies is necessary for a more natural sound. I suggest you try copying the curve showed by blueixus at page 9 #217. Bye,

In my case 30 cm...

Dear Richard, 60 cm! I second that! I’ve spent my Sunday afternoon retaking measurements and I was so much pleased with the result. The difference with earlier measurement was: 1 microphone fully burned by 2 days of picking up whatever sound in our noisy living room. 2. by following the sofa measurements with the exact pattern showed below 3. By having 60 cm from the sweet spot to the most external measurement position. I doubt that my #1 has made any difference. Concerning #2 the mistake I did on the former measurement is that I’ve assumed the microphone positions at the back should be all higher than the sweet spot while those in front should all be lower than the sweet spot. Clearly, I’ve misunderstood and discarded the “oblique view”. As for #3, earlier most external measurements have been 1meter from center. After the new measurement and applying the same curve as before, the first song I’ve listened told me the whole story; it was I Don’t Mind by Lisa Ekdahl. The sound was a bit wider but mainly taller, background voices where more present and I got a better sense of how many were singing while at the same time the lead singer was less forward. Switching to the curve issued from the old measurements gave me the impression the sound was more squeezed to the floor and everything being more disconnected but mostly less "Wow!". Distance between my speakers 2,5 m. I sit 3,30 m from them. I hope Flavio don’t mind I’m publishing one of his drawings…

Message to Flavio “goldenears” flak… In other Italian forums you have inserted some brilliant drawings one of a sofa and one of a chair with very easy to understand microphone positioning. Perhaps it would be a good idea if you publish them also in this thread (never mind the text is not in English, just specify that Alto means Up and Basso means Low). Prior to those drawings I couldn’t make sense of the “oblique view” in iRC and have therefore misunderstood which position should be higher and which lower than position “measurement # 1”. Do it for that 1% of Amarra users that are as hard to understand as I am... Buon pomeriggio a tutti

Hello, I had a similar problem of not hearing any difference with of or without iRC engaged, see if what has been described in page 13 and 14 in this thread about EQ Bypass can help you: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/amarra-2-6-and-irc-has-been-released-17550/

Thanks Richard, Sorry but I certainly don’t want to insist on the subject or give you the impression that I’m paranoid… I understood from the beginning that your preferred setting is the following: Well unfortunately, in my system with this setting iRC does not work at all! What I mean by that is that despite in the Amarra window the little button labeled iRC is yellow and the "ON" button is blue on the iRC window, iRC has simply no effect that I can hear. If however I change the setting for this one iRC is working fine and I can certainly hear the difference between the various curves. Obviously this must be my system being wrong somewhere, or me doing something else stupid, but it is what it is and if I have this problem surely somebody else has the same problem. This would explain why sometimes people report that they can’t hear the difference between iRC being on or off. But enough of that, I don’t want to create discomfort. I just wanted to be helpful and offer my "bad" experience. Buona notte a tutti e grazie.

Dear Richard, After having red all your sound advices I've decided to dedicate a redundant 4 year old iMac to the exclusive use of Amarra, as soon as I beef-up its memory. That way I hope I'll be able to address as many peccadillos as possible. Still, yesterday I've had a go with Playlist and found its use extremely cumbersome. If you chose from finder you cannot upload a full album by simply clicking on the album folder but have to select all songs before loading them… in addition, gone is the possibility to use an iPad as remote… But, I had the impression the SQ improved, was it a placebo effect? I'll test and report someday. BUT, I certainly must have got this wrong, when you wrote: "I find Playlist mode with cache on, iRC engaged, Bypass Gain and EQ, to be the best for critical listening." did you mean that you have the option "Bypass EQ" checked? If yes so, this negates the iRC correction !!! At least in my version... can you please explain? I remember the first day I was testing iRC, I was so disappointed that turning it On and Off wouldn't make any difference at all, until the next days I discovered (after having used all the swearwords I know) that Bypass EQ was checked… Grazie,

Hello, this is my first post and my mother tongue is Italian so please be kind … I've decided to write my feedback on Amarra symphony mostly as a token of gratitude to REShaman for all the time and efforts Richard has put into helping others by kindly answering their questions and promoting a well-balanced informative discussion. My story is precisely like another user described a page or two before; I used to have my own listening room with all the needed acoustic correction panels in whatever colour and shape I wanted. The sound was wonderful to my ears and everything was fine until I felt that being alone and far away from the most strategic room of the house (the kitchen) had its shortcomings. I than decided to move all my equipment in the living room, so with my wife's blessing and my son muscles I managed to move and arrange everything neatly into the room in what seemed to be the ideal position for the loudspeakers. But after the first half an hour of listening I was shocked by the result. The hard reality is that the room counts for more than 50% of what an audio system can deliver! (at least in my case). The graphic below speaks for itself, but what the graphs don't tell is the total lack of precision of instrument positioning, something that was a strong point for my audio system in the other room. There was only one solution, going back to my good old room. But with more than 60 Kg of amplifier (ML332) and loudspeakers made of granite to be moved 3 staircases upward, it was not an easy decision… anyhow my son (Mr muscle) refused to help. That's when I thought about using Dirac. But the idea of muffling the capabilities of A+ was certainly not appealing. By coincidence, just the day after Amarra symphony was released, so the decision has been immediate. A week later the XTZ mic arrived and it's now been some weeks I'm experimenting with the system. So, my findings: 1. Amarra symphony alone (to my ear and in my system) is more satisfying than A+. The sound is more dense and rich (for whatever this means). 2. iRC has made miracles in correcting my room response and more. Obviously I'll try to add some bass traps at a later stage but I can safely say that now the sound is as good as before if not better. 3. iRC, for me, is not only the icing of the cake like Richard defined it somewhere before, but is a real game changer on my approach to audio equipment. I can now "voice" my audio system the way I want, all without spending money in exotic cables or other fancy equipment. 4. The automatic curve proposed by the system gives (to my taste) a far too bright and lifeless result. It took me time, but I finally find my preferred curve which I won't publish as it is mostly the same as the one "blueixus" published on page 9. 5. The XTZ microphone is superb. Now for the bad news: 6. Amarra is really driving me crazy! The "Preferences" window looks like a joke. The way Amarra looks on top of iTunes reminds me of those watches from the 80s with little buttons scattered without logic or style… I found impossible to use "tracks to load" and don't understand its use in relation with "cache". When the option "cache" is selected, if I decide to change song, the program hesitate for too long and makes repeated noises… and worse, if the option random of iTunes is also selected, if you dare selecting a song of your choice the program goes berserk. All this is unacceptable for the price. 7. For some mysterious reasons, at times (actually most of the times) I cannot load a curve on one of the 4 settings on iRC window. When double clicking on it, the location where my curves are stored opens but it won't let me select a curve… I have to perform strange manoeuvres to resolve the problem like emptying the trash or close a message box telling me about a software update or open and close a program… 8. iRC can only be used in conjunction with Amarra, therefore I can only listen my own records and cannot benefit from all the advantages of high definition streaming services! Honestly, I should have known this better because HD streaming IS the future and I feel being cut-off of it! Finally just a suggestion for the Dirac team-member Flavio who I've read with pleasure in other Italian forums: I was born in 65 so my hearing acuity can still be considered good, but in 10 years from now I won't bet on it. Would it be possible to have a "Dirac Certified Audiometry test" by which I would be checked for my hearing acuity, than the qualified person running the test would give me the result in the form of a "corrective curve" to be inserted in Dirac/iRC and voilà! I feel 20 again! Ciao from a very rainy northern Italy.