13cashewnuts

Steely Dan's Gaucho HDTracks 24/96 Hey Nineteen brought back too many memories...

Tried again and still does not work. The email support @ hdtracks.com still does not work after 4 attempts. With a 3 day timeline to re-download the RIGHT files, they are definitely testing the patience of their customers. What a way to maintain loyalty from their customers - first sell them a hi-res album that is allegedly not hi-res, then make it unbelievably difficult for them to download the new files. Last but not least, give them a support email that does not work. Wow...

@viv Thanks for doing all the hard work in exposing that the initial version was not as it should be, a hi-res album. HDTracks has notified me and sent me the same email as you to re-download a fresh copy. However I've had a poor experience downloading either copy as I can't seem to get through to paypal, I keep getting the same message SetExpressCheckout API call failed. Detailed Error Message: Order total is invalid.Short Error Message: Transaction refused because of an invalid argument. See additional error messages for details.Error Code: 10401Error Severity Code: Error I think paypal cannot accept a 0 payment? Sending an email to the support @ hdtracks.com does not work either as messages seem to get bounced back Frustrating .....

Thanks Chris, I look forward to the review. I've just made a trip to the local dealer who received the first demo unit a few days back and it sounds impressive straight out of the box. Just as impressive was the IPad software, extremely easy to use and very intuitive. I would have gladly paid to have such an app for the Sonore! (but will settle for the MPAD...) It shows the Korean designers (I assume from their address) have put a lot of thought not only in the hardware but software design as well.

Hi Chris, are you planning to review the Aurender S10? From the CAS, did you get a look at the sound card? It wasn't clear to me if the sound card was something off the shelf or proprietary. Thanks, CN

I'm eager to buy the program but have issues using Paypal to order the program on the website...

Double post...my apologies

Chris, I would agree completely about the service level provided by Sonore. Being located in Singapore does pose quite a challenge but I went ahead and ordered a Sonore a few weeks back based on user feedback and and I must say that the level of customer service that Jesus provided was very professional and of a high quality. So much so that after our first 'chat', I went ahead to order a system. On the customization front, I had my system customized without the CD player but with the ability to act as a standalone system (linked by an external USB wifi transmitter) using the itouch as a controller (on MPod). Having used all different configurations of various mac outputs, the sonore is certainly easier to use. <br /> <br /> More importantly, I would say the sound quality, to my ears, was on par with the my MacG5+Lynx, in fact I much preferred the Sonore as it was virtually silent whereas the sound from the g5's fans were loud enough to make it noticeable especially if one plays quiet classical tracks as I do in the evening. I also do not have the option of moving the g5 out of sight (sound?). I'm not sure if your test system had more memory but I had 2gigs installed even through the memory footprint of the system is low, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a bottleneck<br /> <br /> On the cons part, I feel that perhaps there is some work to be done on the documentation for the system, especially if this is targetted for the non-IT crowd. However with Jesus patient guidance, all was solved with just a chat over the internet. Another example of great service no matter where you are in the world. I'm sure with a little more work on the setup front, the out of the box experience would be on par with the Mac.<br /> <br /> Having had the system for a week, I'm still enjoying the 'honeymoon' phase of owning a new component, but it is looking very good so far.

Hello Chris, Are you planning to revew the Sonore system? I am keen to know how the unit sounds compared with an equivalent system wih Amarra or Pure music with itunes. Thanks, CN

Hello Chris, Are you planning to revew the Sonore system? I am keen to know how the unit sounds compared with an equivalent system with Amarra or Pure music with itunes. Thanks, CN

Thanks Oliver, I'm running Leopard and my files are mainly aiff on redbook and a number of 24/96 albums and I've also downloaded all the latest drivers and firmware for the lynx card. I know many folks are using a fairly similar system with much success so I'm puzzled why I still hear pops and clicks. The folks at Sonic studio have been quite responsive but in the end, I still do not have a satisfactory fix. I've resolved the problem by switching over to PureMusic and it's working perfectly, especially with the latest version. The mini will be used with the MacBook pro instead.

Hi Chris, indeed I did not think my combination was unique. That's why I searched through the forum to see if anyone had the same issue but could not find anyone with the same issue. I am running Mac OS 10.5.8 and tried both Amarra Mini 1.2 and 2.01 with similar results. In addition for Lynx, I had downloaded the latest versions from the lynx studio website (Build 49u for the universal core audio driver and 11.1 for the lynx driver) Its puzzling that sound from itunes is fine, but just when I turn on Amarra mini, the issue comes back on sporadically, like every 1-2 minutes and happens whether on 24/96 or 16/44.1 I have been told that for powermac g5s + lynx, perhaps that is a locking issue with the signal to the lynx card. Will try this evening and see if that solves the problem. Thanks

Hello and greetings. I recently transitioned from a macbook/Locus Axis USB/Sonicweld diverter + Amarra mini that I thought was just fine and very pleasing until I came upon the opportunity of a very good condition Powermac G5 (2.3Ghz + 8gb memory) and a Lynx AES16e card. The music that came out of the system was simply magical. The only issue was that through the Amarra mini, I started hearing pops and clicks. The problem disappeared when I switched Amarra off and listen mainly through itunes. I have to admit that with this configuration, there was perhaps a (very) slight loss of dynamics and detail with itunes but I could be imagining the difference and just in my mind. The folks at Sonic studios were very responsive but did highlight that Powermac G5 + Lynx was not considered in the list of supported hardware. Only the intel models were. So far, we've not been able to solve the problem for any version of the mini. I have disabled spotlight and I run my OS mainly through an SSD with the music coming from an external firewire drive. I have also done a fresh install of Leopard with no other software except to run music and perhaps convert music using MAX Would appreciate any advice from experienced users here on how I could make the combination with Amarra mini work? It could very possibly be the hardware I'm using but I don't hear the issue without Itunes. Perhaps I should start investigating puremusic instead? Thanks and I would like to add that computeraudiophile is truly a fantastic resource. Keep it up Chris! CS

Hello and greetings. I recently transitioned from a macbook/Locus Axis USB/Sonicweld diverter + Amarra mini that I thought was just fine and very pleasing until I came upon the opportunity of a very good condition Powermac G5 (2.3Ghz + 8gb memory) and a Lynx AES16e card. The music that came out of the system was simply magical. The only issue was that through the Amarra mini, I started hearing pops and clicks. The problem disappeared when I switched Amarra off and listen mainly through itunes. I have to admit that with this configuration, there was perhaps a (very) slight loss of dynamics and detail with itunes but I could be imagining the difference and just in my mind. The folks at Sonic studios were very responsive but did highlight that Powermac G5 + Lynx was not considered in the list of supported hardware. Only the intel models were. So far, we've not been able to solve the problem for any version of the mini. I have disabled spotlight and I run my OS mainly through an SSD with the music coming from an external firewire drive. I have also done a fresh install of Leopard with no other software except to run music and perhaps convert music using MAX Would appreciate any advice from experienced users here on how I could make the combination with Amarra mini work? It could very possibly be the hardware I'm using but I don't hear the issue without Itunes. Perhaps I should start investigating puremusic instead? Thanks and I would like to add that computeraudiophile is truly a fantastic resource. Keep it up Chris! CS