dms

Gentlemen, I sold off my QBD76 and upgraded to a Jet Black QBD76HD. When I received the unit I tried it with the HD cable and it sounded quite bad with this input. I was not sure what to attribute this to. I was using an Audioquest Diamond USB Cable on the standard input and this set up was much preferred. The soundstage was sucked away when using the HD input, so I stuck with standard. I do have a somewhat close affiliation with Chord so I contacted them. I explained that with Amarra 2.3 the HD input was not sounding very good at all, actually being unlistenable—making me wonder why I even upgraded to the HD unit!? They did some checking and also contacted Amarra. Weeks later they offered me a modified chip upgrade for my QBD76HD which I was sent. It took me some time to organize having the chip installed but when I did have this done I was absolutely astounded by how the proprietary HD cable that ships with the QBD and the all of my standard res files were superior to that of the standard USB input. I have since stopped using my very expensive Diamond Audioquest USB Cable. If anyone is interested I would sell this at a low cost, it is I think about 10ft long and I have the original packaging, it is only six months old. The cable is fantastic but since Audioquest can not make me a custom USB cable to work with the QBD76HD I don't see the point of using it as I can not go back. I am however looking for a company, possibly Chord Cables or Transparent to produce a custom cable for me for the QBD76HD so I can see what the differences may be. Chord Electronics has assured me that they feel the cable that ships with the unit is as good or better than any other on the market. The sound : Mathematically there is little rationale for the HD input to sound better with standard res files as in essence all of the inputs are jitter free when the full buffer is enabled. Although I was told that in theory it's a faster clock on the HD input and thus should result in better sound. Well, it is much more than better. The sound became wholly more spatial, radically warmer and more transparent and less edgy at the top. I would never have suggested before that the sound of the QBD 76 had been edgy until I heard the difference as it was an instant and unforgettable observation. I highly recommend getting the upgraded chip for the HD unit. I would also suggest that depending on when you received your QBD76HD that you check with your dealer on a possibly chip upgrade. I had my chip sent to me in September 2011 and did not install it until early December. Should you need any help in determining more details on what the chip is called I can try and ask for the exact details on this chip upgrade so it is easier to get information on from your dealer. Best wishes, Derek P.S. I also have information on the spec and availability of the new HD circular USB connector should anyone have need of this.

'I can appreciate the frustrations of longer term users with the reported and continuing problems but my goodness, this 2.3 sounds good. I have been a long term Pure Music user, I try Decibel, Audivarna regularly as well but look, the music's the thing and right here, in this setup with these old ears, for pure enjoyment this 2.3 can't be beaten. OK, I haven't struck any problems in the last 4 hours and unless I do, I'm going over to Sonic because the emotional return (for want of something better to describe it) is higher.' Hi Martin, This is precisely it isn't it? I just want the best sound to my ears and so far this is what I've found to be it. I can trust that John knows what he is doing sonically. Amarra was the first time that I could listen to old poorly made early 80' - 90's CD masters in the way that they were suppose to sound when they were first released on LP. The sound performance is so vastly superior to that of the direct CD-->DAC route that I could never turn back again. I'm very happy as you can tell. Best wishes, Derek

Hello Richard, Thank you for the expanded response. I have also contacted Amarra with generally no response. I believe that this is due to the company being quite small, again research. They can not respond to everything and they make professional and home audio products so it can't be easy to communicate with everyone on all the little issues. The fact that there was a BETA team for the recent build is frankly excellent. My experience when I have dealt with Sonic Studios is that they are very friendly and eager to produce the best possible product. I won't rehash again my points about what I believe they should do about this. When I first saw their user interface some time back I thought it was from the stone age of application design but again for me it all came down to the sound. I am however quite happy with the new look and glad that they listened to a few of us from within Amarra including myself that John kept the VU meter. It was actually axed at one point before release for 2.32. Like any artists, I know that the best work is done behind closed doors and in silence and that we can complain and complain but it is down to what little or extent of resources are available to the company proper to actually produce a product. Again as you state, I do believe that Sonic Studios are well aware of crafting a perfect product that is bug free and I'm sure that they are aware of the calls to repair bugs. Your sentiment and I quote : 'I know I am engaging in an essay of sorts here (anyone is free to stop reading or not at all); but I do care greatly for the pursuit of excellence and especially in my love of music and the healing qualities music provides.' As you state I also believe this is all about the music and I have spoken with John and I believe that that is the core focus of Amarra. An Amarra user group would be an excellent way to get accurate information on the product, its bugs, work arounds, future requests, feedback from the company and a way for us all to share in our experience of the product in a positive and productive light. I'm here for one reason. I was shocked that they have made the recent release a maintenance build as it is far from that. The new sound is radically improved and although I was told this was more part and parcel of making the code more efficient, they did work with the Beta testers. I'm not sure Sonic really know how to market themselves, but I do know that if they say they have a brand new product every release it does not look good on them either. The fact is as I stated the whole thing remains a moving target. I don't want to touch another upgrade at the moment as I don't want the sound to be altered yet again. Also to clarify I do not think a user group should ban people who do not use the products. But I do think that some form of moderation should be in place. Everyone comes to a product for different reasons and that should be respected but when it turns negative and false statements are produced then this becomes an unfair gesture. For me I find it unfortunate that all of these products should be compared and isolated against one another. We come to a product because of what it can offer us, for how it differs from the competition warts and all. I use iTunes, warts and all because I know that Apple maintains consistency and will always follow up with new features and releases and because it is a so called solid platform. I use Amarra at present due to the sound quality, these are my reasons. I really do not need the pressures of other platforms, products if I've sound something that I love. Rather it still remains important that the company behind my beloved product work to produce something better and better from build to build and maintain uniformity along the way. Best wishes, Derek

Go into preferences - tick then reboot Amarra. Derek

Did you delete preferences prior to installing? I don't have any 192kHz files to try. Have had no issues. Have emailed Amarra? I would do this as soon as possible or call them. Derek

Thanks Mercman, I will check this out as well.

Mercman, as I said I remain open. I think this argument makes sense to many. For me I care almost entirely about the music and my sound. I have little time to worry about anything else with such a busy schedule. I wish I could give up using iTunes which is buggy and I've always felt that Amarra's attempt to give us management of music was a disaster. I don't know why they even bothered. I'm mainly interested in the audio codecs and the main interface. I'm willing to roll along until something substantially better is available. I like the colour of Amarra. By the way, on hearing Amarra for the very first time I thought it was horrible. It was not until I went back and starting comparing files and listening to it in great depth that I realized there would be no turning back. I remain open to other programs but when I heard Puremusic it did absolutely nothing for me, that was over 6 months ago. I maintain that Amarra's new 2.33 build is fantastic sounding! Best, Derek

Paul.Raulerson, I did purchase Amarra when it was $1000.00. Maybe is was $895, I can't remember. Why should Amarra be forced to sell a quality product for less? Why is less better? If less is better then buy the cheaper product is what I suggest. Expensive doesn't even mean better but I can't agree with this idea that we should decide what a product should sell for. It's like me asking you to work for half your wages or you the same of me. If I can get it for less then all the better but if the product I want and like is more expensive then so be it. The sad thing is when someone has a great product and then another comes along and tries to peddle a variant of it for far less. If you look at the television industry you will see that there are billions of $$$ of loss due to this very factor of copycats destroying other companies and leaving quality to the wayside and choice very limited. Think Fujitsu and Pioneer Elite. I would prefer to pay more for a high end television than a mid to low performance Panasonic or Samsung. Or at least pay Panasonic or Samsung more to make a really great Display unit. We all have different views and opinions, mine is just one in a sea of them.

Priaptor - Audionirvana looks the part. I'm going to check it out. Will be back to you on this. Best, Derek

Priaptor, many thanks. I will endeavour to check all of these out. I'm just trying to keep an open perspective on the whole experience and I'm not apologizing for Amarra I just think that what one finds problematic there is always someone else getting the most they need from the product. I remain open. Kind wishes, Derek

Paul.Raulerson - I think Amarra have some development weaknesses, a small company that has been working on audio algorithms rather than UI. They need some youthful blood at Sonic Studios probably. But I don't think they are playing any kind of elitist strategy with their pricing and or their product. Why give anything away for free or follow the masses on low pricing. There will always be people willing to pay for what they believe to be performance. Everything getting cheaper is what is actually hurting the economy in my humble opinion. If they had a 2K version of the software that took the audio to a high plane I'd be finding a way to get it!

Priaptor, These other programs that you are using are they Windows only? Please post links to the programs, as I remain open. I am strictly an Apple user so I suspect I will not be able to try these. I don't want an Amarra forum simply for 'happy users' as you maintain but one that will focus on the product in a positive light and allow for a place to focus on a product and its betterment - an Amara users group. I would suggest this for all of the other products for computer audio. I could list all of the negatives with Amarra but that would undermine the most important and subjective experience I am having - the music is tremendously fantastic. Mine can't sound like yours as Amarra and my DAC offer an experience that would always be quite different to that of your set up. That is fair, honest and real. I could however complain about iTunes all day long. Links if you can would be great! Best, Derek

I think that if you enjoy the product you can definitely suggest it to a friend with the usual admissions to issues apparent. I do not use many of the features of Amarra, like playlists so I am probably only using a small fraction of the features admittedly. I use iTunes for my organization and playback with Amarra. For me it's almost strictly about the main interface and the Sound Quality which I like. As for the price. This is why there are many products at various price points with different results. To some a Chord QBD-76HD Dac would be very expensive, for me it is core to a digital experience and I would beg and borrow to own it. There are others that would be quite happy with an AYRE DAC and feel that the Chord is not as good and or too expensive and others yet that are more than satisfied with an rDAC from Arcam. I believe that you can not make everyone happy with any one product and with price. Amarra need to make Amarra stable and feature rich product but I maintain that it is a moving target. Amarra is a small company and probably needs additional attention to UI developer resources which costs $$$ ! I think that Amarra has always maintained that its product and its price has always been the focus of its audio quality. I for one am quite happy to be paying for this product. My only issue is keeping the audio in check across released. Lion broke Amarra and this was a serious let down for me at the time. The problem with computer audio as I keep repeating is the moving target of compatibility and sound quality. Derek

Hello Priaptor, I have experienced many of the issues that you have discussed with respect to Amarra. The program was unusable with Lion when it was released. For me, the sound experience is the ultimate picture that needs to be addressed here and Amarra have taken great strides to make this product excellent. I am a huge supporter of the product and I have paid for my copy. What I realize is that the whole thing is a moving target, we are working in the realms of software and conflicts. Amarra has had to move with the tide so to speak and keep up and adjust their software to work with flaws in the System platforms. I feel quite confident that Amarra are working to better their product, just like any other software developer which releases products that have minor to substantial issues. I am not apologizing for Amarra but I am applauding them for a fantastic listening experience which remains ultimately in the eyes (in this case 'ears') of the beholder. With respect to systems high and low, this makes little to know difference in audible performance. I list my equipment mainly as a reference point for my experience with the product. I was enjoying Amarra with far less equipment in recent times. Kind wishes, Derek

As an avid user of Amarra with a Chord QBD-76HD, which quite frankly can not be beat! I would like to suggest that we create a thread that is for mainly Amarra users. It is so disturbing to see so many people bash a product on an open forum. You must realize that when you personally bash any product that you are possibly cutting off a potential new customer for a company which is highly unfair. Whether you do not like something, to bash it and to claim that it is dead is first and foremost an untruth and a personal observation which limits the potential experience of a new casual observer reading this. I would ask that as people who love music we should remain open in our opinions and observations and realize that some people actually love products like Amarra or any other software and choose to work through the potential bugs that will always arise. Can we create an Amarra user group to discuss sound quality and or any issues that arise with the product? I too experience some start of track clicks with 24/96 tracks and the occasional mid-track bit of noise which I believe may still be part of the new build but have yet to fully put the new build through its paces. I have however found that the new 2.3.3 build is a vast (huge!) improvement over the previous build. I am very happy with Amarra and consider it the superior method of listening to computer music. All of my files are either AIFF or WAV or FLAC converted to AIFF with iTunes and or MAXX and or built in Amarra Conversion. When Lion came out it brought with it a slew of new problems that many software programs, Amarra included, were pulled along with like the plague in my opinion. Lion when released basically broke Amarra from what I have learned through research and from experience. When 2.3.2 came along to repair most of those audio and build issues created via Lion we were back on track again. With the help of Computer Audiophile Beta Testers the new 2.3.3 (4344) build is astounding. And I would like to that everyone who helped. I wish I had had the chance to be involved. So what about an Amarra user group on Computer Audiophile with a host who can edit the forum? What I have found with the latest build (4344) is that separation, spatial ability, authority and bass have vastly improved over 2.3.2. This was immediately observed from the moment I starting playing with the new build. What I think Amarra has failed with is that they are simply calling this a maintenance build. This is a significant milestone in the Lion builds. The new levels of coherence and overall depth of soundstage are remarkable. My system for interest purposes: - Jeff Rowland Capri Preamplifier - Jeff Rowland 625 Power Amplifier - Vienna Acoustics Klimt The Kiss Loudspeakers - REL Stentor III Sub Bass System - Chord QBD-76HD (using Chord's HD USB) cable (was using Audioquest Diamond USB) - Chord Cables Anthem2 Balanced XLR from QBD to Preamp and from Preamp to Power Amp. - Chord Cables Epic Loudspeaker Cable Best wishes, Derek