What music software programs do you recommend for new late 2012 Mac Mini?

[kendrab23]

I know there are several highly rated software programs on the market for Mac, but as a newly converted from PC user, I am unsure what to buy. The Audirvana + software seems pretty well respected, but the Amarra and Pure Music softwares are also mentioned a lot. My goal is to get the best software program for critical listening. I plan to feed the signal to a modified Mdht Labs Havana DAC, which is a 16 bit 44.1 kHz Non-Oversampling DAC via USB connection, and want to ensure the software is compatible with it. At a future date, I plan to get a Metrum Hex DAC (like 6-12 months down the road), and want to ensure the software will work with it as well.

 

Also, what software do I need to get bit perfect WAV files from a CD on a Mac? I want to stick with WAV format as I have 1.3 TB of WAV tracks from when I was using J.River Media Center on my PC (unless there is a conversion program that converts WAV to AIFF files without altering the original sound quality).

 

Kendra B.

[wgscott]

I would start off with iTunes first, and if you want to buy something, Audirvana Plus, Decibel, and BitPerfect are all options worth looking at.

 

XLD is a nice, free, conversion program. Converting from any one lossless format to another will not alter the sound quality* (you can convert from wav to aiff to ALAC to FLAC and back to wav and arrive at a wav file with an identical checksum).

 

You can rip with iTunes or XLD. I usually use iTunes, but XLD offers more error-checking and logging.

 

* There are some claims that wav sounds better than the others, despite having identical information in them, and there are claims that files with identical checksums can sound different. I wouldn't worry about those for now.

[Jsmith]

All three of the music players you mentioned have trial / demo versions. You can easily try them out and see which you like side-by-side. Beyond the sound quality of them, make sure you are happy with the UI and features of each.

 

You may also want to settle on the music player solution before you totally decide on the ripping solution. As wgscott mentioned you can use iTunes or an external tool like XLD. If the player you choose to use is one that uses iTunes as the database and management solution, you may want to really consider that as your ripper. On the flip side if for some reason you decided on Audirvana+ and wanted FLAC files, then you may want to go with XLD.

[wgscott]

xld will happily rip to ALAC or AIFF and auto-load the tracks into iTunes for you as well.

 

In general, keep it simple at first until you know you are comfortable. iTunes will handle wav files. You can always convert them later. Once you have a feel for how it all works and sounds without any add-ons, you will be in a better position to assess other music players, cable voodoo, etc.

[Jud]

I know there are several highly rated software programs on the market for Mac, but as a newly converted from PC user, I am unsure what to buy. The Audirvana + software seems pretty well respected, but the Amarra and Pure Music softwares are also mentioned a lot. My goal is to get the best software program for critical listening. I plan to feed the signal to a modified Mdht Labs Havana DAC, which is a 16 bit 44.1 kHz Non-Oversampling DAC via USB connection, and want to ensure the software is compatible with it. At a future date, I plan to get a Metrum Hex DAC (like 6-12 months down the road), and want to ensure the software will work with it as well.

 

Kendra B.

 

Wanted to mention that Audirvana+ can work with iTunes or standalone as you prefer. Pure Music needs iTunes; don't think Amarra does, but it's been a long time so I'm not certain. There are also Decibel and BitPerfect.

 

Does the Havana DAC accept input above 44.1kHz (88.2, 96, 176.4, 192)? If so, Audirvana+ offers the use of the well-thought-of iZotope sample rate conversion software, which allows you to experiment with feeding different input resolutions to your DAC to see what provides the best sound quality.

[REShaman]

Wanted to mention that Audirvana+ can work with iTunes or standalone as you prefer. Pure Music needs iTunes; don't think Amarra does, but it's been a long time so I'm not certain. There are also Decibel and BitPerfect.

 

Does the Havana DAC accept input above 44.1kHz (88.2, 96, 176.4, 192)? If so, Audirvana+ offers the use of the well-thought-of iZotope sample rate conversion software, which allows you to experiment with feeding different input resolutions to your DAC to see what provides the best sound quality.

 

Jud,

 

The present iteration of Amarra whether in the Hifi edition or Symphony is that in Amarra mode (non Playlist mode) both use iTunes to manage and the Amarra engine or one can select iTunes specifically within Amarra. With Amarra Symphony, Playlist mode is also available in addition to Amarra Mode and only uses iTunes to select tracks (up to 99) into Playlist mode. iTunes is not needed. However, one does not quit iTunes even in Amarra's Playlist mode. One can also add a saved playlist stored in any folder that accesses the music library.

 

Best,

Richard

[REShaman]

Did not take me long to correct myself. I just added a disc into Amarra Symphony in Playlist mode and started "play" sending the files to my KEF X300A speakers in an adjoining room via USB cable. After play started, I quit iTunes. Amarra in Playlist mode continued to play through the KEFs. Oooops! Sorry for my own confusion.

 

Best,

Richard

[kendrab23]

Does the Havana DAC accept input above 44.1kHz (88.2, 96, 176.4, 192)?

 

The Havana DAC is limited to 16 bit 48 kHz. Mine has been upgraded with about $1400 in parts, and is better than anything else I have heard up to $3000 range with standard Red Book CD files, which is all my music collection has (some 30,000 tracks in WAV format). I had been feeding files to it with an Intel Atom based music server, but the computer died and I decided to switch to an Apple computer.

 

I know iTunes will work, but am looking for higher quality sound than what it is capable of. I am willing to go with the Audirvana+ software (it is similarly priced to the PC based J.River Media Center software), but am unsure if my DAC is compatible with it. I am trying to get an idea of the best 2 or three software playback programs for Mac OS X 10.8, and perhaps an idea why one software is recommended over another.

 

I am also trying to determine the best software for ripping bit perfect CD files on a Mac. I am unsure whether iTunes can do this, and there is not a lot of info about the XLD software. So any suggestions on this would be quite welcome.

 

For now, I plan to use my new Mac Mini with Quad Core 2.3 GHz processor to get a sense of sound quality. If it proves as good as I hope, I will get another Mac Mini with Dual Core Processor (perhaps a used one) and use it ONLY as a music server. I would consider eventually upgrading that with a better power supply, if the sonic improvements are worth it.

[AudioDoctor]

I would suggest you take advantage of the trial period of all of them and find out for yourself which one you like the most in your system.

[Musicophile]

The Havana DAC is limited to 16 bit 48 kHz. Mine has been upgraded with about $1400 in parts, and is better than anything else I have heard up to $3000 range with standard Red Book CD files, which is all my music collection has (some 30,000 tracks in WAV format). I had been feeding files to it with an Intel Atom based music server, but the computer died and I decided to switch to an Apple computer.

 

I know iTunes will work, but am looking for higher quality sound than what it is capable of. I am willing to go with the Audirvana+ software (it is similarly priced to the PC based J.River Media Center software), but am unsure if my DAC is compatible with it. I am trying to get an idea of the best 2 or three software playback programs for Mac OS X 10.8, and perhaps an idea why one software is recommended over another.

 

I am also trying to determine the best software for ripping bit perfect CD files on a Mac. I am unsure whether iTunes can do this, and there is not a lot of info about the XLD software. So any suggestions on this would be quite welcome.

 

For now, I plan to use my new Mac Mini with Quad Core 2.3 GHz processor to get a sense of sound quality. If it proves as good as I hope, I will get another Mac Mini with Dual Core Processor (perhaps a used one) and use it ONLY as a music server. I would consider eventually upgrading that with a better power supply, if the sonic improvements are worth it.

JRiver is also making is way to the Mac in the near future, very much awaited, as while we are having a lot of alternatives of the actual player, there's not a lot of real alternatives to the library organization that Itunes provides, which is not bad per se, but has some limitations, especially for large libraries and/or for classical music.

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/jriver-media-center-mac-12458/index6.html#post202938

 

In terms of compatibility with the DAC, as a general rule pretty much every player will output to every DAC. The only limitation that you may encounter is whether the DAC is compatible with Integer Mode, a special way of transmitting the bitstream directly to the DAC via USB bypassing most of Core Audio, which to many of us provides a significant step up in sound quality. You'll find a probably non-exhaustive list here:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/updated-dac-list-integer-mode-compatibility-audivrana-plus-13363/

 

Usually, DACs or USB converters that don't require a MacOS specific driver are ok. Not sure if the Metrum Hex' USB implementation is integer capable. If not, you may want to consider adding a USB-SPDIF that is integer capable like the Belcanto mLink/uLink/Reflink or and Audiophileo 2.

 

And I fully agree with what the Doctor suggested above, use the trials.

[Sik_Lescinovid]

I am also trying to determine the best software for ripping bit perfect CD files on a Mac. I am unsure whether iTunes can do this, and there is not a lot of info about the XLD software. So any suggestions on this would be quite welcome.

 

To maybe further add details to wgscotts answer: basically all ripping software that isn't broken is capable of ripping bit perfect files from a CD, provided the right settings. What differs though is the amount of statistical checks the software goes through to heuristically guarantee a bit perfect rip. You see, there's technically no way to be absolutely sure that files you copied off of a CD are the same as the ones (that are supposed to be) present on the CD, unless you have the original files (which defeats the purpose of ripping a CD in the first place). Now every ripping software does a minimum amount of statistical checks, but what sets XLD apart is that it is currently probably the one with the most comprehensive set of checks. So in short, if you rip a CD with XLD and it reports no errors, you have statistically more significant evidence that the rip is indeed bit perfect than if you had used iTunes without errors. This whole checking however comes at a price: speed. So depending on your OCD and amount of free time, you will have to decide for yourself whether you want to use iTunes or XLD. Both are capable of making bit perfect copies, one is more promising.

 

I hope this helps!

[Melvin]

Sik_Lescinovid .. this is the first time I've seen "Drinking Room" in a sig! LOL, thanks for the chuckle.