New Amarra 4

[NickDun]

I have the same mac & DAC set up with a hydra z in between. I don’t expect anything from the Amarra in terms of file management, I just play what I want to hear and know that I have to rebuild the library with every update. It’s a nonsense but I like the sound so hey ho. The remote is just a disaster ... when it does run it’s not much good as a remote as scrolling the the library is page by page with a big delay ... unusable. As a player on a phone or iPod it just doesn’t work and crashes. I use Korg iAudioGate on the iPod.

[Frans]

Hello,

 

Same here, I use even Amarra Luxe with iRC without problems. The only thing that's not working well is the library. So I also load only the music I want to listen to on that moment. And that is the same workaround as with Amarra 3. I also use Roon for a couple of years, it is really good, but best SQ comes from Amarra Luxe with iRC.

[Lull]

Thanks for the replies. So from what I understand, at this time Amarra cannot be used in a headless setup with an IOS device used as a remote. When you guys say you "load and play only the music you want to listen to at that moment", that means you're actually using and controlling Amarra Luxe application on the computer that is physically connected to your DAC, isn't it?

 

Also, I keep on reading how great Amarra's sound quality is. I assume this applies to users who enabled iRC and/or the EQ feature in Amarra? I'm bypassing DSP and volume control in Amarra, the goal being to get bit perfect data transmission to my DAC and therefore Amarra should be out of the equation as far as sound quality is concerned. I hope I'm not missing something here...

 

Cheers!  

[NickDun]

50 minutes ago, Lull said:

Thanks for the replies. So from what I understand, at this time Amarra cannot be used in a headless setup with an IOS device used as a remote. When you guys say you "load and play only the music you want to listen to at that moment", that means you're actually using and controlling Amarra Luxe application on the computer that is physically connected to your DAC, isn't it?

 

Also, I keep on reading how great Amarra's sound quality is. I assume this applies to users who enabled iRC and/or the EQ feature in Amarra? I'm bypassing DSP and volume control in Amarra, the goal being to get bit perfect data transmission to my DAC and therefore Amarra should be out of the equation as far as sound quality is concerned. I hope I'm not missing something here...

 

Cheers!  

 

Hi,

 

I don't use the amarra remote, but I screen share the display of the Mac mini to my laptop and use it from there. In fact Amarra remote on the iPad is not as bad as on the mobile, but is still not ideal.

 

As to the sound, you would think it would be simply a digital path and have no influence on the sound. But it does ... I have not analysed why, but it might be that there are digital filters (why I don't know) or timing issues which cause jitter or ringing ... but the bottom line is Amarra and Audirvana for example do sound different. And I can hear that on the Mac mini/m51 set up.

[Tand]

17 hours ago, Frans said:

Hello,

 

Same here, I use even Amarra Luxe with iRC without problems. The only thing that's not working well is the library. So I also load only the music I want to listen to on that moment. And that is the same workaround as with Amarra 3. I also use Roon for a couple of years, it is really good, but best SQ comes from Amarra Luxe with iRC.

 

Hi Frans

 

Can you give any tips in how to get the iRC working please? I tried the Sonic Studios solution 3-4 times with a no luck from a clear slate. All programs are also up to date. I use a Mac mini 2012 booting from a SD card. All iRC meassure are from iRC 1.2.4 and so are the generated filters.

 

 

 

 

http://www.sonicstudio.com/amarra/support#faq

[Melvin]

Hey guys .. thought I'd share a bit. In the past 2 years my audio system has all but completely changed and I'm now firmly in the low-watt single-ended triode camp. I love the sound quality but couldn't help but wonder if my old Mac mini running Amarra would be a significant enough uptick in sound quality over my streamer (Bluesound Node 2) to bother with Amarra again.

 

With the mini in place I fired up the latest Amarra Luxe, added my smallish library (flac on MiniPro SSD Thunderbolt direct connection), and configured the settings. The library was added without issue. I selected a familiar album, pressed play, and was quite stunned with the difference I heard. I listened to several albums .. much of the same .. gorgeous sound quality.

 

Next I connected the remote, which seemed to work ok (better than the last time I tried it) until I tried to play an album with a different bit depth/sample rate than the previous album. Crash. Force Quit. Resart Mac. Tried again and again. A touch disheartening to say the least but I realized after some time it was the change of bit depth/sample rate while using the remote which caused the crash. I've yet to experience a crash using the program directly regardless of what I play. BTW, I don't up-sample, use DSD, or playlists. Obviously, Sonic Studio still has some work to do but I'm happy to say Luxe is quite stable and usable for my style of listening, which is album-oriented 99% of the time. YMMV.

 

The Mac mini has found a home in my system once again.

[lbcyclist]

Having had miserable experiences with Amarra 4 I downgraded and stayed with Amarra 3. Now that my Mac is on Mojave it seems I am being forced to pay $79 to experience that misery again. From the most recent comments it seems the problems with the library and remote are not fully fixed, especially for headless configuration. Is that true? I am reluctant to spend more days making this work only to give up and ask for a refund. Any advice? 

[DancingSea]

3 minutes ago, lbcyclist said:

Having had miserable experiences with Amarra 4 I downgraded and stayed with Amarra 3. Now that my Mac is on Mojave it seems I am being forced to pay $79 to experience that misery again. From the most recent comments it seems the problems with the library and remote are not fully fixed, especially for headless configuration. Is that true? I am reluctant to spend more days making this work only to give up and ask for a refund. Any advice? 

 

Roon + HQP, and run!

[sockpit]

56 pages of sheer misery . . .

 

Amarra has been ripping customers off for how many years now?

 

Their SQ is not crack cocaine.  You can live without it, quite happily.

 

There are alternatives that don’t rip you off and actually support you.  A+ comes first to mind, if you need to stream via computer.

[ronmad1]

I did the same thing, downgraded back to 3 then came back to 4 about six months ago. In my experience since 4 has been stable, nothing like the problems it had the first year it was out there. I don't put it to the test as far as library goes, I clear it out every time and put in what I want off my drive which is fine for me. The only lingering problem I have with my setup is the odd Big Bang between tracks when I am upsampling and using the software volume at the same time. I moved over to HQP for most of my listening now, but I still like to go back and put some native PCM 192 stuff through Amarra because I quite like the dark sound signature. I don' think there is any player or combination of players out there that covers all the bases, I have to have A+ for my ISOs for example. Think Amarra has a place as one of your players, but the whole industry hasn't got to maturity yet. 

[ddalmas]

Hi folks....still there to deal with that muddy shit??Horrible apps as those from from SS does not deserve  to be at the center of any attention!!! Believe me guys don''t' hesitate to pass to a decente standalone reader(I love my Cocktail Audio X50,but there are many other very good such Aurender or even  less expensive options)and you will be happy to enjoy with your beloved music library

ciao ciao

[DancingSea]

15 minutes ago, ddalmas said:

Hi folks....still there to deal with that muddy shit??Horrible apps as those from from SS does not deserve  to be at the center of any attention!!! Believe me guys don''t' hesitate to pass to a decente standalone reader(I love my Cocktail Audio X50,but there are many other very good such Aurender or even  less expensive options)and you will be happy to enjoy with your beloved music library

ciao ciao

 

Awww, just like old times. Ciao ciao indeed!

[ddalmas]

yes my friend  like old times ....sometimes i am still reached by some post  from this forum ....so i have the  temptation  to reply!

but tell me ....what is your position now? still using softwares or gone  hardwares to play your music?

ciao ciao

[nano35]

I am still on El Capitan OS; I don't want to upgrade as a few of my softwares will go berserk.

My Amarra 4 version is 4.2.445-184 and it seems more stable on El Capitan OS.

The SQ is invincible, that is for sure;

but it takes forever to fix those little glitches which should not be happening in a commercial product at such price tag.

 

But now....

I discovered that raspberry Pi3 with moode audio gives me a very joyful and musical listening experience.

I now free my mac so I can concentrate on my graphic intensive work.

Sometimes I still hook up my mac using Amarra via coaxial just to compare or out of curiosity.

Pi3 is cheap and the music apps are free: Moode, Volumio, Rune, Picoplayer etc.

and the all the Pi3 music apps actually are more sophisticated....you know.

 

[Lull]

9 hours ago, lbcyclist said:

Having had miserable experiences with Amarra 4 I downgraded and stayed with Amarra 3. Now that my Mac is on Mojave it seems I am being forced to pay $79 to experience that misery again. From the most recent comments it seems the problems with the library and remote are not fully fixed, especially for headless configuration. Is that true? I am reluctant to spend more days making this work only to give up and ask for a refund. Any advice? 

 

I struggled for 2 weeks trying to get Amarra 4 to work decently in my headless setup, to no avail. I asked for a refund and went back to Audirvana+ for which the remote app was updated recently, and I have no problem any longer; everything works flawlessly.  

[DancingSea]

7 hours ago, ddalmas said:

yes my friend  like old times ....sometimes i am still reached by some post  from this forum ....so i have the  temptation  to reply!

but tell me ....what is your position now? still using softwares or gone  hardwares to play your music?

ciao ciao

 

I haven’t used A4 in ages. I’m still with Roon with HQPlayer and am very satisfied.  I no longer even adjust the sound settings on the software, it all plays flawlessly and sounds amazing. 

 

The Aurender is too expensive for me, perhaps one day I’ll try it. Though I’d miss HQPlayer...

[ddalmas]

try  cocktail....amazing!!!!

[ghostdog]

amarra 4.3

with qobuz 

[Lio_B]

What a good surprise, we are waiting about Qobuz - Roon integration and Amarra did it first ?

 

All my Qobuz purchased album are here ! Great job

 

Qobuz streaming in 24/96 works fine.

[Frans]

I updated last night to the latest version and compared it to my other players. It is without any question the best sounding player at this moment. Roon is my most used player, but I think it will be from now on Amarra!

[Lio_B]

2 hours ago, Frans said:

I updated last night to the latest version and compared it to my other players. It is without any question the best sounding player at this moment. Roon is my most used player, but I think it will be from now on Amarra!

 

About SQ only, agree with you if you used Roon stand alone, but with HQPlayer, the combo Roon + HQP is ahead Amarra.

 

 

[Surapong]

Yes, after uninstalled and install a new 4.3 version. The sound is very natural. Music listening become like the vinyl record atmosphere. Thanks for devolopment.

[merging]

Hola lio_b 

I disagree with your opinion. Amarra 4L is better than roon with hqplayer. In fact, with a high quality dac I would only use roon without hq. Finally, the interface of roon is fantastic, and the EQ of A4L is the best: true mastering quality. 

[Frans]

Agree with ‘mergin’,

I also use Roon with HQPlayer and Dirac. SQ is fine but Amarra together with a standalone version of Dirac gives the best SQ!

[DancingSea]

I do enjoy the Amarra sound.  But it remains a chore to use. Still, after all this time, it down samples DSD to low grade PCM. The remote is wonky. And Amarra remains buggy. 

 

For me, Roon by itself sounds terrible, much prefer it with HQPLAYER.  And the Roon user experience is like 400 years more advance than Amarra.