Optimizing OS X and Mac mini Hardware for Audio

Yoder · 28519

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Yoder

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
    • Posts: 253
Reply #15 on: March 14, 2012, 01:35:28 PM
Has anyone compared Amarra and clearmusic? What are your thoughts? I use The toslink output from a MacBook pro to a Buffalo.


It was suggested to me on this forum that I download the demos and try all of them, and I did. I also went to the 2011 RMAF and talked to the chief engineer of Amarra, and was even more impressed with Amarra. Being a mathematician their mathematical algorithms is what grabbed me. In fact, I am going to a seminar tonight at Listen Up and Amarra is having their chief engineer as one of the participants along with Peachtree, NAD, and someone else. Besides the fact that Amarra has been building their product for decades, I was also very impressed with the sound quality and the parametric equalizers. Some may poo-poo Amarra since they use floating point, but if you look at any of the high-end DSP ADC/DAC out there they are all migrating to floating point. The article above explains it in more detail. I am thinking of getting a Mac Pro when they do their upgrade and so was searching for the various sound products. Here are a couple of links: http://www.sweetwater.com/c703--PCI_Audio_Interfaces and check out the chips on this DSP http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/585507-REG/Universal_Audio_UAD_2_DUO_UAD_2_Duo_PCIe.html

The big drawback with Amarra is the price, but they do have a lot of sales and so if you are patient you may be able to get into it relatively cheaply. I bought my full version for about $275 at RMAF, which is more than half off. Just do I sound test using the demos.

Got to go to the seminar now...maybe I will win the door prize, and iDac by Peachtree. The weather is beautiful here, so I figure there will be a low turn-out.



Offline ralph

  • Jr. Member
  • **
    • Posts: 19
Reply #16 on: March 15, 2012, 04:08:30 AM
Thanks for the info. Hope to get a full report after the seminar.
I have been trying to download the demo version of  Amarra, but the link seems broken.

Weather herei is springlike, snow is predicted for the first of next week.  Hope so not ready for winter to end yet.

Ralph

Ralph Howey     
Taos, New Mexico


Offline Yoder

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
    • Posts: 253
Reply #17 on: March 15, 2012, 02:40:38 PM
The "seminar" was more of a presentation of the various products. The Amarra "head engineer" was not there, but another guy was who was only "fair to poor" as a presenter. The Peachtree demo was good, had some great stuff, was informative, and I walked away having learned something.

The biggest idea I walked away with was when the Peachtree guy talked about the current "remastering" process. He made a valid point when he said that most of the people who are re-mastering the old analog audio from the 60's and 70's were not even born when the audio that they are working on was laid down. Consequently, they don't know when the band wanted and increase in volume, etc. He did qualify his remark by saying that when the original engineers re-master or someone who is very familiar with the work then it is a different story. Of course he had to demo it and played an original of a Fleetwood Mac song off of Rumors, and then played the re-mastered version. There was a profound difference in the sound and the re-master was not even close to the original, though both were digital.

Supposed to be 75 here tomorrow in the foothills. Need some rain, lest we have another wildfire season that goes out of control.