Amarra for iTunes at RMAF...

Antipodes_Audio, thanks for your thoughts regarding mac/Amarra implementation. I am also using an Empirical Audio Offramp 3, with a Locus Design Axis usb cable from my mac mini. The mac mini is upgradeable to 4gb of RAM (it will only utilize 3.5gb of that), and I have done that with mine, which I use as a music server only. I would guess there are a lot of people using the mini as a music server, due to it's unobtrusiveness. I keep my mini on the stereo rack and run a cable from it to the tv on the other side of the room, and use the tv as monitor when needed. So, no monitor on the stereo rack.
Regarding converting your files to 24 bit and storing them at that rate, what program do you use for this? I'm getting ready to rip some standard 16 bit cd's and may try what you're doing. It sounds logical, although I'm not fully convinced it would be beneficial.
BTW, do you use the Amarra mini of full version?

HeyMikey, I am using Amarra mini at this stage but also ran the full version for a month's trial before deciding. I may upgrade to the full version later, but its only advantages for me would be the higher sampling than 96kHz and I am currently limited to 96kHz by both my DAC and the Offramp. I note that Dan Lavry holds strongly to the view that upsampling to 96kHz is still better than upsampling to 192kHz, so I am not fretting about that one.

I converted my files using Sample Manager, which you can find at http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/samplemanager/. Use the iZotope options for resampling and redithering. iZotope is the best sounding set of algorithms that I have tried, and it seems that many in the industry use it.

The redithering to 24 bit provided the most significant improvement, more so than the upsampling.

The hassle with Sample Manager is that you can only batch convert around 100 files at a time or some cache fills up and the program has to be restarted.

It was recommended to me that the best process is to redither to 24 bits first, and resample second - which I just accepted and didn't test myself.

I recommend you make yourself a 24 bit version of a few songs, a 96 kHz version and a 24/96 version and then compare them with a 16/44.1 version of the file. Trying this out for myself with a DAC that upconverts to 96kHz, I preferred the 24/96 file. Trying this with a NOS DAC where the sampling rate is switchable between 44.1, 48, 88, and 96, I also preferred the 24/96 file.

For those that are interested in such things, I do employ double blind tests routinely, but in a way that is helpful as opposed to confusing - but to describe it here would be a long post.

I experimented with Amarra.

Macbook with 4gb Ram and SSD HD.

I returned the ilok for a refund.

I'll live with iTunes and a PWT until Audiofile-Engineering comes out with their playback software.

Kana813, you need to use a suitable way of getting the bits out of the Macbook or else using Amarra is pointless. An asynchronous USB Dac, an Empirical Audio interface, a Lynx card etc. If you don't then you won't hear any of the benefit of using Amarra. The jittery output will render it moot.

Antipodes_audio- the output of my Macbook was reclocked via an upgraded Genesis Digital Lens, so jitter wasn't an issue. I also tried an asynchronous USB to SPDIF converter
before I returned the itok.

IMO, the difference between Amarra and iTunes isn't anywhere near the difference between DACs.

Plus, for less than the discounted cost of the full version
of Amarra, I can get the new Auraliti Player.