2. pc-audio
  3. 1328246582

Mach2Music mini and Amarra : Huge disappointment

I invite all the fellow Audiogon members than own both the Mach2Music Mini and Amarra to share they experiences.

Mine has been a huge disappointment .

The sound I get from the Mach2Music mini even with the advantage of playing Hi-Res files is mediocre at best and way inferior to the sound of a common CD.
Mach2Music tech support after checking that every setting is correct and everything is as it should dropped the ball. They blame the mediocre sound I'm complaining about on Amarra newer version of software they say more stable but sounding not so great.......

To me It doesn't add up. When there are problems the old music start playing: It's someone else fault. May be it's just that the Mach2Music mini is not so great as some say to start with.......

After spending over $4000 on the Mach2Music web site purchasing all the best available upgrades to possibly get the best possible sound from this computer based system, including their top of the line cables (power, USB, Firewire) an optional solid state SSD hard drive besides their special sandwich case to reduce vibrations and the expensive software Amarra, I get instead the sound you would from a cassette player.........at least that's how it sounds to me in my audio system....

My audio system as you read below is of high quality and well balanced where everything from acoustic treatment to power treatment has been closely matched starting from a dedicated room 20x24x9H fully treated with massive use of acoustic diffusers Gikq7 and bass traps Soffits and Tritraps by GikAcoustics.

Audio components connected to the Mach2music mini are:

DAC : dCS Debussy 24/192
Pre: BAT VK52SE upgraded with 6H30DR supertubes Reflector 1987.
Amp: 2x BAT VK600SE Mono
Transport ; Oppo 95
Speakers ; Magnepan 20.1
Speaker cables : MIT Oracle Matrix HD90
Interconnect : MIT Oracle Matrix XLR
Power: 2x Torus RM20 (one x each amp on two dedicated 20 amp circuits)
Power cords all MIT Oracle ZIII
Audio rack Adona Zero reference
All internal and external stock fuses replaced with HiFi Tuning Supreme.

I rarely write on the forum but this is too big of a screw up to pass and I hope to save to somebody the frustration I went thru.

Besides if some of you has a very positive experience with other computer based systems please share . Help is always appreciated.

I hear good things about Solos by Meridian or the USB Thumb reader by Bryston and I'll probably move on one of the two.... life continues......

so if you'll see my Mach2mini for sale on Audiogon in the near future you already know why..............................
128x128alessandro1
chadeffect
586 posts
 
Pettyofficer,

I think you are wrong. The file type is irrelevant. MP3s are a tired format now. It costs no more or less to have 1 file type over another unless size is an issue. Theses days memory is cheap so not a big deal.

As for the gear it's self, one will always be better than another. But on the whole they are not bad. If you want SOTA, as always you will be entering
expensive specialist ground. But nowhere near the 30k cd players of old.

You should try the headphone output on the iPad. I have had specialist headphone amps that cost more than the iPad & had nowhere near the quality, let alone all the functionality. It is all moving in the right direction.

You watch with the down turn in the world economy how it shakes out. It will have to become good & cheap, otherwise no one will be interested.
topher_m
4 posts
 
Pettyofficer,

Stop "contributing".

Please
vmk
41 posts
 
Just wanted to share an excellent 24/98 download
from iTrax. Laurence Juber's "Guitar Noir" (13 tracks) is
wonderfully textured and sonically really well done.
levy03
442 posts
 
+1 on Sgr's comments. have had a chance to listen to many computer based systems and nothing i've heard bests streaming with the PWD II and the bridge. redbook sounds great and hi-res is truly a mind bender. incredible in all respects and comes VERY close to duplicating the sound my PWT can produce (PWD MKII upgrade really took it up a notch).

it was alot of work. between the many settings, glitches and firmware updates...it was also frustrating at times. learned more about computers in the last year then i have the previous 20 years. if you're willing to jump in with both feet (time and money), pc audio is definitely getting there if not there already imho.
nglazer
846 posts
 
Pettyofficer,

As you may know from previous posts, for the most part I share your disdain for computer audio. But the compromise I found was the Bryston BDP-1. I had all this music on my computer already for my iPod, so it was a simple matter of backing it up on a HDD, plugging the HDD into the BDP-1, connecting the DAC and off you go. Pretty much the same as a transport to a DAC, except instead of CD's you have a HDD containing all the CD's. Works for me and the sound is astonishingly good.

Neal
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