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Amarra HiFi and 24/96 FLAC Files - Heads Up

OK, I am new to computer audio, but, want to make sure others do not make the same mistake I just made. Based on a recommendation from HD Tracks I downloaded Amarra HiFi to start playing 24/96 FLAC files. In fairness to HD Tracks they recommend the full version of Amarra , not Amarra HiFi. After much frustration and technical help from HD Tracks and Amarra I found out Amarra HiFi will not play HD FLAC files! I now need to spend an additional $149 to upgrade to the full Amarra program to get this feature.

So fellow Audiogoners, what do I do? Spend the additional $149 to upgrade to Amarra, use Audirvana Plus priced at $49, go with Pure Music at $129 or spend $33 to purchase Decibel (my wife suggested a fifth option, "Just give up", nah, can't do this)? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Marcus
mgattmch
gocubs999
156 posts
 
Amarra 2.4.2 is widley known as the most resolving option available today. Research "Computer Audiophile" for a plethora of posts on this subject in Forum. www.computeraudiophile.com. Regardless of how much you invest in a system, source material remains the biggest obstacle to achieve superior sound. I have never had issues with Amarra, though many have had past complaints of bugs. My advice is to avoid using Amarra to convert files from FLAC to AIFF. Instead use XLD (Free Download). It is intuitive and provides excellent quality. You can set preferences to have the files placed in itunes after converting.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Spend the money to get the full Amarra. It's worth it for the EQ function alone. Best EQ on the planet. Here is how you can use it:

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/recommended-systems

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
"Amarra 2.4.2 is widely known as the most resolving option available today."

They would be wrong. It does not hold a candle to version 4318/19:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=105236.0

I earned more than 1 best of show at RMAF with this version.

If you are licensed for it, you can download this version and install it. Make sure you run the "remove config" script in the "extras" folder before installing it.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
mgattmch OP
571 posts
 
I am working with Amarra to resolve this problem, they are very helpful people. It would appear Amarra HiFi will indeed handle up to 192 kHz files. However, they need to be loaded into iTunes to play. This is my problem, loading a HD FLAC file into iTunes. Can this be done directly, or do I need to convert to AIFF first? If I convert to AIFF, will the files be downgraded from 24/96 to 16/44.1?
mwheelerk
121 posts
 
FLAC files are not directly supported by iTunes. I know both Audivrana Plus and Pure Music work with iTunes and support FLAC files. I have done a demo of Amarra but to my ears it was no better than either PM or A+.
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