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Pure Music Question

I have a question about how to use Pure Music with a wireless system. I currently have three systems, one using an Airport Express and two using Apple TV's connected to external DAC's. Music resides in a 1 TB hard drive connected via an Apple Airport wireless. Everything is controlled by iTunes running on an iMac using an iPod Touch with the Remote app.

I have downloaded the Pure Music demo and run into a hitch. It launches seamlessly but fails to play through any of the "speakers" I have selected in iTunes. When playing straight through iTunes without PM, no problem. It does play through my iMac speakers and I think sounds like a big improvement, but who listens through internal desktop speakers?

I have been able to highjack the PM stream and direct it to my systems using Airfoil, but short of using a desktop controller on my iPod Touch, nothing else works. PM seems like a great and reasonably priced upgrade, but to make it practical, I need to be able to use my Touch to control iTunes remotely while PM is running. I have spoken with PM's tech support, but no luck.

Any ideas?
bbopman
agear
1,362 posts
 
Bbopman, PM does not work with WiFi yet. They are apparently working on it (I spoke to them). Apple has some encryption involved that blocks "third party" software access to the WiFi stream. Airfoil does allow you to hack into the WiFi stream and thus use PM, but I found that it compressed things sonically. Amarra does work without Airfoil due to the pecularities of its software design (uses some aspects of Itunes whereas PM apparently does not).
bbopman OP
53 posts
 
Thanks Agear. The PM users "manual" states that some users have reported success using highjack software, others not. I sent an inquiry to Amoeba who make the Airfoil software program and their reply indicates that Airoil broadcasts at 16/44.1, so it would seem that if PM offers any improvement to redbook standard files, then it would be audible even over wireless (and is to my admittedly middle age ears). OTOH, Amoeba states that any upsampled or high resolution files would be compressed to 16/44.1. Since I don't have any such high rez files, I guess I am content with using PM with Airfoil, even if it is clunky and I may only be hearing a placebo effect brought on by shelling out $129.

Thanks for your reply.
agear
1,362 posts
 
Bbopman, I am primarily a Redbook man as well (600+ CDs) and feel no real compulsion to pursue Hi Rez at this time. I have Redbook CDs that blows away hi rez material I have heard (24/176). Most of the music I know and love is in that format already and I am not willing to fork out the $ for hi rez duplicates. Paul Weitzel from TRL (the maker of my pre-amp) has done a lot of recording for Sony and others and says that their is plenty of resolution in Redbook. The problem is primarily one of execution/implementation.

I did fiddle with PM and Airfoil and found that combination shrunk the soundstage and was anemic sounding. Weird.

Placebo? LOL....could well be.....95%+ of audio could be thrown into that category....
devilboy
1,176 posts
 
Installed Pure Music last night. Sounds better than standard itunes with Memory "on" IMO, but I had problems using the itouch remote. Every time I selected a song, I had to press "play" where before it just started playing. Also, I couldn't fast-forward any tracks. Then, "play" wouldn't work at all! Pure Music recommends using the "less is more" function to eliminate "hand shaking" with itunes, but you have to control all commands from the computer using the mouse. I'm not getting up to go to the computer every time I want to make a command. That's what the $280 remote control is for. Am I doing something wrong?
devilboy
1,176 posts
 
One more thing.....I "reset" Pure Music and selected it again. I can now change tracks and fast-forward again. It seems to me they have more issues to work out. Worth $130? Yeah I guess, considering all the money I've spent on this stuff, what's an extra $130? I'm sure the problems will get fixed eventually, but until they do, I'm not sure I want to buy it.
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