Amarra "Mini" -- $395

[VPI]

I guess the Gapless playback will be the most beneficial out of this upgrade.

[Hopstretch]

Definitely cuts in quicker now, too, when you cue up the first track of an album. No more two second silence. Small annoyance, but still nice to see it fixed. I'd like to hear some word about Amarra Vinyl -- very keen to see that.

[VPI]

In case anyone is on the fence, Amarra Mini is on sale for $295 now which makes it an even better deal.

[The Monkey]

Ugh, that's tempting. I really wish it had more of the EQ stuff of the full-blown version.

[VPI]

Well you could buy it and then the $600 upgrade to the full version and it would be like getting $100 off the full version.

[The Monkey]

I know there's an approved hardware list, but is it safe to assume that Amarra is compatible with all DACs at this point? Or is that stupid?

[VPI]

I have not found anything it has disagreed with.

[Voltron]

I know there's an approved hardware list, but is it safe to assume that Amarra is compatible with all DACs at this point? Or is that stupid?

I would not assume that, Dinny, but check their hardware list and call them if you have a specific question.

[The Monkey]

Yeah, Amarra is probably afraid of not working Jeff.

Their customer service is good, right?

[Dusty Chalk]

I would not assume that, Dinny, but check their hardware list and call them if you have a specific question.

The problem is, he doesn't know all the DACs he's going to throw at it, yet.

[Voltron]

Yeah, Amarra is probably afraid of not working Jeff.

Their customer service is good, right?

In my experience they give good CS.

[VPI]

Anyone else having issues with this latest version. The sample rate switching seems to have some issues. I keep getting Chipmunks version of music when Amarra switches from 96k to 44k. Only happens about 1 out of every 20 times but it has never happened before.

[Voltron]

Anyone else having issues with this latest version. The sample rate switching seems to have some issues. I keep getting Chipmunks version of music when Amarra switches from 96k to 44k. Only happens about 1 out of every 20 times but it has never happened before.

I have not had that happen yet, but this is weird. I just did a playlist that has a mix of sample/bit rates and as long as I let the songs end and Amarra automatically switches to the next track it is fine. Then, I tried going from 96 to 44 in the middle of a song and the reaction is a slow-mo artifact I guess from the 96K song and then the 44K song starts playing fine. I did it with a number of different tracks and the same result occurred. Same result with 176 or 192 files.

After a number of back and forth switches in mid-song, Amarra and or the Model 4 locked up, a couple of times. I am not sure how to describe all of these things, but there were some digital clicks and artifacts in between tracks. None of this stuff has happened to me just playing things straight through.

Amarra is not opening when I open iTunes although iTunes will open when I open Amarra. Odd. I also have to Force Quit Amarra too often when Quitting the program. These quirks and bugs are getting annoying.

[VPI]

Yeah these are the first issues I have had. I am having the Chipmunks more than what you described but I did have one weird noise outburst that I thought might have been two songs playing at once which might have been the noise you are talking about now that I have thought about it.

[jp11801]

sound is improved over the previous version which is nice as I was thinking of going back to version 1.02. Gaps are shorter but not eliminated which is only a minor issue for me and the sample rate changes are improved for me as I used the 302 for a phono pre and manually take it to 96k which always fucked amarra up when I started a 44.1 song, this is now resolved.

[VPI]

I didn't pay enough attention to see what sonic differences there were. I can say that things seem to come more into focus when I switch back and forth and it seems to be more obvious than I remember it being with the old version.

My issues with sample rate seem to have stopped. I still have the issue every once in a while where I note Amarra is using over 1.5 Gb of RAM, and this is usually when it has set unused for a while and no music is playing.

[randerson3024]

It seems OK with the new Ayre QB-9, but an Esoteric D-03 or Reimyo DAP 999 source it ain't. I 'm going to try the full blown version of Amarra.

[randerson3024]

Interesting.

Focused on pure playback, it seems. You apparently give up A/D, equalization and 24/192 support (caps at 24/96) for your $1100 savings -- though that's all second hand scuttlebutt.

It's the wongle of the dongle that counrts.....................

[VPI]

It seems OK with the new Ayre QB-9, but an Esoteric D-03 or Reimyo DAP 999 source it ain't. I 'm going to try the full blown version of Amarra.

Does your Esoteric take 24/192 over firewire? I know the Ayre will take it over USB eventually.

Edited January 24, 2010 by VPI

[randerson3024]

Actually, it does. i will try it.

[VPI]

Then if you have 24/192 music on your computer then the full version would make sense. I don't really have any need to go above 24/96 I am using the 24/96 limited asynch USB of the dCS.

[randerson3024]

The songs have interurruptions as well. i am using Amarra on an iMac with lossles format feeding an Ayre. It sounds OK without the hiccups/ Ideas?

[Hopstretch]

The songs have interurruptions as well. i am using Amarra on an iMac with lossles format feeding an Ayre. It sounds OK without the hiccups/ Ideas?

Are you still running in demo mode? That's supposed to cut in and out.

I have exactly the same setup and no blips.

[VPI]

So you are running it via Firewire to the Esoteric and you are getting sound cut outs?

[jp11801]

if you have not tried the playlist feature it seems to work great and is a nice add for CDs like Abbey Road and What's Going On!