Hi everyone. Some of you may recall my earlier posts regarding Amarra and iTunes here and elsewhere. I have completed my work in testing the various options out there. I have extensively tested WaveEditor, SoundTrack Pro, Bias Peak LE and Bias Peak Pro, Digidesign Pro Tools and Logic Pro, as well as, of course, Amarra. After heavy listening on all kinds of material in a very high resolution TAD-loaded system (from Ciamara), I have concluded that Amarra simply sounds the best -- to my ears, and to several others I have had in our showroom here in Manhattan.
Compared to iTunes, the difference is not subtle. Amarra is warmer, rounder and presents a much more tightly controlled stereo image. In early tests, I thought that Amarra removed some of the bass information (from 80Hz down). But I later confirmed this NOT to be the case. Just listening to Patricia Barber's "Regular Pleasures" (Album: Verse) was more than enough proof that the bass information is all there. In some cases, I found that electronic/dance and disco music seemed to have more "oomf" in iTunes as compared to Amarra. However, this was only apparent when switching back and forth during constant A/B testing. It is not noticeable or bothersome otherwise. I also strongly believe -- though I have no proof -- that iTunes exaggerates the bass. And let's face it ... the extra "oomf" is a tradeoff, as the imaging in the mid and high frequencies is much poorer with iTunes. Even on medium resolution systems, this should be apparent.
I found Bias Peak Pro/LE to be a close 2nd place in terms of listening enjoyment. Certainly, it is a good playback engine. But its utility for computer audiophiles is limited -- it isn't very easy to use compared to Amarra. You need to drag and drop files into the playlist, and there is no sort feature -- AIFF files seem to line up according to the order in which the AIFF files were originally created. Not fun if you want to listen to an album in the order intended by the artist.
With the seamless integration with iTunes, I think Amarra is the hands down winner. The price does seem high for the full version -- but let's be honest with ourselves. We just think it is expensive because it is software that we can't really feel and touch. If it were a DAC or a turntable, we wouldn't be complaining. That said, our budgets are what they are ... And for those of us who are constrained, they do offer a mini version for $395. I have heard several people say on this forum they would pay around $200-400 for something like this, and with the mini version you get just that. According to the company, the sound engine is IDENTICAL in both versions, so the only thing you forgo with the mini version is the volume control and EQ facilities.
Oh yes ... and on the subject of sound engines ... I'm still not sure I fully understand, but what I do know for certain is that Amarra uses its own sound engine for playback and completely bypasses Core Audio -- this came directly from the company. The program delivers the sound "data," if you will, to directly to the interface, which in my case is a Lynx AES16e in a Mac Pro (Intel). Please don't start the bit perfect thing here ... I can neither answer these questions, nor do I think it is relevant to this discussion. We are talking about listening tests and trusting our ears here in this thread.
I encourage you all to try to the 30-day demo. The $50 charge is only for the purchase of the iLok dongle, which is fully refundable. Listening this way without the intermittent silence will definitely allow you to evaluate it properly. Just a warning, though .... Once you go Amarra, you will never want to go back!
Last point: Hardware setup makes a big difference, so if you go this way, you should consider getting some advice on setting the system up properly. Certainly the Lynx AES16(e) is a good way to go. The Amarra hardware is supposed to be even better, though I have yet to try it. I should be receiving demo equipment from Sonic Studio soon, so when I do, I will try to post my findings.
