J River or Amarra

[butchbass]

I am about to order a Mac Mini and I need to choose the music server software. I currently have a Windows PC with J River so I am familiar with it but I have read good things about Amarra. Has anyone in the BH community had experience with both programs and if so any recommendations/warnings/suggestions would be appreciated. I am planning on getting the Mini with the 2.6 ghz processor with 8 mb ram and the 1 Tb fusion Drive.
Thanks

 

[Heyderbob]

Butch,

I have used both on the Mac Mini (My music server of choice!). Between these choices I prefer Amarra. I would also encourage you to give Pure Music a try on the Mac Mini, they offer a 15 day trial and you should also look at BitPerfect --- I use this app more and more on my Mac Mini - it allows the music to be sent to my DAC as the name implies - bit perfect ! It also runs only $10 - give it a try also - I really like it.

Bob S

 

[Doc B]

Amarra sounds really, really good. Pure Music is good too. They are different, in that Pure Music, to my ear, is a little more neutral/clinical, and Amarra is a little more full bodied/leaning on the smooth side. The nice thing about Amarra is that it uses the same Sonic Studio Engine (meaning the digital processing math used in the software is the same) as Soundblade , which is the DAW software that an awful lot of what we listen to is mastered with.

 

[butchbass]

If I try several types of software on a trial  basis how hard is it to transfer the music from one data base to another?

 

[orson]

To add some confusion I throw a vote for Audirvana in. Beside of the  great sound I like most:
- perfect iTunes-integration (great for iPad-remote)
- even plays DSD with iTunes via proxies
- DSD-realtime conversion for non-DSD-capable DACs
- automated system-optimization when playing
Only bug I found: DxD-Files play only correct directly in Audirvana (I'm on version 1, don't know if it is fixed in 2).

 

[butchbass]

If i go with Amarra is it best to use it separate from iTunes or in conjunction with it? I currently do not use iTunes.

 

[Doc B]

The only advantage of using it with iTunes is if you already have an iTunes library and you are used to using the interface to find music. I don't know how close the current iteration is, but the older versions I have used give playing the file directly from Amarra's playlist a very slight audible advantage over playing through Amarra from the iTunes playlist. One other disadvantage to having iTunes on the computer is that you can inadvertently eat up RAM by having a song playing in iTunes while another is playing in Amarra.

 

[butchbass]

Good, I want to use Amarra exclusively with no attachment to iTunes. To me the simpler the better. I am somewhat a neanderthal  when it comes to computer software and I have a lot to learn. I just want to get the best sound I can.
Thanks for the feedback Doc.

Butch

 

[butchbass]

Another Amarra question, does it rip CDs? I have looked  at their web site and users manual and can find no reference to ripping. I assume it would rip CDs.

 

[orson]

Afaik it can play CD but not rip.
Best app for bitperfect ripping on Mac is XLD.

 

[butchbass]

Then if I go the Amarra route I also need to get XLD. Does XLD send it to Amarra automatically? Is there any music player software for Mac that has a rip feature?

 

[fullheadofnothing]

iTunes.

 

[butchbass]

As you can see I have a lot of questions. If I use iTunes to rip what is the benefit of having Amarra? Will iTunes rip to Amarra and store the music in a higher resolution?

 

[Doc B]

iTunes is free and you can download a free evaluation copy of Amarra. So maybe it makes sense to get both and compare how they sound. Why rely upon what others tell you when you have the freedom to decide for yourself?

 

[butchbass]

I am just trying to figure out how they work together. There is not much info that I can find that describes how they interface. Putting my CDs on my computer is a priority but I do not want a lossy format.

 

[orson]

ITunes can rip to lossless too. If your CDs are in good condition the results are good. If not - XLD is better.
As Doc said - try the apps and see which one fits your bill in terms of sound and usability.

 

[Doc B]

Yes, you just set iTunes to rip to aiff. Amarra sounds far better than iTunes to me.

 

[butchbass]

So I can rip in iTunes using AIFF and then playback through Amarra?

 

[orson]

Yes.

 

[butchbass]

Thanks for the help. I might need more when my mini comes in and I get ankle deep in software.