In addition there is one more potentially killer feature: Amarra HiFi enables the use of the iTunes equalizer settings while retaining its audiophile sound. A grand piano sounds very much like a grand piano. It did not seem as airy on some recordings, but I discovered that when the air is already on the recording Amarra HiFi will reproduce that air the best.Īmarra HiFi has an absolute killer low-end: deep, tight, but not exaggerated. The sound was very neutral with the absence of grain. First of all it is very convenient to use. It is easy to listen to and many people might prefer its laid back presentation.Īmarra HiFi was the most expensive along with Audirvana Plus, each costing $49. One might prefer it over Decibel simply based on the user interface, yet it takes somewhat of a backseat to both Decibel And Fidelia in my opinion. The Audirvana Plus is exceptionally easy to set up and use. Worth every penny with regard to its music reproduction. It did sound better than the more expensive Audirvana Plus by a nose as well as Fidelia. It just seems more difficult to use than it should be. (This type of marketing presents a confusing picture.)ĭecible offers quite an excellent sound. If it sounds close to the Fidelia Advance then it would be quite a bargain. I am not sure what the regular Fidelia would sound like. Accordingly, we are not really evaluating Fidelia but the Advanced Fidelia sound. However, what must be understood is that the use of the Advanced license is available in the trial mode of Fidelia. An add-on is available for $49.99 which brings the product up to what is called Fidelia Advance. There is much less grain than BitPerfect while it still sounds airy and open. I rated it almost the equal of Decibel sonically. It has an excellent user interface and it sounds phenomenal. I enjoyed using it very much.įidelia is a sleeper product. ![]() And BitPerfect offered the most seamless integration with the iTunes player. Nevertheless, it was very listenable and enjoyable. It has an open and airy sound, slightly on the side of Technicolor and with a hint of grain. BitPerfact can make your iTunes files sound closer to analogue than one might expect. We started from the lowest price to the highest. Decibel has a great reputation so I tried very hard not to be prejudiced against it, especially since it sounded so good. ![]() Of course, the trial period may be extended over several days with judicious use. It is a no-brainer to download as it serves as an excellent introduction to the great capabilities of this type of software.ĭecibel, with the shortest lasting trial period of 24 hours was also the least convenient to use with iTunes. Each one can be download directly from the manufacturer for a fifteen day trial period, with the exceptions of Decibel which has a 48 hours of usage trial period and BitPerfect which is so cheap they don’t think you need a trial period. Here is the software we used listed in order of ascending price: BitPerfect, $10 Fidelia, $19.99 Decibel, $33 Amarra HiFi, $49 and Audirvana Plus, $49. If music is still the goal then we leave the enjoyment of listening to speaker wires and cables to others for the moment. What we want to get across is that a glorious analogue type musical experience awaits you with very little cash outlay. The MAC Mini’s DAC is quite good and will do for our purposes now. Of course, an outboard DAC can often improve the sound but it also adds significant expense. A few selection have been uploaded from cherished CD’s. Most of the music we will use as source material has been purchased directly through the iTunes music store. We are going to do our listening through excellent monitor headphones an are going to use the built-in DAC of a late-model Mac Mini running the Mountain Lion operating system. There are other more expensive software but they do not sound that much better. We are going to compare some very reasonably priced, but state of the art, computer software that works in conjunction with iTunes to significantly improve its sound quality.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |