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Hififile/Tbg - thanks for your help. Looking forward to the Pure Music setup. |
Lang76, I have never changed volume from where it is set. |
Hi Lang,
I rip with the drive in my MacBook (older white model), I use AIFF settings and like Tbg use Hog and Memory. The sound has been excellent. I did an interesting experiment. I have 3 identical copies of Dave Brubeck "Take Five". I burned one copy into iTunes, I put the same CD on my Sony XA5400ES player, and I put another CD into my McIntosh MVP-861. I started them at the same time and listened to all 3 devices.
I liked the Sony XA5400ES the best, but it was so close to the Pure Music I found myself questioning my eval. The Pure Music through the HRT was great.
The McIntosh player was noticeably worse. The highs were not as crystalline, the bass was not as clean and deep. Obvious loss in sound quality on the super expensive McIntosh CD/SACD compared to Pure Music.
Pure Music and the HRT are a phenomenal bargain when you their performance against the big buck players and DACs out there. |
Tbg- thanks. How about the PM Volume settings? Keep it at zero? |
Lang, I rip with the drive on my Mac Powerbook Pro, but expect that a stand alone drive would do much better. I save into AIFF or WAV with HD. Always use Hog and Memory playback with PN and use 1.74 or the latest. Each new release has sounded better than that preceding it. |
Hififile - How did you rip your music? Did you rip with Itunes? LossLess or AIFF? What settings do you use in PM? Just trying to get everyone's thoughts here.
-- Can't wait to get my Mac Mini and get PM running! |
I purchased Pure Music as well and play via MacBook USB --->HRT II. The sound is amazing. I compared both straight iTunes with Pure Music and it is a night and day difference. I get bass slam out of pure music that just is not there on the iTunes.
By the way, the Pure Music support is amazing. I had a minor set up issue and Rob from Pure Music took time with me over the phone and got me perfectly adjusted and dialed in. Pure Music is by far the best hi-fi money I have spent. |
Argyro, pros say that the extra step in the processor to uncompress does impact the sound. Space is cheap. Look at the video from last year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest of the seminar of computer audio. |
Tbg apple lossless is ... Lossless, there is absolutely no reason for someone to rip in AIFF, what a waste of space... |
Lang76, I would not rip to Lossless but rather to AIFF, but if you are going to use Memory playback, it may not matter. Go to preferences and set to Hog. Also chose Memory playback. I only have one HD. I use a Weiss Dac202 which just switches to 176/24 when I chose it. |
Argyro - Got it thanks for your advise. |
No it is better to leave your DAC do this job, but in any case experiment and see what sounds best to you! |
Pure Music people - What are the best settings/Pref for CD's I ripped to apple lossless? I have the Rega DAC that allows a pretty high sample rate. Do I change the PM settings to a higher sample rate? Or should you only do this with HD/Hi Rez files? Sorry, I'm new to the digital world! |
On a fairly brief listen, I seem to be finding v1.72a considerable more resolving, and with more like like timbre than 1.65, my last version. Anyone else having a similar experience?
Lots of value for the investment here, IMO, though I've not tried Amarra.
John |
I am, actually I am enjoying its hassle free operation compared to Amarra;. |
I have a trial version of Pure Music. I have had for about 4 days. It is staying. It makes enough of a difference that I would not contemplate doing without it! I would not say a HUGE upgrade to iTunes but certainly enough to make it worthwhile keeping. I find that it improves the musical transparency and detail. I have not tried too much tweaking with it yet. I have read that it is best in "hog" mode but I have not yet figured out how to make it work. |
I use Pure Music 1.72a with Hog, Memory Play, and Preallocation selected. It is exceptional. I tried Amarra 2 versus Pure Music 1.65a and thought PM was clearly better. |
I agree with Hotmailjbc. I just installed the trial of Pure Music last night on my Mac Mini and I don't have the think twice. I'm buying it. The low level detail that is now being revealed is astounding. I'm running the memory play, but without the gapless option, and while a bit hickuppy, is doing fine on my current 1 MB of RAM. I will be upgrading to 2 MB asap.
One other thing. In the process of setting up a trial with Pure Music, I had to upgrade the operating system of my Mini from OS X 10.4 to 10.6. I don't understand why, but that upgrade on its own significantly improved the sound. |
I've been using PM for a few weeks an like it a lot. I did not notice a huge improvement in sound, though. Perhaps some improvement, but not huge (Amarra didn't do much for me either.) (Equipment: dedicated 4GB Mac Mini, Ayre QB-9 DAC, Parasound Halo A51 Amp, Focal 1007 Be speakers.)
What I like is the crossover and ability to use plugins. I run PM's crossover at 80Hz into an EQ plugin that I use to tame my room modes. I run two DACs: the high-pass output goes to the QB-9 and my Focals, the EQ'ed low-pass goes to an HRT Music Streamer II and on to my subwoofers. I have a subtle EQ on the high-pass channel, too. The crossover lets you set the level and delay of each channel to maximize the integration of the mains and subs. It's pretty slick, and all done in software (where it should be). The PM crossover sounds very transparent, but you could also use a plugin (there are hundreds). I use Blue Cat Audio's Parametr'EQ plugin for my EQ.
(Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with any of the companies mentioned.) |
i don,t know how much the pure music will help the sound of radio when they get that released. most radio stations i find at 126 to below 100 kbs. good for music but not critical listening. i am excited about computer audio. i also[at 58 years old] believe that learning never should end. so little time and so many interests.....ha |
Me too. I'm never going to be comfortable with computers.Pure Music does sound good. Most of my computer listening is radio, so I'm not sure if it's worth it for me. I have a new Mac Mini that sounds great. |
i don,t think it is set up for itunes radio yet. but may be in the future. as i understand it works only with itunes library now. try turning itunes and pure music off then try your radio stations? i also read that 2g is recommended as the minimum for memory play. my problem is when i start reading computer guides the tech talk sort of makes my eyes glaze over. ha |
They are offering a free 15 day download. I tried it, and it sounds wonderful. Unfortunately I can't get it to play internet radio! Just silence. Help! |
I've got 2.5 gb on my mac mini. Is that enough memory?
Thanks, Peter |
thanks, their tech help is great too. i called them and they walked me thru the entire set up. the guy would not let up and quit at any point. major upgrade to my system. i would never have found this w/o audiogon and stereophile and the "get better sound" newsletter. john |
I have it and absolutely love it. Sound improvement truly ranks with a major component upgrade in my experience. Highly recommended. |
It is a bit buggy - but it sounds good enough that I can deal with the growing pains. I've also emailed with the developer, and he's very responsive/friendly/helpful. They release updates pretty often as well.
But yeah, I would guess 1 gig may be too little to effectively use memory play without straining your machine a bit. |
my g4 has 1 g and i thought pure m said to not use memory play unless one had 2g? i am really enjoying the sound quality but have to figure some use issues out. sometimes it plays the whole cd and other times one song and stops. i,m going to take the time and reread instructions. duh?! |
I've been using it for about a year. The memory play mode is awesome for me - have you tried that? It can take a while to pre-load songs (especially large high-res files) but for me it works wonders. It also helps keep network traffic from interrupting streaming (maybe beneficial from a jitter perspective?). |
update on my "problem" with computers
1. turned volume limiter off in midiaudio controls
2. changed bit from 16 to 24....my g4 doesn,t have 32 listed as an option
3. checked eq and my wonderful child had turned the eq on and boosted all the bass frequencies. ha. i knew there was some thing going on i didn,t like. maybe i can hear.......ha. more beatings til morale improves around here.
conclusion....now we are getting somewhere, progress is not an illusion. thanks for the directions |
Any comparisons to Amarra 2.0? |
Mechans, have used an Almarro 318B SET amp with the 99's but don't have a dac to hook up but will do so in the near future. the Almarro is in it's box till I get a dac |
i have been using pure music for 2 weeks and it is now purchased. didn,t even have to think twice about it. the sound quality is detailed, my emotive erc1 sounds darker in comparison and has me thinking of upgrading my wireworld violet usb from the mac to the vdac i am using.when using pure music i have to adjust my subwoofers to less volume. not exactly a review but these are my first impressions. i am interested to see how the new itunes radio feature and parametric eq will work. |
What is an RP? Record Player? A TT perhaps?
Yes those VS DB99s are incredible speakers. You might find that a even a modest tube amp will make a big improvement. Have you tried one, I think that's what Albert had in mind with that design. |
Heck with a RP when we have all our music at our finger tips with great sound. |
