"Decibel" for Mac

[lovejoy]

one weird thing I've found with my emu tracker pre, is that it tends, once it's been on a while, to develop an 'undersea echo' type effect with all sound (system / recording etc), and needs a turn-off and reboot to correct... wonder if it's connected to the issue you've raised?

That's not an effect I've suffered. My main complaint with all of the 2007 Macs I tried was that under normal playback conditions i.e. iTunes straight into the DAC it just sounded flat and lifeless. All the sounds were there and there were no odd effects, it just wasn't engaging me musically. The clicking and popping was introduced by switching to Integer mode either by the use of Audirvana or using the HiFace.

Now it's possible that these issues are unrelated but there's certainly a correlation between the Macs I've used that sound poor (i.e. they all produce pops using Integer mode) and the ones that sound really good (which don't produce the pops).

[Slippershod]

ah, right. that's a good way of checking (objective followed by subjective). thanks, Rich.

[sburrell]

I've already stowed the rest, including Decibel ..

Audirvana - is my current fave and the only player for my Macbook Pro at this mo. Until I stumble upon something better (which I do hope I will) Audirvana is here to stay..

Interesting. Which other players have you tried? If you think Audirvana beats Decibel, is it purely based on the sound quality, or the additional fact that it's free and your Decibel trial had expired (just checking )?

Audirvana definitely sounds like a gander then. I know you guys sometimes have gatherings - how about someone set up a high-quality blind listening test to compare and contrast? The results would be much referred to I'm sure (especially if Amarra were to be included)!

[purite audio]

A free two week demonstration version of Amarra is available, just visit the Sonic Studio Amarra website.
Keith.

[sburrell]

Just FYI: Integer mode is NOT supported on the built-in optical out on any Mac computer. I got this straight from the horse's mouth.

[Millzee60]

Just FYI: Integer mode is NOT supported on the built-in optical out on any Mac computer. I got this straight from the horse's mouth.

Not sure I understand this. Based on the comments here I've just installed this on my C2D MacBook Pro with the Integer option selected. Does what you're saying mean that even though Integer is selected, it's not actually working in Integer mode?

Regards,

Colin.

[sburrell]

Here's the exact question and answer between the developer and I:

Hi,

I'm just trying out your open-source music player; my first impressions are that it is well worth downloading!

However, I have a question: I have Integer Mode checked in the Preferences, but the icon for it on the amplifier remains dimmed out, and if I hover the mouse cursor over it, a tooltip appears saying that, "Integer Mode is OFF". Is this just a visual error, or is integer mode genuinely not being applied?

My system: Mac Pro 2010, OS X 10.6.7, Audirvana 0.9d (built-in digital audio out selected), optical cable to outboard DAC (Beresford TC-7510 Mk6 - 24bit/96kHz D/A).

Merci,

S.

Response:

Hi,
It is not applied. The toslink output of all the mac models does not handle integer mode.

Best,
Damien

[aBe]

Interesting. Which other players have you tried? If you think Audirvana beats Decibel, is it purely based on the sound quality, or the additional fact that it's free and your Decibel trial had expired (just checking )?

Audirvana definitely sounds like a gander then. I know you guys sometimes have gatherings - how about someone set up a high-quality blind listening test to compare and contrast? The results would be much referred to I'm sure (especially if Amarra were to be included)!

I've indeed tried almost all the available players around - Cog, Songbird, Vox, Decibel, Pure Music etc...except Amarra.

Audirvana is the one that sounds the best to my ears, with Pure Music trailing not far behind. IMO, the rest are 'just another music player'.

[Spur07]

I'm running the last of the powerpc G4's so no snow leopard for me. as they like to say on dragons den, i'm out!

[sburrell]

I've received my TASCAM FireOne firewire-attached sound device, and discovered that Audirvana's Integer Mode doesn't work with it either. I've emailed the developer for more comprehensive details on when Integer Mode can actually be used on Macs, and will post the outcome here.