Amarra_25_User_Manua..
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1. ger L mj Ti Le LLa m a I i z a sem Fa G E a 2 ear mH Tr aa os ae User Manual Software Version 2 5 It s Like Hearing Music For The First lime Amarra User Manual Table of Contents About This Manual Notice of Liability Notice of Rights 1 0 Welcome to the World of Amarra 2 0 Getting Started 2 1 Connecting to your output device 2 2 Launching Amarra or Amarra Symphony the First Time 2 3 Launching Amarra and Symphony Going Forward 3 0 The Amarra Horizontal User Interface 1 Transport buttons 2 Amarra Volume Slider 3 Amarra UI Window 4 Playlist Commands only visible when in Playlist mode 5 Artwork window 6 MW Button Meters only available in Amarra Symphony 7 Y Button Information Button 8 CACHE Button 9 Amarra i lunes Button 10 PLAYLIST Button 11 TRACKS Button 12 EQ Button 13 LINK Button 14 Down Arrow Button 3 1 The Amarra Vertical Window 4 0 Basic Music Playback from your ITunes library 5 0 Additional Features to Further Improve your Sound 5 1 AMARRA PLAYLISTS 5 1 1 General Information about Amarra Playlists 5 1 2 Amarra Playlist Window 5 1 3 Entering Playlist Mode O O O 6 DO DAN NN OG O Q meh CS AAA AANHrMWASCSSSQSSGSSESS 5 1 4 Loading tracks into a Playlist 5 1 5 Using your Amarra Playlist 5 1 6 Saving a Playlist for Future Recall 5 1 7 Opening an Existing Playlist 5 1 8 Clearing your Playlist 5 2 CACH2. Congratulations and welcome to the Amarra family By now you should have successfully downloaded installed and activated Amarra and are ready to listen to your music We have a few short notes to pass along to make your listening experience better e f you haven t Installed and Activated Amarra yet please do the following Double click on the Amarra Installer Package to launch the installer Follow on screen instructions for installation Enter system admin password when prompted Amarra and Symphony will auto launch as part of installation Amarra Hifi and Amarra Vinyl need manual launch e If you have any issues Activating Amarra please refer to the Amarra Installation and Activa tion Guide located in your Amarra 25 folder in Finder If problems persist please contact us at support sonicstudio com e Google Translate now provides for translating full documents into local languages Please visit http translate google com select the desired language to translate to and click on trans late a document It s not a perfect tool but it may help those who prefer languages other than English e Always launch Amarra first and let it launch iTunes to ensure proper operation eDO NOT adjust the sample rate in Audio Midi Setup or set your DAC s sample rate manually to match the sample rate of the file Amarra will automatically set both Audio Midi Setup and your DAC correctly to match the native sample rate of the file being pl
3. FAQ webloc link to our Amarra FAO eAmarra Support webloc link to the Amarra Sup port portal Extras Folder bold items run only when launched manually e Amarra QuickSupport app remote login applica tion used for remote support sessions e Amarra Remote app for use with the Mac s In fared Remote Control e AmarraLicenseManager app use this app to manually manage backing up and removing your Amarra license eAmarraSetup app use this app to manually go through the Easy Setup process of the Amarra installation eSonic Studio Process app use this app for Sam ple Rate Conversion See chapter 8 of this manual for more information on using Sonic Studio Pro cess Sonic_Studio_Process_User_Manual pdf refer to this manual for details on operating Sonic Studio Process eAmarra FLAC Installer pkg use this Installer Pack age to manually install the FLAC components needed for FLAC file playback These are automatically installed as part of the Easy Setup installation Delete Amarra Preferences command use this utiilty to reset Amarra to a factory default setting FAVORITES Name 7 E Desktop v 9 Amarra 2 5 ralph v Gi Extras Downloads v amp flac FLACAudioCodec component Si onn FLACAudioFileComponent component J Music H Amarra QuickSupport app ryan E Amarra Remote app Amarra app DENNES gt AmarraLicenseManager app K Macintosh HD b AmarraSetup app amp Sonic Studio Process app Amarra FLAC
4. Installer pkg scripts m RemoveAmarraLicense m Add_Amarra_To_Dock m RemoveAmarra24FromDock RestoreAmarraLicense MoveAmarraLicense BackupAmarraLicense Delete Apple Help Preferences Sonic_Studio_Process_User_Manual pdf uninstall_amarra command Delete Amarra Preferences command Amarra app Amarra 2 5 Read Me pdf Amarra Activation Guide pdf Amarra 2 5 User Manual pdf Amarra FAQ webloc Amarra Support webloc Media Drive a euninstall_amarra command use this utility to uninstall Amarra and remove Amarra related files from your disc eflac Folder contains the 2 FLAC components needed for FLAC file playback They are loaded into the Macintosh HD gt Library gt Components folder Scripts Folder contains scripts used during the installation of Amarra 2007 2013 Sonic Studio LLC All rights reserved No part of this document may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in an form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher Sonic Studio Amarra and the Sonic Studio and Amarra logos are trademarks of Sonic Studio LLC All other company or product names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners Page 35
5. Page 23 8 3 The Que Manager Window You can track the progress of your job by clicking on the Que Manager button to display the Que Manager window BOC Sonic Studio Process Sonic Studio 9 Hey Porter aif Current File Total Files O oO Processes SSP Que Manager Window A detailed description on using Sonic Studio Process can be found in SSP User Manual located in your Amarra 2 5 gt Extras folder Page 24 9 0 Amarra Symphony Additional Features This section presents the additional features found in Amarra Symphony 9 1 Meters Display Amarra employs a high precision metering section to visibly display the audio signal Select the M button to show the Meters Amarra Track Area with Meters displayed 9 2 Amarra Preferences window Amarra Symphony has one additional preference for enabling the Full Sonic Masterinfg EO window 9 3 Global Sonic EQ Changes the Equalizer from the Amarra EQ Window to the Global Sonic EQ window A restart is required for this option to engage Global Sonic EQ has Full 4 Band EQ Types supported include Notch Low Pass High Pass and many more 8 0 0 Amarra EQ 9 Room Node P parametrit parametrit parametric Global Sonic EQ Window Page 25 9 4 Panner Window Amarra Symphony has a stereo panner that can be used to route the output with variable gain To open the panner select File gt Panner which brings up the Panner window 0 Pann
6. audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file Recently Played o smart playlist Top 25 Most Played h 192K TONES i Touch of Grey Grateful Dead MPEG audio file l Grateful Dead Peggy O AWESOME Grateful Dead MPEG audio file Lovelight live 2 52 Grateful Dead and MPEG audio file China Gat Sunflower live 34 Grateful Dead and MPEG audio file You can verify that Amarra is playing back your music by seeing the Amarra button turn blue Page 12 on the Amarra UI If the button has turned yellow and displays iTunes it means that Amarra has passed control to iTunes for playback of the current track Amarra will automatically take over playback on the next track that it can play back natively eUse the Transport buttons to Play Pause and move to the next track beginning of current track or previous track or randomly choose tracks in iTunes Use the iTunes Playhead slider to move to a different location in the current track eYou can also change the current position of the playback head by modifying the Time Display in the Amarra UI 00 Lo iy To Change Time Click On Seconds Drag Mouse left or right eClick on Pause then double click on the Time element you want to modify Type in a new value and hit Return Or Pause click on a time element and drag your mouse left right or up down to change the time Click Return to save the new setting NOTE KEYBOA
7. 72 My Top Rated Ain t Wastin Time No More Recently Added Les Brers In A Minor Recently Played Melissa 0 smart playlist Mountain Jam Top 25 Most Played One Way Out 192K TONES eee eee Stand Back Blue Sky Little Martha assorted 192k assorted sr 96 Amarra Vertical Window with iTunes Page 11 4 0 Basic Music Playback from your iTunes library Playing music using Amarra is a very simple process Once you launch Amarra you should see both the Amarra and iTunes windows on the screen Amarra runs alongside Apple s iTunes program This allows you to manage and access all your music through the main iTunes Music Library or through custom Amarra Playlists You can use iTunes like you always have select the songs Playlists and play Amarra will automatically playback any track it can and seamlessly switches to iTunes for playing back of protected files or other files that Amarra may not be able to play back in your current configu ration NOTE If you don t see the Amarra window it ts likely behind your iTunes window Make your iTunes window smaller or exit Full Screen Mode and you should find the Amarra window on screen Use the link button on the Amarra UI or choose Link Amarra window to ITunes in Am arra Preferences to link the Amarra and iTunes windows together NOTE Amarra plays most compressed files including FLAC MP3 AAC and Apple Lossless ALAC Amarra does
8. E MODE 5 3 AMARRA EQ 5 3 1 Displaying the EQ Window 5 3 2 Turning the EQ On 5 3 3 Adjusting EQ 5 3 4 Setting Amarra EQ via ITunes 5 3 5 Saving and Recalling EQ Settings 6 0 Playing FLAC Files 6 1 Playing FLAC Files Natively via Amarra Playlists 6 2 Playing FLAC Files from iTunes 6 2 1 Converting FLAC Folder to AIFF Format 6 2 2 Converting FLAC Files to AIFF Format 7 0 Gapless Playback 7 1 Gapless Playback in Amarra iTunes Mode 7 2 Gapless Playback in Amarra Playlist mode 8 0 Sample Rate Conversion using Sonic Studio Process 8 1 Launching Sonic Studio Process 8 2 The Params Window 8 3 The Que Manager Window 9 0 Amarra Symphony Additional Features 9 1 Meters Display 9 2 Amarra Preferences window 9 3 Global Sonic EQ 9 4 Panner Window 10 0 Registering Your Amarra Software 11 0 Contacting Sonic Studio APPENDIX A Amarra Pulldown Menus A 1 Amarra Pulldown Menu 15 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 19 19 20 20 20 20 21 22 22 22 23 23 23 24 25 25 25 25 26 27 28 29 29 A 2 File Pulldown Menu A 3 Playlist Pulldown Menu A 4 Desk Window A 5 Windows Menu APPENDIX B The Amarra Preferences Window B 1 LAUNCH SETTINGS B 2 PLAYBACK SETTINGS B 3 CACHE SETTINGS B 4 DITHER SETTINGS B 5 PROCESSING SETTINGS B 6 HARDWARE SETTINGS B 7 ADDITIONAL SONIC HARDWARE SETTINGS APPENDIX C Your Amarra 2 5 Folder 30 31 32 32 33 33 33 33 33 34 34 34 35 About This Manual This manual as well as the softwar
9. HE USE OFTHE SONIC STUDIO LLC SOFTWARE INTERMS OF ITS CORRECTNESS ACCURACY RELIABILITY CURRENTNESS OR OTHERWISE THE ENTIRE RISK ASTOTHE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OFTHE SONIC STUDIO SOFT WARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMIT TED BY SOME STATES THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLYTOYOU IN NO EVENT WILL SONIC STUDIO LLC ITS DIRECTORS OFFICERS EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLETOYOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL INCIDENTAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS BUSINESS INTERRUPTION LOSS OF BUSINESS INFOR MATION ANDTHE LIKE ARISING OUT OFTHE USE OR INABILITYTO USETHE SONIC STUDIO SOFTWARE EVEN IF SONIC STUDIO HAS BEEN ADVISED OFTHE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAM AGES BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOWTHE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABIL ITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU Notice of Rights 2007 2013 Sonic Studio LLC All rights reserved No part of this document may be repro duced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher Sonic Studio Amarra Amarra Hifi Sonic Mastering EQ Model 302 Model 303 Model Four Model 305 and the Sonic Studio and Amarra logos are trademarks of Sonic Studio LLC All other company or product names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their re spective owners Page 5 1 0 Welcome to the World of Amarra
10. OAD TRACKS ral Enables Sonic Studio s Shaped TPDF Itiner Shaped Enables Sonic Noise Shaped Dither Wordlength B 3 CACHE SETTINGS Sets number of bits for output This setting MEMORY AMOUNT should match your DAC s word length Maximum amount of Random Access Memory to use to store audio in Cache Mode For best quality enable Auto dither if We recommend between setting this to between Tracks less than 24 bits is being played 1 3 and 1 2 of your available memory Page 33 Using dither can bring a better sound when gain or EQ is being used When dither is enabled the output of Amarra will be dithered to the setting of the Output Wordlength specified This can be useful for providing a better sound when Gain is used or if your DAC only supports a limited word length 16 or 20 bits NOTE When the Output Wordlength is set to 24 bits the dither will be disabled if the Gain has not been modified at full volume Once the Gain is adjusted then dither is re enabled Amarra provides two dither options SonicI PDF and Sonic s advanced psychoacoustic noise shapped dither Your personal perfer ence may decide which one you prefer B 5 PROCESSING SETTINGS FULL SONIC EQ AVAILABLE ONLY INAMARRA SYMPHONY Allows access to the Full Sonic EQ Window requires a restart of Amarra to take effect GAIN BYPASS Bypasses all gain adjustments made in Amarra Plays back tracks at full volume 0 0 dB EQ BYPASS Bypasses all EQ processing curren
11. RD SHORTCUTS Use the following key commands in place of menu com mands 1 2 3 Change playback to Amarra iTunes Playlist 5 6 Previous Track NextTrack 8 9 Down Up Volume a c m e Add From iTunes Clear Playlist Load Tracks Mute Show EQ Window Page 13 5 0 Additional Features to Further Improve your Sound NOTE For Optimal Sound Quality we recommend Use the CACHE and load yourTracks into a Playlist Quit iTunes This can provide optimal sound reproduction 5 1 AMARRA PLAYLISTS 1 The Nightfly Donald Fagen The Nightfly Amarra Symphony and Playlist windows Using Amarra Playlists provides several benefits including e Processes your music more efficiently than in Amarra iTunes mode resulting in better sound quality Ability to run independently of iTunes e Ability to play FLAC files natively no conversion needed 5 1 1 General Information about Amarra Playlists eYou can load tracks of different sample rates and different file types into the same Playlist without issue e Tracks can reside in more than one Playlist e Amarra only stores a pointer and some other information about the file it does not make an additional copy of the file when adding to a Playlist e f you move your tracks to another location on your disk you will need to re do your Amarra Playlists e Commands for Amarra Playlists can be accessed from the Amarra UI the Amarra Playlist UI or from the Amarra gt Playlist pul
12. a Finder window e Navigate to your saved Playlist and click Open to load into Amarra Playlists OR e Drag Drop an existing Playlist from the Finder window into the Amarra Playlist Window NOTE Loading a new Playlist will clear any tracks currently in your Amarra Playlist 5 1 8 Clearing your Playlist To clear the contents of your current Playlist simply click on the Clear Button The Clear or Clear All Button os social e Click on either button to clear the current contents of your Amarra Playlist e The Clear button also clears any Preloaded Tracks in Amarra mode 5 2 CACHE MODE The CACHE Button ulti Cache mode pre loads songs into RAM to minimize disk access resulting in better sound qual ity Cache can be used in Amarra iTunes or Amarra Playlist Modes Simply click on the CACHE button on the Amarra UI prior to loading your tracks The button will turn yellow to signify that CACHE mode is engaged Amarra will first load your tracks into RAM and then begin playback The amount of RAM used for loading your tracks is displayed in the Amarra UI Window Choose the amount of RAM to use for CACHE Playback via the Amarra Preferences window Memory Amount item NOTE Set Memory Amount to 1 3 to 1 2 of the available RAM on your machine for best per formance 5 3 AMARRA EQ Note Amarra Symphony Users also have access to the Sonic Mastering EQ via the Amarra Preferences window Please see Appendix C for details on the Sonic Masterin
13. ayed back e f Amarra quits unexpectedly for any reason please delete your Amarra Preferences prior to launching Amarra See Appendix B for information on Amarra Preferences e Amarra and Amarra Symphony use the same software An Amarra Symphony license will unlock the additional features You can verify that you are running Amarra Symphony by the presence of the M button on the Amarra User Interface to the left of the center window If the button is present you are running Amarra Symphony eA significant amount of additional information can be found at our support portal and on our FAQ Please visit our support page at http www sonicstudio com amarra amarrasupport html to access these resources e Holding the Mouse over any button will display a Help Tip displaying what the button does It s time to Enjoy the Music Page 6 2 0 Getting Started This section reviews the initial steps needed to ensure proper operation of Amarra 2 1 Connecting to your output device Ensure you have correctly set up the device you are sending your music to built in audio ex ternal DAC by selecting the desired device in Audio Midi Setup and setting it to be the device for sound output and sound input if available You can access Audio Midi Setup in the Appli cations gt Utilities folder in Finder As an alternative you can set the output device using the Sound item on the System Prefer ences window NOTE The table below reflects the sa
14. brary Why convert FLAC to AIFF e Easy integration with iTunes e Integration with iTunes Metadata e Integration with Apple Remote e Simplified ease of us convert and forget e Less overhead on system resources 6 1 Playing FLAC Files Natively via Amarra Playlists NOTE Amarra Playlists are not available in Amarra Hifi Amarra provides for FLAC file playback natively via the PLAYLIST function without using iTunes To playback FLAC FIIES via Amarra do the following e Obtain your music in FLAC format from one or more of a variety of providers such as HD Tracks among others As part of the download process please note where your music is be ing downloaded to Once the download completes this may take some time depending on the number and size of the tracks being downloaded move on to step 2 e Go into Playlist Mode see chapter 5 1 about using Playlists Click on the Finder button in either the Amarra UI or the Playlist Ul or from the Amarra gt Playlist pulldown menu and select Open Tracks Via Finder e Navigate to your FLAC files highlight the desired tracks Note The Finder window supports both the shift and command keys for making multiple se lections Once you are done making your selection s click on the Open button to add the files to your playlist Continue adding songs until you are satisfied with your playlist Select File gt Save Playlist to save your playlist giving it a meaningful name and saving it in a mem
15. bum in the gapless performance Once you ve selected PRELOAD TRACKS and a COUNT of tracks simply choose a track in iTunes and the number of tracks in the COUNT field will be loaded together based on current sort order and played back gaplessly NOTE The current sort order of your iTunes library is critical for gapless playback to work es pecially when attempting to Preload and play a full album Please ensure your iTunes library is sorted in the correct order when in Songs or List View prior to attempting to Preload Tracks If Album ts chosen for Count ensure your iTunes library is sorted by Album NOTE Please unsure that you have disabled SHUFFLE mode in iTunes when using PRELOAD TRACKS in Amarra 7 2 Gapless Playback in Amarra Playlist mode Using Amarra Playlists makes It very easy to have gapless playback All tracks in an Amarra Playlist will play back gaplessly as long as the sample rate is the same there is no need to set the PRELOAD TRACKS item in Amarra Preferences Note Gapless Playback is designed to work with true gapless performances such as symphon ic recordings live performances and recordings that were mastered as gapless Gapless play back is not a substitute for mixing independent tracks together Page 22 8 0 Sample Rate Conversion using Sonic Studio Process Amarra 2 5 introduces a new method for Sample Rate Conversion replacing the old Back ground Manager with a new integrated application called Sonic S
16. button to bypass or mute the EQ 5 3 2 Turning the EQ On Either click on the EO button in the Amarra EQ window or choose one of the many pre sets avaiable from the pulldown menu 5 3 3 Adjusting EQ Either choosing one of the presets available or by adjusting one of the 3 parametric filters by either moving the appropriate slider or typing the value in for Frequency Gain and O factor Amarra EQ Window Page 18 5 3 4 Setting Amarra EQ via ITunes e Select the Link Amarra EQ to iTunes EQ in Amarra Preferences e Select a Track in iTunes and using Get Info select the Options Tab and set the EO Preset Amarra EQ will follow the iTunes EQ presets NOTE A new feature in Amarra 2 5 is an Amarra Preference EQ Bypass This bypasses any EQ processing during playback 5 3 5 Saving and Recalling EQ Settings The Amarra gt Desk menu items allows you to save and recall your EQ settings eSet your EO Settings e Go to the Desk menu and select Save Sonic EO Setup to save or Open Sonic EO Setup to open an existing EO saved setting NOTE You will need to make the EQ the Active Window for the Amarra Desk menu items to be accessible Click on the top bar of the Amarra EQ Window to make the Amarra EQ Window ac tive Page 19 6 0 Playing FLAC Files Amarra supports the FLAC audio file format for playing back your music In addition Amarra has built in FLAC to AIFF file conversion to allow easy integration with your iTunes Li
17. dow Page 9 NOTE Not all tracks contain artwork Use the Get Album Artwork command in iTunes to get additional artwork NOTE Amarra stores artwork in your Ma cintosh HD Library Applications Support Sonic Studio Artwork folder in Finder If you are missing artwork ensure you have proper permissions for this folder 6 M Button Meters only available in Amarra Symphony eClick to display Meters in the Amarra UI Window 7 F Button Information Button ae eClick to display your device information in the Amarra UI Window This is a good way to validate the device Amarra is outputing music to 8 CACHE Button Preloads tracks into RAM to minimize disk access and improve performance eAvailable in both Amarra and Playlist modes Toggle button to turn Cache On and Off 9 amarrasi tunes Button eIndicates the engine being used to playback music from your iTunes library eAmarra in blue indicates Amarra is playing back your music eiTunes in yellow indicates iTunes is playing back your music NOTE A great way to do an A B compari son between Amarra and ITunes is to simply toggle the Amarra tTunes button 10 PLAYLIST Button eEnters Amarra Playlist mode and sets your Amarra Playlist as the source for your music NOTE When in Playlist Mode Amarra is AL WAYS playing your music back i TRACKS Button eActive in both Amarra Playlist mode and when using Preload Tracks in Amar
18. e described in it is furnished under license and may only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of such license The information in this manual is furnished for informational use only is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as acommitment by Sonic Studio LLC Sonic Studio LLC assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this book Except as permitted by such license no part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical record ing or otherwise without the prior written permission of Sonic Studio LLC Notice of Liability The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein However the information contained in this document is provided without warranty either express or implied Neither the authors Sonic Studio LLC nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages to be caused either directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the software or hardware products described herein SONIC STUDIO LLC MAKES NO WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PAR TICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THE APPLE SOFTWARE SONIC STUDIO LLC DOES NOT WARRANT GUARANTEE OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDINGTHE USE ORTHE RESULTS OFT
19. er Amarra The Panner in Stereo mode By default the panner opens in off mode In the upper left corner the channel to which the panner currently applies is indicated As this Track indicator is also a drop down menu it oper ates as a Strip selector for the panner as well In the upper right corner Page 26 10 0 Registering Your Amarra Software In order to receive warranty service you must register your product with Sonic Studio This may be done at any time with proof of purchase We strongly recommend that you register with Sonic Studio as soon as you purchase your unit Why 1 Your product will be registered with us Registration is used as proof of ownership if your product is ever lost or stolen 2 Sonic Studio updates Amarra software on a regular basis This allows us to keep you informed of updates as they become available We strongly encourage you to create a License Control Panel Account Please read the Amarra Activation Guide for information on this important feature Please register your Amarra software using our automated registration Web page at http www sonicstudio com and click on Support gt Register Alternatively our mail address is Amarra Software Registration Sonic Studio LLC 330 Sir Frances Drake Blvd Suite A san Anselmo CA USA 94960 2552 If you encounter issues using Amarra please refer to our Amarra Support Portal at http www sonicstudio com amarra amarrasupportportal html If no
20. g EQ This section presents an overview of the Amarra EQ Use the Amarra EQ to alter the sonic characteristics of the sound Amarra provides three parametric filters to tailor your sound All processing is done using 64bit floating point arithmetic The parametric filters are classic three parameter versions with Resonant Frequency gain and Q Q or Quality Factor is defined as the resonant frequency or center frequency in the case of a symmetrical filter divided by the Page 17 bandwidth The bandwidth is in turn defined as the one or two frequencies at which the filter response is 3 dB up or down from unity gain Expressing the width of a filter as a Quality Factor rather than bandwidth provides a more in tuitive sense of the filter s subjective sound since the same value of Q will produce different bandwidths at different frequencies The higher the frequency the wider the bandwidth will be for a given O value which roughly corresponds to our auditory mechanism s ability to perceive a filter s action As an example a parametric filter with a O of 1 has a bandwidth of 100 Hz when its center fre quency is set to 100 Hz but it has a bandwidth of 1000 Hz when the center frequency is set to 1000 Hz Using the EO takes 2 steps first display the EQ window and then turn the Equalizer itself on 5 3 1 Displaying the EQ Window Click on the EQ button on the Amarra UI below the center window Use Option Click on the EQ
21. ing your DAC Panner Amarra Opens the Amarra Panner Window only available in Amarra Symphony Open Sonic Studio Process Opens Sonic Studio Process for Sample Rate Conversion Check for Updates Manually checks for availability of new versions of Amarra Setting the Amarra Preferences Check for Updates on Launch will automate this Sonic Studio Website Links back to the Sonic Studio Website Eject Disk Ejects CD from tray Page 30 Extras submenu at a d lal L E z ia m E db a gm 1 if fr I i gt gg pm Enable Debugging Open Console Log Quit Launch Finder Cut Cuts the currently selected string or item to the Clipboard Copy Copies the currently selected string or item to the Clipboard Paste Pastes the currently selected string or item from the Clipboard Enable Debugging Allows Amarra to log information on its operation to the Console Log system Console Log Use the Console Application to view this log in Utilites Folder Print Track Info When Debugging is enabled prints the track info to the console log Print Desk info Prints Desk info to the console log send Crash Report Should an application crash occur sends information to Sonic Studio Do Not Send Crash Logs to Apple A 3 Playlist Pulldown Menu JEVE Desk Windows Help Add Tracks From iTunes 3 Add Tracks From Finder 0 Clear Tracks xC Open Playlist Save Play
22. its unexpectedly or if you are seeing any un usual behavior try deleting your Amarra Preferences to see if this clears the issue e Quit Amarra and iTunes e Navigate to your Applications gt Amarra 2 5 gt Extras folder in Finder e Double click on Delete Amarra Preferences command e Re launch Amarra when the process completes Amarra will launch iTunes NOTE By de selecting the Amarra Preference item Launch Quit Amarra with iTunes you will stop iTunes from automatically launching when you launch Amarra This ts helpful tf you wish to operate independent of iTunes using Amarra Playlists to play your music B 1 LAUNCH SETTINGS 800 Preferences LAUNCH QUIT ITUNES Forces iTunes to launch or quit with Amarra HIDE ON LAUNCH Amarra will hide on launch LINK AMARRA TO ITUNES WINDOW Forces iTunes to remain attached to Amarra s main window LINK AMARRA EQ TO ITUNES EQ Forces Amarra to follow the EO settings in iTunes CHECK FOR UPDATES ON LAUNCH Amarra will check for updates on launch VERTICAL WINDOW Vertical window restart required B 2 PLAYBACK SETTINGS PRELOADTRACKS Enables loading of multiple tracks in Amarra Mode This allows gapless playback of Tracks B 4 DITHER SETTINGS COUNT AUTO DITHER Number of tracks to load for gapless playback Automatically enables redithering when Amarra s Volume is not at full volume 0 0 dB NOTE Disable SHUFFLE MODE in iTunes when TYPE using PREL
23. ks into an Amarra Playlist selecting tracks from your iTunes library or selecting tracks via Finder The ADD Button apo To select tracks via your iTunes library please do the following e Bring your iTunes window to the front and select the desired tracks in iTunes You can use the command key and shift key to select individual tracks or a range of tracks e Click on the Amarra UI to bring Amarra to the front e Click on the ADD button The selected tracks in iTunes will load into your Amarra Play list Page 15 The FINDER Button PHOS To select tracks using the Finder please do the following e Click on the Finder button on the Amarra UI e Navigate to the tracks you d like to load in the resulting Finder window Highlight the desired tracks and click Open to add the tracks to your Amarra Playlist NOTE Native FLAC File Playback Use the Finder button to load your FLAC files natively into an Amarra Playlist Navigate to your desired FLAC files select and click Open to add to your Playlist 5 1 5 Using your Amarra Playlist Choosing Tracks in your Playlist You can select tracks in your Playlist by doing the following e Select the track with your cursor and hit Play e Use the up or down arrow to move up and down in the Playlist e Use the gt gt and lt lt Transport buttons on the Amarra UI to move to the next track to the head of current track or to the previous track You can also use the Tracks Bu
24. ldown menu Page 14 eYou will only be able to load tracks into an Amarra Playlist that Amarra can playback If you get a sample rate not supported message please check to make sure your Mac interface and DAC all support the sample rate of the track being loaded eYou can also use a drag drop method of loading tracks into your Amarra Playlist from either your iTunes library or a Finder window 5 1 2 Amarra Playlist Window Amarra Playlist mode provides an additional independent Playlist window optional to man age your Amarra Playlists There are some new buttons on the Amarra Playlist window to be aware of The Link Button This button links the Amarra window to the Amarra Playlist window As you move the Amarra window the Playlist window will follow The Repeat Playlist Button 2 This button has 2 states and determines what Amarra should do at the end of a Playlist Stop at end of Playlist 4 Repeat Playlist amp All other buttons on the Amarra Playlist Ul have the same function as on the Amarra Ul 5 1 3 Entering Playlist Mode Entering Playlist mode is easy Simply press the Playlist button on the Amarra UI The button will turn blue and typically the Playlist window is displayed If you do not see the Playlist win dow click on the Amarra gt Windows gt Playlist pull down menu item at the top of the screen The PLAYLIST BUTTON 5 1 4 Loading tracks into a Playlist There are 2 ways to load new trac
25. list Playlist Window XP Add Tracks From iTunes sft cmd i Adds tracks selected in iTunes into Playlist Add Tracks from Finder cmd o Select and add audio tracks from the Mac Finder Clear Tracks Clears the current Playlist or when when used in Amarra iTunes mode clears any Preloaded Tracks Open Playlist Open an existing Amarra Playlist Save Playlist Saves a Playlist to disk for later recall Playlist Window Opens the Amarra Playlist window A 4 Desk Window Ba Windows Help Open Sonic EQ Setup Save Sonic EQ Setup Save As Default Mute XM Cache THC Open Sonic EQ Setup Allows you open a previously saved Sonic EO Setup Save Sonic EQ Setup Allows you to save the current open Sonic EQ Setup save As Default Save the current open Sonic EO Setup as the Default EO The Sonic EQ Setup will be recalled on launch Mute opt cmd MI Turns Mute on and off Cache opt cmd M Turns CACHE Mode on and off A 5 Windows Menu iets Help Amarra YXA iTunes Xl Playlist XP Equalizer XE Amarra opt a Toggles the Amarra Window on and off iTunes opt i Toggles the main iTunes Window on and off Playlist opt p Toggles the Amarra Playlist Window on and off Equalizer opt E Toggles the Equalizer on and off APPENDIX B The Amarra Preferences Window This section describes all of the functions available via the Amarra Preferences window NOTE Deleting Amarra Preferences if Amarra qu
26. ls all windows Quit Amarra Quits Amarra Page 29 A 2 File Pulldown Menu File Playlist Desk Windows He Set Amarra for Playback 1 Set iTunes for Playback 32 Set Playlist for Playback 3 Open Recent gt Clear Tracks Ce Mute KAM Convert FLAC File to AIFF Convert FLAC Folder to AIFF Activation Rescan Audio Devices Open Audio MIDI Setup Audio Device Preferences Panner Amarra Open Sonic Studio Process Check For Updates Sonic Studio Website Eject Disc HE Set Amarra for Playback cmd 1 Sets Amarra as the source for playback Set iTunes for Playback cmd 2 Sets iTunes as the source for playback Set Playlist for Playback cmd 3 Sets Amarra s Playlist as the source for playback Open Recent List of Recent Amarra Playlists for easy access Clear Tracks Clears Tracks from either Amarra Playlist or Preloaded Tracks Mute Mutes Amarra Convert FLAC File to AIFF Convert FLAC Files to AIFF Format see chapter 6 for details Convert FLAC Folder to AIFF Convert FLAC Folder to AIFF Format see chapter 6 for details Activation Opens the Activation Window refer to the Amarra Activation Guide for more in formation about Activating Amarra Rescan Audio Devices Rescans Audio Devices and updates Devices when adding removing Open Audio Midi Setup Open the Audio Midi Setup window for setting up your DAC Audio Device Preferences Opens the Audio Device Preferences for manag
27. mple rates supported by Amarra for the various inter fac es connecting your Mac to your DAC Output device Remember that Amarra does not do any realtime up or downsampling as we believe this to be an audiophile no no that results in non bit perfect potentially inconsisten output Ensure your DAC supports the desired sample rates natively and you should be all set Amarra Device DAC Sample Rate Support Interface connection between Mac Poet kHz a kHz Firewire USB ae Y Optical Built in Audio Mac ae yet Interfaces are listed in recommended order for best sound If your device supports 176 4kKHz 192kKHz 352 8kHz and 384kHz input via the Firewire or USB Interface on your device If your device accepts hi resolution input 176 4k or above only on it s S PDIF or Toslink interface you will need a FW or USB gt S PDIF or Toslink Converter Some earlier Macs do not support 88 2 khz Use Audio Midi Setup to verify sample rate support for Built In Audio on your Mac Qptical Built in Audio Mac or Toslink is limited to a maximum output sample rate of 96kHz out of the Macintosh computer Amarra DAC Sample Rate Support Once you ve correctly set the device for sound output you are ready to launch Amarra 2 2 Launching Amarra or Amarra Symphony the First Time As part of the installation process you will be asked to launch Amarra or Amarra Symphony Simply select Yes when prompted and Amarra will launch as the in
28. ne of these steps address your prob lem please contact your dealer or Sonic Studio support for more help Page 27 11 0 Contacting Sonic Studio Thanks for using Amarra Hifi We really appreciate your patronage and are always interested in your experiences with Amarra Hifi For information on problems resources please visit our FAQ page http www sonicstudio com amarra amarrafag html For bug reports and support issues visit http www sonicstudio com amarra amarrasupport html or email us support sonicstudio com To suggest new features for our products e mail us at support sonicstudio com Page 28 APPENDIX A Amarra Pulldown Menus The following section describes the Amarra Pulldown Menu Items Amarra Menu Bar A 1 Amarra Pulldown Menu File Playlist About Amarra Preferences amp Services b Hide Amarra H Hide Others SH E a ka FT A ul j LJ Ge Fy Quit Amarra AQ About Amarra Opens the modal About window This is useful for verifying the version number of Amarra that you are running Click anywhere in the window to close it Preferences Opens the Preference window for Amarra Services This menu proves access to any Services that are available to Amarra Hide Amarra Hides all Amarra windows To reveal the windows click on the Dock icon or tap the tab key to cycle through running applications to select Amarra Hide Others Hides all windows other than Amarra Show All Revea
29. not play some variable bit rate or low bite rate MP3 files P Uncle John s Band ae Grateful Dead Workingman s Dead 2 59 o 1 55 LIBRARY Songs Albums Artists Genres Radio Match Jd Music f oy Time Artist Album by Artist hidi y Kind m Movies c Wharf Rat 10 49 Grateful Dead Steppin Out With T AAC audio file TV Shows aa f One More Saturday Night 4 58 Grateful Dead Steppin Out With T AAC audio file STORE Touch of Grey 5 48 Grateful Dead The Very Best of Gr Purchased AAC iTunes Store Uncle John s Band AIFF audio file Purchased GENIUS FE Genius PLAYLISTS 4G 90 s Music 5 Classical Music 6 Music Videos My Top Rated 6 Recently Added High Time Dire Wolf New Speedway Boogie Cumberland Blues f Black Peter f Easy Wind Casey Jones Estimated Prophet st Stephen gt NFA gt St Stephen gt Morning Dew One More Saturday Night Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Grateful Dead 44 Grateful Dead 6 Grateful Dead aT Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Grateful Dead 56 Grateful Dead Workingman s Dead Workingman s Dead Workingman s Dead Workingman s Dead Workingman s Dead Workingman s Dead Workingman s Dead 05 08 77 Ithaca NY 05 08 77 Ithaca NY 05 08 77 Ithaca NY 05 08 77 Ithaca NY AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF audio file AIFF
30. orable loca tion e To play your playlist just click on Amarra s Play button You can skip forward and back in the playlist by using the forward and back buttons using the Tracks list or by clicking on the Tracks in the playlist window 6 2 Playing FLAC Files from iTunes iTunes does not natively support Flac Files Your files will need to be converted to a format supported by iTunes in order to be loaded into your iTunes library Under the Amarra gt FILE Menu there are two commands available for this function You can convert a FLAC File to AIFF or convert an entire Folder of Music to AIFF such as an album from a high resolution download music site 6 2 1 Converting FLAC Folder to AIFF Format Converting a FLAC Folder to AIFF is an easy 3 step process Page 20 e Click on the Amarra gt File gt Convert FLAC Folder to AIFF e In the resulting Finder window navigate to and select the source folder containing FLAC files and click Open e In the next window specify the destination folder for the AIFF files You can create a tempo rary folder for this or choose an existing folder for your new AIFF files Click Open when done e Lastly you will have the opportunity to automatically add these files to iTunes and create a playlist using the dialog below Add to iTunes This will copy and organize if your iTunes Preferences are set with your iTunes library 6 2 2 Converting FLAC Files to AIFF Format Converting a FLAC FILE to AIFF i
31. ra mode Indicates the track being played back and the total tracks in your Playlist or Preloaded 12 EQ Button eTurns the Equalizer window on and off Use Option click to Bypass EO NOTE This button only effects the display of the EQ window Use the EQ button on the Equalizer to turn the EQ on and off 13 LINK Button eLinks the Amarra UI to the iTunes window Move your iTunes window and Amarra will follow NOTE If you move your Amarra window iTunes does not follow This ts useful if you need to temporarily separate the windows 14 Down Arrow Button e Toggles the Artwork Window on and off Page 10 3 1 The Amarra Vertical Window The Amarra Vertical Window is accessible via the Amarra Preferences window Simply click on Amarra Vertical Window and restart Amarra to use the Vertical window Ain t Wastin Time No More lt lt T gt gt am gt The Allman Brothers Band Eat A Peach Q7 Search Library h 0 40 a a 3 01 rr AMARRA lt n VTC CORARY f Songs Albums Artists Genres Radio Match ja A Music t Movies i TV Shows STORE A iTunes Store Purchased DEVICES Greatest Hits Vol 1 f oe r Smp GENIUS Bant 8 Genius The Fillmore Concerts Disc 1 The Fillmore Concerts Disc 2 The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band PLAYLISTS 0 90 s Music t Classical Music Eat A Peach gt 3 f Music Videos The Allman Brothers Band 19
32. s an easy 3 step process e Click on the Amarra gt File gt Convert FLAC FILE to AIFF e In the resulting Finder window navigate to and select one or more FLAC files to convert and click Open e In the next window specify the destination folder for the new AIFF files e Lastly you will have the opportunity to again automatically add these files to iTunes and cre ate a playlist NOTE Converting FLAC Folders and Files to AIFF using Amarra is a non destructive process Your original FLAC files will remain intact and you will also have new AIFF files We recom mend copying your FLAC files off to your backup drive for retrieval in case of emergency Use your AIFF files for day to day playback This setup will provide better sound quality during playback and minimize the amount of space needed for backups Page 21 7 0 Gapless Playback Gapless playback is perfect for contiguous performances such as symphonic recordings or live performances Gapless playback is now available in both Amarra iTtunes mode and in Amarra Playlist mode however there are some minor differences between how gapless playback is provided in each mode NOTE Uncompressed files are required for Gapless Playback Use AIFF WAV or BWF files 7 1 Gapless Playback in Amarra iTunes Mode To enable Gapless Playback in Amarra iTtunes Mode ensure you select the Amarra Preference setting for PRELOAD TRACKS and set the COUNT parameter to the desired number of tracks or a full al
33. stallation process com pletes Amarra should find your sound output device automatically This can be verified by clicking on the I button on the Amarra User Interface Your device should be displayed in the Amarra UI window Page 7 2 3 Launching Amarra and Symphony Going Forward To launch Amarra or Symphony moving forward click on the Amarra icon in your dock or navi gate to your Applications gt Amarra 25 folder in Finder and double click on Amarra app As long as your device is set as the device for sound output prior to launching Amarra Amarra should automatically find the device 3 0 The Amarra Horizontal User Interface Amarra has 2 different User Interfaces available one horizontal and one vertical The horizon tal user interface is the default Ul and is shown below To swap to the vertical UI select Use Vertical Window in Amarra Preferences and restart Amarra To swap back de select Use Vertical Window in Amarra Preferences and re start Amarra reer KGAA PCR Oe m 6 7 8 10 11 12 Amarra Horizontal User Interface Only available in Amarra Symphony 1 Transport buttons Oe lt lt Go to head of current track double click to go to previous track Il gt Pause Play button gt gt Go to next track 2 Amarra Volume Slider Adjusts volume for Amarra playback If you are using an external device we recommend leaving the Amarra volume at full volume all the way to the righ
34. t and use your volume control on your external device to adjust playback volume The speaker icons are hot spots for 0 and 144 dB eiTunes and Amarra Volume are kept In sync NOTE You may notice a small delay or echo while the i Tunes Volume ts being moved 3 Amarra UI Window Displays Track Name and Album Name eDisplays Gain level in dB 0 0dB to 144dB Displays sample rate of current track eDisplays position of Playhead via counter elf Preload Tracks Preference set Displays track playing and tracks loaded elf Cache selected Displays amount of RAM used to load selected tracks elf EQ is on Displays current EQ setting NOTE If Gain is less than 0 0 dB dithering is enabled if auto dither is selected in Amarra Preferences 4 Playlist Commands only visible when in Playlist mode See Section 5 for more details on using Am arra Playlists Add Adds selected tracks from iTunes into your Amarra Playlist Finder Opens a Finder window to navigate to and select files to add to an Amarra Playlist Clear Clears Playlist Also clears preloaded tracks when in Amarra mode Open Opens a saved Amarra Playlist clears current playlist Save Opens a Finder window to save current Playlist for future recall Clear Button is visible in Amarra mode and clears any Preloaded Tracks 5 Artwork window eDisplays available artwork Double click on the Artwork window to open a larger independent Artwork win
35. t in effect B 6 HARDWARE SETTINGS Follow Core Audio Settings Automatically follow Core Audio Settings when changed Amarra will use the same output device as specified in AMSU Use Audio Device Preferences to set your Output Audio Device to a different Audio Device independently of AMSU B 7 ADDITIONAL SONIC HARDWARE SETTINGS Amarra provides additional preferences when used with a Sonic Audio Interface These con trols allow integration of Analog Gain Control and more Additional Sonic Hardware Preferences NOTE Requires Sonic Studio Hardware and the Amarra Console Software Launch Quit Console Forces Sonic Console to launch or quit in syne with Amarra Dim Front Panel Dims the front panel display Control Volume Interlocks Amarra s gain control with the hardware gain control so either can be used Gain Adjustment Set the system gain to match professional 0 dB or consumer electronic 10 or 14 dB stan dard Page 34 APPENDIX C Your Amarra 2 5 Folder This section describes the files installed in your Applications gt Amarra 2 5 folder in Finder as part of the Amarra installation process Amarra app The Amarra application Manuals eAmarra Activatation Guide pdf refer to this man ual for Installation and Activation instructions eAmarra 2 5 Read Me pdf important notes about Amarra version 2 5 eAmarra 2 5 User Manual refer to this manual for detailed information about operating Amarra eAmarra
36. tton to see the list of tracks loaded and to choose a desired Tracks The TRACKS BUTTON Pulldown menu of the tracks either in your Amarra Playlist or Preloaded if in Amarra mode Deleting Tracks You can delete a track in the current Playlist by Highlighting the track and hitting the De lete Key on your keyboard Moving Tracks You can move tracks up and down in the current playlist by highlighting the track and holding the mouse key down You will see a white line that you can move around in the Playlist and it indicatea where the file will be placed when dropped Release the mouse to drop the file in place It will take Amarra a moment to rebuild the Playlist so please be patient 5 1 6 Saving a Playlist for Future Recall You can Save your Amarra Playlist for recall at a future time by using the Save button on the Amarra UI on the Amarra Playlist UI or from the Amarra gt Playlist pulldown menu The SAVE Button e Press the Save button e Set the desired name for the Playlist e Click the Where pulldown item to navigate to the desired location for your Playlist e Saving a Playlist with the same name and location will overwrite the existing Playlist Page 16 5 1 7 Opening an Existing Playlist You can recall an existing Amarra Playlist in one of 2 ways You can either use the Open Button on the Amarra UI or drag drop an existing Playlist into the Amarra Playlist Window The Open Button _OPEN e Click on this button to access
37. tudio Process 8 1 Launching Sonic Studio Process The Sonic Studio Process can be accessed from the Amarra gt File pulldown menu File Playlist Desk Windows H Set Amarra for Playback 1 Set iTunes for Playback 2 Set Playlist for Playback 3 Open Recent gt Clear Tracks ec 4 Mute X M Convert FLAC File to AIFF Convert FLAC Folder to AIFF Activation Rescan Audio Devices Open Audio MIDI Setup Audio Device Preferences Open Sonic Studio Process Check For Updates Sonic Studio Website Eject Disc E Extras gt Choose Open Sonic Studio Process to launch Sonic Studio Process 38 2 The Params Window When you launch Sonic Studio Process you will be presented with a Params window which will allow you to set the source files you wish to convert the destination for your converted files and a series of parameters regarding the sampe rate conversion BOC Sonic Studio Process Window gt Sonic Studio ee aoe 6 C Stran aif 2 20 01 40 00C 5 1 Heard That Lonesome Whistl aif 2 00 02 24 10 4 Goodbye Little Darlin aif 2 00 02 1 4 02 olumesiMacintosh HD UsersiralphiDesktop Sample Rate Conversion Sample Rate 48000 Format AIFF Filter Type Gentle Sample Rate Conversion Target Sample Rate 48000 hz i Sample Rate Converter Target File Format AIFF o l Filter Curve Execute SSP Params Window Clicking the Execute button will start the conversion
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