Amarra HiFi and 24/96 FLAC Files - Heads Up


OK, I am new to computer audio, but, want to make sure others do not make the same mistake I just made. Based on a recommendation from HD Tracks I downloaded Amarra HiFi to start playing 24/96 FLAC files. In fairness to HD Tracks they recommend the full version of Amarra , not Amarra HiFi. After much frustration and technical help from HD Tracks and Amarra I found out Amarra HiFi will not play HD FLAC files! I now need to spend an additional $149 to upgrade to the full Amarra program to get this feature.

So fellow Audiogoners, what do I do? Spend the additional $149 to upgrade to Amarra, use Audirvana Plus priced at $49, go with Pure Music at $129 or spend $33 to purchase Decibel (my wife suggested a fifth option, "Just give up", nah, can't do this)? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Marcus
mgattmch
I've been pretty happy with Amarra. Even with the $$'s it seems pretty good. Can't you also convert the flac files using the Amarra converter and play with what you already have? Should still sound great...
Try out the free 15 day version of Audirvana Plus and if you like it then bite the bullet for $49.
Yes, it is possible to convert 24/96 FLAC files to AIFF using Amarra HiFi.
However, according to Amarra, when this is done they get down-converted to
16/44.1. This rather defeats my new found interested in HD audio.

Thanks for the tip on Foobar2000 (no good for me as I use a Mac) and
Audivarna, I will investigate.

Marcus