DPad can also intercept audio played back from the web browser – hello Pandora radio. I took the 15 day trial versions of 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 for a spin.īundled inside the main app is the DPad plug-in which installs a virtual output device on your Mac through which any audio can be routed and – therefore – improved. Ahead of its release I thought I’d take a closer look at its main competitor: Channel D’s PureMusic (US$129). That coverage was somewhat Windows-centric with the final mention going to the forthcoming Amarra SQ, software that promises OS X users an audible improvement with ANY music application, not just iTunes. I recently detailed several ways in which to connect better software playback engines with Spotify and Qobuz. Time to remind ourselves that the mastering quality is as (if not more) important than the delivery format. Spotify sates more (theoretical) casual listening via 320kbps Ogg Vorbis but it too can still sound downright impressive. Renting access to CD-quality music is big news. With Qobuz and WiMP lossless streaming services up and running we now look to the cloud as a source of music. In 2014, we no longer consider only locally hosted libraries, accessed via an iTunes database. Whether it’s been a showroom demo or a home audition not once have I been unimpressed with the amelioration brought by each of these pieces of software. Spend a few hours with any of these applications and you’ll find returning to iTunes running solo a most unsatisfactory listening experience: it will likely sound flat and lifeless in comparison. They each retain iTunes’ library management system but at the click of play digital audio is handed off to the third party player where lower system overheads and RAM pre-loading solicit an uptick in sound quality. Computer audiophiles using Mac OS X will likely be familiar with the Channel D’s Pure Music, Sonic Studio’s Amarra and Audirvana+ – all alternatives to iTunes’ own playback engine.
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