Mac users: What program do you use for music playback?

Under Audirvana preferences you have to use the second sync option for iTunes library synchronization.

1. The other method is to synchronize with iTunes by importing iTunes library.
   
   
   • - If your iTunes library is not located in the default location, you can select a new location to look into by clicking on the “Select” button. This will raise a window where you’ll select the iTunes Music Library.xml file of the iTunes library. This is
     
     this file Audirvana Plus will read to import the iTunes database.
     
     
   • - Click on “Sync” to initiate the synchronization. This process is made in the following steps: 1) import/update the tracks that are more recent in the iTunes library, 2) import the iTunes playlists (The smart playlists are imported as manual
     

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Audirvana Plus 2.5 User Manual

ones as their predicate is unfortunately stored in an iTunes proprietary format not readable by any other application), 3) update in iTunes the tracks modified in Audirvana Plus (this will launch iTunes during this step). In case of synchronization conflict, the priority is given to changes made in Audirvana Plus over in iTunes.

- Click on “Delete” to remove the tracks and playlists imported from iTunes. The tracks that are also in folders in the synchronization list will be preserved.

Note that this operation will need to be repeated each time the iTunes library is updated. As there may be some latency in iTunes to save its latest updates, it’s better to quit iTunes before requesting a new synchronization.
The following information is not synchronized from iTunes:

• - Tracks not readable outside of iTunes: DRM protected files (usually ending with .m4p extension), the tracks on the cloud and coming from Home Sharing libraries
  
  
• - Non musical tracks (e.g. video, books)
  
  
• - Criteria of Smart Playlists, only the tracks are imported for these The following information is not synchronized to iTunes:
  

• - Advanced metadata not handled by iTunes (e.g. soloist, conductor, period)
  
  
• - Play count and last played date
  
  
• - Playlists (single way: only imported from iTunes, any changes done to these
  
  playlists imported from iTunes in Audirvana Plus is erased upon the subsequent
  
  synchronization)
  In addition, with this method, you need to ensure all your music files folders are accessible (mounted) before launching the synchronization. Tracks whose file is not accessible during the synchronization will not be imported.
  
  iTunes 12 warning: iTunes 12 is no more generating by default the XML file that contains its database information. To get it generated, you need to enable the option in the Advanced page of iTunes preferences.
  
  

 

Thanks for replying, Woody.

I did read the user manual before asking for help. This should be a very straight forward process and I must seem a little slow because of the continued problems I'm encountering. All I can say is that I have the correct file set up for sync and even went through all the sub-folders manually and synced them too. Nothing I've done has loaded my playlists into A+.

I'm beginning to feel like I'm in an episode of The Twilight Zone - "What do you mean you can't sync your playlists?, everyone else can......"

 

Sorry I didn't look all the way through the thread before replying. One other option is to export individual playlists using iTunes in .xml to your desktop and then importing each one in Audirvana using the import playlist under the Audirvana file menu (or it maybe the edit menu).

 

What I loved about Apple software is that you never used to need any type of manual. Everything was so intuitive. Not like it used to but that's one reason I don't wish to switch to anything else as they seem even more complicated

 

I ran into an issue where my .xml file that audirvana was syncing was looking at my back up folder files. I have no idea how that happened and still have not fixed it. I have been working on that tonight intermittently. Right now I believe audirvana is fixing my album art and placing the images in the song folders and not the album folders for thousands of files.

I've tried a few players and I think the biggest improvement with any player is using memory play, i.e. loading each song into RAM to be played. Benefits of each player start to be based more on usability after that, based on the 3-4 I have tried. Integer mode in audirvana was a slight improvement for the few months I had it on my Metric Halo DAC.

 

No need to apologize, Woody, I just didn't want to look like I wasn't doing the basic work towards solving my own problem.

Anyway, I did get the playlists imported. The answer was to "import iTunes music only". Previously, when given the option, I'd gone for importing all music, which seemed sensible as it would include iTunes. However, now that's done, all the tracks in every playlist are in the wrong order - and once again I have no way of manually re-ordering them in A+. Maybe this isn't the program for me, it's all feeling like too much work.

I do appreciate your help though.

I hear you, Mazzy. If my iPod classic would still connect to my computer then I wouldn't even be exploring all this stuff. As I need a new portable music player, I was thinking that I'd like to convert everything to FLAC files instead of AIFF files, so that meant changing to a new music program. And that tied in with the iPod replacement I'm planning on buying - a Fiio X5 which plays FLAC files. But your comment has made me stop and think - why don't I just stay listening to AIFF though iTunes and plug the Fiio into iTunes? The idea of having to get a new music program has made everything more complicated than it needs to be.

As long as the Fiio connects to iTunes (and why wouldn't it?) then maybe I should just do that.

So thanks for your comment.

 

Forgive me, but you have tried clicking the song title and dragging it where you want it to go in the playlist, right? That works for me. Curious that it wouldn't for you. Try waiting for a line to appear between songs before you drop the one you're dragging.

 

That's what I did initially, without even thinking about it, as that's what I do in iTunes. But no, it doesn't work. Someone else mentioned that they can do it that way too but no matter how long I hold the song in the new spot it just slides back to where it was.

Even though it's a trail version it's supposed to be fully functional.

 

Are you sure you're using Playlists? Or are you looking at albums in your Library? I can reproduce what you're talking about within albums in my Library--if I want to change the order there, I have to go into the metadata and change the track numbers. But the Playlists work exactly as I've described previously; I can drag and drop tracks wherever I please.

 

I use ITunes to organize my files and then access them using Linn Kazoo to stream to my Raspberry Pi. I don't play much music on the computer any more.

 

On the left side of A+ I'm looking at 'Playlists', 'iTunes imported' and then actual playlists under that. I can't move any tracks in those playlists. Are we both talking about the same thing?

Another problem I've noticed is that A+ didn't import my entire music library, there are about 3500 songs missing.

 

Oy vey

 

Thanks. Try building a new playlist within Audirvana. Can you manipulate the order of tracks there?

For Playlists/iTunes imported, you may have to control the order within iTunes. There might be a setting within Audirvana's preferences to tell the program to allow you to make changes to those in Audirvana, but I don't know. I haven't used the program that way. I'll try to import an iTunes playlist and get back to you.

 

Can you walk me through how you imported your library and your playlists? I've just exported an iTunes playlist to an m3u file, then imported that into Audirvana, and I can manipulate the order. I'm having trouble replicating your issue, but if you tell me the steps you took, I might be able to do it and offer some advice. At any rate, if you follow these steps, you might be able to use the program as you intend: open iTunes, select a playlist, export the playlist to an m3u file, open Audirvana, import playlist m3u file. The track order should be the same as it was in iTunes, but you also should be able to change it in Audirvana if you like.

 

You lost a packing box, full of CD's. That must be more heartbreaking than misplacing a few computer files?

I know I would be gutted.

 

If I build a playlist within A+ I can't manipulate it.

To import my library and playlists, in A+ I went to Preferences, Library and then synced with /Volumes/LaCie/iTunes/iTunes Library.xml (my iTunes is on an external hard drive).

How do I export to an m3u file? I understand what it is but iTunes wants to export playlists as .txt files.

 

At least I know that the more you read about my struggles with all this the happier you get, Mazzy.

 

Not really, maybe once you figure it out I may change my mind and jump in. Maybe not

 

There's an option when you're saving to change the file format from txt to m3u.

 

When I go to export a playlist it automatically makes it a .txt file. There's no drop down menu to choose an .m3u designation. I can type in .m3u at the end of the file but this doesn't appear to make it that type of file. Importing this file to A+ did nothing.

 

Im enjoying the ride.

 

That's strange. There's a drop down menu on mine. What version of iTunes are you running?

 

Is there a program that would load pics and PDFs that are in the folder and show them while the music plays...? It would be great to be able to run a+ from a tablet (which we can do), but then have the tablet show PDFs and pics that we manually place in the directory (i.e.: "/Rolling Stones-Exilenon Main Street.flac16") that would pics I have scanned from Tarle's book and stuck in that folder... Or a pdf of the liner notes that one could scan and drop in from needle drops... Now it seems we are limited to lyrics and covers embedded in the metadata of each track...

 

Oh, now I see it, down at the bottom of the box. Sorry, Gabe, I was focused on the top where it says "save as".

Let me give that another go.

OK, gave that another go. The playlist imported but the result was the same. The track order is messed up and still no capacity to move them around.

If, at some point, this becomes anything but fun, Gabe, don't feel you have to keep helping me out.

 

At this point, I don't trust that the trial version is fully functional.