Pure Music

I mentioned the software Audirvana Plus a few times in past posts, notably yesterday when I turned off the "direct" button to go back to using Apple's CoreAudio which (strangely) improved the sound. Before I got Audirvana I used software called Pure Music from the company Channel D. I liked Pure Music a lot, but there were bugs. About six weeks ago they announced version 2, and offered customers a 1/2 off discount to the upgrade price, but only for a week or two. I missed the time. I emailed them a couple of days after the discount expired to see if I could still get the deal, but never heard back. That's when I looked into Audirvana. That software worked better; it didn't have the bugs that Pure Music had.

Last night I tried Pure Music again. After the episode of improving the sound coming out of Audirvana with the "direct" change, I thought maybe I should check Pure Music again to see how the sound compares. I did, and it did seem better. It seems more alive, the Glenn Gould Bach I've been going through seems even more alive. I keep saying "seems" because I can't be absolutely sure without an "A B" test, switching quickly between the two setups. It's hard to do, and I haven't. But it sure "seems" like Pure Music sounds better. The Gould went from dull (Audirvana using direct mode) to good (direct mode off) to the old Glenn Gould that I know from the Mozart piano sonatas -- the best at being alive and exciting. It was the music was back the way it was supposed to be. 

Again, I can't be sure, but I know I turned the volume up and listened to more of the Gould Bach than I did before, and listened more closely. 

There was an upgrade to the new version 2 from Channel D which squashed the bugs that were appearing before, so I decided to go back to Pure Music and bought the upgrade. I'm happy.

After breakfast I listened to Mozart String Quintet No. 3 in C, K 515 performed by the Guarneri String Quartet. I love this piece perhaps more than any other Mozart. I said this out loud and my wife asked why. "Because of the interplay between the violin and the cello is so wonderful, and the melody so sweet and pure" (we were listening to the beginning of the first movement). I first heard the quintets as a teenager and fell in love with them. I think that is when I decided I liked chamber music more than orchestral music, a preference I still have today.

The Guarneri is not available on ClassicalArchives. Here is a link to their recordings of the quintet.