Studio issues before subscribing

šŸ–„ļø Audirvāna
1

Iā€™m not a big fan of Subscription models - especially having paid for every release from 2012.

But if weā€™re going down this route then it has to work with the added ā€œextrasā€ perfectly.

a) especially as it is so overpriced for UK users (USD 69.99 is way cheaper than GBP64.99 or EUR69.99
b) as no discount / introductory rate was offered to existing customers

Only a day into the trial - 2 problems so far

  1. BBC 6Music - Audirvana only provide the 128kbps stream not the 320kbps one - why?
    128kbps is so far away from hifi - why would I want to bother with Audirvana
  2. Podcasts take over 5 minutes to load (MHFS) - sounds just as good and plays instantly on Plex

I would suggest the trial lasts until Studio is working properly!
otherwise Iā€™m going to revert to audirvarna 3.5 (and migrate if it is abandoned)

Iā€™ll keep trying for the remaining 30 days, and Iā€™ll pay if itā€™s all working then. If not Iā€™ll need another trial after the problems are sorted.

I have sympathy for Damian (and co) Itā€™s a good product.

  • So I am happy for the company to be viable long term, but Ā£30 upgrade every 2-3 years (after the initial big spend) to Ā£65pa is a big jump.
  • If I accept all the defects, what incentive is there for them to be corrected?
  • With the upgrade model - you evaluate each upgrade and trust that minor issues will be solved in the intermediate period
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2

I think it has been offered at Ā£49.99 or Ā£44.99 for the first year for existing customers.

Yet again, it must be pointed out that it proves as or more expensive than a US yearly subscription without any discount.
Go figure, it seems that software techies are unaware of modern online international bankingā€¦

4

Oh dear!
Reading to your posts, I could trust you for some competence in audio, but in finances I would not.
Please refer to current exchange rates, and see for yourself.
As for the argument of local taxes, the UK is submitted to the same 20% VAT as France, so that does not tally either.

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5

Why are you surprised with different prices in different countries. Thatā€™s fairly common thing. Ever tried to buy an Apple product in any country other that US? Have you compared the price in that country to the price in US?

7

:+1:
does anyone know how to get the discount applied? I have a 3.5 licence and earlier but got asked for Ā£65ā€¦

and I couldnā€™t agree more @Grwfsywash - being charged extra for GBP is really ā€œirritatingā€
(I have to consciously stop the scorched earth response, that always come to mind) :zipper_mouth_face:

8

Apple is a US company.
Audirvana is a french company, so the argument about ā€œbringing money back to the USā€ is a weird oneā€¦
Please consider the exchange rate between the Euro ans the GB pound. ā‚¬70 is worth less than Ā£61, as I said the VAT is similar in both countries.
As for the dollar, $70 is worth less than Ā£50, so much for for US spending power. if Longhorn opened restaurants here, Jim might not be able to afford a steak and a beer when visiting London

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9

Iā€™d be happy to pay in USD (or indeed EUR)* if thatā€™s the cheapest option. (But I only get offered GBP once Iā€™ve given my location)

One of my credit card providers doesnā€™t surcharge me for FX transactions

  • EUR with VAT is perhaps a better comparison, given the UK has the same VAT rate as France, and France is where Audirvarna is based. Ā£5pa or 8% savingā€¦
10

Exactly, some of us who have a multi currency account could pay in any of the mentioned currencies.
Which is why I commented on modern online international banking.

12

It doesnā€™t matter. In Audirvanaā€™s case it depends on the payment processor and how they operate in different countries, VAT differences and all.

13

Are you implying that Audirvana SAS did not decide to market AS at the different prices they respectively are at in US, UK, and EU, and that such a decision would have been left to a payment processing firm?
My goodness, bitracer, your likely self-interest in the success of AS launch shines a bit too bright.

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14

Dear bitracer, thank you for this blaring admission

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15

Iā€™m just guessing here. As I said this us not uncommon. Appleā€™s products come from China, not US.

16

Please, I do not expect you to like my posts, I am just expecting you to refer to them with some integrity. I stated ā€œApple is a US companyā€
Is that not the case?

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17

They are headquartered in US, but also have legal entities in few other countries. This includes Ireland in the EU. They definitely donā€™t import their products in EU through US.

18

Seeing you knowing so much about Apple, one wonders about the justification for your cack-handed previous comments

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19

Maybe I work for Apple too. :wink:

20

Beware then, I have been a shareholder since the 80s

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21

When I went to my online account page I received the offer for the first year discount for the subscription. I do believe you have to use the same information (e-mail address etc) from 3.5 to get the discount for Studio.

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22

thanks @soundsOfArrakis used my old email address - thatā€™s Ā£20 less pain :slightly_smiling_face:

per the earlier FX conversation (for me itā€™s just irritating, and other companies are just as BM :angry:about it too)

Still would like to hear about:

  • higher bit rate streams for music radio - in my case BBC 6 Music (only providing 128k when 320k is available)
  • faster podcast loading
  • Bandcamp streaming - Musicians need to get paid properly too
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23

Sadly - just heard back from Audirvana support about streaming quality.

  • Theyā€™re blaming it on the stream provider (Airable)
  • Apparently itā€™s low res for BBC and ā€œradio Franceā€
  • doesnā€™t sound like they plan to correct it

I might try a trial again when they support hifi

  • a ā€œpoor showā€ for a comparing trying to get people to subscribe for a hifi service