What is Pure Music Mode in Isai?

Pure Music Mode is a way of playing music in Isai, the music player by ARRcade, built for iPhone Duo. It turns the player into a cassette deck, a CD player or a turntable. Folded, the whole cover screen becomes the machine, with keys to press and a tape, disc or record you can watch. Unfolded, the left screen becomes your library as a shelf of cassette cases, jewel cases or record sleeves, and the right screen is the deck.

Which players are in Pure Music Mode?

Three formats, each with its own models. Cassette has five: L2, F30, WM-2, F5 and DD. CD includes a red DUO compact player and a silver portable CD player with slatted shutters. Vinyl has two turntables: the black HX500 and the walnut 2400. You switch between them from the deck menu in the Albums view, and the song keeps playing.

Does Pure Music Mode change how the music sounds?

No. Pure Music Mode changes how Isai looks, not how it sounds. Every deck plays through the same Isai engine: FLAC, ALAC, DSD and the other formats Isai supports, gapless playback, the Signal Path inspector, and streaming straight from MEGA, Dropbox, WebDAV or local files.

When is Pure Music Mode available?

Pure Music Mode is coming with Isai on iPhone Duo. Isai is in development at ARRcade for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and there is no release date to announce yet. The Isai page at arrcade.dev/apps/isai becomes the download page when it ships.

Pure Music Mode: Isai Becomes a Walkman, a Discman and a Turntable on iPhone Duo

Remember pressing play on a Walkman? The click of the button, the little reels turning, flipping the tape when one side ended. Music felt like something you could hold.

Pure Music Mode brings that feeling back to Isai.

Choose a cassette deck, a CD player or a turntable, and Isai’s player turns into it. On iPhone Duo it works two ways. Fold the phone and the player fills the cover screen, so you hold it just like a pocket player. Open it and your albums sit on the left, with the player on the right.

Only the look changes. Your music sounds exactly the same.

A1Pick a deck

There are three kinds of player. Each one changes the player and the way your albums look.

Isai unfolded in cassette mode: an amber library of cassette cases on the left with Bombay (Vinyl) marked Now Playing, and a black deck holding an Isai Master 46 tape on the right

Cassette. Your albums become cassette cases, with the title on the spine. The tape plays in the deck on the right.

A2Fold it to hold the player

Close your iPhone Duo while music is playing and the player fills the cover screen. You get buttons to tap, a volume wheel to turn, and a tape or disc that spins while the song plays.

The F30 cassette player in hot pink, with a volume wheel and blue, red and green keys — **F30**Cassette

A matte blue cassette player with a silver key column and an orange pause key — **Blue**Cassette

The red DUO compact disc player with the disc showing through a window in its lid — **DUO**Compact disc

A silver portable CD player with slatted shutters over the disc and an amber readout — **Silver**Portable CD

The 2400 turntable in walnut with a chrome tonearm, playing Chiggy Wiggy — **2400**Turntable

Choose the player you grew up with.

Side A · Track 1

CassettePress play.

L2
F30
WM-2
F5
DD

Close look at the F30: an Isai Master 46 tape with Tu Hi Re by A.R. Rahman written on the index card

Close look at the blue cassette player with its orange pause key lit

The F30 is bright pink, with big coloured buttons down the side: blue for play and pause, red for fast-forward and rewind, green for stop. Turn the wheel in the corner to change the volume.

Inside is an Isai Master 46 tape. The song and the artist are written on its label, and the reels turn as the music plays.

Prefer something calmer? The blue player keeps it simple, with silver buttons and a single orange pause key.

ButtonsPlay, pause, fast-forward, rewind and stop.
VolumeA wheel you turn, from 0 to 10.
Tape labelShows the song and the artist.
Five modelsL2, F30, WM-2, F5 and DD.

Side A · Track 2

Compact DiscTrack 01.

Red DUO
Silver

The red DUO CD player: a white circle traced on the lid, Compact Disc Digital Audio lettering and a green LCD

The silver portable CD player, its shutters half over the Bombay disc

The red DUO CD player shows the disc through a window in the lid, with the album cover printed on it. Below, a small green screen shows the track number and time, next to play, pause, skip and stop buttons.

Flip the REMAIN switch to see the time left in a song instead of the time played.

The silver CD player has shutters over the disc, an orange screen and round black buttons.

Open the Duo and the disc gets the whole right side of the screen, spinning as the song plays.

Isai unfolded in vinyl mode with the HX500 turntable: Blinded by the Light with an orange record in the library, and Chiggy Wiggy playing on a black record — The HX500 turntable, with the Duo open

Side B · Track 1

VinylTurn it over.

HX500
2400

The walnut 2400 turntable folded on the Duo's cover screen, label printed with the album art of Blue

The HX500 is a black turntable with the tonearm resting on the record. It has a knob for 33 and 45, a light that shows it’s on, and a Turn over button to switch between side A and side B.

Records come in colour, with the album cover printed on the label in the middle.

The 2400 is a wooden turntable with a silver platter and a chrome tonearm. When you pick it, your albums take on a warm brown to match.

Turn overSwitch between side A and side B.
SpeedA knob for 33 and 45.
Coloured recordsWith the album cover on the label.
Two turntablesHX500 in black, 2400 in wood.

B2Open it up

Open your iPhone Duo and you get two screens: your albums on the left, the player on the right.

Swipe through your albums as covers. The one that’s playing has a NOW PLAYING tag. The background changes colour to match the player you picked, so both sides feel like one.

The deck menu open over the Albums view: Take the record off, Cassette, CD, and Vinyl expanded to show HX500 and 2400, with 2400 selected — Choosing a player from the menu

Switching players

Tap the player button at the top of your albums. Choose Cassette, CD or Vinyl, then pick a model. The player changes straight away, and your song keeps playing.

Pure Music Mode decks
Format	Models	Albums look like
Cassette	`L2` `F30` `WM-2` `F5` `DD`	Cassette cases
CD	Red DUO, silver	CD cases
Vinyl	`HX500` `2400`	Record sleeves

B3The same Isai underneath

Pure Music Mode only changes how Isai looks. Your music plays exactly as it always does, straight from wherever you keep it.

Even a high-resolution file plays perfectly on the cassette player. It just looks like a tape.

Everything you know from Isai still works:

FLAC
ALAC
DSD
Gapless
MEGA
Dropbox
WebDAV
Play On
Bit perfect on Mac

B4Questions

What is Pure Music Mode?

A new way to play music in Isai, made for iPhone Duo. It turns the player into a cassette deck, a CD player or a turntable. Fold the phone to hold the player. Open it to see your albums beside it.

Which players are there?

Five cassette players (L2, F30, WM-2, F5 and DD), CD players in red and silver, and two turntables (HX500 and 2400).

Does it change the sound?

No. It only changes how Isai looks. Your music plays through the same Isai you already know.

When can I get it?

Soon. Pure Music Mode is coming with Isai on iPhone Duo. There’s no release date yet. When Isai ships, the Isai page becomes the download page.