J River Media Center

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Welly Wu, Aug 2, 2014.

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  1. No Static

    No Static Gain Rider

    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    Planning on trying a demo version of 19 tomorrow morning using a Win7 laptop with an external drive through a Grant Fidelity TubeDAC.

    I've used iTunes forever but this one will be for FLAC and .wav files only.

    Viva digital file shootout!
     
  2. Colin M

    Colin M Forum Resident

    Poor iTunes. :D
     
  3. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident



    If you have any ALAC files, try importing them to JRiver to see if you notice better sound quality. I did. I can't speak for AAC.
     
    No Static likes this.
  4. No Static

    No Static Gain Rider

    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    Good tip. Thanks!
     
  5. WestGrooving

    WestGrooving Forum Resident

    Location:
    California, U.S.A
    Inspired by Steve's thread regarding the PS Audio DirectStream DAC... playing PCM files as DSD, I bought the iFi iDSD nano DAC as a poor man's way to hear 16bit/44khz (among other resolutions) played at DSD 256. Looking for software to drive this iDSD DAC, I searched the internet and found this JRiver Media Center 19 software.

    Using my Sennheiser 580's, I really can't believe redbook CD files can sound this good using the JRiver Output set at DSD x 4 (DSD256). Despite having stellar clarity, I eventually gave up on redbook resolution CDs cause of that closed in, 2-d anemic sound that I just figured was the limit of that format. With the iDSD/JRiver MC 19 combo, my old redbook CDs sound more open/fuller and more detailed when sent to the iDSD DAC as DSD 256. Kinda freaky.

    So thumbs up to JRiver & iFi Nano iDSD DAC! Looking forward to eventually doing comparisons with vinyl sound.
     
  6. detroit muscle

    detroit muscle MIA

    Location:
    UK
    If your transferring CD's to DSD on jRiver you'd better have a big hard drive available! Those files are pretty big.
     
  7. Further

    Further Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    This is great software. I ran MC19 all through the past year with no problems at all. I really love the way everything works and it's supreme tagging. Lots of options for those that like to experiment as well but sounds great right out of the gate. I recently upgraded to the MC20 license but haven't got the new version yet. It's supposed to be just minor changes in the beginning anyway. I have one central music folder and rip everything to ALAC - then I just point MC and iTunes to the same folder and it works beautifully. I only use iTunes to load my iPod for tunes on the go. For everything else, it's MC all the way......except when I'm spinning those delicious records. haha
     
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  8. gloomrider

    gloomrider Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA, USA
    DSD265 only works on Windows for now. iFi's ASIO driver is required. The equivalent PCM sampling rate to send DSD256 over PCM (DoP) is 768kHz :eek: because of how DSD gets packed into DoP.

    Presumably, DSD256 will work with an iFi iDSD Micro (using DoP) which can actually handle 768kHz PCM.
     
  9. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    JRiver is able to convert PCM to DSD on the fly during playback. Just need a powerful CPU and computer setup that can handle that processing without getting bogged down, and a DSD capable DAC with proper drivers and proper support.
     
  10. WestGrooving

    WestGrooving Forum Resident

    Location:
    California, U.S.A
    JRiver takes the 16bit/44khz file and outputs it real time when playing to DSD256 to send to the iFi nano iDSD DAC (DSD X 4 native mode via their ASIO driver). I'm not creating any DSD files from 16bit/44khz PCM files (that would be tedious and require lots of hard disk space as you said)

    Yes, I'm using a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows 8.1 and choosing DSD X 4 in native mode option in JRiver to output to the iFi nano DAC.
    (JRiver MC 19 has 2 DoP options... DSD x 1 and DSD x 2 and 3 native options DSD, DSD x2, DSD x4)

    Foobar can be used as a front end using the new JRiver MC 19 ASIO driver. This will send the output to JRiver, which sends to the iDSD DAC.
    Works great up to DSD x 2 native mode.
     
  11. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    To clarify you are talking about JRiver for Windows v20 and not Mac correct?
     
  12. WestGrooving

    WestGrooving Forum Resident

    Location:
    California, U.S.A
    JRiver MC 19 for Windows... not the Mac version.
     
  13. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    I was referring to this post and version 20
     
  14. WestGrooving

    WestGrooving Forum Resident

    Location:
    California, U.S.A
    Oops. My bad.
     
  15. Welly Wu

    Welly Wu Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nutley, New Jersey
    I downloaded and I installed J River Media Center 20 64 bit, but version 19 still exists. What should I do? Should I uninstall version 19 or is it required for version 20 to function? How do I handle future purchases of newer versions if this same situation presents itself again? What do I need to know?
     
  16. Welly Wu

    Welly Wu Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nutley, New Jersey
    I really do like J River Media Center 20 64 bit. I just got my new CEntrance Hi-Fi M8 LX XL4 portable DAC and headphone amplifier and I'm listening to Ann Hampton Calloway's Slow using Fraunhofer 320 kbps CBR joint stereo MP3 music album and it's extremely clean. This portable combination tells the truth, but not the whole truth at this price point. Listening to my Sennheiser HD-800 headphones, it's quite neutral and accurate with a natural sound that has no tonal imbalances. It does nothing wrong to the music. I'm using the CEntrance ASIO device driver for Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional with Media Center Update 1 64 bit. At first blush, it doesn't sound too special. It sounds like a flat reproduction of the music. Yet, it draws me into the music by getting out of the way. It has a level of portable reference grade sonic signature that is very transparent.

    I'm used to my Resolution Audio Opus 21 and Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline HR-2 that had some noticeable sonic colorations. It sweetens female vocalists and there's a mid bass emphasis. It's also got a very analogue and tube amplifier sonic signature that was very seductive, but it was not accurate. I loved that sound for 10 years, but it was time to move on.

    Now, I understand the hype behind J River Media Center. This is a reference grade audiophile approved media center that has a strong emphasis on bit-perfect audio playback with the right audio components downstream. I feel much closer to the music now. It's like washing your windows clean. At lower volumes, this combination gets me much closer to Ms. Calloway's intended sound for her Slow album.

    This is apparent even with low bitrate MP3s! Amazing!

    I can't wait until I save up enough money to finally make a decision about which integrated DAC and headphone amplifier audio component that I will purchase this holiday season. It's definitely going to be much more of a high end audio product than my CEntrance product. J River Media Center will make it shine brightly.
     
  17. o0OBillO0o

    o0OBillO0o Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Re: JRiver and Spotify integration. Would love to see this.
     
  18. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I can't wait to see J River pump video out to my tv.

    There are so many areas that a system can go upgraded, larger HDDs, DACs, DSD, multichannel, video. 24/96, internet radio and subscription music, etc.

    It's exciting isn't it.
     
  19. No Static

    No Static Gain Rider

    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    Enjoyed using J River (Windows) for my FLAC files last weekend I purchased a copy. There is a difference (to my ears) in FLAC and 320 via iTunes, isn't there?

    Anyway, I want to purchase the J Remote app and wanted to ask which device works best; the one for an iPad or the one for the iPod Touch? I have access to either and prefer not to purchase the $10 app twice. One license may sync to both, but I'm not certain.
     
  20. Vocalpoint

    Vocalpoint Forum Resident

    Nothing. Both versions can co-exist with no issues.

    What you should know is that V20 - while now available is considered a "work in progress" and should be thought of as such until about halfway thru it's dev cycle. V19 on the other hand is fully built out and very mature, stable and rock solid.

    With all MC upgrade cycles - I use the very latest (v20) as test bed until such time that it "graduates" to being strong enough to handle all day to day usage. v19 gets the nod here right now for critical play like family movie time etc.

    That said - v20 is probably the best I have seen for stability so early in the cycle. I might "graduate" to it earlier than I usually do.

    VP
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2014
  21. Mike B

    Mike B Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Ok I kinda feel like a dope but I only just discoverd "theater view." Wow it looks so cool. I use my TV as a monitor because it's the same PC I use for video games and movies, so browsing through my collection via JRiver theater view on my TV is freaking sweet.
     
  22. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    I'm honestly not certain but I don't recall paying for it twice and have it both on my iPad and iPhone. I frankly never use the iPhone app but JRemote on iPad is simply the best remote app I've ver used or seen for controlling a music library.
     
    No Static likes this.
  23. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    The Theater View layout is customizable as well. Go through Tools >> Options >> Theater View >> Items To Show
    You can customize what categories are displayed and how you drill through each category.
    If you have a touch enabled computer the Theater View is somewhat touch friendly for operating the interface.

    There's also the Web Gizmo interface. Configurable through Tools >> Options >> Media Network
    If your TV has a web browser you can try the Web Gizmo interface on the TV
     
  24. No Static

    No Static Gain Rider

    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    OK, so I've been using J River 19 for a couple of weeks now. Running from a Compaq notebook and Win7 through a Grant Fidelity TubeDAC.

    I know I'm late to the game but I am convinced of the better quality sound of my J River and FLAC setup when compared to iTunes and Apple Lossless. I've A-B'd both in my system and I seem to be hearing more definition in my music...especially more air in the highs without the sizzle. Is that the main advantage to FLAC files? Is that what I'm supposed to hear?

    In addition, with the large screen of my laptop and the correct display setting I know what's playing from across the room. And it's pretty to look at which brings me a more involved listening session.

    I'll keep using iTunes, but mostly for loading my iPod Classic. That's important. I've always looked at iTunes as a digital cassette recorder anyway, having grown up in the 60s and 70s where I recorded many, many cassettes...it wasn't a better sound than vinyl but it was the next best affordable thing. Now, when an digital file calls for the best sound available to me, I'll be using J River.

    Does it ever stop? The variety of ways we can reproduce sound in our homes, that is.
     
  25. Welly Wu

    Welly Wu Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Nutley, New Jersey
    I recently made the decision to re-rip and encode my large CD collection to FLAC using Illustrate's dBPowerAMP 15 Reference + Perfect Tunes. I store them on a new Seagate Backup Plus FAST 4.0 TB USB 3.0 portable hard disk drive along with my 46 high resolution FLAC lossless music albums. When I imported them into J River Media Center 20, I definitely heard improvements in sound quality. The music is more precise, crisper, and the treble and bass are well extended. The mid range is not changed much, but it is more holographic and three dimensional using J River Media Center. This is one of the best media centers currently available for Microsoft Windows users and I'm happy that I bought it. It is well worth the low price of around $50.00 USD. FLAC audio files sound awesome! J River Media Center is a cutting edge and state of the art media center with tons of advanced features and options.

    I plan to get a Chord Hugo and I can't wait to listen to my FLAC lossless music albums with it at the end of this year. It will really sound special especially for my high resolution FLAC lossless music albums. I bought a few DSD 64 music albums from Acoustic Sounds and I can't wait to listen to them using the Chord Hugo. DSD sounds significantly better than PCM. It's smoother, richer, and more analogue than PCM by miles.
     
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