I've become a "computer audiophile"!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by jh901, Jun 19, 2021.

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  1. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I'm definitely a computer audiophile

    Hook up my MacBook Air to either of my 2 Receivers, or either my iPod/iPhone to the Receivers, (or my truck) and I'm set.

    This means, I can play music to all 3 of my systems at the same time!

    Easy peasy.
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2021
  2. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    If you don't need to have the exceptional GUI/backend of Roon there is also JRiver and HQPlayer.

    Roon is a no go for me as the last time I tried it the classical organization was a mess. But I watched a video a few months ago that made it look a lot better.

    On Computer Audiophile a bunch of people have also switched over from traditional speakers to speakers like D&D 8c and Kii Three. I've read nothing but universal praise about these speakers and one audiophile friend whose hearing I trust implicitly said the D&D were better than his huge Magico system.

    I was super close to taking the plunge on a used set of D&D but got cold feet at the last moment, just that gut feeling that went off in my head that told me to wait a bit longer. Always trust the gut :)
     
    jh901 likes this.
  3. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    I wish there was a good option that was Roon-like but not an expensive SaaS solution. That's not a service I want to pay for -- I don't have enough local files, I'm mostly streaming from services, and I'm mostly listening in a single location so Roon is really overkill for my needs. Audirvana was OK, but it has gone to a SaaS model too, which I'm not likely to follow.
     
  4. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Kal chimed in upthread. Here's his D&D review. I'm gonna stick with my traditional stand mount Focal speakers and passive acoustic treatment, but I'd be surprised if DSP skeptics are around in another decade.
     
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  5. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    You are looking for the following:

    Aurender N100SC

    Please check it out.
     
  6. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    I'm sure that would work, just way outside of my price range for a streaming appliance, particularly since I can just stream already from my laptop or my phone to my DAC either using Audirvana or Qobuz's own client or USB Audio Pro Plus or some of the other software I already have. I'm just looking for some added convenience by having an always connected bridge in the audio system. $3K is way more than I have to spend on that kind of added convenience. Like, 5X or 6X more.
     
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  7. BruceS

    BruceS El Sirviente del Gato

    Location:
    Reading, MA US
    Yes, I remember when this "people" did that, and it wasn't all that long ago. Not sure if those were the good ol' days or these are...leaning towards the latter.
     
    jh901 likes this.
  8. BruceS

    BruceS El Sirviente del Gato

    Location:
    Reading, MA US
    Currently have an Air standing in for a [MB]Pro. While the Pro has dedicated optical out, the Air doesn't, so I am using a USB to optical converter right on over to my receiver. The Air is tiny (11") and I </heart> it. Gonna be hard to put the Pro back when it returns. The Air (Big Sur) has both iTunes and Music..mainly using the former when not streaming.
     
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  9. Peter Allison

    Peter Allison Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sleaford/UK
    Being disabled mobility wise, ALL my listening is via the Intel NUC using an Audioqust USB lead to a PS Audio Dac/PS S300.
    I had about 700 CD's that I ripped using Dbpoweramp (to flac) And although I could have used Roon, I purchased a lifetime version of Audirvana 3.5. It could be improved on, but it sounds good enough for me
     
    jh901 likes this.
  10. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    So, "thank you"?

    None of us are always certain what we want and why. I won't bother elaborating or giving examples.
     
  11. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Well done.

    We all have different ambitions with respect to our stereo system(s). Mine happen to be well beyond what I can easily achieve, but I'm nearly always very pleased with what I've got. I'm particularly thrilled to have better sound quality than ever before in addition to the benefits of a modern digital front end.
     
  12. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Well, I'm actually pretty familiar with the range of products that are out there, because I've been looking for a couple of years, since I've gone all in on streaming services, for an easy to configure, plug-and-play, USB network bridge type streaming device that is easily configurable, and interoperable across platforms at a price I can afford.

    I've been reading the forums and reviews at the former Computer Audiophile. I've been investigating configuring my own device with a fanless NUC because I can't seem to find what I want at a price I can afford with easy interoperability and support.

    I've also tried lots of different software on the client/player side -- because I'm not at all interested in paying a subscription fee for the client software, so Roon is a non-starter for me. I've tried Audirvana, JRiver, Foobar, HQ Player, others too over the years, and of course all the client software of the streaming services. I've been playing around with UPnP server software. I've been finding it all pretty much clunky, complex, not always so stable, often hard to use, with few pieces offering all the features, and those that do, being very costly (and I hesitate to put a lot of money into that stuff today, not just because it's a financial stretch for me but also because the tech continues to be moving so quickly I'm loathe to spend a lot of money today on something that will be next to obsolete tomorrow).

    I'm actually pretty clear on what I want and why. I want a network bridge piece of hardware to transport the network signal to a USB DAC at $1K or preferably significantly less, mostly to stream music from Qobuz but occasionally to play a local file (not from a dedicated server but from a networked laptop), without having to hook and unhook my laptop to my DAC all the time, supporting files up to DSD256. I'd think about spending more for a lot more computing power if it could do realtime DSD upsampling, because with my DAC's AKM chip, the DSD handling sounds particularly good, but not for features I won't use (don't need a DAC, don't need storage, don't need multiroom capability), but for the time being I really just need a $500 network bridge.

    On the hardware side the options for the features and price (Allo USBridge, SOTM-200, Sonore Microrendu) seem to be more available than on the software side.

    On the software side, I want a piece of client software I can buy once, not software as a service, that integrates Qobuz and other streaming services with my local library, and works seamlessly and interoperably with any USB DAC or client/player software and if not natively integrating Qobuz at least implementing some kind of bulletproof DNLA arrangement both for the server and the control software . All with a pretty, fast graphical interface from a company providing great documentation and support in the form of good, up to date software improvements (since these platforms are really a moving target at the moment). Neither the player, not for Windows nor if I went with a linux/pi based system, seems perfect to me (no interest in Apple). Roon seems pretty good on the software side, but a $700 lifetime license is total overkill for what I'd be using the thing for and I am not interested in an account-based arrangement.

    So, for me, the whole thing is on hold because there's nothing I've come across out there that is really going to make my life simpler at an affordable price compared to just plugging my laptop into my DAC and using Audirvana. Looking now at the Volumio Primo which may be the thing, though it does have a DAC I don't need. Looking into that one. Project Stream Box too.
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2021
  13. elvisizer

    elvisizer Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose
    volumio free on a raspberry pi . . . and roon lifetime . . .I think that's about it, isn't it?
     
  14. fmfxray373

    fmfxray373 Capitol LPs in the 70s were pretty good.

    ALAC/FLAC>Jolida Glass FX DAC Mini>JBL 305P MKII Powered Monitors via a KRK 10s Powered Studio Subwoofer.

    The Sub is awesome but I think the 8 inch version would be enough. The KRK subs are super heavy.

    The PC is a Dell Inspiron 8300 i5 I found for $7.99 at Savers.
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2021
    jh901 likes this.
  15. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    Audirvana's SaaS implementation is a joke. It used to tell you to turn off your computer's wifi for best SQ. Now, you have to have it on to run the app. And, every time I try to launch it, it says my registration number is not valid (I've paid for all three major revisions of this software). I finally gave up, and went back to using an older, legacy version (v2.6.10).
     
  16. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Surely, there is someone here using Conductor. Please chime in! @Wired4Fun where are you?!

    I expect that I'll eventually transition to a stand alone DAC with Baetis, Aurender, Pink Faun or the like for storage and rendering. Whatever the case, I'll be aiming for near "end state" at a real world budget. I'll need at least 2 years though. That's why I'm debating Roon lifetime vs annual.

    First world problems!
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2021
  17. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Yeah, I've been using Audirvana non SaaS for years. I liked it's stripped down functionality and attractive look. It was a little buggy for a while but then seemed to stabilize yet developments and improvements seemed to slow. I thought maybe the company just wasn't really great at software/product development, then they launched the SaaS version and I though, "Oh, so they've just been putting their development work into this platform I'll never use!" But, to hear you tell it, sounds like they've had development and implementations with the launch of that too.
     
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  18. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    There are other Pi freebies, and players you can get without streaming service integration -- J River, HQ Player, Foobar. Even with Volumio, you have to step up to one or the other of its subscription tiers -- though if you buy their top line hardware or Projects Stream Box Ultra 2 you get the "My Volumio" version free and clear as part of the hardware purchase.
     
    jh901 likes this.
  19. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    The developer is well aware of the flaw, and has offered a workaround involving going into your system prefs and resetting your computer's clock to a fake, earlier date, then inputting your registration code manually each and every time you launch the app. It's frustrating, but I don't use 90% of Audirvana's advanced features anyway, so the old version suffices.
     
    jh901 likes this.
  20. elvisizer

    elvisizer Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose
    have you tried any of them? I bought the lifetime roon sub back when it was still the original price so I haven't been paying attention to the other options . . .but I'm curious how they're doing.
     
    jh901 likes this.
  21. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Not any of the Linux/Pi software. I haven't been in that universe yet. But I'm getting close to pulling a trigger on either the Project Stream Box S2 Ultra or the Allo USBridge Signature.
     
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  22. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    [​IMG]

    The new look.
     
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  23. CDV

    CDV Forum Resident

    ^ the rug is where you sit?

    [​IMG]
     
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  24. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Ha.

    An audiophile sofa (not pictured), naturally. LOL.
     
  25. jcn3

    jcn3 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NH
    @jh901 -- welcome to the club! i've been a roon user for a long time (bought a lifetime subscription at least five years ago). highly recommend roon + qobuz -- it's a transformational way to listen to music (imo, of course)!
     
    jh901 likes this.
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