[JohnR]

After spending awhile chasing networked stuff, I've come back to A+ 2 (A2+?) for my desktop setup. TBH I wasn't that impressed when I trialled A2+ the first time around, but no longer have reservations. If you are not already a Tidal subscriber, the 3-month Tidal trial that comes with an A2+ purchase makes it close to free.

Pros:

* DSD upsampling
* Remote control from iPad
* Tidal integration
* Cuts loose from iTunes - now just running off my FLAC/DSD library
* Also allows you to "drag and drop" onto a playlist (for e.g. sample files that you don't want cluttering up your library)
* Tidal trial for 3 months
* "Very" affordable
* Plus all the stuff from before

Cons:

* Not really "network aware" like Roon or DLNA

Overall rating: 

[davidavdavid]

Audirvana+ 1.5

I tried  their 2.x never much a fan of their interface. i much prefer their traditional interface which looks a lot less like a computer program, ie iTunes and its ilk.
Have been happily the older version for 8+ TB of digital lossless music.

My current setup:

Mac Mini 2012 with 16gb RAM fed by external mirrored hard drives.
Parasound Halo 2.1 Integrated Amplifier
Bel Canto Designs s300 Integrated Amplifier
McIntosh MAC1700 Receiver
exaSound e22 DAC
AudioNote DAC
Audio Physic Speakers
Platinum Audio Speakers
Celestion Speakers

[JohnR]

Hi, perhaps revisit v2? I did - that's really the whole point of this thread

[HPower]

For almost 4 years I have been happily enjoying my original version of Audirvana+ until last week when I inadvertently updated to iTunes 12.4. 

After this, Audirvana would keep crashing after playing the first track.
I contacted Damien and he said that this confirms you’re facing the iTunes 12.4 regression that makes Audirvana Plus 1.5 crash.

He suggested updating my OS to El Capitian, not Sierra as Sierra...

" Apple has made another regression in Sierra, removing a feature needed by Direct Mode to work. So if you update to Sierra you’ll have to live without Direct Mode unless you patch it, replacing the faulty kernel extension.
So I advise you to upgrade to El Capitan, but not Sierra."

"This is fixed with the version 2.5 though I encourage you with the version 2 to try the Library mode with the full featured library manager and its streaming (TIDAL, Qobuz) integration."

I have done as per Damien and I agree with the monitor view, I preferred the "look" of the original interface in conjunction with the iTunes library.
But after purchasing the Remote+ app, I like the operation better on my iPhone and iPad better than the Apple Remote app.

My only major complaint is that at least half of my Album cover art is missing which seems to be primarily from my original CDs (approx. 1400) that I ripped into iTunes library via iTunes,
so there is no actual cover image inside the album folder.

Looks like a lot of work ahead of myself to either drop images into the the album folders, or drop them into the cover window in Audirvana+.

I will read up on "Doug's script" to see if I can automate this cover art issue.
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/index.php

I will also look a little close at the streaming features, although with now approx. 2,600 albums in my library I can't see the real need.
I do like to play my favorite internet radio station, "Radio Paridise" will this play via iTunes through the new Audirvana+, it would not on my original version?

[JohnR]

You could perhaps also look at Bliss - https://www.blisshq.com/

It's been on my list to try for quite a long time now..

[davidavdavid]

I too, have come around. An now using Audirvana + 2.6.5    At first I felt it looked too much like a computer program, which it does, but after listening to both pieces of software for hours on end, I prefer the later, newer version. And now that my digital library is gaining more and more DSD256 content, I like that the newer version of the software supports DSD256 visibly in the Audio System tab under Preferences.

It is taking a while to get used to the interface, but I reckon I can adapt.

[Jonathan]

I have been using Roon with Tidal integration for the past year or so. Out of curiosity, I recently decided to give the latest and greatest Audirvana+ a try.  Honestly,  I prefer the sound quality of Audirvana Plus over Roon; however, I find the graphic interface in the Audirvana Plus iPad app to be cumbersome and tedious to navigate.