Windows 8, Jplay, Fidelizer, Reclock and other thoughts

wushuliu · « **Reply #20 on:** 2 Dec 2011, 10:24 am »

Quote from: Aleg on 2 Dec 2011, 09:44 am

If all remained the same as in the preview I received than from this weekend you will have a new version with an integration of JPlay with Foobar or iTunes.

Thank you for the update, Aleg!

whell · « **Reply #21 on:** 2 Dec 2011, 09:48 pm »

Quote from: wushuliu on 2 Dec 2011, 07:43 am

Again, all easier said than done where Linux is concerned. If someone wants to detail a step by step ( and I mean step by step not just do this and then just do that), I'd be more than willing to give it a go.

Yes it was Pulse Audio. My 24/96 USB DAC was not detected otherwise...

Actually, it is pretty easy. The link below tells you how to easily get bit-perfect set up in Ubuntu. These steps should also work for any of the Ubuntu Gnome variants (i.e. Linux Mint), as well as other distros.

http://www.antelopeaudio.com/SUPPORT/Manuals/Linux%20Ubuntu%20OS%20&%20Zodiac.pdf

Note that only certain players on Linux will allow you to achieve bit-pefect playback. Like Foobar or J River in Windows, you might need to enter the "Preferences" menu of your Linux music player of choice - as is shown on the attachment - and tweak some settings. However, once you do, you may find that there's likely less tweaking and fiddling in Linux to get you where you want to be.

Also note that, like Windows, not all music players allow you to achieve bit-perfect playback of high-res music files. The players that are the most "popular" on the Linux platform - Banshee and Rhythmbox for example - may be much more challenging to achieve bit-perfect, if you can achieve it with these players at all. A player like Audacious or deabdeef might be great players to start experimenting with, because set up optimization is point and click. They are simple to use and lightweight. If you want a more feature rich player, you can try Quodlibet or others.

DougSmith · « **Reply #22 on:** 3 Dec 2011, 12:29 am »

I tried adding Fidelizer on top of Reclock. I'm not sure if it really sounds better because it's not possible to switch back and forth, but it certainly doesn't sound any worse.

hoxuanduc · « **Reply #23 on:** 5 Dec 2011, 06:00 pm »

JPlay v4 now integrates with Foobar and iTunes. Yea!!!

You can still play JPlaymini on its own without much of an UI but with excellent sound quality, or have JPlay loaded in foobar as an DLL for convenience + great sound quality.

My search for digital transport is over.

Duc

toddbagwell · « **Reply #24 on:** 20 Dec 2011, 10:21 pm »

I spent the past few days installing, tweaking and listening to JPlay.

I am a fan. It takes the iTunes interface I've grown accustomed to, and makes the music sing! I'm very happy with the combination of the two programs.

no matter how well I tagged my music, every time I'd try to switch to foobar or JRiver, I'd loose roughly 20-30% of my metadata (AIFF, all art embedded etc.) and that was enough to keep me stuck with itunes on a PC.

Now, the music sounds great, I've got automatic sample rate switching, and with all that RAM I put into my new music PC, JPlay has tons of room for memory playback.

The support from the two programmers/owners of Jplay was amazing, despite being 6 time zones away, they got me up and running with email exchanges that felt more like instant messaging, they were THAT fast!

At some point I'll likely compare HDD, SSD, and Network playback, but for now, I'm just going to listen.

Thanks for pointing out the program wushuliu!

wushuliu · « **Reply #25 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 09:39 am »

Jplay's creators have been trumpeting this for a while: for those looking to get even better performance out of Jplay, install bootable Windows 8 on a USB stick and run the OS from it. This a big step forward in performance and worth the hassle. Windows 8 is not set to be released proper until next month but the RTM is available for download and the Consumer Preview as well. I am currently using CP 32bit and will try RTM 64 in a few days.

One procedure to install can be found here:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/03/ordering-windows-to-go-how-to-create-a-bootable-windows-8-usb-thumb-drive/

The directions are easy to follow, just give yourself a couple hours set aside in case you make a mistake typing commands, copy paste etc. It is absolutely worth it. I have not tried other software yet, perhaps they show improvement as well. Jplay now sounds 'purer', I don't know the words really because Jplay sounds terrific already, but frickin' better. A LOT better.

mgalusha · « **Reply #26 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 02:59 pm »

I've been using W8 RTM 64bit on my player since it was released to developers & partners in mid August and for whatever reason it does seem to sound better than W7. I have not tried it from a USB stick, that is an interesting thought, I have an extra 8gb stick laying about. Thanks for the tip.

I received an email from JPlay the other day with a link to the new release, have not had a chance to install it but given their history, it too offers a step up.

Quote from: wushuliu on 23 Sep 2012, 09:39 am

Jplay's creators have been trumpeting this for a while: for those looking to get even better performance out of Jplay, install bootable Windows 8 on a USB stick and run the OS from it. This a big step forward in performance and worth the hassle. Windows 8 is not set to be released proper until next month but the RTM is available for download and the Consumer Preview as well. I am currently using CP 32bit and will try RTM 64 in a few days.

One procedure to install can be found here:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/03/ordering-windows-to-go-how-to-create-a-bootable-windows-8-usb-thumb-drive/

The directions are easy to follow, just give yourself a couple hours set aside in case you make a mistake typing commands, copy paste etc. It is absolutely worth it. I have not tried other software yet, perhaps they show improvement as well. Jplay now sounds 'purer', I don't know the words really because Jplay sounds terrific already, but frickin' better. A LOT better.

mgalusha · « **Reply #27 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 03:12 pm »

Hmm, looks like I need to pick up a 32gb usb stick. I do have a spare 60g SSD, might try that in an external usb drive case. Certainly faster than a flash drive.

django11 · « **Reply #28 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 04:03 pm »

I tried Jplay with J.River (ok guys, try naming something with another letter than J please

) on Win7 and honestly I can't hear a difference even though I wanted to. I didn't try the hibernate mode as I am using my computer for other stuff as I listen to music.

wushuliu · « **Reply #29 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 04:16 pm »

Quote from: django11 on 23 Sep 2012, 04:03 pm

I tried Jplay with J.River (ok guys, try naming something with another letter than J please ) on Win7 and honestly I can't hear a difference even though I wanted to. I didn't try the hibernate mode as I am using my computer for other stuff as I listen to music.

Did you compare J River vs. Jplay mini or vs Jplay/River? Jplay w/ JR does not sound as good to my ears as the mini. I actually *prefer* JRiver kernel streaming to Jplay w/JR plugin depending on the material, but jplaymini I can single out immediately as the preferred delivery.

django11 · « **Reply #30 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 09:05 pm »

I downloaded Fidelizer too now. How do I get rid of it? Just end the process in task manager? I was trying to compare Jplay mini with JRiver and for some reason JRiver is sort of skipping or hanging momentarily. I ended Fidelizer in the task manager, uninstalled Jplay and tried putting JRiver settings back to what worked well (if I remember them correctly

) and augmented buffering as that is supposed to be more skip resistant. The problem persists

... I won't have time to play around with this for a few days. Computer generated music is fun when it works and a royal pain in the ass when it doesn't...

mjock3 · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Sep 2012, 09:16 pm »

Reboot, and fidelizer is gone. Though you will need to reset your home page.

charmerci · « **Reply #32 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 01:04 am »

Quote from: mgalusha on 23 Sep 2012, 02:59 pm

I received an email from JPlay the other day with a link to the new release, have not had a chance to install it but given their history, it too offers a step up.

I updated to JRiver 18 and it keeps eliminating itself from my system.

I'll try again today.

mgalusha · « **Reply #33 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 01:33 am »

Quote from: charmerci on 24 Sep 2012, 01:04 am

I updated to JRiver 18 and it keeps eliminating itself from my system. I'll try again today.

That's no fun, I received email about the v18 beta and a discounted upgrade price but I don't see a good reason to pay for beta testing jriver.

I did as wushuilu mentioned, created a win 8 portable install using a 60g ssd with a usb 3 enclosure, seems good but not sure if there's any improvement over an internal ssd. Definitely going to listen for a few days to each, as simple as a reboot.

satfrat · « **Reply #34 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 01:46 am »

Quote from: charmerci on 24 Sep 2012, 01:04 am

I updated to JRiver 18 and it keeps eliminating itself from my system. I'll try again today.

FWIW, MC18 is working just fine with my Win XP.

charmerci · « **Reply #35 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 02:32 am »

A box opened and said (I forgot exactly) "...would you like to?" Yes/No. So I picked one. Everything was fine. But then it asked me again, so I chose the other answer and it eliminated my access to JRiver. So I went to the site and got another download (restored my license.) It worked fine until it wasn't there again when I started my computer today. So restored my license again, but it slowed down then froze my computer.

But now it seems to running fine. Should have done more before getting on here.

wushuliu · « **Reply #36 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 03:03 am »

Quote from: mgalusha on 24 Sep 2012, 01:33 am

That's no fun, I received email about the v18 beta and a discounted upgrade price but I don't see a good reason to pay for beta testing jriver.

I did as wushuilu mentioned, created a win 8 portable install using a 60g ssd with a usb 3 enclosure, seems good but not sure if there's any improvement over an internal ssd. Definitely going to listen for a few days to each, as simple as a reboot.

It's recommended for specifically a usb flash drive, not ssd or external hdd...

mgalusha · « **Reply #37 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 03:24 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 24 Sep 2012, 03:03 am

It's recommended for specifically a usb flash drive, not ssd or external hdd...

Hmm, OK, well perhaps I'll pick up a 32G flash drive tomorrow. The good part is I can just copy the image I've already configured on the SSD over to the flash drive and not have to redo the image and installs. Looks like Microcenter has 32G USB 3 flash drives in stock.

wushuliu · « **Reply #38 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 03:57 am »

Quote from: mgalusha on 24 Sep 2012, 03:24 am

Hmm, OK, well perhaps I'll pick up a 32G flash drive tomorrow. The good part is I can just copy the image I've already configured on the SSD over to the flash drive and not have to redo the image and installs. Looks like Microcenter has 32G USB 3 flash drives in stock.

Yeah, the focus appears to be the flash drive, not the usb interface. I've done external hdd usb (although not as a boot disk) and found improvement marginal w/ jplay.

JohnR · « **Reply #39 on:** 24 Sep 2012, 10:33 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 23 Sep 2012, 09:39 am

Jplay's creators have been trumpeting this for a while: for those looking to get even better performance out of Jplay, install bootable Windows 8 on a USB stick and run the OS from it.

I'm quite curious about this - is there a reason for preferring a USB stick over an SSD? When I measured one, a USB stick was quite slow even compared to HDD.