[glynnw]

Earlier this year I built a CAPS 3 Carbon unit, but I was dissatisfied with it's limited ability - poor graphics on my 52" TV and occasional lockups when I tried to do more than just play music.   So I studied the Zuma build and just finished a lower powered version.  Using an i5 3470T CPU and an ASUS motherboard, it does everything I want.  Using a very large fanless cooler (OK - the cooler is called Thor's Hammer, which is a bit over the top) I now have a totally quiet fanless unit that will stream music while occasionally using JRiver's ability to see artist info thru WIKI and images and so far never exceeding 93 degrees F on the CPU and lower on the motherboard.  I control it with a bluetooth mouse and keyboard, using the TV as the monitor.  This CPU is a quad core using Windows 8 64 bit, it meets Jplay's suggestions for proper playback.  Now I am trying to decide if Jplay is worth the money - my experience tells me that I really only notice major improvements and so far I am hearing none with Jplay.  But I have enough power to try other things as they develop.  And the entire thing is housed in an old Kolster radio cabinet with the back removed to let air in.

[TJHUB]

Interesting build.

I have a CAPS 3 Lagoon that I've been tweaking on for a few months.  It's perfect for my needs as I only use it for music as intended.  I control it with JRemote on my iPad, which leaves me wanting for nothing. 

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try JPlay 5.1.  I've tried JPlay in the past on a CAPS v2, and didn't like the sound nor the extremely clunky interface.  JPlay 5.1 is a revelation for me now.  It's almost transparent integration with JRMC is a HUGE improvement, and so is the sound.  I haven't purchased JPlay yet, but I plan to as soon as I can determine its best settings.  For my setup, JPlay delivers incredible clarity and image focus.  So much so, I don't think I can live without it. 

[jtwrace]

So you run JRiver & JPlay simultaneously?  What is the claim of what JPlay actually does? 

[glynnw]

JPlay can be used as a stand alone player with no frills, or, in my case. as a processing thingie through JRiver.  You make a few changes in the JRiver playback chain and then you just use JRiver as usual, while JPlay does its work invisibly.  I really cannot say what it improves, since I hear very little difference so far.

[jtwrace]

JPlay can be used as a stand alone player with no frills, or, in my case. as a processing thingie through JRiver.  You make a few changes in the JRiver playback chain and then you just use JRiver as usual, while JPlay does its work invisibly.  I really cannot say what it improves, since I hear very little difference so far.

Thanks.  Do you mind sharing your setup?

[glynnw]

Do you mean how I changed JRiver to work with JPlay?  If so, very simple. Under Tools, go to Options.  Change  Audio Mode to Asio.  That's it.  Then you can check by looking at the  output mode setting  - device -  and it should then say JPlay driver.

To switch back to JPlay-less, just change audio mode back to where you had it - in my case Wasapi - Event Style.  I simply switch back and forth between these two modes when I want to compare the sound.

[jtwrace]

No, I mean your actual digital setup & audio equipment.

[glynnw]

Aforementioned server to Wavelength Cosecant HS DAC w/Denominator upgrade to Bent Audio TVC to Bottlehead Paramount 300B mono amps (with a couple of cap upgrades) to homemade OB spkrs.  Also out of Bent Audio TVC to DSpeaker Dual Core to a pair of 18" Bagend subs.  Picture in gallery, except spkrs now have Fostex tweeters. 

[jtwrace]

Thanks.  Very nice.   

[TJHUB]

So you run JRiver & JPlay simultaneously?  What is the claim of what JPlay actually does?

Not that I completely understand JPlay, but its magic comes from how it utilizes the CPU and RAM for music playback.  It has nothing to do with Windows tweaks or processes.  I found the previous version to sound just different than without it.  Whatever they've done now with 5.1 is really worth checking out.  Ted_b bought it, not that Ted buying something means anything.  I'm actually using Fidelizer 3 with the trial version of JPlay 5.1 right now with interesting results.