This time I really enjoyed the last reply from BigGeek, very insightful. Thank you very much.
The BDA-3.14 is in the house for only one week and is my second streamer. I had my first one for two and a half years and I was completely satisfied with it, but after I heard the BDA-3.14 I knew this would be my next streamer. So please see all my comments with that in mind.
For me, a streamer is a digital jukebox. I found out that after all these years, I am still a serial listener!
My personal preference is classical music. That is why I am interested in complete works: symphonies, concertos, cantatas, opera, string quartets, piano sonatas, etcetera. I don't care for the shuffle mode or parts of a work. The only exceptions are evening filling operas and oratorio. In that case, I would like to listen to a complete act or part.
The music on my hard disk is organized in folders, containing albums in alphabetical order. I have about 1000 albums on the hard disk, neatly tagged. Another 1000 albums are already ripped but I haven’t finished the tagging yet. That takes even more time than ripping the CDs. So what I normally do, is listening to albums, only this time in digital form.
A 15-inch notebook is used for Manic Moose. A 17-inch would be even better. In my opinion, Manic Moose is not perfect, but for the moment it is more than good enough for me. It does what it has to do, although I am still learning. A manual with all options declared would be helpful. The manual is not bad, but it could be better. I don’t have enough experience with Manic Moose to suggest improvements now. Therefore I need more time.
My first streamer was based on Logitech Music Server software. A bit outdated, I would say and I prefer Manic Moose by a wide margin. The app was iPeng, with some cosmetic changes.
At this moment I would say that Manic Moose or its successor is fine and the Rigelian app seems promising. The iPad version, I think the iPhone screen is too small for so much information.
Perhaps Bryston could seek cooperation with a company that can develop an app like Rigelian for iOS and Android.
Anyway, BigGeek and I have completely different needs for the software and I am afraid it will not be easy for Bryston to develop an app and a GUI that will satisfy everyone’s needs. I feel that the combination of the two is the way to go.
WillyP