![]() ![]() It's also the easiest to configure, though I still gripe about having to set anything at all. J River's Media Center 15 is the best-sounding PC-based audio playback software I've heard. To my surprise, I found that Doug might well have a point. I made sure everything was set to output the highest-quality signal possible to my QB-9, and I listened. ![]() Nonetheless, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, I did as Doug suggested and loaded Media Center 15 onto my Sony laptop running Windows 7, complete with solid-state internal drive. If I'd paid myself for the time I spent tweaking Windows, I could have bought a Mac much sooner. ![]() When Amarra came along, I thought, "Here's the silver bullet I've been waiting for." Paid engineers designed the program, and though there's a warm spot in my heart for the DIYers who put together programs like FB2k and Exact Audio Copy, there's no substitute for full-time employees working on a project until it's done so everyone can make money. I hated it, but I was satisfied with the sound. I printed out dozens of webpages in an attempt to incorporate into my system what others had learned. I wasted far too much of my listening time trying to get Windows 7 and programs like foobar2000 to do what they're supposed to do. I don't have to do any of that with Amarra on my Mac the program takes care of everything." With Amarra, I'm simply a listener, not a system tweaker. One thing Doug insisted on was that I make sure that the Media Center 15 setup was outputting bit-perfect audio, that it was bypassing Windows' internal control algorithms, etc. So Doug challenged me to try the aforementioned Media Center 15 and compare it and my Windows 7-based laptop with my Apple-Amarra reference. Truth be told, when I wrote last month's column, I hadn't given a PC-based computer audio player a proper shake. In fact, Doug offered a solution that came in at under $500: a netbook computer with an external hard drive, playback software like J River's Media Center 15 ($49.98), and the High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer II ($150), a USB DAC capable of 24-bit/96kHz output at a fraction of the Ayre QB-9's price. What Doug hammered home, in an e-mail chain that eventually involved a dozen reviewers and editors and over 100 messages, was that performance comparable to that of my recommended rig can be had for far less money. So while Doug and I often see eye to eye on many products, he had a problem with me calling a $1500 Apple Mac, $695 software, and a $2750 DAC a value at a total of $4945 USD. I share his enthusiasm for high-value audio - it's the reason I accepted the assignment as senior editor of GoodSound!, the SoundStage! Network's thriftiest family member. He's the sort of reviewer who doesn't get excited by the prospect of reviewing a $20,000/pair speaker, but oozes enthusiasm when he finds one for $500/pair that kicks butt. The trouble began even before the article appeared online, when publisher Doug Schneider took me to task for recommending an Apple Mac, Amarra music-player software, and an Ayre Acoustics QB-9 D/A converter as not just a fantastic digital audio source, but as the one GoodSound! readers should buy. Not since I scrawled "Suzie has Cooties" on the wall of the boys' bathroom has something I wrote evoked such spirited discourse. I also inadvertently set off a controversy within the hallowed virtual halls of the SoundStage! Network. Right now, I've selected 352,8kHz in RME panel, and get everything 8x resampled and played via Tidal (most content is 44.1), but this is not ideal for unfolded 48 and 96kHz MQA content.In last month's installment of Audio 101, I discussed digital sources. Thank you for any suggestions, including how to get rid off "VB Cable" stutter. What else I can do to achieve bit-perfect playback on Windows 10 with stock Tidal app? I know I can use Audirvana and ASIO RME drivers, but I hate Audirvana interface. Sadly, I was not able to make stock Tidal app on Windows 10 to play bit-perfect(ly) on my new RME. I'm experiencing occasional stutter (my computer is 8-core 5GHz high-end PC with 32GB of RAM), so it's useless as well. ![]() I've also tried "VB Cable" ASIO driver ( ), which is a bridge between WASAPI and ASIO, and this one works well, except when it does not. RME drivers are stuck at selected frequency as well. I've tried both stock Windows 10 drivers, which should (in theory) support frequency auto switching, but this does not happen. Being new ADI-2 FS owner, I've been reading a lot of threads here, and strugling with getting to play Tidal in bit-perfect mode. ![]()
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