PC as source component

How stable is JRMC on Linux?

Friends here use on Mac, and it's still not stable.

I find JRMC21 very stable on Win10. I am getting the most stable playback to my Vega DAC in EXACT clock mode, even doing PCM2DSD.
 
How stable is JRMC on Linux?

Friends here use on Mac, and it's still not stable.

I find JRMC21 very stable on Win10. I am getting the most stable playback to my Vega DAC in EXACT clock mode, even doing PCM2DSD.
So far with about 10 hours on it, rock solid. Not a hiccup anywhere.
 
Still experimenting and playing. JRiver on Linux Mint is bulletproof. Many, many hours in now with out a glitch. I especially like being able to select a genre, and have it play a specific type of music, like "Christmas" for the holidays. I downloaded dbPoweramp for ripping, and went through a 21 day trial without a hitch. Ripped about 100 cd's to FLAC, it works perfectly, and would be worth the 39.00 . I am currently trying MusicBee for ripping, and Iike it too, although it is not as user friendly as dbP, it is free, and for a lot of folks, free is perfect, especially if it works. While looking ( I call it research, my lovely spouse calls it avoiding dusting....) I stumbled onto this: http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/index.html. Straightforward instructions for all the current OS's and the various players available. I'm liking the AudiophileLinux post, and may throw another drive into the laptop to give it a run. Check out the Enjoy section, where he dismantles a few audiophile cables.... good for a laugh. To those easily offended, I apologize upfront. Some of the audiophile offerings are probably worthy, but some sure aren't.....
 
Thanks for the report on Linux Mint. I tried that OS about 7 years ago, it was interesting!

Did you have to install special drivers? I thought the benefit of Mint was it was really ready to go.
 
I just received a Windows10 laptop but have been mainly using Macs over the last several years, so I am rusty on how to get bit perfect in Windows. The last time I was on Windows full time, I remember using Foobar2000 and some sort of ASIO4ALL (or something like that) plug in. Is this still a requirement or can I just run iTunes or JRiver to a Dragonfly DAC and get bit perfect audio?
 
I just received a Windows10 laptop but have been mainly using Macs over the last several years, so I am rusty on how to get bit perfect in Windows. The last time I was on Windows full time, I remember using Foobar2000 and some sort of ASIO4ALL (or something like that) plug in. Is this still a requirement or can I just run iTunes or JRiver to a Dragonfly DAC and get bit perfect audio?
Foobar.....Pretty sure you're after the WASAPI plugin.

iTunes on 10? Maybe this hodgepodge will help...worked in 7.
 
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Foobar.....Pretty sure you're after the WASAPI plugin.

iTunes on 10? Maybe this hodgepodge will help...worked in 7.
Thanks for the links. I was hoping it just worked out of the box at this point, but I will look into the itunes workaround since I know I will be using Apple Music with it and prefer having as few programs on it as possible. If I can't get into work, I will try Foobar for my local stuff.
 
Bored again today. Took an old HP mini form factor, stuck in a 90 gig SSD. Downloaded Daphile and created the USB stick. You need a full setup to start, keyboard, monitor, and hardwired network connection. It boots quick, and configures pretty easily. Hit F1 and clear the partitions on the drive, and tell it you want wireless. You'll need another browser to configure and manipulate anything from this point on. I used my everyday laptop. Install the software, it's a really small file. Reboot, and configure your wireless, and reboot again. Mine found my wireless, and gave an IP on the screen. Once you get there, you can run it headless.
I plugged in a 2TB USB drive, and it automatically imports every music file into the library. The interface is not quite as slick as JRiver, BUT... it's completely free, and it's very good. It found my Schitt Modi, and configured playback to match it's capabilities.
With nearly any piece of hardware, (small form Atom processor perhaps) you could be up and in the digital world in about 30 minutes. Shoot, this HP was bought off lease from a dealer for 40 dollars. and had enough memory, and a 250gb drive in it. This could be the cheapest way ever to get a CD ripper, playback, and streaming radio ever.
 
20160911_101447_Night.jpg Still bored, still playing.
I bought a Kangaroo about a year ago, hoping to be able to work through a shared printer problem with Win7 and Win10. That didn't work out, and the Kangaroo sat on a shelf downstairs collecting dust.
I grabbed it and a cuppa joe this morning, and loaded Daphile in about 10 minutes.
Plugged in the Schiit, and the USB drive. Works fine, sounds great.
Short of Raspberry Pi, this is the smallest form factor I know of, and is a very good fit for running a headless unit for playback. The more I play with Daphile, the more I like it.
L-R, Schiit, Kangaroo, Toshiba USB drive.
 
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I've just started using my laptop to play downloaded music from various sources. Am I missing something by running the sound card out into an Aux channel on my receiver? This sounds pretty good to me.
 
I've just started using my laptop to play downloaded music from various sources. Am I missing something by running the sound card out into an Aux channel on my receiver? This sounds pretty good to me.

That's certainly one way to do it, particularly if your laptop has a top-notch sound card.

You'll see other ways that folks use their computer as a source, including:
  • If their laptop/PC has a optical or coax digital output, run the output of that into a Receiver/Processor with a digital input.
  • If their laptop/PC has a optical or coax digital output, run the output of that into an external DAC
  • Connect an external DAC to the computer via USB
  • Make the computer a music server by connecting it to their home network and using it to serve digital audio files to other devices.
 
JRiver Jukebox and Mediamonkey come to mind. Both will do what you have asked easily, and will allow you to rip CD's to FLAC as well. Add TightVNC to your windows box, and Remote Ripple to your Android, and go for it.
I use PotPlayer. It will play FLAC and about any music file out there and it's free. It has ample controls too. :)
 
That's certainly one way to do it, particularly if your laptop has a top-notch sound card.

You'll see other ways that folks use their computer as a source, including:
  • If their laptop/PC has a optical or coax digital output, run the output of that into a Receiver/Processor with a digital input.
  • If their laptop/PC has a optical or coax digital output, run the output of that into an external DAC
  • Connect an external DAC to the computer via USB
  • Make the computer a music server by connecting it to their home network and using it to serve digital audio files to other devices.


I'm using all vintage analog for listening and other newer things for watching. I'm currently working on a combo build Plex server for both. Mainly I'm concentrating on the 2 channel stereo since I listen more than I watch. But both audio cards are rated really well. I've also got a decent Video card on the way. It'll all be AMD, win7 with a bit of a brand change on the video out. ;)
 
If you can find one of these, they have excellent sound. I've been using mine for a decade and it is still working great on windows 10. I use it for my synths as well as feeding my audio needs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/282662415827?chn=ps&dispItem=1

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If you can find one of these, they have excellent sound. I've been using mine for a decade and it is still working great on windows 10. I use it for my synths as well as feeding my audio needs.

I wish I could do that with my Aardvark Direct Pro Q10. It's an awesome sounding interface. But, since Aardvark went out of business years ago, it's drivers have been stuck at Windows XP. A shame too. A nice piece of hardware.
 
Read an interesting article on Win 8 recently, likely Microsoft's most hated OS offering ever. I bought 8 when it came out, loaded it, spent about 30 minutes with it, saw it's stupidity, and went back to 7. The disk has set for years, gathering dust.
Anyhoo, (as the universe does), a forlorn Dell Optiplex 760 USFF came into my possession. And the 8 disk has been taking up space....
Installed a 500 gig drive from another project, loaded 8, and hit the Windows store to upgrade to 8.1. No joy. A little more research, and actual instructions from MS on the process. Now when MS gives explicit instructions, with a publicly posted ISO, COA, and instructions on how to get 8.1, it's as close of an admission to 8 being a failure as you'll get. Another hour got me a loaded and updated 8.1, which is actually pretty nice. In retrospect, you can see the step from 7 to 10 in 8.1 . Fully licensed and all legal like it uses the original 8 COA from the retail package. And it loaded quicker than any other Windows OS I've ever done. Boot time is FAST as well.
Then I did this... https://www.petri.com/optimize-windows-8-audio-setup-jriver-media-center, and the 30 day trial of the new JRiver 23.
All is well, sounds great, that is to say, the same as every other JRiver I've tried. This could become my new main player for the house.
Point is, there are just so many options now, a digital front end is within anyone's reach. I have 2 systems that anyone could assemble for around 100, and the cheapest USB DAC is about 25.00 on Amazon. Controlled with a smart phone or tablet, the majority of folks can get started with a digital jukebox right now, with hardware that other folks are discarding when they upgrade to the latest whiz bang stuff.
 
I ran Daphile on a Kangaroo for a while. botrytis is absolutely right about Daphile. It is small, purpose driven, and has bit perfect playback. It is finicky to set up depending on your network structure at home, but not impossible. It does not sort well if you dump 10,000 songs on it at once, but spoon feeding 3000, 4000 at a time it's fine. Yes it can be controlled by a smartphone, but the interface even on small tablets is not very user friendly. IMO, larger tabs, say 10 inch, or a desktop are good.
I just finished an HP USFF (ultra small form factor) for a good friend as a Christmas gift . WattOS is a really small, stripped Linux load with only the basics of a file manager and a browser built in. It's about perfect for a Linux based player. RubyRipper is a really good, EAC like ripper. I find the Linux community like the AK community. Lots of info, lots of solutions.
 
I tried Volumio one time before and was not impressed. Hard to work with IIRC, difficult to load, too much work for what you got.
It changed. A new offering was put up around Christmas. Version 2.
I was playing last night, threw a small 90GB OCZ SSD in the trusty HP, and unzipped a fresh copy of Volumio to a USB stick using Win32 Disk Imager.
Booted from the USB, took about 3 minutes. Volumio found the Fulla Schiit, and my external drive of music without prompting, and I was up and rolling within 5 minutes.
Better than Daphile, IMO, in the sense that after boot, Daphile needs remote access for control. Volumio can be controlled either way, from the host PC or remote.
Installing to the hard drive took about 10 minutes, as it formats the drive, but after, boot is FAST, about 40 seconds to GUI.
Very slick interface, nice display of the library, and I haven't even begun to tweak or massage the GUI.
All in all, a nice package, and certainly (now) worthy of consideration as a standalone free player.
 
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PC as source play music and send it via WiFi to H96 Pro Plus media player who running KODI media player and send music thru optical cable to Onkyo receive who have 192 kHz/24-Bit DAC. Everything from start to end is sent as digital without loss in data. No one equipment before Onkyo receiver does not convert any data and sent all as passthrough.
 
Another hour got me a loaded and updated 8.1, which is actually pretty nice. In retrospect, you can see the step from 7 to 10 in 8.1

Reviewing this thread for options for a little Atom SBC I've been playing with. Spotted this comment about 8.1, and I have to agree. I'm a Win7 Pro user for desktop and all-in-one, but I have a little Win8.1 tablet* that I picked up secondhand for £25. It has a split personality; the boxy, 'Fisher-Price', touch-screen interface of Win10, and the conventional desktop interface of Win7. I use it in the latter mode as soon as I can...

With reference to this thread, I have MusicBee installed on the tablet, accessing my NAS SMB server via WiFi. That provides all the elements of a Digital Media System: DMS (server), DMC (controller) & DMR (renderer). I can carry it around the house, and use it to play to any of the DLNA renderers I have, or use the headphone output. There's a remote control app for MusicBee, too, that I've not tried.

It also has an HDMI port, and will drive a 1080P FullHD monitor/TV. You could stick to to the back of a TV (LCD goes off when HDMI in use). Bluetooth a mouse & keyboard to drive it...

*Microsoft were pushing Win8.1 tablets a few years ago (in an attempt to compete against Android, I think), and plenty of manufacturers came out with very similar Atom Z3735G 16G/32G Flash, 1G/2G RAM designs (probably using an MS/Intel reference design, they are so similar). These go for peanuts, secondhand (cheaper than Android tablets, or Kindle Fires). Coupled with a NAS & MusicBee, it's a very cheap way of creating a silent, low-power media server/player. I regret not picking up a neat little Toshiba Satellite Click Mini a few weeks back, at £50; tablet with click-on keyboard. I dithered, but could probably have got it for £40 if I'd haggled.
 
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