Alternatives to Audirvana ?

[Ballylongford]

Late to the party I see Audirvana went subscription last year.

I have reviewed old YT videos for streaming on the cheap that suggested Audirvana be installed on a PC or laptop with an external DAC.

What are other cheapskates, er, price conscious consumers using now?

Thanks

 

[RTally]

I use a multitude of music servers on my computer. The benefit is that I can easily control the music using my portable devices. Once installed, they sit in the background and use few resources, even when playing music. Another advantage of a server is you can also send the music to another system, including your phone, that is not wired to the computer.

I use Plex, Logitech Music Server (LMS), and Jellyfin. Each as their strengths and weaknesses. And they are all free, although Plex has a subscription feature.

 

[uofmtiger]

Logitech Media Server (mentioned above) is probably the closest you will see to Audirvana since it can handle UPNP/DLNA. It also has Airplay and Chromecast as possibilities for streaming. I think Audirvana sounds better YMMV, but probably not enough to pay a subscription for it.

Both LMS and Audirvana have plugins for Qobuz, but LMS has a plug in for Spotify, which would give it an edge. I think both support Tidal, but I am not positive of that, so someone else can answer that part.

Plex had a plug in for Tidal only, then last time I checked. I like Plex more for movies, but it is convenient to have photos, music and movies all in one app.

 

[Danddd]

Amarra Luxe might be a good choice instead of Audirvana. I picked it up for half price while I was using their testing period. Amarra is usually rated higher than Audirvana, but the user interface isn't as good IMHO.

 

[Danddd]

Logitech Media Server (mentioned above) is probably the closest you will see to Audirvana since it can handle UPNP/DLNA. It also has Airplay and Chromecast as possibilities for streaming. I think Audirvana sounds better YMMV, but probably not enough to pay a subscription for it.

Both LMS and Audirvana have plugins for Qobuz, but LMS has a plug in for Spotify, which would give it an edge. I think both support Tidal, but I am not positive of that, so someone else can answer that part.

Plex had a plug in for Tidal only, then last time I checked. I like Plex more for movies, but it is convenient to have photos, music and movies all in one app.

Never thought of trying Logitech Media Server. Nice to know of another alternative. I'm glad I got Audirvana before the subscription service took hold.

 

[uofmtiger]

Never thought of trying Logitech Media Server. Nice to know of another alternative. I'm glad I got Audirvana before the subscription service took hold.

It’s not as plug and play as Audirvana but it has several features that make it a great substitute or compliment to it.

 

[zackthedog]

There's always JRiver Media Center. It's a pretty powerful cataloging program, UPnP/DLNA player, and plays just about any file format. It's a one-time purchase and the annual upgrades just seem to have more bells and whistles that don't change the basic functions. There's a remote app, and you can even set it up to access your music library on the road. I like the sound of Audirvana better, but I keep JRiver handy for library searches, tagging and other things. The downside is that it does not do Tidal or Qobuz.