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  • The Computer Audiophile
    The Computer Audiophile

    By The Computer Audiophile •

    Windows 7 Audio & J River Media Center 14 Configuration

    <img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/win-7-packaging-JRMC14.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" align="left">Computer audiophiles using Windows 7 based music servers have a plethora of configuration and application choices for music management and playback. A quick look at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_audio_player_software#General">Wikipedia's</a> list of applications, Windows, OS X and otherwise, can overwhelm anyone. Over the years I've tried more operating systems and applications than I can remember. Many of these have show stopping flaws that rule them out as contenders immediately. Applications that can't play certain file formats or all required sample rates don't receive much attention from me. That was the case over one year ago with J river Media Center 13. I tried to play some of the Reference Recordings HRx 24/176.4 material and had nothing but problems. No doubt the problems could have been worked out, but with so many options available elsewhere I didn't see any reason to spend time with the application. Since this initial underwhelming experience J River has released Media Center version 14. In addition many colleagues in the industry have encouraged me to give it another serious look. One colleague even backed up his suggestion with measurements showing JRMC's playback bit transparency. I started to see the light at CES this year and realized it was finally time take another look at J River Media Center as well as time to get serious about Windows 7.

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    In January 2010 at CES I listened to a demo using JRMC 14 and was really pleased with the sound. JRMC was running on a Mac laptop with Boot Camp and Windows 7. I compared the sound to the OS X / iTunes partition on the same laptop and was surprised at how much better I like JRMC in that system. I was finally convinced I needed to take JRMC much more seriously. Shortly after arriving home from Las Vegas I arranged a meeting with the people at J river and started using the application exclusively.

     

    My meeting with Jim Hillegas and Matt Ashland of J river focussed heavily on the audio capabilities of JRMC 14. The application itself can handle video, television, images, podcasts, and music among other things. I elected to concentrate solely on the music playback piece of the application as that's where my main interest lies and that's what Computer Audiophile is all about. After a brief tour of the J river office Matt and Jim lead me to a conference room where a music server with MC 14 was connected to a flat panel display. Jim was operating MC 14 via a standard Microsoft certified infrared remote control and the application was being displayed in Theater View. Right away I was surprised at how nice the interface looked and how available all the options were even though the traditional menus and buttons were absent. For example it was entirely possible to control music playback in several Zones from within Theater View. I expected Jim and Matt to exit Theater View to make changes or to send audio to different Zones, but that was not the case. I usually compare graphical user interfaces with iTunes and Apple's Front Row as they are the industry standard like it or not. The JRMC Theater View was actually easier to navigate than Front Row in at least one critical area. Anyone who has ever attempted to browse a music collection via Front Row has run into the nightmare that is scrolling through a list of hundreds or thousands of artists or albums. JRMC's interface is much better for browsing through an entire collection. It is simple to see a whole screen of album art and advance to the next set of albums.

     

     

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/01-l.jpg" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-TV"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/01-s.jpg" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" align="left" alt="JRMC-W7-TV 01"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/02-l.jpg" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-TV"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/02-s.jpg" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-TV 02"></a>

     

     

     

     

     

     

    After perusing the application's eye candy it was time to talk about features and audio quality. I began asking questions about the audio playback section and the difference between the available output options. After a couple questions Matt decided to draw a terrific diagram explaining how JR Media Center processes audio. Unfortunately much of the diagram contained J River's intellectual property and I have no desire to hurt the company by releasing any of the information shared with me. That said, I gained great knowledge into the applications inner workings and now understand what many of the options actually do to the digital audio output. More about JRMC configuration and output options will be addressed below. One feature that fascinated me was JRMC's Zone capabilities. In a matter of seconds Matt and Jim were sending audio around the J river office and controlling everything from a single JRMC installation on conference room music server. Creating additional Zones is a piece of cake. These Zones can consist of UPnP/DLNA players, sound cards, or different channels on a single sound card. More about my foray into Zones and sending different tracks to different DACs via a Lynx AES16 card a bit later.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>Windows 7</b>

     

    When configuring JRMC the first time, outputting bit perfect digital audio should be every audiophile's number one concern. Before JRMC can do its thing Windows must be properly configured. There are numerous ways to configure Windows 7. Here is the way I configure my Windows 7 music servers. I prefer to set a built-in or onboard audio device as the default rather than my Lynx card or USB DAC. This eliminates a few sound degrading possibilities right from the start[1]. Once I've "distracted" Windows by sending the default audio signal to a device I have no interest in using, I configure the pertinent audio device(s). I disable all enhancements via the sound device's Properties page >> Enhancement tab. On the Advanced tab I do things a bit different than most people. I set the Default Format to 24 bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality). This setting is only used in Shared Mode as opposed to Exclusive Mode. Shared Mode is not recommended for audiophile sound quality. The reason I set this to 24/48 is so I can easily see if I have misconfigured an audio device or application. If I've misconfigured either of these my DAC will display 48 as the sample rate no matter what sample rate I am actually playing on the music server. It's another easy way to spot misconfiguration and another level of security (state of mind) for bit perfect output. The other Advanced tab configuration options are standard and should be enabled by everyone seeking quality playback. I always make sure the two Exclusive Mode options are checked or ticked for those of you in the U.K. Allowing applications to take exclusive control and giving Exclusive Mode applications priority is a must. The last Windows related settings I check are the volume controls. As long as the device I am using has a hardware volume control I set every level on my computer to maximum, 100%, unity gain, -0 db, full blast, etc... The surfeit of volume controls on a Windows based music server can be annoying and seriously degrade audio performance if not handled correctly.

     

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/03-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-S"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/03-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-S 01"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/04-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-S"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/04-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-S 02"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/05-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-S"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/05-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-S 03"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/06-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-S"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/06-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-S 04"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/07-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-S"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/07-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-S 05"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/08-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-W7-S"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/08-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-W7-S 06"></a>  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <font size="1">[1]The major advantage of this is it eliminates one possible method of sending audio out through all the layers of the Windows operating system inadvertently. If a Lynx card, or any other device, is set as the default Windows audio device it is possible to bounce the audio signal through Windows, inadvertently convert the sample rate, and output a horrifically mangled audio stream without realizing things are misconfigured. The most common way this error occurs is by the user selecting DirectSound or Wave Out as the output mode within an application. These to modes can easily send audio to the default Windows audio device without Exclusive Control.</font>

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>Background Information</b>:

     

    There are two critical pieces users must have in place to achieve the highest sound quality.

    1. Exclusive Mode v. Shared Mode - Windows setting.

    2. WASAPI or ASIO - Playback application setting.

     

     

     

     

    <b>Windows Modes</b>:

     

    The Windows operating system uses what's called Exclusive Mode and Shared Mode when handling digital audio. These two Modes affect how Windows and audio applications communicate with audio devices like USB DACs and sound cards.

     

    <b>Exclusive Mode</b> is somewhat analogous to connecting a DAC directly to an amplifier. Exclusive Mode enables an audio stream to go directly to an audio device bypassing intermediate processing. There is no mixing of audio streams from other applications including Windows sounds. The obsolete KMixer from Windows XP gathers all digital audio streams converting them into one sample rate before outputting the homogenized stream to an audio device. This is similar to how other output methods handle audio with layers upon layers of operating system processing and possible manipulation. Exclusive Mode enables this direct access to the audio device but does not guarantee anything more than than this. It is one critical piece of the bit perfect puzzle. An interesting note about Exclusive Mode - Even though a device may be enabled for Exclusive Mode and an application is accessing the device appropriately some applications relinquish control of the audio device if the application is not the foreground process. According to J River, Media Center 14 only relinquishes control on the Stop command.

     

    <b>Shared Mode</b> can roughly be compared to using a preamplifier between a DAC and amplifier. The preamp is there to handle multiple audio streams (among many other things). When a device operates in Shared Mode audio is sent from the playback application to a global audio engine where any number of effects may be applied before finally reaching the audio device such as a USB DAC or audio card. As explained below output methods such as Wave Out and DirectSound use Shared Mode.

     

     

    <i>Simple Test:</i>

    Users who have a DAC that displays the current sample rate being fed from the music server can run an easy test to determine which Mode is in use. Simply play two tracks with different sample rates. If Exclusive Mode is in use the sample rate on the DAC should change. If Shared Mode is in use the Default Format (sample rate) that is set in the audio device Properties >> Advanced tab will be displayed on the DAC. If the Default Format is set to 24 bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality), playback of a single 16/44.1 track will provide a quick answer to the Exclusive or Shared Mode question as well.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>Application Audio Output Modes</b>:

     

     

    This is the second critical piece of the bit perfect puzzle. Several playback application configuration options for outputting digital audio are available. The output modes listed below are how a playback application handles digital audio. The combination of hardware and software dictates what modes are available. For example, not all audio devices support standard ASIO output and not all playback applications support WASAPI output.

     

     

     

    <b>ASIO</b> - Audio Stream Input/Output protocol was developed by the German hardware and software company named Steinberg Gmbh (Yamaha subsidiary). ASIO is a common method of sending audio from a playback application directly to an audio device such as a Lynx, RME, or ASUS audio card. ASIO is a protocol for low latency high quality digital audio. Manufacturers use the ASIO protocol to develop drivers enabling applications to output this low latency audio directly to the manufacture's cards. ASIO drivers achieve low latency through bypassing layers of the Windows operating system. (ASIO drivers are one method of bypassing the Windows KMixer on XP. Bypassing KMixer enables a bit perfect audio signal to reach the audio card.)

     

     

     

    <b>ASIO4All</b> - Is a universal ASIO driver for Windows that enables almost any playback application to send digital audio directly to an audio device such as a USB DAC. ASIO4ALL is most common consumer audio systems where professional sound cards such as a Lynx and RME are not in use. These cards come with working ASIO drivers from the manufacturer.

     

     

     

    <b>WASAPI</b> - Windows Audio Session API is similar to ASIO in that it enables audio to be sent directly to a sound device. Some refer to WASAPI as Microsoft's answer to ASIO. WASAPI first appeared in Windows Vista and remains part of Windows 7. WASAPI by itself is only a tool that software companies can use to enhance audio playback applications. Some applications do not use WASAPI. Currently J River Media Center, Foobar2000, and XX High End use WASAPI to send audio directly to the sound device. WASAPI enables these applications to take exclusive control over an audio device like a USB DAC or Lynx audio card as long as Windows is properly configured to allow Exclusive control of the device.

     

     

     

    <b>DirectSound</b> & <b>Wave Out</b> - DirectSound and Wave Out are additional methods of sending digital audio output to a sound card or device such as a USB DAC. Neither of these methods currently bypass Windows Vista / Windows 7 mixers or the multiple layers of the Windows operating system. Severely degraded sound is possible using either DirectSound or Wave Out. That said it is possible to achieve bit perfect audio while using either method but it's not advised. Higher latency and difficulty maintaining bit perfect playback are two major drawbacks to using DirectSound or Wave Out.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>J River Media Center 14 Specifics</b>

     

     

    Once the necessities above are addressed JRMC v14 is completely capable of audiophile sound quality. The critical configuration of Media Center v14 is done on the Audio pane of the Options window. Previous versions of MC14 call this pane Playback. Since JRMC 14 natively supports WASAPI it may be easiest to configure the pertinent audio output device using this mode. Enter the JRMC 14 Options window via the Tools menu at the top of the application. To use the classic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_Cribs">MTV Cribs</a> overused cliché, the Options window is "Where all the magic happens." Selecting the Audio or Playback pane from the left side of the Options window exposes the options audiophiles need. Enabling WASAPI is as simple as selecting the chevron to the left of "Output mode:" and clicking Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI). Readers with sounds cards such as the Lynx AES16 and AES16e have the option to use Lynx Studio's ASIO driver instead of WASAPI. The ASIO option will not be available if the audio device does not have its own ASIO drivers, unless, ASIO4ALL is installed. ASIO4ALL is separate software that is discussed later in this article. Selecting the ellipsis button to the left of "Output mode settings..." allows one to specify the audio output device to which WASAPI should direct the audio stream and adjust additional settings including buffers. Selecting the ellipsis button to the left of "DSP & output format..." appears like a wrong move for audiophiles. Fortunately the output format is the only concern on this screen, no DSP required. Some DACs require input of 24 bit digital audio streams. This does not affect bit transparency of the audio. To enable 24 bit output navigate to "Output Format" on the left. Identify the Bitdepth area on the right and select the chevron to the right of "Source bitdepth." The drop down menu will enable selection of 24-bit output and will automatically check the "Output Format" box to enable the option.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/09-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-1"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/09-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-1 01"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/10-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-1"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/10-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-1 02"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/11-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-1"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/11-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" align="left" alt="JRMC-1 03"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/12-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-1"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/12-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-1 04"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/13-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-1"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/13-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-1 05"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/14-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-1"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/14-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-1 06"></a>  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Other pertinent JRMC options are more user and hardware dependent.

     

    Prebuffering by default is set at 6 seconds. The name is pretty self explanatory. Six seconds of audio are placed in the application's playback buffer before playback starts and throughout the whole track. I've had great luck using Lynx cards with this default setting. One USB DAC I've used required this setting to be at two seconds to achieve stable performance.

     

    Playing files from memory instead of disk is a somewhat new option in JR Media Center. This is different than Prebuffering because because prebuffering places the audio into the application's buffer not just into memory. Playback applications use buffers as part of the playback process. These buffers are held in the computer's memory of course, but in a different way that this option to play the files from memory. Playing files from memory instead of disk is fairly similar to creating a RAM disk and placing audio files on that disk. This memory playback option works by copying complete files to memory before the application starts to process the file as part of its playback operation. Memory playback is differentiated from a "normal" playback mode in that it copies the complete file at once. "Normal" playback mode copies parts of the file into memory as needed by the application. Think of this "normal" playback as a flowing river as opposed to the start/sop waterfall that is memory playback. There is no accepted combination that provides the best sound quality. Depending on one's computer and audio system adjustments to these settings may result in differences from inaudible to playback dropouts to sonic superiority.

     

     

     

    <b>Combinations explained</b>:

     

    Prebuffering Only - Track is placed from the hard drive into JRMC's buffer as part of its playback operation. Configurable in seconds. The buffer exists in memory and can be considered a subset of the total computer memory.

     

    Memory playback Only - Track is completely copied from the hard drive to computer's memory, not an application buffer, before JRMC begins playback operation of the track.

     

    Prebuffering and Memory Playback Combined - Track is first completely copied to computer's memory then the set number of seconds are placed into the applications buffer.

     

     

     

     

    The "Do not play silence (leading or trailing)" option is explained by J River as <i>"If this option is selected, the program skips long portions of silence during playback. This is quite useful for hidden tracks or tracks with a lot of leading or trailing silence. This option may not be a good choice for classical music or other genres that contain long, intentional pauses in the middle of songs."</i> I am not 100% certain but I am pretty confident this option, when enabled, hindered stable playback when using one specific USB DAC I've had in house. Based on the description of this option is really appears benign but my experience has been quite different. It's entirely possible that the DAC in use is more finicky than most at this point in time or a hardware / software combination just isn't clicking. I am not at liberty to discuss the manufacturer or model of the DAC. Readers shouldn't worry about their current DACs as this one is not currently available.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/15-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-2"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/15-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-2 01"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/16-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-2"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/16-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-2 02"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/17-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="JRMC-2"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/17-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="JRMC-2 03"></a>  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>ASIO4ALL</b>

     

     

     

    I recommend that readers with hardware that doesn't natively support or feature an ASIO driver download and install ASIO4ALL (http://www.asio4all.com/). ASIO4ALL is selected much the same was as WASAPI output mode is selected. In the same Audio Options window select the chevron to the left of "Output mode:" and click ASIO from the dropdown menu. Within the "Output mode settings..." option >> ASIO Settings window ASIO4ALL v2 should be selected. Users can select "Use large hardware buffers" is needed. I did not have any audio output when this was enabled in combination with a few different USB DACs. The one counter intuitive part of ASIO4ALL configuration is the initial setup. Some users have been able to access ASIO4ALL settings after selecting ASIO4ALL v2 within ASIO settings. I've consistently been able to access the settings by starting playback through JRMC first. This has been necessary for me in order to see the ASIO4ALL configuration window. This is by design and I agree with the reasons for this behavior. ASIO4ALL is not a program it's a driver and does not run on a computer unless specifically called by a playback application. Thus, it's not possible to access the software without playing a track in my case. Once audio playback is started a small green icon with a play symbol should be present in the Windows system tray (near the clock in the lower right corner). Selecting this icon opens the ASIO4ALL settings window. Make sure the proper audio output device is selected. I have not needed to adjust any of the ASIO4ALL specific settings via this software interface. Once the device is selected audio should immediately playback through this device. If not, simply close and reopen JRMC.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/18-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="A4A"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/18-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="A4A 01"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/19-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="A4A"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/19-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="A4A 02"></a>  

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/20-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="A4A"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/20-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="A4A 03"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/21-l.jpg" class="thickbox" rel="A4A"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/21-s.jpg" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="A4A 04"></a>  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>Zones</b>

     

     

     

    JRMC 14 includes really nice zone capability. Sending audio to different zones throughout one's home used be the territory of custom integrators only and was not an inexpensive endeavor. I don't think JRMC's zone capability is exactly equivalent to some of the more traditional zone systems for whole house audio, but it's a very nice option. Since I am interested in sound quality first and foremost I elected to use separate channels of a Lynx AES16 audio card for zoning. I successfully sent two completely different digital audio streams to two different DACs via channels one and two of the Lynx card. Playing the same track in different zones is nothing new and can be done by many different applications. JRMC goes beyond that capability by sending different tracks simultaneously to different zones or the same track is desired. A limitation of most sound cards including the Lynx AES16 is the inability to play multiple sample rates at the same time. This is because the crystal oscillator can't be in two places at once. I don't see this as a big problem for most people. Once I sent 16/44.1 audio out to two zones I felt required to push the limits if possible. I thought higher sample rates may be an issue for JRMC or my low powered music server. Fortunately playback of two simultaneous 24/176.4 audio streams didn't even make the application or the server sweat. Processor utilization rested comfortably at approximately 15% the whole time.

     

    JRMC's zoning capability may seem like a solution in search of a problem for some readers. Personally I don't have the need for multi-zone listening. However, AES/EBU cables can be run substantial lengths without too much signal degradation. It's completely plausible some readers could run AES/EBU cables up or down levels of their home to take advantage of these zones. One zone for a dedicated two channel system and another zone running to a home theater system would be very nice. Even if multiple zones are used at the same time the capability does enable use of a single music server in a single location. This convenience should not be underestimated.

     

     

    Creating & Configuring Zones - Creating zones is very easy. Under the Player menu on the main JRMC screen is Playback Options >> Zone Manager. Once in the Zone Manager the user selects the Add button, names the Zone, then hits the Configure button. From here the rest of the zone configuration is identical to the audio output options previously discussed.

     

    Using zones through the JRMC interface is just as easy as creating the zones. Clicking on a zone in the left navigation tree enables selection of zone specific music. It's exactly the same as navigating JRMC without multiple zones. The only requirement is selecting the correct zone before selecting the music.

     

     

     

     

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/22-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="zone"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/22-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="zone 01"></a>   <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/23-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="zone"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/23-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="zone 02"></a>  

     

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/24-l.png" class="thickbox" rel="zone"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2010/0224/24-s.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" alt="zone 03"></a>  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>Final Features</b>

     

     

     

    JRMC 14 also has a few different remote control options. The remote option I am most enthusiastic about is using a UPnP/DLNA mobile application similar to Apple's Remote app. I use PlugPlayer. It's available via the Apple app store for the iPhone/Touch and the more sizable iPad. In no way is this remote option as good as Apple's Remote for iTunes but it has a ton of potential. I found numerous quirks that frustrated me and required too much time on the JR forum to resolve. I do remain most optimistic however. A much more primitive remote interface can be accessed via the Media Server feature. Enabling the JRMC Media Server allows access to control the application with any web browser such as Safari on an iPhone or Google's Chrome via the Android OS or Windows Explorer via any number of Windows mobile devices. This interface gets the job done but it isn't pretty. It seems like a relic JR has left in v14 if for no other reason than, "Because they can." Like I mentioned earlier in this article JRMC is completely controllable via a number of infrared remotes. This will require a display for navigation but it gives users the traditional CD player feel of hard buttons. One remaining viable remote option is via the <a href="http://melloware.com/products/rivermote/">RiverMote</a> application. the app requires software running on the music server and iPhone. RiverMote can control different zones, but a severe limitation is the inability to control music selection other than what's available via playlists. I believe this limitation is the result of a disagreement between J River and MelloWare. If MelloWare had complete access to JR's APIs complete control wouldn't be a problem. On the other hand is MelloWare used UPnP/DLNA protocol complete control wouldn't be a problem. I certainly don't place blame on either party.

     

     

     

     

    <b>Wrap Up</b>

     

    Windows 7 and J River Media Center are a powerful music server combination. In fact both the operating system and playback application are now on the <a href="http://www.computeraudiophile.com/computer-audiophile-suggested-hardware-list">C.A.S.H. List</a> as a recommended parts of a music server. When the utmost care is taken to configure the operating system and playback application the sonic quality can be truly stunning. Windows 7, more so than OS X, has many different configuration options to output audio but not necessarily bit perfect audio. At first Windows 7 can seem a bit overwhelming even for those with extensive Windows experience. There just isn't such a thing as Plug n' Play when it comes to high end audio and the absolute best sound quality. As long as people's expectations are set at a realistic level the original setup of a Windows 7 music server will not be an issue. Problems arise when people expect the world and quickly cry fowl when something doesn't go as expected. Those who stick to it will get beyond the fact they're even using a computer and will be enjoying great sound with an endless selection of music at their finger tips.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    jriver

    Try rebooting. Power down and up.<br />

    <br />

    Try DirectSound.<br />

    <br />

    Does WMP work?

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    dummy

    I did a few reboot. Still the same. Direct Sound static too. WMP static too. Same thing with any options I tried.<br />

    <br />

    No static though from the internal speakers on the Slate500. <br />

    <br />

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    dummy

    I've spent the last 2 hours trying every mode and nothing is working so far. Static all the time still. I did as Chris suggest and did the prebuffer at 2 seconds instead of 6, I didn't unable the don't play silence, etc...<br />

    <br />

    Every mode have static still. WMP have static too. The only mode that didn't work was ASIO. The little green ASIO4ALL icon shows in the tray but when i click on it, It doesn't open like It does on my desktop. And no music with ASIO. And every time I go back, I always have to manually choose yet again Arcam rDac. Odd. No sound though when I choose Arcam. When I choose high definition option, sounds comes up on the internal speakers. No static then. <br />

    <br />

    My guess then is my rDac maybe have some issue with this HP Slate 500 since It works perfect on my desktop and with the internal speakers of the Slate.<br />

    <br />

    The only other thing is that the Slate is not wired to the network, although It is directly wired to the rDac. And I don't need a network for the music since It it already on the Slate. But I can't see any other reason at this point.<br />

    <br />

    I must say the same thing happened with the rDac last year when I got It but right about that time WASAPI Even Style came out and It cured everything. Not this time.<br />

    <br />

    I tried everything I could think of so far. No luck still. I don't know what to do now. I need help.<br />

    <br />

    Any ideas?<br />

    <br />

    <br />

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    crisnee

    Have you tried a different player, like foobar for instance? See if you can get it to play music through your system any way you can think of. <br />

    <br />

    Are you using Usb? Try a different jack and/or cable. Try the analog outs, or whatever you haven't tried yet. That way you can start narrowing things down a bit to see if its a player or computer wide problem.<br />

    <br />

    -Chris

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    Mark Powell

    He did try a different player, WMP, and had the same problem. So it is NOT a failing of the JRiver player. My first test would be to try a different DAC, but that may not be available.<br />

    <br />

    Certainly try different cables, if available, though the analogue outs will, I think, prove nothing, as they almost certainly will work.<br />

    <br />

    TRY SETTING A DIFFERENT DEFAULT. In 'speakers', make the internal sound card the default. The DAC will just show 'ready'. Probably won't make any difference, but worth trying. Make sure thye JRiver>tools>Audio>WASAPI (or whatever)>Output Settings shows your DAC.<br />

    <br />

    Move to JRiver 17. May not fix the problem, and costs a few dollars, but you will possibly move to it eventually in any case.<br />

    <br />

    Failing all that, you will have to try a different tablet, but that is an expensive way of finding out that it still doesn't work!

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    dummy

    Looks like the problem lies with the audio output whenever I choose the rDac in the windows audio control. Always static that way. I tried with WMP and MediaMonkey. But whenever I choose the internal speakers, It plays fine. All 3 players works fine with the internal speakers. Yet, If I choose the Arcam as an output, static...<br />

    <br />

    The rDac plays perfect any way on my Windows desktop though. So I don't think the rDac is the problem. <br />

    <br />

    Yet the Slate is almost new so most probably more up to date compare to my 3yo desktop. <br />

    <br />

    I don't know... Will try to swap cables tomorrow... I did for now tried the 3 different USB inputs... Still no luck.<br />

    <br />

    It's a shame cuz the Slate is silent, petite and quite cute. Oh yeah, and free! I guess no free lunch applies here more than ever!!!<br />

    <br />

    <br />

    <br />

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    crisnee

    I don't know anything about the Slate or your dac so take my thoughts with a grain or shot of something. I'm just trying to think of things that have caused problems in my many years of computer adventures.<br />

    <br />

    Do you have any background software running like virus/malware programs? If you do, try disabling them, they can cause all kinds of problems.<br />

    <br />

    Check everything in sound options in the control panel to make sure they are set correctly for your dac. Although very unlikely, you might have a bitrate checked that the dac doesn't accept.<br />

    <br />

    Try disabling or setting to a minimum as much stuff as you can so that the most possible memory and power is available for JRiver.<br />

    <br />

    Is there an optical, coax or hdmi out on the Slate? If so, try them.<br />

    <br />

    Does the Slate have a BIOS, if so try resetting it to defaults. Also check if there's a newer revision available.<br />

    <br />

    -Chris<br />

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    dummy

    Thanks for your thoughts. I actually fiddle yet again today with no luck still.<br />

    <br />

    The HP Slate 500 is like a small notebook tablet that looks like an iPad but full featured. It isn't terribly powerful, only 2GB RAM with an Atom chip, 64SSD. But so was CAPS 1 so It should be working. Only USB out. No other choices.<br />

    <br />

    Just so you know, before even trying It, I did a clean reinstall of Windows7 (Professional 32Bits) and I didn't added anything other than JRMC16 on It. Now still, after trying a few things, I only added JRMC17 beta, MediaMonkey and ASIO4ALL drivers. And a few songs. That's It.<br />

    <br />

    I tried 3 different USB cables, all modes (WASAPI, WASAPI Event Style, ASIO, Direct Sound, Kernel), JRMC16, JRMC17, MM, WMP. I tried every possible options on the sound control panel. 24/44, 24/48, 24/96... I desinstalled/reinstalled the audio drivers. Nothing works. Static still there. Only when I choose the internal speakers on the Slate does It work without static. <br />

    <br />

    So It's either my rDac the problem (although it still works perfect on my desktop) on something is wrong with the audio drivers. I don't think the problem is JRMC since all players have static. Maybe Its because the rDac is not galvanically isolated... Then again, my desktop is a much noiser, busier machine and no static so... <br />

    <br />

    I am puzzled now...<br />

    <br />

    <br />

    EDIT<br />

    <br />

    Just for fun I downloaded iTunes to see... Same thing... Static... <br />

    <br />

    <br />

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    Mark Powell

    Looks like you have done everything possible, and missed nothing.<br />

    <br />

    Interesting. I was tempted to buy the Acer W500, which is a similar machine, with a touch screen and a nice detachable keyboard. For the same reasons, as it is a rather neat answer to controlling everything. Your experience with the HP Slate has rather put me off risking the 550 UK pounds (750 dollars) it costs.<br />

    <br />

    I worked on big IBM mainframes for many years and this Samsung I am typing on is my first home machine. We used lots of Hewlett Packard test instrumentation and it was the best gear in existence by far so I leaned towards an HP laptop. It was so much of a total disaster that it went back to the dealer and was swapped for the Samsung. A shame, as I wanted an HP machine.<br />

    <br />

    Regards

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    Mark Powell

    I originally missed this. May be worth a try.<br />

    <br />

    Control Panel>System & Security>System>Advanced>Settings box>Adjust for best performance<br />

    <br />

    Also, have you got rid of all the 'power saving' options? Some of those have an impact on performance. Search for 'Power' on Control Panel, check 'High Performance'

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    dummy

    Well looks like the problem lies within the HP Slate. I went to my audio shop today with the Slate and tried It on a Peachtree DAC-It and a Wadia 151 and same thing happened. Static, static, static...<br />

    <br />

    So I guess the problem is with either the audio drivers and/or the USB out on the Slate. I wonder If I disable all drivers If the damn thing would still work...<br />

    <br />

    Thanks to all for the help!<br />

    <br />

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    crisnee

    I would definitely try disabling everything that it is possible to disable. And as Mark said, change the setting that says "set for best performance." It's likely that it's set for that already, so change it to "back ground services."<br />

    <br />

    As to audio drivers. There shouldn't be a special (proprietary) USB audio driver for your system, so it's not likely to be an audio driver problem. I still think there's some kind of conflict going on that might be solveable, unless it's the usb itself, which is pretty unlikely unless there's some kind of strange conflict there. You could try disabling all usb devices if you can.<br />

    <br />

    As I've sort of mentioned, I've had some really odd problems concerning audio that I eventually solved by continued experimentation, evening trying things that seemed to make very little or no sense. Good Luck.<br />

    <br />

    How much memory, and what processor and OS does the Slate have?<br />

    <br />

    -Chris

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    dummy

    I'll move this discussion as I don't want to hijack this thread. I posted here in the first place because I thought the problem was with JRMC but since It isn't, I'll move It where I did start a thread, a few weeks ago, about the Slate before getting It. If you are interested, click the link, all the stats are there.<br />

    <br />

    <br />

    http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/HP-Slate-500<br />

    <br />

    <br />

    Thanks again to all for the interest and help.<br />

    <br />

    <br />

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    Joey Logan

    I know this is an old thread now, but my comments may spare others' lots of hassle when using the J River Media Center . That's what forums are for right, communication and helping others? Umh...<br />

    <br />

    BTW I joined today to leave this post, cos' I'm rattled. You'll love this...<br />

    <br />

    I've been using J River Media Center since V15, on and off. I say 'off' as it breaks a lot. My initial advice is don't upgrade until you know for sure that all of the bugs are gone! Read the J River Media Center 'Interact Forum' but put on your best togs first and be on your best behaviour - or else! <br />

    <br />

    So I've posted here as its a superb forum (that I reference quite often) and it came up high in the serps for "Jim Hillegas". I was trying to find out more about this individual, as he took my support requests to a personal level - he got nasteeee. I'll assume from his videos on You Tube that he'll soon be pushing up daises so maybe my wish will come true sooner rather than later. Hey its my opinion!<br />

    <br />

    I believe the J River Media Center software has the potential to dominate the Media Center space, as iTunes is pants and the others' just not up to scratch... <br />

    <br />

    But NOT until Jim Hillegas moves over, he has to go - CEO or not. This guy is so far bent out of shape, a psychotherapist would run for the hills.<br />

    <br />

    Make no mistake, the software is top notch (when it works) but the business model is one of the worse I've experienced online, and I've been online since 1997 buying, selling, writing, marketing., etc.<br />

    <br />

    So what's the problem? I'll keep it brief :-)...<br />

    <br />

    - J River Media Center is a 'Feature Rich' Media Center that is very complex to set up and initially use - AND it has NO Manual! Forget the Wiki that the guys mention on this thread, its so far out of date, Noah used it. If you consider yourself to be inexperienced with PC's - slowly back out of the room, J River Media Center is NOT for you.<br />

    <br />

    - No Support. No Email. No Phone. This one kills me for a business that charges $50 a pop, every 8-10 months for its subscription based license. How do companies get away with no direct, one-to-one confidential communication and support? I just don't get it why you/we put up with it. Even Apple have free email support for iTunes - and that's saying something! Media Monkey as an example always, always, always get back to my support tickets inside of 1-2 hours. Brilliant.<br />

    <br />

    Not with J River Media Center. Lets say I have an urgent technical issue = Forum! How about a download issue = forum! Freeze problem = forum! Surely not for a billing or license issue? You got it - forum only! What you want me to publicly discuss personal matters on an open forum. Yes and Yes.<br />

    <br />

    I'll say this slowly; J River Media Center does not have an open and direct communication with its clients, no matter how confidential or severe the issue. You are bluntly told (if you do find an email address) to "post it on the forum". Surely that's not allowed with correct online trading practices? Well this sucker gets away with it somehow.<br />

    <br />

    I've used tons of support and ticket software from Kayako, eTicket to basic email plus live chat apps like Live Person or PHPLive on my sites, they all work exceptionally well and give the customer the support experience they deserve. Its a win-win for the retailer and customer and they cost next to nothing.<br />

    <br />

    Thing is, support is your best sales tool, give good solid support and your customer's become your biggest marketers and sales people - Word Of Mouth, and its FREE!<br />

    <br />

    - Bad Attitude. If I could sum up the words abrasive, obnoxious, and bad attitude = Jim Hillegas from J River Media Center. Until you communicate with him you won't believe it. In fact scrap that comment, get onto the J River Media Center 'Interact' Forum and read some of Jim's uninspiring responses. You'll soon be looking for the nearest pub to drown your sorrows. Also run a quick search for "Jim Hillegas" or "J River Media Center problem" or similar in Big G and you'll soon see what a positive effect he has on your state of mind - NOT!<br />

    <br />

    If you dare say anything remotely negative be it constructive and honest or not, this guys' personality flicks like a switch. P1 to P2 in 0.00001 seconds. Boom! Defensive is an understatement.<br />

    <br />

    - Pretentious Forum. Man-o-man you get some Charlie's on there. Glynor and a few others are nice lads, but jeez... And the man is always watching so tip-toe around.<br />

    <br />

    - No Responses on 'Interact' Forum. Says its all really. You'll find many a support question unanswered. Unacceptable at $50 investment every 10 months or so.<br />

    <br />

    My Beef - Just yesterday I posted a new topic on 'Interact' as Media Center 17 install crashed my W7 PC, it was also running Media Center 16. Jim assured me that Media Center was now fully stable, "Umh O-K-A-Y, lets do it".<br />

    <br />

    Long story short I tried everything apart from a W7 re-install to get it to work, 12 hours later, no luck, still broken. Multiple installs, multiple reboots, multiple compatibility checks with other software and all kinds of things, nothing. And the killer was, that every time I tried to uninstall Media Center 16 or Media Center 17 my PC crashed. Very productive day at the office for me yesterday, so apologies to anyone who emailed me and I ignored them :-) I was in the zone ready to explode.<br />

    <br />

    And to add insult to injury Jim Hillegas would not help on email. Blunt responses from "post on forum" to "reboot" not even a "Hi", "Sorry", "I'll Look into It" or a "Regards" in his emails. Nothing!<br />

    <br />

    Then came the whammy. I posted on the forum and within 2 minutes Jim had deleted it. So I emailed him to ask "why?" the response was "deleted what". You getting the picture of this guy's insecurities now? Either he has Alzheimers or he's taking the pistol pete.<br />

    <br />

    Boom! I immediately responded with an attachment. It was a screenshot of my forum post in the main menu and the specific topic. Who's laughing now Jim Hillegas? Well not me as my PC is still ****ed. But this one really rattled him, egg-on-face.<br />

    <br />

    I wake up today with hope that Jim Hillegas has found his professional personality and has responded with help - afraid not, he's banned me from the forum for 24 hours, while he "thinks about it".<br />

    <br />

    So in closing and in Jim's own words "post it on the forum". I have Jim, and this post is it for the world to see how you operate and how well you treat your customers. <br />

    <br />

    I'd say this about J River Media Center. The software is very good, probably the best Media Center on the market, when it is bug free. I also like to believe that Matt the top developer there is a good guy and that he's just under the spell of Jim Hillegas. Lets hope that Matt and the guys can one day take J River Media Center to the next level and offer exceptional customer support and a bl**y manual.<br />

    <br />

    All the best<br />

    Joey Logan<br />

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    PeterSt

    At least we have another JRiver thread active now. :-)<br />

    But, always better than thinking this is offtopic in this thread and start another one.<br />

    <br />

    Thanks for sharing Joey,<br />

    Peter<br />

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    Mark Powell

    Now on 17. Never stopped (except when my freezer switched, fixed with a simple household wiring change), never broke. Simple and quick to install, no hassle. Used Chris's 14 setup guide, rechecked this morning with the new guide. Original setup took 30 minutes, this morning's recheck ten minutes. Just did it as the guide said, did not worry or argue with it.<br />

    <br />

    The other day we talked a total Windows newbie through it (he was an Apple guy before). We only had to do that because he was too impatient to read the guide. He is happy too.<br />

    <br />

    Sounds better than my 5000 dollar CD player, using my expensive DAC for both.<br />

    <br />

    The Wiki guide is not brilliant. But you rarely need it.<br />

    <br />

    Will look Hillegas up. I might get a laugh.<br />

    <br />

    Agree that iTunes is pants.<br />

    <br />

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    Greywind

    Joey,<br />

    <br />

    There are several great players out there. Why the focus on J River? I've heard it on many computers. The sound is ok. Hardly good enough to get upset about. Pick another player for W7 and move on.<br />

    <br />

    If you're into sonics, like me, and don't worry all that much about beautifully designed interface (sorry Peter!), try XXHighend. I've tried most players out there for Mac and W7 and the latest version of XXHighend sounds amazing. Support is solid too. <br />

    <br />

    There are other players, Foobar, Jplay... Try them all and see what you like best. Or if you're not technically advanced, try a mac and Amarra or PM.<br />

    <br />

    Time to let J River flow on by.<br />

    <br />

    /LM

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    Mark Powell

    It's ten times the price of JRiver, so should be ten times better. And from what I read on here it won't stay up for more than an hour or so. And talk about the company being unresponsive!<br />

    <br />

    I would love to try Peter's XX High End. But the installation guide is a nightmare. Sure, I could ask him. Just like I always ask Mr Mercedes directly if my car won't start in the morning. Can't be bothered. Getting an installation guide correct and easy to use is VERY important. We are not all Windows aces.<br />

    <br />

    JPlay? Tried that five times in the last week. Guys on the forum tried to help. But it STILL says JRiver is not running. Damned well is, I can hear Celine Dion (sorry about that).<br />

    <br />

    I know were my 50 dollars is staying. And, for the money we spend on the rest of the stuff, what's a few dollars for an upgrade?

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    Old Listener

    Joey Logan,<br />

    <br />

    People get real help every day on the JRiver forum both from JRiver people and from other JRMC users. They also get help on other forums, including this one. I've been a JRiver user for almost 6 years. I give help when I can on this forum and on the JRiver forum. JRMC users help because we appreciate JRMC and want to help other people succeed with it.<br />

    <br />

    The forum and a Wiki are the support mechanisms JRiver chose. If you can't accept that, try a different product. Some of the material in the JRiver Wiki needs to be updated but I still find it to be a useful reference. JimH has collected posts about solving weird problems in a sticky thread on the JRiver forum. That can be a good resource if you use it.<br />

    <br />

    I don't remember seeing your post on the JRiver forum so I'll make some general observations.<br />

    <br />

    ---<br />

    If you react to a problem with accusations and a crusade to show that JRMC is unusable and JimH is guilty of moral sins, people will stop responding to your posts pretty quickly. If you work with the people who try to help you, you'll usually get good ideas and analysis of your problem. If you respond to requests for more detail but merely repeating your initial problem description, there isn't a lot that anyone can do for you. You have a role to play in the problem solving process.<br />

    ---<br />

    <br />

    Your post in this thread seems to be entirely about your grudge against JimH. Had you posted about a problem you wanted to solve, you could have gotten help here.<br />

    <br />

    As JRiver people and users point out on the forum, Windows crashes are rarely the fault of application software such as JRMC. Software running at the kernel level such as a device driver is almost always the case of a Windows crash. Many of the problems people ask about on the JRiver forum are caused by the behavior of a device driver.<br />

    <br />

    If you meant that JRMC had stopped responding during the uninstall process, that is a different story. I found a small problem with a MC 17 uninstall and reported it to JimH in another forum. JRMC is quite good about fixing bugs that they can reproduce.<br />

    <br />

    Bill<br />

    <br />

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    PeterSt

    <cite>I would love to try Peter's XX High End. But the installation guide is a nightmare. Sure, I could ask him. Just like I always ask Mr Mercedes directly if my car won't start in the morning. Can't be bothered. Getting an installation guide correct and easy to use is VERY important. We are not all Windows aces.</cite><br />

    <br />

    I think there must be a misconception somewhere;<br />

    If you refer to the Installation Guide for Dummies, it's lengthy, but also for dummies. Not saying that you are one, but it looks massive because of it. However, it may be good to realize that this is about the general setup anticipating on upgrades and the sole fact that as many XXHE versions should be able to run on your PC as you like alongside. Notice that each version sounds different, and this is for fallback and rechecking things. But :<br />

    Nobody says that you want to go that route right away when you are only trying. So, just trying means :<br />

    <br />

    - Shut off User Account Control (UAC) -> really the worst part for a Win novice;<br />

    - Download the zip;<br />

    - Unzip it to a folder of your liking (but not Program Files);<br />

    - Run XXHighEnd.exe;<br />

    - Read the small window guiding you through the two or three important thingies for now.<br />

    - Drag in some files and hit Play.<br />

    <br />

    This is now and evolves further and further over time.<br />

    <br />

    Of course, this will give you medicore SQ because now there's so many things to vary. But that is for a cause ...<br />

    <br />

    Regards,<br />

    Peter

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    Greywind

    Mark,<br />

    <br />

    I find Amarra to be pretty rock solid. Perhaps you tried it years ago? I just don't see the merit in that accusation. Yes, it's more expensive. Why is it that people will spend 5k on a dac, but insist on only $39 or so on software?<br />

    <br />

    XXHighend isn't the easiest app to setup, although my recent install of 9z6.1 was seamless. But let's face it, this is a struggle (for some of us) to get analog sound from a computer, a relatively new development. You need to be willing to get into these computers and understand some of what's going on. If you're not up for that, I'd recommend iTunes or Media Monkey... These apps have never sounded that great to me, very digital. But the interface is easy and they seem to instal easily.<br />

    <br />

    Could there be an inverse relationship between sound quality and well designed gui? I think so. It's all about streamlining operations inside the computer. Getting good sound takes some tweaking and requires a bit of experimentation. <br />

    <br />

    The technology has gotten way better in the last two years though.<br />

    <br />

    /LM

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    Mark Powell

    Compared to the prices we pay for the other stuff, the price we pay for the player (also the platform we run it on) does not matter.<br />

    <br />

    Amarra unreliability and unfulfilled promises of fixes? Look at the threads of only two or three months ago. Not several years ago.<br />

    <br />

    iTunes by itself? It's crap. it would not need Amarra, BitPerfect, or Pure Music add-ons if it was any good. I use it (on Windows) because I find its Internet Radio has a lot of stations and it is easy to find them. But SQ at that level is not so important. It is acceptable. Media Monkey? I have no experience of it.<br />

    <br />

    'Analog' sound? Was that ever really any kind of 'ideal'? or was it the 'warm and cozy' sound we liked, inaccurate or not? I just don't have any answers to that, but I like vinyl and (good) FM radio. Some of our UK FM stations are terrible, others are excellent. Classic FM has had a very obvious microphonic rattle on the left channel from one of its studies for years and has never fixed it.<br />

    <br />

    Inverse relationship? No reason why there should be. The CPU load of, for example, JRiver is only one or two percent, even on its '3D' interface. I suspect the lack of such interfaces on some of the players is down to a lack of programmer resources, more than anything else. And good interfaces take a *lot* of time.<br />

    <br />

    Regards.

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    jriver

    Joey,<br />

    Your version of the events is a little different from mine.<br />

    <br />

    I didn't remove your post, but someone else at JRiver did.<br />

    <br />

    We're there to help, but not to be an outlet for your frustration. Sometimes we draw the line. <br />

    <br />

    If you would like to solve the problem, please continue the thread on the forum.<br />

    <br />

    These kinds of problems are often related to "security" software preventing our software from doing what it needs to do. A few years ago I started keeping track of the problems that turned out to be related to virus checkers, pop up blockers, drivers, etc. It's about 125 posts long now:<br />

    <br />

    http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=24031;start=0<br />

    <br />

    So let's forget about who's right or wrong. Let's try to solve your problem.

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    crisnee

    Hey Joey,<br />

    <br />

    I feel for you. It may seem by everyone's responses that you're living in a singular nightmare, pretty much of your own making. I say it isn't so. If you look through this thread you'll find that I posted about similar issues re Jim, manuals and their Wiki.<br />

    <br />

    I still use JRiver some of the time; I think it's a good program, excellent when it comes to convenience, multi-functionality and eye candy, not the best when it comes to SQ and the worst when it comes to support. <br />

    <br />

    Here's a synopsis of my troubles with JRiver. After complaining about the lack of support/manual, I offered to produce a free manual for them--yes really. Not only would they not help me in any way with info, but they wouldn't allow me to talk about it on the forum and ask other members for input. They locked my threads. Other members emailed me privately about the situation, supporting me but warning me at the same time and telling me they wouldn't support me publicly for fear of being banned. I actually produced 80% of a manual and sent it out to some of the private supporters, but finally gave up because without support on the Interact forum it became too much for me, for various reasons. Jim of course was my primary opponent, one of their big beta posters had initially supported me, but quickly changed his tune when he heard Jim's.<br />

    <br />

    So, I don't know if Jim has to go, but I sure wish he would, as I rarely go to the forum now with him still there. It doesn't have a pleasant welcoming feeling for me. <br />

    <br />

    -Chris

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    Mark Powell

    My favourable view of JRiver is based simply on the fact that I have never had the slightest problem, either with 15, 16, or 17. So I have never needed 'support', and I have only given the forums a quick glance out of mild curiousity.<br />

    <br />

    And regarding setup, I just followed the two guides I found, Chris's on here, and the one on the dCS site (which Chris wrote for them). Easy. But the JRiver Wiki guide tells you the recommended setup, what 'WASAPI' is, and so on, if you never knew about those.<br />

    <br />

    All Windows 7 machines should behave in a pretty similar way, so I do not understand why some people have problems and some don't, both with this and other products. It just doesn't make sense (like USB cables).<br />

    <br />

    On sound quality, I tend to think that if a player is running 'bit perfect', which one you use should not matter. I have tried three, they all sound better than my 5000 dollar CD player (which is therefore no longer used) and I cannot hear the slightest difference between the three players.

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