Looking for alternative to jRiverMedia/win7 pc setup

[DLA123]

I currently use JRiver Media as a front-end , and run on windows 7. That solution has become a little obsolete for my uses as I now stream most of what i listen to.

 

Can someone suggest an out-of the box solution that could replace my windows7 machine/JRiver configuration, that would allow me to stream music from something like spotify, tidal or other, and also be able to access files on a local external HDD?

 

I liked JRiver because it had a wasapi plug-in and had a particular emphasis on high fidelity playback. I'd like to stay as hi-fi as possible in terms of playback quality. I push the music through a usb asynchronous MusicHall Dac> Rega Mira3 Amp > Rega RS5 speakers. I love the current sound of my system and would like to avoid losing any audio fidelity. My budget is under 1k.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Nikhil]

You might want to look at Roon. (http://www.roonlabs.com)

Supports Tidal but not Spotify as of now.

[jcn3]

what are you streaming? what other apps are you using?

[Stef]

I currently use JRiver Media as a front-end , and run on windows 7. That solution has become a little obsolete for my uses as I now stream most of what i listen to.

Can someone suggest an out-of the box solution that could replace my windows7 machine/JRiver configuration, that would allow me to stream music from something like spotify, tidal or other, and also be able to access files on a local external HDD?

I liked JRiver because it had a wasapi plug-in and had a particular emphasis on high fidelity playback. I'd like to stay as hi-fi as possible in terms of playback quality. I push the music through a usb asynchronous MusicHall Dac> Rega Mira3 Amp > Rega RS5 speakers. I love the current sound of my system and would like to avoid losing any audio fidelity. My budget is under 1k.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

I am not sure my suggestion fits all your needs, but the most versatile solution is based on MPD.

It is very very simple, inexpensive, high quality, very light, multiroom, multiprotocol, cross platform and... open source.

 

Keep in mind that most of the (even) high end products are based on Linux or BSD + MPD customized. In the BSD environment MPD is MusicPD.

On the market, regardless the price, you will never find something so versatile and customizable solution.

Unfortunately there are cons: nothing is ready out of the box.

 

MPD runs even on Windows, but I can not guarantee the same quality you can get from Linux or BSD

[franz159]

There are various inexpensive solutions (<150$ to begin with) based on RaspBerry Pi3 and MPD.

 

Best known are:

 

1) Moode Audio

This is my recommendation.

However, it does not support any streaming solution out of the box.

However it is possible to "install" appropriate software for streaming "on top".

I have been streaming Tidal on top of Moode for a year or so, with great satisfaction

Of course you need to have a valid Tidal subscription.

 

2) Rune Audio

It supports Spotify directly, if this is your preferred streaming service.

Of course you need to have a valid Spotify subscription.

 

3) Volumio

I have not followed Volumio evolution for some time, but you could ask the question in their forum....

[zackthedog]

Check out Daphile. You can try it by booting it from a USB stick on your current machine, but it sounds better installed on a hard drive. I have it installed on a tiny Azulle Byte Plus as a dedicated music server and I love it.

[Apesbrain]

You might like a sonicTransporter. Pretty much an "out of the box" solution. It runs Roon or Logitech Media Server (like Daphile). LMS has plugins for both Spotify and Tidal; not sure about Roon.

[Cebolla]

Hi Apesbrain,

 

I think you've got the 'wrong end' of a 2 box (or, 3 box if there's a separate controller) networked system with the sonicTransporter. It is a backend or server type device, so very similar to a NAS in that you run network media file server type applications on it.

 

So you still require the front end device on the network, the one that actually passes the digital audio signal to a DAC after receiving the digital audio data from the sonicTransporter. This is either a network audio file player (aka renderer aka streamer) or a realtime audio network receiver (aka endpoint aka adapter), depending on the type of server application being used on the sonicTransporter.

 

John

[Apesbrain]

I understand but can't a sonicTransporter also support a directly-connected USB DAC?

[Cebolla]

No, unless there's a hybrid model of sonicTransporter that I'm not aware of. The USB port is there to attach a USB storage drive to, not a USB DAC. Just think of it as an alternative device to a NAS (& yes I know there are some rare models of NAS that you can attach a USB DAC to - so not one of those NASs!).

[Apesbrain]

Thanks, I did not know that. A sonicTransporter/microRendu or Sonicorbiter combo would be a fine solution. Or one could configure a NUC-type PC or a laptop to do the job:

 

Intel NUC & sonicTransporter: A Tale Of Two Mini Computers Running Roon Core | AudioStream