Article: Readers Choice Awards 2017

[Johnseye]

On 1/4/2018 at 7:51 AM, The Computer Audiophile said:

Products didn’t have to be originally released in 2017. For example Roon was originally released years ago, but that shouldn’t stop people from making it product of the year. 

 

Was this clarified in the poll?  I don't recall.  If year of release doesn't matter then Roon could win every year.  Had I known year didn't matter I would have voted for the PC or personal computer.  TCP/IP and ethernet would have been a close second.  Actually, now that I think about it, the Internet would have been my #1 vote...or electricity.  This may sound cheeky but I'm serious and just pointing out that the poll should be limited to products released in that year, and Bob's your uncle.

[Johnseye]

On 1/5/2018 at 11:33 AM, firedog said:

 

It's all a matter of perspective. With JRiver you pay small amounts incrementally to upgrade. Over time that will also add up. 

I really like Roon, paid for the lifetime, and every year it "gets cheaper" and adds more features etc. If it stays around for 10 years it will have cost me $50 a year, which seems reasonable to me. I have weeks where I spend that much on downloads. 

 

I have both as a disclaimer.  For the $500 cost of Roon I could have the latest version of JRiver for 17 years.  To me it's not about the money, it's about functionality.  Both applications serve different purposes.

[Johnseye]

On 1/6/2018 at 1:28 PM, One and a half said:

What you need to remember that bit perfect comes with a caveat of signal integrity. The bits get through but what else rides on those bits is what affects what you hear from an electrical perspective.

 

JRiver has towed that line long enough bit perfect yadayada, their DSP has misgivings that alter what you hear, compared to Roon or HQplayer.

 

ive listened to JRiver for close to 2 years and recently tried Roon and enjoy what I hear. The option is open to use HQplayer for directly connected DACs that aren’t networkable which the closed mind of JRiver could not accomplish.

 

There are pros and cons of each.  For one, it is possible to use HQPlayer with JRiver.  There's a thread about it here somewhere.  I don't find the folks at JRiver being closed minded.  They have their own priorities just like Roon.  For example, I can stream my music library from JRiver anywhere because they provide the ability to assign a TCP port and an app which will connect to the server.  I can be listening to my library in my car and at work through JRiver.  Not through Roon.  Roon chokes on the large number of albums I have.  An artist with several hundred albums causes Roon to stutter and freeze.  This doesn't happen with JRiver.  I can easily mass edit metadata with JRiver.  I wouldn't waste my time with metadata in Roon, it's incredibly cumbersome.

 

All that said, I use Roon because I like the interface and reading lyrics or info about the music or band.  JRiver has some catch up work to do there, but if it does it would be better than Roon for the reasons I listed.

[Johnseye]

On 1/4/2018 at 12:17 AM, austinpop said:

Given the number of first (and only) post voters, and the shenanigans you detected from manufacturers, you’ll forgive me for being highly skeptical of these results.

 

In any case, does anyone really trust internet polls?

 

I'm disappointed no SOtM products won.  This was very surprising to me, but I think I know why.  Despite SOtM products having a more positive impact on my SQ than anything else that won, they are not as well advertised and maybe a little more niche.  For example, the SR7 will never win, but it is hands down the best PSU I've used.  Not only does a product have to be good, it has to be widely adopted.

[Johnseye]

7 hours ago, One and a half said:

The Roon remote like listening in the car from your own server is coming according to @Em2016.

 

For the large number of albums, the maximum number I have for the Beatles is 26, Roon lists all of them without a problem.  JRiver's editing stays with Jriver's database, it doesn't update the file's metadata, unless there's a command that's obscured somewhere in the labyrinth.

 

Anyway there's a thread on Jriver vs Roon.

 

I'd love to see remote access but that's been on the roadmap for a long time.  What I'm happy to see is that Roon is hiring.  Hopefully that means these things get implemented faster.

 

I don't have many bands with albums more than 30 or so, but the few I have with hundreds I listen to all the time.  If you listen to live music recordings you will get into this number of albums.

 

As I mentioned I use and like both for different reasons.  Not looking to get into a long discussion, but wanted to point out that while Roon is great, it isn't a one stop shop.  I'd like it to be and I invested in it in hopes it will.

[Johnseye]

6 hours ago, One and a half said:

RealVnc, JRiver could use the same system of authentication, it’s painless from an end user perspective. 

If you have the bandwidth JRiver streams lossless, but RAAT would have to change their protocol somewhat to fit and maintain the remote connectivity while negotiating tunnels, the real ones with trucks and trains.

 

Thanks for the link!

 

My understanding is that streaming to the JRiver remote app is at 320, not lossless.  If Roon could improve upon that I would be a happy man.