Audirvana Plus 3 for Windows (Official Thread)

[bodiebill]

Happy with Audirvana+ 3 for Windows so far. I used it to upsample everything to DSD256 into a network UpNP MPD (Linux) renderer, and the sound is gorgeous.

 

Curious to try JPLAY FEMTO, another UPnP solution, I set up another (Windows) renderer with it, to take the place of MPD.

This appears to work well with PCM files, however DSD files get stuck in Audirvana and never leave the 0:00 time. Also, with DSD material the JPLAY FEMTO settings on the renderer immediately crash, and I have to restart the machine.

 

From JPLAY support I understand that this is a known problem and that they are in contact with Damien about this.

 

Any info on progress on this would be appreciated! It might well be a winning combination...

[bodiebill]

@damien78 Are there any plans to add support for wv (wavpack)? As some of us use wavpack to pack dsd files, this would be very welcome!

[bodiebill]

18 hours ago, damien78 said:

May I ask you what is the use case for this instead of using standard DSF or DSDIFF ?

WV is to DSF what FLAC is to WAV: saving approx. 50% space.

Thanks Damien, for putting this on your list!

[bodiebill]

With Audirvana (last version for Windows) set to upsample to DSD256, when I play a DSD64 file, Audirvana still indicates, bottom right under the volume bar, DSD64 as output. And indeed the receiving audio pc (Linux with mpd and upmpdcli) also indicates that it receives DSD64.

 

PCM files upsample to DSD256 without problem.

 

How can I upsample DSD64 to DSD256?

[bodiebill]

P S The above problem does not occur with the Audirvana macOS version

[bodiebill]

Not just te GUI. Using the mac version the GentooPlayer renderer confirms to receive DSD256:

access: RW_INTERLEAVED
format: DSD_U32_BE
subformat: STD
channels: 2
rate: 352800 (352800/1)

 

Whereas using the Windows version it receives DSD64:

access: RW_INTERLEAVED
format: DSD_U32_BE
subformat: STD
channels: 2
rate: 88200 (88200/1)

 

So the GUI corresponds to the actual format sent/received.

 

Apart from that, I think upsampling DSD64 to higher rates is essential for software like this.

[bodiebill]

I started using the mac version many years ago, and DSD64 => DSD 256 worked from the start.

 

@damien78

Maybe you can shed some light?

Main question is: can A+ for Windows upsample DSD64 to DSD256 and if yes, how?

[bodiebill]

You maybe right about that.

 

I have no preference for either DSD or PCM but I do know that my Lampizator Lite 7's DSD chain is way better than its PCM chain. And DSD64 upsampled (by either Audirvana mac or HQPlayer) to DSD256 sounds considerably better than the original DSD64.

 

On the other hand, PCM sounds absolutely gorgeous with my Audio Aéro DAC. It can compete with Lampizator DSD, but with a different sound signature (I call it 'creamy' but not in a bad way).

 

I was not aware that A+ (and HQPlayer?) upsample DSD => PCM => DSD.

[bodiebill]

Interesting stuff! Especially the view that DSD can be seen as a 1-bit instance of PCM. Maybe that could make the DSD vs PCM discussion less black and white. After all, "what's in a name?". In the meantime, with much respect for the technical artistry to make this all work, I continue to trust my ears... 🙂

[bodiebill]

53 minutes ago, Jud said:

In any event, we still have the question whether A+ upsamples DSD input.

 

+1 🙂

[bodiebill]

@damien78

Audirvana+ and JPLAY Femto is a great combination for PCM, but I did not succeed playing DSD with it so far.

On the JPLAY forum I see that is a known problem and that Marcin (JPLAY) has already contacted you about it.

Would be great if DSD would also work in this setup! 

[bodiebill]

2 hours ago, damien78 said:

I've replied to Marcin, giving him some hints on how to fix this.

 

Thanks Damien!

[bodiebill]

Yesterday I re-flashed my Amanero board with the new firmware 2006be10 (CPLD_1081_DSDSWAPPED) and this is the first time ever I am able to play DSD512 under Linux with my Lampizator hybrid B7/Lite, using HQPlayer on my Windows control PC and Gentoo Linux on my audio PC.

 

However, trying to do the same with Audirvana+ for Windows (sending the stream to mpd via upmpdcli), there is only noise.

 

In both cases the Linux command cat /proc/asound/card0/pcm0p/sub0/hw_params gives:

 

access: RW_INTERLEAVED
format: DSD_U32_BE
subformat: STD
channels: 2
rate: 705600 (705600/1)
period_size: 32768
buffer_size: 131072

 

Any idea why?

[bodiebill]

Thanks Bob, but no digital volume control is applied between when the stream leaves A+ and my DAC.

Actually, DSD plays well with A+ and mpd up to DSD256.

DSD512 with A+ and mpd just gives noise although it plays OK with HQPlayer and NAA.

[bodiebill]

I have licenses for both mac and Windows and installed the last versions on both platforms.

On the mac the new version is black and called Audirvana.

On the Windows PC the new version is blue and called Audirvana Plus.

Is that correct or am I doing something wrong?

 

[bodiebill]

Just now, Jud said:

It’s correct as of right now. The versions for both OSs are planned to be standardized on the one used now for Mac. Once that happens, future updates should also be pretty well synchronized as I understand it.

 

thanks Jud!

[bodiebill]

5 hours ago, Jud said:

The beta is public, so probably the best thing is to take it for a spin and see how it works for you.

 

I believe you'll have to register on the forum community.audirvana.com to do this if you haven't already.

 

On the forum, I found this for installing the beta for Windows:

https://audirvana.com/delivery/windows/index.html

However when trying to install the app, nothing happens.

Any idea?

[bodiebill]

4 hours ago, Jud said:

No idea. Works for me.

 

Windows Server 2019. Could that be it?

[bodiebill]

1 hour ago, lucretius said:

You may have to set the permission in Windows to permit the sideloading of apps.  See https://www.windowscentral.com/how-enable-windows-10-sideload-apps-outside-store.

 

Also, can you even run apps on Windows Server 2019? (I thought the Microsoft Store was removed from the server software.)

 

Thanks. I tried that, at least the equivalent for Windows Server 2019, but still nothing happens when hitting the "Get the app" button.

 

Is there another way?

 

All other apps run well on Server 2019 so far. It is the version with desktop (so not the core version).

[bodiebill]

Thanks again lucretius. Nothing seems to work. I keep getting the "Windows can't open this type of file (.appinstaller)" message. I did reset all the changes made by AO, but maybe some of these settings became permanent and sabotage this functionality?

[bodiebill]

7 hours ago, Jud said:

If you’re running a possibly modified Win Server then yes, this could potentially be a problem. Can you install a clean Win 10 Pro (preferably) or Server and see if it works, or not?

 

Thanks Jud, a bit reluctant now to reinstall as everything is running smoothly with HQPlayer upsampling to DSD512 into my GentooPlayer audio PC with the networkaudio daemon. So far, I could not make this work with with my current version of Audirvana into GentooPlayer with mpd/upmpdcli, so I was just wondering whether it would work with the new Audirvana version. I guess not, but I might try later when I find the time and energy.

[bodiebill]

Is it possible to install Audirvana beta 3.4.9 for Windows on Windows Server 2019?

When using the 'Get the app' button under this link

https://audirvana.com/delivery/windows/index.html

either nothing happens or I get an error message.

Is this version limited to Windows 10? My current version works well under Server 2019.

 

[bodiebill]

I agree. Terrible experience with this product and its (mostly unavailable) support. I gave up some time ago.