Anyone tried JPlay?

[Sligolad]

Here is a little helper I put together as I did struggle at the beginning.

[tony]

I think Ken's usb key, Pearse's shortcuts and the desktop folder with files are all worth having just to give reassurance and another option to change back as it is a bit of shock when you power up and get a black screen initially. Definitely if there are people who are a little nervous or concerned about the requirements and tweaks required to get the best out of the JKDAC32 and Jplay and the effort required they will be put off which is a shame. But I understand how they feel as I thought long and hard before going for the dac and have struggled at times. Most people just want plug and play. It is something for Marcin and John to think about because I think it would be worth the effort to come up with a one click solution to these changes.

[Fran]

Tony, you are spot on.

However, while the tweaks help get more out of the system, I think it's really no more than the type of stuff the vinyl heads do....


Btw - if you're getting a black screen on startup, ie total commander doesn't automatically start, it means you haven't put the totalcommander.exe file in the right folder...


Fran

[tony]

However, while the tweaks help get more out of the system, I think it's really no more than the type of stuff the vinyl heads do....

Btw - if you're getting a black screen on startup, ie total commander doesn't automatically start, it means you haven't put the totalcommander.exe file in the right folder...

Fran

You are right Fran it is just like vinyl heads tweaking but just as somebody might happily do some mechanical and physical changes to a turntable there comes a point where the barrier goes up if you have to butcher a turntable to make a new arm fit etc. The same happens with the DAC. Sure it is grand downloading Total Commander etc but when you have to start digging in adjusting settings,tweaking software eyes start to glaze over and the arcam wireless dac looks very attractive.

Re Black screen that happened as you outlined. Once I RFI and got back to windows to start again all was well.

[Claus]

I must say after seeing and hearing Pearse's system, I am tempted to get my old desktop PC up and running again just for playing back files through my JKDAC! I like the way he has several levels depending on his needs: logitech for playing mp3s for casual listening (but sounding pretty good through his Meitner DAC), laptop for JPLAY (Total Commander) and JRiver for DSD... I think... Correct me if I am wrong Pearse. ;)

My only worry is introducing a PC into the listening room as I have heard what damage they can do to the sound. Other than that it would only mean upgrading the Motherboard/processor/RAM and then getting a windoze version. It really bothers me to have to run windoze, I would love to have a Ubuntu instead with the same ability to run JPLAY etc. I suppose a laptop is nearly better as a full size PC is bound to be more noisy....

Anyone here run a standard PC in their listening room?

[tony]

Kens the man there. I am sure he will pop along here with a reply shortly but would you not prefer a cheap laptop.Brand new tiny 6gb ram 500-750gb storage windows 7 with upgrade to windows 8 available cheaply for at most probably €450. Ok you might need external hard drive for backup etc but 2tb for circa €120 odd on amazon etc. I think the problem with the desktop which I would prefer over a laptop as i hate the small keyboards is the physical size of screen,keyboard and mouse. Laptop can sit on a shelf.

[Ken Moreland]

I don't think there's much to differentiate laptops from desktops in terms of fundamental sound quality. The cooling fan noise is a complete lottery and hard to know what it'll sound like at home.Jplay can drive a PC very hard . For an older noisy desktop quiet fans are available. I bought a desktop (Acer X3910 from Elara.ie) and was lucky that the cooling fans are very quiet. I don't use this desktop for anything except Jplay and it's not connected to the internet so no antivirus etc. If it were a laptop I suspect it would be used for other things and get borrowed by other family members .
Tinkering with the innards is probably easier too , for example I was able to put EMI/RFI shielding around the memory modules and over some power supply cables . Some people are also replacing SATA cables etc
KM

[tony]

I am surprised our resident guru hasn't posted here re new version of JPLAY. I havent had a chance to download or try yet but have you not reveiwed its capabilities yet Ken?

When is windows 8 due to be launched? I am not prepared to mess with a beta version.

The total commander option seems to yield something extra again. Just need marcin to plug away to finally lift the sound beyond vinyl. God help Dermot then as he will need to reinvest to bring his collection up to speed.

[Ken Moreland]

Hi Tony, got the new version Tuesday evening, same as every other user, and listened to it yeterday. I like the sound, I think it's purer, sweeter, more detailed etc but some other users prefer the previous version.


Changelog:
support for FullScale Hibernate under Windows 8
support for ASIO (applicable only to DACs that have an ASIO driver): In theory, ASIO is most-direct software interface to DAC: But does it sound better than Kernel Streaming? Share your experiences at jplay.eu/forum/jplay/asio!
support for DSD over PCM (DoP) standard for DACs that support it (DFF & DSF file types)
support for 32bit float WAV files – will be converted to 32 or 24 integer depending on driver
Support for Hibernate playlists for iPad’s JRemote
It is now also possible to start JRiver in MediaServer mode i.e. without GUI and control playback via JRemote on headless systems for best user experience and sq! (to activate, open ‘jplay_for_jriver.settings’ file after first startup and follow instructions)
JRiver will now be started automatically by plugin if it is not running
In some cases plugins could ‘freeze’ requiring restart – fixed
Simply sounds better – upgrade now!!!

The key one is Hibernate compatibility with Windows 8 which will be released on Oct 26. Windows 8 is reputed to be a significant improvement in terms of sound quality with Jplay.

Post your opinions here when you try it Tony and everyone else.
KM

[tony]

Impressions of Jplay. Well for the first time I think there is a gap that I can see opening up between cd quality playback and the jkdac32.
With total commander and this new version to my ears the sound has moved beyond the cyrus. Total commander is a joy to use and again to me easier to use than the normal desktop option. For the first time I believe I am hearing what people regard as an 'inky black background'. This to my ears is only on recordings that lend themselves to creating that feeling but it is a significant leap. Looking forward to windows 8. I will be very interested to hear the meitner dac with this version to see how far it is ahead of the jkdac32 and what it brings to the table.