Help on Optimizing Dedicated PC as Music Server

I've read all the disclaimers made by the good folks of jriver regarding jPlay.

Several friend and I have listened critically to jRiver with and without the use of jPlay. The results did not take any magic or audiophile ears to discern. jPlay made an audible improvement in playback that was not subtle at all.

I've heard the difference with a variety of computer setups and DACs. The DACs include the PS Audio PWD, PWD II, Direct Stream, Theta Gen 5a, and Lampizator 5. Computer setups ranged from i3 to i7 with from 4-16gb of RAM, various USB implementations, Asus Audio Essence STX SPDIF out into the above DACs, and the Lampizator USB Transport USB/SPDIF converter, and using Fidelizer or not. All the above used in a variety of high end systems.

In each case jPlay teamed with jRiver was always a significant improvement throughout the audio spectrum.

In my opinion the guys at jRiver either can't hear or they have some how been offended by the guys at jPlay or they somehow think jPlay competes with them (I don't see how since one uses jPlay with jRiver or other playback software. jPlay doesn't replace jRiver at all.) Or maybe because they use the lower case j in their name.

In my experience it's been pretty easy to achieve great sound with computer audio. A PC or Mac can easily rival most ordinary CD players, transports, and turntable setups when paired with a good DAC.
With a few tweaks and a few more dollars spent the PC or Mac system can easily rival the most expensive of the above designs when paired with a DAC equivalent in SQ to a Lampiizator 4 or PS Audio DS.

And then when your entire music collection can be accessed from an iPad or other tablet via great software like jRemote the musical experience becomes even more special!

If one thinks I'm just a digital junkie, I've set up more than my share of Oracles, SOTAs, Linns, Dynavectors, Koetsus, etc. and loved the sound of all of them.

Oh yes. Consult CA. I like those guys but it seems they are good friends of the jRiver folks and pretty much stick to the party line. . .. . JPlay is a waste of time and money.

It is amazing to me that the jRiver people swear there can be no sonic differences in versions of their software yet they apparently work hard to improve the SQ of jRiver itself as it seems to improve quite a bit sonically between versions 17, 18, and 19. But don't say that on the jRiver forum. It will be deleted. Very strange.

Then there is the guy that goes crazy on the CA site and other places comparing bits to bits (not limited to jPlay) and always proves that all digital sounds alike, and that there can't be any sonic differences between players, power cords, PSUs, CPUs, you name it. He really goes out of his way to magnificently prove his point. He just doesn't take the time to listen.

But do download the free jPlay install. If one has listening skills at all and a decent system it is not difficult to hear the improvement. Really all jPlay and the Audio Optimizer, Fidelizer, cPlay, etc, do is shut down various windows services, adjusting how the files are played back via Ram, etc. Nothing magical or hocus pocus. But unlike me and most of us they do know what they are doing and have confirmed their results through their own listening and beta testing teams.

Of course jPlay, does pay may $100 for everyone I get to buy their software . . . . NOT!

I'm in no way affiliated with any of the above companies or any other entity besides myself.

But I have been stumbling through the computer audio world for at least 5 years and have found with really very little effort one can get superb SQ from a PC or MAC that rivals the best transports I've ever had in my system or at heard other friend's homes.

I've owned some very well regarded transports including the ML 31.5, 37, 39, Theta, PWT to name a few. I wouldn't go back to any of them.