[StudioSound]

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I'm using JRiver 18, ASIO output, Burson Conductor's ASIO driver and still hearing music on websites etc. Is this supposed to happen?

 
It depends on the ASIO driver - ASIO can be exclusive, but may not be. My DAC's driver is not exclusive either.
If you use WASAPI, you can force it to be exclusive.
 
My solution was to change Windows' default sound device to my sound card, which then feeds Toslink into my DAC.
That way JRiver has exclusive access to the DAC via ASIO (USB) and all other audio gets sent to the Toslink input via my sound card.
 
This has the benefit of always allowing "background" sounds to play, and being able to switch between the two via my remote. With WASAPI exclusive mode, Windows actually stops sounds playing in the other applications, which can cause conflicts. Some games will crash for example.
 
What you can also do is set Windows' sound output to a different sample rate than the ASIO driver is set to. So if JRiver is outputting 192kHz and Windows is set to 44.1, Windows sounds cannot play at the same time.
 
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That said, I was surprised to see that OSX and Win versions are on a different license system. No one else does it that way, and I don't love it.

 
Quite a lot of products have separate licenses for each platform; perhaps it's not so common in the realm of audiophile music players though. But so is having a multiplatform player at all.
I would certainly prefer that the license was multiplatform, possibly with a reduced number of activations, but it seems like developing a Mac version took quite a lot of time and resources.
Perhaps a couple of versions down the line, the licensing model will change.
 
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There is no Wasapi Event mode in jRiver Mediacenter 18!

WASAPI uses Event Mode by default in Media Center 18, and there is an option to disable it if your hardware does not like it.
 
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Does anybody use the crossfeed feature? I'm finding that it makes very little difference. Any other headphone-related features that I'm yet to stumble upon?

I use a VST Plugin for HRTF rather than crossfeed. I don't like how the JRiver plugin sounds.
 
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The bit depth selection was moved from "DSP Studio -> Output format" to the "Playback Options -> Output Mode" in the most recent version, as well.

 
This is because people have a misunderstanding that they should match the output bit-depth to the source bit-depth. You should always output the maximum your hardware supports, and the change was made when JRiver's auto-detection was improved.
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Clemmaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Bit-perfectness does not guaranty repeatable results because it does not take timing into account.
Timing is everything and is part of the reason why WASAPI and Kernel Streaming sound different on decent USB DACs.

If you're hearing a difference, it's the drivers, or having one improperly configured. Not anything like "timing of the signal".
A software player has no control over that; it's a function of your hardware.

 

[Sherwood]

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It depends on the ASIO driver ... it's a function of your hardware.

 
That was basically an entire post of you quoting and refuting everything you disagree with on the last page or two.  You sound like a fun guy.

 

[Tony1110]

That was basically an entire post of you quoting and refuting everything you disagree with on the last page or two.  You sound like a fun guy.

Haha. I thought it was quite informative.

 

[Battlescarze]

All problems or shortcomings have been fixed with Ver.19

 

[Tony1110]

Is it common practice to turn JRiver's preamp up to max and then control the volume from your amp, or is it better just to leave it somewhere in the middle?

 

[Sherwood]

Fair question.  JRiver is very proud of its volume control, but I think the most commonly used method is to max everything out and then use analog volume on your amp.  Digital volume control is excellent when implemented well, and I think JRiver does that, but for many years you never wanted to touch a computer volume control, and I think that impression still lingers with us.
 
For what it's worth, Mine is maxed out, and I control volume at the amp.

 

[Tony1110]

I have JRiver's volume set to max, plus I turned the computer's volume to max. I was aware that this is necessary to output a full signal to the DAC/amp. The preamp gives 4 volume controls in total and it all gets a little confusing lol.

 

[Sherwood]

Under windows xp, unless you were using ASIO you were using KMixer, and KMixer had bit loss on incremental volume levels (I.e. anything other than 50% or 100%). That meant that unless you were at 100%, you were demonstrably throwing away quality.

Those days are gone, but lots of things in audio are vestiges of weird practices that were used to solve some problem years ago that does not exist now. In any case, 100% on everything but the amp is easy to set, and easy to adjust.

 

[StudioSound]

I would run at 3-6dB below 100% to avoid clipping. Media Center 19 can now analyze files and automatically adjusts the volume to avoid clipping.

 

[Sherwood]

If you want to avoid clipping I think you're better off analyzing files and using DSP options than lowering the volume arbitrarily. Unless you're using an analog out, you shouldn't be having issues with clipping.

 

[StudioSound]

Quote:

If you want to avoid clipping I think you're better off analyzing files and using DSP options than lowering the volume arbitrarily. Unless you're using an analog out, you shouldn't be having issues with clipping.

I agree, it is better to analyze your library, but this requires the JRiver 19 beta, and it will take some time.
3-6dB was not chosen arbitrarily though.
 
It has to be analog at some time. Most DACs do not include digital headroom to avoid inter-sample clipping.

 

[Sherwood]

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It has to be analog at some time. Most DACs do not include digital headroom to avoid inter-sample clipping.

 
That's a fair point, and a good reason why a well implemented digital volume control is a good thing to have.  StudioSound, do you know if ReplayGain accomplishes this same task?  I've never used it, and I understood it to basically be a way to level the mean volume of a group of songs (rather than limit the volume of an individual song).  Is the "target" level one that would avoid clipping issues?

 

[StudioSound]

Quote:

 
That's a fair point, and a good reason why a well implemented digital volume control is a good thing to have.  StudioSound, do you know if ReplayGain accomplishes this same task?  I've never used it, and I understood it to basically be a way to level the mean volume of a group of songs (rather than limit the volume of an individual song).  Is the "target" level one that would avoid clipping issues?

 
You cannot guarantee that the target level will avoid this clipping, without having measured the true peak level of the track.
JRiver 19 can do this analysis, and uses it when leveling. They use a new "R128" system which supercedes ReplayGain.

 

[Schonen]

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I too was Foobar user for many years and it's a great program. When I switched to JR 17 I noticed a substantial improvement in sound quality and a lot more features and seamless operation.The upgrade to JR 18 also offered a noticeable improvement for what I consider a very reasonable cost and I am sure JR 19 will offer similar.
I cant think of a audiophile product that offers better value for money than JR.
I predict that a day will come when JR gets consumed by one of the "big players"out there and then watch the price!
It really is that good.

 
It just so happens I have a jRiver MP3 player and it came with their PC software to manage MP3s with, can't say I noticed SQ being better over foobar. Did you use wasapi in foobar? That is bit perfect playback and I can't see how you can imporve that unless you change soundcard or use DSPs to enhance the audio. But the software that came with it is old now and they want money to update it so haven't used newer version.

 

[jarrett]

Just use the volume knob on your amp and set everything before that to 100% or whatever its default is. You should only be adjusting one control at the end of the chain. In jriver I disable the volume control.