You can choose for bit perfect or for several kinds of tweaks. Even the bit perfect settings (generally speaking the basic settings at the start) sound better in my set up.
To my best knowledge the way Audirvāna minimises the processes of the PC and uses the processing power of the PC for optimization of the data is where the ‘magic’ is done.
I am no technician and therefore I can’t explain why it is so, but I can hear a distinct difference in favor of Audirvāna. Once again, in my set up. I can imagine that there are other solutions available that give even better results. That’s where the costs involved come in play. For my budget this seems to be the best solution, I haven’t found something better yet.
One of the directors of Alpha Studio has stated once in answer to a customer that, although he hadn’t heard every streamer available on the market, among the ones he did hear there was no exception. They all benefited from the use of Audirvāna to his ears.
I figured that you, being from Amsterdam, might be able to read this. This is from the reactions part in the article on the Audirvāna Linux Core Player.
I can indeed read the Dutch. I regularly visit the Alpha Audio site.
Interesting how sometimes things improve sound when you don’t expect them to. Something similar happens with Qobuz Connect and Qobuz from the Naim app. There is an every so slight difference between them.
I have to read a bit more about Audirvana and probably also Roon. Something new to learn
Audirvana is doubtlessly good, if it hadn‘t those beastly UPnP problems. It works perfectly well when the computer running Audirvana is connected directly to your system. Anything else is a shambles.
It is also sounding a bit dark in my setup (going via USB into a Devialet). I prefer ,lighter‘ sound, but this is clearly psychoacoustics.
Lately, I start to enjoy JPlay iOS in combination with MinimServer and HQPlayer.
Merry Xmas to everyone. It‘s a great and friendly community that I enjoy very much!
For me - given my recent experience - I would only be comparing very reasonably priced dedicated streamers with a computer front end. Why? Well I own an Auralic Aries G2.2 (which is really really nice) - however with Auralic now non-operational (and probably bust) there is the real possibility that my excellent hardware will become redundant at some point due to lack of firmware and software updates necessary to keep up with streaming services requirements, Apple iOS updates etc. I think I will be OK with local music forever - but streaming new music is the main reason I purchased it in the first place. There are some work rounds that I think will be OK long term (endpoint for Roon, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect) - should Amazon Music (my current streaming service) fall over. Also I have an old iPad that no longer receives iOS system updates - only security patches.
In the unlikely event that I could not help myself, in your position, in spending a significant amount then I would recommending selecting a tried and trusted manufacturer with proven longevity such as Naim, Linn and the like as you are totally reliant on on-going support - unlike the world of CD and Vinyl. Can easily see why the formats are making a return - just so much less complicated.
My sister also encountered problems with the Devialet. So she went for Roon. Don’t know if you have the new Ultimates? They should be Plays with Audirvāna Certified.
In my case the laptop isn’t connected to the ND5. It’s connected to the router by ethernet cable, as is the ND5. And that connection is pretty stable.
It‘s an old Devialet Expert, so no playing with Audirvana whatsoever .
When the computer running Audirvana and the Devialet are connected via Ethernet to the same router, it works flaslessly, except that I need this miserable Devialet AIR running in the background.
I really like the simplicity of having MinimServer at hand streaming to a simple Raspberry Pi running mpd/upmpdcli that is connected via USB to my Devialet. It‘s a most reliable setup.
Completely my experience as well over 14 years now.
So many discussions here over firmware versions, Ethernet cables etc.. Audirvāna makes a much bigger impact than any of these….. that and my speakers (and possibly now my Linn Organik DAC) will be constants in my system.
I know this is a bit out of nowhere. A lot of these devices are so far out of my means. But i have a nice set up and am happy with it. I had a bluesound node Liked it a lot. Was not looking but saw a well known internet site over thanksgiving had the wiim ultra for like ~$200. I bought it and i think it’s a nice upgrade. I do not use the DAC I have a marantz SACD player i use as a DAC But the wiim streamer is quite nice And it has a screen
Reason why people stop with Audirvana is almost never the sound quality. The consensus on that is quite big, as in that most users agree that it is top notch.
I think the biggest challenge with Audirvāna is to get it working properly and stable. Not every device is easily connected, some experience drop outs due to hardware that Audirvāna doesn’t seem to get a good handshake with and the simple truth is that over Wifi I wasn’t overly happy with the stability either. I made it work with some work arounds and accepting it all for the love of SQ. It wasn’t until I switched to ethernet cables that it got much more stable. I hardly encounter big problems anymore. But it sure took me a while to get it like this.
I had used Audirvana for a few years but moved away. I had a few problems which for me were deal breakers:
It sounded very different (far smoother) to streaming transports to a degree I don’t think it can get to that level of obvious difference without doing something to the data.
It touched all the audio files in the share and actually modified them. After it scanned the library, all the checksums failed for every file. I restored them all from cold backup a few years later after I stopped using it. The fact it touches them at all is unforgivable.
The Android interface was nice but glitchy and had a mind of its own at times. It drove me nuts.
Trying to run it in kiosk mode with a PC that had all automatic updates disabled so that I could sort of run it headless with no monitor or keyboard was a massive fail. It would be okay for few days or a week, and then something would happen anyway to cause it to stop working and I’d have to plug in the keyboard and restart the service.
I still manually ran Windows updates on my own schedule a few times a year. Several of them were incompatible with the Audirvana version Audirvana had to be reinstalled (not upgraded) with a more recent version.
They terminated the perpetual license I paid for at version 3.5 and switched to the subscription pricing. This is something I truly detest. I ran with that for a while, but eventually another Windows update broke version 3.5 and the only solution was to install a newer version on the subscription model. It was the final straw.
I work in a field of computer engineering so after a long day to muck about with trivial issues and have a computer in my sanctuary was just something I wanted to see the back of. When I went to the low cost Ifi Zen Stream as a replacement I put all those bugbears behind me.
My solutions to this for those reading the thread:
Ethernet with fixed IP
A Mac mini running dedicated with updates off and headless. It will need screen sharing to fix something about once a month (so best of you have another Mac to do this) and a shut down and restart occasionally to sort a networking issue. Only twice in 14 years have I had to plug in a screen, keyboard etc. Having Audirvāna on start automatically helps and keeping iPad and Mac versions up to date and in synch is essential. Don’t update the OS until a known stable version of Audirvāna is running for it (check the useful support site)
My music files are stored on a NAS and the Audirvāna app integrates them nicely with the same artist on Qobuz. Audirvāna doesn’t alter the stored files…..
Sound quality is superb and more of a better sound stage than ‘smoothness’… I believe it’s because more of the processing is done on the Mac and the streamer has to do less work.
Sure it’s a minor faff but given the SQ differences are at box upgrade level it’s always been worth it. I think a lot of my experience is that running a Mac headless is a much better experience than with windows.
That’s interesting (or worrying)… How do you mean? What exactly has Audirvāna changed? I can’t recall this happened to my files. But maybe I don’t know where to look.
No Idea. But as soon as Audirvana scanned the folder the checksums on every single file changed. Part of my blames myself for letting Audirvana access an SMB share as a user with read and write permissions. OTOH, touching any file so much as to just add an innocent ID3 tag is not okay by me.
@BrendanD The processing done by the DAC would be the same from dedicated transport or Audirvana over SPDIF.
I have a unique set up. I’ve had a Uniti Atom for 2 years. I have cycled through a variety speakers before finding a pair of Golden Ear Triton 1’s at an incredible price. This was a really good sounding system. However, I knew more watts would make those big speakers sing.
I’ve wanted a McIntosh amp all my life. I’m finally at a point in my life where I could afford one. I found a previously owned MA6500 integrated amplifier in pristine condition. Box, owner’s manual and warranty certificate included. 120 watts per channel. Every input you could want along with connections for 2 speakers.
I first used the Atom as a streamer and preamp, and the McIntosh as a power amp set at a fixed volume. However, it sounded thin when compared to listening to a CD played directly through the McIntosh. A member of my audiophile club recommended using the Atom as a streaming source connected to the CD input on the Mac. With the volume set to 82. And use the volume control on the Mac
After hooking everything up, I turned it all on, went to Roon and played Aja by Steely Dan This was the SQ I’d been searching for. The sound was full and dynamic. The soundstage was huge. The 120 watts per channel from the Mac was exactly what the Tritons needed
Using the Atom as my dedicated streamer is perfect. I saw no need to spend $1000 or more looking for a better unit. Totally pleased.
I’ve used Audirvanna and Roon. The first thing I noticed with Audirvanna was the immediate bump in volume. It wasn’t dramatic, but very noticeable. IMHO opinion, it has a clinical and technical sound. Also, its user interface is clunky. To me, Roon has an excellent SQ and its features are hard to beat.
As many people have mentioned, it’s only what sounds good to you that matters. If you have a local stereo shop that loans equipment for home demos, that might be perfect for you. Also, previously owned equipment is available at really good prices.
Interesting observation! I always asked myself why Audirvana sounds so much darker in my system than, say Roon. Both streamers are said to be bit perfect, but in essence they do sound different. This is just an observation and I’m not saying that I prefer either of the two players, at least soundwise.
A few werks ago I bought a WiiM Ultra as an experiment to see how a ,real‘ streamer sounds. Alas, in my system, it sounded terribly bright and I sold it after a few days. Streamers to me are still a bit of a black box.
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