What’s SQ like via Audirvana vs MConnectHD vs Naim app vs Roon vs Other?
No idea I don’t use any of them now and never really compared them. But I never heard any difference that made me go oooh that’s different or better than the other. If you want to go looking for a difference I am sure you will find one. Audivarna may sound different via USB to Roon as many comment on that and likely down to it not being as a heavy CPU programme as Roon and Roon strongly recommend to seperate the brain from the audio chain by ethernet for best sq. But is DAC dependant as is many things, but via UPnP that stuff is moot as its isolated from that potential noise problem of USB.
Audirvana is my clear preference for the 272. (Haven’t tried Roon or MConnectHD).
Better SQ might be a combination of:
- Default FLAC to WAV transcoding.
- Audirvana running on a dedicated Mac Mini w/ ethernet connection. If a lower noise floor is key to streaming SQ, then intuitively this should be better than UPnP software installed on a mobile device using Wi-Fi.
- Audirvana’s built-in optimisation also reduces interference from background OS processes.
Audirvana is your clear preference to feed the 272 over what other app/processing system?
Native Tidal?
Others you have compared Audirvana to?
Your points 1. and 3. seem plausible.
I’m not sure about 2.
I know that belief that wired must be better than WiFi.
But does that always hold?
Any machine that’s plugged into the wall and doing a lot of processing and is sending audio signals into the 272 via Ethernet cable is a source of EM noise.
E.g. your Mac Mini.
Whereas the WiFi link from my router to iPad and back is buffered from the 272 by the EM ‘moat’ in my EtherRegen switch.
So it’s not clear which is logically the noisier option.
The old prejudice against WiFi was mainly about not using the WiFi module in the 272/streamer, because the WiFi module was directly adding noise into the 272 circuits.
But that doesn’t apply in the case of MConnectHD via an iPad.
Hi Jim. Yep, fair points. I previously tried Bubble, Asset and Minimserver with my 272 (plus the Naim app obviously) and used a Synology NAS before switching to the Mini.
Having followed numerous threads here for a while, I get the impression that very little always holds in the world of music streaming : )
FWIW, my Mini’s steady state CPU load with Audirvana active is typically < 1% i.e. not much processing going on. Plus the Mini itself can be tweaked in various ways to improve performance as a music server.
But again, my views are simply based on listening - my room, my network etc - rather than hard rules or implied logic.
(I’ve also ordered an EtherREGEN - hoping to squeeze a bit more out of my ‘ageing’ 272).
thanks - that’s useful background to know about…
Wow - finally I got Audirvana working properly.
It runs on my old ASUS laptop which only has 4GB of RAM.
At first I tried it via WiFi but that could not play music without faltering, so I wired it via a Catsnake 6a into the router and it works a treat.
I can play tracks from Tidal on the remote app on my iPad.
And Easeback, I agree, it does sound better than MConnect and better than the Naim app.
Thank you for encouraging me to try this.
It was worth it.
I might have to buy a Mac Mini now, as I think that would be less noisy and have more RAM and be less obtrusive than my open laptop…?
Easy just turn the rossini on lol
Sorry i couldn’t help myself.
I’ll see if they have Rossini and clock for sale on a popular auction site for under a grand!
Might get the boxes for that price !
Yup, cardboard ones…
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