J River Software

mantis
mantis Posts: 17,194
edited May 2013 in Going Digital
Anyone try it out for Mac yet? I understand there is a beta version. I really liked this software on the PC and would love it on the mac.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • CoolJazz
    CoolJazz Posts: 570
    edited March 2013
    It's actually exactly the same version.

    It just comes covered in clear plastic, you pay more for it and you have to stand in a long line at the mall to get it! Oh...and it's cool as hell!



    :cheesygrin:

    Just kiddin', just kiddin'!! I couldn't resist. I'm bad. I'm bad. Slap my fingers with a ruler....
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,375
    edited March 2013
    CoolJazz wrote: »
    It's actually exactly the same version.

    It just comes covered in clear plastic, you pay more for it and you have to stand in a long line at the mall to get it! Oh...and it's cool as hell!....

    And the new version will be called "The New J River"
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  • helipilotdoug
    helipilotdoug Posts: 1,229
    edited March 2013
    I've not tried it yet, but will be installing soon. It's got to be better than itunes!
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2013
    for PC, jriver for the $ is fantastic. Even for ripping to flac it does a wonderful job. I hope it does as good on the mac's!!!
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    edited March 2013
    erniejade wrote: »
    for PC, jriver for the $ is fantastic. Even for ripping to flac it does a wonderful job. I hope it does as good on the mac's!!!

    I know the whole ITUNES is bad thing, I get it, but what does Jrivers do on a Windows based PC that Itunes doesn't ? I'm still not hip to what this program does to better the sound. Is it the ripping process with the Jrivers over itunes thats better ? Someone straighten me out here. Ken had a thread about why Itunes is bad, read it....understood it, so whats to be gained with Jrivers on a windows based PC ? Sound quality wise I'm talking.
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2013
    I know a lot of people dont like this but, jriver does allow you to upsample. 96/192 It also has built in DSP for people that want that. I am not sure what formats Itunes will rip in? Not sure if it supports flac for people who use flac. Not sure about output if itunes supports asio or kernel, wasappi hardware direct ? Supposedly jriver is faster

    http://hometheaterreview.com/jriver-media-center-software-reviewed/
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    edited March 2013
    My questions pertain more so to the audio quality, which also probably pertains to the quality of the rip. Does Jrivers offer a better rip than Itunes ? Just curious is all, I know Jrivers has other options in their software that walks all over Itunes but wether or not any of it benefits sound quality is the answer I'm after.
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited March 2013
    J River has optional output modes such as WASAPI and ASIO allowing bit perfect data,whereas iTunes would need an add on like Jplay for bit perfect output on a PC.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    tonyb wrote: »
    I know the whole ITUNES is bad thing, I get it, but what does Jrivers do on a Windows based PC that Itunes doesn't ? I'm still not hip to what this program does to better the sound. Is it the ripping process with the Jrivers over itunes thats better ? Someone straighten me out here. Ken had a thread about why Itunes is bad, read it....understood it, so whats to be gained with Jrivers on a windows based PC ? Sound quality wise I'm talking.
    Play Flac files , play 24 bit stuff up to 192k. Also corrects the output which Itunes locks out in whatever it was in last and uprez or down rez your files to lets say 48k. It just stays there even if your file is 44.1k , stupid I know should be an easy fix but it's not.
    Sound quality isn't better , it's correct.
    Dan
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    edited March 2013
    mantis wrote: »
    Sound quality isn't better , it's correct.

    Correct or not, if it doesn't improve the sound quality then whats the point ? I'm looking for one of you guys to sell me on Jrivers and tell me why I should spend the 50 bucks.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    tonyb wrote: »
    Correct or not, if it doesn't improve the sound quality then whats the point ? I'm looking for one of you guys to sell me on Jrivers and tell me why I should spend the 50 bucks.
    I think you missed the point , comparing to Itunes , J Rivers plays all audio files correctly. it also has the ability to play higher rez files including DSD. Itunes simply can not even though it can , Apple chooses not to support high re files.
    For Mp3 up to 320 , it doesn't make much difference IF you set the output on Itunes correctly. Itunes can play CD quality music correctly. I have Pure Music and J Rivers plus I use Itunes but with Pure music.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,281
    edited March 2013
    I like some of the DSP settings. The room my 2chnl system is has 16' ceilings and is acoustically challenged and I can tweek the DSP settings to optimize.

    Also use it to make poor recordings sound better...some may frown on coloring the sound but the studios should have done their job the first time:frown:
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,726
    edited March 2013
    J River for Mac is barely in beta, more like alpha stage. I've been playing with it a couple weeks now, some very brief thoughts:

    - The interface still needs a lot of work, if you're looking for a finished product this isn't it...yet
    - The audio playback is better than stock iTunes
    - ITunes with Amarra still sounds better at the moment, so for the best sound quality iTunes with amarra or something of the like is still the way to go

    All three of the above will likely change over time as they finalize JRiver, but that's where things stand today
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    J River for Mac is barely in beta, more like alpha stage. I've been playing with it a couple weeks now, some very brief thoughts:

    - The interface still needs a lot of work, if you're looking for a finished product this isn't it...yet
    - The audio playback is better than stock iTunes
    - ITunes with Amarra still sounds better at the moment, so for the best sound quality iTunes with amarra or something of the like is still the way to go

    All three of the above will likely change over time as they finalize JRiver, but that's where things stand today
    I'm having some issues with J Rivers on the mac with HDMI out , I can get it to play with Pure Music over HDMI no problem , I can get USB to work with both software versions. But for some reason I keep getting errors with J Rivers when I try to go HDMI. I set it up correctly or at least to my ability without calling J Rivers and figuring out what I set up wrong. I don't usually use HDMI anyway but it's nice when you have a Mac Mini in a system and want to see and hear it without having to run a direct HDMI to the Tv and then USB to the DAC.

    Anyt thought?
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    edited March 2013
    mantis wrote: »
    I think you missed the point , comparing to Itunes , J Rivers plays all audio files correctly. it also has the ability to play higher rez files including DSD. Itunes simply can not even though it can , Apple chooses not to support high re files.
    For Mp3 up to 320 , it doesn't make much difference IF you set the output on Itunes correctly. Itunes can play CD quality music correctly. I have Pure Music and J Rivers plus I use Itunes but with Pure music.

    Yeah, got that Dan. Hi-rez aside, if cd quality is your huckleberry, again...why Jrivers over Itunes on a windows based system ? I know the add on's like Pure music, Amarra add something to a mac based system but I'm talking windows based PC.

    Let me try again, because I like the Jrivers software. On a windows based PC, using Itunes, will any of these programs improve sound quality ? Spend the 50 on Jrivers for what gain ? According to Kens thread on why Itunes sucks for PC, not much can be done from what I gather from his explainations.

    I had a trial of Jrivers, liked it, dug it, but SQ was no better than I tunes. So for PC users, what do you gain over Itunes ? Anything that can improve SQ coming out of a PC based Itunes and I'm all ears. Or....maybe I'm missing the fact that if I just dumped Itunes altogether and just flew with Jrivers, that would have a better impact than trying to use Jrivers and play threw Itunes. Is that correct ? Excuse me for being dense this morning, only on my second cup of joe.
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,726
    edited March 2013
    Sorry, can't help you there, only use USB for audio
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited March 2013
    tonyb wrote: »
    , again...why Jrivers over Itunes on a windows based system ?
    Again for redbook it comes down to J River's optional bit perfect output capabilities(bypassing windows crap).If in comparing you can't detect the difference then there would be no sonic advantage.FYI bit perfect operation for iTunes on a PC is possible with the addition of this http://jplay.eu/
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    tonyb wrote: »
    Yeah, got that Dan. Hi-rez aside, if cd quality is your huckleberry, again...why Jrivers over Itunes on a windows based system ? I know the add on's like Pure music, Amarra add something to a mac based system but I'm talking windows based PC.

    Let me try again, because I like the Jrivers software. On a windows based PC, using Itunes, will any of these programs improve sound quality ? Spend the 50 on Jrivers for what gain ? According to Kens thread on why Itunes sucks for PC, not much can be done from what I gather from his explainations.

    I had a trial of Jrivers, liked it, dug it, but SQ was no better than I tunes. So for PC users, what do you gain over Itunes ? Anything that can improve SQ coming out of a PC based Itunes and I'm all ears. Or....maybe I'm missing the fact that if I just dumped Itunes altogether and just flew with Jrivers, that would have a better impact than trying to use Jrivers and play threw Itunes. Is that correct ? Excuse me for being dense this morning, only on my second cup of joe.
    if your not planning any High Rez music , you really don't need J Rivers software at all. You can correct Itunes output yourself and get the same exact sound quality. Keep in mind what these software companies are doing , nothing Improves the sound of the original file , it just was to be played correctly. So if the file is 16 / 44.1 then it needs to be played back as such. if a File is 24 / 88.2 then it needs to be played as such. You can absolutely be very happy with Itunes , I was until I really listened to High Rez music.
    Dan
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited March 2013
    mantis wrote: »
    l. You can correct Itunes output yourself and get the same exact sound quality.
    I assume by "correct"your refering to bit perfect output?I' m real curious how you can "correct" (or get bit perfect )output from iTunes on a PC with out adding somthing like jplay as I alluded to previously.
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  • bklynNupe
    bklynNupe Posts: 728
    edited March 2013
    I'm also curious since i've read a lot of praise on this forum for j river. I use a mac for my music server.
    How does j river for mac compare to itunes with Pure Music? Also will j river allow me to sync my iPod as well? I use the ipod strictly for the gym.

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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,726
    edited March 2013
    See my post above for your answer.

    Pure Music, Audirvana, Amarra and Decibel all still have better sound quality than J River at this point, not sure if or how much that will change with the final product
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  • Lost240
    Lost240 Posts: 176
    edited March 2013
    Where can I find this? Link please!
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    http://www.jriver.com
    Dan
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  • IRLRaceFan
    IRLRaceFan Posts: 172
    edited March 2013
    AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »
    See my post above for your answer.

    Pure Music, Audirvana, Amarra and Decibel all still have better sound quality than J River at this point, not sure if or how much that will change with the final product

    I have Pure Music and J. River. Like you said, J. River isn't as good yet. I just updated it last night and it's getting better. I'm hoping it will be as good with MAC as it is with Windows, because I don't like iTunes, which Pure Music uses as an interface. I didn't like Decibel and I'm not going to pay the $$$ for Amarra.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    IRLRaceFan wrote: »
    I have Pure Music and J. River. Like you said, J. River isn't as good yet. I just updated it last night and it's getting better. I'm hoping it will be as good with MAC as it is with Windows, because I don't like iTunes, which Pure Music uses as an interface. I didn't like Decibel and I'm not going to pay the $$$ for Amarra.
    I get annoyed with iTunes/Pure music as it buggy still. It's very temper mention. It does work most of the time. I really liked J Rivers software on PC and have the beta version as well. I didn't upgrade it yet but will.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited March 2013
    mantis wrote: »
    . You can correct Itunes output yourself and get the same exact sound quality.
    As per post #20 I'm still curious.Are you refering to bit perfect output?
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited March 2013
    If your running a Mac , you go to Audio Midi setup and change the output to 44.1 , 16 bit if your running CD quality music.
    Dan
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited March 2013
    mantis wrote: »
    If your running a Mac , you go to Audio Midi setup and change the output to 44.1 , 16 bit if your running CD quality music.
    It was iTunes on a PC that was being refered to.
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  • SolidSqual
    SolidSqual Posts: 5,218
    edited March 2013
    Seems to operate same as windows version: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/513-jriver-mac-vs-jriver-windows-sound-quality-comparison/
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,726
    edited March 2013
    I've never heard JRiver on a PC with gear as good as what I've got now, but if that article is indeed correct and it sounds the same and that's the final version of the sound then color me not impressed. I still think Amarra on top of iTunes is the best sound I've ever heard out of my computer. Amarra has a smoother sound that I prefer, JRiver sounds more like BitPerfect does on top of iTunes, a more edgy, forward sound. It has a bit more impact than Amarra but I prefer the smoother sound myself.

    Maybe JRiver isn't worse, and maybe Amarra colors the sound to smooth things out, but it's definitely what I prefer.

    In fairness to JRiver I need to do some blind testing and make sure I'm being subjective, but I've done blind testing before between Amarra, Audirvana, Bitperfect, Pure Music, and Decibel and I've always been able to tell the difference between them and I'm hearing the same kind of difference with JRiver.
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