J River, etc vs SqueezeCenter

[jon michaels]

I've tried searching some but not finding info.

I'm just coming up to speed on a bunch of concepts Squeeze-related, so I apologize if this has been asked and answered, or if it's just a plain ignorant question.

Is there any reason that "third-party" software like J River could be considered superior to SqueezeCenter? My question is primarily in terms of audio quality, but sure, also in terms of interface.

I use the SC web interface some, but mostly use SqueezePad, which I happen to really like.

[garym]

I've tried searching some but not finding info.

I'm just coming up to speed on a bunch of concepts Squeeze-related, so I apologize if this has been asked and answered, or if it's just a plain ignorant question.

Is there any reason that "third-party" software like J River could be considered superior to SqueezeCenter? My question is primarily in terms of audio quality, but sure, also in terms of interface.

I use the SC web interface some, but mostly use SqueezePad, which I happen to really like.

one of the real benefits of the SB stuff is that it is entirely independent of anything related to the soundcard in your computer. With most frontends on a computer, the soundcard can mess around with the bitperfect nature of your music (converting to 48, etc.) and doing other odd stuff (and I assume J River is a frontend program that catalogs and plays your music on a computer similar to foobar2000, musicmonkey, itunes, wmp, winamp, etc). You can google this and see lots of discussions about soundcards, operating systems, and fine tuning to avoid messing with bits. NONE OF THIS IS NECESSARY WITH THE SB PRODUCTS. Even if the computer running SqueezeBoxServer or Logitech Media Server (LMS) doesn't have a soundcard, this is fine as all the computer is doing is sending bitperfect info to the players.

Of course the other benefit is that with a computer frontend player (winamp, foobar, jriver, etc.) the computer has to be connected to a Soundcard (and maybe DAC) and then to your stereo. So the computer needs to be near the computer. With SB, the computer can be in a back closet, in the basement, etc. It doesn't have to be anywhere near the stereo setup or the listening room. My computer serving the music is in a back cabinet, far away from my main listening room.

And another benefit: with multiple players (different rooms), a single computer serves your music library to multiple players. These can be synched perfectly if you choose or you can play something different on each player.

[widman]

I use JRiver for ripping, tagging and organizing my music files. I really like the user interface much more than Squeeze Center. It is more responsive and can be modified quite easily to display your files in a variety of different ways.

Although I haven't tried it yet, I believe the latest version can act as a DLNA server for Squeeze devices. Additionally, they sell their own DLNA renderer: http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/JRiver_Id.

JRiver does support bit-perfect playback, but as garym pointed out, your soundcard needs to support bit-perfect as well. But as long as the software streams bit-perfect, it is the output device (SqueezeBox, soundcard or DAC) that will determine sound quality.

pete

[garym]

I use JRiver for ripping, tagging and organizing my music files. I really like the user interface much more than Squeeze Center. It is more responsive and can be modified quite easily to display your files in a variety of different ways.

Although I haven't tried it yet, I believe the latest version can act as a DLNA server for Squeeze devices. Additionally, they sell their own DLNA renderer: http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/JRiver_Id.

JRiver does support bit-perfect playback, but as garym pointed out, your soundcard needs to support bit-perfect as well. But as long as the software streams bit-perfect, it is the output device (SqueezeBox, soundcard or DAC) that will determine sound quality.

pete

not sure about the specific JRiver DLNA renderer, but in general, DLNA can't do gapless playback, and not sure you could do synching across multiple SB players either. Nothing against JRiver (or any other music database/server) but DLNA in general vs SbS or LMS (in terms of what it does, not necessarily the actual user interface and ease of use) is like comparing a Ford Pinto to a Ferrari. Both will get you from point A to point B, but otherwise.....

[jon michaels]

Gary, I think that was basically along the lines of info I was looking for.

J River as DLNA steaming server vs LMS, whether there were pro's/con's in terms of interface, audio quality, manageability.

Basically if I could say it over, using J River as a DLNA "server":

1) is J River a better interface than LMS;

2) does it somehow stream data in a way that would result in better audio quality/playback experience;

3) does it help organize your library in better ways than LMS.

[vagskal]

not sure you could do synching across multiple SB players either.

Just sync the players with SBS/LMS and then use JRiver Media Center to "Send to" one of the players in a sync group.

[vagskal]

1) is J River a better interface than LMS;

2) does it somehow stream data in a way that would result in better audio quality/playback experience;

3) does it help organize your library in better ways than LMS.

1) Yes!

2) No, not if you want playback via your Squeezebox devices (The quality would be the same provided you tell JRiver Media Center not to transcode the files). Otherwise, probably yes in most cases.

3) Yes! (If you use the "Send to" feature.)