does xxhighend just run in windows? getting hqplayer to work is also too difficult. i know that sounds stupid with my gear but i don't just throw out money. i like jriver because the functionality is close to roon but i think it sounds better. usually if they even have a trial of these it is badly crippled. hardware at a certain level you obviously go to a dealer and listen first. I would NOT be without â€˜computer audio' in my listening world now.It is linux or windows? i hate to go buying a bunch of software just to try it out. Yes, this has elements of â€˜computer audio' and I know that's an evil thing to some, but it's super flexible, could not be easier to use (for the whole family), and has taken musical enjoyment and discovery for me to a level I haven't experienced since the days of being a wide-eyed kid on the hunt for new bands and records.

I would say though, that even as I remain a die-hard vinyl guy, I am surprised on a regular basis by how good digital can sound and have to admit that the turntable sits idle most days of late - it just doesn't always have that emotional edge it used too - digital is there. In my main system, I've really been pushing what is possible with digital but that's a whole other thread. With Roon, you get seamless integration of HQPlayer for playing all digital sources on the main system, along with the same level of integration on any other playback system (home theater or even a laptop and portable radio outside on the deck) find what you want to hear from any source in the same way, click play and listen. It is extremely easy to use, an incredible discovery guide and takes care of all the technical stuff in a set-it and forget it way. Roon from my perspective is the killer app here and an essential tool in tying all this together and supporting my musical road-trips these days. The Tidal app is used a lot by my wife and kids to stream while connected at home but we often use it's â€˜offline' feature when on the move great for walking, biking or driving when jacked into the car system. Behind the scenes on the main system player PC, I also have HQPlayer, JRiver (for CD ripping) and AudioGate (for vinyl to DSD ripping). Software is Roon for the Win10 players, Roon + HQPlayer for the main system, Tidal's app on the phones and lately, USB Audio Player Pro on a phone that will use an external DAC. The pieces a wired & WiFi home network, decent cable Internet connection, a home-brew unRaid server, dedicated Win10 player PC in the main listening room, Win10 player PC feeding my HT system, Win10 laptop and various smartphones for portable use. I recently started ripping some vinyl to DSD128 too, so I guess I could say I am streaming a little vinyl as well. I rip all my physical media to a network attached server, so we stream everything wav (CD rips), DSD (SACD rips), flac and a little mp3 from a server, 16/44.1 flac from Tidal and up to 320k AAC radio streams from the Internet.

Hqplayer on laptop