High res media players for a Mac

[joolzriff]

Hi - I’m new to this so thought I’d ask - I’ve got a Linn hifi in living room for the Turntable —- I’ve also got a Mac in my studio for digital listening -
I have been thinking about downloading a hi res media player and ordering some 24/192 music on it.
What’s the best media player to download for a Mac? And what’s would be the best site to buy from?
Thankyou

 

[boyce89976]

I've been using Audirvana for a few years now, and love it. Very easy to use, with a nice GUI. Sounds great too. I use it to stream hi Rez files from my MacBook to my Opponent 105.

 

[joolzriff]

I've been using Audirvana for a few years now, and love it. Very easy to use, with a nice GUI. Sounds great too. I use it to stream hi Rez files from my MacBook to my Opponent 105.

Do you order music off their site? Or is it another site you download music off and use audirvana purely as a media player???
J

 

[boyce89976]

Do you order music off their site? Or is it another site you download music off and use audirvana purely as a media player???
J

It's just a media player. I download off of several sites, but it's also great for FLAC ripped from CD's, and I use it when I want to get the most out of my iTunes library also.

 

[Guitar Fixation]

I use Roon and I love it. Not cheap, but it plays everything I throw at it. Great iPhone application as well. Easy to switch between DACs and adding music is simple. There is a trial, I would recommend giving it a spin.

 

[mojotele65]

Mediamonkey is good and free. JRiver is also good, but $59.99. I have both.

 

[joolzriff]

Where’s the best place to buy the 24/192 albums?? Then once I’ve purchased an album it downloads to the Mac/iTunes 1st or I can choose it to go into Vox medial player??
Thank you
I’m naive

 

[57gold]

What is your system in your studio? Or do you plan to play files from your studio Mac on your Linn system?

Importantly, what DAC or CD player are you using?

A+, PureMusic and HQPlayer are all software that play digital files on Macs to great effect. They have up sampling or up converting capabilities, like HQPlayer can take a ripped CD file or stream of one and up convert it to DSD 512; may DAC is Mytek and can only handle DSD 128, which up samples the file 128 times as the software applies proprietary filters that extract ringing and have the impact of taking my ripped CD collection (2,000+) and turning them into hi rez sounding files. A+ and PM also feature "memory play", they load the upsampled files into RAM and play from RAM versus from the spinning hard drive, which has positive audio perspective. Very cool stuff. All this technology cost @ $200, cheaper than buying remasters or HD Tracks stuff. HQPlayer also has software designed for recording studios, but I don't operate in that world. See the player I have enjoyed for years that has been updated as its creator adds new filters and capabilities:

https://www.signalyst.com/consumer.html

These programs are not sources for audio files like Roon or Tidal, though they can play streamed files from those sources and add their technological value.

 

[joolzriff]

What is your system in your studio? Or do you plan to play files from your studio Mac on your Linn system?

Importantly, what DAC or CD player are you using?

A+, PureMusic and HQPlayer are all software that play digital files on Macs to great effect. They have up sampling or up converting capabilities, like HQPlayer can take a ripped CD file or stream of one and up convert it to DSD 512; may DAC is Mytek and can only handle DSD 128, which up samples the file 128 times as the software applies proprietary filters that extract ringing and have the impact of taking my ripped CD collection (2,000+) and turning them into hi rez sounding files. A+ and PM also feature "memory play", they load the upsampled files into RAM and play from RAM versus from the spinning hard drive, which has positive audio perspective. Very cool stuff. All this technology cost @ $200, cheaper than buying remasters or HD Tracks stuff. HQPlayer also has software designed for recording studios, but I don't operate in that world. See the player I have enjoyed for years that has been updated as its creator adds new filters and capabilities:

https://www.signalyst.com/consumer.html

These programs are not sources for audio files like Roon or Tidal, though they can play streamed files from those sources and add their technological value.

I’m using an Apollo interface to Mac - Apollo has sends to my active Yamaha speakers—- the Apollo can do the 24/192 thing - it has a good dac—-I listen to albums as well on my studio computer in that room——-as for the Linn that’s just running my analogue gear and cdp in another room - I’ll use the Mac audio in the studio

 

[57gold]

Joolz - Believe that each of these products are offered on a demo basis, you download them and try them and after a spell they stop working, unless you purchase a license. Probably the best way to see if you hear a difference playing files on your Mac through the Apollo to the Yamaha studio monitors.

These players are used in high definition systems, typically with DACs that can process higher rez than 24/192. However, my foray into this area started with Audirvana on a Mac Mini that I connected to a Wadia CD player that had a SPDIF (BNC) connector. Used a converter from Wavelength Audio that was attached to Mac with a USB and a BNC to the Wadia (which had a digital input like a DAC, perhaps your Linn has one?). Files upsampled from 44.1/16 to 192/24 played from RAM sounded way better than CDs spinning on Wadia's very fine transport in the model 861i, which was a $7K player.

 

[sfarnell]

I recently bought the Cocktail X14 and Bluesound node 2i for different rooms and like 'em both. They have built-in DACs but I bypass them and the digital signal goes from the server to my separate DAC. The Cocktail will record from streaming internet and can rip CDs onto the SSD inside of it.

 

[Rex Anderson]

I have all my music ripped to a portable hard drive, which is in turn attached to a Roon Nucleus. Works great. Use J River for ripping. Love Roon, and it integrates with Tidal and soon Qobuzz. An easier option is the Bluesound Vault2.

 

[joolzriff]

Thankyou all very much for your advice/reply’s - much appreciated

 

[AlwaysSunny]

HDtracks.com for digital files. Get on their mailing list first because they always have sales.

I use Amarra from SonicStudio.com on my Mac Pro, run it through my Apollo interface and to the Genelec monitors.