Unless you’re very savvy with Windows and/or have a tech background, good luck.

Also, more rarely, the music stops playing for its own mysterious reasons.Īdditionally, while JRiver has, in my experience, proved superior to Amarra and Audirvana, its Mac version has clearly been adapted from the original Windows version, and is incredibly complex. While I can control the Mini with my MacBook Air via screen sharing, or with my iPhone or iPad via JRemote, the Mac often, for no obvious reason, disconnects from my Wi-Fi. I like the flexibility of my Mac Mini server, but it’s not without problems. Unless an artist’s or label’s music is unavailable (talking to you, Peter Gabriel, Metallica, ECM, et al), I instead stream CD-quality music from Tidal, especially with my office Windows desktop system at work.

Most of my listening is still to music streamed from my hard drive, but apart from hi-rez downloads, I don’t buy much music. With the advent of high-resolution downloads and third-party music players, I eventually transitioned to my current setup: a Mac Mini server running JRiver Media Center 20, streaming files from a 4TB external hard drive, paired with a Meitner MA-1 DAC ($7000) or an Oppo HA-1 DAC-preamplifier-headphone amplifier ($1200 when available).

Originally, I used these files strictly for headphone listening, but later patched them into my main system through the addition of a Logitech Transporter ($2000 USD) and a Halide Design USB-S/PDIF bridge ($450), both since discontinued. I took my first tentative steps toward computer audio in 2008, when I laboriously ripped my very large collection of CDs to lossless files stored on my iMac’s 1TB internal hard drive.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been nine years since I last regularly used the CD player in my main system.

2018-2019 EISA Awards Video Introduction.

Jriver ipad