With your existing pc try one of these softwares.
1. Junilabs player and file optimizer
2. Wtfplay
3. Xxhighend
4. PlayPCM win.
Thanks for the recommendations! I tried one of them. #wtfplay
My word, how on earth do they come up with names like these! Shiit Audio, wtfplayer. It looks like a deliberate attempt to grab attention with the name? Set the expectations low, and then dazzle 'em with the performance?
Whatever!!
So, I decided to try the recommended software. And as it happened, I was on Linux at the moment. So, I downloaded the Junilabs player, but started trying out wftplay. WTF!
Went through the usual rigor of going through the site, understand the nuts and bolts at the high level and know what I was getting into. So it said - I was going to get a simple player. I had no inkling they really meant it that seriously.
Downloaded the software. Installed it. Set it up. Hit play!
Nothing. No sound. Zilch. Nada!
Checked volume control. Selected device. Device configuration. Checked if everything was connected. All well. But no sound!
Reboot computer. Repeat from step 1. Check everything again. All well. But no sound, again.
Cold reboot the computer. Repeat from step 1. Check everything again. All well. But no sound, again.
Installation was smooth, ran smoothly, everything seemed perfect. Except no sound.
I kept fiddling with things, with the same result. All well, but no sound. Even resorted to trying different "versions" of the software meant for different hardware. But the same result. All well, but no sound.
Right before I was about to give up, decided to try one more last thing. I was trying to play with the simplest route. On the computer speakers. I plugged my USB-SPDIF, connected to DAC, headphone. Cold reboot. Repeat the process. Still no sound.
I was sleepy and about to call it a day. Just then I thought of running the "wtfsetup". Since the software works on the ALSA stack, and ALSA configuration was being shown as okay, this never occurred to me that any further "setup" may be required. Turned out it was.
So I ran "wtfsetup" (by this time that was exactly my feeling as well) and hoped for things to fall in place. For a moment, it seemed like it did. Except it didn't. "All well, but no sound" continued!
Frustrated, I recited the mantra "wftsetup" within myself and I ran the (wtf)setup again.
Voila! It worked! The first note played!
I was on the verge of falling asleep on my desk. But all at a sudden my sleep disappeared. I sat up. Made sure the sound was indeed coming out of the headphones. And was relieved like... like... it rained after 5-6 years of drought.
(I didn't mean it to be such a long-winded account, but did want to document just how frustrating it was to get this thing to work)
Now on the the sound
Well now to the meat of the post - the sound! In short, the sound quality is great. Nah, it's amazing! Miles ahead of a well tweaked Windows PC. Light years ahead of any stock PC, with either of Windows, Mac or Linux. The jury is still out whether or not this is the best sound I have heard coming out of my PC transport (after all I've barely used it for a few hours till now) but it has shown to be up there with the best.
My first impression of the sound was that - it's a tad too bright. In fact a bit ear-piercing. But I never take the first note I play out of my gear as the last word. I start listening attentively 5-10 minutes after playing the first note.
So past the 10 minutes mark, I started evaluating the sound. And I have mixed feeling about it.
(1) Detail retrieval is among the best if not the best among everything I have tried on my PC.
(2) Background is very dark. IPS LCD dark if not the AMOLED dark (where "AMOLED dark" equals the conventional playback from a top-notch CD player). Definitely among the darkest I have heard on my PC.
(3) Rythm and timing is awesome. Full marks on PRAT!
(4) I'm still undecided whether its a pro or a con, but the highs are very hot, at times tending to become shrill (in some tracks).
(5) UI is Shiite. In the current avatar, it will take a braveheart to actually use it as their primary PC playback software.
(6) Linux only! Means, installation/setup can be easy or frustrating depending on the user's own competence with the Linux OS.
Concluding thoughts
I feel I could do a lot better with the description of the sound it produces. But I was half-asleep and merely ran though 60-70 tracks quickly. I could do a more elaborate evaluation and describe what I heard with concrete examples. But it's Linux-based and the UI is daunting (Command line only. No Windows, no mouse, no clicking around). So not sure how many people would be even interested in reading about it.
It seems like something great in the making. Can surely do with some user-friendliness, and needs polishing around the edges. But boy, if you get past these hurdles, it's a very very nice sounding software.
A more detailed review later, if it piques the interest of FMs.