alrainbow said Damn guys. This jplay is good really good. It most definitely raises the bar on this dac.I had a eureka moment a few days ago and sounds like you had one Al.
There’s something synergistic going on with WIN2012, AO 1.31, Jplay6 when you get the settings right. And playing to the DirectStream. It’s terrific when things come together like this.
Ted and Paul, you’ve achieved so much I can’t imagine what magic you’ll weave in the next FW.
billg saidI had a eureka moment a few days ago and sounds like you had one Al.
There’s something synergistic going on with WIN2012, AO 1.31, Jplay6 when you get the settings right. And playing to the DirectStream. It’s terrific when things come together like this.
Ted and Paul, you’ve achieved so much I can’t imagine what magic you’ll weave in the next FW.
A good level reference for pop is to measurea pink noise calibration signal with an amplitude of -20 dB FS RMS, on one channel at a time. Adjust the volume to 77 dB SPL, C-weighted, slow response. Try it and see what you get as a volume setting.
The film standard (initially proposed by Dolby in the 1970’s and later ) is 83dB and was pretty much adopted by the film industry. We later learned this is too loud for the average home system for film, and is also too loud for pop. Thus, the -6dB.
Of course, not everything is mastered to 77 dB, but it is a good reference level for well-mastered recordings. Of course, keep on the lookout for passages which are too loud. I am adamant about protecting my hearing.
If anyone is curious and does not have access to calibrated pink noise at the correct level, let me know and I will post a file.
billg saidalrainbow said Damn guys. This jplay is good really good. It most definitely raises the bar on this dac.I had a eureka moment a few days ago and sounds like you had one Al.
There’s something synergistic going on with WIN2012, AO 1.31, Jplay6 when you get the settings right. And playing to the DirectStream. It’s terrific when things come together like this.
Ted and Paul, you’ve achieved so much I can’t imagine what magic you’ll weave in the next FW.
Al’s case is a good example, he seems to be really enjoying JPlay 6 after a few pointers from others!
Most of us consumers/users are generally very lazy and impatient to read manuals and long posts. We want to magically reach the best results somehow straight away! Without sharing experiences it’s very easy for people to quickly and easily dismiss something perhaps very good.
I believe, at this high level of listening experience every bit counts and makes a difference to the overall SQ.
I can see where Ted is coming from when he says he’s trying to keep his system less complicated so that he can cater for a wider range of users/systems.
Ted probably has little time to try things out but at the same it would be great to know what people like Ted think about the various playback software, at least the most popular ones that a lot of users rave about such as Audirvana, HQ Player and JPlay, all of which I’m using and enjoying almost equally!
Hopefully users sharing their systems, experiences and settings via this topic will make it a lot easier and less time consuming for Ted to test, and for the rest of us to get more out of our systems for the benefit of better listening experience! 
Happy listening!
Best.
Mev
There is no magic bull it. Although i did get some help. And when I return home tonight I will,post mine.
But beyoind the system dependent settimgs. I found this , now keep,in mind I am just about 6 hours into this journey .
settimgs for PCM and DSd Are different. What makes DSd real DSd does not help PCM in fact it hurts it a it. It makes it fragile or shaper than PCM is normally.
If someone were to ask what the primary change is regarding PCM and DSd. It’s this.
Pcm is edgy where DSd is smoother. Now this sounds like DSd has no bite or soul , but that is just my poor explanation. If you own any analog ypu would better understand PCM and DSd. It’s rivalry , PCM just has a snap to it where DSd does not snap it continues in a wave that does not stop. You can almost feel the PCM going on and off or that something is filling in the blanks.
Now I like my PCM as is and I do not upsample I just do not like how ot sounds. Real DSd is pure and it should be left as such.
Take a listen or download the Elvis album stereo 57. It’s from analog 1/4 tape but it’s sounds has a continuance like analog that PCM just does not have. It’s a great example of what DSd is and PCM is not.
There should be others here to explain fsr better than I. But also keep in mind until just the past 5 days or so the DS did not do DSd as I like it . The win SER 2012 and the beta gave me for the first time that DSd flow with the dynAmics and smoothness . The jplay puts new details on this giving me DSd as it should be. Now this is me not others opinion.
I aslo have a few systems with few great dacs. I sit from a point where I can draw lines as to what sounds like what.
What jplay does for non server systems I cannot say. But I will,try them at some point.
Also jplay has there own forums and good following there so answers are there as well.
Lastly KS is key in this from any player it seems. KS seems to make all,dacs more musical meaning it seems to not bit as much and has more texture in the sound.
Pike is the best showing of this dac for me but until the beta and now jplay it was unfinished business that now seems done.
Al
When discussing playback levels yesterday I mentioned I always use a sound level meter. There is no need to go out and buy a SLM as there are several apps available for downloads on smart phones although some are more accurate then others.
I would chime in here as well. There is an optimal level, as Ted suggests (and I have written about in the past) for each and every track, many times quite loud. The levels varies room to room and track to track and finding the exact point is easy once you get the hang of it, but hard at first. I find voices easiest as they always become too large when played too loud.
Hi MevDinc, I’m happy to share my Jplay settings. I don’t claim they’re the best for me or for anyone else, so play around, and maybe I’ll try out your favourites.
When I installed Jplay I selected Alternative as I have an Intel processor. It gave me a little bit more resolution.
Playing Via: KS: PS Audio Audio 2.0 Output
Engine: Ultrastream (sometimes Classic if it sounds a bit thin, I love fuller tones)
Bitstream: Native
Bitperfect Volume: OFF
Polarity: Normal
DAC Link: ~170 Hz
PC Buffer: 2 Seconds
Xtream Size: 1000
Throttle: ON
Hibernate Mode: ON
PS. I don’t upsample in Jriver. I found the DS does it better. I do send all files 24bit though.
Don’t forget to try out JplayMini or JplayStreamer. They are better than Jriver with the Jplay driver.
Let us know what you think.
Thanks for sharing your settings, it was more for Al and other users who are new to JPlay.
I have used JPlay extensively before I decided to migrate to a Mac Mini based system.
I always preferred the Alt version.
I did spend quite a bit of time to install Windows 8.1 on my Mac to test JPlay 6 but the operation of my system was very sluggish and almost unusable! From I heard briefly though JPlay 6 is an improvement on Jplay 5!
To get the best out of JPlay 6 I probably need an additional PC based system.
I’m currently using HQ Player more and getting very satisfactory results by upsamling everything to 384kHz including TIDAL streaming!
Geoff Armstrong developed an add-on for Kodi (formerly known as XBMC which I use for movies) which allows you to use HQ Player for TIDAL streaming!
And, I must say it is just great to be able to listen to TIDAL streaming at 384kHz, it really does make a huge difference! 
I’m putting my toe in the water here and trying to get Jplay running with minimserver on an i7 PC/Win 8.1. Jplay is loaded and I am trying to set it up for KS but that option does not show up in the “Playing via” box in Jplay settings, just “PS Audio USB Driver” or “WASAPI: High Definition Audio Device”. Any thoughts?
EDIT: Jplay is advocating minimserver so I am assuming that minimserver supports KS…?
Is it win SER 2012
of yes try first in gui mode
then core. It works but it must be a selection
No, 8.1
Sorry I cannot help then. Try computer audiophile forums or there forums actually they have a good one gong
You should check out the JPlay 6 forum and ask for help if you cannot find what you’re looking for. Chances are that there are people who are successfully using DirectStream with Jplay 6.
http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1
Good luck.
wglenn said No, 8.1Let us know how it sounds after its fixed.
The seti g are not the same for dsd and PCM. It will play but not well.
My setup is,
Amarra & jRiver on Macbook Pro (i7 CPU, 16GB Memory & SSD) > Venom USB > DirectStream (1 week old, replaced PWD II) > Audioquest Cheetah XLR > ATC Active 20-2
Amarra has been my favorite player, have used couple of versions, jRiver manages music library.
With current jRiver version 19 or 20, it sounds “right and bold”, but Amarra’s sound stage is deep, sounds real, and strings are silkier to me. It might be personal preference but they definitely sound different.
There is one problem which I hope someone can help me, though I raised it to PS audio this morning.
With bit perfect test, jRiver gives okay bit perfect, however, Amarra (current version) does NOT.
Amarra settings are,
• Cache play
• Volume 0.0
• Select Gain Bypass and use your external device for volume control
• Select EQ Bypass if not using any EQ settings
Cheers!
I’ll add JPlay Intel version, settings KS: PS Audio driver & Xtream, with MinimServer and Kazoo sounds awfully good on a Win 8.1 all-around desktop system. However, there is a glitch: music sounds better - clearer, more delicate and tonally correct - with Windows Sound set to WaveStream vs. PS Audio Perfectwave DSD, but the former doesn’t support online audio. One alternative, VB ASIO Bridge, which works with JPlay and online audio, also doesn’t sound as good offline. Not sure what to do (will probably post this issue separately).
Hello
Has there been any discussion about this player - bug head.
Now I have been using this player, I used two players, J play and bug head.
Interesting that Bug head player is able to discern cymbals and complex female vocal more clearly. Previously JPLAY mini has provided the best SQ however bug head player has taken over first place convincingly in superior SQ.
Bug head player is worth a try if you are seeking the best SQ from a software player. -
Follow JPLAY forum for more information and see url http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/1553-infinity-blade-hq-bug-head-emperor-worth-trying/ for software two elements are required for the player to work.
Rewrite package and player software found here. - http://oryaaaaa.world.coocan.jp/bughead/index.html
I’ve been using Bug head for months and installed many upgrades as the programmer is very active tuning the software.
Jriver SQ is not in the same league as this player bug head has way superior more realistic sounds.
enjoy 
I’ve seen ALT version of JPlay 6 mentioned?
what is this and how do I access it?
When the JPLAY 6 installer is running there is an option to select Intel or alternate, watch carefully when you are running the installer it is easy to skip past if you are not paying attention. Select the option you want to try via the drop down box.
I’ve only used Intel as that is my CPU brand, I have not experimented