IMO, JPLAY now evens the audio playing field between MAC and PC. Both platforms when optimized can provide very good digital sound quality. Benefit of PC is that you will be able to get more for your $(both H/W and S/W). Downside of JPLAY is that you are essentially placing your bet with what is a side business by a couple of Eastern European programmers. JPLAY may not have the long term stability or support of corporate products like Amarra or Pure Music.
PC or Mac?
I'm getting close to entering the computer-based audio world. I've read good things about PC- and Mac-based systems, but I've not read any recent comparisons between well-implemented examples of both formats.
So, initially I was thinking about a Mac Mini-based system since it takes a lot of the computer complications out of the equation -- I'm unfortunately one of those audiophiles who has little patience or ability for troubleshooting computer issues. But if I can get similar/better performance from a Mac laptop I'm open to that too. Right now I'm leaning toward a PC laptop using JPlay (which I don't think is available for Mac as of yet), but wondering how a well-executed version of this would compare to a similar implementation of the other two Mac options?
I realize there are a lot of variables in each of these options in terms of implementation, but if anyone has compared good setups between any of them and has some real-world opinions on sound quality and ease of setup/use I'd be very interested. By the way, although sound quality is most important to me I don't want to mess with endless hassels/glitches. So if there are meaningful sonic benefits I'm willing to do some work and put up with some occasional problems to get them, but if the system's not stable and requires constant tinkering I think that could be a deal breaker.
Anyway, thanks for thoughts or links to other discussions that may have already addressed this topic.
So, initially I was thinking about a Mac Mini-based system since it takes a lot of the computer complications out of the equation -- I'm unfortunately one of those audiophiles who has little patience or ability for troubleshooting computer issues. But if I can get similar/better performance from a Mac laptop I'm open to that too. Right now I'm leaning toward a PC laptop using JPlay (which I don't think is available for Mac as of yet), but wondering how a well-executed version of this would compare to a similar implementation of the other two Mac options?
I realize there are a lot of variables in each of these options in terms of implementation, but if anyone has compared good setups between any of them and has some real-world opinions on sound quality and ease of setup/use I'd be very interested. By the way, although sound quality is most important to me I don't want to mess with endless hassels/glitches. So if there are meaningful sonic benefits I'm willing to do some work and put up with some occasional problems to get them, but if the system's not stable and requires constant tinkering I think that could be a deal breaker.
Anyway, thanks for thoughts or links to other discussions that may have already addressed this topic.