Streamer software, what do you use?

@erik_squires Before Roon I used Plex and Squeeze prior to that. A big reason for all was hardware independence. Google cast and Airplay also provides that and many streamers support those, though from a high end audio perspective those can have limitations regarding resolution still these days I believe. Not interested in any proprietary high end hardware vendor solution. That’s just my opinion. Just $800 for a lifetime Roon subscription which is chump change by high end anudio standards and pay Qobuz monthly as an option. The cost of hardware you run on can run the gamut which is perfect. YMMV.

piCorePlayer on my Raspberry Pi.

No need for Roon to combine core with streamer. That is totally erroneous.

Except for the fact that only Roon has a "core."

Hqplayer embedded on a fanless PC.  Have a linear supply from small green computer.  I use the hqplayer OS and control from a Chromebook.  I have some filters setup, but I am novice hqplayer user.

At one time I ran it on a pi III.  Doable, but noisy.

I've used that Kingdel  fanless pc for years.  I'm running Windows 10 and Fooobar for the local files with the free version of Fidelizer.  Because it's Windows based I can run Amazon HD using the Windows app for my streaming service.  This computer runs 24  7 and has never given me a problem.  To control it I use the built in Windows RemotePC app and can access it with my laptop, phone or tablet.  I do not use a linear power supply but I do block the 5 volt usb signal from the computer and use a powered usb hub to connect to my DAC.  The sound is really good and the system is very stable. 

On the same stereo I also have the PI2AES using a switching powesupply and Volumio software.  In a direct comparison the PI2AES sounds slightly better in a side by side comparison, I think. I haven't done the double blind test but could definitely say if I walked into the room I couldn't identity which source was playing.  Volumio has two major issues in my system.  It is very unstable and crashes daily and there is no way to play back Amazon music  in HD.  I've used Volumio for years and it was never this bad.  The latest is they've rewritten the software and unless you start over and flash the latest image they will no longer be able provide upgrades in the future. I haven't used other PI based software.  LMS and Moode are what I've looked at and I'm sure with time I could figure it out but I'm a little confused about how exactly to move forward with either one.

If anyone has experience improving the PC sound I would be grateful for input

@erik_squires 

I meant to talk about software that was at least a little independent from hardware

That was clear to me. The Ideon s/ware I use is running on my own h/ware -- an ancient, fanless, Mini X pc -- not one of their own streamers (which are excellent, by the way, and on my shortlist when I can afford more upgrades!) Regards