UPnP streamers using KEF’s own app don’t get gapless playback either. What we don’t get is gapless playback not attributable to Plisson’s efforts but a shortcoming in the LS50 Wireless’ firmware. What we get is the familiarity of Audirvana Plus’s interface and smartdevice control from the A+ Remote app (€10.99). If you’re using Audirvana Plus’s Tidal integration, make sure you don’t seek beyond the pre-load bar lest your Mac invites you for a game of catch on the beachball of death. As does tracking within a song using the seek slider. Hit play on any album or song and we’re off to the races. For the LS50 Wireless, it’s 24bit/192kHz PCM, no DSD (and no worries). These must be specified by the end user for both PCM and DSD. UPnP devices don’t return maximum sample-rate compatibility information to Audirvana Plus.
#AUDIRVANA PLUS 3 SIMILAR SOFTWARE PLUS#
With v3.1, Audirvana Plus auto-discovers UPnP network audio devices the KEF show up in the same output devices drop-down as USB devices. A UPnP-loaded Audirvana Plus beta allows us to sidestep the LS50 Wireless app completely. The KEF LS50 Wireless deliver a rival-demolishing value quotient but the associated control app is plainer than Jane. Then again, UPnP-ers don’t ask us to pony up US$119/year for UPnP. None seen by this commentator hold a candle to Roon. This decentralised free-for-all means quality varies from one UPnP-based audio streaming implementation to the next. The first casualty is often the UX. Or that same manufacturer can pull on the coat of an established third party for an off-the-shelf hardware/software combo as provided by StreamUnlimited, Convers Digital et al.
#AUDIRVANA PLUS 3 SIMILAR SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#
What’s not to like about Universal Plug n Play (UPnP) when it comes to audio? Any manufacturer with the necessary software development chops can leverage UPnP for an in-house coded solution. Per the headline, v3.1 introduces UPnP network streaming. French software developer Damien Plisson has introduced a pubic beta of Audirvana Plus v3.1. This week, that ‘doesn’t’ moves to the past tense: ‘didn’t’. Audirvana Plus doesn’t do network streaming. For UX elegance, auto-tagging, meta information layer, music discovery and networked audio streaming, I opt for Roon. With Mac + USB DAC, if I want the best sound quality (by a nose), I opt for Audirvana Plus.
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