Sound quality has clearly further improved and far beyond what I thought a standard computer could do
Christiaan Punter hifi-advice
A digital audio upgrade offering more significant impact than your average digital cable
John Darko Digital Audio Review
JPLAY, JCAT USB Isolator & JCAT USB Card FEMTO Net Audio's Recommended Products
Hajime Sakaki Net Audio Japan
JPLAY ist meine persönliche Referenz bei der Musikwiedergabe über den Computer
Roland Dietl HIFISTATEMENT
Highest playback quality obtained by any software or source
Charles Zeilig, Ph.D., Jay Clawson TAS 219
The player software allows to extract all of the best from a PC computer and audio files
Wojciech Pacula High-Fidelity, Red Fingerprint & Best Product 2011 awards
if you are looking to squeeze the absolute best from your computer playback system
Nick Whetstone TNT-Audio
JPLAY for iOS is here!
The new reference hi-fi app.
JPLAY for iOS combines Qobuz, Tidal, and local content in a single interface. Instantly works with JPLAY FEMTO. Start your FREE 14-day trial today! For more information please visit JPLAY app website: https://jplay.app/
Getting started with JPLAY FEMTO
Highest playback quality on a PC, remote app on a tablet
JPLAY FEMTO is a complete network music software player created by fanatical audiophiles for the most demanding audiophiles. The word 'network' does not imply that music files must be streamed over network. In contrary - it means that the best sound quality can be achieved by playing files that are stored directly on a PC which connects to a USB DAC. Utilising network brings convenience that has not been available in the past with any JPLAY release; sitting relaxed on a couch and controlling playback by a remote app on a tablet or smartphone. Without touching the PC.Getting started
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Download and run JPLAY FEMTO setup on a Windows PC that is connected to your USB DAC. The PC must be connected to Internet and home network's WiFi. Windows 8 or later is required.
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Select the folders with your music files during JPLAY FEMTO setup.
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After successful installation restart PC. (this is mandatory)
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Make sure you have the latest driver installed for your USB DAC. (The built-in Windows USB Audio Class 2.0 driver is not compatible with JPLAY!)
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From Start Menu - Programs - JPLAY, open 'JPLAY Settings panel' to select your output device ('Playing via' field). By default the output is set to the best sounding playback method, KS (Kernel Streaming).
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Open a UPnP remote app on a tablet or smartphone connected to your home network's WiFi; JPLAY for iOS is highly recommended! , select JPLAY FEMTO as the renderer and JPLAY femtoServer as the library
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Voila! You can now play your music files at the highest possible sound quality.
RECOMMENDED REMOTE APP: JPLAY (iOS, iPadOS, MacOS - M CPU) TESTED REMOTE APPS: Bubble UPnP (Android) mConnect (iOS), Kinsky (Windows, iOS, MacOS)
Buy JPLAY FEMTO or test-drive if for free for the next 21 days! Download FREE TRIALSPECIAL OFFER for existing JPLAY customers!
All existing JPLAY customers can upgrade to JPLAY FEMTO at almost half the price - save 70 EUR! To buy the upgrade at the special price, please transfer 79 EUR via PayPal to: https://paypal.me/JPLAYPL?country.x=PL&locale.x=en_US (only verified existing JPLAY customers are eligible for this special offer!)Improve sound quality of streaming with JPLAY FEMTO
JPLAY FEMTO supports both files stored locally on a hard drive and music files in the cloud; online lossless music services such as TIDAL & Qobuz (including hi-rez Qobuz Sublime plan). No extra configuration is required to benefit from JPLAY FEMTO's unique sound quality also when streaming music from the cloud. You just have to log in to your TIDAL or Qobuz account in a remote app., Below are the screenshots showing TIDAL in : Bubble UPnP (Android) and mConnect (iOS). 0TIDAL & Qobuz via JPLAY FEMTO
Bubble UPnP on Android
mConnnect on iOS
Spotify Connect
Thanks to HIFY app on Android it is possible to select JPLAY FEMTO as output in the official Spotify client. All you need is an Android device (tablet or smartphone) with running HIFY app
Once the HIFY app is launched, JPLAY FEMTO shows up in any spotify client running in your network - on Android, iOS, MacOS or Windows. Below is a screenshot of the spotify app running on my Macbook Pro. As you can see, JPLAY FEMTO is listed as a 'spotify connect' device.
If you have any questions or issues please contact us at support@jplay.eu or post on our forum here: http://jplay.eu/forum/ We are happy to help!
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About the author
Marcin Ostapowicz is a recognized high-end audio consultant. Computer audio pioneer. Co-creator of the award-winning software, JPLAY. Manufacturer, curator and distributor of high quality audio products. Constantly strives for perfection of sound. Foundations for his breakthroughs finds in areas that others ignore. 
JPLAY dual PC mode: how it works & why you need it
The ultimate mode for most demanding audiophiles
The dual PC mode is a configuration where JPLAY is running on 2 PCs in a home network. It offers superior sound quality compared to a setup with just a single PC. Think of a CD integrated player vs. a CD transport + DAC analogy – the latter usually sounds better.Control PC + Audio PC
One PC can be for general use: web browsing, work, editing photos etc. You run any software player that is compatible with JPLAY and start/stop playback here. You’d usually have your media library (music) here as well. This would be your Control PC. From user’s perspective, it works exactly the same as a single PC setup except that the actual playback happens on a different PC – Audio PC. Audio PC is a PC that connects to your audio system – a USB DAC or any other audio interface compatible with JPLAY (USB-S/PDIF converter or PCI Express sound card). Audio PC can have nothing else installed apart from JPLAY and USB DAC drivers. It can be headless and you don’t have to touch it at all after initial setup, because all playback related parameters are adjusted from JPLAYSettings panel on Control PC (some advanced settings from regedit). Both PCs must be in the same network, but do not have to be located in the same room – you can have Control PC in an office and Audio PC close to your audio system in a living room. Control PC does most of playback related processing and streams music bytes over Ethernet to Audio PC which then outputs them directly to a USB DAC or any other supported device. Because Audio PC needs only a small capacity drive for the operating system, JPLAY and essential drivers, it’s easy to make it compact and noiseless. You just need to pay attention to a power supply and a USB output in case you use a USB DAC – the higher quality, the better sound you will get. The quality of network components and cabling on both PCs is important as well. OK, almost everything can have an effect on playback quality in a computer audio system, but this is a story for another article.Setup
Install JPLAY on both Control PC & Audio PC and restart the PCs. Make sure DAC is connected to Audio PC, switched on and drivers for the DAC are installed. Open JPLAYSettings panel on Control PC and click on the button next to Audio PC until you see ‘Search my LAN for JPLAY’. Confirm by clicking OK to initiate search. Few seconds later ‘Found JPLAY on 1 computer’ message should be displayed. Click OK, reopen JPLAYSettings panel, select your Audio PC (IP address) and adjust output parameters. All compatible audio devices connected to your Audio PC will be listed as if they were connected directly to Control PC.Tips & tricks for best sound
- Use JPLAY Hibernate mode. Shuts down almost all Windows processes during playback on Audio PC and ensures highest sound quality.
- Use Windows 8 or later on both PCs to access JPLAY’s best playback engine, UltraStream and JPLAYStreamer.
- Even better results can be achieved with Windows Server 2012 or 2016. If you have it at least on Audio PC, you can improve sound further by switching to Core mode (manually or via Audiophile Optimizer tool)
- Disable power saving features for network adapters and USB ports on both PCs to prevent dropouts.
- As ControlPC is doing most of the processing, it should be more powerful than Audio PC (same specification for both PCs is fine too).
- Dedicated Audio PC with only JPLAY and DAC drivers on it will sound better than Audio PC that has many applications installed.
- Disable JPLAYStreamer service on Audio PC from Control Panel -> Administrative tools -> Services. You need it only on Control PC.
- Quality of hardware components and power supplies is important for both PCs – use audio grade components such as JCAT on both PCs and get better sound.
- Use wired Ethernet connection. It’s more reliable and will sound better, especially if you use a high quality LAN cable.
- Set network connection speed to 1Gbit/s if it’s supported.
- High quality network adapter such as JCAT NET Card on both PCs will greatly improve sound.
- Use direct LAN cable connection between Control PC & Audio PC (requires setting a static IP at least on Audio PC). If direct connection is not possible, use audio grade network switch between PCs.
- Network connection between Control PC and Audio PC should be on a dedicated subnet. E.g. if connection from Control PC to home network is on 192.168.1.x subnet, make sure to set IP addresses for network adapters that connect Control PC & Audio PC to 192.168.2.x. This way traffic for JPLAY dual PC mode is completely isolated from home network.
Example configuration
The example in this section illustrate my configuration of JPLAY dual PC mode.
I control playback (JPLAYStreamer) from my Macbook most of the time via Linn Kazoo Control Point app. I occasionally use roon to stream TIDAL content – I have roon installed on my Macbook and Roon bridge on Control PC. Roon is set to use JPLAY Driver as output. Note that in this case playback goes through JPLAY dual PC mode and my main stereo too.
I have my music library (Media Server) running directly on Control PC. Sometimes I also use Linn Kazoo or Kinsky Control Point apps directly on Control PC.
JCAT NET Cards FEMTO are installed in both Control PC & Audio PC and connected directly via JCAT Signature LAN Cable (coming soon). The network connection is on different subnet to isolate it from home network traffic.
Audio PC is headless, located near main stereo system. Output goes through JCAT USB Card FEMTO to my USB DAC.
For more information please check our manual, visit our forum or simply send a mail at support@jplay.eu
About the author
Marcin Ostapowicz is a recognized high-end audio consultant. Computer audio pioneer. Co-creator of the award-winning software, JPLAY. Manufacturer, curator and distributor of high quality audio products. Constantly strives for perfection of sound. Foundations for his breakthroughs finds in areas that others ignore.