75 replies to this topic

[BernieK]

Hi Rob,

 

A few things. First, I doubt that selecting the Intel option during JPLAY installation would cause any of the problems (assuming of course that you have an Intel processor). Second, you may be correct in thinking the DAC is the problem. I would definitely try a different DAC that does not require USB-spdif conversion, perhaps you could borrow one from a friend? Third, there is no Fidelizer file called Fidelizer installation exe, I was just referring to it that way. There should be a file that looks something like this Fidelizer Plus X.X (your name).exe. I don't use Fidelizer Plus but assume that it works similarly to Fidelizer Pro. If so, when you run that file, although it starts out to install Fidelizer, it give you the option to uninstall it.

 

Cheers,

 

Bernie

[rmc001]

I just had a look this morning and my laptop is AMD CPU - not Intel - so that was a bit dumb of me not realising and selecting that. I'd previously assumed it was Intel.

But maybe that did something to the JPLAY programme.

Anyway I'm pressing on to explore the options above now.

[Marcin_gps]

That could be an issue

[rmc001]

So I managed to borrow a Topping D50s USB dac but there was no sound and no change to the problem.

That is I downloaded and installed the Topping D50s driver then unconnected connected and restarted - the Topping Control Panel appeared in the task bar but no sound through JPLAYmini. And still nothing happening with JPLAY Femto and Bubble.

However the Topping does show in the 'Playing Via' panel - ie. KS:D50s.

When the DAC-AH was in the system I got a very crackled sound with JPLAYmini.

Since installing the D50s driver Spotify also reverted from Fidelizer to WASAPI and plays clearly thru' the laptop speakers.

http://imgur.com/a/0oVzJ0q

[rmc001]

I don't seem to be able to do a meaningful restore anymore in Windows 8.1 - Microsoft seemed to have neglected 'Restore Points' in 8.1.
And I don't seem to be able to do a "Factory Reset" either as I don't have the original Windows disc (although a technician I've used seemed to achieve that - I've sent him a pm to see if he can do another reset).

But I thought since WASAPI seems to work perfectly shall I try d/loading a fresh JPLAYmini off the JPLAY website.?

The other thing is I could still go and buy a copy of Win 10 and upgrade 8.1.
I tried previously using the MSoft creation media page and not only it didn't upgrade but I think Bubble has stopped appearing on Network.

Too many things being tried I know.

[nik.d]

W8.1 is not something particularly good for audio. Nor are the newest versions of W10. However, think W10 is better solution.

There is still option to have newest W10 for free, as it was offered almost 4 years ago to the people that use M$ assistive technology.

Here is the link to the article on how to do it. Hope it works for you.

 

[NickD]

Well I agree with @nik.d, 8.1 was a total dog IMO. W10, especially the v2004 update is quite good for audio at least.

[BernieK]

If you go with Windows 10, I would start from scratch if possible. I think as blank a slate as you can manage would be the way to go because something in your curent setup seems to be blocking transmission of the music from JPLAY.

 

Uninstall JPLAY and any optimization software before converting to Windows 10. After Windows 10 is up and running, reinstall JPLAY and then the DAC driver (do not connect the computer to the DAC before the driver is installed). Connect the computer to the DAC and see if that will work with Bubble UPnP.  If so, and you want to install any optimization software, go one step at a time checking music playback after each new installation.

 

That way, if any problems arise, it should be much easier to identify the cause.

[rmc001]

If you go with Windows 10, I would start from scratch if possible. I think as blank a slate as you can manage would be the way to go because something in your curent setup seems to be blocking transmission of the music from JPLAY.

Uninstall JPLAY and any optimization software before converting to Windows 10. After Windows 10 is up and running, reinstall JPLAY and then the DAC driver (do not connect the computer to the DAC before the driver is installed). Connect the computer to the DAC and see if that will work with Bubble UPnP. If so, and you want to install any optimization software, go one step at a time checking music playback after each new installation.

That way, if any problems arise, it should be much easier to identify the cause.

Hi,

I've still not quite fully solved my problem - if anyone has more suggestions for me.

As I say I'm nearly there and I really do want to keep my S/PDIF DAC-AH as it really blitzes the equivalent price Topping USB dac in my opinion.

Also at this point I'm wondering if our household modem / router might be to blame. But anyway..

What happened was : I borrowed a proper USB dac - the Topping D50s. I downloaded the driver for it - connected the dac up to the USB outlet on the computer. No sound or nothing..

So I connected up my old DVD player and ran my DAC-AH and the Topping D50s from the S/PDIF out on the back of the DVD player - both dacs work fine.

Okay - so back to the computer. When I re-connected up my DAC-AH I got nice clear sound playing through the USB port playing Spotify. That was without JPLAY. When I tried JPLAY I just got the previous trouble. Either crackling or no sound. The DAC-AH is an old-fashioned S/PDIF dac so it has no driver - it just has a cheap NuForce Udac3 USB to S/PDIF converter in front of it. Obviously nothing wrong with either dac or the S/PDIF converter.

Okay so I think I mentioned that I'd downloaded the Topping dac driver and connected that dac and got no sound. No change there.

So - I took my Acer laptop and went and got it converted to Windows 10. Tried again same tests as above - no change.
So - took Acer back to technician and got hard drive wiped clean. Still no change.

So I thought there must be something wrong with this Acer laptop so I bought a refurbished HP laptop with Win 10 on it. I downloaded Spotify and JPLAY. Both of them install fine.

At this point I found that I had a bad internet problem of 100's of dropouts. The copper technician traced it to a wire joint / plug on the corner of the house that was corroding. And re-terminated and recapped where the plug was. Internet good now.

So onto this HP laptop. I haven't tried the Topping USB dac yet. That can hopefully be tomorrow night. But what I did was run the NuForce / DAC-AH off the laptop and go through all the JPLAY settings (using the Hify app to run JPLAY Femto under Spotify (it's an easier way to run JPLAY for me than ripping discs to play FLAC again). And keeping an eye on Spotify to check it doesn't revert to native i.e. playing without JPLAYFemto.

This was all playing via ks:udac3:

Under ULTRAstream I get music at daclink 10hz and 5hz - but with popping noises. No other daclink no's work on that engine.

Xtream I actually get clear music playing at 200hz - great sound - and no scratchiness or anything but then the music stops. 100hz seems better but then it still jumps around. When I re-tried both of these I couldn't seem to get them to work.

Classic I get music at 5hz but crackling and only worked once.

So that's where I'm at. I've yet to see if the Topping dac works. It was interesting going at one point from Spotify to Spotify under JPLAY - that was a huge boost in SQ.

Aside from that any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks. Rob.

BTW: When I say "no music" I usually mean that Spotify (under JPLAY) is buffering or jumping around - like its a stability issue. (I wonder if WS2019 would fix it?)

R.

[Thuan]

Thanks Rob for sharing your experience.  May I suggest you try Tidal or Qobuz for a further boost in SQ, broader range of music and probably higher stability of streaming & JPLAY settings?

[rmc001]

Thanks Rob for sharing your experience. May I suggest you try Tidal or Qobuz for a further boost in SQ, broader range of music and probably higher stability of streaming & JPLAY settings?

Thanks. Yes Spotify is only low quality but it's very convenient for me investigating music before purchasing. But I will probably start ripping my cd's again to FLAC Uncompressed.
To me Tidal and Qobuz are costly.

[rmc001]

Okay.

I downloaded the driver for the Topping dac onto the new laptop and it ran with JPLAY straight away.

So it's sorted now.

The NuForce S/PDIF converter (and therefore DAC-AH) isn't compatible with JPLAY.

Don't suppose anyone knows of a S/PDIF converter that does work with JPLAY?

[Thuan]

Plenty of them work with JPLAY.  Mutec+, SOtM, Singxer, just to name a few.

[rmc001]

Plenty of them work with JPLAY. Mutec+, SOtM, Singxer, just to name a few.

Great. Thank you. 👍

[rmc001]

I've got "licence expired" and JPLAY not working. can anyone suggest anything. I've uninstalled and reinstalled restarting both times..

[BernieK]

Hi rmc001,

 

License activation is tied to the computer setup when you first activate JPLAY Femto. So first, have you changed any hardware or drivers since you activated JPLAY? If so that could be the problem and I suggest you contact JPLAY Support (support@jplay.eu) and explain the situation. You may need a new activation key.

 

If nothing has been changed, did you use the following procedure?

1. The PC must be connected to the internet to renew the license.
2. Next, with an active internet connection on the PC, run TurboActivate.exe in the JPLAY folder on the PC.
3. If you get a message that activation was successful on the PC, either reboot the PC or stop and then restart the JPLAY Audio Service on the PC. Do not open JPLAYSettings until you have done this. The license should be renewed.

If this did not work, I suggest that you download a fresh copy of the JPLAY installation exe, uninstall the existing copy, install the new copy and after rebooting the PC repeat steps 2 and 3.

 

Cheers,

 

Bernie