Having only relatively recently got computer audio to sound proper high end sound, I have just got around to trying to trying JPlay again. I have done a lot with PC sound/video (using the RME hammerfall PCI sound card) but only analogue/spdif out in the past 10 years. So now I have tried it and Fidelizer 4 on async USB.
My findings are based only on my current new system upgrade (previous system much more costly Naim):
PC + Asus P67 MB, i7 2600 4 core cpu, 16Gb ram. The audio rips are DBpoweramp to an installed 3Tb hdd.
The Leema 64bit driver is used with Win 7 64.
This system configuration already gives a very full but detailed superb sound. So this should be taken into consideration with the observations below.
Both add ons give an easily discernible different sound (with JRiver, Foobar and others, with WASAPI, KS and ASIO). The sound is larger, richer, fuller, apparently smoother and bring the vocals forward. The extreme settings work with both these add-ons and seem to exaggerate the effects further.
So initially a couple of weeks back for JPlay 5 and several days back for Fidelizer, like many others, I thought yes they could well do what they say on the tin. However, now after more late night comparative listening sessions I am moving more towards the JRiver “hoax” and an extra layer of processing view. This comes after comparing using the CD player playing the tracks as a reference (it has the same DAC technology as standalone Leema Precision DAC).
With and without, all settings sound great and this is what makes it so difficult to tell, but I am now hearing that the two add-on programs in changing the sound are smoothing off the important edges, merging/smearing the image, reducing the dynamics, feelings and power in vocals. This is not good and tends to make you think that without is more fundamentally accurate and better long term. (?)
You would think that Fidelizer would mess less with media players/audio driver less than JPlay (it does not show in JRiver, does not have “engines”, and does not run in the background (go to msconfig > services) (?)). It’s counter intuitive that stopping PC processes would mess up the sound but what other things are the add ons doing?
To compare, I have been stopping Fidelizer.exe and JPlay.exe using crl+alt+del > task manager > services to “end process” for the audiophile settings but reboot for extreme).
I am leaning towards Fidelizer 4 being the better add on of the two notwithstanding the above – a more refined sound.
So, in conclusion, I have not given up on the add ons yet and will listen more but a picture is emerging.
