I have found that Squeeze can be better at telling the truth about recordings - and sometimes the truth isn’t easy to handle. There are plenty of recordings that have a tendency to be hot in the treble. A tradeoff must sometimes be accepted when we pursue transparency as being able to hear more of what’s in the recording can mean that we also notice more of the warts.
I mentioned before using PGGB to offline upscale my music. This actually helps to tame some of the harm that the warts cause. I’ve been able to play even my poor recordings at a higher volume because of this.
Yes, I believe you are onto what it may be. It wasn’t a Patricia Barber track, let’s put it that way. Well then, it is nice to have options- maybe going forward squeeze for the best recordings, and Roon for most of the others, and non-critical browsing. I have alot going on at the moment re-balancing my system due to a number of changes lately, but I plan to check out some other options in time, like HQplayer and this PGGB.
It makes alot of sense that Roon is more forgiving to appeal to more people and systems, whether that is intentional or a necessary side effect of all the additional processing.
Thinking more about this, I believe I have read my Weiss does enjoy an over/upsampled input resolution, it does internally convert to 195khz for the chips anyway, so maybe it would like to be fed a 176.4 khz signal, if that lightens its load? I don’t know much about digital audio to be honest, but a couple of most likely rookie questions come to mind:
Anyone know why Antipodes didn’t offer this as an option, like the Grimm?
I wonder if they could embed this PGGB into the options, like HQ player?
I completely understand and respect that there are numerous configurations that may sound appealing to different individuals. Each person’s perception of good and bad sound quality is subjective and can’t be judged by others.
It’s worth noting that my preference aligns with a few, including Antipodes. I recognize that ROON is widely regarded as the standard, and while Squeeze may not meet everyone’s expectations, it still offers a satisfying listening experience for many. Let’s appreciate the diversity in preferences and continue enjoying our own unique setups for our listening sessions.
It’s great to witness progress happening at Antipodes, and I’m truly grateful for the forward-thinking approach in future-proofing Squeeze as I just learned. This all sounds (and hopefully looks) incredibly promising.
Unarchived 1 hour ago - In preparation for the release of AMSv5.
‘’ We continue to use Squeeze player as embedded default player ‘’ (video)
“Squeeze gets a new Skin which greatly enhances the user experience, we have enabled UPnP on Squeeze Server to enable the use of MPD as a player app combined with Squeeze Server, added as a pre-set.”
(…)
Updated Squeezelite 1.9.9
Improved stable connection with Squeezelite client
Squeezebox server fixes
Updated Logitech Media Server version 8.3.1
Updated Skin for Logitech Media Server (Material Skin)
(…)
No worries, plenty more good stuff to help you utilize your Antipodes however you please:
‘’ All Apps except for Roon (Roon updates Roon) are receiving major version updates, the biggest changes will come in Squeeze and HQPlayer.
Squeeze gets a new Skin which greatly enhances the user experience, we have enabled UPnP on Squeeze Server to enable the use of MPD as a player app combined with Squeeze Server, added as a pre-set.
perhaps. but I don’t believe so. it’s not the interface that causes the SQ issues. The interface just sits there and does nothing until a user interacts with it. It’s all the background activity in roon that seems to interfere. I believe its possible to have a great interface and great SQ - just nobody has delivered it yet
It doesn’t matter how smart you spend your dollars or how many dollars you spend. There is no solution on the market right now that gives me (and others) what we want which is SQ on a par with Squeeze and an interface on a par with Roon. Some of us have to sacrifice either SQ or user experience and I’m not prepared to sacrifice either. So until a solution becomes available I will keep jumping between roon and squeeze and complaining about both
Maybe we can now hope to see sound quality prioritized by Roon. Per their founders:
“At Harman, we’ve been given a mandate to reconnect with our core audience. These are the curators who are passionate about shaping their music collections, the audiophiles who appreciate the nuances of high-performance audio equipment, and the genre experts who depend on Roon to expand their knowledge of music. “
Well if you are a Tidal fan you get something- Right on the heels of the Antipodes AMS5 update, this morning Roon updated to include Tidal Max, or their high-res recordings, so now there are plenty of Tidal 24/192 albums to compete with Qobuz.
*As many of you know, TIDAL introduced its new flagship Max quality tier in the summer of 2023. TIDAL rolled out support for up to 24bit/192 kHz high-quality FLAC streaming to their native apps first, with integration for third-party app partners, like Roon, projected for late 2023.
Many of you have been quite excited to see TIDAL Max become available in Roon, and we’re pleased to announce that the day has arrived with this release! Roon now provides access to the same high-quality content offered by TIDAL’s native applications but with all the added features you love about Roon. If you’re a TIDAL HiFi Plus tier subscriber, you’ll receive the same high-quality streaming content through Roon that was previously exclusive to TIDAL apps.
Roon has worked closely with TIDAL during integration to ensure parity with their treatment of Max quality content - providing a seamless experience and streaming format consistency across the two platforms."
Today, it seems you can’t have both optimal sound quality and an elaborate graphical interface simultaneously. If you ask yourself whether you’d prefer to watch your music or simply listen to it, the choice becomes clearer. Regardless of the software you choose, achieving optimal performance, such as playing local music from a SSD and minimizing network interference, is feasible for obtaining the best sound quality; simply avoid networks and streaming (services)
In the above Roon announcement, they highlighted change of direction by letting go of the internet connectivity requirement and improved performance allowing audiophiles to enjoy their music collections offline and a focus on enhancing features related to personal music libraries rather than non-library streaming content. Additionally, there is no denying that Antipodes just has successfully improved the Squeeze GUI through a recent operating system upgrade, potentially enhancing sound quality as well. To me these promises and concrete advancements suggest a promising future for both sound quality and user experience that you may not have fully recognized. It takes some patience though.
It’s great to have choices/options I’m an avid user of Roon when streaming around my home using multiple different sonos speakers (I’m no sonic snob) for casual &/or background listening. On my main rig ( dac, preamp. Amp & speakers all on the same level/class as my K50) i hear roon clearly holding back what my set up is truly capable of delivering. Everything just sounds more congested. My set up is optmised for delivery of a very open, transpatent and ultimately very natural sound (my own personal preference), On my head phone set up (different again) i have also used roon to “tame” a hot treble on one of the lesser amp/dac configurations i’ve had pass through. So no definitive or right or wrong answer here. For me the only single upside of Squeeze’s clunky GUI is that is that i end up listening more to full albums from start to finish, immersing myself in the music rather than flitting around from one song to next &/or distracted by hunting for the next best thing to listen which i find myself doing almost compulsively when i use roon. If there is such a thing as sonic adhd, then roon is it🙈 So sonics & gear aside, many other different factors to take into account.
Exactly, Tidal already provides the option for pre-buffering individual tracks and entire albums, eliminating the need for a constant server connection (such as Roon always has) during playback. Local files from SSD (Antipodes still recommends Samsung PM893 2.5" SATA - Dec. '23) offer the highest quality sound in Antipodes servers, despite efforts to minimize network interference, which can require significant expertise to optimize your server, your setup and consider all other devices connected to or present within your system. Thus, there’s potential elevated SQ with Tidal if Roon is willing to forego the reliance on an internet connection. It’s crucial to consider network interference within your system as well.
It depends on the reasons behind your dislike. If you’re generally against mergers, that’s one consideration. However, a subscription model like (Harman)/Roon/TidalMAX seems inevitable, though they might also provide an audiophile option. If it enhances sound quality, why not consider it? And remember, you can always substitute Tidal with Qobuz if you prefer.
Do you feel confident about this?? Why is Tidal’s name explicitly mentioned and not other streaming services??? Will all information from Roon’s development be shared correctly with other platforms??? I don’t like the idea of monopoly.
