Here the summary:
Matt
2 Likes
I watched the video and they contacted us but can’t tell you more about it 
2 Likes
I had the opportunity to retest Roon in comparison with Audirvana Studio, this time with a very good DAC / headphone amplifier (Fiio K9 ESS Pro, direct USB connection) or with a Naim Uniti via UPNP and the Remote App.
In my opinion, sound quality with Studio in Kernel mode is clearly better than with Roon. Another clear advantage for Studio is the browsing of local music directories. In terms of User Interface, Roon may look nicer, but to me it is much less straightforward to use than AS. Roon adds lots of features, but I find it very confusing when Roon changes the cover picture or genre of my local albums, for example. After a few bugs at launch, I find Studio now very reliable with my configuration.
So I am a happy user of 3.5 and now Audirvana Studio, waiting for useful new features.
6 Likes
As you use both 3.5 and Studio would you care to elaborate about SQ differences between both?
Thanks
Matt
In fact, I am a former user of Audirvana 3.5, now user of Studio : there is no point in continuing to use 3.5 as long as one subscribes for AS, since I find the QS and the set of features better with AS. However, when comparing AS (Kernel streaming mode) to 3.5 (ASIO) in terms of QS, I found that the sound in general is a little clearer with AS, with deeper low-medium / bass. But this was not based on blind tests , so it is possibly subjective.
3 Likes
Is this after the latest 2.1 upgrade?
I don’t know, but after the 2.1 update it seems that there was a deterioration in the sound quality.
Has something been changed?
Email I had from Audirvana this morning says that the latest 2.1 Mac has been optimised for Ventura - updating my headless audio only Mac Mini reluctantly as I type
Does this mean that 2.1 sounds worse with all former OS than Ventura?
Matt
Do we have with Audirvana now the same ups and downs as with Roon?
Matt
I was already using OS Ventura when I upgraded to v2.1
In my opinion the sound quality has deteriorated after this update.
I’m with Origin, but in terms of sound, it’s the same as Studio.
So, perhaps there IS an advantage to being on a PC
Funny………. Headless MacMini user here and l found that after the update a HUGH improvement in sound! So here we go again, one’s hearing abilities are so unreliable 
We have this kind of discussions with every new release.
2 Likes
I’ve updated several times and never noticed this problem with the sound quality.
That’s why I would like to know if it’s a placebo effect, or if there was any modification.
I have to test that out then. My 2017 MacBook Air is still on Monterey and on AS 2.0. Haven’t tried my new ZEN DAC on it yet, just on my M1 MacBook Pro running Ventura, and on AS 2.1.
Have you read the newest newsletter that just came out? You all might actually be onto something. Perhaps not the usual audiophile psychosomatic syndrome?
Quote from the email I just received
The software and its playback engine have been optimized in the latest 2.1 update for both Windows and MacOS, taking advantage of the latest capabilities available on both environments. This applies to all Windows computers, and Macs updated to MacOS Ventura.
Highly unlikely 
4 Likes
I can think of one advantage that Windows has over macOS. That’s with games.
1 Like
Hmm. Hooked up my ZEN DAC V2 to my 2017 MacBook Air which is running on Monterey 12.6.1. AS 2.0 was still installed on it. Listened to a few tracks before updating to 2.1. And I couldn’t make out differences here.
Now I have to test both my MacBooks I guess. My Air running AS 2.1 on Monterey 12.6.1 and my MacBook Pro running AS 2.1 on Ventura 13.0.1