To me, the best audio quality, easy to use and reliable.
No upsampling, no streaming, no NAS, just local files on an USB HDD, and absolutely zero bugs !
Plus the remote is top to me, showing the album art and skip songs.
Voilà 
1 Like
So far this is first genuine positive opinion !
Great stuff !
I bought license because of those mentioned by you values.
To play local files !
That’s it ! That’s all !
1 Like
Thank you very much Derek for these interesting links.
VLC plays Mother Earth radio and it sounds good. I can not play it with Foobar, because Foobar on Mac has very limited features, and you can not expand them with plug-ins and add-ons like on a PC.
Though I am a Mac user, I have a modern Dell Work Station. I use it only for a single professional software that does not exist on Mac. If there is a new Covi-19 confinement, I may try to install Foobar on my Dell and try to configure it, just for the fun. 
Thank you also for the link to the download site. I’ll download some MQA and DSF files of the same recordings to listen to how they render and differ.
I have used JRiver for many years to access my own files on a NAS drive. Very recently I left a Tidal trial as their master level was flavoured MQA mostly and not lossless FLAC.
I then went to Qobuz which I had only used to buy downloads from previously. But I soon realized that Qobuz player was not great with Win 10 and I tended to lose the connection to my music when I changed from Qobuz to JRiver and back. I had had on and off connection issues with JRiver previously but had ploughed on because I liked the sound - kernel streaming etc.
But looking around I discovered that Audirvana came with Qobuz support, and after installation of the 3.5 trial software, I was up and running very quickly. Apart from the sound quality, what impressed me was the ability to change from Qobuz to my own NAS music and back without any problems whatsoever. Mo more disconnects.
On Thursday, I was about to buy the software when I learned that soon Audirvana 3.5 would be superceeded by subscription only Audirvana Studio. Now would it be worth it to buy the stand-alone installed 3.5 then? While I was wavering, the software purchase option was removed, so when I tried to access the page on Friday, I was unable to buy the stand-alone software. Hmm.
I’m 58 so I like to own my music and my software. So I am really stumped now.
I like the interface and sound quality of Audirvana 3.5 and it seems that Audirvana Studio will implement a feature that I have long had with JRiver - Kernel streaming. But is that worth getting onto the wheel of subscription for?
I’m not afraid to experiment on my Mac computers, because I’m very familiar with this platform as I use it since the late 80s. But I’m not very familiar with the architecture of Windows. When I use my PC, its just because I need to use one of two professional applications that are necessary for my work and that are better than anything existing on Mac. It happens to me once or twice a year. (By the way, I use these specialized tools on a subscription model, and the cost of the subscription is more than 100 Euros per month for each application!)
But I think that configuring Foobar should be an interesting by itself and a pleasant way for me to familiarize with the architecture of the PC platform. So I’ll try to do it.
99% of the difference between playerA and playerB is the GUI and the ergonomics within its design. That small 1% makes up the difference in sound.
I play with Audirvana purely for variety, like having multiple sets of headphones, tubes or wire. Its only for the sake of the hobby and for the occasional change.
As for formats, I’ve not heard of too many people who store their music in 5, 10, 15 or 20 different formats. But I guess some people like the variety of playing different formats. To each there own I guess.
There is some music that is available for download in one particular format and it is impossible to find it in the same format all the time.
I can not play only DSD or only Flac, Monkey , etc or any other format only.
Audirvana , Roon, Foobar 2000 , J river is playing most of those formats so it doesn’t matter in what kind of format is stored on the hard drive.
It is all about ability to listen that particular piece of music.
Yes ! this is true !
No more version 3.5 available for download.
I was thinking same way as you Rosewind and decided little bit earlier on Tuesday before noon New York time to buy License.
Tomorrow probably I am going to try new Audirvana Studio.
I am very excited to try this new version being little older than you.
I am 62 ouch !
It doesn’t matter to me if that new version will be better or worse than other programs.
It is all included in this audio obsession of mine.
Some people watching sports all the time and I am listening to all kind of music in free time.
I don’t now what it is but when I am playing something thru Audirvana software it is pure joy.
It is hard to describe for me.
I am not that good as John Darko or Audiophiliac Steve Gutenberg to magnify with words my sonic experience.
2 Likes
Nice to see that at least another man use a MBP with iFi micro iDSD Black Label DAC like me. Only difference: I use Sennheiser HD 800 as headphones. 
Thank you !
I am new here and just learning how to navigate thru this forum.
Really appreciate your help providing those links.
I downloaded that package for mac also.
Planning to get new Mac mini.
Now Windows only
Just bought license last Tuesday
Seems the promise to keep it free kinda got forgotten about over the years…Oh well thats progress.
Its the 17th here where I am and still no Studio download. Is there going to be a drop time posted?
5 Likes
Nice image: “… and will remain free” 
2 Likes
Software Companies are good at not telling the truth, appearantly Audirvana is no different
2 Likes
Now that its not free it sounds better.
More cost = better sound in Audiophile circles.
2 Likes
I like Audirvàna because it is “so transparent” that you can’t even see it on the app’s web site.
2 Likes
You can’t even buy it or subscribe to it.
Just a thought, I wonder if that statement “Audirvana is open source, free software and will remain free”. is binding?
Just sayin, for those who donated…it sounds like an agreement to me.
Well I am trying to be positive !
There is so many possibilities how to configure up sampling that I stopped to believe that is actually working and than BINGO !
I was able to set maximum frequency what my computers motherboard is supporting which is like for most computers 24/192
Now I am playing SACD ISO which is being down sample to pc maximum capability making me very happy
It took me long time to figure it out but now I can not say anything negative about Audirvana Studio.
Same computer with Zen Dac connected is working right away correctly with no tweaking anything.
But real test for me was to check how this software can help plain pc sound built onboard.
So in settings I have WASAPI and in up sampling settings I have custom set up every category is set to go max to 24/192 and NOW MOST IMPORTANT Algorithm is that second one R8brain
With Sox algorithm it didn’t work
I don’t know if this may help to anybody to tweak pc to its maximum capability no use of external DAC
Sound is great and Thank You Audirvana Team for all that work.
It would be good think to have some kind of manual to help understand how to play with all these settings available !
That was 2011. Give the man a break. Audirvana has turned out to be a beautiful software solution for computer driven audio files. Since 2011 it has evolved into an extremely beautiful and sophisticated solution… and getting better every day.
One must be nuanced when wanting everything to be perfect. It gets perfected with each iteration.
It was Nietzsche who cried “God is Dead” as we became Enlightened. Meaning… we realised perfection is attained over time and experience.
If God did exist everything WOULD be perfect and no need for evolution.
One day perhaps we will be gods and I think people like Damien wil be the first to achieve this exalted state.