I'm using Audirvana, and after a year of systemwide, it occurred to me to try the plugin instead. Most importantly, it sounds cleaner, like it's going through less software. But also, finally it's autoswitching my sample rate to match the source. As a plugin only there's very little detriment to using the EQ. A lot less restricted than through the systemwide driver, actually.
Audirvana in ASIO mode is really something. There hadn't been player software this good before. The streaming services have lousy sounding players, and Audirvana's integration of a couple of them is really a godsend for streaming. Very little impact vs radio streaming, and uses the same gear as always after the modem. If only they would let the player decompress the received flac to a hard drive, and then just play that. Internet and compression noise would be gone, and you could be playing an unaltered copy of the original. If you don't mind flac, you don't know the uncompressed version very well. They're noisy about every sound. Digital listeners need to understand that you're supposed to be a slacker listening to that stuff, but any compression is making you feel like killing anyone who doesn't think that's what it's supposed to be.
When someone releases something from tape at 384k, it's going to be a burn on whoever's digital-only original wasn't that rate. There will always be a burn that it was on tape, however.
Vinyl would suck, to me. I have endlessly variable playlists, and am defeating FM with streaming services.
The hit I take that I accept not to complain about for the excellent EQ almost vanishes when using the plug-in only. The Systemwide virtual driver system loses transparency.
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