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Linux vs. Windows

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Zachik:
I have been using MC24 on Windows 10 for a year+ and bought the upgrade license to MC26 when it became available, but did not upgrade yet.
Now, I am debating between upgrading to MC26 on my Windows 10 and installing Linux and use it instead (with MC26).
I could not find any comparisons between the Windows and Linux versions, and as importantly - comparisons between Windows and Linux on same PC hardware for music server applications.
Some audiophiles claim that Linux is much better, since it has less threads running in the background that are totally not relevant for music playback. I did see some people discuss migrating from Windows to Linux (of the MC library)...

My questions are:
1. Can someone here share personal opinions as to whether Linux sounded better than Windows ON SAME HARDWARE? I am using Intel NUC 7th gen, BTW.
2. IF moving to Linux - which distro is best for MC26? My NUC is dedicated music server, and used ONLY for running MC.

Thanks!

Awesome Donkey:
It sounds the same on both (and Mac) to me, which is exactly what I'd expect with bit-perfect playback (with no DSP used). If using Linux, make sure you're using the hw: or front: audio outputs in MC, as those will bypass the system mixer and are bit-perfect as long as you're not using any sort of DSP.

As for a distro recommendation, JRiver only officially supports Debian, but it works fine (unofficially) on Ubuntu too. So I'd suggest the latest Ubuntu 19.10 and not something else like Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or Linux Mint 19, because soon MC26 won't run on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or Linux Mint 19 anymore because of dependency changes (older Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and Linux Mint 19 have older dependencies, and MC26 will require newer ones which can't be updated in those older LTS-based distros). So Ubuntu 19.10 or Debian Buster would be my recommendations.

There is of course a Ubuntu and Debian tutorial here: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,123664.0.html

Zachik:
Thanks Awesome Donkey for the very quick response!
Let me clarify my original question:
I did not expect Linux to sound better due to better implementation of MC for Linux.
Some audiophiles claim linux (in general) sounds better because less "stuff" runs in the background, so the OS itself and MC in particular never stutter due to CPU cores being busy running irrelevant processes during music playback.

I guess a related question would be:
If I decide to stay with Win10 - is there a good list of "things to do to optimize your Win10 for music playback"?
Again, my NUC PC is ONLY used for MC playback. I do not use it as a generic PC, so I can optimize it for music (and MC) playback!

Thanks,
Zachi.

RemyJ:
There are a few things that still down't work in the Linux versions, like drag and drop and decent portable support so if you need those, stick to Windows.  Also if you move to Linux, your media paths will probably all need to be changed.  Just some things to think about.

Zachik:
Got it. Guess I will just stay with windows!

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