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[jdw57]

I have a modern computer.
Very modern amplifier (Anthem).
Yet when playing music via the USB audio connection I intermittently get the problems I've seen mentioned elsewhere.
Click/pop when changing tracks.
Skipping.
Sound cutting out.

I've read the posts and the replies/suggestions about how to fix this.
I've increased buffer time.
I output all music at the same 96kHz rate, so the amp isn't having to switch decoding.
A paid upgrade to V31 did nothing to improve things.
The USB audio connection protocols are clearly not robust.
This problem NEVER happened when I was using an audio output from my computer on any version of JRiver on any of my platforms.
Not enough of a coder to know if this can be fixed by correcting an error, or if the entire USB engine needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

[craigmcg]

I'm no expert but I'm running Media Center 31 (now moving to 32) by USB on 3 different pcs to USB DACs with no issues. Normally the audio connection to something like an Anthem receiver is by HDMI using bitstreaming. Can you provide more information on your system?

Craig

[Awesome Donkey]

Do the clicks/pops when changing tracks happen all the time (e.g. changing from a track with the same sample rate to another of the same sample rate) or does it happen when let's say you play a 44.1 kHz track then you play a 96 kHz or DSD track? If it happens with tracks of the same sample rate that would be a bit strange, but if it happens when changing from one PCM sample rate to another or from PCM to DSD (or DSD to PCM) that's actually normal with some DACs unfortunately.

The other things described are... concerning. I've used multiple DSD DACs over the years with MC and not had a single issue like described. And in all honesty this doesn't sound like a software issue at all, it sounds like an issue on the hardware side. Have you tried changing USB cables? Changing USB ports on your PC, preferably one on a different USB controller? Sometimes if you use multiple USB ports on the same USB controller are are using them all at the same time it can cause bandwidth/bottlenecking issues and switching to a USB port that's on another USB controller can sometimes help in those cases. Ultimately it doesn't sound like an MC (software) issue, it sounds more like a hardware and/or cable issue.

[markf2748]

I've been playing from JRiver to a RME ADI-2 DAC FS over USB for several years (mainly 44.1 KHz), nearly daily, always on the latest JRiver versions, and never experienced any of your issues.  The closest I came, with lots of pops, was a JRiver-driven Wi-Fi connection to a Chromecast Audio connected by SPDIF to another DAC -  that turned out to be a bad SPDIF optical cable.  Though I do experience some communication problems when using JRiver to recognize a CD in an old external USB CD drive (still unresolved).

Have you tested with other players (foobar2000, MusicBee, etc.) over the same USB connection?

[jdw57]

Replying to all three comments, thanks for the interest.
In  no particular order,
Equipment
I have a PC, 12th Gen i7, 23 cores. 20 threads, 32GB of RAM, plenty of horsepower.  I used to run JRiver on far less.
My amp is an Anthem STR integrated amplifier.  Modern digital processing.  You can look up the specs, it has no trouble handing USB input.

The source music is naturally not all at the same bitrate/depth, but the point is that I have JR resample it all to the same 96 kHz, so if JRiver is doing what it says, the amp is not seeing any change in sample rate, ever.  It should all leave the computer at 96kHz.

I use a USB connection because the HDMI output I use for video to my TV/monitor.  I don't want to root the sound through the TV on the way to the amp.  I like to be able to leave music playing and turn off the TV entirely.
Regarding the skip/dropouts, these are considerable less frequent since I've upped the buffering, but they still happen occasionally when I just sitting and listening to music.  Presumably the computer is doing something n the background an JRiver goes AWOL for a bit, but that never used to happen before I went to the USB transfer.

While the occasional skip is annoying, usually the music jumps forward a second or so - not a problem with file because if a go back and play it again, it doesn't happen.  But the tick/pop that happens when I skip forward from the middle of a track to the next song or start a song, sometimes even when nothing has been playing is very, very annoying.  Particularly at higher volumes.

Someone would have to work pretty hard to convince me that the noises that happen between tracks as described above aren't the failure of the program that is supposed to be delivering a seamless 96 kHz stream to the amp, but I'm open to been showing how to make it go away.

Thanks for your time.

[JimH]

Try 48 Khz.  Specs are sometimes not accurate.

Try HDMI, just to see what you learn.

My PC at home is connected by HDMI to a 10 year old receiver and from there to the TV.  I have no problem turning off the TV when I'm playing music.  Most equipment should handle this without problems.

[craigmcg]

Based on the fact that you're using a stereo amp with no HDMI, I'd try setting the DSP in Media Center to 2 channel output but leave the output Encoding to none if Jim's suggestions don't help. You could also try using an optical SP/DIF cable connection assuming that your PC has an optical out. In my 3 systems using USB audio to either Schiit Bifrosts or Topping DACs before the amps, I use no output encoding and set the number of channels to match the system and I get no issues. Schiit Audio has some USB problem related info  at https://www.schiit.com/guides/usb-problems that might be helpful.

[DJLegba]

If you're using an "audiophile" USB cable replace it with a standard cable.

[jdw57]

I feed all audio through this setup using the web ( firefox, chrome) for streaming from many sources, as well as vlc player, windows media player, audio only, audio with video...from files on my system.
Clearly the amp sees material with different bit rates, but the problems only happen on JRiver.

[Awesome Donkey]

Nobody else has reported anything like that, and to be honest it really sounds more like a hardware issue, not a software issue. Have you tried changing cables?

[michael123]

To me it sounds like a driver issue..

 to be sure you are running the driver from here
https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/model=str-integrated-amplifier/page=reviews

And followed instructions
https://www.anthemav.com/downloads/anthem-str-integrated-amplifier-manual.pdf

they have detailed instructions for foobar2000


If you did all that and it works flawlessly with foobar but you still experience issues with JRiver, then come back here

[michael123]

Nobody else has reported anything like that, and to be honest it really sounds more like a hardware issue, not a software issue. Have you tried changing cables?

I heard, but it was related to driver/configuration usually