CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

Non-Audio Stuff => The Geek Cave: Home Theatre, Computers, and More! => Topic started by: Marvey on June 17, 2015, 02:18:19 AM

Title: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 17, 2015, 02:18:19 AM
Need Windows tablet:

1. Will run JRiver MC with some EQ
2. Have enough CPU for some EQ
3. Can feed something like Modi or GOv2 or Yggy via USB.
4. Preferably cheap or good value
5. 10" or even smaller.


Recommendations?
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Hands on June 17, 2015, 02:25:14 AM
Do you have a Micro Center nearby? They sell cheap tablets under the Winbook brand with full-sized USB ports. The only thing I am not positive about is how much power the ports supply in reality. Otherwise, the newer quad-core Atoms + 2GB of RAM don't even get stressed for me with JRMC. I have had zero issues with my 8" model over the past few months, though I did need to get a BIOS update from MC's site.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/440932/TW802_Tablet_-_Black
http://www.microcenter.com/product/437498/TW100_101_Tablet_-_Black
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: sfoclt on June 17, 2015, 02:30:30 AM
If it's for stationary, I'd make sure it has a separate power input from the USB.  I have an HP Stream 7 that only has a single input so you can't dac it and power it at the same time (I haven't even tried one of my OTG cords on it yet since that's just too unweildy).
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: audiofrk on June 17, 2015, 02:45:48 AM
what about the surface 3?

  its ten inches and stock so not to much useless drivers loaded on.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 17, 2015, 02:50:47 AM
Hmm, thinking I want 8". Do these things run Native Windows and x86 code / drivers? Sorry, stupid question. Haven't kept up with tech. Also they they have 2nd USB for external HD?
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: maverickronin on June 17, 2015, 03:14:25 AM
Do these things run Native Windows and x86 code / drivers? Sorry, stupid question. Haven't kept up with tech.

They make both kinds.  The ones to stay away from are the ones that run Windows RT which is for ARM processors and pretty much nothing much useful runs on them.

The other ones with just Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 have normal x86 or x86-64 processors and run native Windows code.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: audiofrk on June 17, 2015, 03:14:44 AM
you didn't like Anax venue 8?

dell has a newer model, but its thin so I don't no if it can hang with the geek.

http://www.cnet.com/products/dell-venue-8-7000/

opps sorry ^^^^ android.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 17, 2015, 03:33:44 AM
Has the Atom processor improved? It used to be a total POS. In my mind, ATOM = slow.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Anaxilus on June 17, 2015, 03:35:26 AM
Mine is actual 8.1 Pro. Real deal. So it will be Win10 by end of the month. I haven't had any real issues running JRiver off memory but I would feel better with 4GB of RAM rather than 2GB. Like you, I will be running it in my car eventually. Maybe find something with GSM as well with antennae you can disable if need be. Surface will have something like that soon I believe.

No lag for me. Only have issues if I try to multitask like I do on my PC with a zillion tabs and apps open. That's not a processor issue though.

Schiit stuff might be more tricky. You'll have to check current output on the port. Mine doesn't power the Fulla though that may just be because Win8 needs the registry hack to disable MS power saving BS properly. I'll have to try it.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: audiofrk on June 17, 2015, 03:45:47 AM
We're still on Cherry trail right? Supposedly skylake is suppose to bring a lot of architectural improvements as the architecture is scalable. From atom to xeon.

To be honest even with the current architecture I think they  could squeeze so more performance if they used there crystwell edram.  Most manufactures are using lpddr2 or maybe lpddr3 at 2gigs.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: zerodeefex on June 17, 2015, 03:46:12 AM
At 8" the selection is limited. The Iconia w4 is best in practice but the dell is usually $100 or less and works fine. The best you'll do in the 8"form factor is 2GB of RAM so you'll have to optimize the system to do what you want.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 17, 2015, 04:01:23 AM
Like you, I will be running it in my car eventually.

You know exactly what I am thinking. Alpine unit looks dandy, but if source can do the EQ, and I can jigger up a multi-bit bifrost to feed a real amp, I'm going to do that. Hard part is not knowing anything about car amps these days. I don't trust the JL Audio brand.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Anaxilus on June 17, 2015, 04:05:46 AM
I linked you the Butler Audio amps. JL has never made good amps if you ask me. Btw, they are objectivists wrt amps just so you know. I talked to their lead engineer more than 10 years ago. He believes in the whole everything is audibly transparent if it ain't broken BS. The only amp I'd have every used from them would be for subs.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: zerodeefex on June 17, 2015, 04:43:26 AM
I need to dig out my son of frank amp'n stein. God that thing was a beast. I wonder what i could get for that sucker today?
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: maverickronin on June 17, 2015, 01:37:42 PM
Has the Atom processor improved? It used to be a total POS. In my mind, ATOM = slow.

Not sure if they're any faster now, but if you're just playing music it should be be fine.  I never had any issues with audio on my old Atom netbook.  If you go a little bigger I know you get i3's and i5's in the Surface Pros.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Buttercream on June 17, 2015, 04:03:33 PM
Has the Atom processor improved? It used to be a total POS. In my mind, ATOM = slow.

Depends on your bar of reference. 2013's (z2xxx series/clover trail) Atom were too slow to use in desktop mode, 2014's (z3xxx series/bay trail) Atom are 2x that.

I believe Surface 3 is the first one to use cherry trail, CPU performance don't improve much compared to bay trail.

I have no problem with the Surface 3 (4GB/128GB) in desktop mode.

We're still on Cherry trail right? Supposedly skylake is suppose to bring a lot of architectural improvements as the architecture is scalable. From atom to xeon.

To be honest even with the current architecture I think they  could squeeze so more performance if they used there crystwell edram.  Most manufactures are using lpddr2 or maybe lpddr3 at 2gigs.

I doubt skylake would make it to tablets. 2 in 1 tablets yes, but not 8-10 inch tablets.

Cherry trail was announced back in Feb/March. We'll see it's successor next year.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: zerodeefex on June 17, 2015, 04:08:43 PM
The 8" market is a desolate landscape. No one is moving units in volume which is a shame. There's too little demand and not a lot of consumer demand for full devices in this form factor. If it was easier to drop into a cradle and have it magically work with a monitor, keyboard and mouse without a rat's nest of cables, they would be easier to market.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: sfoclt on June 17, 2015, 04:14:19 PM
I know it's possible to mirror a device screen on the desktop monitor or tv, but is it possible to do the opposite in an easy way?  I'd like to use the tablet as a controller for JRiver basically (but using the desktop itself as that feeds into the DAC/amp...).  I have various remote control arrangements, but those depend on seeing the bigger screen.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: maverickronin on June 17, 2015, 04:29:55 PM
I know it's possible to mirror a device screen on the desktop monitor or tv, but is it possible to do the opposite in an easy way?  I'd like to use the tablet as a controller for JRiver basically (but using the desktop itself as that feeds into the DAC/amp...).  I have various remote control arrangements, but those depend on seeing the bigger screen.

The simplest to set up would be to just RDP into the PC from your tablet.

Alternatively, you could mirror the PC to your TV and control it with some kind of wireless air mouse/remote/trackball.  I have my TV set up as a separate monitor and control foobar/Zoom Player with one of these (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-910-001799-M570-Wireless-Trackball/dp/B0043T7FXE).
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Buttercream on June 17, 2015, 04:31:47 PM
The 8" market is a desolate landscape.
(snip)
There's too little demand and not a lot of consumer demand for full devices in this form factor.

Exactly, at this form factor, people don't want windows, they want iPad mini, or the plethora of android/amazon options. I can probably count the number of 8 inch windows 8 tablet with one hand.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 17, 2015, 05:11:16 PM
The Dell Venue 8 Pro is a no-brainer given the super speshel prices right now.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: aufmerksam on June 18, 2015, 02:37:59 PM
where are the dealz? amazon has it for ~140, but its the version with only 1g ram, the 2g version is still $200
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: sfoclt on June 18, 2015, 06:42:27 PM
The simplest to set up would be to just RDP into the PC from your tablet.

Alternatively, you could mirror the PC to your TV and control it with some kind of wireless air mouse/remote/trackball.  I have my TV set up as a separate monitor and control foobar/Zoom Player with one of these (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-910-001799-M570-Wireless-Trackball/dp/B0043T7FXE).


Last night I played around with a few different things.  There is a Unified Remote app/server that has a built-in JRiver remote (can also use Gizmo or similar). 

So......  I ended up retrying Spotify which I hadn't tried since it first came out.  Forgetting for the moment the quality, the interface was what I wanted to explore (and ultimately has the features I wish I could do with JRiver).  Downloaded the desktop client and put the app on both my phone and Kindle.  It was seamless between all of them.  I could stop listening at one device and pick up at the other if I wanted, or I could control the desktop from the phone/Kindle.  (Also downloaded Fidelify to get asio/wasapi from Spotify).
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Hands on June 18, 2015, 06:54:21 PM
Since it was asked, the new quad core atoms with 2gb are pretty zippy for anything that isn't too intensive. JRMC with EQ won't make them sweat at all. I don't even think companies put out Windows RT tablets, so no worries there. Gonna be full 8.1. I like my cheap Winbook model because it has two USB ports. One micro for charging and OTG, the other full sized for everything else. Hard to beat for $100ish. If anyone wants some and doesn't live nearby a Micro Center, I can pick one up and ship for free next time I'm in Denver.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Anaxilus on June 18, 2015, 07:02:58 PM
RT is pretty much dead. MS knows it was a stupid idea. Among many they've had. if you don't know what I mean, go look at the new Clippers logo.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: maverickronin on June 18, 2015, 07:09:16 PM
Last night I played around with a few different things.  There is a Unified Remote app/server that has a built-in JRiver remote (can also use Gizmo or similar). 

Didn't even know that since I'm a foobar guy.  Did it work out well?

RT is pretty much dead. MS knows it was a stupid idea. Among many they've had. if you don't know what I mean, go look at the new Clippers logo.

They are making a version of W10 that's supposed to run on a Raspberry Pi though...
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Deep Funk on June 18, 2015, 07:17:08 PM
There are some Asus Windows tablets which could be decent, even the older ones.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: sfoclt on June 18, 2015, 07:18:12 PM
Didn't even know that since I'm a foobar guy.  Did it work out well?

I didn't finish the JRiver remote exploration since I got side-tracked with Spotify.

I also was wiling to wait a bit on getting the JRiver remote set up since I just ordered this new Dell Inspiron Micro desktop:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-3050-micro-desktop/pd

It's not great spec-wise, but I had a lot of Dell rewards that were going to expire yesterday that I had to use, so only out of pocket $80.  Figured worth trying out.  I'm going to make it a dedicated audio unit so once it comes in I'll try to get all the JRiver tweaks right.



Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 19, 2015, 01:46:51 AM
... if you don't know what I mean, go look at the new Clippers logo.



NOOOOOOOOOO! That's a joke right? Ballmer's fucking with us?
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: sfoclt on June 19, 2015, 02:06:40 AM
Well, the old logo made it look like one was rooting for the Lippers.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Anaxilus on June 19, 2015, 02:07:06 AM


NOOOOOOOOOO! That's a joke right? Ballmer's fucking with us?

Oh yes...the CLAws!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftgAG3Vnif8

I would have preferred:

(http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--QYKAGoe5--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/853673892343425713.jpg)
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Thad E Ginathom on June 19, 2015, 11:18:23 AM
Windows. Why?
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Marvey on June 19, 2015, 04:58:13 PM
JRiver MC player. I know a lot of people like foobar. I want something which requires absolutely zero configuration, downloads all album images correctly 99.99% of the time, comes with every plug-in I need, can resample DSD to PCM, have good parametric EQ, and can handle almost any format, except for Nintendo NES images.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Anaxilus on June 19, 2015, 05:06:02 PM
Mine came with Office Suite too. Good to have x86 that's not a laptop in general. The integrated news, sports, health and food feeds are nice too. People really don't need 3-4 different OSes and 5-6 different MM devices to juggle in their lives. If I had LTE on my tablet I'd probably ditch my phone.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: sfoclt on June 19, 2015, 06:04:35 PM
Yeah, I ended up with my Windows tablet because I needed to buy another Office license for the office, so the tablet was like a $20 throw-in worth experimenting with.  It also gives me another legit Windows license if I need it.

Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Anaxilus on June 19, 2015, 06:19:28 PM
Yeah, a free Windows 10 license no less.
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: maverickronin on June 19, 2015, 07:29:02 PM
Windows. Why?

JRiver MC player. I know a lot of people like foobar.

Foobar is windows only for now too.  They are developing a mobile version for iOS/Android/WinRT though.

It's not like VST plugins I use in foobar would run on those other platforms either so Windows it is...
Title: Re: Need Windows tablet that will run JRiver MC with some EQ and have USB
Post by: Maxvla on July 01, 2015, 01:02:21 AM
Might be a bit large at 11 inches but the tablet I bought (Acer Iconia W700) works very well with anything I throw at it. It has an Intel i5 and 128GB of onboard flash. It sold in 2013 for about $1300 but you can get it now at Rakuten for just over $600. I've updated to 8.1 only needing 1 slight tweak, and have had the Windows 10 thing sitting in my system tray for a while now. I suppose I will do it when I get home from my trip.

The nice thing about this unit is it comes with a multi-position dock that expands its single usb 3.0 into 3 usb 2.0 ports, so I can use an external hard drive, dac and whatever else all at the same time. It also comes with a multi-position notebook-style cover with an attached Bluetooth keyboard which I am currently typing on.

Here's the Rakuten link:

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/acer-iconia-w700-53314g12as-tablet-pc-11-6-in-plane-switching-ips/246952478.html?listingId=-1&sclid=pla_google_rakuten.com&adid=29963&gclid=CNyTyeDUuMYCFQiQaQodBVIFrQ

pictures of me using it at meets (in the reclined position):

http://cdn.head-fi.org/7/78/78bc1f09_DSC_0921.jpeg
http://cdn.head-fi.org/e/eb/ebf32765_DSC_0953.jpeg
http://cdn.head-fi.org/5/54/549e83bb_IMG_2191.jpeg