Am I missing something in terms of SQ because I haven't updated SnakeOil?

[koko6969koki]

Hello everyone,


I'm still running Ubuntu 16.04.7 LTS with 4.4.9-rt17-snakeoil-k64 realtime kernel.

Firmware is 1.2.1 (Gear Isolation U1) with LMS 8.3.0 and Squeezelite Ralph player.


From reading some of the posts on this forum, I got the impression that v16 is still the best sounding version of Ubuntu, especially with the custom SnakeOil realtime kernel.

Everything is rock solid and the sound quality is excellent.

I haven't installed the newer SnakeOil firmwares because everything I need works just fine.


My goal is to achieve the best sound quality with LMS/Squeezelite. I'm not interested in the other avaliable players (MPD, HQP, etc)


My question is: am I missing something strictly in terms of sound quality because I haven't updated to the latest SnakeOil firmware running on a more modern Ubuntu?

...And what is the latest most stable SnakeOil firmware version, with the least ammount of unsolved bugs?

Thanks in advance!

[agent_kith]

Hello everyone,


I'm still running Ubuntu 16.04.7 LTS with 4.4.9-rt17-snakeoil-k64 realtime kernel.

Of the 3 16.x, 18.x and 20.x. 16.x is the best sounding.

One would argue 22.x with low latency kernel is actually pretty good. Regardless with the passage of time Snakeoil will have no choice but to move ahead to 22.x 

If you like what you're hearing, it's best to keep your exisitng setup. If you have the urge to tinker, I would suggest buying another SSD and try out 22.x with the latest version of Snakeoil.. At the end of the day, the choice is yours to make. As per Snakeoil's motto: designed by us, defined by you. You get to make the shots.

[hkphantomgtr]

It's very easy to install SO and try it out.  If the sound doesn't please one's ears, then just install the previous one again.  In comparing with the time spent on trial, the installation time doesn't mean a thing.