Maestro is serious music management software developed—and now fully modernized—by Paul McGowan.
If you want to manage your music collection locally while also integrating streaming services, Maestro aims to offer exactly that. According to its creator, the software is optimized for bit-perfect playback, with as little software interference as possible between “you” and your DAC. It is further claimed that streaming via Qobuz using Maestro delivers superior results compared to virtually anything else.
McGowan says the philosophy behind the platform is simple: interfere with the original audio signal as little as possible. No DSP, no resampling, no unnecessary decoding and re-encoding. As mentioned, the software works with both streaming services and locally stored tracks—for example on a NAS—and once again, nothing is altered at the source level.
Ella thinks along with you
Another feature is Ella, an AI assistant that—again according to its creator—is capable of genuinely understanding your musical taste and listening preferences. It is intended to leave conventional “smart playlists” far behind. For example, you can tell Ella what mood you are in, and even correct the generated playlist while it is playing.
Should you still want to influence the sound source, you can optionally enable the Prism Remastering Suite within Maestro. This does introduce DSP functionality, but offers interesting options for those who want it. Features include a 10-channel parametric equalizer and—even horror of horrors—loudness compression, alongside high-quality upsampling. All of it is designed, according to the platform’s website, with the audiophile listener in mind.
At the time of writing, an annual subscription to the software costs €89, which remains quite reasonable for serious users.