HQPlayer's Network Audio Adapter

[jroyer]

Does anyone know if hqplayer works with audiophile optimiser?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[jroyer]

Yes, many of us AO users are also HQPlayer users. They are a very nice combination. Phil has even worked with Jussi to create a nice HQPlayer shell option within the setup.

 

Thanks! I just discovered HQPlayer this week-end (been using JRiver and Audirvana+) and quite frankly I am amazed so far how good it sound! On my PC it sound better then JRiver and on my Mac mini it sound as good or even better then Audirvana with my DAC... So obviously I will continue to experiment with it. Just dont find library management very user friendly but I probably dont know how to do it properly. Right now just dragging each song one at a time!!!!

[jroyer]

And this is precisely why so many people use Roon with HQP. I hated spending all that money Roon but HQP sounds so good that it was worth it to have a much nice user interface.

Is there an easy way to learn how to integrate both together? I feel I am starting from far compared to you guys! Until a few days ago I had not realized we could use two separate software together one for the Audio and one from the library management. My life has been contained to Audirvana+ on a Mac and JRiver on a PC. Nothing wrong with them per say, but testing the HQPlayer on both my Mac and PC is making me question my current setup.

 

From the HQPlayer manual I could not easily find how to integrate with the likes of a Roon...or others. I guess I can scan every post on it in CA forums !

[jroyer]

Super easy. Install Roon. Select HQP as the output device in Roon settings. Sit back and enjoy!

 

Thanks. Will try it tonight. The Roon install program keeps crashing on my Windows 8.1 PC (likely because I have not done any updates for several years!) so I will install Roon on my Mac mini first where I also have HQPlayer and that PC has latest software versions...

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

[jroyer]

I am new to HQPlayer. I like what I ear so far but to compare with my Audirvana+ setup on which I oversampler to DSD128 with no problem, I still need to figure out how to oversample to DSD128 with HQPlayer. Untill I crack the code on this one A+ sound better.

 

I am actually able to upsample to 5.6M with HQPlayer but something must be wrong in my setup because I eard noise or should I say 1 sec of sound then noise then 1 sec of sound etc...My DAC has no issue when I upsample to 5.6M using A+. ANyone has insights?

[jroyer]

Ok, after reading this thread and educating myself on HQPlayer and NAA I was able last night to setup HQPlayer on my PC with Roon and install NAA on my Windows Server 2012 R2 based music server which connects to my DAC. The PC running HQPlayer does not have a linear supply and currently using a cheap power cord... I really see the potential with this setup, albeit a bit more complex then my previous Mac Mini only setup going directly to my DAC.

 

My question is: when using a setup with NAA, how important is the PC running Roon and HQPlayer for the best audio result? By that I mean, I always use linear power supply on the computer I use to feed USB to my DAC and making sure I use a good power cord (such as Shunyata cable) and even plug my linear supply into my Shunyata Triton/Typhons combo - aka I treat my computer like any audio equipment... But when I use NAA since the main processing is done on a computer not in my audio setup (in this case in my office) and since the signal is sent through the Ethernet connection and on my home network, how important to the sound is the computer running the actual HQPlayer doing all the processing? Do folks running this setup (aka using NAA) what did you find improve/influence sound?

 

For example:

 

1- should I pay as much attention to power cord, linear power supply, USB cable and such for the computer in my office as much as I do for the computer running NAA and connecting to my DAC?

 

2- Does the network router "quality" have an influence here? Should I use a linear supply for it?

 

3- How about the Ethernet cable? I am using a standard cable from a computer shop...should I find a "better" Ethernet cable?

 

Any recommendation on what should be the optimum hardware setup to support my NAA configuration? I already made sure the computer using the NAA has a linear supply, it has a SOtM usb audio card to feed my DAC etc...

 

Thanks in advance for any insight. I hope these questions are relevant to this thread. If not please let me know where I should post this! I am only aiming to get the best possible result in a HQPlayer using NAA configuration...

[jroyer]

IME, the PS to the NAA makes a difference, the PS to the Roon/HQP server not really. Makes sense, that's sort of the whole point of the NAA.

 

Router- I think the main issue is does the router inject noise back into the AC which can effect your other components. So I'd orient my efforts toward that.

 

Ethernet cable - controversial issue. At the least insure your cable meets spec. Many off the shelf ones don't, and some expensive audiophile ones also don't. BlueJeans are a relatively inexpensive one that does meet spec and come with test measurements to prove it; or find a fancier one that meets spec.

 

Alright thanks! I will start there. My NAA machine already has a linear supply but I will check my Ethernet cable...

[jroyer]

It may be interesting for you if you are so inclined to check out fiber optic between the router and NAA. Doing so will theoretically remove any noise traveling down the ethernet cable. I recently added fiber and was pleased with the results, especially considering it cost me less than $75. I have since added a fiber switch and fiber to my pc running HQ Player as well. YMMV.

 

Great idea! Would you be able to point me to what I would need to buy and where could I source this? What sort of improvement did you get feeding NAA computer? Now you got me excited!

[jroyer]

Ha ha! My nerdy side got excited to try this tweak too even if it didnt result in any audio benefit. The result I got was a more relaxed sound, without necessarily losing dynamics. It is really hard to explain to but I found myself listening at higher volumes. Music just sounded more pleasing.

 

Anyway, check out this thread for more info:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f22-networking-networked-audio-and-streaming/optical-network-configurations-24641/

 

In a nutshell you will need the following:

2 x FMC (I use TP-Link MC-220L)

2 x SFP (I bought some from ebay here)

2 x short ethernet cable (I use 1 ft Blue Jeans Cat6 cables)

1 x fiber cable (I bought some from ebay here)

 

Some people have also purchased Jameco linear wall wart power supplies for the FMC. I use my HDPlex linear.

 

I personally use multi-mode but you can use single-mode as well. For our application and distances multi-mode is fine. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share this! A more relaxed sound is always good! I will start ordering stuff!

[jroyer]

First impression:

- HQP DSD256 + NAA more analytically detailed, wide and open, slightly more fatiguing

- HQP DSD128 + JPLAY a little warmer, 'together', easier on the ear (I guess they call that 'analogue')

It is a close call and I will experiment with different HQP settings before making a final verdict. Or maybe I will switch depending on the material.

 

bodiebill, what settings are you using with JPLAY when you feed it from HQP? I found also that some DSD upsample settings in HQP with a NAA sound more analytical and less analog then another setup I use for DSD upsample using Audirvana+. So I am sure I have not found the best tuning yet!

 

Thanks!