HQPlayer's Network Audio Adapter

[pkane2001]

3 minutes ago, tboooe said:

Did you set the option to the checkmark or the filled in box?  I ask because when I set Multicore DSP to the filled in box (auto mode) I would get some static when converting DSD128 to DSD256.  When I set it to the check mark (force on all the time), the static went away.

Interesting... I didn't see any option other than placing a checkmark next to this setting. I'll have to look again. Maybe it works differently on a Mac vs. PC?

[pkane2001]

1 hour ago, pkane2001 said:

Interesting... I didn't see any option other than placing a checkmark next to this setting. I'll have to look again. Maybe it works differently on a Mac vs. PC?

You're right! I can see that one can either place a check mark or just a gray box in the Multicore DSP selection. I had a checkmark in there already, but now I'm curious as to what the difference might be between the two?

[bogi]

The difference is described in some extent in HQPlayer manual.

[pkane2001]

17 minutes ago, bogi said:

The difference is described in some extent in HQPlayer manual.

 

Thanks, just found it. I don't normally re-read the manual with each new software release, and this option was not there in HQP v3.1 that I was using until recently. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

[tboooe]

6 minutes ago, pkane2001 said:

 

Thanks, just found it. I don't normally re-read the manual with each new software release, and this option was not there in HQP v3.1 that I was using until recently. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

As a member of the male species, I never ever RTFM!  Maybe thats why I screw so many things up!  LOL!

 

So, did changing the Muticore DSP setting help at all?

[pkane2001]

17 minutes ago, tboooe said:

So, did changing the Muticore DSP setting help at all?

 

Not really, since I already had that setting checked. But, I did find something that appears to help. 

 

What I did was to move the WiFi repeater into a closet, up high, near the basement ceiling (closer to the WiFi base), and away from all the audio equipment. According to DD-WRT signal quality improved from about 58% to 70%. So far, no drop-outs even while playing 192/24 files over WiFi. I'm cautiously optimistic  but need more listening time to be sure.

[pkane2001]

On 3/31/2017 at 3:53 PM, pkane2001 said:

What I did was to move the WiFi repeater into a closet, up high, near the basement ceiling (closer to the WiFi base), and away from all the audio equipment. According to DD-WRT signal quality improved from about 58% to 70%. So far, no drop-outs even while playing 192/24 files over WiFi. I'm cautiously optimistic  but need more listening time to be sure.

 

Just to close the loop: no drop-outs at all after the above adjustment. Thank you to all who offered advice and explanation!

 

Still playing through NAA running on the same Macbook Pro that's running HQPlayer.

 

Here's the system playing 192/24 FLAC file (Miles Davis, Kind of Blue) converted to DSD256. Interesting that sometimes the transfer changes to larger chunks resulting in no need to fetch anything else over WiFi for a bit, and then suddenly jumping back up to maximum. This causes the large swings in bandwidth usage. It doesn't seem to cause any problems with the playback, and I suspect it has to do more with how the file is compressed, than with any issues with WiFi or with buffering.

[arglebargle]

Greetings. Complete newbie question about linear power supplies and my CuBox i4pro NAA. I bought one of these 5V Breeze Audio "el cheapo" power supplies on eBay. After 12 hrs use I noticed the readout has drifted from 5.5v to 5.9 and then even 6.0v. Verified these numbers with a multimeter so it's not an inaccurate display.  Is this normal / safe?  I'm guessing not! and thinking I should be initiating a return. Or does the CuBox only draw what is needed? In the meantime I've switched to the stock adapter (which on the same outlet measured 5.25v)  Thanks for any info.

[tboooe]

11 minutes ago, arglebargle said:

Greetings. Complete newbie question about linear power supplies and my CuBox i4pro NAA. I bought one of these 5V Breeze Audio "el cheapo" power supplies on eBay. After 12 hrs use I noticed the readout has drifted from 5.5v to 5.9 and then even 6.0v. Verified these numbers with a multimeter so it's not an inaccurate display.  Is this normal / safe?  I'm guessing not! and thinking I should be initiating a return. Or does the CuBox only draw what is needed? In the meantime I've switched to the stock adapter (which on the same outlet measured 5.25v)  Thanks for any info.

The voltage requirements of the CuBox does not change.  What changes is the amperage it draws.  That should not change the voltage output from the Breeze.  I would return it.  That much fluctuation is not acceptable.  

[wwaldmanfan]

11 minutes ago, arglebargle said:

Greetings. Complete newbie question about linear power supplies and my CuBox i4pro NAA. I bought one of these 5V Breeze Audio "el cheapo" power supplies on eBay. After 12 hrs use I noticed the readout has drifted from 5.5v to 5.9 and then even 6.0v. Verified these numbers with a multimeter so it's not an inaccurate display.  Is this normal / safe?  I'm guessing not! and thinking I should be initiating a return. Or does the CuBox only draw what is needed? In the meantime I've switched to the stock adapter (which on the same outlet measured 5.25v)  Thanks for any info.

 

Have you tried manually adjusting the output voltage?

[arglebargle]

1 minute ago, wwaldmanfan said:

 

Have you tried manually adjusting the output voltage?

 

This (ebay link) is the unit in question, if I crack it open is there some kind of trim pot? Nothing to lose at this point, I guess I'm going to find out!

[arglebargle]

15 minutes ago, wwaldmanfan said:

 

Have you tried manually adjusting the output voltage?

 

Found it, thanks! I had seen mention of a trimpot but wrongly assumed it referred to a different model. So I dropped it down to 5V and will watch what happens over the next 12 hours.  I happen to have a second beat up CuBox I don't mind experimenting with.

 

Any suggestion on whether to set it to 5v or 5.25 which is what the stock adapter measures at?

[wwaldmanfan]

I had a similar unit, although it had a different transformer. To open it up, you need to remove the top two screws from the front panel with a 2.5mm metric allen key. Remove the top two screws from the rear panel with a phillips head screwdriver. Lift off the cover, and switch it on. Use an eyeglasses screwdriver, or very small jeweler's screwdriver to adjust the trim pot. It's the little brass screw on that blue rectangular thing.

It shouldn't fluctuate more than 1/10 volt up or down, although, as has been pointed out, it doesn't matter with the connected device.

 

[arglebargle]

48 minutes ago, wwaldmanfan said:

It shouldn't fluctuate more than 1/10 volt up or down, although, as has been pointed out, it doesn't matter with the connected device.

 

 

Over the course of a single album it crept from 5.00 to 5.12. Will keep an eye on it but this doesn't instill confidence! Thanks for the tips.

[scan80269]

20 hours ago, arglebargle said:

 

Over the course of a single album it crept from 5.00 to 5.12. Will keep an eye on it but this doesn't instill confidence! Thanks for the tips.

It sounds like something is wrong with your unit.  The regulation should not be this poor.

 

Similar to wwaldmanfan, I have a somewhat different unit with an R-core transformer.  The voltage display drops no more than 0.1V from cold start to fully warmed up.  I've made some modifications but the voltage stability has been the same ever since I received the unit.

 

[Jud]

At least my unit tends to increase in voltage as it warms up before reaching equilibrium, so when setting the trimpot I back it off.

[arglebargle]

1 hour ago, Jud said:

At least my unit tends to increase in voltage as it warms up before reaching equilibrium, so when setting the trimpot I back it off.

 

After dialling it back to 5.0 this is exactly what mine did, and it didn't budge from 5.15v over night so I guess it's settling in. Maybe my terrible, dirty rural Canadian power is partly to blame. 

 

My system is modest but this made enough difference in sound, next time I think I'll double my outlay for something slightly more robust.

 

Thanks all 

[jabbr]

Cubox big bro:

 

[brother love]

I have no problem with NAA executable files for Windows & Mac OS-X, but am seriously struggling with Ubuntu 16.04 NAA networkaudiod 3.5.1-35 Xenial AMD64 .deb file. 

 

How best to access this networkaudiod .deb file (or another recommended Linux version) once I copy it to the Ubuntu desktop ?

 

I started with GDebi installer & it worked for a few hours @ max DSD256 SDM None, but then I got a "software index is broken" & "the package networkaudiod needs to be reinstalled" . After unsuccessful tries to remedy the situation, I started over with a fresh install of Ubuntu 16.04.2 desktop amd64 for Intel Win10 mini PC (dual boot).

 

Should I type in terminal: sudo dpkg -i networkaudiod_3.5.1-35_amd.64deb like noted here?

https://askubuntu.com/questions/40779/how-do-i-install-a-deb-file-via-the-command-line

 

Needing recommendations before I move forward. Thanks.

 

Note: The Windows 10 NAA works, but I can only get DSD128 SDM DoP w/ XMOS driver v3.34 & PCM 384 w/ SDM None for Gustard X20u DAC. I would go this route if I could figure out how to get DSD256.

 

[Margus]

Quote

brother love Needing recommendations before I move forward. Thanks.

sudo apt remove networkaudiod

wget https://www.signalyst.eu/bins/naa/linux/xenial/networkaudiod_3.5.1-35_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i networkaudiod_3.5.1-35_amd.64deb

reboot

ps axf | grep networkaudiod

[brother love]

Thanks Margus. Much appreciated. I got things working again w/ debi installer, but have stashed away your terminal commands for future reference.

[zoltan]

I'm new to this HQPlayer/NAA streaming and need some advice. So far I've been borrowing a Cubox NAA and it works nicely but with my DAC it sounds better with a MUTEC MC-3+USB in the chain (between the NAA and the DAC). The Mutec can be configured to provide external clock signals. I was wondering if there are any devices out there that can be used as an NAA and can take the clock from the Mutec. Also, would this be beneficial at all? 

[Miska]

15 minutes ago, zoltan said:

I'm new to this HQPlayer/NAA streaming and need some advice. So far I've been borrowing a Cubox NAA and it works nicely but with my DAC it sounds better with a MUTEC MC-3+USB in the chain (between the NAA and the DAC). The Mutec can be configured to provide external clock signals. I was wondering if there are any devices out there that can be used as an NAA and can take the clock from the Mutec. Also, would this be beneficial at all? 

 

Usually you would connect that clock to the DAC, NAA doesn't need it...

[zoltan]

6 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Usually you would connect that clock to the DAC, NAA doesn't need it...

 

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, my DAC doesn't allow that, so I guess I'll go for a SOtM SMS-200 as that seems to be what most people prefer (although nothing wrong with the Cubox). 

[ebrandon]

This is a tricky one ... especially for a European because I believe Chromebooks are pretty rare in Europe.

 

I am trying to run the NAA under Ubuntu Xenial, running in "Crouton" on a chromebook.  The problems are:

 

1) HQPlayer running on a windows 10 computer does not "see" the NAA on the Chromebook.  HQPlayer does see a different NAA (with a different name) on my network, so I know that HQPlayer is correctly connecting to my network.

 

2) When I quit Networkaudiod on the Chromebook, I get the error "ALSA backend unitialized".  Here is the complete dialog.  I get the first two lines, then I try to connect with HQplayer and can't because it doesn't see the NAA.  Then I control-C the NAA, and get the error message:

[/usr/sbin/networkaudiod] (21685): networkaudiod Copyright (C) 2011-2017 Jussi Laako / Signalyst. All rights reserved.
[/usr/sbin/networkaudiod] (21685): asoundlib version: 1.1.0
^C[/usr/sbin/networkaudiod] (21685): ALSA backend uninitialized
 

I know that my Ubuntu installation can play audio on my DAC because when I type  "aplay /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav" I hear it in my headphones.

 

Here is the result of "sudo aplay -l":

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC283 Analog [ALC283 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: Audio [iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
 

I would like to show the HQplayer log file, but I can't find it on the Windows 10 PC.

 

Any ideas?  Thanks!