Lampizator questions

[Jabs1542]

YashN nailed it.

 

The purpose of the NAA is to provide a very light computer with the sole duty of moving a DSD stream from Ethernet over to USB.

[YashN]

Yes, but it can do PCM too.

[bonzo]

So would the fitlet change anything here? Or it's just being used to run the NAA, and being controlled by the server?

[garyfrancis100]

Sorry for late response silly mistake of mine but got it working finally

[wisnon]

You guys crack me up.

the bleeding edge means dsd 256 and above.

Linux cant do it, Mac without exasound cant, so Windows is the only viable path.

 

 

Caps servers for AO select the best Mobos, so how can hqp on a crappy NAS mobo best that?

 

Reread my pksts again and see that as of todaym windows is the leading option.

 

RickU, if you want software upsampling its easy, but you must jriver or hqp. I DONT THINK foobar offers this feature...neither A+

[wisnon]

YashN nailed it.

 

The purpose of the NAA is to provide a very light computer with the sole duty of moving a DSD stream from Ethernet over to USB.

 

Is that all the embedded Hqp in the NAA does?

 

Also, how can the lousy mobo in the server beat an All out caps build. Servers have crappy parts inside, not suitable for audio.

[YashN]

You guys crack me up.

the bleeding edge means dsd 256 and above.

Linux cant do it, Mac without exasound cant, so Windows is the only viable path.

 

You are dead wrong about this. Want to bet?

 

If I win you send me some DSD256 tracks that you are allowed to send (I only have a handful).

[elcorso]

You guys crack me up.

the bleeding edge means dsd 256 and above.

Linux cant do it, Mac without exasound cant, so Windows is the only viable path.

 

 

Caps servers for AO select the best Mobos, so how can hqp on a crappy NAS mobo best that?

 

Reread my pksts again and see that as of todaym windows is the leading option.

 

RickU, if you want software upsampling its easy, but you must jriver or hqp. I DONT THINK foobar offers this feature...neither A+

 

Norman,

 

I honestly don't see the point (from a Lampi owner view) to get DSD256 & beyond. As you know I have the Big 7 & also the exaSound e22, then I have listened to the very few DSD256 available on line. I'm also on Mac OS only. Do I need more than DSD128? I guess not.

 

If we talk about HQPlayer conversion to DSD from 16/44 I never tried it, but I love the way the Big 7 plays PCM at Redbook rate, from good recordings of course. Also, I don't believe that any bad 16/44 converted to DSD512 will benefit too much the SQ.

 

If Windows is the best way this would not be my way.

 

My humble opinion only.

 

Cheers!

 

Roch

[YashN]

Is that all the embedded Hqp in the NAA does?

 

Also, how can the lousy mobo in the server beat an All out caps build. Servers have crappy parts inside, not suitable for audio.

 

Embedded HQP is something else: it's HQ Player, but er... embedded (of course).

 

The NAA's objective is to be as simple as possible, and as-simply-as-possible an Ethernet -> FIFO -> USB interface which consumes the files via Ethernet, buffers it and then sends it to the DAC.

 

In this way, you benefit from isolation from the server computer an less RFI/EMI near the DAC.

 

Hence, it doesn't matter what 'crappy parts' according to you are in the server, or better said, this matters less. All that matters is that the server computer (it doesn't need to be a real server computer, my deskptop computer, an iMac does this music server role well) is powerful enough to be able to up-convert and filter/modulate with HQ Player and then send that to the NAA running Network Audio Daemon.

[Jabs1542]

Yes, but it can do PCM too.

 

Oops, sorry - You are absolutely correct. I use it for DSD only in my selfish little world - my bad.

 

I'll go sit in the corner now...

[Jabs1542]

Is that all the embedded Hqp in the NAA does?

 

Also, how can the lousy mobo in the server beat an All out caps build. Servers have crappy parts inside, not suitable for audio.

 

Not exactly, that's all "MY" NAA does - once again, living in my selfish little world. I'm not selling NAA or SMS, I'm just offering an alternative to a clean feed to your DAC (remember this started out with someone commenting that the AO path seemed complex).

[lightminer]

Long term I would love to see ethernet with a possible upgrade to ST Optical as the defacto DAC connection with large RAM buffers to get rid of jitter at the DAC rather than USB or where we started with digital coaxial. I had a monster thread several years ago about that (ST Optical). Anyway, that is slightly off topic.

 

Then once and for all we could say the cable doesn't matter!!!!! And be sure we were right.

[shadowlight]

You guys crack me up.

the bleeding edge means dsd 256 and above.

Linux cant do it, Mac without exasound cant, so Windows is the only viable path.

 

 

Caps servers for AO select the best Mobos, so how can hqp on a crappy NAS mobo best that?

 

Reread my pksts again and see that as of todaym windows is the leading option.

 

RickU, if you want software upsampling its easy, but you must jriver or hqp. I DONT THINK foobar offers this feature...neither A+

 

Hmm, I thought we are talking about Lampizator DAC which is has support for 2xDSD only (support for 256bit is in beta/alpha stage and not enough information available on what the requirements are going to be for 256bit support (is it Windows only)) and players that work with it. I know you have better insight on the 256 development so maybe you can provide some additional information.

 

Also, which motherboards are folks using for CAPS server with AO which are considered best for audio functionality (the last one that I remember was the Intel mini-itx server board which is no longer available) and the new Supermicro based Pipeline. Reading the article about Pipeline it seems that the motherboard was selected purely from support / warranty perspective (7yrs) v/s any audio benefits.

 

As for HQP running on crappy NAS mobo, I did not get that impression from reading the other HQPlayer threads that folks are using NAS motherboards. The impression that I got was majority of folks are using i5/i7/Xeon either in a MacOSX system or Windows system with some folks running Linux.

 

I have not heard W2012R2 with AO (expensive to setup for my budget, ~$1000 dollars to get into) so I cannot make any comment on how the sound compares v/s a properly setup Linux system. Right now, the Windows 8.1 setup running on Lenovo TS140 Xeon based server system with NAA running on Linux is working very well with my L4.5. If and when support for higher res is available on L4.5 I will have to revisit that setup.

 

If Windows is the leading option, how come you are still running MacOSX (based on your existing profile)?

 

 

Also, how can the lousy mobo in the server beat an All out caps build. Servers have crappy parts inside, not suitable for audio.

 

What are the parts in the new Pipeline specifically suitable for audio outside the USB card and the power supply? Also, there is nothing audio specific about the Cortes build, it is just beefy server / storage system and depending on your needs the horse power might not be needed.

[EuroDriver]

You guys crack me up.

the bleeding edge means dsd 256 and above.

Linux cant do it, Mac without exasound cant, so Windows is the only viable path.

 

RickU, if you want software upsampling its easy, but you must jriver or hqp. I DONT THINK foobar offers this feature...neither A+

 

Maxim's SACD plugin for Foobar (free !) sounds very good when doing upsampling ( make sure you have integer mode selected), but not as good as HQ Player 3.4 and later releases of HQ Player. Sort of half way between JRMC and HQP

 

I have not tried Foobar + SACD in WS2012 + AO, but I have read reports from happy users who have migrated from JRMC

 

Super Audio CD Decoder | SourceForge.net

[bonzo]

Embedded HQP is something else: it's HQ Player, but er... embedded (of course).

 

The NAA's objective is to be as simple as possible, and as-simply-as-possible an Ethernet -> FIFO -> USB interface which consumes the files via Ethernet, buffers it and then sends it to the DAC.

 

In this way, you benefit from isolation from the server computer an less RFI/EMI near the DAC.

 

Hence, it doesn't matter what 'crappy parts' according to you are in the server, or better said, this matters less. All that matters is that the server computer (it doesn't need to be a real server computer, my deskptop computer, an iMac does this music server role well) is powerful enough to be able to up-convert and filter/modulate with HQ Player and then send that to the NAA running Network Audio Daemon.

 

SO are you saying that modding a PC isn't required? Take a normal PC, powerful enough, and use NAA. I am just trying to see if this approach will reduce costs by not requiring fancy power supplies, Mobos, fancy cases, USB cards, etc, if all that is reqd is the investment in HQP and NAA.

[lightminer]

So for the lower cost options, I want to make sure, are we saying that DSD throught the DSD-only DAC is much better than through an Amber? Or just a bit better?

[wisnon]

You are dead wrong about this. Want to bet?

 

If I win you send me some DSD256 tracks that you are allowed to send (I only have a handful).

So you say there are Linux drivers that can play 256 or Mac ones other than Exasound? That would be news to me.

 

No need for native 256 tracks when HQP can upsample. I too have about 10 native 256 tracks.

[wisnon]

Norman,

 

I honestly don't see the point (from a Lampi owner view) to get DSD256 & beyond. As you know I have the Big 7 & also the exaSound e22, then I have listened to the very few DSD256 available on line. I'm also on Mac OS only. Do I need more than DSD128? I guess not.

 

If we talk about HQPlayer conversion to DSD from 16/44 I never tried it, but I love the way the Big 7 plays PCM at Redbook rate, from good recordings of course. Also, I don't believe that any bad 16/44 converted to DSD512 will benefit too much the SQ.

 

If Windows is the best way this would not be my way.

 

My humble opinion only.

 

Cheers!

 

Roch

 

All that may be true Roch, but I was not really debating the SQ merits at all.

 

I was just saying that the pioneering guys want the fastest speeds and the Windows is the way to get it. It is more a technical debate than a sound quality debate.

 

I too am a Mac guy, but imagine someone with and iDSD Micro who is curious what DSD512 can do? How do arrive to the point of feeding the "Hungry monster" DSD 512 snacks? i say Windows is the ONLY way at the moment, unless that peron is a Linux whizz and writes their own driver.

[wisnon]

Hmm, I thought we are talking about Lampizator DAC which is has support for 2xDSD only (support for 256bit is in beta/alpha stage and not enough information available on what the requirements are going to be for 256bit support (is it Windows only)) and players that work with it. I know you have better insight on the 256 development so maybe you can provide some additional information.

 

Also, which motherboards are folks using for CAPS server with AO which are considered best for audio functionality (the last one that I remember was the Intel mini-itx server board which is no longer available) and the new Supermicro based Pipeline. Reading the article about Pipeline it seems that the motherboard was selected purely from support / warranty perspective (7yrs) v/s any audio benefits.

 

As for HQP running on crappy NAS mobo, I did not get that impression from reading the other HQPlayer threads that folks are using NAS motherboards. The impression that I got was majority of folks are using i5/i7/Xeon either in a MacOSX system or Windows system with some folks running Linux.

 

I have not heard W2012R2 with AO (expensive to setup for my budget, ~$1000 dollars to get into) so I cannot make any comment on how the sound compares v/s a properly setup Linux system. Right now, the Windows 8.1 setup running on Lenovo TS140 Xeon based server system with NAA running on Linux is working very well with my L4.5. If and when support for higher res is available on L4.5 I will have to revisit that setup.

 

If Windows is the leading option, how come you are still running MacOSX (based on your existing profile)?

 

 

What are the parts in the new Pipeline specifically suitable for audio outside the USB card and the power supply? Also, there is nothing audio specific about the Cortes build, it is just beefy server / storage system and depending on your needs the horse power might not be needed.

 

Shadow, you are confusing things here.

 

First its a generic discussion for any Dac capable of 256 and more and we know that Lampi has cracked the 256 code and will soon automating it with a new PCB. They already have handbuilt boards working fine. Whether you as a lampi owner feel a need to go beyond the wonderful sound of DSD128 is entirely different question. It may be fast diminishing returns, in that native DSD128 already sound sublime on the Lampi.

 

Drivers to enable 256 playback are terminal dependent as as Lampi uses Amanero for DSD, then it depends on what Amanero provides as drivers. Amanero supports OSX and Linux automatically but tops out at DSD128. Amanero has a windows driver available for download and it supports ASIO and so can accept higher DSD rates, up to the limit of the hardware, which in this case will be DSD256 for the new Lampi DSD module that is being released soon in PCB form and is avaliable to a few in hand-built form.

 

Now to the generic discussion:

 

You can run the HQP on the Caps, but I think it was yash who said running it directly on the NAS would be better and I pointed out that the mobo on the NaS will be inferior to a purpose built, specially constructed for audio CAPs server. Then he said it does not matter what NAStiness comes from the Caps, as it will be shielded by the NAA, and I retorted that unless its a WINDOWS NAA, its speed limited to DSD128.

 

I also implied that with a relatively clean Caps you dont need an NAA and even if you use one, it should be a better combo than the dirty NAS/NAA combo.

 

its a simple debate really, not so confusing.

 

Regarding budget economy, then Yes Yash would be right in that HQP on Nasty NAS to NAA is quite cost effective, even if not SoTA. Remember, basic Fitlet-B will cost only $129 and seems to be the PERFECT NAs candidate and it will take Windows server2012, Win7 and 8 and Linux...maybe bootable from SD card too.

 

As to the specifics of Mobo selection, ask AL and Eurodriver as they are more versed than I am. I know the generalities as I had discussion with Phil (and others) as to why all that makes a difference and it comes down to tight tolerances and timing accuracy as well as being less EMI/RFI polluting.

[wisnon]

You are dead wrong about this. Want to bet?

 

If I win you send me some DSD256 tracks that you are allowed to send (I only have a handful).

 

Please enlighten me where I my understanding is wrong. I am willing to learn if I am off track.

[YashN]

So you say there are Linux drivers that can play 256 or Mac ones other than Exasound? That would be news to me.

 

No need for native 256 tracks when HQP can upsample. I too have about 10 native 256 tracks.

 

Did you read properly?:

 

Nope. Linux can also do native DSD Streaming for some DACs (a handful for now - iFi, DIYinHK, Marantz, Denon - but possibly more support in the near future, depending as usual on voluntary contributions), and doesn't need Steinberg's ASIO for that nor a manufacturer's ASIO driver: the implementation relies on Kernel patches and patches to ALSA...

 

Secondly, what makes you think a file upsampled to DSD256 is the same thing as a native DSD256 file?

[wisnon]

I read fine , thank you!

[lightminer]

Be nice everyone! I don't see that anything above is so intense or misaligned. Just information.

 

The one thing I'll add is that I suspect the NAS is the right way to go. If you look at what can be done at 20 or 40 watts, there is plenty of multithreaded CPU cycles available. And if somehow there aren't (I'm sure there are) then there will be next year. So perhaps we should all start thinking about Synology, QNAP, etc. Ethernet would be great. Think of it - no computer tweaking to do, no USB->SPDIF converters, etc. If the RAM buffer is sufficiently large on the DAC side, then all jitter is gone and the file is finally - finally - wait for it - finally - just a file! Like we've always wanted it to be.

 

Are we there yet? minimserver is interesting, but the fact is we aren't there yet. The issues wisnon raises about linux and high dsd rates seem to be true. It can be figured out, especially with Linux as we aren't at the mercy of a large corp - any of you can just go do it!

[bonzo]

I have some questions here about using NAA with HQP to stream DSD into the Lampi. Eurodriver and Superdad have provided good contributions http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/naa-lampi-and-hqp-mac-air-direct-stream-digital-23399/

[yates7592]

I have downloaded the Amanero USB driver recommended in the Lampi manual. But I am having great trouble unpacking it. I have tried 3 different programs (7Zip, Zipper, WinRar) and get error messages with each one - "unrecognised compression", "corrupt file" etc. Has anybody else had this trouble? I assume not many because I think there are lots of folk successfully using Lampis with this driver. I am just right clicking and follow the "extract to......" option. I am using a Windows XP laptop to unzip, does this make any difference? Does anybody know what I am doing wrong?