HQ Player

[Miska]

18 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

Or is this more a limitation of HQPlayer Desktop not supporting auto sample rate switching? @Miska

 

 

No, CoreAudio doesn't. And WASAPI on Windows or ALSA on Linux doesn't either. ASIO does though, but most ASIO drivers don't.

 

However, on ALSA there is a way to work around this, and it is in RME HDSPe driver and I've also added it to the UAC2 driver for RME ADI-2.

 

Technically HQPlayer Desktop supports it the same as HQPlayer Embedded, but it requires some manual configuration file editing and that you are running HQPlayer Desktop on Linux with hardware that supports it.

 

 

 

[Miska]

10 hours ago, ambre said:

2 Questions: 

 

a) I am running an setup now the AURALIC VEGA G1 streaming dac. Als also Usb, Toslink input.  Also. Roon certified

 

Roon detects the Auralic immediately as endpoint and also in second instance I can use HQPlayer too. Connected by Ethernet.Why can HQplayer not detect the Vega G1 directly on Ethernet . So that I can bypass Roon?🤐

 

 

Because Auralic doesn't have HQPlayer NAA software module.

 

10 hours ago, ambre said:

b) If I use HQplayer within Roon I am only able to do DoP incl. EC noise filters.

 

Asked Auralic but didn't have any answer yet for native DSD do I have switch off  the PRE -amp of the Vega?

I suppose YES?  

If so I can control volume by HQ-player. But  cannot use any kind of other inputs due that volume is 100%.

 

If I use  DoP DSD  instead native DSD is  there a big difference in SQ. Ps. DSP within Vega1 has 4 differents filters/ choices. 

 

Only Auralic can answer this. I have no idea...

 

[Yviena]

@Miska can you maybe separate the 44.1/48khz filter selection on DSD upsampling into both a 44.1, and 48khz option, as it is currently when HQplayer reaches a 48khz track when used with filters that can't  do conversion from 48khz to 44khz playback just stops, would it not be better if playback can continue by having a fallback option?

[Miska]

25 minutes ago, Yviena said:

@Miska can you maybe separate the 44.1/48khz filter selection on DSD upsampling into both a 44.1, and 48khz option, as it is currently when HQplayer reaches a 48khz track when used with filters that can't  do conversion from 48khz to 44khz playback just stops, would it not be better if playback can continue by having a fallback option?

 

That would assume there are only 44.1k and 48k rates. While HQPlayer doesn't make such assumptions. Now the "1x" vs "Nx" turning point is 50k rate. In addition, I would rather not add even more complexity to the settings.

 

So you just need to consider this aspect when making filter selection.

 

[il Carletto]

I wanna share my experience with my new Mac Mini M1.

Everything works flawless at DSD256x48, ASDM7EC, ext2 and convolution (DRC filters). Dac is a Rme Adi-2.

Got some dropouts using xtr and Sinc-L, but ext2 sounds perfect to me.

My previous pc was a i7-10700, able to run xtr (not Sinc-L), but now SQ is much better, because of a better lan connection to Naa. 

Mini M1 is a great little beast.     

[Plato65]

2 hours ago, il Carletto said:

I wanna share my experience with my new Mac Mini M1.

Everything works flawless at DSD256x48, ASDM7EC, ext2 and convolution (DRC filters). Dac is a Rme Adi-2.

Got some dropouts using xtr and Sinc-L, but ext2 sounds perfect to me.

My previous pc was a i7-10700, able to run xtr (not Sinc-L), but now SQ is much better, because of a better lan connection to Naa. 

Mini M1 is a great little beast.     

 

Interesting! How much RAM do you have, 8GB or 16GB? Does it make a difference if it's 8GB or 16GB RAM?

[il Carletto]

It's the "smallest" one, 8 Gb

[Plato65]

Interesting that it's enough. Looks like the cheapest configuration (256GB SSD and 8GB RAM) would be the way to go (with music stored elsewhere).

[ambre]

 

12 hours ago, Miska said:

Roon detects the Auralic immediately as endpoint and also in second instance I can use HQPlayer too. Connected by Ethernet. Because Auralic doesn't have HQPlayer NAA software module.

 

Native DSD .....do I have switch off  the PRE -amp of the Vega?

Only Auralic can answer this. I have no idea...

 

Hi Jussy, 

 

Maybe silly question: Within Roon I can select Auralic Vega G1 DAC connected via Ethernet and also HQPlayer 4.8.

Due to DLNP??   etc.. protocol within Roon possible.  Roon Certified device means that NAA functionality is part of it?

The manufacturer can be any brand but part of certification is this NAA-functionality? Is that the clue?

 

Isn't that due to Native DSD stream any kind DSP tone adjustment, equalizers, roomcorretion etc.  isn't  possible.

 

Ps. My former RME-adi2 dac had some issues resp. solution. Turn-off Pre-amp resp DSP function and can stream Native DSD? Consequences are: use Volume control HQPlayer or separate PRE-Amp?

 

Remains one question I have asked, what  is your opinion " If I use  DoP DSD  with HQPlayer instead native DSD is  there a big difference in SQ? 

 

Very best regards,Andreas

[asdf1000]

Hi @Miska

 

Are you able to offer an option in HQPlayer OS to disable upsampling, where we can use "UAC2 input" and "matrix" features , for low latency convolution only?

 

Like if I want YouTube or Qello concerts or Netflix movies to go through HQP OS (for digital room EQ and DSP crossovers), where I want no lip sync issues. e.g. keep latency below 20ms 

 

Then for audio only listening, can enable upsampling again.

 

 

 

 

[ted_b]

5 hours ago, Plato65 said:

Interesting that it's enough. Looks like the cheapest configuration (256GB SSD and 8GB RAM) would be the way to go (with music stored elsewhere).

Mine's been on order since day after Christmas.  Look forward to comparing it to my tweaked out 17-6700k.  And loving the idea of a small footprint for my RAAL setup. 

 

@il Carletto, what exactly do you mean by better NAA connection?

[Miska]

3 hours ago, ambre said:

Roon Certified device means that NAA functionality is part of it?

 

No, certainly not. Any Roon certification/badge/whatever has absolutely nothing to do with any HQPlayer stuff.

 

3 hours ago, ambre said:

The manufacturer can be any brand but part of certification is this NAA-functionality? Is that the clue?

 

No, that certification doesn't include anything related to HQPlayer. So if you want NAA, you want the device to officially support HQPlayer NAA (which in turn is not related to Roon in any shape or form).

 

3 hours ago, ambre said:

Isn't that due to Native DSD stream any kind DSP tone adjustment, equalizers, roomcorretion etc.  isn't  possible.

 

It is as possible as with PCM too.

 

3 hours ago, ambre said:

Ps. My former RME-adi2 dac had some issues resp. solution. Turn-off Pre-amp resp DSP function and can stream Native DSD? Consequences are: use Volume control HQPlayer or separate PRE-Amp?

 

Yeah, it already happens with ADI-2 for 705.6/768k PCM. It just doesn't have enough DSP power to do it for higher rates.

 

3 hours ago, ambre said:

Remains one question I have asked, what  is your opinion " If I use  DoP DSD  with HQPlayer instead native DSD is  there a big difference in SQ?

 

Use of DoP is not directly related to sound quality. For example RME ADI-2 is always using DoP. Sometimes using DoP just limits your DSD rate options.

 

[Miska]

3 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

Are you able to offer an option in HQPlayer OS to disable upsampling, where we can use "UAC2 input" and "matrix" features , for low latency convolution only?

 

Upsampling is not introducing any notable latency, unless you use some really long filters.

 

Convolution though usually adds notable latency, so for lower latency you may be better off with the parametric eq. If you use RoomEq Wizard, then you can as well use the parametric eq instead of convolution.

 

3 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

Like if I want YouTube or Qello concerts or Netflix movies to go through HQP OS (for digital room EQ and DSP crossovers), where I want no lip sync issues. e.g. keep latency below 20ms 

 

You could use the "short buffer" option to reduce latency, but you are still on the 500+ ms side. HQPlayer is optimized for music playback quality, not for latency. For lowest latencies, you'd probably like to look at AVRs. But you always have the trade off between quality and latency.

 

[il Carletto]

6 hours ago, ted_b said:

what exactly do you mean by better NAA connection?

My previous pc i7-10700 had a bad lan connection, due to the chipset early version.

I did a lot of packet loss tests. 

The Mini M1 lan port works perfect instead. 

[asdf1000]

4 hours ago, Miska said:

For lowest latencies, you'd probably like to look at AVRs.

 

Noted but AVRs cant load my Audiolense convolution filters and let me change different profiles , but HQP OS can.

 

So for video mode it would be nice to have pure convolver mode

 

Specifically only for UAC2 input and ALSA output, since that is purely USB in and USB out. No network activity 

 

 

[asdf1000]

4 hours ago, Miska said:

Convolution though usually adds notable latency, so for lower latency you may be better off with the parametric eq.

 

I use Audiolense Convolver 1.0 on Win10 

 

Using min phase target curve and min phase crossover I have 12ms latency with 65k tap filter and buffer = 256 . Great for video mode. No lip sync

 

But I hate Windows. Would be cool for HQP OS on Up Board to do that 

[Luca72c]

1 hour ago, asdf1000 said:

 

I use Audiolense Convolver 1.0 on Win10 

 

Using min phase target curve and min phase crossover I have 12ms latency with 65k tap filter and buffer = 256 . Great for video mode. No lip sync

 

But I hate Windows. Would be cool for HQP OS on Up Board to do that 

 

Are you using Acourate Convolver downstream of HQPlayer? So is the convolver able to process HQP-generated DSD streams?

[asdf1000]

7 minutes ago, Luca72c said:

 

Are you using Acourate Convolver downstream of HQPlayer? So is the convolver able to process HQP-generated DSD streams?

 

Audiolense, not Acourate

 

And definitely don't need to use it together with HQP since HQP has it's only built-in convolution engine which I use for music of course.

 

I only use Audiolense Convolver on Win10 for Netflix, Youtube etc - where I don't need ultimate sound quality for video but i still want digital room correction.

 

For ultimate music sound quality where I don't care about latencies, I use HQPlayer alone of course.

 

What you are asking would add even more latency to the Audiolense Convolver, not less.

 

[Luca72c]

6 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

 

Audiolense, not Acourate

 

And definitely don't need to use it together with HQP since HQP has it's only built-in convolution engine which I use for music of course.

 

I only use Audiolense Convolver on Win10 for Netflix, Youtube etc - where I don't need ultimate sound quality for video but i still want digital room correction.

 

For ultimate music sound quality where I don't care about latencies, I use HQPlayer alone of course.

 

What you are asking would add even more latency to the Audiolense Convolver, not less.

 

 

Ok, thank you for clarifying. I thought maybe you were using the convolver to uniformly digitally crossover/room eq all of your sound streams to your system, including HQP music ones.

I don't worry about latency for now, i just was curious to know if Audiolense convolver is able to process HQP DSD streams (i know that Acourate one is not).

Sorry about writing Acourate instead of Audiolense in my previous post, it was a typo... 

 

[asdf1000]

1 hour ago, Luca72c said:

I thought maybe you were using the convolver to uniformly digitally crossover/room eq all of your sound streams to your system, including HQP music ones.

Yes it is doing exactly that (DSP crossover and room EQ) for all system sounds (Netflix, YouTube) except HQPlayer because HQPlayer features it's own convolution engine.

 

But HQPlayer can't be used for video because of latency (lip sync issue).

 

1 hour ago, Luca72c said:

Sorry about writing Acourate instead of Audiolense in my previous post, it was a typo... 

 

No problem at all.

[Gilberto]

Good afternoon sirs. I do not know if anyone can offer me a little light regarding the following question: I use HQP and Foobar interchangeably, because I value the positive things that each of these players has, HQP sounds sweeter and with a more advanced sound presentation, while that Foobar has a darker sound and a more delayed or embedded scene, but as a positive, it accepts cues, isos, etc, I mean everything. In both players, I use the same and identical configuration, asio and upsampling to dsd512, obviously in HQP I am limited to -2s filters.
   The big question for me is why with heavy files like DSD64, 128 and especially 256, while HQP reproduces everything upsampled to 512 without any problem, smoothly, without stutters or interruptions, with Foobar I never know when the hare is going to jump , a cut, a blockage at some point 💥. I've tried to increase the buffer in Foobar but I never have the reliability and peace of mind that HQP offers me ... Where is the problem ...? For example, something that I have observed many, many times is, with Foobar, playing those hires files and upsampled to dsd512, the moment I open Chrome or another application on the pc (... sometimes, not always ...) , Foobar experiences a cut, a crash 💥... while with HQP, in those same circumstances (... large hires files 64, 128, 256 upsampled to dsd512 ...), if I open Chrome or another application, it is very, very difficult to have any unpleasant surprises, everything goes smoothly, without any problem ...
   Honestly, for me it is a pity that HQP does not accept cues, isos, etc, otherwise it would have long ago put Foobar in the garbage can ...

[Rovo]

@Miska

Reading through this and other threads I did find some information (and perhaps I missed parts due to the amount), but could not find all the answers I was looking for. Therefore I would like to ask you some questions below.

 

Currently I am using a dual PC setup and a T+A DAC 8. I would like to upgrade the DAC to the T+A DAC 8 DSD in the very near future. The upgraded installation will be used with Roon to stream from Tidal (and/or Qobuz in the future) plus playing local files (ripped CD's and HiRes files) and upsampled to DSD512 (only upsampling, no convolution or anything else). To get the best from the T+A DAC 8 DSD both PC's (steamer and endpoint) will be upgraded too and of course with HQPlayer on the streamer and HQPlayer NAA on the endpoint. I can place the streamer in another room and have therefore less limitations on the hardware of the streamer (cooling, noise).

 

The end point PC is currently being built (and at first used/tested with RoonBridge). Some hardware details: Intel E-2236, linear power supply, JCat USB XE. For the software I would like to use Windows Server 2019 optimized (read: minimized) with Audiophile Optimizer, Fidelizer Pro and possibly Process Lasso. This running HQPlayer NAA. My question: Is this possible and are there some do's or don't's?

 

The streamer PC will have to do the "heavy lifting" and will be based on the Intel Core i9-10900K. For the software I would like to use Windows 10 Pro and Audiophile Optimizer. The task of this PC is to run Roon with HQPlayer with upsampling. My question: would this be a good software selection (focusing on sound quality) or would you have another suggestion and are there do's and don't's?

 

Roon is controlled from a tablet. Managing the settings of HQPlayer can this also be done from the tablet and if yes, which app is required?

 

In short: I would like the get the best from the T+A DAC 8 DSD with the help of HQPlayer.

 

Kind regards,

Robert

 

[RubenV]

Hi @Rovo

 

Why not going with WS2019 on your control pc? I have a similar setup with Roon and Tidal, but with ws2019 on both the audio pc as control/streamer pc. Ws2019 > WS10

[Miska]

5 hours ago, Rovo said:

My question: would this be a good software selection (focusing on sound quality) or would you have another suggestion and are there do's and don't's?

 

Stock Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 for Workstations. Set power profile to High Performance or Ultimate performance.

 

Do not use any software that modifies Windows, or Process Lasso or any such.

 

[RubenV]

52 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Stock Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 for Workstations. Set power profile to High Performance or Ultimate performance.

 

Do not use any software that modifies Windows, or Process Lasso or any such.

 

Do you rate WS10 above WS2019?