maya Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 18 hours ago, Miska said: How does the core mask in log file look like for you? Per core loads in resource monitor? Does it work any better without CUDA? Are you able to disable CPU's threading from BIOS settings and try if that makes any difference? I'm trying to figure out which change could do it. Desktop 4.1.1 behaves exactly the same as Embedded 4.11.2 which seems to perform the best right now. While the Embedded that matched Desktop 4.1.0.1 didn't. So something is going different on Windows than on Linux. While it should behave exactly the same. I will get the Ryzen 3950X, but it is not available yet... Debian 9, Jussi original 4.9.158 jl+ kernel , i5 7500 HQPe 4.11.2 stuttering with DSD 128 7EC ext2 and CPU allocation two are 90% the rest two 30-40% But in HQPe 4.11.1-31 no stuttering at all, sounds great ! 4 cores average at 50-70% Kernel which I compiled with bfq sheduler plus other optimizations happened being also OK So maybe it is CPU related ? Link to comment
maya Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 35 minutes ago, Miska said: 4.11.2 went through couple of cycles of testing by me and others where each build had some tuning updates. For me, 4.11.1 performance depends on phase of the moon and time of the day... 4.11.2 gives systematically same load distribution always. Have you tried the 4.11.2 HQPlayer OS bootable image? Because that's a good baseline because it is the same OS and build for all. If you want to test on the same baseline as Windows and macOS, you need to use HQPlayer OS or the Ubuntu build. On Debian/Fedora build I turned off one extra optimization which is not always improving performance. I can put it back on for testing. But otherwise for a quad core there shouldn't be much difference between 4.11.1 apart from core pinning if you have multicore set to auto. And if the kernel is throwing the high load threads between CPU cores all the time it certainly won't help performance. Thanks for your explanation, if possible I would like to try your special Debian 4.11.2 version with this extra optimization. As in Debian I can load the whole HQPe into RAM and then pull off the USB stick to achieve much better SQ ! But it seems not feasible to do this in Ubuntu so I deeply hope Debian version will be supported continuously ! I will try 4.11.2 OS for sure and believe it would be a new experience for me . Link to comment
maya Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 On 9/9/2019 at 6:11 AM, Miska said: There's now build 36 for Debian and build 32 for Fedora that puts back that optimization that I removed recently. It also syncs some other small tunings from Desktop. Thank you ! I will try Link to comment
maya Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Hi Jussi, Tried Debian Buster HQPlayer4Desktop 4.1.1-10 can play DSD128 ex2-7EC but only the right channel having sound . But having sound at both channels while playing PCM. Same settings playing DSD 128 both channels having sound with previous version of HQP4Desktop 4.1.0 Attached is the screenshot of settings and log file of 4.1.1 FYI Thanks, HQPlayer4Desktop.log Link to comment
maya Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 8 hours ago, Miska said: OK, the Ubuntu package is then maybe having some problems on Buster. Desktop has never been intended to work on Debian, so YMMV. Only Embedded is supported on Debian. I see that you have 5 ms set as buffer time for NAA. I would recommend keeping it at "Default" for NAA. 5 ms is certainly asking for trouble... Thanks ! I will try to set as default Link to comment
maya Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 12 hours ago, Miska said: OK, the Ubuntu package is then maybe having some problems on Buster. Desktop has never been intended to work on Debian, so YMMV. Only Embedded is supported on Debian. I see that you have 5 ms set as buffer time for NAA. I would recommend keeping it at "Default" for NAA. 5 ms is certainly asking for trouble... Tried set to 20 ms no luck, still having no sound at the right channel, but no problem while playing PCM. A group of friends of mine are using my Debian OS loaded with several optimized kernels which I compiled and the whole OS can be loaded into RAM on booting. This made a huge difference in SQ compared with regular boot ! Ram booting is not feasible with Ubuntu So when you have time could you take a look if this can be solved in Debian we do hope HQP4Desktop 4.1.1 which has amazing regulator 7EC etc can be used in Debian 10 or 9 ! Many thanks, Link to comment
maya Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 16 hours ago, Miska said: 100 ms is good starting point. I just cannot support various custom OS configurations. You can boot to standard Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and see if you can reproduce the problem. If you can, then we need to find way for me to reproduce the problem there. If you cannot, then you need to fix it at your side. Since you are using a NAA and my NAA image boots to RAM, you can try using that one for comparison. With NAA, it doesn't really matter how you run HQPlayer. Understood thanks for your reply, I also load NAA with my kernel into RAM for several years already, NAA is a great companion or a must for HQPlayer ! We feel the HQP will play a key role to the SQ of the HQP-NAA system without doubt. We can either use direct connection between HQP and NAA via a good LAN cable or via a good switch box, both of them can affect SQ markedly. RAM boot HQPlayer is much better than regular HQP which has been verified by many audiophile friends of mine with their sophiscated systems at the local. For NAA we also use itx mobo with modified clocks, it has good result. I will follow you suggestion to try Ubuntu HQP later and report you back then. The new modulator 7EC is great, a game changer actually and in terms of SQ , HQPe is the best ! Thanks ! Link to comment
maya Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 37 minutes ago, Miska said: 38 minutes ago, Miska said: Are you making sure that the cable is UTP type? STP/FTP cable types are absolutely no-no for NAA use. So at least check that the RJ45 connector on the cable is full plastic-body, not the metal body type. It absolutely shouldn't make any sound quality difference. If there is difference, it needs some research to find out why to eliminate it. If it makes difference, it is negating point of NAA. Can you measure the difference from DAC output? How does it look like? Everything always runs from the RAM anyway, but loading entire filesystem to RAM just stores redundant information in RAM and reduces amount of free memory to be used as disk cache for content. So I'm not doing it. If you use NAA, I cannot think of mechanism how HQPlayer computer would make a difference. Actual playback is performed by NAA and HQPlayer is just doing processing as a network service. This HQPlayer processing could be even implemented as a cloud service on the internet. I have noticed UTP LAN cable you mentioned before and found it is true ! We tried to DIY some UTP LAN cable with better wires it works very good, but it still KO by some expensive LAN cable such as Vertere ethernet cable which is a STP cable . In audiophile world sometimes it's a bit "weird", " hearing is believing ..." If I said different RAM may have different sound who will believe ? 😁 Link to comment
maya Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 34 minutes ago, Miska said: Point in UTP is that it lets Ethernet's galvanic isolation through transformers work. While STP cable connects grounds and thus negates the galvanic isolation which is one of the main reasons to use Ethernet. Even better, you can use optical Ethernet for complete isolation. Depends where it is and what follows. In NAA, if you have a USB DAC, a lot depends on it's USB implementation. Or if you have a DAC with built-in NAA like the new T+A where you can send up to DSD1024 over Ethernet. On my HQPlayer servers I just get fast RAM with minimal CL to maximize processing capacity. So it is usually something like HyperX Predator. For NAA use I have things like the Logic Supply CL100, UP Gateway, MinnowBoard Turbot (dual core), and the various ARM-based devices. On x86 RAM is typically separate from the processor, except devices like Intel Joule which was stacked architecture like many ARM SoC solutions are. Stacked configuration is systematically always used on mobile phones and tablets. In stacked you have first SoC on the PCB and then RAM sits on top. So it is a sandwich where CPU is in the middle. Tried optical ethernet card plus Adnaco long ago, dislike the sound and not used now Link to comment
maya Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Just now, maya said: Tried optical ethernet card plus Adnaco long ago, dislike the sound and not used now Still have some CL6 old RAM used before, seems the lower the better Link to comment
maya Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 7 hours ago, Miska said: Just remember that latency is function of frequency too, so you need to calculate how many nanoseconds 6 clock cycles is at it's memory frequency. And also weight that with transfer rate, so pick a one that has both as high as possible transfer rate and as low as possible latency. There's a good table for reference here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency So for example DDR4-4600 at CL18 (for example G.Skill Trident Z) gives you pretty good figures at the moment. With i7-8086K I'm at DDR4-2666 CL12 at the moment. So maximum performance within official CPU specs without overclocking. Thanks for the additional info, unique and useful ! BTW my Debian Buster test version with various kernels including the latest 5.2.10 rt 5 now can play HQP4Desktop 4.1.1 with 7EC ext2, having sound at both channels ! It seems somehow there was a residual HQP 3.25 setting file at .hqplayer folder , after clearing up now it works normally ! Again would like say, Ram boot USB HQPe Debian 9 has the best sound especially after removal of USB stick ! My testing Buster HQPe is a GNU version hope can solve the NAA not found issue ...😊 I have a graphic version of HQPe on Debian 9, not finished yet ... Link to comment
maya Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 14 hours ago, Miska said: Just remember that latency is function of frequency too, so you need to calculate how many nanoseconds 6 clock cycles is at it's memory frequency. And also weight that with transfer rate, so pick a one that has both as high as possible transfer rate and as low as possible latency. There's a good table for reference here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency So for example DDR4-4600 at CL18 (for example G.Skill Trident Z) gives you pretty good figures at the moment. With i7-8086K I'm at DDR4-2666 CL12 at the moment. So maximum performance within official CPU specs without overclocking. Thanks for the info Link to comment
maya Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 On 9/15/2019 at 7:48 PM, Miska said: Have you tried running OS from Intel Optane M.2? That is as optimal as it can get. All my Debian, Fedora and Ubuntu Server installations are on either SATA SSD or M.2 SSD. Especially with M.2 I like that HQPlayer Embedded is up and running in ~5 seconds after pressing power button. And shuts down in one second after pressing power button. We use msata ssd all along, fast boot and shutdown. We have a custom made heavy aluminum chassis to accommodating both motherboards for HQP and NAA, seems to be the first one to make this! We found HQPe ram boot from Extreme Pro USB stick although it needs less than one minute, much longer than msata SSD after removing USB stick the background becoming so dark and much more musical which we have never experienced with HQPlayer ! Actually the operating speed is not the thing we want most. 😊 Link to comment
maya Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 12 hours ago, Miska said: Since the other thread is primarily Embedded related, despite the subject, I'll post a link here too: I'm pretty happy with these results. Note that this is Linux-only thing and in addition requires CPU to support AVX2. Great ! CPU supporting AVX2 will be optimized ! Link to comment
maya Posted October 22, 2022 Share Posted October 22, 2022 Hi Miska, I am running trial mode of HQPe which is a Debian OS which I compiled, working well all along and suddenly today I cannot enter it via its web interface. It said my copy is an offline copy, all the entries became dimmed. If I click on the open online tab it also failed to enter. Please help. Thanks, Matthew Canada Link to comment
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