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3.4.0beta2 for OS X is now out, fixes the 10.8 device name issue, plus bug fixes and some other improvements.

http://www2.signalyst.com/bins/HQPlayerDesktop3-mac-340beta2.zip

 

Tested to work with:

Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC (Firewire)

iFi iDSD Nano

Focusrite Forte

TEAC UD-501

 

Thanks. Tried the previous beta on both Mavericks and Yosemite DP2, no bugs. Sound was impressive - guess you know something about filters, shocking, right? ;) I used either poly-sinc or poly-sinc-mp.

 

One *very* slight niggle - My music computer is a mid-2009 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. Though I never heard any dropouts, there were a couple of points where I felt that I lost the thread of an instrumental line. When playback is at its best/easiest, I feel I can hear the different instrumental/vocal lines in an ensemble and focus on any one I choose. I don't know whether this has something to do with HQPlayer or my computer's capabilities, and sorry I cannot describe it more specifically (nor recall the exact tracks on which it happened).

 

Two questions:

 

- If I tell HQPlayer that the max PCM sample rate is 384kHz, will it upsample everything to that rate?

 

- Is conversion of PCM to DSD available to unregistered users of the beta? (My apologies if this has been answered and I did not see it). If so, how does one set up HQPlayer to do this? (I guess that's three questions.)

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention - at initial startup, the volume increase was delayed slightly in relation to when I turned the dial. So I naturally turned it way up, and had to rush back to the computer to turn it back down a couple of seconds later. Would've been a very nasty shock for anyone wearing headphones. If this slow volume knob response is intentional (rather than something with my computer), I think it is not a good idea.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Even if your RedBook content doesn't clearly have clipping, it may have been normalized to 0 dBFS and as result may produce inter-sample overs when oversampled. IOW, new sample calculated between two original samples may have higher value than the original samples. For this reason, also many DAC chips internally employ -3 dBFS or similar vs their maximum internal level. Wolfson chips have a configuration option to enable/disable the internal -2 dBFS pad.

 

For this reason I recommend using -3 dBFS which has never produced any overs for me even for heavily clipped content. For many cases -2 dBFS may be enough. You can observe the "Limited" value in main window status area.

 

My Core 2 Duo MBP seemed much happier with PCM oversampling than it was when oversampling from PCM to DSD. No dropouts with oversampling to DSD64, though there was breakup when trying oversampling to DSD128, but even with DSD64 sound wasn't as good. I'll see whether the volume setting makes a difference.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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I think MBP has a P8600 CPU, in which case it has a benchmark score of about 1,500

PassMark - Intel Core2 Duo P8600 @ 2.40GHz - Price performance comparison

 

 

P8700 in my case - the benchmark is a lofty 1,667! ;)

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Few short steps... First check that you have "CoreAudio" selected as Backend and your DAC as Device in Preferences, for a DSD DAC you can also select "DoP" as SDM Pack.

 

You can then for example drag-and-drop files from Finder on the player window to add it to the playlist. Also check the volume knob position (when using external volume, I set the range to min=-6 max=0 in the Preferences and then turn the knob to -3 dBFS).

 

Then you can start playing. The selectors in the middle of the main window define wanted output format and how to produce it. IOW, what and how.

 

 

P.S. Notice that supported content is FLAC, WAV, AIFF, DFF and DSF...

 

Richard, one other thing - am I remembering correctly that the W4S is one of those DACs that likes nothing greater than 24-bit sent to it? If so, I think there is a setting in HQPlayer to account for such DACs. Don't recall the specific one as I sit here, but I'm sure someone else will.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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That is very helpful and timely information. I am forced to order a new mini today (my son's old G5 iMac gave up the ghost so I'm passing along my Core 2 Duo 2010 mini from my music system--as soon as I reinstall the SMPS), and I am trying to decide between perhaps a 2011 i7, a 2012 i5, or a 2012 i7 (the last would be stretching my already thin budget).

So thanks for the comparisons.

 

I do have a 2012 i7 on my desk for work. I could press that in for the music system--but nobody around here is going to give me a gift of a new black Mac Pro to replace it on my desk!

 

Just a general thought - My current MBP was purchased on the Apple Store Refurbished section (from the looks of the dates of what you're considering, you may already have checked there).

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 3 months later...

One last tidbit: HQ Player on OS X seems to derive virtually no benefit from having tracks played back from RAM disk, whereas such is quite obvious with A+.

 

Happy listening,

--Alex C.

 

Makes sense, since A+ depends more sensitively on computer performance, while the NAA negates that for HQPlayer.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Actually Jud, I am saying this is the case with HQ Player as the player on my SD-booted, headless i7 mini. Not with in the NAA configuration. (I have more to report on NAA tweaks, but that is a separate post.)

 

Flip side of the same conclusion: Again, Miska does not depend on minimizing use of computer resources (other than enabling use with streamlined Linux distros) but on his filter and modulator designs; and on isolation from the computer if using an NAA.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Can one of you tell me if this statement is accurate as regards the processor power needed for PCM to DSD on the fly conversion:

 

I cannot tell you whether those specifics are absolutely necessary and nothing less will do. I will tell you my mid-2009 MacBook Pro with Core 2 Duo cannot utilize PCM -> DSD or vice versa with HQPlayer, and if I remember correctly it cannot run HQPlayer's DSD modulators to play native DSD. It does have enough power to upsample PCM to higher res PCM using HQPlayer's filters, but that's it.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Have you tried the most recent 3.4.x versions with "2s" variants of the poly-sinc filters? These are two-stage variants that are lighter on CPU, but technically very close to single-stage non-2s versions.

 

I believe I did try, but could do so again. The other thing I could try is to use my desktop with the LH Labs Geek Out and my IEMs (Etymotic ER-4P), but I don't know how the ESS chip in the GO, as configured by LH Labs, handles DSD. Does it put the DSD (64, 128) bitstream through additional filtering/modulation, I wonder?

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 4 weeks later...
HQPlayer does not play MP3.

 

You don't have a downgrade in audio by converting ALAC to AIFF. You should have the size than if you rip the same CDs straight to AIFF.

 

Some people (including me) even feel there is an upgrade in SQ when ALAC has been losslessly decompressed to AIFF.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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The intellectual property, if you will, of HQP is IMO largely in the various upsampling filters/modulators. Testing it without upsampling is, to me, like testing pizza but deciding to skip the cheese and tomato sauce.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Jud, how about the difference between AIFF files ripped from ALAC versus ripped directly from the CD? I'm trying to decide whether it'd be worth it to unearth my CDs and re-rip them or just convert them from my Apple Lossless rips.

 

I have no personal experience of a comparison because I've always just converted any ALAC I had to AIFF rather than bothering to re-rip.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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I didn't know about that, but I know Apple disabled TRIM for 3rd party SSDs on Yosemite. So eventually a 3rd party drive will become very slow...

 

Trim Enabler | Cindori

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Yes - not everyone will want to disable kext signing to have TRIM.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Can HQ Player up/down/resample 'offline' (not in real time), like Jriver ?

 

No.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Miska

I really like HQPlayer, but as the above quote indicates the hierarchy of music organization makes it challenging to find the music that I want to play in many cases. Gino's example above is one case. Another is John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman album listed under Irving Berlin. Alison Krauss and Union Station under Alison Taylor. Also the search fields are not working. So one has to open the folders to see what is inside in many cases.

 

HQPlayer is my goto player now. Is there something that I can do to have it structured as Artist > Album > date ?

 

Not Miska, and as responsive as he is I'm sure he'll be along soon. But I believe as long as you have your music organized as you like on the drive, you can set up HQPlayer to simply reflect that organization. (Sorry, I'm a happy user of HQPlayer, but it's been a while since I fired it up and I'm not on my home computer right now.)

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Thanks Jud,

 

Any idea how to set that up? I tried the "Structure only" checkbox under "File > Library..." and it didn't import the folders in the tree hierarchy that exists on my drive. This would be best if it worked, since my folders are already sorted by Artist > Album.

 

Geno

 

I think it is "Structure Only," but don't remember what level must be imported (entire library or all the top-level folders or...?).

 

Edit: Miska or someone else who knows, rescue me before I dig myself in any deeper! ;)

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 1 month later...
Anyone having trouble saving settings? I set all the setting in HQPlayer up (3.6.0, Yosemite, mac mini, registered version). But when I open it back up, my settings are all gone.

 

Mine are saved as far as I can tell.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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Glad to report I figured out the correct settings to play DSD and upsample PCM to DSD. What I'd like to know now is information on the sonic characteristics of the various modulators. I imagine this has been discussed in this and other threads; I'd appreciate either repetition of the information or links to previous discussions.

 

Thanks!

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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EuroDriver, thank you.

 

Miska, any thoughts about whether there is a specific modulator that works best with the exD DAC (FN1242a chip), keeping in mind that so far due to the CPU I think I'm limited to DSD64, at least for DSD64 material and PCM? (The DAC will allow input up to DSD128. I haven't gotten around to trying DSD128 material yet, just DSD64 and PCM.) Or if you haven't tested with that particular DAC recently, any fairly generic information about what each of the modulators is supposed to do?

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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quoted from the SRC thread...

 

preferences show "core audio" (only setting that shows my DAC), Asio and Network-Adapter. Am I correct assumingt HQ Player utilizes Core Audio and doesn't run in Integer Mode on OS X 10.9.5 (and above) unless you install a dedicated driver (Asio driver obviously)??

 

It runs in Integer Mode. For Mavericks and Yosemite you don't need a separate driver (like A+ Direct Mode) for Integer Mode. Core Audio will work.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Did you use the "Add" or "Add tree" button? To add entire directory tree, use "Add tree" and point it at base directory of your music directory tree, it will scan and add all the subfolders.

 

Miska, I have tried "Add tree" to add my external drive with all my music on it, but this doesn't work. Will it not add an entire drive/volume? (This is on OS X.)

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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I've used it on entire mounted network share (SMB) as well as on local HDD I use for content (FW800 external disk). I have not encountered any problems. But if the scan gets interrupted for some reason, log file could tell about the reason.

 

(network share took something like 30 minutes to scan, local disk was faster at around 10 minutes)

 

OK, then I'm pretty sure I'm not giving it enough time. (Would you consider a progress indicator?) I'll try letting it go for awhile, and if I still get no results I'll check the log. Will let you know.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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There is a progress indicator dialog popping up when "Add tree" is used with a progress bar moving back and forth. In the background you should also see the library table being populated.

 

So I am not only not giving enough time, I am not paying enough attention! Sorry, Miska. Will try it again, hopefully this evening, and see how it turns out.

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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