HQ Player

[ckpiv]

I think I have a problem with HQ Player Preferences. I can no longer up sample on my w4s dac 2 to 192K. I have unchecked the auto rate family but i only get a choice of 88 or 176 in the drop down menu? Have quit and restarted HQ Player but this does not help. I also tried with my Schitt Bifrost DAC and still the same. 44.1K will only upsample to 88 or 176k while 48k and 96k can upsample to 192K. Seems that the checking or unchecking the auto rate family has no effect as it is stuck on the auto rate family.

 

could my preference file be corrupt if so where is it located?

[ckpiv]

What filter are you using?

 

Jud

 

Thanks! I had been using Poly-Sync filters but was experimenting with IIR, FIR, AsymFIR, etc. I guess these filters limit you to 2X or 4X. Going back to the Poly-sync family of filters does give me more options up tp 192k. Can't believe I did not try that before my post. Thanks for your help, thought I was losing my mind

[ckpiv]

I ended up not purchasing Roon because it added about 10 degrees C to the CPU temperature on my iMac, pushing it to 60+ degrees at times when upsampling to DSD256 on HQPlayer. Too bad because Roon certainly made for a slick front-end interface for HQPlayer.

 

I do not think Roon is the cause of your temp problems as others have said. Are your fans kicking on? You may have a faulty temp sensor. Does the iMac feel hot? You might try reseting SMC to see if that changes anything. You could also head over to the Roon support forums, they are very responsive over there.

[ckpiv]

I'd like to get that new filter to just work

Pegs all cores when I try poly-sinc-xtr-mp, never plays anything though.

 

OS X 10.12.2 iMac i7

Roon -> HQP DoP, Pipeline SDM, poly-sinc-xtr-mp 5.6Mhz - NAA - Teac UD-501

Tried all modulation options from DSD5 through ASDM7 and Cuda off and on.

 

I could not get it to work with DSD, Pegged (787%) my Mac Pro 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 32meg of Ram. Does work up sampling to PCM to 705.6k from 44.1 - only uses 27%

[ckpiv]

With -2s filter variants it should work to DSD without too much trouble. Or with CUDA offload using recent high-power GPU...

 

Thanks Miska. In my haste to try out 3.15 I did not even notice the -2s variant. It loads and works with DSD256 and only uses 125%. Sounds good!

[ckpiv]

Didn't change any settings .Worked fine yesterday.Wont work today .Thought maybe it was a naa problem so removed it.Try to play music the play buttton in Hqplayer is grey and pause button flashes.Roon on its own plays fine

 

Might try resetting your DAC, Unplug the usb and replug it in.

[ckpiv]

On OS X the MQA 48kHz play from Roon 1.3 to HQPlayer set to auto rate with the MQA filters to a iFi iDSD Micro. Are you using a NAA by chance? Sometimes going into HQPlayer preferences my NAA changes to HDMI output for some reason and I get the behavior you mentioned. Going back in and changing back to the iDSD Micro then everything plays correctly - Just a thought.

[ckpiv]

For a while trying HQPlayer has been on my 'to do' list, in particular since Roon integration. One issue I have is that (unfortunately) I have over 10K of tracks ripped in ALAC, together with much metadata tweaking and most of the tracks are individually track rated, all stuff that is important to me. With HQPlayer not being compatible with ALAC, I would need to perform a file conversion to FLAC or similar, and hence loose the metadata. Recently I have been trying the upsampling offered as part of Roon 1.3. To be honest, the results of this have been a little underwhelming, so trying HQPlayer still appeals. The Roon offering does lead to a question though, if Roon can happily upsample ALAC, why is this not possible in HQPlayer? Plus, is it actually impossible or just a case that ALAC compatibility has been deliberately avoided? Or to ask another question, is ALAC support in HQPlayer something that may be offered in the future, or will it be permanently excluded?

 

If you use Roon as a front end HQ Payer will play your ALAC files so no need to convert.

 

 

[ckpiv]

It is my understanding that Roon uncompresses the ALAC before passing the stream off to HQPlayer so this is why it works. If you try to play the ALAC files with only HQ Player they will not load.

[ckpiv]

Yes, they silently fail with no explicit user feedback that they are unsupported.

 

Not sure what you are referring to here? If you try to load via the HQ Player file browser they are greyed out and will not let you add them. If you try to drag and drop they will not load as one would expect from a unsupported file. But they will play just fine using Roon as the front end to HQ Player.

[ckpiv]

I have managed to stop all dropouts in my Mac-based, wireless HQPlayer/NAA system. I'm sharing the solution that has worked for me in hope that it may help anyone with a similar setup who experiences this vexing problem.

 

My core computer is a 2015 MacBook Pro 2.5 GHz i7 w/16GB RAM. The NAA is a base model 2011 Mac Mini connected to an Airport Express by an inexpensive CAT7 cable and to my DAC via USB.

 

In my case, eliminating the dropouts was accomplished by setting up my wifi devices to operate at 5GHz (as well as at 2.5GHz). My understanding is that, correctly set up, the Apple wifi system is capable of automatically operating at 5GHz between devices (including your Mac computers-to-Airports) that are located in line-of-sight or in close proximity with no major structural barriers. My MacBook Pro is in line of sight to the Airport Express/Mac Mini and also line of sight to the Airport Extreme that connects me to the internet.

 

Here is the procedure I followed:

 

1. Go > Utilities > Airport Utility

2. Click on the icon for the main wifi device (in my case, the Airport Extreme) > Edit > Wireless > Wireless Options. Click the blank checkbox next to "5GHz network name." A name for your network will be suggested that adds "5GHz" to the name of your existing network. Delete the " 5GHz" including the space between that term and the name of your existing network.

3. Click "Save." That window closes.

4. Click "Update" and then wait for the wifi device to reboot.

5. Click on the icon for the wifi device that is serving as the NAA for your DAC (in my case, an Airport Express). Repeat steps 2 through 4 for this wifi device.

 

Since making these changes, HQPlayer has gone to zero dropouts from what were previously occasional-to-frequent-dropouts. Moreover, I am able to use Roon/HQPlayer upsampling 16/44.1 to DSD128 while simultaneously browsing with Safari, which had previously been nearly impossible, with no dropouts whatsoever.

 

I hope someone finds this helpful.

 

I have had a very similar situation. Was running my Mac Pro quad core with 32 megs of ram running Roon and HQP sending to my NAA mac mini 2.4 dual core (lmid 2010.) Both were wired with Cat6 to a 1000gbit switch which was wired to my router with cat6. Like you I got constant intermittent dropouts which was driving me crazy trying to track down the cause.

 

On a whim I disconnected the Mac Mini ethernet cable and turned on the wireless and connected to my router on the 5ghz band......No dropouts unless i messed with the mac mini.

 

I then decided to load linux Ubuntu Studio 16.10 on the Mac Mini keeping OS X as well for a dual boot setup. Loaded the Linux NAA on the mac mini plugged in the ethernet shut of the wifi and no dropouts! even when using the Mac mini to browse the web, etc. System has been very stable ever since. What ever drivers linux uses to control the ethernet connection on the mac mini is far and away much better then what Apple is doing. I was ready to pitch the damn mac mini but linux has brought it back to a productive life in my system. Will not be booting the mac mini back to OS X. Currently up sampling everything to DSD256.

[ckpiv]

In my case, I had dedicated traffic to 5Ghz, but still did not fix my stuttering issues, even though my network was only showing ~30% utilization. Nothing worked until I did some routing analysis and started running most of the traffic over wired Ethernet instead of WiFi.

 

Just sharing because it shows there's always hope

 

I read your post about reconfiguring with great interest. My situation was driving me crazy! My network, cpu's, etc. were showing nothing unusual and not being able to do much on either computer with out triggering dropouts was maddening. When I finally switched the NAA, Mac Mini over to wifi and the dropouts vanished just did not make since to me. Then after installing Linux on the Mac Mini and reconnecting to ethernet and it works without issue. So the only thing I can figure is Apple just does not manage the ethernet port all that well (even did a reinstall of Lion and upgraded up to Yosemite with same issues). Hmmmmm Anyway all is good now and the music plays without any issues. Using the Mac Mini as NAA makes a huge improvement with the overall sound - Less noise, more clarity and better defined and impactful bass.

[ckpiv]

For the last week or so, I have been unable to get any of the xtr filters to work. All of the other filters are running fine but when i choose one of the xtr variants I get endless back and forth of the blue bar. Other settings are ASDM7, 12288000, Pipeline SDM checked, CUDA Offload checked, Auto rate family unchecked, running through Roon and Sonicorbiter as NAA. Using latest versions on both desktop and NAA.

 

Any thoughts on what might be wrong? Thanks

 

Having auto rate family checked works for me. Have you tried this? I have 12288000 set as my default in preferences.

[ckpiv]

And yet the problem persists. How can I tell what Hqp version I have?

 

HqPlayerDesktopx --> About HqPlayerDesktopx

 

[ckpiv]

It never stops when using.What happens turn computer off after using HQplayer and Roon .Then say next day I turn computer back on Hqplayer won't work.

 

What are you preferences set at? a screen shot would help. Could you have a some default filter combination set that is not compatible with your Dac? Since you say this happens on startup seems that this could be an issue. I am on a mac but the only time I get your symptoms is when I set filter combinations that need auto rate family selected.

[ckpiv]

15 hours ago, Miska said:

 

For this case, I have a temporary solution to try, so on macOS if you have problems to connect from Roon to HQPlayer, you can try opening terminal and starting HQPlayer with following command:

HQPLAYER_IPV6=0 /Applications/HQPlayer4Desktop.app/Contents/MacOS/HQPlayer4Desktop

This disables IPv6 support and could help the case. Success/failure reports welcome!

 

This is the only way I can get Roon to connect to HQPlayer as well. Running Mojave 10.14.4. Also ask to allow network connection on start up (firewall shows HQPlayer4 and HQPlayer3 as allowed) and the says failed to open audio device - check preferences and the preference pane opens. Audio device is there, close preference pane and roon connects and plays.

[ckpiv]

9 minutes ago, Paetrick said:

Hi Jussi,

 

I encountered a regression with version 4. I'm not able to use the closed-form filters family (with PCM), there is almost no listenable output except some weird clicks. The 'limited' counter is steadily counting up clipped samples also. As with version 3 I upsample everything to SDM, so currently I am only able to listen to my DSD files.

I use up to date Windows 10 and up to date Nvidia/CUDA drivers with CUDA offload enabled, no setting has changed going from version 3 to version 4 of HQPlayer.

 

Otherwise everything is smooth and good sounding with the new version

 

I have had similar issue with version 4 regarding the limited counter keeps counting up and no sound plays - this was on trying to play DSD. I have updated the Nvidia drivers as well on Win 10. I found that if you uncheck the CUDA offload it will work. I have reverted back to version 3 which allows the CUDA offload?

 

9 minutes ago, Paetrick said:

 

 

[ckpiv]

4 hours ago, freesteve said:

Any suggestions why I cannot get 4.1 to work; same preferences as 3.5 and that still works.  Thanks,.

Try setting the SDM Pack to DoP on the Output Device settings

[ckpiv]

Jussi,

 

I am getting the "accept incoming network connections?" dialog box and a "Failed to open audio device. Please check settings!" dialog box. After clicking allow network connections and ok on the failed to open audio device preference pane opens and audio device is there. After clicking through everything everything appears to work properly. I checked system Prefs/Firewall pane and HQPlayer 4 desktop is listed twice as is HQPlayer 3 twice and set to "allow incoming connections". Is this normal behavior for version 4? Running Mac OS Mojave 10.14.4

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

 

 

[ckpiv]

22 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

If your output device is NAA and you have firewall active, it is normal behavior, also with HQPlayer 3, because HQPlayer gives up waiting for the NAA before you can click "Allow" on the dialog box. I just have macOS firewall turned off because it harms more than helps on my local network anyway.

 

 

Jussi,

 

Thanks for the feedback. I turned off the firewall and HQPlayer 4 does open without all the warnings. Never had this issue with HQPlayer 3.....

 

Thanks!

[ckpiv]

1 hour ago, warrior-kid said:

Have not been here awhile and been using the 3.x versions. Did not even know version 4 was out. I am completely shocked by the upgrade price, however. Are we really talking about over 200 USD worth of improvements here?

 

This new license is also multi-platform, Same license key for Mac OS, Windows & Linux. So if you switch OS or want to experiment with another OS you do not need to purchase addtional specific OS license (As long as you only have one instance of HQPlayer open at any given time). Plus as @AnotherSpin mentioned, countless improvements, developments and maintenance. Jussi has provided unparalleled support over the years for HQPlayer integration with various OS and hardware updates and issues.

[ckpiv]

11 minutes ago, tobes said:

Why would it sound worse with Roon doing the control?

 

Make sure you do not have any of the Roon DSP features enabled. 

[ckpiv]

1 hour ago, Superdad said:

Thanks Bob, but I did that multiple times.  The default, if one does not have the globe icon in Desktop engaged, is for Client to just say "localhost."  If one engage the the globe in Desktop to allow control, then "Alexs-iMac-local" appears available in the drop-down--so I know there is some communication happening.  Just no library, no tracks.  So Client is useless because it does not allow for opening of any library.

 

I normally run Roon to HQPlayer but decided to try out HQPlayer with Client on my Mac Pro (Same as Desktop App) and Client on Windows 10 Laptop.

 

• I scanned Library folder where Music is located
• Opened Desktop Client on Mac Pro and selected Mac pro Name and hit [Return] 
• Library showed up in the client - if I selected (Localhost) library disappeared)
• Reselected Mac Pro Name from Dropdown list Library reappeared
• Selected Album and played 

I then closed the client on the Mac Pro and opened Client on Windows 10 Laptop

• Selected Mac Pro Name in Drop down list on win10 client
• Library showed up
• Selected album and played

 

When I close out the client and reopen it reopens with the Mac Pro as default in the dropdown list but Albums do not appear. I either have to select the Mac Pro Name and hit [Return] or select localhost then switch back to Mac Pro Name and Albums reappear after short delay. So I think there could be a bug in the selection on the dropdown list.

 

Hope this helps

[ckpiv]

Click the green Maximum button on the preference pane to expand to full screen. Your output and input devices cannot be the same. 

[ckpiv]

9 hours ago, il Carletto said:

Hello,

I'm using HQP Desktop on my new pc (Intel 10th Gen. i7-10700K OC @4800). No GPU.

OS is Gentooplayer Xfce 2.15. My Naa is an Allo Usbridge Sig (Gentooplayer as well).

Dac is a RME Adi-2 fs

 

I am experiencing many problems at DSD256 with no really heavy setting (poly-sinc-lp-2s + ADSM7) and an abnormal cpu resources use (more than 80%). It doesn't matter the file I'm playing.

Gentooplayer is running on a fast USB 3. No other programs installed. 

 

My computer should be powerful enough to play with this setting, at least.

Any hint?

Thanks in advance

Is your music not playing correctly?

 

Your load average is very minimal (.37 1min .30 5 min .14 15 min)l. If not mistaken the i7-10700k you have is 8 cores and 2 threads per core,  so your CPU % Max would be 1600%, you need to factor in how many cores and hyper threads per core. Looking at your screen shot it appears your system is hardly working. Others with more knowledge can chime in.