HQ Player

[Kalpesh]

ahm7 works fine with 44 AND 192 sources. Don't know what the tech data for May will reveal but I take the chance to say it sounds fantastic, including imaging when it's correct at source

kudos and thank you

[CJH]

What are the improvements in 5.3.0?

CJH

[Miska]

5 hours ago, Kalpesh said:

is there a worthy setting to test 1024 with a Holo May fed by a Studio M1 ?

 

You could try the new modulators, let us know what you think! At least not necessarily any better than DSD256/DSD512 with more regular modulators, but certainly different!

 

[Miska]

27 minutes ago, CJH said:

What are the improvements in 5.3.0?

 

Always listed on the front page, and also in the Twitter and Facebook announcements!

 

[stefano_mbp]

51 minutes ago, CJH said:

What are the improvements in 5.3.0?

CJH

You can find the change log here

[Zauurx]

Please Miska, can you explain this :

 "option to adjust engine idle time and fully enable idling feature"

More precisely, useful in what scenario ?

[Miska]

4 minutes ago, Zauurx said:

Please Miska, can you explain this :

 "option to adjust engine idle time and fully enable idling feature"

More precisely, useful in what scenario ?

 

It is useful for example if you use Roon as HQPlayer front-end.

 

It won't stop the engine immediately when the content ends, or you "stop" from control API. Instead it leaves the engine playing silence for the defined period and only then stops if there has been no new playback requests. This makes things faster in many cases, since starting and stopping the engine takes some time.

 

[Schafheide]

9 hours ago, Miska said:

 

You could try the new modulators, let us know what you think! At least not necessarily any better than DSD256/DSD512 with more regular modulators, but certainly different!

 

Just tried the new AHM modulator with my Mini M2 Pro.  Amazing that I can now play DSD1024 !!  Of interest though, it would not work for me at 48 x 512 output - I had to select  48 x 1024.

[Miska]

13 minutes ago, Schafheide said:

Just tried the new AHM modulator with my Mini M2 Pro.  Amazing that I can now play DSD1024 !!  Of interest though, it would not work for me at 48 x 512 output - I had to select  48 x 1024.

 

Yes, DSD1024 is absolute minimum for it. It would be even better at DSD2048 if such DAC existed (maybe one day it will).

 

[copy_of_a]

@Miska

what‘s the purpose (a possible use case) of converting parametric EQ to convolution EQ?

[johsgjerde]

Hi @Miska.

 

I have been getting some great results with DSD 512 auto rate and EC modulators. HQPlayer 4. All filters I have wanted to try work, except Sinc-L (Sinc-Ll, and Sinc-Lm work) However Sinc-L works with sources with rates from 96k and up. But not on 44.1k and 48k.

I can see that on 96k or even 192k ram usage goes up quite a bit. (I have only 16 gigs, planning to upgrade at Black Friday). Does 44.1k require more ram than hires? Or could there be another reason for these rates not to work with Sinc-L?

 

My DAC is a Gustard X16 on Ubuntu server minimal with networkaudiod.

 

 

[Miska]

23 minutes ago, copy_of_a said:

@Miska

what‘s the purpose (a possible use case) of converting parametric EQ to convolution EQ?

 

For example to efficiently run it on GPU. And sometimes it also more efficient that way on CPU. Higher the number of parametric EQ filters in the set, more likely there is benefit running it as convolution instead.

 

Another thing is possibility to convert it to a linear phase EQ filter. But that has certain down sides which are explained in the manual/help. In short - introduction of pre-ringing in the middle of the audio band. How "bad" it is depends on the particular EQ set.

 

[fgribas]

On 11/15/2023 at 11:33 AM, Miska said:

 

The current only options are HDSPe AIO and ADI-2 Pro/DAC. I wish there would be more...

 

AIO just has some limitations. But I would recommend to try it out with optical. And if you are not happy, you could try with AES media converter - some rather cheap tone. Such media converter is essentially analog device, it doesn't need much electronics inside.

Such as this one, although not super cheap. (also available from their web shop in US)

 

 

Thank you Miska, I will keep my eyes on the used market for HDSPe AIO and ADI-2 Pro/DAC.

 

While I still don't have one, I made a poorman-samplerate-switcher 😅 

 

This is a Windows bat script to switch samplerate using hqp5-control to play content from my Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer thru a cheap Hifiman S2 digi that inputs to HQP.

 

It's far from an optimal solution, but it's been working quite well. It runs on a loop, checking every 1 second the current output sample rate from DMP-A6 (using its API). When it detects a change, it fires hqp5-control to play with the new sample rate.

 

It works with DMP-A6 + S2 Digi + Windows Server 2022 + HQP 5.3.0 (should work on other versions of Windows and SPDIF-USB converters, not tested). Works better with streaming services that are slower to start the playback (in my region = Qobuz). Faster services like Amazon Music (maybe due to a better local CDN) can have the first 2 seconds skipped or 1 second of noise during the change.

 

It even has a logfile and console output to know what's going on - both with simple and complete mode. Default is complete for console output and simple for log file.

 

I'm going to do a Linux version soon. And my focus is still an RME device. Anyway, if someone has the same specific use case, I'm sharing it.

 

HQP-sampleRateChanger.bat

[EMINENT]

Heloe.

 

Tried 5.3.0 last night. Also, tried with all other sincs, closed form, ext2, guass long, as well as sinc short, medium and long filters at 1024x44.1. Most all trialed with the exception of sinc L that did not work. Will continue with different others again.

[Kalpesh]

AHM7EC5L (acronym for ??) @1024 is now my go to modulator for PCM sources. LF extension and cleanness are outstanding as is the presentation

 

@MiskaA little up about HQPD control that ceased to see what's going on

the connection logo is (still) green though,

delete / reinstall on my iphone did not solve an eventual update issue

of course I checked via Client that network control is enable

[Miska]

1 hour ago, Kalpesh said:

AHM7EC5L (acronym for ??) @1024 is now my go to modulator for PCM sources. LF extension and cleanness are outstanding as is the presentation

 

Adaptime Hybrid Modulator, 7th order, Extended Compensation, 5-Level

 

1 hour ago, Kalpesh said:

@MiskaA little up about HQPD control that ceased to see what's going on

the connection logo is (still) green though,

delete / reinstall on my iphone did not solve an eventual update issue

of course I checked via Client that network control is enable

 

@Ales Prochazka is the right person to answer these. I don't think I made any changes to the control API.

 

[Gilberto]

Hello friends. Before the next total update of my current PC, a first generation i7, with which I am very limited with Hqp in terms of filters, convolutions and others, I would like, please, your opinion regarding going directly for the current one. i9 14900 K or wait for the next meteor lake which seems to be a step forward in processing capacity. Thanks for your opinion....

[copy_of_a]

11 hours ago, Miska said:

Another thing is possibility to convert it to a linear phase EQ filter.

Thanks Miska!

Great option!

What kind of linear filtering did you implement? Forward-Backward? What’s the delay (length)?

[Miska]

11 minutes ago, copy_of_a said:

What kind of linear filtering did you implement? Forward-Backward? What’s the delay (length)?

 

Nothing like that, it is just phase response adjustment.

 

Required length is determined at the conversion time, there is nothing fixed there.

 

[Kalpesh]

On 11/16/2023 at 7:45 AM, Kalpesh said:

quickly tested new AHM 

Studio M1

 

even 7EC works with 24/96 source Sinc Mga. not sure I like it. Sounds a bit thin and desincarnated disembodied compared to 7EC Super @256. Headphones lovers would love it I guess (can't miss the breathings of the violin player !)Would need more tracks. I'm mainly disturbed by the image that seems diluted, the pianoforte floats. Maybe the recording

 

neither works with DSD 64 source (veiled sound + static that goes on quite a while after stop)

 

PS : tested a complex choir with percussions (24/88): wooh ! very promising, telluric timbales even with a quite flat in room response till 1K, good placement and intelligibility of what is sung

What the technical data say for a May when you suggested 256 might be the sweet spot rather than 512 ?

Mea culpa : I probably goofed with ratios : with a Studio M1 DSD 64 (+convo ; Stereo but not Mch) is well playable @1024 with AHM7. 128 almost, few interrupts but interrupts ; anyway it's marginal afaik

[gsbrva]

Time for a CPU upgrade and hoping to some advice.  I've been using my trusty old workstation with a Broadwell-E 6850K, 32GB, plus an upgrade to a RTX3900 STRIX card during the shortage.  I'd like to buy a CPU/motherboard/ram that will best take advantage of the card I already have, since I had to pay top dollar for the 3900.  

 

Has anyone had experience where a 3900 is no longer beneficial as coprocessing with a current high end CPU?  Thanks!

[Quadman]

@Miska, in the 5.3 manual for the new modulators AHM5EC and AHM7EC, you put a warning in the text body about limited SNR and caution not to use them if HQP is your volume control.  What are the dangers of using these filters with a loudspeaker system if HQP is your volume control?  I have a traditional preamp so I have no issues, but a friend uses HQP volume only, these modulators would give him the opportunity to listen to 1024 with EC but what could he damage by using them?

[camott]

3 hours ago, Quadman said:

What are the dangers of using these filters with a loudspeaker system if HQP is your volume control?

There are no “dangers” per se, just possibility of noise in your speaker output. Just less headroom so it depends on the overall digital attenuation vs amplifier gain.

[Triplefun]

I have a windows PC with an RTX4070 and an externally powered USB OCXO card running Roon and HQplayer connected via USB to a HOLO MAY 3.  HQplayer sees the HOLO MAY and enables DSD1024. However, the Holo MAY only receives DSD512. How do I get the PC to output DSD1024 for receipt by the HOLO MAY.

[Von Brechts]

A question to the community:

 

Using HQPlayer on Win 11/Server 2022 (vNext) do you prefer HAGS enabled or disabled when using CUDA offload?