HQ Player

[Le Concombre Masqué]

see my sig. I tend to first try Closed form nowadays and switch only if it doesn't sound right. For n48 files I use poly sinc short or or its mp variant these days. I stick to ASDM7 nowadays but DSD7 was my goto filter with dff files

 

 

 

[QUOTE=astr0b0y;498937]Miska, do you have a recommendation for settings for the UD-501? I'm using poly-sinc ADSM7 which seems the highest the DAC can handle via OS X, Mac mini i5.

[Chodi]

zenpmd I would be careful with that list of dacs as several of those are old models which have been replaced by new improved models. That list does include manufacturers that hit all price points so it should be easy to narrow your search based on your budget.

[4est]

OK, so upon further investigation the CUDA offload is working its magic and I can now run closed form to DSD256 using an older i5 2500k coupled with a Nvidia 750ti if I directly connect a DAC to the USB. It would appear as if the wireless NAA endpoint I was using as a tester could not handle the stream. In part I think I was confused by the new CPU %s in 3.12 and how it related to clicking/dropouts. Without CUDA using 3.11, anything above 30% CPU would have issues. Now it will play clean at 40%+, but I needed to avoid the ethernet and/or wireless connection.

 

Do anyone have a recommendation for how I might analyze my network, and what connection throughput I would require for good operation using an NAA? Maybe I need a new router? At present I am using an antique Airport Extreme 2nd generation 802.11n. Gosh, it is at least 6, if not 8+ years old, I have gotten my money's worth! Suggestions for a good stable newer router would be welcomed as well. TYIA

Thank you!

 

I seem to have a problem then. Mine says: resampler= enabled convolution=disabled

 

CUDA offload is checked, and I am not using the convolution engine.

 

In my case it says =

[Jud]

OK, so upon further investigation the CUDA offload is working its magic and I can now run closed form to DSD256 using an older i5 2500k coupled with a Nvidia 750ti if I directly connect a DAC to the USB. It would appear as if the wireless NAA endpoint I was using as a tester could not handle the stream. In part I think I was confused by the new CPU %s in 3.12 and how it related to clicking/dropouts. Without CUDA using 3.11, anything above 30% CPU would have issues. Now it will play clean at 40%+, but I needed to avoid the ethernet and/or wireless connection.

 

Do anyone have a recommendation for how I might analyze my network, and what connection throughput I would require for good operation using an NAA? Maybe I need a new router? At present I am using an antique Airport Extreme 2nd generation 802.11n. Gosh, it is at least 6, if not 8+ years old, I have gotten my money's worth! Suggestions for a good stable newer router would be welcomed as well. TYIA

 

Doesn't ship to the first buyers until February at the earliest, but of potential interest:

 

https://www.eero.com/

[yincr]

As Miska wrote earlier, if GPU is slower than CPU, offloading could slow does the process. I tried a Dell M3800 quad core i7 2.2GHz with NVIDIA K1100, Windows 10 Pro. I can run any program choosing the NVIDIA or an Intel integrated video card. With NVIDIA, redbook to DSD256/asdm7/poly sync, playback is unlistenable, the CPU Load is about 30%. With Intel graphics card, without offloading, everything play nice.

[4est]

TY Jud, but I am not sure if it is my router, MB controller or the mSATA wireless card in my endpoint that is the bottle neck. With the many permutations of RDT, remote UI, server and NAA using Muso and Rcoon there are lots of options. My hope is to understand my issue first before cutting holes in my floor and/or running wire hither skither. At the moment I have CAT5 in the wall next to the wirelessly attached aforementioned endpoint. My question is then, what sort of data rates do I need to effectively run an NAA at DSD512, and how do I test it properly. Can I simply send some large files to and fro or do I need to study the flow more closely to see if there are spikes in the transmission?

Doesn't ship to the first buyers until February at the earliest, but of potential interest:

 

https://www.eero.com/

[AnotherSpin]

I tend to first try Closed form nowadays and switch only if it doesn't sound right. <...> I stick to ASDM7 nowadays but DSD7 was my goto filter with dff files

 

Exactly similar to my choice of settings.

[bibo01]

TY Jud, but I am not sure if it is my router, MB controller or the mSATA wireless card in my computer that is the bottle neck. With the many permutations of RDT, remote UI, server and NAA using Muso and Roon there are lots of options. My hope is to understand my issue first before cutting holes in my floor and/or running wire hither skither. At the moment I have CAT5 in the wall next to the wirelessly attached aforementioned endpoint. My question is then, what sort of data rates do I need to effectively run an NAA at DSD512, and how do I test it properly. Can I simply send some large files to and fro or do I need to study the flow more closely to see if there are spikes in the transmission?

 

If it can be helpfull, a DSD512 file is around 5.4MB/s

[4est]

TY, that is a start. In Win10 task manager there was a line across the wifi graph that was never exceeded or even closely approached. Previously I took that as an indicator that I had not exceeded the capabilities, but it seems as if I am somewhere.

If it can be helpfull, a DSD512 file is around 5.4MB/s

[4est]

So in testing this I played a file RB> CF/DSD7/11.2MHz(DSD256) through to my wireless NAA. The server stated approx 20Mbps send and the wireless endpoint received at 17-18Mbps. The file would keep playing, but stutter. CPU load around 30% with CUDA, 60% without and without seemed to sound slow. If DSD512 is 5.4Mbps, I assume DSD256 would be half that at 2.7, but my metering shows it as 6x that. I am all ears if there are other suggestions or comments. FWIW, without CUDA the send load was 18.6Mbps which I assume to mean that the server couldn't quite keep up without CUDA.

TY, that is a start. In Win10 task manager there was a line across the wifi graph that was never exceeded or even closely approached. Previously I took that as an indicator that I had not exceeded the capabilities, but it seems as if I am somewhere.

[Samuel T Cogley]

So in testing this I played a file RB> CF/DSD7/11.2MHz(DSD256) through to my wireless NAA. The server stated approx 20Mbps send and the wireless endpoint received at 17-18Mbps. The file would keep playing, but stutter. CPU load around 30% with CUDA, 60% without and without seemed to sound slow. If DSD512 is 5.4Mbps, I assume DSD256 would be half that at 2.7, but my metering shows it as 6x that. I am all ears if there are other suggestions or comments. FWIW, without CUDA the send load was 18.6Mbps which I assume to mean that the server couldn't quite keep up without CUDA.

 

The formula to determine DSD sampling rates is pretty straight forward:

 

44100 * 64 = 2822400

 

44100 * 128 = 5644800

 

44100 * 256 = 11289600

 

44100 * 512 = 22579200

 

For DoP (you're using Windows, so this won't necessarily apply to your environment), just divide the DSD rate by 16:

 

2822400 / 16 = 176400

 

5644800 / 16 = 352800

 

11289600 / 16 = 705600

 

22579200 / 16 = 1411200 (This is why the iFi iDSD Micro can only do DSD512 in native Linux or with Windows ASIO). A 1.4MHz PCM sampling rate just doesn't exist today (that I know of).

[Samuel T Cogley]

I've experimented a bit with Linux "native" DSD driver support with iFi hardware. My question is this: what is the designation of the kernel drivers that enable "native" Linux support?

 

Is it "XMOS Native DSD"?

[EdmontonCanuck]

TY Jud, but I am not sure if it is my router, MB controller or the mSATA wireless card in my endpoint that is the bottle neck. With the many permutations of RDT, remote UI, server and NAA using Muso and Rcoon there are lots of options. My hope is to understand my issue first before cutting holes in my floor and/or running wire hither skither. At the moment I have CAT5 in the wall next to the wirelessly attached aforementioned endpoint. My question is then, what sort of data rates do I need to effectively run an NAA at DSD512, and how do I test it properly. Can I simply send some large files to and fro or do I need to study the flow more closely to see if there are spikes in the transmission?

 

Something else you may want to try if you haven't already is to enable "jumbo frames" in your networking stack. This is an ethernet setting for your network cards. I've enabled this setting on my Synology NAS and on any computer connected to it that involves audio/video file transfers.

 

Jumbo frames essentially make the individual ethernet packets being sent along the wires "larger", thus containing more payload data. This cuts down on the number of packets needed to transfer large files and increases effective throughput. This solved a video stuttering issue I used to have when I was streaming larger HD video files from my NAS to a lower-powered server connected to my TV. It would also help transferring large DSD streams as well.

 

Just a thought.

[4est]

Hmm, OK, but I assume one needs to at least multiply by two for stereo, and how does this translate into what is actually being transferred? Are we talking bits or bytes, and then is Bibo incorrect? It seemed as if I was sending 20M bps, not 22.5M bps.

The formula to determine DSD sampling rates is pretty straight forward:

 

44100 * 64 = 2822400

 

44100 * 128 = 5644800

 

44100 * 256 = 11289600

 

44100 * 512 = 22579200

 

For DoP (you're using Windows, so this won't necessarily apply to your environment), just divide the DSD rate by 16:

 

2822400 / 16 = 176400

 

5644800 / 16 = 352800

 

11289600 / 16 = 705600

 

22579200 / 16 = 1411200 (This is why the iFi iDSD Micro can only do DSD512 in native Linux or with Windows ASIO). A 1.4MHz PCM sampling rate just doesn't exist today (that I know of).

[Samuel T Cogley]

Hmm, OK, but I assume one needs to at least multiply by two for stereo, and how does this translate into what is actually being transferred? Are we talking bits or bytes, and then is Bibo incorrect? It seemed as if I was sending 20M bps, not 22.5M bps.

 

Admittedly, I can't say precisely how these will translate to empirical data rates on the USB bus. There may be some packing of data that makes it effectively less than the actual DSD sample rate. And I believe these numbers are all stereo. I'm also unaware of any additional packetizing overhead that might be added with NAA in the mix.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Something else you may want to try if you haven't already is to enable "jumbo frames" in your networking stack. This is an ethernet setting for your network cards. I've enabled this setting on my Synology NAS and on any computer connected to it that involves audio/video file transfers.

 

Jumbo frames essentially make the individual ethernet packets being sent along the wires "larger", thus containing more payload data. This cuts down on the number of packets needed to transfer large files and increases effective throughput. This solved a video stuttering issue I used to have when I was streaming larger HD video files from my NAS to a lower-powered server connected to my TV. It would also help transferring large DSD streams as well.

 

Just a thought.

 

Users unfamiliar with jumbo frames (setting the ethernet Maximum Transmission Unit from 1500 to 9000) should be very cautious here. Internet MTU values are typically a little less than 1500, and most consumer network gear will perform miserably at re-packetizing MTU 9000 packets to/from the internet. In other words, unless you deploy a separate 9000 MTU network for a NAS backend, your internet performance will suffer horribly when using 9000 MTU packets.

[shadowlight]

@4est,

 

Make sure that you do not have congestion on the wireless channel that you are using. I used Wifi Analyzer on my Android phone to find out which channel my router was running on and also identify the channels used by other wifi routers in my neighborhood that I was able to pickup while at home. Majority of the routers by default use channel 6 or 11 and that is what I found in my neighborhood. I changed it to channel 4 and my issues with drop out went away.

[4est]

This seems like a great thought, I'll look into it along with the channels. If need be, I can keep it off of internet use to avoid large packet issues.

Something else you may want to try if you haven't already is to enable "jumbo frames" in your networking stack. This is an ethernet setting for your network cards. I've enabled this setting on my Synology NAS and on any computer connected to it that involves audio/video file transfers.

 

Jumbo frames essentially make the individual ethernet packets being sent along the wires "larger", thus containing more payload data. This cuts down on the number of packets needed to transfer large files and increases effective throughput. This solved a video stuttering issue I used to have when I was streaming larger HD video files from my NAS to a lower-powered server connected to my TV. It would also help transferring large DSD streams as well.

 

Just a thought.

[Jud]

@4est,

 

Make sure that you do not have congestion on the wireless channel that you are using. I used Wifi Analyzer on my Android phone to find out which channel my router was running on and also identify the channels used by other wifi routers in my neighborhood that I was able to pickup while at home. Majority of the routers by default use channel 6 or 11 and that is what I found in my neighborhood. I changed it to channel 4 and my issues with drop out went away.

 

Thanks, that's not a bad idea at all.

[bibo01]

Hmm, OK, but I assume one needs to at least multiply by two for stereo, and how does this translate into what is actually being transferred? Are we talking bits or bytes, and then is Bibo incorrect? It seemed as if I was sending 20M bps, not 22.5M bps.

I was talking Mega Byte

5.38 x 8 = 43.04 Mbps (DSD512)

43.04 / 2 = 21.52 Mbps (DSD256)

[Munchoba]

Not the type of guy who hijacks a thread...but I need some basic HQ 101 help if possible...

 

I have been using HQ and Roon since mid December and, apart from a current glitch with Roon and Tidal that Roon is addressing, things have been going well.

Till Monday, when , for no apparent reason, my Mac was defaulting to my Built In Output instead of my dac. I could not revert it in audio midi.

Brian, from roon, has been helping me and the problem does not happen when Roon plays alone, nor with other music software... only when HQ is engaged.

Here are some screenshots I had sent to Brian.

 

 

 

 

 

Is there something I've done wrong?

 

Thanks

Bernard

[Outlaw]

When using hqplayer and Roon together you must disable exclusive mode in Roon and disable your dac in Roon settings.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Not the type of guy who hijacks a thread...but I need some basic HQ 101 help if possible...

 

I have been using HQ and Roon since mid December and, apart from a current glitch with Roon and Tidal that Roon is addressing, things have been going well.

Till Monday, when , for no apparent reason, my Mac was defaulting to my Built In Output instead of my dac. I could not revert it in audio midi.

Brian, from roon, has been helping me and the problem does not happen when Roon plays alone, nor with other music software... only when HQ is engaged.

Here are some screenshots I had sent to Brian.

 

 

 

Is there something I've done wrong?

 

Thanks

Bernard

 

I'm not getting what you're trying to do. Shouldn't you have added the HQPlayer "device" in Roon? It looks like both Roon and HQPlayer are trying to access your Ayre DAC.

 

And are you running Roon 1.1 Build 88? I don't even see the option to "Add Network Device" to your Roon setup.

 

In any event, you should point system sounds away from your DAC so that there's no issue with exclusive access.

[Miska]

Is there something I've done wrong?

 

The only potential problem I noticed is that you have the DAC also active in Roon. This potentially makes Roon and HQPlayer conflict with each other while trying to access the same device. So it is better to disable Ayre on Roon configuration and just leave the HQPlayer there.

[bibo01]

Munchoba,

 

You also want to adjust DSD output bitrate in HQPlayer Settings to 5644800