HQ Player

[Le Concombre Masqué]

I love more & more your CFF ; and I believe so much in the power of your filters that one good reason to change my DAC would be the ability to output closed formed dsd whatever the original is (n48 don't work with the TEAC 501). Are there any clues or educational audio samples somewhere to educate oneself on hearing ringing from ADC/mastering decimation filters ? basically +i use CFF unless n48 files force me to go polysinc and while using CFF, if it (scarcely) happens I'm not happy with what I hear, most often going polysinc doesn't help. I

Similar yes, certainly not exactly the same because at least my implementation uses more "taps" and probably has other implementation differences too (64-bit floating point, conversion to MHz rates, etc).

 

Which also means that it is not apodizing and thus doesn't reduce ringing from ADC/mastering decimation filters. So by definition no "de-blur" for closed-form.

[firedog]

Can I ask a newbie question, out of curiosity? The filters used in HQPlayer, are they generic or are they customized for HQPlayer?

Furthermore, can these filters be licensed to be used in other software?

 

Miska writes them for HQP. I assume they could be licensed. I doubt Miska has any interest in doing so. Especially now that there is HQP Roon Integration, anyone who likes the sound of HQP but not the interface can use Roon as an interface and get the benefit of the filters.

[ted_b]

anyone who likes the sound of HQP but not the interface can use Roon as an interface and get the benefit of the filters.

 

Unless you do multichannel (for now). C'mon Roon! Frankly I'd be just as happy, maybe more so, to see JRiver front end-to HQP, but knowing JRiver's aversion to any sound engine partnership, it ain't gonna happen.

[Allan F]

Frankly I'd be just as happy, maybe more so, to see JRiver front end-to HQP, but knowing JRiver's aversion to any sound engine partnership, it ain't gonna happen.

Not as long as JRiver sticks to its corporate mantra of "bits are bits" and "all bit perfect music players sound the same".

[francolargo]

A quick thread search has not found an answer to my question: Can I run 3 different convolutions on one stereo signal and route the results to separate outputs (for multi-amping)? [2 'whole' channels -> 6 'partial' channels] TIA!

[firedog]

Unless you do multichannel (for now). C'mon Roon! Frankly I'd be just as happy, maybe more so, to see JRiver front end-to HQP, but knowing JRiver's aversion to any sound engine partnership, it ain't gonna happen.

 

Can't imagine JRiver ever partnering successfully with Miska, or anyone else for that matter. They don't seem to think they have anything to learn from anyone else.

[ted_b]

Yeah Roon haa figured out this complex business model: if someone wants Roon to talk to HQPlayer you buy both Roon and HQPlayer licenses. Not sure why JRiver doesn't see that (that they can sell licenses even if their place in the chain is "only" library manager/GUI.)

[firedog]

Yeah Roon haa figured out this complex business model: if someone wants Roon to talk to HQPlayer you buy both Roon and HQPlayer licenses. Not sure why JRiver doesn't see that (that they can sell licenses even if their place in the chain is "only" library manager/GUI.)

 

Yes, part of why I responded to people who wanted HQP "fully integrated" into Roon - it ain't gonna happen. Both companies benefit from the software staying independent. Beyond that, and having nothing to do with profits, I fully understand why Miska wouldn't want to do that. HQP is his very successful baby, and he gets to keep it the way he wants it.

 

If JRiver did what Roon has done with HQP, I'd be tempted to go back to it and use it again instead of Roon. But with the Roon/HQP interface, I get better sound and a UI that is as good as JRiver/JRemote in most ways (not all) and better in some.

[Miska]

A quick thread search has not found an answer to my question: Can I run 3 different convolutions on one stereo signal and route the results to separate outputs (for multi-amping)? [2 'whole' channels -> 6 'partial' channels] TIA!

 

Yes, this is precisely what the Matrix processing allows (and also the other way around, IOW, downmixes).

 

In the pipeline setup, configure same source channel for multiple virtual pipelines and give each a different mix/output channel.

[francolargo]

Yes, this is precisely what the Matrix processing allows (and also the other way around, IOW, downmixes).

 

In the pipeline setup, configure same source channel for multiple virtual pipelines and give each a different mix/output channel.

 

Thanks very much! Would you expect that an ARM-based NAA could handle 6 channels of, say, 192kHz or 2X DSD data?

[Miska]

Thanks very much! Would you expect that an ARM-based NAA could handle 6 channels of, say, 192kHz or 2X DSD data?

 

Maybe CuBox-i could do it. But you have to pay attention to Linux compatibility of the DAC. Only DSD-capable multichannel DAC I have is exaSound e28, but the only NAA it works with is exaSound PlayPoint.

[ted_b]

Maybe CuBox-i could do it. But you have to pay attention to Linux compatibility of the DAC. Only DSD-capable multichannel DAC I have is exaSound e28, but the only NAA it works with is exaSound PlayPoint.

 

My CAPS V3 Carbon NAA works quite fine with the e28, up to DSD256 5.1. I may be missing something here.

[pipis2010]

Any chance I could get a new trial key for windows to experiment with HQPlayer, prior to purchasing it?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[zorntel]

Wondering if anyone has any experience for how to optimize machine/OS performance for HQplayer upsampling when the intent it to send to a HQplayer NAA for USB output to a DAC.

 

Thus, this isn't about the NAA itself, but rather the upsampling machine. The machine doesn't have to do anything else but run HQplayer and output the files which are sent to a switch and then onto a NAA either via wifi or a optically isolated hardwired connection. It may also be significant that the machine doesn't have to do the conversion to USB.

 

Upsampling to DXD or DSD256 (and occasionally 512). Lots of PCM and DSD high resolution music delivered to HQplayer machine using Roon.

 

Both a Power Mac (Xeon 2.2ghz, 8-core, CUDA enabled GTX 780) and a PC (Xeon e5 2670 v2 2.6ghz 16-core Bios A14, CUDA enabled GTX970) are available. Currently have 10.11.3 on the Mac and Windows 10 and Audiolinux on the PC. I also have Fidelizer available for the PC and the MacOS Optimization Setup script for the Mac.

 

NAA is either Sonicorbiter SE or Cubox-i with Jussi's NAA build.

 

Also posted to the HQplayer NAA thread.

[Foggie]

Yeah Roon haa figured out this complex business model: if someone wants Roon to talk to HQPlayer you buy both Roon and HQPlayer licenses. Not sure why JRiver doesn't see that (that they can sell licenses even if their place in the chain is "only" library manager/GUI.)

 

If Jriver was a bit more forward thinking, they should consider a new music only build.

 

The million lines of code that's in the current build has probably run its course to stay competitive in this (small, niche) market. Thinking A+, HQP, Amarra et al)

 

It's a great app for sure, but there's sooo much for just music.

 

Sent from CA app

[pipis2010]

If Jriver was a bit more forward thinking, they should consider a new music only build.

 

The million lines of code that's in the current build has probably run its course to stay competitive in this (small, niche) market. Thinking A+, HQP, Amarra et al)

 

It's a great app for sure, but there's sooo much for just music.

 

Sent from CA app

 

I think that, that could be JRiver's "demise" from a business perspective. I am saying this, because tech companies need to stay at the forefront and since a new player has arrived in town, i.e Roon, then they should find a way to collaborate with them and stay financially viable.

 

Maybe they have enough customers to stay financially healthy or maybe it's not their concern yet, or most probably they have already planned their next moves. Either way, we will see. But, it's very easy in this market to disappear very quickly and lose your customers to a competitor.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[Pete86]

For WASAPI it is good idea to change the "Buffer time" setting in HQPlayer to for example 100 ms. Practically all drivers default to 10 ms which is quite demanding when other stuff like Roon or remote desktop is running.

 

Jussi,

 

Just wanted to follow up and let you know that setting the buffer time to 250ms cured all of my issues! Thanks again. I'm so impressed with the level of support, I will be purchasing a license for sure.

[Joebah]

Just came across this topic and was thus far not aware of HQ Player. This looks very interesting and I am eager to try. But after reading through this thread (lots of it anyway), and looking at the user manual, I am left "confused" and intimidated because most of the time I feel like it is written in another language. ☺ I don't understand most of the terminology, etc. I am guessing that there is not an "HQ Player for Dummies" out there. I am guessing that best thing will be to just to download the trial and play with it.

 

Currently using Audirvana with a relatively lower end desktop setup, but planning to expand on the hardware end of things, and I am guessing that HQ Player would serve my needs for the indefinite future - if I can only figure out how to use it. The vast majority of my music files are hires flac...

 

Once you have figured out what settings are best for particular types/resolutions of music, is there the ability to save "sets" so that you can quickly access them on different listening sessions?

[zackthedog]

Just came across this topic and was thus far not aware of HQ Player. This looks very interesting and I am eager to try. But after reading through this thread (lots of it anyway), and looking at the user manual, I am left "confused" and intimidated because most of the time I feel like it is written in another language. ☺ I don't understand most of the terminology, etc. I am guessing that there is not an "HQ Player for Dummies" out there. I am guessing that best thing will be to just to download the trial and play with it.

 

Currently using Audirvana with a relatively lower end desktop setup, but planning to expand on the hardware end of things, and I am guessing that HQ Player would serve my needs for the indefinite future - if I can only figure out how to use it. The vast majority of my music files are hires flac...

 

Once you have figured out what settings are best for particular types/resolutions of music, is there the ability to save "sets" so that you can quickly access them on different listening sessions?

 

Don't be daunted. :-). An easy way to test HQ Player is to download the demo. Go to Preferences and select your DAC. Don't bother with the Library function for now, it eats up your demo time (at least on a Mac). Just drag and drop compatible files to the player window and click on the first file to start playback. Start with setting filter to "none" and dither to "none". This lets you hear the music at the original sampling rates. Then try "poly-sinc" and "TPDF" and set the upsampling rate to the highest your DAC will handle. This gives you an idea of the basic upsampling performance. This is for PCM only but it will give you an idea of the sound.

 

There is a simplified "beginner's manual" someone contributed but I have lost the link. Perhaps someone else has it. Also, Jussi has a post way back in this thread giving some basic info on settings, perhaps someone can repost that.

 

I use it as a simple drag-and-drop player and couldn't be happier.

[sig8]

Here:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f8-general-forum/hqplayer-resampling-filter-setup-guide-ordinary-person-13298/#post177180

[Joebah]

Thank you, zack and sig! I will give it a try this weekend.

[freesteve]

... Still my favorite for my Mac... Thank you Jussi

[trcns]

In HQ 3.12, once I upload a playlist, it stayed there even after a reboot. But since the update of 3.13, I have to upload this playlist every time, if I reboot my computer. Is there a way to keep a playlist till I decide to remove it?

[richard kimber]

I'm considering using HQ Player, but have two questions:

1) I understand that it's a player that does real-time up/down-sampling, but can it be used as an offline re-sampler so that I only have to do the re-sampling once?

2) I get the impression from the website that the interface uses the standard approach used by many players that classifies music by Artist, Performer, and Album. I don't use this approach. I listen to classical music, and use a directory-based approach in which music is listed by composer with subdirectories for each opus. Can HQ Player also use such an approach?

 

FWIW: I'm currently using Ubuntu Mate 15.10, and Asset UPnP with a Pioneer N-50. This works well for anything up to 24/192, but I shall be getting a DAC capable of DSD256 and DXD later in the year, so I am considering my options.

[zorntel]

Just came across this topic and was thus far not aware of HQ Player. This looks very interesting and I am eager to try. But after reading through this thread (lots of it anyway), and looking at the user manual, I am left "confused" and intimidated because most of the time I feel like it is written in another language. ☺ I don't understand most of the terminology, etc. I am guessing that there is not an "HQ Player for Dummies" out there. I am guessing that best thing will be to just to download the trial and play with it.

 

Currently using Audirvana with a relatively lower end desktop setup, but planning to expand on the hardware end of things, and I am guessing that HQ Player would serve my needs for the indefinite future - if I can only figure out how to use it. The vast majority of my music files are hires flac...

 

Once you have figured out what settings are best for particular types/resolutions of music, is there the ability to save "sets" so that you can quickly access them on different listening sessions?

 

And one more that got me started:

 

http://soundgalleries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/HQPlayer.pdf

 

Once you hear what your DAC is capable of thanks to Jussi's filters you won't go back.

 

Robert