HQ Player

[57gold]

Posted this on Server channel, but perhaps it belongs here:

 

Optimal Server for HQPLayer?

 

 

Amazed by the outstanding musicality of CD rips (have 2,500) converted to DSD128 with HQPlayer...unable to play DSD256 with Mytek DSD192 and 2010 Mac Mini 2Core, which also chokes on some of the filter options at DSD128.

 

Understanding that I'd need to upgrade DAC to a Manhattan, exasound... to get to DSD256 or above, I'd also need more computational power, RAM (say 16GB), L3 cache, the power supply to keep it running quietly...

 

Anybody have and idea?

 

Was thinking about a 2012 i7 Mac Mini with an outboard power supply, because at least I know how to use a Mac. Well, sort of.

[57gold]

New issue: Getting periodic drop outs. Not like when CPU is overworked, in fact Activity Monitor shows dip in CPU usage for second during no play; it drops like a V from @60% then returns to steady state. Picks up playing after second or so. Seems to happen early in a track more than later...though can happen at any point.

 

Using 2010 Mini w/2Core, 8GB RAM, OS and HQP on SSD, FW to Mytek. Running CD rips at DSD128, Poly-sinc 2, AMDS5...have Mini attached to a power conditioner with battery back up. Lights have not been flickering...

 

Sounds great, otherwise.

[57gold]

That sounds like AppNap if the HQPlayer window is not the active one. Did this appear as new problem on some version and do you know an earlier version where this didn't happen (the last one that didn't have the problem)?

 

Did not have last version long, so I do not recall drops outs.

 

It started in last couple of days.

 

3.7.0 is what I am using.

[57gold]

One possibility for the longer drop outs is the music HDD going to sleep. If music is on a spinning disk and HDD spin-down is enabled in OS X Preferences, then on a longer track the track may become fully preloaded and if then music playback goes on for long enough, the music HDD may go to sleep. When next track begins, the HDD needs to spin up again which takes time and the playback is then waiting for it. This has happened to me sometimes. Theoretically it could happen in the middle of a long track too, but I have never seen it.

 

I recommend updating to 3.7.1 which fixes one track-switch drop-out problem.

 

Will do. Did not realize there was an update.

[57gold]

Will do. Did not realize there was an update.

 

Had a couple of early (first few seconds) drop out with 3.71

[57gold]

Had a couple of early (first few seconds) drop out with 3.71

 

Been playing Peter Case and Marc Johnson (Frisell/Metheny album) this afternoon....get at least one drop out per track, freakin' annoying.

 

Guessing it's some switch to hit on the Mini???

[57gold]

2010 Mac Mini 2.4 GHz 2 Core, 8GB RAM, SSD, Mavericks, FW to Mytek DSD192. Use only for music...long list of stuff on Activity Monitor, but only stuff using resources are HQP and minuscule use of CPU by Core Audio and Screen Sharing (how I control Mini). Never have any other app going when I play music.

 

Music on OWC NewerTech Guardian MAXimus 1.5TB x2 Multi-Interface Hardware RAID-1 (Mirrored) Data Redundant Solution, attached with an Audioquest USB cable.

[57gold]

New issue: Getting periodic drop outs. Not like when CPU is overworked, in fact Activity Monitor shows dip in CPU usage for second during no play; it drops like a V from @60% then returns to steady state. Picks up playing after second or so. Seems to happen early in a track more than later...though can happen at any point.

 

Using 2010 Mini w/2Core, 8GB RAM, OS and HQP on SSD, FW to Mytek. Running CD rips at DSD128, Poly-sinc 2, AMDS5...have Mini attached to a power conditioner with battery back up. Lights have not been flickering...

 

Sounds great, otherwise.

 

Well, fixed issue. Not HQ Player.

 

Reset SMC and monkeyed with energy saving...believe the unit was trying to put itself to sleep at regular intervals causing momentary shutdowns/restarts. Running 5644800/poly-sinc-shrt-mp-2s/ASDM5, 58% CPU usage with 2010 Mini dual core 2.5

 

Sounds great! Sorry for wasting Jussi's time.

 

I’m 58 so I did not grow up with a laptop like my kids, who had them from age 6 at school. So, I find the oral traditions of Mac a bit of a mystery (no manual for such complicated, feature laden products?).

[57gold]

Miska - As I understand it (though I have proven to be lacking in all matters technology-related) HQP's "work" is on-the-fly"; have you considered memory play, or are the resulting converted files "too large" for this to make sense?

[57gold]

If you mean pre-converting files to RAM, then it gets somewhat impractical. If conversion speed is twice as fast compared to playback time, then converting a four minute track would take two minutes and converting 60 minute album would take half an hour. For doing on the fly conversion like this is just fine, but I don't think many would be ready to wait half an hour before album begins to play, or couple of minutes between every track.

 

And what to do if you have playlist several hours long? One hour of stereo DSD256 takes about 10 gigabytes of space. I have 32 GB of RAM, so I could keep three hours of DSD256 in RAM, but I'm not ready to wait something like an hour for playback to start.

 

Got it.

 

Figured converted files qualify as big ass files...wondered how quick the conversion process might be. If it was many multiples faster than play time than that might make sense, but I guess I should have figured that since my Mini chokes on 2XDSD with certain filters, that would not be the case.

 

Thanks for being patient for us men on the street.

[57gold]

For those loving the HQP sound, especially when upsampling CD rips to DSD, can you please share what DAC you are using?

 

Cheers

 

Mytek DSD 192 - handles 2XDSD. More depth, body and soul to the music when CD rips unconverted.

[57gold]

Exasound E22 to ASIO DSD256

Mytek Manhattan to DoP DSD128

 

huaklom - Curious as to your comparison of these two DACs, their characters, treatment of space, frequency extremes...overall sonic performance?

 

Have you used them both as preamps/directly into your amps? Do you use an upgraded power supply with the exasound?

 

Understand that Myetk was working on upgrade to DSD256, it that not yet available?

 

Thanks.

[57gold]

Tech guys - What would be the optimal server to play HQ Player... have been using a Mac Mini, but to get to DSD256 will need more processing power.

 

Have seen websites where one can pick and choose case, mother board, processor, RAM, HDs, power supply...to create a PC.

 

Does windows have a screen share function like OS X to operate headless?

 

Assuming one could add audiophile approved USB and FW cards and other fast inputs for storage/raid.

 

Know one alternatives to find a 2012 i7 Mini, but those are getting scarce or used...

[57gold]

So gents, what are you convolving or convoluting with...?

 

Thought that convolution, based upon earlier reply by Señor Jussi, was signal processing like EQ, effects like echo....

[57gold]

Been monkeying with settings and wonder if others see it (or better yet hear it) like I do.

 

Can only run CD rips at 5.6 DSD with *2 filters or at 2.8 DSD with full filtering...seems like better recordings sound better (particularly cymbals and high frequency details) at lower conversion rate and more complete filtering.

 

Thin I need a more powerful computer to hear the full boat!

[57gold]

Dropouts back...like a recurring nightmare.

 

Using like 55% of CPU at DSD128 with ~2 filters...CPU history bar takes a dip, lasts for less than a second and may happen twice during a 10 minute track. Sounds like a short or skip on vinyl. Annoying.

 

2012 Mac Mini 2.3 Duo Core with SSD, FW to Mytek, USB to OWC RAID HD.

 

Updated both Mavericks and HQ Player, to see if that might fix it. Nope.

 

May have to Reset the PRAM and NVRAM...PITA as I run headless.

 

Have a energy saving stuff turned off, restarted everything, all connections good, disks show no errors...

 

Will have to us PM...which runs fine, until I figure this out.

 

Any other ideas?

[57gold]

 

Visual evidence of dropouts.

[57gold]

Looks OK to me, a bit high side on the load but shouldn't get any dropouts yet...

 

But the two little dips in CPU are dropouts...it's like something is trying to access something in the background?

[57gold]

Don't own an SD card. OS is on SSD.

[57gold]

What is the backend in HQPlayer? Core Audio or ASIO? I believe Exa has a ASIO driver for Mac? If so you could just set backend to ASIO and turn off DoP. Sounds like it could be latency buffer issues?

 

Myth uses DoP for DSD, I believe.

 

Buffer stays in default in HQ Player Preferences with DoP and 2 Wire selected.

[57gold]

Is the content on USB disk or network? Either one could have access latency problems.

 

With Windows-style network shares, "smb:" mount URI schema tends to perform better than "cifs:" schema (different protocol version). On my iMac I'm playing from "smb" mount without problems, but the network is gigabit and the server is a PC machine running Linux. On Mac Mini I have content on external FW800 disk. Both work fine without problems.

 

Use FW to Mytek and files are on OWC RAID1 HD connected by USB. DSD and PCM on HQ Player has dropouts.

 

Still have to reset NVRAM...

[57gold]

Have had 2wire checked, before and after dropouts.

[57gold]

Note that 2wire works correctly only when output mode is set to SDM. PCM output will play incorrectly with the setting. This is feature of the Mytek firmware (at least the 1.7.6 I have).

 

Reset NVRAM and SMC, disk check and repair (none needed), updated firmware on Mytek to July 2015 version and checked FW drivers (newest version was installed)...same dropouts.

 

None on PM nor A+.

[57gold]

This seems to be issue for some people with Macs, but I don't still know why it happens. Do you get dropouts if the content is on internal storage, the same where the OS is located?

 

Ran a couple of HD Tracks files that I downloaded to the SSD on the Mini (before transfer to iTunes library on OWC RAID1 connected with USB2), two 20 minute Allman Bros Band Live jams, and no dropouts experienced.

 

When playing from internal SSD CPU usage up by 10% to @70% versus the USB2 external drive, which operated at @60%?

[57gold]

Ran a couple of HD Tracks files that I downloaded to the SSD on the Mini (before transfer to iTunes library on OWC RAID1 connected with USB2), two 20 minute Allman Bros Band Live jams, and no dropouts experienced.

 

When playing from internal SSD CPU usage up by 10% to @70% versus the USB2 external drive, which operated at @60%?

 

Now (later same day) playing files from OWC RAID1 via USB2...Govt Mule live w/buds (yup, in a southern rock/redneck mood) and no dropouts for 20+ minutes...switching back and forth between HDs fixed the slower connection?