HQ Player

[tboooe]

Hey Jussi,

 

I have an Intel i7 4700T (2.7ghz) quad core Server with an MSI MS-7851 motherboard and 8gb Ram.

I use Win2012 in A.O GUI mode and HQP shell to do direct playback to Amanero.

 

I cant get DSD256 upsampling to work reliably without stutter. After 10-15 seconds, it starts to stutter. DSD128 is no problem at all. I tried all filter combinations and increased buffer size to no avail. Could it be a BIOS setting or some other computer setup issue? Indeed, I cant get DSD256 upsampling to work at all with JRiver! Even native 256 was a problem.

 

Native 256 playback is not a problem with HQP at all.

 

I would imagine that an i7 4700T should have no problem doing DSD256 upsampling, especially with -2 filters! I dont think I need to upgrade to Skylake 6700K unless I want to do DSD512 upsampling.

 

Any tips appreciated from you or anyone.

 

I have an i7-3770S (3.1ghz, quad) also with 8gb RAM running AO and I can do DSD256 upsampling from PCM. A couple of things that come to mind:

 

Are all 4 cores active?

Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in your DAC driver?

[astrotoy]

Hi Jussi. I found this computer. It is a Refurbished Win7 Pro. 12 CORE COMPUTER with 24 Hyperthreads | HP Z800 Workstation | 2 x SIX CORE Xeon 3.46GHz |*NEW* 4TB HDD| 500GB SSD | 24GB DDR3 RAM - WIFI - Quad Video Output - DVD-RW - Windows 7 Pro. Will this work? Thanks, Larry

[EdmontonCanuck]

Hi Jussi. I found this computer. It is a Refurbished Win7 Pro. 12 CORE COMPUTER with 24 Hyperthreads | HP Z800 Workstation | 2 x SIX CORE Xeon 3.46GHz |*NEW* 4TB HDD| 500GB SSD | 24GB DDR3 RAM - WIFI - Quad Video Output - DVD-RW - Windows 7 Pro. Will this work? Thanks, Larry

 

Ummm.....ya. That should work

[tboooe]

Ummm.....ya. That should work

Dang...what does something like that cost!???

[astrotoy]

Dang...what does something like that cost!???

 

$2200 (Refurbished 2 yr warranty). Larry

[juanitox]

spmething i still don't understand , doing 16/44PCM to 512DSD do i have to put direct SDM in DSD settings or non direct SDM and - in volume setting ?

 

thanks

[wisnon]

I have an i7-3770S (3.1ghz, quad) also with 8gb RAM running AO and I can do DSD256 upsampling from PCM. A couple of things that come to mind:

 

Are all 4 cores active?

Have you tried adjusting the buffer settings in your DAC driver?

 

Thanks Tboooe

 

No I have not. I am more a Mac guy and not sure how to do either of these things. Any pointers...especially for activating all 4 cores?

 

I have an Amanero driver...not sure how to adjust buffer settings, other than doing it in HQP as I described in my original post. Max was either 100ms or 250ms.

[ericuco]

 

Any pointers...especially for activating all 4 cores?

 

 

Make sure that Pipeline is checked under the Setting Menu. This spreads out the workload across 4 cores.

[wisnon]

Make sure that Pipeline is checked under the Setting Menu. This spreads out the workload across 4 cores.

Thnks

 

That was already done.

[tboooe]

Thanks Tboooe

 

No I have not. I am more a Mac guy and not sure how to do either of these things. Any pointers...especially for activating all 4 cores?

 

I have an Amanero driver...not sure how to adjust buffer settings, other than doing it in HQP as I described in my original post. Max was either 100ms or 250ms.

 

From Windows start type in MSCONFIG.exe. Go to Boot tab and select Advanced Options button. At the upper left, Number of Processors, check the box and make sure in the drop down box you select 4 or 8 (for hyperthreading).

 

For the DAC buffer, there should be an icon in the Windows system tray on the right side of the screen.

[Le Concombre Masqué]

most of the time I let ASDM7 but sometimes I care changing, opting for DSD7 when the source is DSD ; is there a rational to opt for an integrator rather than another ?

Filter settings don't have effect for DSD upsampling (integrator setting is the only one that has). As rough rule of thumb, for DSD256 multichannel you need to have at least as many cores on CPU as you have output channels and at least 3.2 GHz clock speed (base rate, non-turbo). Preferably twice as many CPU cores as output channels, 3.2 GHz base rate, or alternatively powerful CUDA capable GPU. (in good case, this spec may get you mch DSD512 too)

 

AVX2 capability on the CPU helps too...

[juanitox]

nobody for my Direct SDM / -3db question ? come on guys

[sdolezalek]

nobody for my Direct SDM / -3db question ? come on guys

 

If I recall correctly, Direct SDM means that incoming DSD files are fed through without upsampling or change. If you are starting with PCM files and upsampling to DSD it should have no effect on that. The -3db is recommended, but has no impact on the upsampling/conversion work.

 

Hope that helps.

[Miska]

I have an Intel i7 4700T (2.7ghz) quad core Server with an MSI MS-7851 motherboard and 8gb Ram.

I use Win2012 in A.O GUI mode and HQP shell to do direct playback to Amanero.

 

I cant get DSD256 upsampling to work reliably without stutter. After 10-15 seconds, it starts to stutter. DSD128 is no problem at all. I tried all filter combinations and increased buffer size to no avail.

 

With Amanero ASIO driver it should work even if you leave "Buffer time" setting in HQPlayer to "Default". With your CPU, with -2s filters and Pipeline SDM enabled it should work fine.

 

I would recommend trying out with stock Win 10 Pro and HQPlayer, nothing else and no "optimizations" (all my Windows installations are stock, just with the necessary device drivers but nothing else).

[juanitox]

If I recall correctly, Direct SDM means that incoming DSD files are fed through without upsampling or change. If you are starting with PCM files and upsampling to DSD it should have no effect on that. The -3db is recommended, but has no impact on the upsampling/conversion work.

 

Hope that helps.

 

so direct SDM are not needed for PCM to DSD conversion but -3db setting yes.

 

that's what i wanted to know.

 

thanks !

[Miska]

Hi Jussi. I found this computer. It is a Refurbished Win7 Pro. 12 CORE COMPUTER with 24 Hyperthreads | HP Z800 Workstation | 2 x SIX CORE Xeon 3.46GHz |*NEW* 4TB HDD| 500GB SSD | 24GB DDR3 RAM - WIFI - Quad Video Output - DVD-RW - Windows 7 Pro. Will this work? Thanks, Larry

 

Something like that could work, but I cannot promise anything. The CPU is pretty old model from 2011 so it doesn't have AVX or AVX2. But the price is not bad either for such a machine.

 

I've been considering to try out the new i7 6950X or 6900K (Broadwell-E) combined with GeForce GTX 1080 (or the upcoming Pascal-based TITAN X) as multichannel matrix processing workhorse for cheaper alternative than dual-socket E5 2667v4. Especially 6900K + GTX1080 combo is not too bad price-wise.

[Miska]

spmething i still don't understand , doing 16/44PCM to 512DSD do i have to put direct SDM in DSD settings or non direct SDM and - in volume setting ?

 

Yes...

 

But overall, just don't turn the volume over -3 dBFS (or -2 if you really want to push it), ever...

[wisnon]

With Amanero ASIO driver it should work even if you leave "Buffer time" setting in HQPlayer to "Default". With your CPU, with -2s filters and Pipeline SDM enabled it should work fine.

 

I would recommend trying out with stock Win 10 Pro and HQPlayer, nothing else and no "optimizations" (all my Windows installations are stock, just with the necessary device drivers but nothing else).

 

Thanks fellows,

 

I will try the suggestions and report back.

Jusii, I only have win2012...but will try in GUI or minimal server mode...

[Cory]

Can HQ Player upsample multichannel 64DSD to 256DSD? If so how many CPU cores and RAM is required for Windows 7?

[astrotoy]

What I would like is a recommendation for a Windows computer that will be able to reliably upsample mch (5.1) from DSD64 to DSD256 for my NADAC mch. I'm not a computer expert, so all the complex jargon is difficult for me, particularly since I cannot search websites like newegg for those criteria. Money is not a big issue, but I would not like to buy a computer (for whatever price) load all the software and find it cannot do the job.

 

Thanks, Larry

[astrotoy]

Can HQ Player upsample multichannel 64DSD to 256DSD? If so how many CPU cores and RAM is required for Windows 7?

 

 

According to the instructions on HQP, the answer is yes. Look at the thread about 10-25 posts back for my original post. Currently, my laptop gives me some music, and a lot of burps and static when upsampling 5.1 files from DSD64 to DSD256. It does fine with stereo from DSD64 to DSD256 and stereo PCM from 44/16 up to 192/24 to DSD256. The response from Jussi was at least one core per channel (6 cores for 5.1) with 2 cores per channel preferred (12 cores for 5.1) and at least 3.2Ghz chip. Nothing mentioned about RAM. Larry

[ericuco]

What I would like is a recommendation for a Windows computer that will be able to reliably upsample mch (5.1) from DSD64 to DSD256 for my NADAC mch. I'm not a computer expert, so all the complex jargon is difficult for me, particularly since I cannot search websites like newegg for those criteria. Money is not a big issue, but I would not like to buy a computer (for whatever price) load all the software and find it cannot do the job.

 

Thanks, Larry

 

Have you considered talking to Andrew Gillis at Small Green computers about building you a computer?

 

A few years ago, I gave him some rough parameters (small SSD, no fan, etc.) and budget and he built my Linux server for me.

[astrotoy]

Have you considered talking to Andrew Gillis at Small Green computers about building you a computer?

 

A few years ago, I gave him some rough parameters (small SSD, no fan, etc.) and budget and he built my Linux server for me.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Last time I had a computer made for me, back in 2010, it was Chris Connaker who did it! Now CA keeps him too busy for such activities. Larry

[rrwwss52]

Jussi, have a compatibility question. I recently purchased Actiontec MoCA modules (ethernet over coaxial cable adapters). My Bryston BDP-1 and Sonore MicroRendu both work using the MoCA modules in Roon Ready mode. HQ Player doesn't work. Is there a setting I need to change, or is HQ Player not compatible with MoCA.

 

I switched back to my Powerline adapters, and HQ functions fine using that ethernet transmission technology.

 

Thanks Robert

[Miska]

Jussi, have a compatibility question. I recently purchased Actiontec MoCA modules (ethernet over coaxial cable adapters). My Bryston BDP-1 and Sonore MicroRendu both work using the MoCA modules in Roon Ready mode. HQ Player doesn't work. Is there a setting I need to change, or is HQ Player not compatible with MoCA.

 

I switched back to my Powerline adapters, and HQ functions fine using that ethernet transmission technology.

 

I don't know anything about such modules, but the base requirement for NAA functionality is proper full support for multicast. This requires some level of hardware compatibility, because multicast uses special ethernet address scheme. Some devices don't pass multicast properly (which also causes problems with UPnP because it also relies on multicast).