HQ Player

[Miska]

We built an i7-6850/GTX1080, and this machine is connected to our network via 802.11ac/AC1900. So far so good. Seems to do DSD512 using poly-sinc -> NAA ... few stutters but I haven't tried to optimize.

 

Recently, maybe due to some changes to Windows 10 as part of some update, I needed to switch the power profile to high performance (instead of default "Balanced"), otherwise Windows would drop the CPU speed to save power and hamper the HQPlayer realtime processing while doing so... Windows sort of decides that there's no hurry for HQPlayer to complete the calculations so fast...

[Miska]

RDP works, but not Roon via RDP.

 

Yeah, the tricky part is rendering OpenGL over RDP. Due to long time Windows RDP bugs, it only tends to work if the OpenGL application is started first, before RDP connection is established. If the application is started over RDP connection it doesn't work... Pretty annoying and not logical at all.

[rickca]

For anyone wanting to DIY a computer to run HQPlayer (and/or other players or computing-intensive tasks) - Newegg has the i7-6700K on sale for $324.99 through January 4th.

At this point, I'd wait for Kaby Lake i7-7700K and a Z270 motherboard. Availability is supposed to be only a week from now.

[jabbr]

You are better off with a multichannel DAC like exaSound e28 or now e38. With multiple DACs there's one major culprit, asynchronous transfer and synchronizing multiple DACs is sort of logically conflicting...

But yes, that's one of the reasons I built the i7-6950X + GTX 1080 machine to output 8 channels to the exaSound e28...

 

Nice. Actually once I get this ARM-FPGA thingie working I can output essentially unlimited DSD output lines with the intention of connecting to parallel DSCx modules. I'm sure you have good access to the Intel-Altera chips but the Xilinx Zynq dev boards seem quite a bit cheaper

[jabbr]

Recently, maybe due to some changes to Windows 10 as part of some update, I needed to switch the power profile to high performance (instead of default "Balanced"), otherwise Windows would drop the CPU speed to save power and hamper the HQPlayer realtime processing while doing so... Windows sort of decides that there's no hurry for HQPlayer to complete the calculations so fast...

 

Seems like every 10 seconds or so, the network bandwidth *in* drops to 0 for a second and then rebounds up, this being followed by a brief dropout in the network out. HQPlayer is doing fine even with low CPU speeds -- stereo seems effortless from a computational standpoint. Now I have a total of 5 machines on the network, 2 linux (NAS,NAA), 2 OS X (Roon and laptop controller) and the Windows 10 machine being the new one, so I suspect Windows is doing something.

[Outlaw]

Have Roon and Hqplayer on a windows 10 PC.Installed Hqplayer network Audio dameon on a Mac mini to give it a try.Have music playing on mini external speaker but cannot send to dac.What am I missing in settings on Mac mini ? Thanks

[Hammer]

Yeah, the tricky part is rendering OpenGL over RDP. Due to long time Windows RDP bugs, it only tends to work if the OpenGL application is started first, before RDP connection is established. If the application is started over RDP connection it doesn't work... Pretty annoying and not logical at all.

 

After some googling, it seems to be a common problem running a CUDA application when the video card is not the primary card, but many of the posts date back a few years. Surely, nVidia has fixed the issue or there is a work around...it turns out that even on reboot, HQPlayer will only work with CUDA until the next file resolution change. For example, if I reboot, HQPlayer will enable CUDA and play fine the first songs of the same resolution (say, 192/24), it will then stop/crash if the next track switches to say a DSF file. That's why I need to quit HQPlayer and re-open it. But when I do that CUDA is no longer enabled. Note when I say crash, the HQPlayer application stays open, but it does not play and music.

 

The reason why I like to have the integrated GPU be the primary is so I can run Roon via RDP (it appears the intel graphics driver allows OpenGL via RDP, but the nVidia driver does not). The reason why I like to do that is because sometimes it takes close to a week before Roon is available in the iOS app store, but the Windows version is available right away. Again, I only use this PC for HQPlayer.

 

Thank you. Hammer.

[YashN]

Nice. Actually once I get this ARM-FPGA thingie working I can output essentially unlimited DSD output lines with the intention of connecting to parallel DSCx modules.

 

Very cool, multi-channel surround or crossover output?

[astr0b0y]

Have Roon and Hqplayer on a windows 10 PC.Installed Hqplayer network Audio dameon on a Mac mini to give it a try.Have music playing on mini external speaker but cannot send to dac.What am I missing in settings on Mac mini ? Thanks

 

When selecting NAA as the output from HQP on your Win10 PC you can also select which connected audio device to play through on the PC running NAA. At the moment it sounds like you have default output of internal speakers selected.

[blue2]

At this point, I'd wait for Kaby Lake i7-7700K and a Z270 motherboard. Availability is supposed to be only a week from now.

Interesting - however according to this the 7700K isn't that much faster than the 6700K. However it says the next big step is Intel’s new Optane memory technology which should appear on Z270 motherboards. Also some Z170 motherboards can be upgraded to support Kaby Lake processors by BIOS update as the CPU's are pin compatible (LGA 1151 socket). Maybe Skylake CPU prices will come down

[Miska]

Also some Z170 motherboards can be upgraded to support Kaby Lake processors by BIOS update as the CPU's are pin compatible (LGA 1151 socket).

 

Gigabyte seems to have a beta BIOS for the Z170 board I have, with release comment "Support next generation CPU" so I'm waiting for the 7700K... Then I'll build a new machine into a Streacom fanless case and put the current i5-6600T there...

 

Someone managed to overclock 7700K to 7 GHz using liquid nitrogen cooling, so with less extreme cooling I'd expect to still achieve good overclocking if one wants to squeeze out all the juice it has.

[Miska]

After some googling, it seems to be a common problem running a CUDA application when the video card is not the primary card, but many of the posts date back a few years. Surely, nVidia has fixed the issue or there is a work around...

 

Could be that they don't have much incentive to fix it for GeForce even if they fix it for Quadro/Tesla.

 

it turns out that even on reboot, HQPlayer will only work with CUDA until the next file resolution change. For example, if I reboot, HQPlayer will enable CUDA and play fine the first songs of the same resolution (say, 192/24), it will then stop/crash if the next track switches to say a DSF file. That's why I need to quit HQPlayer and re-open it. But when I do that CUDA is no longer enabled. Note when I say crash, the HQPlayer application stays open, but it does not play and music.

 

It would be useful to get a HQPlayer log file of all this happening to see what is going on. If you could email me the log...

 

I have not seen this kind of behavior, but as mentioned my graphics is running out of the Nvidia card and especially on the "HQPlayer only" Win 10 machine has i7-6950X which doesn't have any built-in GPU.

 

The reason why I like to have the integrated GPU be the primary is so I can run Roon via RDP (it appears the intel graphics driver allows OpenGL via RDP, but the nVidia driver does not).

 

This goes to the same category as the CUDA secondary card problem, I'd expect Nvidia to fix this case if it is possible to fix...

[mm67]

After some googling, it seems to be a common problem running a CUDA application when the video card is not the primary card, but many of the posts date back a few years. Surely, nVidia has fixed the issue or there is a work around...it turns out that even on reboot, HQPlayer will only work with CUDA until the next file resolution change. For example, if I reboot, HQPlayer will enable CUDA and play fine the first songs of the same resolution (say, 192/24), it will then stop/crash if the next track switches to say a DSF file. That's why I need to quit HQPlayer and re-open it. But when I do that CUDA is no longer enabled. Note when I say crash, the HQPlayer application stays open, but it does not play and music.

 

The reason why I like to have the integrated GPU be the primary is so I can run Roon via RDP (it appears the intel graphics driver allows OpenGL via RDP, but the nVidia driver does not). The reason why I like to do that is because sometimes it takes close to a week before Roon is available in the iOS app store, but the Windows version is available right away. Again, I only use this PC for HQPlayer.

 

Thank you. Hammer.

The problem is probably using rdp. Using it also messes up gpu tasks of distributed computing programs (Boinc, Folding@Home etc). Try using Vnc or Teamviewer

[Le Concombre Masqué]

Do you recommend it, sound wise, over OSX ?

Could dual-boot Linux (e.g., Lubuntu) - would give you an OS that's pretty well optimized out of the box, and you can use your Mac license.

[Jud]

Do you recommend it, sound wise, over OSX ?

 

I was only responding to jabbr's remark that his son's current setup stutters occasionally. If there aren't those sorts of plainly audible problems, then as far as I know there is nothing to fix.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[Jud]

 

Someone managed to overclock 7700K to 7 GHz using liquid nitrogen cooling....

 

Ah, an opportunity for you to branch out into server hardware!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[Jud]

Nice. Actually once I get this ARM-FPGA thingie working

 

Is that the Solid Run piece you ordered or something else?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[jabbr]

Very cool, multi-channel surround or crossover output?

 

Acourate could generate crossover kernels that HQPlayer could process. The multi channel DAC then outputs the crossover channels.

[jabbr]

Is that the Solid Run piece you ordered or something else?

 

Solid-run has a fiber SFP input.

 

I was waiting on the snickerdoodle+giggleBits which got delayed endlessly and then the vendor just bailed on the part that has the SFP Ethernet.

 

I've switched to a "Zedboard" with a carrier board that has an SFP ... should have gone that way all along because in my attempt to save a few hundred bucks, I wasted a huge amount of time. Now Altera also has similar products - hybrid CPU that runs Linux, with FPGA that can both do logic for SFP Ethernet as well as multichannel DSD output with perfect timing -- the Altera dev stuff is thousands ... unless @Miska has connections [emoji6]

[Hammer]

Could be that they don't have much incentive to fix it for GeForce even if they fix it for Quadro/Tesla.

 

 

 

It would be useful to get a HQPlayer log file of all this happening to see what is going on. If you could email me the log...

 

I have not seen this kind of behavior, but as mentioned my graphics is running out of the Nvidia card and especially on the "HQPlayer only" Win 10 machine has i7-6950X which doesn't have any built-in GPU.

 

 

 

This goes to the same category as the CUDA secondary card problem, I'd expect Nvidia to fix this case if it is possible to fix...

 

I apologize for taking people's time on time...turns out the problem was HQPlayer was not installed properly. I was running the 64 bit version, but for some reason, the "start in" directory was the x86 directory and now that I uninstalled (both 64 bit and 32 bit versions) and reinstalled the 64 bit version, it all works fine. CUDA works and Roon via RDP works with the integrated GPU as primary and the 1080 as secondary.

 

Thank you your help. Hammer

[sig8]

I am trying to run networkedaudiod.exe, but it keep on giving me two errors; missing vcruntime140.dll, and missing msvcp140.dll.

 

I have installed vcredist_x64.exe and restarted computer couple of times. I am running Win 10 64bit. Let me know please. I am running Process Lasso on this machine. Thanks.

[Miska]

I am trying to run networkedaudiod.exe, but it keep on giving me two errors; missing vcruntime140.dll, and missing msvcp140.dll.

 

I have installed vcredist_x64.exe and restarted computer couple of times. I am running Win 10 64bit. Let me know please. I am running Process Lasso on this machine. Thanks.

 

Are you trying to run the corresponding 64-bit networkaudiod.exe?

[sig8]

Deleted.

[sig8]

Are you trying to run the corresponding 64-bit networkaudiod.exe?

 

Yes. An older version 3.01 of NAA works on the same machine though, just tried.

[tboooe]

I am trying to run networkedaudiod.exe, but it keep on giving me two errors; missing vcruntime140.dll, and missing msvcp140.dll.

 

I have installed vcredist_x64.exe and restarted computer couple of times. I am running Win 10 64bit. Let me know please. I am running Process Lasso on this machine. Thanks.

 

Are you trying to run it with AO in core mode??? Did you install the runtime? There is an update required

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/2999226