HQ Player

[ericuco]

8 hours ago, mfalcon said:

I have been using it for months with HQPlayer with no problems.  Is it recommended, IDK? But it works without a hitch.

Thanks!  Upgrade done. HQP Desktop and Roon server appear to be running ok. I will give it all a try later today.

[ericuco]

14 hours ago, konoyaro said:

I recently picked up the Monoprice Cavalli DAC to use for my desktop listening. This is connected to my Mac (Catalina/10.15.7) via USB. Since this DAC is supposed to support DSD, I'm interested in trying playback of .dsf files in QHPlayer Desktop without converting to PCM.

 

Unfortunately I haven't been successful so far. Clearly I'm not understanding how to set up the preferences properly so I'm hoping for some guidance as to the proper settings.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Besides what was also suggested:

 

1) Set Vol Min = -60 and Vol Max = -3 (default settings). These setting control the limits of the Volume Control knob on the main panel. ASSUMING you are using some type of volume control (preamp, DAC, etc.), then you typically want the Volume Control knob set to the max (full clockwise). Having a yellow or red Volume Control knob means something is not correct.

2) Uncheck CUDA offload unless you have a GPU installed.

3) Uncheck the 48k DSD if you are still not getting any sound. If you get sound with this checked, you can probably change Bit Limit to 48 x 128 given it appears your DAC supports DSD128.

[ericuco]

28 minutes ago, konoyaro said:

@giordy60 & @ericuco, thank you very much for the suggestions.

Setting SDM to "None" seemed to cause Mode to show PCM when playing back a .dsf file. Having SDM Pack set to DoP shows Mode as SDM (DSD) and I get audio. I'm guessing this means the DAC doesn't do Direct DSD.

That said this config seems to be working - thanks again.

 

Uncheck the 48k DSD box as I don’t think your DAC doesn’t support 48 rates for DSD. Also, set SDM Pack to None and Bit Rate to 44.1k x128. Not sure this will work but worth a try.

[ericuco]

9 hours ago, denseshave said:

Hi. I have an issue with DSD playback - plays a certain amount of time for any track (0.x, 35, 37 seconds etc) then click and silence for the rest of the playback. I've had a similar problem in Foobar, JRiver works fine (but doesn't sound as good as HQ-Player). Dop works fine with DSD files, but in PCM->DSD plays about 2x slower.

And it works only in DirectSDM.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 Since no one else has chimed in, I would start by setting Vol Max to -3 (default) to avoid possible clipping.

 

It would be helpful to know the OS (Win, Mac, Linux) and the DAC you are using.

[ericuco]

16 hours ago, cjf said:

Hello,

 

I realize I will probably be asking a question that has come up before in this 7xx page thread and spending a few mins with search didn't show me the reply I was looking to see so I am posting the question here. My apologies in advance for any repetition.

 

I'm considering using HQPlayer with Roon as I get ready to implement a new system configuration using a Merging HAPI. Today I use Roon's DSP Software Volume control and Convolution Engine with Audiolense filters, 2 Subs and 2 Main Towers.

 

With HQ Player in the picture how does ones use of Digital Volume control change when planning on Upsampling to DSDxxx within HQPlayer? Today, if I'm not mistaken Roon or JRiver for that matter digital VOL control I believe doesn't work with DSD signals. I think maybe it changes the steam to PCM but I'm not sure.

 

My intention is to continue to try and use Digital VOL control if at all possible and also Upsample to DSD256 but I am not sure if this configuration is supported. I assume I'm not the only one wanting to do this so maybe someone can chime in on how that works with DSD and HQPlayer? I guess I wouldn't be too upset if I had to just use 384kHZ PCM in order to maintain VOL control.

 

Also, when using Roon & HQPlayer which App/Interface is used to control VOL?

 

Thanks

 

For several months I have been using the HQP volume control while converting everything to DSD256 and using Roon to control HQP. So, yes, HQP volume control works with DSD format output.

 

You can control the HQP volume setting using Roon once you have set up Roon to work with HQP. It works very well although these is slight delay. Roon will display the current volume HQP volume setting. You see also see the HQP volume control knob move to confirm it is working.

 

A few things about the HQP volume control settings if you are not familiar with how it works.

 

1. On the HQP settings panel, there are settings for Min Vol (default = -60) and Max Vol (default = -3). The HQP developer has strongly recommends that the Max Vol always be set at -3 or less to avoid potential clipping.

2. These settings control the limits of the large volume control knob on the main HQP panel - Min Vol = full counterclockwise, Max Vol = full clockwise.

3. If you are using digital volume control, I would strongly recommend setting the Max Volume to something like -10, -20 or -30 depending on how much attenuation your system requires. The reason for this is to avoid something going awry and the volume control accidentally maxing out (e.g. little to no attenuation) which could damage equipment. In my system, Max Vol = -20 where as my typical listening level is between -30 and -24.

 

Hope this helps. The integration of HQP and Roon is fairly seamless.

[ericuco]

15 minutes ago, mirekti said:

Is there a way to disable PCM or do something about it so it always starts with DSD as output mode?

Do you have “Default Output Mode” on the Settings panel set to SDM (DSD)? That is how you do it with v4, don’t recall how you did it at v3.

[ericuco]

11 minutes ago, mirekti said:

If I understood this correctly as long as the 5V remains on VBUS, HQPlayer would keep sending data, and if I switched to let’s say Line In and then back to USB, the audio would work. Am I getting this right? I mean, are there two VBUS lines, one from source the other the destination?

 

The USB device for your DAC may or may not be powered from the 5V source (computer).

 

In one of my DAC's, the USB board is powered internally as part of the DAC's power supply. I can block (disconnect) the 5V power lead in the USB cable and everything works. Alternatively, I could remove the internal power and have it powered by the incoming 5V cable.

 

For other DAC's, the USB board is only powered by the incoming 5V lead. There is no internal power source powering the board.

 

For some reason, when you switch sources, the USB connect is being interrupted. Not sure why or how but that seems to be case as Miska mentioned. Doesn't really have anything to do with HQP.

[ericuco]

35 minutes ago, jbparrish said:

Oops, my apologies, I grabbed the preferences screen shot when the DAC was off. Here it is again. I have not emailed Piero at audiolinux. The NUC/NAA and DAC work very nicely, actually, just not ASDM7EC.

 

Are you sure your DAC supports 48k rates? Lots do not thus the reason for the “48k DSD” checkbox. Might try unchecking it and see what happens.

[ericuco]

@Miska did you change how the workload is distributed? Prior to 4.9, CPU0 and CPU4 were always heavily loaded whereas the other 6 CPU’s weren’t loaded much at all. Now, CPU0 and CPU4 are still taking most of the load but the other CPU’s taking much more of load, in other words more evenly distributed. At first I thought my setting for this had changed but it hadn’t, still grey box setting which I believes allow HQP to set the load across CPU’s.

[ericuco]

1 minute ago, Miska said:

 

No, that code is the same, but the if you are on Windows, the Microsoft runtime libraries have been updated to latest version. It may have something to do with this. (always a bit of mystery what Microsoft releases include)

 

I am on Ubuntu Studio, not Windows. Perhaps I just haven’t been paying attention to CPU utilization. In any case, thanks for this latest release.

[ericuco]

17 minutes ago, Mahler and Bach on Computer said:

The other question which may relate to this is the role of click-box “48K DSD”plays.

This has to do with whether or not your DAC supports 48k DSD rates. For example at DSD256, there are two possible rates: 11.2896 (44.1) and 12.288 (48) MHz. If the box is checked, then 44.1-base formats are converted to 11.2896 MHz and 48-based formats are converted to 12.288 MHz. If the box is not checked, then everything has converted to 11.2896 MHz. This assumes you have the auto-convert settings on.

 

A lot DAC’s do not support both rates thus the reason for the click box. If you are unsure, try to play 48-based format.  If you don’t get sound out, then uncheck box and try again.

 

I think the Holo Spring and May DACs support both rates.

[ericuco]

8 minutes ago, Solstice380 said:

My failing memory needs a little help, if anyone would be so kind.  Where is the X64 HQPlayer OS image for NAA located on the Signalyst site?  I just looked and could only find the ones labeled “...embedded...”. Thanks in advance.  

 

https://www.signalyst.eu/bins/naa/? is this what you are looking for? This link is located at the very bottom of the “consumer” page.

[ericuco]

15 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I’d love a solution from Solid Run but Jussi would have to create a custom image for it.
 

Not all the hardware here supports full speeds. 
 

https://www.solid-run.com

 

Jussi already has a CuBox image for NAA if that is what you are looking for.

[ericuco]

43 minutes ago, MemoryPlayer said:

I can upsample PCM to DSD 44k only with Ext2 or Ext3, but no with any Sinc filter, only to 48k multiples...

Per the HQP manual, the Sinc filters are integer only conversions, meaning 44.1 > 88.2 > 176.4 > .... and 48 > 96 > 192 > ..... only. Is this what you are seeing? To handle both 44.1 & 48 formats, your DAC would need to support both.

 

 

[ericuco]

9 minutes ago, GMG said:

Hi @Miska

On my fresh install of HQPlayer and Roon on the same machine running Ubuntu server OS I am experiencing a track stop and a message from Roon that it has lost control of HQPlayer.  
I am still running a trial version of HQPlayer embedded. 
the track stop and Roon’s loss of control occurs about 5-7minutes after I start a new 20min trial session. When I resume play from Roon everything continues smoothly until my 20 minutes are finished. 
fron HQPlayer log I could not see anything at the specific time of the issue apart from “stopped”

On Roon log (very difficult for me to read…) I found an entry at the same time: “[push] restarting connection (unable to read data from the transport connection: interrupted.)

 

Can you please advise on this?

thanks. 

First off, this sounds like a Roon issue, not HQP issue, which is not surprising.

 

Where are your Roon music files stored? Local drive? NAS?
 

If NAS, how is it connected? SMB? NFS? Reason for asking is I had problem with SMB but NFS is stable.

 

Lastly, highly recommend having HQP and Roon on separate computers as Roon is such a flake.

[ericuco]

2 hours ago, LoryWiv said:

I am experienced with HQ Player desktop core feature use but a quite the novice with convolution and pipeline. My goal is simple: to EQ a new pair of Clear MG I just purchased and like very much but which could use a smidge less sub-bass a smidge more in the 6-8 range. As I understand it there is no direct EQ in HQP so one creates a wave file to use / import into convolution engine. Is there a tutorial or tip sheet one of you more experienceded folk can direct me to to learn how to do this well and without blowing up my install? :) I would be grateful.

 

Highly recommend contacting Mitch @mitchco at Accurate Sound. He can walk you through the process and setup the convolution filters. His website has lots of resources to learn more. Great guy to work with.

[ericuco]

3 hours ago, NoNaim said:

 

When I first bought HQPlayer it was purely for the upscaling for my main system but it's turned into so much more. It has it's own M1 Mac mini at home, it acts as a mobile upscaler on my laptop when I'm away, as well as music library. It has it's own NAA so I can stream to different places in the house from the server. And now EQing my headphones plus terrific support! 

 

Thanks for the help again.

Using HQP to control volume works very well too!

[ericuco]

10 minutes ago, oldfirm said:

I have been unable to populate the HQP settings to my requirements -The settings revert to default and export PCM to my DAC.

So I am unable to experiment with the DSD setting, which I would like to activate '

I am running the HQP trial desktop edition.

My rig is  swift laptop -20Gb Ram - windows server 2019 essentials -A03 -fidelizer Pro -SMSL M500 DAC- Elac Navis ARB51 active speakers. 

The user manual does not really help so any help would be most welcome.

 

Thank You

Any chance you can post a picture of your Settings panel?

[ericuco]

10 minutes ago, GMG said:

That Fitlet with Optical network looks sweet!

Wonder how it stacks up against Sonore Opitcal Rendu 

I had both the oR and fitlet2. Kept the fitlet2, sold the oR. No SQ difference in my modest system.

 

If you want a turnkey solution that does other functions beside NAA, then go with oR. Otherwise, it is hard to beat the fitlet2 at 1/3 the price.

[ericuco]

Guys, what does all this have to do with HQP? Perhaps Chris could help you move this to a new thread?

[ericuco]

51 minutes ago, bobflood said:

Jussi, just an FYI, in the last 2 days I have had the server just stop completely mid song. I just went back to the client and restarted playback from Qobuz. This has only happened twice so no big deal. I will let you know if it continues to happen.

Having the same issue on about 1/2 of the albums played so far, which is about 8-10.

[ericuco]

With the recent HQP update that now includes Qobuz streaming using Client, I have been looking to make the move from Roon as the front-end to HQP.

 

One of several issues that I have discovered is that playing DSD format files (DSF) causes a constant clicking sound (somewhat like a telegraph machine tapping out Morse code) along with the music ... in other words, I hear the clicking sounds along with the music . If I play the exact same file using Roon to feed HQP, this does not happen (plays normally). Both Client and Roon are connected to my NAS unit so it is the identical file being played. I have tried different tracks from different albums and the problem persists.

 

I have one album that is DFF format and it plays fine.

 

I am currently using HQP Desktop & Client 4.15.1 on Ubuntu Studio 20.04.

 

Anyone else experienced this issue? I have reported it @Miska but not gotten a response yet.

[ericuco]

11 hours ago, Miska said:

 

From a streaming service or local files? For streaming services, at that point, HQPlayer is already fetching next track. What kind of internet and local network connection do you have? Do you use a NAA?

 

If your CPU is loaded near to it's maximum capacity, then the pre-fetch activity may cause it to trip over.

 

You can try enabling "freewheel" mode from Client's control panel (the button with three horizontal lines). It changes the buffering strategy to fetch each track at full speed, it is not default as it may cause problems due to network traffic spikes.

 

I am seeing the same issue on Linux (Ubuntu) with “freewheel” set to “1”. It is just very slight pause in playback. Perhaps I can set “freewheel” back to “0” to see what happens?

[ericuco]

22 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Yes, default is "0" since it keeps the network traffic a bit calmer. You can now control this from Client GUI.

 

There is now prefetch in all cases before track transition to ensure gapless playback. But if it seems to be an issue in some conditions, I can add option for this too to the Client.

 

Setting “freewheel” back to “0” (default) seems to have solved the slight pause issue on my system. Thanks. 

[ericuco]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

 

Default is to have prefetch enabled and freewheel disabled. So 10 seconds of next track is buffered 10 seconds before current one ends. Since stream buffer is 10 seconds, tail of the current track should be already in the buffer.

 

Prefetch disables this and only begins fetching next track once current one has finished.

 

Freewheel will pull entire track to RAM at full speed. Without freewheel track is fetched at the playback speed, 10 seconds ahead of playback position.

 

Thanks for explaining how these options work.

 

As a matter of curiosity, how are local files handled, in my case from my NAS which is NFS mounted to my HQP server (Ubuntu 20.04)? In both cases, I am pulling files across network. Obviously, the streaming parameters are not in effect for local files.