HQ Player

[kelvinwsy]

On 5/11/2020 at 10:12 AM, bobflood said:

Jussi, The new sinc-S filter is certainly interesting. I have tried it in PCM to 7xx with LNS-15. I will try it in DSD 256 soon and see if my machine will do it with ASDM7EC. It seems to have a different sound profile than what I had been using which is poly-sinc XTR mp (and 2s for DSD). Will listen more and report back.

I tried Sinc-S and Sinc-M even. Interesting sound profile. I used one of my Korean pop songs with very good high pitch parts where the singer exhibits superb breath techniques and hits all the high notes beautifully.

Coming from poly-sinc XTR mp for DSD 128 - I hear this on Sinc S - her vocals were mellowed out. Sweeter a little bit! But the excitement of her vocal techniques (I think it is the initial rise time is reduced). seems mellowed out!

On another track where another female vocalist sings in a melodius fashion, Sinc S sounds really nice. 

 

After this initial tests, I seem to prefer poly sinc XTR mp. Of course further trials will continue.

 

As a general point, CPU Utilization on even Sinc M on 1x and 2x for my DSD 128 playback is slightly LOWER  (about 52-59 % on my 6700k) than polysinc XTR Mp (55-62%).

On version 4.50, I can ALMOST manage DSD256 on EC modulators. Seems to run more efficiently than 4.3 version before. 

 

[Outlaw]

Trialing 4.5.0 windows getting drop outs.

[AudioDoctor]

SO far, been listening to 4.5.0 for a few hours tonight and not had a single issue. Giving the Sinc-m and Sinc-s filters a listen. Haven't come to any conclusions yet.

 

edit: It's running alongside Roon server on my 2011 Mac mini running Mojave 10.14.6 sending music out over my net to my Sonore device.

[asdf1000]

11 hours ago, Miska said:

 

I have also newest iMac running 10.14 and it works there too, but that iMac was purchased specifically because it doesn't have the T2 (and the related potential USB audio problems).

 

What has now replaced T2 function in current Mac?

 

I just want to make sure I avoid T2 chip with a new Macbook purchase

[AudioDoctor]

32 minutes ago, asdf1000 said:

 

What has now replaced T2 function in current Mac?

 

I just want to make sure I avoid T2 chip with a new Macbook purchase

 

With a new MacBook you can't avoid it, and there really is no reason to avoid it.

[asdf1000]

22 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

With a new MacBook you can't avoid it, and there really is no reason to avoid it.

 

Jussi just hinted a reason to avoid the T2 chip.

[Miska]

2 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

What has now replaced T2 function in current Mac?

 

Nothing, they didn't put such things in yet in the latest iMac refresh.

 

2 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

I just want to make sure I avoid T2 chip with a new Macbook purchase

 

I don't think it is possible with MacBook....

 

1 hour ago, AudioDoctor said:

With a new MacBook you can't avoid it, and there really is no reason to avoid it.

 

Just search the internet for something like "mac t2 audio problems" and you'll know more. There's a thread here too, and the solution found is to use an external Thunderbolt dock to reimplement USB ports. Since Thunderbolt is essentially PCIe, having USB ports behind it means having another PCIe USB controller. But it comes with extra cost and extra dongle.

 

[AudioDoctor]

11 hours ago, asdf1000 said:

 

Jussi just hinted a reason to avoid the T2 chip.

 

It's a good reason to move to network streaming, which as I found out, works better, and sounds better in my opinion.

[AudioDoctor]

10 hours ago, Miska said:

Just search the internet for something like "mac t2 audio problems" and you'll know more. There's a thread here too, and the solution found is to use an external Thunderbolt dock to reimplement USB ports. Since Thunderbolt is essentially PCIe, having USB ports behind it means having another PCIe USB controller. But it comes with extra cost and extra dongle.

 

I'm aware, I think it's just more incentive to move to network streaming rather than a direct USB connection.

[asdf1000]

6 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

It's a good reason to move to network streaming, which as I found out, works better, and sounds better in my opinion.

 

I use multiple NAA’s in different zones... have done for a few years.. I don’t have just one listening setup.

 

Anyway Jussi explained the issue with T2 chip. Lots of Pro Audio users have made complaints on Gearslutz forum.

[scintilla]

I'm having some difficulty reconfiguring my system using digital interfaces for both analog and digital input.  I have a pair of TASCAM UH-7000s.  I have been using one as an interface for Purevinyl which functions as a DAW. So the corrected signal goes back to the interface and out AES/EBU to my DAC.  For a different table dedicated to 78's and other analog (tape, tuner) and digital input (cd player) I was using a TC Electronic Impact Twin, which I am trying to retire because MacOS no longer supports the drivers. 

 

My desire was to use the second 7000 for the second phono input with Purevinyl (once Rob finally finishes the Catalina version) and run line-level and digital inputs to HQPlayer and out to my DAC.  Based on initial experiments, HQPlayer doesn't want to share the CoreAudio bus for inputs and outputs.  The USB input on my NAD M51 recently failed, so my USBridge is useless to provide a NAA endpoint becaue the HDMI output doesn't seem to carry audio.  I can get a DigiOne I guess.  Am I missing something here?  Jussi?  What's the simplest way to get my analog and digital inputs into the iMac for processing by HQPlayer and out to my DAC? 

 

Using Desktop 4.5 on 2012 iMac i7.

[AudioDoctor]

1 hour ago, asdf1000 said:

 

I use multiple NAA’s in different zones... have done for a few years.. I don’t have just one listening setup.

 

Anyway Jussi explained the issue with T2 chip. Lots of Pro Audio users have made complaints on Gearslutz forum.

 

The T2 chip doesn't effect network protocols... ask me how I know. Its deleterious effects are on direct connected USB devices.

[asdf1000]

13 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

Its deleterious effects are on direct connected USB devices.

 

I'm aware... again " I don’t have just one listening setup"...

 

I have many NAA's but they are not the only way I use HQPlayer..

 

I use HQPlayer in multiple ways...

 

The T2 would cause an issue for me in one of the ways I use HQPlayer (direct connected USB DAC).

 

Anyway Jussi already clarified your comment "there really is no reason to avoid it."

[Miska]

7 hours ago, scintilla said:

My desire was to use the second 7000 for the second phono input with Purevinyl (once Rob finally finishes the Catalina version) and run line-level and digital inputs to HQPlayer and out to my DAC.  Based on initial experiments, HQPlayer doesn't want to share the CoreAudio bus for inputs and outputs.  The USB input on my NAD M51 recently failed, so my USBridge is useless to provide a NAA endpoint becaue the HDMI output doesn't seem to carry audio.  I can get a DigiOne I guess.  Am I missing something here?  Jussi?  What's the simplest way to get my analog and digital inputs into the iMac for processing by HQPlayer and out to my DAC? 

 

It works fine with two separate CoreAudio devices. If you use more than one piece of same equipment, problem with most devices is how they are presented on the USB bus and then on CoreAudio or similar. Making it impossible to distinguish between the two devices.

 

Only device I've seen to properly deal with this issue are RME devices, which put serial number in hexadecimal format as part of the device name on the USB bus, making it possible to distinguish multiple devices of the same type.

 

My test setup on Mac has been RME ADI-2 Pro for input and iFi iDAC2 for output. Both going through CoreAUdio.

 

Using NAA for either input or output, of course works around this issue. You don't need DigiOne for such. You could use my recommended NAA hardware (UpBoard) or RasPi4 (cheapest).

 

[asdf1000]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

iFi iDAC2 for output

 

With so many good new products the last few years, how does the iDAC2 rate in 2020?

 

iDAC2 still recommended based on your objective measurements?

 

Or has it been passed in performance by products like Pro-Ject Pre Box S2? 

[Miska]

30 minutes ago, asdf1000 said:

With so many good new products the last few years, how does the iDAC2 rate in 2020?

 

iDAC2 still recommended based on your objective measurements?

 

It is not there because it would be especially good, it is there just because it is USB powered and doesn't take much desk space and can do DSD256 from macOS. Enough for checking that things work.

 

31 minutes ago, asdf1000 said:

Or has it been passed in performance by products like Pro-Ject Pre Box S2?

 

I wouldn't compare the two, they are very different, especially in DSD handling. My S2 is serving the same purpose on my Windows PC.

 

[scintilla]

Hi Jussi,

 

I am only using one interface at a time.  But I am also not getting any sound/signal to appear in HQPlayer. This is what I am trying to do: rca analog into-->A/D 7000--> into HQP--> out coreaudio/iMacHDMI/thunderbolt adapter to DAC/HDMI

digital (44.1 cd and 48 tuner)-->AES in 7000 ---> HQP out  coreaudio/iMac/HDMI/thunderbolt adapter to DAC/HDMI

 

I will separately use the 7000s for Purevinyl.

 

So far I am not getting signal. This is probably a user error, but I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

[Miska]

4 hours ago, scintilla said:

I am only using one interface at a time.  But I am also not getting any sound/signal to appear in HQPlayer. This is what I am trying to do: rca analog into-->A/D 7000--> into HQP--> out coreaudio/iMacHDMI/thunderbolt adapter to DAC/HDMI

digital (44.1 cd and 48 tuner)-->AES in 7000 ---> HQP out  coreaudio/iMac/HDMI/thunderbolt adapter to DAC/HDMI

 

I will separately use the 7000s for Purevinyl.

 

So far I am not getting signal. This is probably a user error, but I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

 

Check that HQPlayer appears under System Preferences -> Security under Microphone permissions. macOS should have asked you to give HQPlayer microphone access already. If not, you can try first selecting built-in microphone as the source device and initiate playback from there which at least should trigger macOS to ask. If HQPlayer doesn't have microphone access rights, CoreAudio will provide just silence to HQPlayer. So things seemingly work, just no sound comes out. (this is unlike Windows where under similar conditions there's just failure)

 

Note that for macOS and Windows, any audio input is "microphone access".

 

[scintilla]

It appears that it is a driver problem with Catalina. Can I use desktop on my Air running High Sierra and send to client on my iMac and then output to coreaudio HDMI?  The workarounds necessary for Catalina are so ridiculous. They buggered up the USB busses so badly.

 

OK, IO can see that won't work either.  So, I guess I am stuck with Purevinyl on High Sierra for all inputs and outputs until the drivers are updated for Catalina. My goal was to be able to enjoy HQPlayer upsampling to DSD256 for everything except vinyl.  I haven't figured out a way to pipe Purevinyl out to HQPlayer in.  I Ilke Rob's RIAA and 78 correction curves. I realize that I could import RIAA filter into HQPlayer for cascading with my RC filters but thats more work than I want to undertake when Rob already did the heavy lifting. Sigh. Another day, another Apple fubar.

[AnotherSpin]

8 minutes ago, scintilla said:

It appears that it is a driver problem with Catalina. Can I use desktop on my Air running High Sierra and send to client on my iMac and then output to coreaudio HDMI?  The workarounds necessary for Catalina are so ridiculous. They buggered up the USB busses so badly.

 

Never had a problem with HQPlayer desktop and Catalina.

[scintilla]

Neither have I.  HQPlayer isn't the problem.  UH-7000 is.

[Pentagonal]

Hi everyone, 

 

I need some help picking out a computer and DAC to run HQplayer + Tidal and upscaling to DSD256 via Closed Form 16M. I'd likely use the DSD7 256+fs modulator. Does anyone use DSD256 with Closed Form 16M regularly with no stuttering?

 

From what it appears here it looks like it's all about the clock speed rather than cores. Does CUDA and getting a good graphics card matter much? How do you like your DAC?

 

I appreciate any advice and particularly if anyone could try the above combo and let me know their specs and whether or not it stutters. 

 

Thank you!

[Miska]

4 hours ago, Pentagonal said:

I need some help picking out a computer and DAC to run HQplayer + Tidal and upscaling to DSD256 via Closed Form 16M. I'd likely use the DSD7 256+fs modulator. Does anyone use DSD256 with Closed Form 16M regularly with no stuttering?

 

From what it appears here it looks like it's all about the clock speed rather than cores. Does CUDA and getting a good graphics card matter much? How do you like your DAC?

 

Good Nvidia GPU helps a lot on filters like closed-form and sinc-M/S. So if your current computer already works fine to DSD256 with those settings but some other filter, adding a good GPU may be worthwhile and cheaper way to get there.

 

[Miska]

11 hours ago, scintilla said:

I haven't figured out a way to pipe Purevinyl out to HQPlayer in.

 

You could check if this works:

https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/

 

In this kind of case, switching sample rates is not an issue either.

 

For ADC and digital input tasks I use RME ADI-2 Pro, it can even do DSD256 input from ADC on macOS, I've used it with HQPlayer4Pro to record DSD.

 

[itguy61]

On 5/14/2020 at 4:53 AM, asdf1000 said:

 

With so many good new products the last few years, how does the iDAC2 rate in 2020?

 

iDAC2 still recommended based on your objective measurements?

 

Or has it been passed in performance by products like Pro-Ject Pre Box S2? 

 

I just dealt with this DAC.  I had been using one of the original iDSD Micro units and the battery finally died.  I was using it in a home theater so I really didn't need a battery for portable use.  i liked the unit.   I bought a iDAC2 to replace it.   I also bought a topping D50s to compare.  

 

Short story,  I returned the iDAC2.    It is a smooth sounding DAC like all the iFI units I have listened to.  That being said it is not a really detailed sound.  To me it is a coloration, albeit a pleasant one to a lot of people.  I found the topping unit is clearer and more detailed sounding and with the right filters is not fatiguing at all.   I like the form factor better as well.

 

Also, if you buy the iDAC2 there are three versions of firmware and only one will run DSD256.