HQ Player

[Superdad]

I believe a small minority of HQP users are playing via the NAA, due to the necessity of installing a Linux driver for the DAC. The majority of users are MAC OS playing via Core Audio direct to the DAC. The next group is windows users who have installed drivers such as ASIO and are playing directly to their DAC.

 

The NAA's working out there are the SOTM SMS-100 and various ARM boxes. I believe there have also been some Linux installs on Mac minis. So I would guess there are no NAA installations with audiophile PCIe USB cards out there

 

Sorry EuroDriver, but I think Miska will tell you that you have it backwards. HQP desktop has been available under Windows (and Linux) for longer than OS X. Moreover it was only very recently that the OS X version could even be run without an NAA as Miska was avoiding the chore of working with Core Audio. So most of installed base of HQP is Window with direct connection to DAC via USB.

 

As for the NAA, I think most DACs do not require a special Linux driver as I believe the popular XMOS USB processor is automatically recognized. Rule of thumb: if your DAC needs a special driver for direct operation (with any player) under Mac or Windows, then you are likely to need a Linux driver to have it work with the NAA. Those should be the minority, not the majority.

 

I may be wrong about any of the above, but those have been my impressions from the periphery. (I'm not yet an HQP user, but I'm getting there!)

 

Best,

--Alex

[EuroDriver]

Sorry EuroDriver, but I think Miska will tell you that you have it backwards. HQP desktop has been available under Windows (and Linux) for longer than OS X. Moreover it was only very recently that the OS X version could even be run without an NAA as Miska was avoiding the chore of working with Core Audio. So most of installed base of HQP is Window with direct connection to DAC via USB.

 

As for the NAA, I think most DACs do not require a special Linux driver as I believe the popular XMOS USB processor is automatically recognized. Rule of thumb: if your DAC needs a special driver for direct operation (with any player) under Mac or Windows, then you are likely to need a Linux driver to have it work with the NAA. Those should be the minority, not the majority.

 

I may be wrong about any of the above, but those have been my impressions from the periphery. (I'm not yet an HQP user, but I'm getting there!)

 

Best,

--Alex

 

Hi Alex,

 

Mac Core audio is the new kid on the block, but judging by the posting traffic here and on the Italian website there seems to have been a lot of downloads and successful installations of the MAC Core Audio beta.

 

In contrast I have only seen one post about the SOTM SMS-100 implementation, and a number of posts by users in Italy who have been struggling with the NAA on various boxes, who were then delighted when the MAC Core Audio beta was released

 

As to Windows users, I am feeling kind of lonely. (Geoff has both !)

 

My perception that the big driver in recent interest has been PCM to DSD conversion which HQ Player does so well

 

Best Regards

 

Ed

[Vitor]

Hi Alex,

 

Mac Core audio is the new kid on the block, but judging by the posting traffic here and on the Italian website there seems to have been a lot of downloads and successful installations of the MAC Core Audio beta.

 

In contrast I have only seen one post about the SOTM SMS-100 implementation, and a number of posts by users in Italy who have been struggling with the NAA on various boxes, who were then delighted when the MAC Core Audio beta was released

 

As to Windows users, I am feeling kind of lonely. (Geoff has both !)

 

My perception that the big driver in recent interest has been PCM to DSD conversion which HQ Player does so well

 

Best Regards

 

Ed

 

What are the settings for PCM to DSD conversion?

Does it make sense to do that conversion in a DSD capable DAC?

[bibo01]

Hi Alex,

 

Mac Core audio is the new kid on the block, but judging by the posting traffic here and on the Italian website there seems to have been a lot of downloads and successful installations of the MAC Core Audio beta.

 

In contrast I have only seen one post about the SOTM SMS-100 implementation, and a number of posts by users in Italy who have been struggling with the NAA on various boxes, who were then delighted when the MAC Core Audio beta was released

 

As to Windows users, I am feeling kind of lonely. (Geoff has both !)

 

My perception that the big driver in recent interest has been PCM to DSD conversion which HQ Player does so well

 

Best Regards

 

Ed

If I can report my experiece about Italian users (I set up a forum for HQPlayer and gathered users there as I helped them to buy a licence), about 22% of them are on Mac/Linux and the rest on Windows. This may change now that Core Audio capabality has been implemented. The vast majority employs a CuBox-i as NAA and users are very happy about it. Mac users bought a HQPlayer licence when direct DAC connection was not possible in their system. We have also verified that it is often better to use a LPS for CuBox-i in place of the normal "brick" ps.

I can also say that in Italy, like here in CA, including PCM>DSD, the interest for HQPlayer is on the rise

[billfort]

I'm using HQPlayer on an older Windows 7 AMD PC to the SMS-100. Lately, I've been outputting everything as DSD128 using poly-sinc-short/DSD7 which works fine but I'm on the edge with this PC and some of the filters won't work (time for an upgrade). I'm powering the SMS-100 with a BK linear PS and using a Resonessence Concero HD for DSD and as an spdif converter to an AudioNote Kit 2.1 dac for PCM.

 

I love this combination (especially DSD source material) but the real surprise has been PCM>DSD128 which I find so nice on the Concero that the AudioNote doesn't get used much anymore. Amazing how good this affordable combination sounds using HQPlayer and DSD and I've become a big believer in what Miska is doing with upsampling and his NAA approach.

 

I fumbled a little getting it all going but with the fantastic support provided by Miska and Jesus at Sonore, it's a solid, great sounding way of doing this.

[tne]

I'm using HQPlayer on an older Windows 7 AMD PC to the SMS-100. Lately, I've been outputting everything as DSD128 using poly-sinc-short/DSD7 which works fine but I'm on the edge with this PC and some of the filters won't work (time for an upgrade). I'm powering the SMS-100 with a BK linear PS and using a Resonessence Concero HD for DSD and as an spdif converter to an AudioNote Kit 2.1 dac for PCM.

 

I love this combination (especially DSD source material) but the real surprise has been PCM>DSD128 which I find so nice on the Concero that the AudioNote doesn't get used much anymore. Amazing how good this affordable combination sounds using HQPlayer and DSD and I've become a big believer in what Miska is doing with upsampling and his NAA approach.

 

I fumbled a little getting it all going but with the fantastic support provided by Miska and Jesus at Sonore, it's a solid, great sounding way of doing this.

 

As a Concero HD owner who plays from a Mac (MBP or Mac Mini running Mavericks) and still experimenting with HQPlayer, I am curious about whether you have have compared SQ with and without the NAA, now that HQPlayer can circumvent the need for one. Of course I would prefer not to use one, but interested in hearing your thoughts on the potential improvements of using a NAA such as the one you are using.

[billfort]

As a Concero HD owner who plays from a Mac (MBP or Mac Mini running Mavericks) and still experimenting with HQPlayer, I am curious about whether you have have compared SQ with and without the NAA, now that HQPlayer can circumvent the need for one. Of course I would prefer not to use one, but interested in hearing your thoughts on the potential improvements of using a NAA such as the one you are using.

 

I have limited experience with HQPlayer direct to the Concero – only tried it briefly and preferred the NAA so was glad to get that big noisy PC back out of the room.

 

Before HQPlayer though, I used Jriver direct to the Concero with a Win7 laptop. Adding the SMS-100 to the mix (as a renderer, Jriver as the player in another room) was a significant improvement over the direct mode, particularly when I added the linear PS to the SMS. It might have been better isolation from that noisy PC, maybe the linear PS benefiting both the renderer/NAA and the USB powered Concero, maybe the streamlined OS, hard to say, but the results were there for me. Most apparent; dynamic contrasts were better and the soundstage seemed wider, deeper and more detailed.

 

I don’t know that this all translates directly to HQPlayer>SMS-100 as an NAA but I sure don’t think it hurts – and I really like having that hefty PC (which it must be to get the best out of HQPlayer) on the other end of my wired network. It’s also nice not to be obsessing over building and tweaking a do-all PC to feed that USB dac directly – the NAA just does that one task clean, simple and quiet.

[EuroDriver]

 

I don’t know that this all translates directly to HQPlayer>SMS-100 as an NAA but I sure don’t think it hurts – and I really like having that hefty PC (which it must be to get the best out of HQPlayer) on the other end of my wired network. It’s also nice not to be obsessing over building and tweaking a do-all PC to feed that USB dac directly – the NAA just does that one task clean, simple and quiet.

 

Talking about noisy PC, on my rebuilt i5 that now has a big CPU cooler, I also connected a 140 mm Noctura fan that is connected to the 5v bus coming from the PICO PSU. The fan is inaudible, but the RF signature of this fan when it is switched on and using about 1 watt power is audible and detrimental to the sound. I was amazed that the fan motor and its electronics could have such a negative influence, and this is to a Exasound DAC that is galvanically isolated. Goes to show that the NAA concept has a big advantage

[billfort]

Interesting. I've heard the Exasound in a few systems and loved it - especially with DSD. When they release drivers that allow the HQPlayer>NAA thing to work, I think I will move up to the E22, I'd love to hear what HQPlayer could do with an Exasound via NAA.

[EuroDriver]

Interesting. I've heard the Exasound in a few systems and loved it - especially with DSD. When they release drivers that allow the HQPlayer>NAA thing to work, I think I will move up to the E22, I'd love to hear what HQPlayer could do with an Exasound via NAA.

 

Me too ! Question is to go with a SOTM SMS-100 or a Cubox-i, or something similar

 

I have to say, I am leaning towards the SMS-100 as the HQ Player NAA is pre installed !

[LewinskiH01]

Talking about noisy PC, on my rebuilt i5 that now has a big CPU cooler, I also connected a 140 mm Noctura fan that is connected to the 5v bus coming from the PICO PSU. The fan is inaudible, but the RF signature of this fan when it is switched on and using about 1 watt power is audible and detrimental to the sound. I was amazed that the fan motor and its electronics could have such a negative influence, and this is to a Exasound DAC that is galvanically isolated. Goes to show that the NAA concept has a big advantage

 

Hello EuroDriver. You could connect a battery to the Noctua and avoid the electrical contamination it's injecting. Something like an Anker E4 would work perfect. You just need an USB to Noctua-plug adapter. I tried the Anker to independently power my OS SSD with 5V, so should work well here too.

[EuroDriver]

Hello EuroDriver. You could connect a battery to the Noctua and avoid the electrical contamination it's injecting. Something like an Anker E4 would work perfect. You just need an USB to Noctua-plug adapter. I tried the Anker to independently power my OS SSD with 5V, so should work well here too.

 

An Independant 5v supply for the fan is what I am planning to do. I should also cut some vents in the casing above the CPU cooler, then natural convection will probably be enough to keep temps under control

 

I tried powering my Exasound with an Anker Gen 2 pack, but it sounded noticeably worse than the supplied wall wart which has a big ferrite on the lead. For the wall wart to sound better, was quite a surprise for me

[4est]

This might say more about the Anker than the wall wart.

For the wall wart to sound better, was quite a surprise for me

[billfort]

Me too ! Question is to go with a SOTM SMS-100 or a Cubox-i, or something similar

 

I have to say, I am leaning towards the SMS-100 as the HQ Player NAA is pre installed !

 

That can be a pretty big deal for some - I struggled getting the SMS-100 working (and stable) with Jriver but with HQPlayer and the pre-installed NAA in the SMS, it was a snap and has been rock-solid. Not sure how this would all go with a Cubox or similar but I'm glad I started and ended with the SMS-100 from Sonore.

[tranz]

An Independant 5v supply for the fan is what I am planning to do. I should also cut some vents in the casing above the CPU cooler, then natural convection will probably be enough to keep temps under control

 

I tried powering my Exasound with an Anker Gen 2 pack, but it sounded noticeably worse than the supplied wall wart which has a big ferrite on the lead. For the wall wart to sound better, was quite a surprise for me

 

In the Mac CAPS thread I had put some findings on the fan impact. Initially I had it powered externally..improvement. Then I went the passive cooling route...much better still. It did not make sense until I measured the EMI field coming from the fan. If looking for perfection, fanless is the way to go.

 

Cheers

[nodolby]

I too am an Italian user I can say is that Hq player for mac is great above the windows version!

[Pocobear]

Heads up. Beta 5 for OSX is out on Facebook. Updates -2s filters.

[Pocobear]

In HQPlayer3 under Library, what is the difference between the default listing and the "Structure only" setting. I don't understand what the manual says about it. Does it on give you only Artist/Album/Song without the Performer list? The thing I don't like about the default list is that it gives you too much info. For example, under Performer it will list John Denver and under Artist it will list Bill Smith, who the heck is Bill Smith, producer, director ? I don't care. All I want is Artist/Album/Song. Will using "Structure Only" give me that? I have spent a lot of hours correcting things under the default listing and if checking "Structure Only" would delete all my corrections and still not give me what I want, I'm afraid to try it not knowing what it would do.

[Miska]

In HQPlayer3 under Library, what is the difference between the default listing and the "Structure only" setting.

 

If you set "Structure only", all metadata is extracted from the filesystem structure and any metadata embedded inside files is ignored. So when it's checked let's say (assuming you are using Windows) you would have:

D:\Music\Pink Floyd\Dark Side of the Moon\05-Money.flac

Then the extracted metadata would be:

Artist: Pink Floyd

Album: Dark Side of the Moon

Song: Money

 

This is useful in cases where the tree is organized of files without metadata in a way many ripping/library management software (including iTunes) arranges the files on a filesystem.

 

For example, under Performer it will list John Denver and under Artist it will list Bill Smith, who the heck is Bill Smith, producer, director ?

 

It is more useful for classical music. For example it could be:

Artist: Gustav Mahler

Performer: Los Angeles Philharmonic / Esa-Pekka Salonen

Album: Symphony No. 8

 

I have spent a lot of hours correcting things under the default listing and if checking "Structure Only" would delete all my corrections and still not give me what I want, I'm afraid to try it not knowing what it would do.

 

Import shouldn't change already existing known items, other than discovering new cover art... But I always recommend backing up your settings / library data using the Export function in File-menu.

[Pocobear]

Miska,

 

Thanks.

Just one more thing, will you be getting ASIO working for OSX for the exaSound. It would sure take a load off of our CPU's unlike Apples CoreAudio which beats the CPU to death. And, it really sounds good too.

 

Thanks again.

[Superdad]

Hi Miska: Are you still awake today? Must be getting late there. I posted a couple of usage questions at the other thread--http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/hqplayer-kick-start-guide-and-feature-requests-20870/index8.html#post342816

These are aside from the PM I sent you yesterday regarding NAA.

 

Also, I can report that on OS X Mavericks, copying HQP app onto a RAM disk and launching it from there makes a subtle but worthwhile difference. As does playing the tracks from RAM disks. This is consistent (and similar sounding) to my experience with Audirvana and is not a surprise.

 

I sure hope my next stop is NAA…

 

Best,

Alex C.

[Miska]

Just one more thing, will you be getting ASIO working for OSX for the exaSound. It would sure take a load off of our CPU's unlike Apples CoreAudio which beats the CPU to death. And, it really sounds good too.

 

I have it done (blind), but it has not been tested since I don't have an exaSound DAC...

[Pocobear]

Miska, good morning, I have a exaSound e22 DAC, want to give it a shot? I also own a licence for HQPlayer on OSX Mavericks.

[juliocat]

New beta for OSX

 

HQPlayer Desktop 3.4.0beta6 for Mac OS X fixes NAA support and adds experimental (untested) ASIO support too.

http://www2.signalyst.com/bins/HQPlayerDesktop3-mac-340beta6.zip

 

Do we need to install ASIO for OSX in order to get ASIO support?? or we need special drivers??

[Miska]

Do we need to install ASIO for OSX in order to get ASIO support?? or we need special drivers??

 

Same way as on Windows, you need special drivers provided by the DAC manufacturer. At the moment exaSound is the only one providing such.

 

There still seems to be some problem with the ASIO driver loading/initialization, so most likely it doesn't work yet on HQPlayer. I need to get my hands on exaSound DAC to test & fix it...