HQ Player

[tranz]

Your question is related to the concrete DAC model you use, without that information the answer cannot be enough concrete. If you output upsampled PCM to DAC, with some DACs it is possible to completely bypass hardware oversampling, with others partially. If your DAC supports DSD, by converting PCM to DSD you can typically bypass complete PCM oversampling and majority of (sometimes all) remaining digital processing.

 

The topic was already discussed in many threads, including discussion of concrete DAC chips, try to search for them.

 

Thanks bogi. Sorry for the double-posting, I have been reading through hours of threads on HQP, but I clearly still have a lot to learn.

 

Most DACs do not even provide users the ability to bypass upsampling or filtering at all, so it was more of a theoretical musing.

 

Cheers

[bogi]

Most DACs do not even provide users to bypass upsampling or filtering at all, so it was more of a theoretical musing.

 

No... at least with most of modern DACs with current DAC chips and current USB receivers.

 

For example the combination XMOS/Sabre ES9018 is used quite often. It allows max. 352.8/384k PCM input on USB and that's just the level up which Sabre would upsample internally. So if you do it externally in your software, DAC has nothing to do with PCM input so it passes it to delta-sigma modulator.

 

It is quite common that current modern DAC chips internally upsample to 352.8/384k and USB receivers supporting that PCM sample rates are also quite usual today.

 

If your DAC supports max. 192k on it's USB receiver and if it internally upsamples to 352.8/384k, then most often the following happens. By feeding it with 176.4/192k PCM you are avoiding the first two stages of DAC's oversamling 44.1k to 88.2 and 88.2k to 176.4k. Only the latest oversampling step, which is sonically the least important, is done by DAC chip itself.

 

And if you pass DSD signal to DSD capable DAC, you can typically avoid all PCM oversampling steps and in some cases also complete remaining hardware digital processing (for some TI and Wolfson DAC chips), or significant part of that processing (for example Sabre).

 

I don't know what for DAC you use, but knowing these things can be important in decision what to buy.

 

People who could compare mostly agree that a typical PCM only DAC of price range <$1000 cannot beat a suitable DSD capable DAC of similar price range, if you do higher quality software PCM to DSD conversion. The current delta-sigma DACs do lot of digital processing if they are fed with PCM signal. The D/A conversion stage self is rather simple - the purpose of that foregoing digital processing is to make it simple. By feeding a suitable DAC with DSD signal you can bypass all or almost all hardware digital processing.

[Miska]

I guess the underlying question is once you have upsampled and filtered using your program will all the work get essentially destroyed, negated or sub-optimized by the DACs internal DSP re-upsampling and re-filtering?

 

In most cases not. For 2x ratios it is unlikely but more possible that the filters in DAC would lessen the improvement of HQPlayer filters, for 4x ratios or more it becomes unlikely. Result is still usually better compared to not running the HQPlayer filter.

[Hammer]

Hi, my DSD files are in DoP format. I find that if I set all the PCM settings to none and then set the drop down box under volume to dsd, then these files play fine. However, if the PCM settings are what I would like for playing PCM files like Poly-sinc, guass1, then the Dsd files do not play and I get static. Volume in hqplayer is set to max. I am using the latest driver from the auralic website (I have a vega dac). Thanks, hammer.

[tranz]

Hi, my DSD files are in DoP format. I find that if I set all the PCM settings to none and then set the drop down box under volume to dsd, then these files play fine. However, if the PCM settings are what I would like for playing PCM files like Poly-sinc, guass1, then the Dsd files do not play and I get static. Volume in hqplayer is set to max. I am using the latest driver from the auralic website (I have a vega dac). Thanks, hammer.

 

Hi Hammer,

 

DoP is just a means to get the DSD file over to the DAC not a file format. Your DSD files will either be DSF or DFF format, where DSF can hold metadata. Check whether your DAC can handle both formats, and check whether there is a DoP setting on the DAC.

 

Cheers

[kurb1980]

Hammer

 

Are you on windows or Mac? If on windows you can use ASIO which is a driver that allows pure DSD stream to the DAC. Double check make sure you have SDM pack in HQplayer settings to none in the drop down. Then select ASIO from the backend drop down.

 

If you want to use DoP which is a way of tricking the CPU into thinking it is handling PCM by embedding the DSD into PCM stream. If on windows you don't need DoP because with ASIO it's supports DSD natively. DoP mainly a Mac thing. If your on Mac then backend needs to be set to CoreAudio and SDM pack set to DoP. I hope this helps?

[bogi]

Hi, my DSD files are in DoP format. I find that if I set all the PCM settings to none and then set the drop down box under volume to dsd, then these files play fine. However, if the PCM settings are what I would like for playing PCM files like Poly-sinc, guass1, then the Dsd files do not play and I get static. Volume in hqplayer is set to max. I am using the latest driver from the auralic website (I have a vega dac). Thanks, hammer.

 

If you mean the special format of DSD in FLAC envelope, as you mentioned here http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/hq-player-20293/index75.html#post421918 this is no standard format. It is only a workaround to play DSD on some devices, which don't provide standard DSD support. According to manual HQPlayer supports FLAC, DSF, DFF, WAV and AIFF files.

[Hammer]

I see. They are in DFF format. The DAC plays them fine - I also have a daphile/"Squeezebox" setup and the files play fine using that setup. Thanks. Hammer

[Hammer]

I'm on windows using ASIO. However, all my files are DFF encapsulated in FLAC / DoP and I really would like to avoid having to convert them to another format. Is there a workaround? It seems to me that HQPlayer is not recognizing the fact that these are really DFF files and so applying the PCM settings before outputting to DAC. That's why if I set the PCM settings to none, the files play fine. Having said that, I know I'm a complete newbie, but I would like to get this working since the sound from HQPlayer is so addictive! Thank you for your help.

[Hammer]

Yes, that's the file format I mean. I am coming from a squeezebox world and so all my DSD files are formatted this way.

[One and a half]

Hammer,

 

The only way the Auralic Vega can play DSD is for the host, like HQ player to 'wrap' the DFF or DSF file in another container for transport from where you store your files to the DAC only. This is how DoP works and how the Vega plays DSD files. HQ player has a tick box DoP, and this should be ticked. When the file plays in HQ player it may read as PCM, but the DAC should display DSD, that's the best clue that everything is working correctly.

 

All HQ player is doing is to boxing up the DSD file and the DAC is unpacking the box, no conversion necessary.

[AnotherSpin]

Most probably a stupid question which may have very simple answer, nevertheless I couldn't resolve it. When I play rips from mono archive recordings through HQP I have a sound only in left channel. Is it a way to get sound from both?

[Hammer]

Agreed and my files play fine - it's just that I need to set all the pcm settings to none to get it to work which makes switching between pcm and dsd tough if I have both types of files in a playlist. Thank you.

[iestynrw]

Miska,

 

A couple of weeks ago I emailed you (support@...) and later sent you PM here about an Embedded license. I understand you must be very busy but I would really appreciate it if you could respond.

 

Really loving HQP I am keen to give embedded a try...

 

Many thanks.

[bogi]

Most probably a stupid question which may have very simple answer, nevertheless I couldn't resolve it. When I play rips from mono archive recordings through HQP I have a sound only in left channel. Is it a way to get sound from both?

 

I don't know about a solution within HQPlayer, but Channel Mixer DSP plugin for Foobar2000 is able to do such things. Foobar's Converter enables to save tracks, processed by DSP plugins.

Probably ffmpeg or eac3to are also able to do such a thing, I never tried that.

Or google for "audacity mono to stereo", I found some youtube videos.

[frederick184]

What are members with HQ Player using for remote access? I am currently using HQ Player desktop on my Win 8.1 machine, which I control from my iPad using RDP. My second PC, and the one connected to my DAC is a CAPS server running Win 2012 with AO, and HQ Player NAA. This machine is normally headless, but I'm finding that I need to keep a monitor, keyboard and mouse attached to it at all times, because, first of all, the NAA has to be started manually, and it shuts down and has to be restarted manually every time I change settings. Unless there is a workaround that I am not aware of.

 

Colin

[AnotherSpin]

Or google for "audacity mono to stereo", I found some youtube videos.

Thank you, bogi! Audacity works for me, I already processed several files and listen to them now...)

 

In the same vein - do you have an idea how to make mono back from fake stereo? Audacity could do this, but in a rather complicated way: stereo to mono (one channel), then mono to duplicated mono (two channels). Thanks!

[tranz]

Check out VNC viewer.

[shadowlight]

What are members with HQ Player using for remote access? I am currently using HQ Player desktop on my Win 8.1 machine, which I control from my iPad using RDP. My second PC, and the one connected to my DAC is a CAPS server running Win 2012 with AO, and HQ Player NAA. This machine is normally headless, but I'm finding that I need to keep a monitor, keyboard and mouse attached to it at all times, because, first of all, the NAA has to be started manually, and it shuts down and has to be restarted manually every time I change settings. Unless there is a workaround that I am not aware of.

 

Colin

 

Colin,

 

Add the naa app to start up folder of the user that you use to log on with and than make that be the user to auto log in at system start. Link below has information on how to configure win2012 server and auto logon server.

 

Auto login Windows Server 2012 - Super User

 

[Miska]

A couple of weeks ago I emailed you (support@...) and later sent you PM here about an Embedded license. I understand you must be very busy but I would really appreciate it if you could respond.

 

Really loving HQP I am keen to give embedded a try...

 

Please re-send the email. I may have missed it since I have trouble following all the email inflow, so my inbox is a mess...

[Miska]

However, all my files are DFF encapsulated in FLAC / DoP and I really would like to avoid having to convert them to another format.

 

You should use the original DFF (DSDIFF) or DSF files instead of encapsulating DoP in a FLAC which easily results in these kind of problems...

[iestynrw]

Please re-send the email. I may have missed it since I have trouble following all the email inflow, so my inbox is a mess...

 

Thanks - email re-sent.

[Foggie]

Check out VNC viewer.

 

A bit random, but using rdp, tight vnc, real vnc etc.. on either Mac/win - is there a certain amount of overhead (maybe detrimental in so far as performance, noise or whatever) caused by this method as opposed to a dedicated remote app like iTunes remote, auralic lighting and do on?

[tranz]

A bit random, but using rdp, tight vnc, real vnc etc.. on either Mac/win - is there a certain amount of overhead (maybe detrimental in so far as performance, noise or whatever) caused by this method as opposed to a dedicated remote app like iTunes remote, auralic lighting and do on?

 

Fair question to which I do not know the answer. I do however, just in case, log out of VNC before I start playback. Always like to keep processes and threads to the minimum and screen sharing usually is a bit intensive.

[frederick184]

Colin,

 

Add the naa app to start up folder of the user that you use to log on with and than make that be the user to auto log in at system start. Link below has information on how to configure win2012 server and auto logon server.

 

Auto login Windows Server 2012 - Super User

 

 

Shadowlight,

 

Thanks very much. I will check this out tonight.

 

Colin