Design a PC/Server for ROON and HQ Player

[EuroDriver]

Hi sgr,

 

On this very topic I have been occupying myself pretty intensively the last couple of months. There are so many good ways to skin the cat.

 

In my explorations, my 2 cents is that the state of art in USB audio achieved with the help of OS optimization, Regen and Jitterbug, has allowed a one pc solution to be as good as a two pc solution was pre Regen. The sound quality of the one pc solution can be significantly lifted by addressing all of the noise generating components in the PC, mainly CPU, OS, RAM, SSD and attention to the various power supplies. There is also mileage to be gained from the optimization of the CPU system, BIOS settings, RAM timing, and the quality of the clocks used on the PC motherboard.

 

Please feel free to PM me with further questions

[EuroDriver]

It is amazing to me how much money you can spend to get small performance increases. I run an iMac with an i5 2.7 ghz quad core chip and it runs about 45% processor utilization with Roon and HQ player up sampling PCM to DSD 256. These newer processors get that down to 35-40% but cost a lot. How much more powerful is a newest generation i7 than a recent i5 or i7 quad core? is it 20%, 25% increase in power?

 

The benchmark differences between comparable Haswell and Skylake processors is small, but Skylake works significantly better for HQP due to Hyperthreading being implemented much better. Hyperthreaded cores on the same physical core have equal performance in Skylake, which not the case previously. It means that Pipeline mode in works better on Skylake than it did on Haswell

 

We had a definite SQ improvement with HQP when we switched from a 4790K to 6700K on the Sound Galleries Music Server

[EuroDriver]

this is exactly what worries me so much about computer audio...

 

But it also gives us the opportunity to improve the sound quality of the playback to levels we never dreamed was possible :-)

[EuroDriver]

RAM Question:

 

For loading in 32 GB of RAM, is it better to use 4x8 or 2x16?

 

With RAM, what we have found is less RAM is more sound quality.

 

4 memory channels in use gives better computing through put performance, but guess what using 2 memory channels can sound noticeably better. It's not huge, but if you want to squeeze the last drop of SQ ;-)

[EuroDriver]

What about the speed of the RAM, is 2133 OK and is there a point to go higher?2400,2666? TIA

 

RAM specs, and then adjusting voltages and timings to get the best sound. It makes re-stringing a Stradivarius look simple by comparison !

[EuroDriver]

Sorry if I've missed this but what HQP filter settings etc were you using that could go to DSD 512 without needing GPU?

 

Polysinc -shrt mp and ASDM7 :-)

 

Pipeline and Hyperthreading on in BIOS

[EuroDriver]

I need a bit of advice as well,I am also planning a build as Miska's and I was asked by my personal comp advisor what type of stress do I expect on the 6700k and I could not answer right away so guys please help with a few words...

 

The computer will be created just for the HQplayer upsampling to DSD512, no games, just causal browsing apart from audio. It will be in the listening room but tucked away so it needs to be silent as possible. I am going for the Fractal Design R5 as case and it can accomodate a Nofan 95C which is totally passive and can really handle 95W even though it gets a bit hot.

 

Now comes the question - if I expect a serious load on the CPU it is better to have a silent coller with a fan, something like the Noctua NH-U9S which is very quiet and can handle a lot of stress as well. But there is nothing quieter than just metal so if the Nofan 95C can take care of it it is much better as it also does not need any service.

 

The Nofan performs well, but the core temps are not as stable as they are with a Noctua 12

[EuroDriver]

Bibo01

 

+1

 

Great summary !

[EuroDriver]

Most of the build I see here needs quiet a few fans for cooling. Was anyone able to build a HQP/Roon PC, passive/active cooling or not, which has silent operation and can be kept inside the music room ? Or is this not a viable solution at the moment for DSD512 up-sampling ?

 

The SGM 2015 does Roon 1.2 > HQ Player > DSD 512 all passively cooled :-)

 

It's also important to note that to get really good Sound Quality with a Windows ASIO DAC such as the T+A DAC 8 DSD running Roon to HQP, one needs a reduced an optimized OS. Roon is a very busy app, and getting Windows to be minimally active is very much a necessary condition for good SQ

[EuroDriver]

I just try Roon with HQPlayer on the same mini pc running i7 4790 and I can only do DSD 256 at most and it shut off after several minutes running DSD 512 . Without Roon , HQPlayer OK even to DSD 512 although CPU running rather hot & fan noise a bit excessive .

 

Quad core Skylakes showed up at right time for DSD 512 duties :-)