Design a PC/Server for ROON and HQ Player

[Andrew S.]

This is my build, designed to run headless Roon server + HG Player. Its fanless.

Streacom FC5 Alpha Fanless Case

Gigibyte GA-H170N-WIFI

6th Gen Intel Core i7-6700 Processor;

Streacom ZeroFlex 240;

Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400MHz ;

Samsung 850 Evo 250Gb M.2 SSD; Samsung 850 Evo 2Tb SSD;

TP Link PCIe GbE Fiber Network Card w/ Open SFP - yup fiber - Merging Nadac via FMC & SNP transreceivers.

Windows 10 Pro 64Bit OEM;

[Andrew S.]

Thank you - yes all good, I was mindful of just that issue.

 

I understand HQ Player 3.12 Beta is quite cpu intensive when you convert eg pcm to 256 dsd. Still I don't expect any issues with melting the CPU or frying eggs on the case. I like those Streacom cases - I built a couple of Antipodes clones this years as well (Same mobo, ram & SOtM PCI card + custom linear power supply) and found they work really well. Not that you need heat pipes with Atohm 2800 boards running VB.

 

The 2TB SSD for storage was probably unnecessary and likely redundant, esp with a fiber connection to dac, but I like SSD's and could afford it, so why not. Besides let me pop in a USB/FW card and (hopefully) have a half decent server for those purposes.

 

Oh I see you have the Mytek 192. That is one of my favourite dacs. I happened to have a Manhattan about the place at the moment as well, and feel it is an excellent converter. Pairs extremely well with the Benchmark AHB2 power amp, btw. headphone out is also a star. Recommended.

[Andrew S.]

Yes.

 

So all hooked up and running - converting 16/44 PCM to 256 DSD uses, with all back ground processes running including Roon, between 30 and 37% cpu, and about 10-15% memory (of 16 GB). So really not that cpu intensive with the server version.

 

The heat sink is slightly warm to the touch on the processor side, dead cool on the other and the case is cool. I'll run it over night to simulate a day's listening and see how it goes. Its a balmy 70 - 80 F here atm, summers reach 105 F and very humid but AC will see it live in ~ 70-75 F.

 

As an aside;

 

Getting my head around Win 10 (I use OSX at home and Win 7 at work) was a giant PITA and the Ravenna ethernet protocol isn't very consumer friendly - it is after all designed to be installed under complex studio conditions with lots of in's and out's from many channels to many workstations. I expect a network professional would usually install it. Anyway I managed to work it out. So it cannot be that difficult.

 

Here are two tips - on a dual ethernet windows pc, the Ravenna/Nadac comes up as a public network and LAN as a private. You have to:

 

1. Disable Windows Firewall & Defender on the public network

 

2. Enable all permission sharing on the public network.

 

As I want integration with Tidal, I want access to the interwebs, and so for some basic, but effective, protection found that 360 Total Security (which is what I usually run on Windows anyway) to be effective and easily configurable to allow the Merging sw and drivers in & out. Anyway I have a firewall on my router and modem, and tend to use a vpn most of the time, in any event, so risk is relatively small. Worse that happens is they hit my music server, which is very much a dead end. The VPN helps with Tidal in Australia, which otherwsie can suffer drop outs. Although to be fair has been much better of late.

 

I am running it all remotely ie headless, so loaded the Roon server edition + HQ Player, and simply added each program to the start folder to launch at start up. After some more hair pulling they are stable in config. Not so easy on Windows 10, or so it turned out. Mainly because I didn't know where anything was. Bloody UI.

 

So now have two stable ways of playing back files to my Nadac:

 

1. Roon server edition (no upsampling conversion or dsp - what you put in is what you get out) - Merging ASIO driver - Merging Nadac.

 

2. Roon server edition - HQ Player (dsp conversion in my case to DSD256 but you can do virtually anything you want including DXD384) - Merging ASIO driver - Merging Nadac (at the dsp'ed DSD256)

 

Of the two, I prefer the second, and by some margin, with all PCM files, whatever their native sample rate. I am agnostic in respect of DSD files, although perceive a more pleasing quality to when DSD 64 files are dsp'ed to DSD 256. CPU load obviously drop in the latter instance.

 

The sound is universal captivating when dsp'ed to DSD 256.

 

It is hard to describe but the closest I have heard to native DSD from PCM. It doesn't transform a poor recording into a great one, but it takes a poor recording and makes it that much more listenable. GIGO as usual. But the GO is neater and sounds much better, in my opinion (and it is just that - my opinion).

 

Mono is still mono. Conversion hasn't been straight forward with that medium.

 

Don't ask me why it should or even could sound better. I haven't a clue. There is 165+ pages on CA dedicated to HQ Player, and I am sure if you asked the question in that thread someone would be only to happy to enter into debate on why and even if it could be so. Just don't ask me - I'm a muppet in respect of CA and even more so when compared to the math PhD's here.

 

I would however go so far as to say the mainstream roll out of Roon + HQ Player integration is a paradigm shift in the audiophile digital landscape, provided you have the gear to hear it. Mind you, I suggest any half competent sabre chipped dac would benefit.

 

In any event, this is the closest I have heard my digital get to great vinyl, which I love.

 

In fact for classical, which I prefer to listen to most of the time, I am leaning toward Roon - HQP - Nadac combo as my preferred playback chain. Lower noise floor, certainly more convenient and has the same (or at least remarkably similar) liquidity and involvement.

 

I will hook up a Mytek Manhattan I own when I get a FW card to slot into my server. One thing at a time.

 

Next trick is to hook up the Nadac via fiber - which should be relatively straightforward. At least in theory. Wish me luck.

[Andrew S.]

Thanks. Got it worked out. All good.

 

With the release of 3.12 (thanks Miska!) cpu is under 20%, ram around 10%. Runs cool.

 

Having some hassles implementing fibre across to my nadac, but that is just network issues (NIC adapters etc).

 

Very impressed with the SQ of everything DSPed to DSD 256, via Roon.

 

Cheers Miska.