HQPlayer Linux Desktop and HQplayer embedded

[Bertel]

I have an Intel X520-DA2 NIC in my computer which is running HQPlayer OS with HQPlayer Embedded (networkaudiod is disabled, as I‘m using an Up Gateway as NAA). The NIC has two SFP+ ports, one of which is connected with optical to my switch, so I have disabled one SFP+ port in Windows when booting the PC with Windows 10 Pro.

 

I‘m not too literate in Linux, but from the below ifconfig screenshot I think I see that both ports are bridged, right? @Miska, would you agree that this is less than ideal when running HQPlayer Embedded? Would it be preferrable to disable the second port in HQPlayer OS (would need to understand then how this is done)?

[Bertel]

Thank you @Miska. I started reading through the documentation for systemd.network and generally it is pretty clear what to do there. Yet I don't think I have fully understood the underlying mechanics yet:

 

Using the console of HQPlayer OS, in /etc/systemd/network I found 20-wired.network and 25-wired-local.network, and also 10-br0.netdev which establishes the bridge br0 which I see in the ifconfig screenshot above, if I'm correct. 

 

Do I understand correctly that this is a result of the bootup process, with maybe HQPlayer OS at startup having examined the system, found two network ports in the NIC, and therefore established the bridge, or something like this? I'm booting from your HQPlayer Embedded image on an USB stick, so do I actually have the possibility to put a systemd.network config file somewhere on the USB stick? (I think I have read that the bootable image of HQPlayer Embedded cannot really be changed, maybe that is what you mean when you say 

2 hours ago, Miska said:

Yes, but it is not plug-and-play anymore at that point. You then need to explicitly tell systemd-networkd which interface to use and leave unused ones explicitly disabled

?)

 

If that configuration process during startup can't be changed, is there any way to change it once the system is up, i.e. disable the second port and get rid of the bridge and the loopback, from console or with a script or so? 

 

Hmm, and while I think of it, maybe it is just easier and a cleaner solution to get a good NIC with just one SFP+ (or SFP28) port instead... Would that prevent all the bridge / loopback configuration, so ifconfig just has one entry for a single port?

[Bertel]

Oh! I hadn't looked properly, thought I knew that it wasn't possible anyway - but of course, all is there and accessible, all perfectly fine. Thanks @Miska for pointing me to it.

 

Alright, I went to /etc/system/networkd and did the following:

 

In 20-wired.network - change

Quote

[Match]
Name=e*

to

Quote

[Match]
Name=enp1s0f0

 

Additionally, I created 15-port2-disabled.network to be executed prior, containing

Quote

 

[Match]
Name=enp1s0f1

[Link]
Unmanaged=yes
RequiredForOnline=no
ActivationPolicy=always-down

 

 

Works well so far, ifconfig only shows port 1 now and all is working. Is that good practise, or would you change/adjust anything in the config/settings @Miska ?

[Bertel]

9 hours ago, Miska said:

You can remove the bridge config file, and just make DHCP bind to a specific port, and if you want, turn other ports off as you have done.

 

Great, many thanks! That's actually what I was aiming at when I had asked whether the bridge configuration could be removed or was required for something else.

 

I have now removed 10-br0.netdev and 20-wired.network from /etc/systemd/network, and just changed the [Match] section in 25-wired-local.network from Name=br0 to Name=enp1s0f0. Works flawlessly. Just need to remember now to perform the same when a new HQPlayer Embedded image becomes available 😉

 

networkctl shows that enp1s0f1 is still there but in status "off", i.e. powered down, all good. I don't have any other ports to disable, also netstat -tua only shows a couple of (internal) ports required for hqplayerd, omniORB etc., so I think I'm set for now.

[Bertel]

22 minutes ago, Miska said:

NAA OS image is similar, without bridge, instead has Name match for "e*". Which also means that it will sit waiting for all found interfaces to come up before networkaudiod gets started. 

 

Exactly, I had experienced that a while back when using a UP Squared as an NAA (while waiting for the UP Gateway to arrive), which has two ethernet ports and therefore kept waiting forever. You had explained this to me back then, thanks again @Miska for all your help and continued effort!

 

I'm really sorry, but I have yet another question:

 

About 60 seconds after startup of HQPlayer OS, having booted from the HQPlayer Embedded image, I receive an error message (see below screenshot). I use a Z390 Aorus Master mainboard with built in sound, which shows (also in Windows) as both Intel and Realtek, see the other screenshot.

 

Outputting everything over ethernot to my NAA, I don't use either, so would want to disable both. If I understand correctly, I need to tell the kernel to not load these, right? So I tried putting a blacklist file in /etc/modprobe.d/ (with "blacklist snd_hda_codec_realtek"), but that didn't change anything...

 

(That said, I just realise that I have my monitor connected over HDMI, so would still need the display part, just get rid of the sound part…)

 

Could you please point me to what you’d recommend for disabling / not loading these unwanted devices?

[Bertel]

Because I use this PC in a dual boot configuration, and actually do need and use it when booting with Windows.

[Bertel]

20 hours ago, Miska said:

 

Quite many of the algorithms are heavy on the memory since the data doesn't fit in the CPU's cache. Thus combination of the raw memory speed (clock rate) and CAS Latency (CL) matter. Note that the CL figure is number of clock cycles, so higher the clock frequency, shorter time one clock cycle is. So you need to multiply 1/x inverse of the clock rate with the CL figure to come up with the actual access time (usually expressed in ns; 10^-9).

 

 I have 4 x DDR4-3600 CL19 modules in my Z390 mainboard currently. Can get DDR4-4000 CL14. @Miska, what exactly would you expect as difference with HQPlayer Embedded on HQPlayer OS - DSD256 with 7EC modulator plays without problems - are there any possible benefits for sound quality, however minimal, any potential influence on the data and the results of processing?

[Bertel]

Many thanks @Miska! I'm fine then, using poly-sinc-ext2 as well as Adaptive output rate (with the May being able to take 48k based DSD rate as well).

 

My DDR4-3600 CL19 modules are G.Skill SniperX Digital.

 

@StreamFidelity, the DDR4-4000 CL14 modules I was looking at are G.Skill RipJaws V (as we're both in Germany I'll link to Mindfactory here: https://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/32GB-G-Skill-RipJaws-V-schwarz-DDR4-4000-DIMM-CL14-Dual-Kit_1419219.html)

[Bertel]

Quick question @Miska:

 

I use the filters from @mitchco for my SR1a headphones in the Convolution engine of HQPlayer Embedded. I think I need to set a value of 19.5 for Gain compensation (which I have done, see screenshot of log), but just to be sure: in the other screenshot from the log I see both a dB value for impulse response and for the convolution filter. Do I need to add these, or am I fine with my 19.5 value? 
 

Interestingly, and more as a side comment, when I first entered that 19.5 value I turned the volume knob on my amp waaaay down, because 19dB is a lot - but actually it doesn‘t seem to make much of a difference on actual listening volume. Must be calculated somewhere else I guess. Or am I missing something here, or doing wrong? (I also tried entering +19.5 at first before, but the + is not accepted, whereas the - is)

[Bertel]

Apologies, can I come back to the topic of Secure Boot and Windows 11 for a moment:

 

I have a dual boot configuration where I either boot into Windows 10 Pro from an SSD, or to HQPlayer Embedded from an USB stick.

 

@bobflood, when you say

On 10/6/2021 at 3:33 AM, bobflood said:

Chris, (and FYI for others with ASUS MBs) when you get ready to upgrade to Win 11/64 remember to update your UEFI/BIOS first. As I mentioned before, ASUS has a new BIOS with full support for Win 11. This will activate the TPM 2.0 module on your MB and also turn on Secure Boot among other things. Win 11 requires this for proper function. To be able to continue to boot your secondary drives using legacy boot rules you will need to configure the ASUS Legacy Module. This is in the Boot section of the BIOS. You should be able to set the rules for each drive separately and still retain Secure Boot on the primary Win 11 drive. You may also want to consider upgrading using the ISO image method rather than using Windows Update. You will for sure get a clean upgrade that way. I have been on Win 11 since the beginning using the DEV channel and I have had only a few minor glitches along the way. Roon and HQP run together on Win 11 far better than they ever did on Win 10. This is much more than a cosmetic makeover. Hope this helps! 

I understand that Windows 11 requires Secure Boot to run, or run properly as you say. 

 

@Miska, you had advised before to turn off Secure Boot in BIOS and set OS to "Other" when booting into HQPlayer OS. Why is that? I don't know what Secure Boot actually does so am trying to understand how it interferes with / affects HQPlayer OS.

 

I have a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master mainboard, with the latest firmware 11n, but I can't find anything that would enable the TPM 2.0 module if I have one... So trying to understand what my options are - stick with Win 10 for the time being, or enable Secure Boot and see whether it works with HQP OS?

[Bertel]

43 minutes ago, Miska said:

There is sort of signature on the HQPlayer OS boot loader, but you can try with secure boot if you are still able to boot HQPlayer OS or if it fails on signature verification. This depends on the default enrolled keys in your BIOS keychain.

 

Ah, I see - so this is not about ensuring that the environment for HQPlayer OS is not interfered with, but rather a "won't boot" vs " will boot without problems" situation. I just set Secure Boot to enabled (or rather "Standard") in my BIOS, and HQPlayer Embedded came up without any problems, so all good for the moment.

 

Regarding TPM 2.0: I had to set "Trusted Computing" to "Enabled" and turn on Intel Platform Trust Technology (PTT) so the Health Check app recognised and confirmed that TPM 2.0 is available on my PC. Did another check, HQPLayer Embeddes still booits up and plays without any issues. Hope the upcoming new version of HQP will work as well 😉

[Bertel]

Many thanks @Miska for this new release! Agree, sound quality is excellent.

 

Quick question please: I‘m running DSD256 with the new ASDM7ECv2 modulator into my Holo May KTE. No issues, plays very well - but I noticed that load on the first two cores of my i9-9900K seem to get very high loads, with 44.1 material typically between 83 and 89%, with 96k between 92 and 99%, while the other cores are almost idleing below 25%, see screenshot of htop. Is that „normal“…? Would have assumed a more even distribution across cores, isn‘t that too much load on the first two cores? (BIOS settings btw are as per your recommendations)

[Bertel]

Hi @Miska, would it be possible in HQPlayer Embedded user interface Main tab to change the behaviour of the back button ⏮ such that it does not jump to the previous track, but to the beginning of the current track? I often want to repeat e.g. the beginning of a track, so currently always have to push first Back then Forward. Minor topic for sure, just saying 😉

[Bertel]

26 minutes ago, Miska said:

That is kind of non-standard behavior.

 

Really, is it? If I remember correctly the long gone time of CD players, I thought on the first press of the back button they go to the beginning of the current track, with the second to the beginning of the previous, and so on, but could be wrong of course.

 

28 minutes ago, Miska said:

Why not use the "repeat single track" feature?

 

You mean from the Library view open the album and then select a specific track to play? That certainly works, but I have no continuous play there, i.e. it stops after every track and I have to manually select the next one.

 

Or do you mean the Repeat Single / Repeat All functionality? That to my understanding requires to let the track play until the end so it can start again from the beginning, I can't go back to the beginning while it's playing, right?

 

I also tried the Play button, thought that could as well restart the playback of the current file, but it has no effect.

 

As said, no major thing, just would be convenient if there would be a one button functionality to achieve this, just like "in the old days" (at least as I remember them...) instead of having to press back and forward, but of course that's doable as well.

[Bertel]

10 minutes ago, Miska said:

I see it as pretty strange feature and don't really understand what kind of normal playback that would make sense.

Well, at least I do that all the time, e.g. when listening to a new album and I think „oh that beginning of the song or intro section was cool, let me listen to that again“.

 

But as said, don‘t worry and let‘s not bother, all good.

[Bertel]

33 minutes ago, StreamFidelity said:

 

Question for the round. I am a bit at a loss. This version does not run on my i9-12900K. A few cores are heavily used and stuttering occurs. I checked that I am using the amd version and if it multicore = 1. Tested with poly-sinc-gauss-long, ASDM7ECv2, DSD256 from a 24/96 or 16/44.1 stream.

Hmmm, sorry to hear that - I‘m using an i9-12900K as well, and have no issues with this version, load is nicely distributed across all cores. However I have not changed the settings in hqplayer.xml (I guess that‘s what you‘re referring to when you say „and if it multicore = 1“?). Yet I‘m only doing ASDM5ECv2 to DSD256 from 16/44.1

[Bertel]

The latest version 4.30.0 version of HQPlayer Embedded doesn‘t start for me - it results in Kernel Panic (see screenshot). That also happened with 4.29.2, while 4.29.3 to my relief again worked…

 

Is there something I can fix or do? Or is this something @Miska in the packages or so that go into your image (which I flash onto an USB stick and then boot from it)?

[Bertel]

Sure, HQPe OS. As said, happened with 4.29.2 as well, never before (didn‘t try 4.29.1 but 4.29.0 was fine) and 4.29.3 was fine as well. Always using balenaetcher with verification and the same USB sticks. Downloaded several times (I‘m using the amd version as well). 

[Bertel]

8 hours ago, Miska said:

 

This is strange, because the kernel binary is 1:1 exactly the same between 4.29.3 and 4.30.0. And same goes for everything else on the image, except of course hqplayerd binary itself. But It shouldn't be able to crash the kernel.

 

Maybe there's some problem with image writing to the boot media, or something else?

 

Thanks. Found the issue. balenaEtcher has always worked fine for me so far. When I have created a new bootable stick, I always go into etc/systemd/network and amend the files. I only have Windows systems so I use Linux File System for Windows by Paragon Software. This sometimes has issues and I need to restart the service, seems it has corrupted the file system when writing back because it was unreadable after my amendments. Will keep an eye on that. Good to confirm that the HQPe package is flawless of course :-)

[Bertel]

@Miska I have an issue with HQPlayer Embedded: when booting with the latest image (4.32.0.1-x64avx2) from USB stick, all boots up fine, but HQPlayer doesn‘t seem to start. It seems that something related to USB is missing? 4.31. and former versions didn‘t show this behaviour, haven‘t changed anything. CPU is 12th Gen i9-12000K, so I understood the avx2 version should work fine, right?

[Bertel]

On 5/18/2022 at 1:32 AM, Miska said:

 

I just fixed some OS related problems, now there are 4.32.1 HQPlayer OS images.

Thank you, that fixed my problem of HQPlayer Embedded not starting.

Time Zones now also work 🖕

[Bertel]

@Miska can I ask for your help and advice please:

Just played on of my usual familiar albums with the latest version of HQP Embedded, and when done noticed the attached error message. All had worked well, no strange effects whatsoever, and no previous changes to my usual environment or settings.

 

Can‘t make sense of that message, as the Log only shows the usual entries, nothing that wouldn‘t normally be there, and certainly not an enormous amount of data that would cause it to overflow.

 

What is this please, and do I need to fix anything?

[Bertel]

Ah, great relief! Thanks a lot 😃

[Bertel]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

 

Cosmos ADC is inexpensive, but you need to isolate it with some USB isolator and it has some compatibility troubles with Intona. So not an easy one.

@Miska I use a Cosmos ADC and need to add an USB isolator, just as you say - have you found an Intona which works well with it? Or any other brand/model you‘d recommend for the Cosmos?