Hqplayer: best NAA with best sound quality

SwissBear · January 13, 2022

I was kind of surprised to notice an audible difference between two NAAs (same machines UP gateway, ATOM x5-Z8350), one with the standard NAA image of Jussi and the other with the HQPe image, after disabling 2 services: hqplayerd and hqpwv.

The HPQe image offered much better micro-dynamics of the music, better timbres, etc... Both NAAs where powered by Paul Hynes SR7MR4 PSU. HQPlayer embedded was used upsampling at DSD512 with ASDM7ECv2 modulators. Holo May DAC.

Not sure why, but if this experience can motivate others to try for themselves, I thought I should share 😉

SwissBear · January 14, 2022

3 hours ago, zoltan said:

Did you change from SOtM sms-200 ultra to UP gateway? Is it better? Also, what did you get instead of the Devialet?

Hi Zoltan,

Yes I made the move from SOtM sms-200 Ultra to UP Gateway. I have the feeling that the UP Gateway is more powerful and supports all the formats that HQPlayer is able to produce, including DSD 1024 where I had trouble with the sms-200. As I am only using HQPlayer as music player this was a very sensible move for me. I sincerely appreciate the qualities of this small and relatively inexpensive box.

As far as replacing the Devialet is concerned, it has been an interesting journey. To make a long story short, I have an Holo May Level 2 as my main DAC. with Benchmark Media HPA-4 and AHB2 for the amplification. It's really awesome 😀