HQPlayer4 EC modulator tips and techniques

[ted_b]

Jussi has produced new SDM modulators (known as EC modulators) in his newest HQPlayer version 4 releases.  The feedback on these VERY cpu-heavy modulators is nothing short of game-changing....for example folks are realizing they can only run much lower DSD bit rates (say DSD128 vs DSD512) and don't care...they sound better at 128 than the earlier ones at DSD512!

 

Anyway, the huge HQPlayer threads are getting bogged down in hardware discussions, being that folks are having a hard time finding the right combination of OS, cpu, and bios tweaks to get these things running without interruption.  So......

 

Let's discuss these issues here!  Please be specific about how you run them (what hardware and settings seem to make a difference), what OS and variant you are running, and any plain speaking bios and/or OS tweaks (turning off cores, overclocking, etc) you are using to get uninterrupted service. 

 

I am starting this thread for another reason, too:  I need a more powerful server environment than my current i7-6700k and while my audio room gets built I can do something hardware-wise to prepare to enjoy HQPlayer 4.  Thx

[ted_b]

17 minutes ago, k6davis said:

Core i7-9700K. It seems to like EC modulators. 😀

 

It will easily upsample PCM 24-192 => EC DSD256 x 48 with poly-sync-ext2. With any OS. Without a GPU. Without high CPU utilization. No overclocking or special settings or special cooling required. 

What mobo?

[ted_b]

Joel,

A free trial of HQPlayer Pro would allow you to record offline that yourself...the only downside is 60 seconds max per sample.

[ted_b]

13 minutes ago, rando said:

The majority here are probably nearer the opposite end of the spectrum, ie weighing (or soon will be) 1% improvements out of impeccably detailed comprehension and looking for firmware updates to fix things further.

Rando, your point here is over my head...sorry.  I am not getting it.  All I know is that "the majority HERE", on this thread, are hopefully either relaying their real life experiences with setting up an HQPlayer EC-capable server, or asking questions about same.  Whether they are also dealing with "impeccably detailed comprehension" (?) or looking for firmware fixes is, well, irrelevant to this...I think.  You say "restraint is a noble quality".  Um, ok.  Not sure, again, what that has to do with this thread.  Sorry if I'm being too thick.

[ted_b]

1 hour ago, joelha said:

After checking, Ted, the other downside is that the output file is limited to 24 bits.

 

So my request remains.

 

I'd love to find a way to hear a sample file so I could hear what this program will do.

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Joel

 Not my experience. Several here have used it to produce ec-based high bit rate DSD samples

[ted_b]

I'm not really worried about fans per se (acoustic noise) as I'll be leaving the server out of the room, and using an NAA in the room.  That being said, I am not discounting that fan activity also can be detrimental due to vibration and electrical noise.  Also, I am not a pc tweaker, so squeezing the last drops out of the i7-6700k is not my idea of fun.  But that's just me.  This thread is not just about me. 

[ted_b]

Jussi, if you're watching:  you've created a need for heavier-lifting servers, and have probably minimized the damage by long-ago creating the NAA architecture.  Assuming the server-in-another-room-nearby scenario, what, in your experiences, are the best practices to minimize or eliminate the gremlins coming from an actively cooled server to your NAA (assume AL, in this example)?  5.0 Ghz wifi, for example? 

[ted_b]

It will be interesting to hear whether the EC modulators improve DSD (say 256) enough in my setup to change the way I upsample.  My Holo Spring does a great job upsampling PCM to 384K (and DSD to 512) but I never preferred converting PCM to a DSD variant.  Maybe now I will.  We'll see...thx

[ted_b]

19 minutes ago, bobflood said:

Hi Ted,

 

On my Holo Spring 2 KTE, I still prefer PCM 384 over DSD 256 with any EC modulator/filter combo for PCM source material. I will be interested to hear your take. I use HQP for both, not the internal chip of the Spring.

 

Bob

Bob

thanks. I kinda misspoke earlier when I said my Holo does a great job upsampling PCM. I of course meant does a great job with upsampled PCM (all upsampling done by HQP). I suspect same results as you but who knows. 

Thx

[ted_b]

18 minutes ago, bobflood said:

A quick suggestion; why not move all the posts in the HQP thread on this subject to this thread.

I'm not that thread's moderator so I can't do it. 

[ted_b]

Just now, JTS said:

The tempuratures and benchmark performance are not quite as good as my overclock, but as they say in the industry, good enough for TV.

JTS, what do you mean here about the temperatures being not as good as your OC ones.  I gotta assume OC produces more heat, right?

[ted_b]

We might all be surprised at the diminishing returns of EC at 512.  Who knows (although before EC modulators 512 was a nice sq step up from 256).  I really wish some of you would try the trial of HQP Pro and create for yourselves one minute samplers of EC at DSD512 of your favorite music, to compare to the realtime EC modulators at 256.  Maybe it's not the Holy Grail...or if it is, we can at least start a savings fund for when 8Ghz gets here. 

 

Edit: non-2s samples too!!

[ted_b]

2 minutes ago, k6davis said:

In the meantime, I don't wanna hear it. What good could that do? 😂😂😂

"Because it's there"....George Leigh Mallory

[ted_b]

No, I am in no way even non-seriously suggesting any one of us buy an HQplayer Pro license (that's for folks like my colleagues at NativeDSD, where you can buy EC7 DSD512 produced music).  I am simply tempted (but with no system right now) to hear what EC would do to my music at DSD512, and a Pro trial license gets you there....for one minute samples.  Yes, it could create angst...but it could also confirm that EC at DSD256 is 99% of the sq....one percent isn't hard to look the other way.  But yes...10% is very hard. 

[ted_b]

Great point.  You are right!  It's about enjoying the music....right now.

 

BTW, I'm jealous. 

[ted_b]

What if I'm running multichannel into an NAA (to an exaSound)?  Will the 9900k be better or will I simply need a GPU to offload/

[ted_b]

Has anyone tried the 9700KF ("F" nomenclature states that the chip has the GPU disabled/removed).  You'll need a video card, of course, but some are reporting (outside the HQP world) that the removal of the chip's GPU is a sonic benefit.  I ask cuz it seems to be my target right now, what with @K6davis's logic, combined with the removal of the gpu.....and something like the Asus Prime Z390 A mobo.....seems to make sense.

[ted_b]

So, Rando, you are saying your post was nothing but pedantic?  If so, stop filling up my thread unless you have a meaningful tip or technique for EC, or need one.  Thanks.

[ted_b]

Could we PLEASE take these fingerprint/licensing issues off this thread.  I realize they are important, but not at all on topic with what this thread is about; that is, a compendium of tips, techniques and experiences with the new EC modulators. 

 

If you are having HQPlayer issues then post them in the appropriate thread, thanks. 

[ted_b]

40 minutes ago, barrows said:

Anyway, Chris, thanks for undertaking this project, I will be watching closely because I want a capable HQP machine, but I am clueless when it comes to speccing out and building computers

+1   Check out Jabbr's thread where he ordered a prebuilt Dell and added RAM, a fiber NIC and a couple other things..and has a DSD256 EC-capable machine for relatively cheap.  I may go that route once my room is done (in limbo right now at 50% completion ).  My I7-6700k server may not be too capable for any sort of EC modulation.