HQPlayer4 EC modulator tips and techniques

[Miska]

3 hours ago, craighartley said:

Thanks. And is this at all related to whether ‘wide’ is chosen in DSD Settings in HQP?

 

No, that is totally unrelated...

 

[Miska]

Here's a not-so-fancy screenshot of the new HQPlayer OS image playing Tidal with poly-sinc-xtr-lp + ASDM7EC to DSD256, on i7-8086K:

[dminches]

3 hours ago, Miska said:

OK, I have a solution...

 

I have updated the image and now on my i7-8086K it works perfectly fine with Tidal source and poly-sinc-xtr + ASDM7EC to DSD256.

 

Please redownload!

 

Which poly-sinc-xtr?  LP or MP or?

 

[Outlaw]

3 hours ago, Miska said:

OK, I have a solution...

 

I have updated the image and now on my i7-8086K it works perfectly fine with Tidal source and poly-sinc-xtr + ASDM7EC to DSD256.

 

Please redownload!

Working now for me.Thanks

[k6davis]

3 hours ago, Miska said:

OK, I have a solution...

 

I have updated the image and now on my i7-8086K it works perfectly fine with Tidal source and poly-sinc-xtr + ASDM7EC to DSD256.

 

Please redownload!

 

Working for me too. Zero installation. Zero config. Superb sound. Thank you very much Jussi.

[Outlaw]

Is there any way to measure cpu temp when using HQPlayer OS ?

[sledwards]

31 minutes ago, Outlaw said:

Is there any way to measure cpu temp when using HQPlayer OS ?

 

 

You could try 'sensors' if Jussi installed it with image.

 

[Miska]

1 hour ago, Outlaw said:

Is there any way to measure cpu temp when using HQPlayer OS ?

 

For example "cat /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon0/temp1_input" to see temperature of first core. Divide it by 1000 to get value is Celsius.

 

Or "cat /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp" for the package temperature.

 

[Miska]

2 hours ago, dminches said:

Which poly-sinc-xtr?  LP or MP or?

 

Load-wise LP and MP versions are the same, just different numbers, but otherwise the same.

 

[Outlaw]

24 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

For example "cat /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/hwmon/hwmon0/temp1_input" to see temperature of first core. Divide it by 1000 to get value is Celsius.

 

Or "cat /sys/devices/virtual/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp" for the package temperature.

 

Do I just type that into start up screen when HQPlayer  loads ?

[Miska]

5 minutes ago, Outlaw said:

Do I just type that into start up screen when HQPlayer  loads ?

 

After you login as "root"...

[Miska]

Load with i7-8086K and Ubuntu Server, from Roon (on Mac Mini) to DSD256 with poly-sinc-ext2 + ASDM7EC:

 

And temps after almost three hours of playback:

Package id 0:  +62.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 0:        +62.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 1:        +45.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 2:        +47.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 3:        +62.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 4:        +45.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 5:        +48.0°C  (high = +82.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
 

[asdf1000]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

Load with i7-8086K and Ubuntu Server, from Roon (on Mac Mini) to DSD256 with poly-sinc-ext2 + ASDM7EC:

 

Very nice! I hope my new i9-9900K has very similar figures.

 

Can your i7-8086K machine not handle Roon Server on same machine, with that config?

 

Is there a reason you need the Mac Mini for Roon Core?

[Miska]

16 minutes ago, asdf1000 said:

Can your i7-8086K machine not handle Roon Server on same machine, with that config?

 

Is there a reason you need the Mac Mini for Roon Core?

 

It can probably handle Roon, but I can have only one Roon instance while I have about 10 HQPlayer servers around.

 

But OTOH, even if the machine can handle Roon Server, I cannot handle Roon's dependencies. In addition, now with HQPlayer OS the memory footprint of entire OS and HQPlayer is around 300 MB and with Ubuntu Server around 600 MB. I don't want to bloat this any further.

 

If I would put Roon Server there, then I would need something else to control Roon. Now I have Roon running on the old Mac Mini and I control it from there. And I don't really use Roon that much. I end up using mconnect Player more for playing Tidal, and local content is played by HQPlayer directly.

 

So overall I don't see any advantage of having Roon on the same machine(s), only disadvantages.

 

[asdf1000]

2 minutes ago, Miska said:

Now I have Roon running on the old Mac Mini and I control it from there.

 

Fair point.

 

Hasn’t that old Mac Mini stopped receiving Apple Security updates?

 

I guess you’ll be upgrading it soon-ish?

 

[Miska]

4 minutes ago, asdf1000 said:

Fair point.

 

Hasn’t that old Mac Mini stopped receiving Apple Security updates?

 

I guess you’ll be upgrading it soon-ish?

 

I think it is 2011 model and macOS is offering Mojave update, but I'm is still sticking at High Sierra until next macOS release (it is my -1 machine). Also MacBook Air of same age still got Mojave, after quite a bit of delay though.

 

Since new Mac Mini's have the USB problem, I'm planning to replace the old Mini + monitor combo with my current development machine which is (IIRC) 2012 27" iMac. And then I'll get a new iMac for development (which doesn't have the security chip causing USB problems).

 

[asdf1000]

5 hours ago, k6davis said:

 

Working for me too. Zero installation. Zero config. Superb sound. Thank you very much Jussi.

 

Do you notice any significant difference in CPU core temps and CPU loading, now with new HQP OS vs HQP Embedded on Ubuntu?

 

Or very similar figures?

 

@Outlaw also.

 

I'll be happy to share my comparison when I get my new build also.

 

[arglebargle]

This thread and these modulators have me seriously eyeing upgrades for the first time in years, but my 4790k at 4.6ghz running Embedded can now squeak by doing redbook to DSD256 with ext2/DSD5EC modulator. But obviously it couldn’t possibly do 192k... or could it? Then I remembered closed-form fast, which has to be the most computationally cheap filter available if you have CUDA offload. Interesting, anyway, to be able to hear the EC modulators at the max rate of my DAC. Didn’t think that would be possible with my current hardware. 

[Outlaw]

11 hours ago, Miska said:

 

After you login as "root"...

Getting no such file or directory

[Miska]

1 hour ago, Outlaw said:

Getting no such file or directory

 

OK, depends on hardware and BIOS

[luisma]

13 hours ago, Miska said:

And I don't really use Roon that much. I end up using mconnect Player more for playing Tidal, and local content is played by HQPlayer directly.

Very nice simplification, is there anything to stream qobuz?

[gdpr]

On 8/24/2019 at 10:29 AM, Miska said:

 

It works fine with either one. My recommendation is to use ASDM7EC and set the analog filter in DAC8DSD to "clean" (instead of "wide").

 

 

Hi Miska 

 

I still try to get my head around 2 issues, of which this is one of them.

 

I understand that from a technical point of view the 'clean' analog filter looks nicer than the 'wide' analog filter.  I remember some months ago you have published some frequency plots about this, where you commented on the use of DSD256 with 'clean' and Wide only  with DSD512.

Still I hear a big difference between teh 'clean' state and the 'wide' state.  In fact , the name 'wide' is exactly what it means, the soundstage gets deeper end especially much wider.

However, instruments/voices keep their focus.

 

What is than the technical explanation for that? Am I just listening to noise, which makes for a more 'enjoyable' (not necesarilly correct) soundstage?

 

And how as a non-technical user, can we know for sure about this.  E.g. T+A is recommending 'Wide' choice for everything equal or above DSD128 , if one's amplifier supports it. 

 

Thanks for your insights and feedback

 

Dirk

[randytsuch]

If I try to connect as root over ssh to hqp OS, connection is refused.

I can access the webpage, so I know the ip address and it is running.

Do I have to do anything to enable ssh?

 

Edit

Oops, sorry should have asked in embedded thread

 

Thanks

Randy

[asdf1000]

27 minutes ago, luisma said:

Very nice simplification, is there anything to stream qobuz?

 

mConnect Player, Bubble UPnP, Audirvana.

 

All do Tidal and Qobuz, to HQP Embedded & HQP OS UPnP input.

[luisma]

1 hour ago, randytsuch said:

If I try to connect as root over ssh to hqp OS, connection is refused.

ssh doesn't seem to be enabled nor installed, probably by design to create a minimum footprint and efficient OS