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2nd Iteration on Streaming via ROON/HQPlayer


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Only "civilian level" pc knowledge skills, by no means a computer whizz.

 

I use ROON for Streaming Qobuz and my small collection of flac files on a usb drive. My current setup is an Intel i5-7500 pc  @3.4GHz with 16GB ram & NVidia GTX 1060 (my general purpose living room pc which I use for browsing, Netflix etc) running Win10 pro. This currently runs my ROON Core and usb connected to my SMSL M8A usb dac & a trial version of HQPlayer.

 

I have now just got a NUC8i7BEH on which my son installed ROCK (not yet put in hifi rig). Also now have just got a RPi4b for RopieeeXL. I think I understand how to install Ropieee XL on the pi and will try tomorrow. Using XL cos of my Spotify playlist and great music suggestions & it has the HQP NAA.

 

1) Should I first get the pi up and running first with my pc and only then transfer the CORE to the NUC? i.e. change one part of the chain at a time.

2) When the pi and NUC are up and running, I would like to use HQPlayer on the PC. What will be the limiting factor on the pcm and DSD rates I can stream to my DAC (pcm 768, native DSD 512 capable)? Is the pi the limitation or can it stream via usb to my DAC whatever I can upsample via HQPlayer on my pc?

 

I have a Holo Audio May L2 DAC on order and am trying to get my system up and running before it arrives and "learn" HQPlayer to get the best out of the DAC.

 

Thanks for any help and my apologies in advance for any equally dumb follow up questions and time delays in responding as there's up to a 8 - 12h time difference.

Cheers

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8 hours ago, digitaldufferme said:

Only "civilian level" pc knowledge skills, by no means a computer whizz.

 

I use ROON for Streaming Qobuz and my small collection of flac files on a usb drive. My current setup is an Intel i5-7500 pc  @3.4GHz with 16GB ram & NVidia GTX 1060 (my general purpose living room pc which I use for browsing, Netflix etc) running Win10 pro. This currently runs my ROON Core and usb connected to my SMSL M8A usb dac & a trial version of HQPlayer.

 

I have now just got a NUC8i7BEH on which my son installed ROCK (not yet put in hifi rig). Also now have just got a RPi4b for RopieeeXL. I think I understand how to install Ropieee XL on the pi and will try tomorrow. Using XL cos of my Spotify playlist and great music suggestions & it has the HQP NAA.

 

1) Should I first get the pi up and running first with my pc and only then transfer the CORE to the NUC? i.e. change one part of the chain at a time.

2) When the pi and NUC are up and running, I would like to use HQPlayer on the PC. What will be the limiting factor on the pcm and DSD rates I can stream to my DAC (pcm 768, native DSD 512 capable)? Is the pi the limitation or can it stream via usb to my DAC whatever I can upsample via HQPlayer on my pc?

 

I have a Holo Audio May L2 DAC on order and am trying to get my system up and running before it arrives and "learn" HQPlayer to get the best out of the DAC.

 

Thanks for any help and my apologies in advance for any equally dumb follow up questions and time delays in responding as there's up to a 8 - 12h time difference.

Cheers

Hi,

Congrats on your new DAC purchase. Depending on the rest of your system, - it sounds like you're going to get some really great sound going. 

From my knowledge/experience, - i think that one should do their best to get their streaming device commensurate with the rest of their analog system. This is still all about hardware, and Razberri Pi type devices don't have the capability of performing to nearly the same standard: as good as they are. (I do feel that the Razberri Pi type devices punch far above their weight, and perform quite well for what they are and how much they cost. But they do not belong in a high performance system). 

In my opinion, - for your great new DAC, - I would recommend looking into the products by Sonore, SoTM, etc. 

Again, IMO, you're going to be limiting the great performance of your Holo, and will not "get the best out of the DAC" without a high performance streamer, - and making sure that your HQPlayer PC is nowhere near your audio rack. 

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10 hours ago, Albrecht said:

Hi,

Congrats on your new DAC purchase. Depending on the rest of your system, - it sounds like you're going to get some really great sound going. 

From my knowledge/experience, - i think that one should do their best to get their streaming device commensurate with the rest of their analog system. This is still all about hardware, and Razberri Pi type devices don't have the capability of performing to nearly the same standard: as good as they are. (I do feel that the Razberri Pi type devices punch far above their weight, and perform quite well for what they are and how much they cost. But they do not belong in a high performance system). 

In my opinion, - for your great new DAC, - I would recommend looking into the products by Sonore, SoTM, etc. 

Again, IMO, you're going to be limiting the great performance of your Holo, and will not "get the best out of the DAC" without a high performance streamer, - and making sure that your HQPlayer PC is nowhere near your audio rack. 

Thank you for your suggestions. I have a friend with some Sonore and Lumin gear I might borrow down the road. The pi will establish a baseline in this case. Thanks again.

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21 hours ago, digitaldufferme said:

Only "civilian level" pc knowledge skills, by no means a computer whizz.

 

I use ROON for Streaming Qobuz and my small collection of flac files on a usb drive. My current setup is an Intel i5-7500 pc  @3.4GHz with 16GB ram & NVidia GTX 1060 (my general purpose living room pc which I use for browsing, Netflix etc) running Win10 pro. This currently runs my ROON Core and usb connected to my SMSL M8A usb dac & a trial version of HQPlayer.

 

I have now just got a NUC8i7BEH on which my son installed ROCK (not yet put in hifi rig). Also now have just got a RPi4b for RopieeeXL. I think I understand how to install Ropieee XL on the pi and will try tomorrow. Using XL cos of my Spotify playlist and great music suggestions & it has the HQP NAA.

 

1) Should I first get the pi up and running first with my pc and only then transfer the CORE to the NUC? i.e. change one part of the chain at a time.

2) When the pi and NUC are up and running, I would like to use HQPlayer on the PC. What will be the limiting factor on the pcm and DSD rates I can stream to my DAC (pcm 768, native DSD 512 capable)? Is the pi the limitation or can it stream via usb to my DAC whatever I can upsample via HQPlayer on my pc?

 

I have a Holo Audio May L2 DAC on order and am trying to get my system up and running before it arrives and "learn" HQPlayer to get the best out of the DAC.

 

Thanks for any help and my apologies in advance for any equally dumb follow up questions and time delays in responding as there's up to a 8 - 12h time difference.

Cheers

 

I have 2 pi devices and have had expensive renderers in my system. One Pi is running dietpi (Roon Bridge, NAA, Squeezelite); the other is running Ropieee as a Roon Bridge. I think the Pi devices are very competitive. 

 

IME, the most significant factor is the quality of the USB input on your DAC, and not the streaming device.

 

If you get access to a Sonore or Lumin, try to see if you can blind test and compare at equal volume to the Pi.  You may hear a significant difference, but you may not. The other possibility is to upgrade the PS of the Pi and see if you hear a difference. 

 

If you don't hear a consistently identifiable improvement, no need to upgrade for SQ.


The Software-UI of the Sonore or Lumin may appeal to you more than what is available with a Pi. Those devices also come with support. Those could also be reasons to spend the money on an upgrade. Each of us has to decide on the worth of those things. 

 

The Pi devices can theoretically playback anything within the limits of your DAC. The limits will be more related to the capabilities of the NUC. You need an extremely powerful server to exploit all the capabilities of Roon and HQP. But just straight playback and certainly moderate levels of upsampling shouldn't be an issue on either end. 

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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5 hours ago, firedog said:

 

I have 2 pi devices and have had expensive renderers in my system. One Pi is running dietpi (Roon Bridge, NAA, Squeezelite); the other is running Ropieee as a Roon Bridge. I think the Pi devices are very competitive. 

 

IME, the most significant factor is the quality of the USB input on your DAC, and not the streaming device.

 

If you get access to a Sonore or Lumin, try to see if you can blind test and compare at equal volume to the Pi.  You may hear a significant difference, but you may not. The other possibility is to upgrade the PS of the Pi and see if you hear a difference. 

 

If you don't hear a consistently identifiable improvement, no need to upgrade for SQ.


The Software-UI of the Sonore or Lumin may appeal to you more than what is available with a Pi. Those devices also come with support. Those could also be reasons to spend the money on an upgrade. Each of us has to decide on the worth of those things. 

 

The Pi devices can theoretically playback anything within the limits of your DAC. The limits will be more related to the capabilities of the NUC. You need an extremely powerful server to exploit all the capabilities of Roon and HQP. But just straight playback and certainly moderate levels of upsampling shouldn't be an issue on either end. 

Thank you for this, just what I need...a Pi user with experience of more expensive servers. Really good to know that the Pi will not be a limitation on streaming to my DAC which is designed with an excellent USB input. I treat streamers as appliances: set and forget if possible so the UI is not much of an issue for me so long as it does the job.

 

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19 hours ago, digitaldufferme said:

Thank you for this, just what I need...a Pi user with experience of more expensive servers. Really good to know that the Pi will not be a limitation on streaming to my DAC which is designed with an excellent USB input. I treat streamers as appliances: set and forget if possible so the UI is not much of an issue for me so long as it does the job.

 

My NAA images are certainly intended for that category. You flash it to microSD, and then boot up Pi4 (forget Pi3) from it and that's it, it is ready for use. It doesn't have any UI because it doesn't need any. It is as minimal and stripped down as possible.

 

Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer

Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers

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Interesting - exactly what's missing on the RPi 3 that requires using the RPi 4 for the NAA. Would it be better to use the 4GB RAM version of the RPi 4, for example?

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

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33 minutes ago, Cebolla said:

Interesting - exactly what's missing on the RPi 3 that requires using the RPi 4 for the NAA. Would it be better to use the 4GB RAM version of the RPi 4, for example?

 

It is the screwed up hardware design that causes lost USB microframes especially on higher rates like 705.6/768k PCM and DSD512 when ethernet is active simultaneously with USB. This is hardware design fault that plagues all RasPi's prior to 4. IOW, a bit too much cost cutting on all fronts.

 

Even though the earlier RasPi SoC had Ethernet controller on chip (IIRC), they instead used very cheap USB-connected ethernet controller on the same USB bus where the USB connector is connected to. This causes USB transfer glitches when both are operating at higher bandwidths. This problem doesn't exist if you use a DAC board like HifiBerry connected to the I2S bus, thus avoiding using USB for audio.

 

In the end the glitch sounds like having small dust particles on vinyl.

 

Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer

Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers

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20 hours ago, Miska said:

 

My NAA images are certainly intended for that category. You flash it to microSD, and then boot up Pi4 (forget Pi3) from it and that's it, it is ready for use. It doesn't have any UI because it doesn't need any. It is as minimal and stripped down as possible.

 

@Miska Please excuse what may be a daft question but if I use your NAA, does the pi still do it's streaming job as normal if i decide to just go through ROON temporarily or do I have to swap cards on the Pi 4 using another OS if I want to do that? ie if I'm not using HQP for upsamplng/filtering.

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3 hours ago, digitaldufferme said:

@Miska Please excuse what may be a daft question but if I use your NAA, does the pi still do it's streaming job as normal if i decide to just go through ROON temporarily or do I have to swap cards on the Pi 4 using another OS if I want to do that? ie if I'm not using HQP for upsamplng/filtering.

 

Yes, you need to swap SD cards. My image is a single purpose one and works only with HQPlayer.

 

Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer

Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers

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On 5/12/2020 at 3:36 PM, firedog said:

 

I have 2 pi devices and have had expensive renderers in my system. One Pi is running dietpi (Roon Bridge, NAA, Squeezelite); the other is running Ropieee as a Roon Bridge. I think the Pi devices are very competitive. 

 

IME, the most significant factor is the quality of the USB input on your DAC, and not the streaming device.

 

If you get access to a Sonore or Lumin, try to see if you can blind test and compare at equal volume to the Pi.  You may hear a significant difference, but you may not. The other possibility is to upgrade the PS of the Pi and see if you hear a difference. 

 

If you don't hear a consistently identifiable improvement, no need to upgrade for SQ.


The Software-UI of the Sonore or Lumin may appeal to you more than what is available with a Pi. Those devices also come with support. Those could also be reasons to spend the money on an upgrade. Each of us has to decide on the worth of those things. 

 

The Pi devices can theoretically playback anything within the limits of your DAC. The limits will be more related to the capabilities of the NUC. You need an extremely powerful server to exploit all the capabilities of Roon and HQP. But just straight playback and certainly moderate levels of upsampling shouldn't be an issue on either end. 

Being a beginner with pc audio, I'm starting cautiously in stages:

1) NUC8i7 running ROON Core-> pi4b running RopieeeXL -> SMSL M8a DAC

2) pc i5/GTX1060 running HQP + NUC8i7 running ROON Core-> pi4b running RopieeeXL +HQPNAA -> SMSL M8a 

3) pc i5/GTX1060 running HQP + NUC8i7 running ROON Core-> pi4b running RopieeeXL +HQPNAA -> MAY L2

 

Other changes to the chain e.g. better streamer or higher powered pc will depend on what I hear from the 3 stages above. I will also try different/free software for the pi (HQP NAA/DietPi/VitOS). I want to have a decent system to enjoy my music, the gear is for me just a means to an end. I'm not a "gear head" and can't spend money needlessly chasing unicorns so the experience of people here like yourself and @Miska means a lot. I hope with my stage (3) I can try some of the EC modulators with pcm upsampling and maybe some lower DSD to see whether it's worth spending more for my ears and more importantly, wallet 😁. Thanks so much for your sharing mate!

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