HQplayer 4 and Mac-mini M1

[MikePid]

22 minutes ago, Schafheide said:

Seen this?

https://kamaudio.com/TeraDak-Mac-mini-LPS

AAAHHHhhhh... (sound made while falling further down rabbit hole).

 

I've been hoping someone would do one of these for the MMM1, like Uptone did for earlier Mac minis:

https://uptoneaudio.com/products/mac-mini-dc-conversion-linear-fan-controller-kit-mmk

 

I think I know what I'm getting myself for xmas!  I've just emailed them to ask if the upgraded DC cable is already included.   The photos seem to show that it is.

[AudioDoctor]

Using a stripped down Linux computer, with nothing running but audio stuff is even better.

[SwissBear]

Fedora being available on ARM64, is it time for HQPlayer Embedded distro on Mac Mini M1 ?

That would be awesome 😃

[Schafheide]

Do keep us informed.

[MikePid]

If someone can make and sell such a stripped down Linux box for US$600 that is plug&play like a MMM1 which can run DSD256/ECv2/xla, I'd be happy to buy one, especially if it could run HQP-OS.  I'm not into cobbling together motherboards, DDR5, GPUs, liquid cooling, and CPUs that are in short supply, then fiddling with BIOS settings, like on that other thread about "best CPU for HQPlayer" 😉.  Maybe an LPS for MMM1 won't help it much given all the other stuff going on inside the box but I'm willing to give it a try.  It worked for previous gen minis (which also tweaked the fan, although I doubt the fan has ever come on in my MMM1).  I'm not expecting to turn the MMM1 into a Taiko Extreme 🤣, but for US$900 (with LPS kit) it might be good bang for the buck.

[MikePid]

I'm sure Miska would be thrilled to have HQP running on MMM1 without MacOS, when the pieces are in place for that.  For me, I'm happy that Miska did the ARM port and recent tweaks to turn MMM1 into a low-cost game-changer already.

[MikePid]

After I get my TeraDak LPS kit for the MMM1, I might swap in my Paul Hynes SR4T with the Orange fuse to compare 🤔🤣

[MikePid]

Hmmm, maybe I should install TG-Pro on the MMM1 to see if the fan even comes on, and if it does, then disable it unless the temps do get up there to see if that affects SQ 🤔. Apple made some fanless laptops, and with the M1 chip being so energy efficient, it might be feasible. 

[Schafheide]

8 hours ago, MikePid said:

After I get my TeraDak LPS kit for the MMM1, I might swap in my Paul Hynes SR4T with the Orange fuse to compare 🤔🤣

I guess you realise that the kit will probably not fit the M1 Pro, expected in your Spring?

Or do you not need the extra performance?

Just saying - not wanting to cause angst.

[Miska]

16 hours ago, SwissBear said:

Fedora being available on ARM64, is it time for HQPlayer Embedded distro on Mac Mini M1 ?

That would be awesome 😃

 

Is it for Apple's M1 or some other hardware? For example Raspberry Pi3 and Pi4 are also ARM64. But it doesn't mean they could run the same OS (but can run the same Linux binary packages though).

 

Please note that ARM hardware is not like Intel/AMD x86/x64 hardware. On ARM you need to have specific support for each particular hardware configuration since ARM platform generally lacks things like ACPI and UEFI. Although UEFI was implemented for some ARM64 platforms, it has not really taken off and still lacks the ACPI kind of functionality where the hardware can describe it's configuration to the OS. Instead on ARM platforms, the OS needs to have exact description of the hardware configuration.

 

[MikePid]

@Schafheide Aww, come on now - that is not how a true audiophile thinks!  We would never buy anything ever knowing that the next new thing is just around the corner 🤣

 

My DAC only supports input up to DSD256, so I'm good until Miska adds ECv3 and gauss-xxxxxxxla 🤣.

 

I noticed that Kam Audio also sells the MMM1 mod without the LPS for under $100, so for anyone with a spare LPS lying around, that is a cheap upgrade.  I was looking at TeraDak LPSs a while ago for for my router, and supposedly they are good value; since I need an LPS for it anyway, I just ordered the whole kit 😁.  Had to do it before the chop on their certificate expires at the end of the month 😉

 

I'm sure that after I do the mod, it'll still be covered under AppleCare, right? 🤣

 

I'll have to figure out how to determine if it makes a difference.  It doesn't look like I can A/B the change.  Probably more like A-A-A-A....B.  I am still getting used to listening to DSD256/ECv2/xla because I can't believe my system is already sounding so good now.

 

 

[Schafheide]

Here is one person's experience with Mini PS mods

 

https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=142108

[MikePid]

Well, I guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks if it does anything for my MMM1...

[Schafheide]

Logically it should work.

My only similar experience was with my Auralic transport.  I immediately heard an improvement when I upgraded its PS.  And another improvement went I changed fuse to SR Orange.

[jamesg11]

7 hours ago, MikePid said:

so for anyone with a spare LPS lying around

12v, 13A required?

[MikePid]

6 minutes ago, jamesg11 said:

12v, 13A required?

The MMM1 is spec'd to draw under 40W max.  The TeraDak LPS that comes with the full kit is 200W, which seems a tad overkill.  I guess that means the LPS won't run hot.  I suppose a 12V/4A LPS would be minimum.

 

I did have a quick chat with UpTone, who confirmed that they do not plan to resurrect the MMK for the M1.  They are aware of people running the TeraDak M1 conversion kit with one rail from a JS-2, which would mean about 5-7A.  So I guess I won't be running a test with my PH-SR4T (2A continuous with 20A peak) unless I put a cheap fuse in first.  I've got the version that goes up to 19V, so that might mean it could handle a bit more at 12V.

[Louisiana]

On 12/14/2021 at 12:00 AM, MikePid said:

I just updated my mini M1 from Big Sur to Monterey 12.1, and installed HQP 4.15.1.  Went smoothly.  Set DSD256/EC7v2/gauss-xla with 1x and guass-long for Nx, multicore DSP to checkmark, hit play, and WOW!  

 

Hi Mike,

this is my first post in this forum - just to thank you for share these settings with us!

I've been using HQPlayer for a while, but this is the best setting ever for me .

 

Merry Christmas to all :)

[Schafheide]

I have a USB cable question.

My normal cable between NAA and DAC is a Cardas Audio Clear Hi Speed.

I am not able to get a Curious Evolved cable to work in it's place.

I have the same result on my Rendu and my RasPi NAA - the cable works fine connecting my Auralic streamer and DAC.

[Schafheide]

The Auralic has a galvanically isolated USB port, which neither NAA has.

The Curious has, what appears to be, an external earth wire?

[Schafheide]

Correction - the external copper wire is the 5V supply.

[Schafheide]

Oh Nooooo !

I also ordered one!

[Schafheide]

All of this in the middle of a Gmail problem - for me. at least!

[Schafheide]

https://asahilinux.org/2021/10/progress-report-september-2021/

[Schafheide]

I notice that when I look at Activity Monitor - Window CPU History, the top 4 cores show a line of red dots at the bottom of their windows. ( The bottom 4 are nearly maxed out).

Are the red dots significant?

[Miska]

36 minutes ago, Schafheide said:

I notice that when I look at Activity Monitor - Window CPU History, the top 4 cores show a line of red dots at the bottom of their windows. ( The bottom 4 are nearly maxed out).

Are the red dots significant?

 

IIRC, those dots are the OS kernel load.