A toast to PGGB, a heady brew of math and magic

[Schafheide]

On 4/2/2024 at 8:25 AM, chelseafc said:

So true!

 

I've always wanted to dump HQPlayer if for nothing else but shear arrogance and disregard to paying customers from the owner, but happy to report that I stopped using it purely on the basis of its inferiority when compared to the M Scaler and even more so PGGB.

I have been using HQPlayer for a while now.  I am very pleased with the HQPlayer SQ and enormously impressed with the support from @Miska. Time and time again I see that he is extremely patient with somewhat annoying folk, so I must disagree with your dislike of support from HQPlayer.  Nonetheless I am still interested in exploring what PGGB can do for me as suggested by @Mista Lova Lova.

[Schafheide]

Addendum

Being only a recent contributor to this topic, I now also notice that, on more than one occasion @Zaphod Beeblebrox acknowledges that HPQPlayer is better at doing some jobs.  Obviously this is very fair, on the part of @Zaphod Beeblebrox.

In any case, I have started my own comparison of HQP processing vs PGGB + HQP processing of my local files.

I do understand that, given the increased size of PGGB'd files, I will need to rethink my local storage situation.  At the moment, I am thinking - local files on NAS and favourite local PGGB'd files on my Mac Studio integral SSD.

Have yet to try PGGB conversion to DSD output - but it seems like it has been very well thought out.

[Schafheide]

I am very much an ab initio at this gargle blasting thing.

Given that, depending on your PC and your chosen settings, the gargle blasting can sometimes take hours (and hours) to complete.  I wonder how hard it would be for the ap to calculate the approx completion time for the target folder and then display a moving timeline (similar to file copying etc) ??

[Schafheide]

I have just gargle blasted my first Mahler symphony @ 20bit/16fS/256.  The two longest tracks have been split into 2 parts, as expected.  But in playback (HQP) they remain separate, instead of playing as one long movement.  Why is it so?  How do I fix this?

[Schafheide]

As you were!  I jumped in without fully analysing the problem. It was due to minor track jumbling, probably caused by the very long track names.  I know that this can be rectified using a tag editor, but it is a nuisance.  Sorry to alarm you!

[Schafheide]

Thank you.  I am just about to try wavpack. Cheers.

[Schafheide]

Another thought.

My Mac both gargle blasts and serves the files on it's 1 integral SSD.

Whilst trying to clean up what I thought were unimportant files, I accidentally deleted the licence file (I had a backup).

Perhaps those files, that are unimportant, could put in an obvious folder during the processing and critical files be hidden from us inveterate fiddlers?

[Schafheide]

Actually I may have caused the file confusion problem.

Before installing PGGB 256, I thought that it might be useful if I separated my existing album folders from the gargle blasted album folders. So I created a folder called PGGB. 

I then installed PGGB into it's default location (PGGB).

So I ended up with a folder containing both application and music files DUH!

My gargle blasted folders are now in Music (the default macOS folder for such things).

All is now sweet!

[Schafheide]

Another suggestion.

In my present stage of establishing the best settings (re processing time) - I try some settings and decide they are not what I want, so I want to abandon the process, delete the partially processed folder and start over with new settings.  It would be more convenient if, when I pressed "Stop", processing immediately stopped.  Perhaps this is not possible?

[Schafheide]

Just getting my brain in order re time to gargle blast a given album.

So, assuming the same settings in PGGB256,

If I have two folders of the same album, one is 14/44.1 PCM, the other is DXD.

Obviously the DXD version is a much larger file, but the same total time for all of the tracks.

Which takes longer to gargle blast to the same PCM??

[Schafheide]

@kennyb123 Like me, you have an EtherREGEN in your playback chain.  I could not hear any improvement PGGB file vs HQP playback. So, I am trying to find the reason. Like you, I guess, I am anxiously waiting fr the ER gen 2.

At present I am gargle blasting a highly regarded DSD256 album into DSD512 - how it sounds remains to be heard.

Obviously the EtherREGEN presents no obstacle for you to hear the difference between PGGB DSD512 and HQP processed DSD512.

What is your advice?

[Schafheide]

@kennyb123 Here is my system

Mac Mini M2 Pro ->- EtherREGEN (Mutec Ref10 Nano) ->- Holo Red ->- Holo May -> Holo Serene ->- Mjolnir Carbon CC ->- Audeze CRBN ->- My brain/ears

[Schafheide]

Can someone explain why, when I look at the Metering/Spectrogram screen on HQP v5, whilst playing a PGGB DSD file, the screen is blank?

[Schafheide]

I have decided that, because of my Holo May, I should only convert to DSD1024.

My Mac Studio (1TB + 64GB) can only convert tracks up to about 18 mins long to DSD1024.  So I recently purchased a 4TB external NVME drive.

My initial attempt, retaining the on chip SSD for page file #1 and the 4TB as page file #2 failed (PGGB stalled at 10% complete).

But I am having success using the 4TB as the only page file drive.  Although, the on chip SSD seems quicker than the external (Thunderbolt 3) drive.

[Schafheide]

On 5/24/2024 at 3:09 PM, Schafheide said:

I have decided that, because of my Holo May, I should only convert to DSD1024.

My Mac Studio (1TB + 64GB) can only convert tracks up to about 18 mins long to DSD1024.  So I recently purchased a 4TB external NVME drive.

My initial attempt, retaining the on chip SSD for page file #1 and the 4TB as page file #2 failed (PGGB stalled at 10% complete).

But I am having success using the 4TB as the only page file drive.  Although, the on chip SSD seems quicker than the external (Thunderbolt 3) drive.

Don't get me wrong.  The 4TB page file setup gives great results.  But, who among us, does not want better SQ and faster conversion ?

[Schafheide]

On 5/24/2024 at 3:09 PM, Schafheide said:

I have decided that, because of my Holo May, I should only convert to DSD1024.

My Mac Studio (1TB + 64GB) can only convert tracks up to about 18 mins long to DSD1024.  So I recently purchased a 4TB external NVME drive.

My initial attempt, retaining the on chip SSD for page file #1 and the 4TB as page file #2 failed (PGGB stalled at 10% complete).

But I am having success using the 4TB as the only page file drive.  Although, the on chip SSD seems quicker than the external (Thunderbolt 3) drive.

These figures might be informative for some folk.

Task: Convert a recording of Mahler Symphony #2 (82 min 27 sec - including 13 min 28 sec extras) 24-96 PCM into DSD1024 + 9th order mod + EQ.

Result: approx 13 1/2 hours.