How to setup for an Esoteric K03XD

[pietpara]

Hello,

 

Sorry, I am new in this HQP stuff so I 'm looking for some guidance on how to set it up. Maybe the first question is even, do I need HQP for what I want to do?

I looked at the HQP site and tutorial and browsed a lot of forum material, but I cannot really get a clear picture of how to set it up.

I hope that someone here could confirm or guide me in what I am going to describe below.

 

So, my premise is that I would like to use the DAC in the Esoteric K03XD to stream DSD files to it, which I have on a network drive.

 

My first finding is that I'd need to use the USB input of the Esoteric. Other inputs like AES-XLR or SPDIF or TOSlink will not be able to provide the DSD speed above DSD64 (via DoP?).

So, that means I need to, somehow, feed the Esoteric with music via a USB cable. My current streamer, a Grimm-audio MU1, does not have a USB output, but it does have a Roon core inside. I guess then that it's also a Roon endpoint.

 

Since I need USB output, I thought I should probably get a cheap Intel NUC i5, put HQplayer on there and connect the Esoteric to the NUC via the USB cable.

But when I read the HQplayer site and threads about it, I hear everyone talk about an NAA. I've never heard about those and I have not yet understood what that device is or does.

 

Could someone help me understand what this NAA is and if I really need it?

 

Also, having Roon on the Grimm MU1, I guess I could set HQplayer up on it to recognize the HQplayer server which I would have on the NUC and then still use Roon to control HQplayer, right?

 

In the end, I also have Soulution 330 integrated amp with DAC inside, and I'd like to try feeding that DAC with same USB as well for comparison via the same setup scheme. I guess that would be possible, or is HQplayer not compatible with justany DAC?

 

Your help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks and cheers

 

 

[ericuco]

Welcome to AS.

 

Let’s start by assuming that every DAC has a “sweet spot” on the file format that it wants to receive. In general the DAC will convert the incoming file to whatever format it wants to use for the D to A process. Given that DAC’s do not having lots of compute capabilities then having other options to do the file conversion may be desirable. The MU1 as well as Roon and HQP can perform the conversion, at various levels of proficiency, thus feeding the DAC what it wants. For instance the MU1 documentation recommends using the MU1 instead of Roon.

 

The MU1 can perform all processes that Roon offers, but we recommend to use the MU1 FPGA oversampling and downsampling algorithms instead of the Roon offerings, and use Roon just for audio playback.

 

Given that HQP runs on a general computer, it can bring even more proficiency and user controlled options. A NUC is generally not enough compute resources for HQP to do its thing … you need a higher end computer which can be noisy (electronically & acoustically- fans) and often not desirable to house in your music room. To solve this issue you can place HQP NAA software (network audio adapter) on a NUC (small, low powered, fan less computer) which talks to the main HQP server via your network … similar to Roon Core and endpoints. The NUC w/ NAA can be placed in your music room and connected to your DAC via USB.

 

With the MU1 having Roon Core installed, you should be able to direct output to HQP (Settings > Setup in Roon) using the HQP server’s IP address. HQP server will automatically find the NAA on your network.

 

Now, do you really need all of this? Hard question to answer. It certainly adds considerable complexity. Maybe some of the MU1 users can comment on that aspect.

 

 

[pietpara]

Hello Eric,

 

Thank you very much for your elaborate answer and explanation! I really appreciate it. 

 

Indeed I use the MU1s up/downsampling capabilities to feed my Soulution DAC, which has an 8x upsampling stage (to DXD). So, it gets 4FS from the MU1 and only does the last 2x. I am very satisfied with the MU1s sound delivery, both for streaming services as well as local file streaming. 

 

As I will soon have the Esoteric SACD player with capability for external source input, I am very interested in using the Esoteric DAC for the streaming of DSD. With the MU1 this is not possible, except with DoP on AES for DSD64.

 

So it is a correct question you ask... "is it worth all this". That's also why I asked my question for help... to find out what is involved in setup and cost and to see if there is an affordable way to start and try it out. I thought this could be via HQplayer, but I understand now that may not be the case, needing a powerful server AND an NAA.

 

I now read that using a Apple MAC allows easy connection to an Esoteric because of its MAC OS native capability to stream DSD. Is that then a better solution... buy a Macbook or so?

 

Sicco 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ericuco]

6 hours ago, pietpara said:

needing a powerful server AND an NAA

The HQP server can be connected directly to your DAC. A NAA is not required, but may be preferable. That means if the server is too loud (e.g. fans) or you have limited space in your music room, then a NAA might be preferred. You could start with just a HQP server and see how it goes and then later add a NAA.

 

HQP does offer a trial period. NAA is free software as it requires a HQP license to work. If you already have a home computer, you could test things with HQP to see how things work before investing further in this approach.

 

Again, the beauty of HQP is the flexibility and ability to use advanced algorithms to feed your DAC.

[pietpara]

Thanks again!🙏

 

It's good advice to use my gaming PC for this trial of HQplayer. My gaming PC is with 32GB RAM, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with 12 cores and NVidia GeForce 3070Ti. So that should be fine.

 

It sounds like I could setup the HQP server on there (in my home office) and invest only in a NAA. However, on HQPs website I see a wide range of NAAs, including some quite pricey stuff. 

What's the difference between those off-the-shelf devices and a NUC with NAA?

Is that "just" the difference between audio-grade electronics in a nice housing and a mini-pc, or is there more to it?

 

Sicco

[ericuco]

Sounds good for your office computer running HQP Desktop.

 

Any low power computer like the Intel NUC units would work for NAA. I use a fitlet2 which had Intel Atom processor and ability to connect to network with fiber optics.

 

If you have any experience with Linux, that is the best OS. I boot my fitlet2 using one of the HQP Embedded images on a USB stick but you need to disable “hqplayerd” program which leaves only the NAA program running. Not difficult to do but does require additional effort. Otherwise, just use the OS of your choice, knowing that Linux (e.g. Ubuntu) is free.

 

There are solutions like the Sonore Rendu units that are plug & play for NAA but they can be $$.

[pietpara]

Thanks, I'll look into a fitlet2.

Linux is no problem.

[pietpara]

Would a RaspberryPi also do the job?

I have a v3 lying around.

[ericuco]

I have not used that before so not exactly sure but there is an image for it. Perhaps others here on AS could advise you.

 

https://www.signalyst.eu/bins/naa/images/

 

Should be easy to try using a USB stick. You can use this to create bootable USB stick:

 

https://www.balena.io/etcher

 

edit: that image require v4. Here are the other versions https://www.signalyst.eu/bins/naa/?

[pietpara]

Thanks for those links!

Very helpful

 

I will give that a try soon.