Allan F

I thought that the post would attract more attention in the General Forum. But you raise a valid point. Users of Windows 7 should take note. OTOH, I doubt that there are very many still using Windows 2000, XP or Vista.

Because relatively few people run music servers on those platforms today. The fact that Windows 8 and 10 are apparently unaffected is important to many in this community.

Users of Windows Server versions above should be aware of this vulnerability alert issued by the Cybersecurity and and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Microsoft Operating Systems BlueKeep Vulnerability

If you updated Windows after you installed 3.25.4, you might want to try uninstalling HQPlayer and reinstalling 3.25.4. This has worked for me in the past after a Windows Update has somehow disabled the proper operation of HQPlayer.

The sound quality of cables is unlikely to degrade with age. However, oxidation of connectors may impair sound quality and these should occasionally be inspected and cleaned.

Version 4.1.0 released on May 26.

I believe that the final angle of placement that most people choose is based on the speaker's on/off axis response in their listening room. Some speakers sound best with a lot of toe-in, e.g. 45 degrees, while others perform best placed straight ahead with no toe-in. For want of a better description, mine sound best toed-in so that you can just slightly see the inner side of the speaker from the listening position.

No need for a more convincing link. I find it difficult to imagine that any auidiophile, other than perhaps a recording engineer, would base the placement of his/her speakers on the miking used for a recording, assuming that information was even available. It's all too esoteric IMO. I mistakenly thought you were speaking more generally.

Hi Alex, My last pair speakers - Castle Winchesters - were transmission line speakers and were placed pretty well as above. My post questioned the suggestion that placing speakers at 90 degrees provides most accurate playback. That is contrary to anything I have ever heard on the topic, subject to the qualification regarding room layout that I stated earlier. Regards, Allan

What is the basis for your claim that this speaker placement provides the most accurate playback? I know of no speaker manufacturer that recommends such placement, unless the peculiar layout of the listening room makes this the only practical solution.

The type of music that you may enjoy and high fidelity are two entirely separate concepts. As has been pointed out by others, there is normally no way for a listener to compare what is reproduced to what was recorded when dealing with electronically altered music. OTOH, one can become very familiar with the sound of acoustic instruments and use them as a standard for evaluating the fidelity of a recording or the capability of an audio system to reproduce sound with high fidelity. While George could or, perhaps, should have used the term acoustic music rather than "real" music, his point regarding high fidelity is nevertheless valid.

Don't question it. If everything is working properly now, just keep both of those setting changes.

I completely agree. I don't do streaming and therefore I can't see the justification for the cost of Roon as an interface. As a user of HQPlayer, you are not using Roon's player or its upsampling capabilities. HQPDcontrol is an Android app and, unlike Roon, it doesn't consume significant computer resources on your server. And, it's free. I actually prefer its album view to that of Roon.

The volume control should not be red. That indicates that you have volume for SDM set too high, which will result in clipping. Miska recommends that you set it to -3 or lower. From p. 3 of the HQPlayer Desktop User Manual: Note! Overloading the delta-sigma modulator in SDM mode will cause audible noises. It is recommended to keep software volume at max -3 dB setting or lower when using PCM to SDM conversion to avoid overloading the delta-sigma modulator. Maximum modulation depth is monitored and when necessary limited to 50% as per SACD specification. However, that does not explain why 24/96 and 24/192 won't play. Have you tried setting bit rate to 48x256 and leaving adaptive output rate unchecked?

With a torque converter.