HQ Player

[firedog]

6 hours ago, Confused said:

I was very interested in the Network bridge as the Devialet seams to work much better via Its AES/EBU input.  The problem is that although it is 'Roon Ready', it is not NAA compatible.....

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this. If you had the bridge you wouldn't need the NAA, as I understand it.  You'd just use either Roon or HQP (or Roon+HQP) and output directly to the bridge, and from the bridge to your Devialet.

[Confused]

2 hours ago, firedog said:

I'm not sure what you mean by this. If you had the bridge you wouldn't need the NAA, as I understand it.  You'd just use either Roon or HQP (or Roon+HQP) and output directly to the bridge, and from the bridge to your Devialet.

My understanding is that the Network Bridge is compatible with Roon RAAT, UPnP, Tidal, Spotify, and Airplay, streaming protocols, but it is not compatible with HQPlayer's 'NAA' streaming protocol.  I would imagine that dCS see HQPlayer as a kind of virtual rival to there own hardware based Vivaldi Upsampler. 

[firedog]

36 minutes ago, Confused said:

My understanding is that the Network Bridge is compatible with Roon RAAT, UPnP, Tidal, Spotify, and Airplay, streaming protocols, but it is not compatible with HQPlayer's 'NAA' streaming protocol.  I would imagine that dCS see HQPlayer as a kind of virtual rival to there own hardware based Vivaldi Upsampler. 

Okay, I see what you mean, HQP will have no way to communicate with the NB.

If you are really interested in the NB, you might want to audition it using Roon upsampling instead of  HQP. The newest DSP engine in Roon comes pretty close the the quality of HQP, so you might think the package of Roon+ NB is your best bet.

On the other hand, wait for the ultraRendu or the SOtM ultra to get around - it's possible that one of those with a good power supply will be very close to the sound of a dCS NB - and for less money. 

Edit: just saw this: https://www.audiostream.com/content/dcs-network-bridge

 

Where they say that a planned firmware update will give the NB the ability to take music signal input over USB. In that case you could use HQP to output to USB with the NB. 

[Dr Tone]

@Confused What filters are you liking?  I find with my Wilson's the linear phase filters sound the best, the sound stage gets a little blurry for me with mp filters.  Messing with phase at all, similar to SAM just didn't work well with them.

 

poly-sinc-xtr into my Ayre Codex DAC.  Even though the Ayre can do DSD128, I'm sending PCM 384 with auto rate turned on.  My system is now voiced to be fuller/warmer and more forgiving with the McIntosh gear so going DSD can be too much in that direction most of the time.

 

How do your Blades react to linear vs mp?

[Confused]

29 minutes ago, Dr Tone said:

 

How do your Blades react to linear vs mp?

Ah, Dr Tone, there you are!  We have missed your dry wit in Devialet land.  Anyway, I have to be honest here, I simply have not had time to properly evaluate the various options. A couple of weeks ago I did manage to try some basic DSD vs PCM comparisons but since then I have not had any 'quiet time' with my system.  The good news is that I this weekend I should have plenty time to run through some of the filter options.  It should be interesting!

[mirekti]

...I just realized I posted under wrong topic. It was supposed to be posted here:

It's been some time so here I am again.
Anyone using Quadro P series? I have i-7700 and plan on adding P4000 for use with DSD512 and non -s filters. 
Any comments on this combo? Will P4000 run at max with this? I wonder if the fan of P4000 may become to loud if the card is ran an its max.

[AnotherSpin]

2 hours ago, Confused said:

Ah, Dr Tone, there you are!  We have missed your dry wit in Devialet land.  Anyway, I have to be honest here, I simply have not had time to properly evaluate the various options. A couple of weeks ago I did manage to try some basic DSD vs PCM comparisons but since then I have not had any 'quiet time' with my system.  The good news is that I this weekend I should have plenty time to run through some of the filter options.  It should be interesting!

 

Will be glad to read your fresh ear findings. Just keep in mind, than contrary to the manual PCM defaults do influence the sound even if SDM chosen as an output. At least several people here agree with that..)

[Confused]

22 hours ago, Dr Tone said:

@Confused What filters are you liking?  I find with my Wilson's the linear phase filters sound the best, the sound stage gets a little blurry for me with mp filters.  Messing with phase at all, similar to SAM just didn't work well with them.

 

poly-sinc-xtr into my Ayre Codex DAC.  Even though the Ayre can do DSD128, I'm sending PCM 384 with auto rate turned on.  My system is now voiced to be fuller/warmer and more forgiving with the McIntosh gear so going DSD can be too much in that direction most of the time.

 

How do your Blades react to linear vs mp?

I have just spent a happy morning playing around with the filters.  The main conclusion so far is that there is no definitive best filter for the system.  Depending on the track played and what I happen to be specifically listening to in the track, I reach different conclusions.  I tried to listen through the various filters without reading the descriptions in the instructions or worrying about which was linear or minimum phase, I was at first just trying to hear which my ears and brain preferred.  I did makes some notes as I ran through the options, so you might be interested that I wrote 'details' next to poly-sinc-ext, thinking this filter seamed to give me that little extra insight into individual instruments, although I found poly-sinc-xtr to be similar in most respects.  I'm not sure what the difference is to be honest, there is not much in it.  I was very impressed with detail and clarity with things like cymbals when trying poly-sinc-shrt, but with some music I found this to be a bit much, it would get fatiguing I think, so interesting but not something I could live with overall.  As I said before though, no definitive best, I think there is a compromise to be made, I did find myself coming back to poly-sinc-mp and poly-sinc-shrt-mp (the latter certainly with one electronic track).  So I did not notice the blurry sound stage you mentioned, although today I was definitely focusing mainly on aspects other than sound stage.  To be honest, it is going to take a very long time with lots of varied listening to pick a favourite, but I think I am getting somewhere with shortlisting preferences.  As to how the Blades react to linear versus mp, I found this to be more track dependant, so settling for one final filter is going to be a tricky call!

[ted_b]

I'm really not trying to make this more difficult....but....I also agree that there are many recordings in our library that avail themselves to one filter vs another...and that solutions like Geoff's JRiver front end can automate that (if you want to put the time into it).  His solution allows for HQPlayer to load a certain filter based on metadata in the file (say, genre, for example, which is easily batch updated in JRiver).  Alchemy can do this too, but I like JRiver's flexibility (and JRemote) so I am more interested in fleshing out Geoff's ideas right now. 

 

BTW, he has asked that others who are more adept at script writing give his open code a look (Greek to me, but I am willing to be carry a flag ).  Maybe together we can make this JRiver-to-HQplayer interface seamless as possible?

 

Anyway, yes I agree that one filter for SDM and one for PCM is not necessarily a perfect world.

[Dr Tone]

1 hour ago, Confused said:

I have just spent a happy morning playing around with the filters.  The main conclusion so far is that there is no definitive best filter for the system.  Depending on the track played and what I happen to be specifically listening to in the track, I reach different conclusions.  I tried to listen through the various filters without reading the descriptions in the instructions or worrying about which was linear or minimum phase, I was at first just trying to hear which my ears and brain preferred.  I did makes some notes as I ran through the options, so you might be interested that I wrote 'details' next to poly-sinc-ext, thinking this filter seamed to give me that little extra insight into individual instruments, although I found poly-sinc-xtr to be similar in most respects.  I'm not sure what the difference is to be honest, there is not much in it.  I was very impressed with detail and clarity with things like cymbals when trying poly-sinc-shrt, but with some music I found this to be a bit much, it would get fatiguing I think, so interesting but not something I could live with overall.  As I said before though, no definitive best, I think there is a compromise to be made, I did find myself coming back to poly-sinc-mp and poly-sinc-shrt-mp (the latter certainly with one electronic track).  So I did not notice the blurry sound stage you mentioned, although today I was definitely focusing mainly on aspects other than sound stage.  To be honest, it is going to take a very long time with lots of varied listening to pick a favourite, but I think I am getting somewhere with shortlisting preferences.  As to how the Blades react to linear versus mp, I found this to be more track dependant, so settling for one final filter is going to be a tricky call!

 

poly-sinc-ext/NS9 was always my favourite with the Devialet.

 

My listening tastes allow me to user poly-sinc-xtr as the one that gets everything the best on average.  I can understand how that might not be the best choice for other music.  From what I've read about it, poly-sinc-xtr really shines with higher output rates specifically DSD256+, to a lesser extend PCM and I assume even less as you go lower on PCM rate.

[m3lraaHnevetS]

2 hours ago, Confused said:

so settling for one final filter is going to be a tricky call!

don't forget that no filter is also an option

[Confused]

1 hour ago, Dr Tone said:

 

poly-sinc-ext/NS9 was always my favourite with the Devialet.

 

Interesting.  I was running exactly these settings earlier and it was one option that genuinely caught my attention with respect to insight and apparent realism, so maybe there is some Devialet synergy here?  It's definitely one for my short list, at least as I work out my preferences.

16 minutes ago, m3lraaHnevetS said:

don't forget that no filter is also an option

Ah.....  OK, to be honest there was zero chance of me forgetting this, it had not really occurred to me that it might be an option.  I will give this a try.

[Miska]

On 23.6.2017 at 11:15 AM, firedog said:

Where they say that a planned firmware update will give the NB the ability to take music signal input over USB. In that case you could use HQP to output to USB with the NB. 

 

Or even as it is now. you could put HQPlayer Embedded between dCS NB and DAC...

[doors.sl]

Hello!
I'm trying out some software for audio based on Sound Quality. 
So far I have preferred the sound of JPLAY.
I have read the entire Hqplayer manual and im performing the tests. 

However, so far the sound of Hqplayer is a little artificial and without depth.

My DAC is this : https://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFEQl7v5NSC/p_022CD3000B/Yamaha-CD-S3000-Black.html

Im doing 2x DSD for all inputs.

 

Do you suggest any settings that improve the sound quality of Hqplayer?

 

 

Is it recommended to do 2x DSD upsample in my case?

Which settings do you recommend for this function?

 

Thanks!!

[Miska]

21 hours ago, doors.sl said:

So far I have preferred the sound of JPLAY.

 

Isn't JPlay just a bit-perfect player? So it doesn't have a "sound"...

[AnotherSpin]

On 6/24/2017 at 6:41 PM, Confused said:

Ah.....  OK, to be honest there was zero chance of me forgetting this, it had not really occurred to me that it might be an option.  I will give this a try.

If you will not use filters there will be no upsampling and you will not need HQP, you may use any basic player which supports files of different formats, VOX will work for you, for example.

[m3lraaHnevetS]

26 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said:

If you will not use filters there will be no upsampling and you will not need HQP, you may use any basic player which supports files of different formats, VOX will work for you, for example.

I find HQP to be very good at just putting true the PCM or DSD file without upsampling and/or conversion. Anyway it is always good to go back to the no filter setting once in a while just to remind yourself what you started out with. my own experience is that after doing redbook-->DSD512 for a few months I was shocked to hear how good redbook can sound on a proper system. I ended up selling my T+A end went an other route. still like HQP as an engine though.

[rickca]

Miska, what do you think about this post

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/33766-upsampling-mqa-files-to-original-resolution-with-sox-will-sound-like-the-original-resolution/#comment-686851

 

[AnotherSpin]

39 minutes ago, m3lraaHnevetS said:

I find HQP to be very good at just putting true the PCM or DSD file without upsampling and/or conversion. Anyway it is always good to go back to the no filter setting once in a while just to remind yourself what you started out with. my own experience is that after doing redbook-->DSD512 for a few months I was shocked to hear how good redbook can sound on a proper system. I ended up selling my T+A end went an other route. still like HQP as an engine though.

 

Exactly. Why then one would need to buy sophisticated software? Any free player will handle "true PCM".

[doors.sl]

3 hours ago, Miska said:

 

Isn't JPlay just a bit-perfect player? So it doesn't have a "sound"...

Yes, you're right. Maybe I mispronounced.
I'd just like to get some tips from experienced users on Hqplayer to see if it "plays" better on my system.

I'm testing some tweaks, but I believe I still havent found the ideal adjustment for my taste.

In your opinion, for better SQ does Hqplayer work better on Windows or Linux ?

 

[yates7592]

10 hours ago, m3lraaHnevetS said:

I find HQP to be very good at just putting true the PCM or DSD file without upsampling and/or conversion. Anyway it is always good to go back to the no filter setting once in a while just to remind yourself what you started out with. my own experience is that after doing redbook-->DSD512 for a few months I was shocked to hear how good redbook can sound on a proper system. I ended up selling my T+A end went an other route. still like HQP as an engine though.

I agree, unadulterated Redbook can sound fantastic. If using the filters in HQP I definitely prefer upsampling to hi-res PCM than upsampling to DSD, there was a noticeable loss of bass weight and resolution in my system with DSD. Strangely, in pure Redbook mode, I still prefer HQP to both J-River and Foobar. The only thing I can think of is that volume control in HQP is superior? I'm going to be using an external preamp in my system soon so will go back and try J-River again then to see how it sounds. Whilst I think HQP is a great player, the user interface sucks and lack of support for .cue files drives me nuts.

[brother love]

On 6/27/2017 at 7:06 PM, doors.sl said:

My DAC is this : https://www.crutchfield.com/S-KFEQl7v5NSC/p_022CD3000B/Yamaha-CD-S3000-Black.html

Im doing 2x DSD for all inputs.

 

According to the Yamaha CD-S3000 specs, the DAC is 32 bit & supports up to 24 bit/ 192 kHz.

[Confused]

15 hours ago, AnotherSpin said:

If you will not use filters there will be no upsampling and you will not need HQP, you may use any basic player which supports files of different formats, VOX will work for you, for example.

I spent quite a lot of time last Sunday trying various filter options.  Once done, I did try running through a few tracks with the poly-sinc-ext filter I liked, and then performed a direct comparison with Roon RAAT, so 'bit perfect'.  I preferred HQPlayer.  I have not had time for any extended listening since, I know first impressions can change some times, but so far I am enjoying the results with HQPlayer.

[doors.sl]

7 hours ago, brother love said:

 

According to the Yamaha CD-S3000 specs, the DAC is 32 bit & supports up to 24 bit/ 192 kHz.

Hi mi friend,

Im playing 2x DSD native in this DAC without problems.

With Jriver, Jplay + Jplaymini , HQPlayer , Bug Head Emperor i had no problems to reproduced 2x DSD Native or upsample in this player.

The following message appears on the display when I play these files: " DSD 2x " .

[m3lraaHnevetS]

9 hours ago, Confused said:

spent quite a lot of time last Sunday trying various filter options.  Once done, I did try running through a few tracks with the poly-sinc-ext filter I liked, and then performed a direct comparison with Roon RAAT, so 'bit perfect'.  I preferred HQPlayer.  I have not had time for any extended listening since, I know first impressions can change some times, but so far I am enjoying the results with HQPlayer.

good stuff, hopefully you can now forget and enjoy the music!