[Clive101]

@andrewd01 Well spotted I do have the Mscaler and Dave but I was being lazy and did not fully understand how to implement HQP I thought it would always be in the background running and needed Roon removal. Thanks for the link I will give it a try and report back but give me a while.

 

[andrewd01]

I really like the way that Antipodes manages the various software packages. It is nice that you can uninstall anything that you are not using to minimise system resources but the install files are always there when you want to install it.

If you want to compare with and without HQP in the chain I think you need to install the following:
HQP server
HQP Naa
Roon Ready

You would set up HQ Player backend to be NAA and then use the app switcher to change between HQ Player NAA and Roon Ready. You should be able to leave the M scaler in the chain, when HQ Player is doing the upscaling, the hi-res signal would just pass through the M scaler unchanged.

If you decide to use HQ Player exclusively, a simpler installation is to remove Roon Ready and the HQ Player NAA and just use the ALSA back end.

 

[Clive101]

I have just had a quick read through the manual for HQ Player.
Has anyone any idea what settings to use with which to compare with the Chord Mscaler ?
Edit I found this and will read https://community.roonlabs.com/t/hqplayer-vs-chord-wta1/92296

 

[Whazzzup]

Fascinating to watch but I’m sticking with roon, hqp looks windowish for me and brings bad memories now that I have been fully cooped by the apple brain control processes of ease. But carry on.

 

[Progisus]

OK... so I think I have my EX set up for the best sound in my system. I’ve moved roon core to another machine. I’ve deleted all software except hqplayer and set it to play to alsa. My Hugo TT is plugged in to the low noise usb. My hqplayer filters are: pcm, sinc-m, lns15, 384k. That is the closest I can get to the mscaler sound and the detail provided by the Antipodes low noise is to another level. Now a CX running the core would be end game. hahaha

 

[Whazzzup]

I’m Bach to pcm 386 from dsd 128 on my DX, subtle but enjoy it more

 

[Progisus]

I’m Bach to pcm 386 from dsd 128 on my DX, subtle but enjoy it more

I think pcm is best for the chord dacs except Dave, as they just decimate dsd back to pcm anyway.

 

[Clive101]

Can any one tell me which filters to change I have the 1 x filter which seems to be the same as the Nx filter? What is the difference between them?

 

[Progisus]

Can any one tell me which filters to change I have the 1 x filter which seems to be the same as the Nx filter? What is the difference between them?

I always set mine the same. I believe they just give you the ability to use a less demanding one for sample rates above 44.1 (nx) when your computer is less powerful.

 

[andrewd01]

Yes set them the same. I briefly experimented with polysinc long, as that seems popular on the roon thread. I didn't like it. The soundstage collapsed. I far prefer sinc M.

 

[andrewd01]

Fascinating to watch but I’m sticking with roon, hqp looks windowish for me and brings bad memories now that I have been fully cooped by the apple brain control processes of ease. But carry on.

I would never use anything other than Roon as a library manager/ front end. HQ Player is half a dozen settings in the background, then you don’t need to touch it again. Huge uplift in SQ and dead easy to test for free on an Antipodes server.

 

[Clive101]

I have breifly tried some of the settings in HQPlayer with Roon.

I disconnected Mscaler from Dave and removed Roon Ready from the EX.

I tried HQ Player without any settings (straight through) and it killed the SQ of Dave... no AB it was that bad.

I then played around with some of the settings and liked what HQP can do in regards of different sound for different moods, genre and or personal preference.

I liked the IIR and the sinc M but did not find the music engaging as Dave with Roon Ready.

Dave and the Bryston Amps I have are not forgiving to poorly recorded music and I have particular issues with hot recorded tracks so the IIR was very useful.

With the settings I tried, all different, I always felt if I was losing something (that toe tapping experience) and I emailed the developer if there was a lite version rather than loading the HQ Player server onto the EX. There was no lite version and the filters used most of the resources...CPU power.

So if you find that HQP does not make too much of a hit (straight through) it may be worth paying for as it does give a range of different sounds depending on personal choice and save a lot of money for the Mscaler and associated cables.

When I put back the Mscaler I realised how much I like what it does, it would be great to have different filters built into Mscaler similar to HQP.

PS.

Today I added The CX EX to the Dave Mscaler - Woo Wa33 plus LCD4 (the Melco Z1a was used before) a big step up.

 

[Progisus]

The mscaler does as advertised but I couldn’t stomach the extra 2000.00 cad required for cables. The EX and HQP were a step up from my mscaler (without special cables). I would think the mscaler with dave would be special though. @Clive101 do you have wave cables or opto dx in your system?

 

[Whazzzup]

Well plus the 6500 for mscaler. Being a TT owner and quite happy with DX , the way forward is either tt2 or more likely Dave or probably Dave 2 whenever that is....

 

[Clive101]

@Progisus I have the Wave Storm cables more expense ! I am only comparing the EX with HQP vs EX with Mscaler and Wave cables, if I were to compare say a Computer vs EX with HQP I would (from experience) purchase the EX first and not the Mscaler.

My upgrade path was server last. I like the CX and or EX as comparing different software is a breeze.

I am thinking of upgrading my server for my headphone system as cost effective as possible. Which could be upgrade the Melco firmware (as shortly it could be Roon ready) and have a CX running Roon to make a cheaper two box system similar to the CX EX combo or EX HQP or a second CX EX combo but funds do not permit. Without the Melco it would have been a EX HQP adding a CX when funds permit. That is why I showed an interest in HQP.