[kennyb123]

I tried looking into HQ player and PGGB but these upscalers are so unnavigable I'd rather just buy something like an M Scaler so I have the freedom to use my own player...(groove music lol) unless there's another way to play and search my files without opening them from HQplayer? I'd love that but I'm not sure how. It won't even open up root folders of which I have all my music organized into subfolders, so that's a killer. For reference I only listen to FLACs I have downloaded or ripped.

To get the best from M Scaler, a DAC needs to have a dual bnc that allows 768k input. Only Chord DACs have that.

A single BNC can show some benefit from M Scaler at 384 k, but it’s rare to find a BNC input that supports greater than 192k.

HQPlayer can be made easier to navigate with the mobile application HQPDcontrol v4. There is a thread in the software section on Audiophile Style that the developer monitors. This makes HQPlayer easier to interact with.

 

[milkdudd]

Hope this isn't a hijack, but can anyone explain to me why Flac files played with bit-perfect output sound better when played with UAPP? One would think all bit-perfect should sound the same, no? I don't think it's my imagination but I wouldn't bet the farm on it (if I had a farm that is)

 

[kennyb123]

Hope this isn't a hijack, but can anyone explain to me why Flac files played with bit-perfect output sound better when played with UAPP? One would think all bit-perfect should sound the same, no?

I wish. I don’t know what UAPP is but I assume you are talking about using different apps to play the file. Bit perfection has been solved. What hasn’t been solved is what comes along for the ride.

 

[milkdudd]

I wish. I don’t know what UAPP is but I assume you are talking about using different apps to play the file. Bit perfection has been solved. What hasn’t been solved is what comes along for the ride.

Sorry I shouldn't have abbreviated. It's the USB Audio Player Pro Android app. It must do something like reduce jitter or maybe it shuts down things running in the background. Although my Android phone is one that has never been activated and everything I can turn off has been turned off. It's dedicated for audio playback only. I've often thought a source that runs off battery power rather than being plugged into AC current is a good start

 

[PhazeCrive]

Appreciate the thread talk. Been in this game for just over a year today, and I'm only now getting the benefits of higher sampling rates. Up until now all my higher sampled music was being downplayed to 48khz and I never knew why.

I have since changed the Windows settings to allow higher sampled music to pass through the dac, but I still am under the assumption that things like HQ player will do it better. Also, how did you convert PCM to DSD?

 

[kennyb123]

I have since changed the Windows settings to allow higher sampled music to pass through the dac, but I still am under the assumption that things like HQ player will do it better. Also, how did you convert PCM to DSD?

The change you made allowed you to hear songs at their native rate. Reconstruction is then performed by the DAC using the filter option you have selected in the menu.

What HQPlayer will allow you to do is select a different filter that will effect how reconstruction is performed. It applies this best when scaling up to the highest rate one’s DAC can accept. The x26pro’s NOS mode allows this to be more effective.

The developer of HQPlayer prefers that the file is scaled to the highest DSD rate. This requires a computer with sufficient horsepower but the developer thinks DSD gives him more control of the outcome.

DSD has a lot of fans, but I am not one of them. I find that it softens the music by dulling the transient attacks. That’s why I choose to scale to PCM instead.

As an aside, last week I purchased Cannonball Adderly’s “Somethin Else” from High Definition Tape Transfer. This was from their Pure 256 series, which means it was transferred straight from analog tape to DSD256. The clearly found a tape that’s in great shape because this sounds fantastic and could possibly represent the closest I’ve heard to hearing a real-to-real tape in my home. That it is in DSD format matters little as the quality of the source and mastering chain matter so much more. I found a slight advantage from scaling it to PCM using PGGB, but listening to it played natively at DSD256 is still just one heck of a treat.

 

[peter964rs]

Just to add to this discussion, I bought PGGB-AP and fully agree with @kennyb123 on the quality improvements. Having worked with Dan via email and trial converted a few tracks using the latest version in 256-bit mode I can wholeheartedly recommend the product.

What has struck me about it is the way a performance becomes more detailed, more natural, and more nuanced. For example, even an 'old' track like Santana's "Samba Pa Ti" is revealed to be full of subtlety in the way Carlos plays his instrument, with flourishes and variations in tempo and dynamic contrasts I had never noticed before. It demonstrates his skill and suddenly I appreciate the listening experience so much more.

Unfashionably one of my demo tracks was MJs 'Thriller'. After the opening door creak and footsteps, the synth starts up. If I knew my synths, I would now be able to identify make and model (I don't know my synths but hopefully you get the idea) and also, again, the subtle variations in tempo, if not volume since I doubt it has accelerometer keys, as it is played.

There is more detail and resolution in the bass if you can resolve it in your system, and treble is sweet and natural without being smoothed over or dull. PRAT is excellent.

There is a free demo version that stops after two tracks. What's stopping you? The only thing stopping me is cashflow for the upgrade cost but as soon as I've got some, I'm upgrading!!!

 

[kennyb123]

Just to add to this discussion, I bought PGGB-AP and fully agree with @kennyb123 on the quality improvements. Having worked with Dan via email and trial converted a few tracks using the latest version in 256-bit mode I can wholeheartedly recommend the product.

I’ve been having to keep quiet about 256-bit precision, but now that it’s been released, I can mention it. The improvement is quite remarkable. The aim of that product is to improve reconstruction accuracy. My ears tell me that it does exactly that.

 

[milkdudd]

I’ve been having to keep quiet about 256-bit precision, but now that it’s been released, I can mention it. The improvement is quite remarkable. The aim of that product is to improve reconstruction accuracy. My ears tell me that it does exactly that.

I know this can't be used for streaming, I get that. With the amazing advances in technology, I can't help but think someday it will be doable. Maybe a few second delay at the start of each track or something like that which I could live with. To get back on topic are there any rumors of an X26 Pro successor in the foreseeable future? I know it's great already but it seems it's been out for quite a while now

 

[kennyb123]

I know this can't be used for streaming, I get that. With the amazing advances in technology, I can't help but think someday it will be doable.

There is a real time version that works with Foobar, but I have not used it. Given limitations in hardware, this can't possibly match the sound quality of the offline version, but I think it has a really good chance of being superior to the filters built into the x26pro. I think you are right that one day all the goodness we hear from the offline version can be applied to streaming. I just hope I'm still alive then.

To get back on topic are there any rumors of an X26 Pro successor in the foreseeable future? I know it's great already but it seems it's been out for quite a while now

This may be old news, but I just learned of the A26. See this for more details. It's not clear to me that this is an actual successor to the X26pro. It looks like it's an R26 with a AK4499EX chip instead of an R2R implementation. I wonder if these are just different flavors and not really a step up from the x26pro. I have to admit though that I'm not really looking for a successor. For the price, I still think the x26pro is a steal.

 

[milkdudd]

There is a real time version that works with Foobar, but I have not used it. Given limitations in hardware, this can't possibly match the sound quality of the offline version, but I think it has a really good chance of being superior to the filters built into the x26pro. I think you are right that one day all the goodness we hear from the offline version can be applied to streaming. I just hope I'm still alive then.



This may be old news, but I just learned of the A26. See this for more details. It's not clear to me that this is an actual successor to the X26pro. It looks like it's an R26 with a AK4499EX chip instead of an R2R implementation. I wonder if these are just different flavors and not really a step up from the x26pro. I have to admit though that I'm not really looking for a successor. For the price, I still think the x26pro is a steal.

Thanks, to me this is new news not old news. As someone who uses and loves the A22 dac, the A26 (which I didn't know about until you mentioned it) is actually more relevant than an update to the X26 Pro. My love for the A22 at least doubled when I first set the filter to the LOW-d SHOT setting. Takes it to an entirely different level for me. On other threads I have asked people to try that setting before making a final judgment of the dac. I will have to investigate if the A26 has that filter available. With all that said, have any of you gone to the A26 after using the A22 (or X26 Pro)? If so did you consider it a worthy upgrade? I should mention that I use the C18 and U18 in front of the A22 with purple fuses in each. I like that the A26 would allow me to run a second BNC cable from the C18. One to the U18 and one to the A26. As the A22 doesn't have the clock input I don't have that option now

 

[kennyb123]

As someone who uses and loves the A22 dac, the A26 (which I didn't know about until you mentioned it) is actually more relevant than an update to the X26 Pro. My love for the A22 at least doubled when I first set the filter to the LOW-d SHOT setting. Takes it to an entirely different level for me. On other threads I have asked people to try that setting before making a final judgment of the dac.

 

[milkdudd]

Thanks, I think that LOW-d SHOT is an abbreviation for Low Dispersion Short Delay. I'll compare that to the A22 manual when I get a chance. In the meantime I highly suggest all A26 owners give it a try

 

[taipan254]

I tried looking into HQ player and PGGB but these upscalers are so unnavigable I'd rather just buy something like an M Scaler so I have the freedom to use my own player...(groove music lol) unless there's another way to play and search my files without opening them from HQplayer? I'd love that but I'm not sure how. It won't even open up root folders of which I have all my music organized into subfolders, so that's a killer. For reference I only listen to FLACs I have downloaded or ripped.

My $0.02 FWIW: HQP's associated interface that @kennyb123 mentions is workable but leaves a lot to be desired. I use Roon as a front-end, and let HQP and HQP NAA do all the work on the back-end. It's a much nicer set up. I've been a long-term license holder but shelved it in favor of Audirvana. I haven't used Roon again until my recent purchase of an ultraRendu (thanks @punit). Since that purchase, my system clarity has improved markedly and I've finally been able to discern differences in upsampling by integrating HQP with Roon.

Also, like @kennyb123, I prefer PCM upsampling (my flavors: Sinc M and LNS 15 or NS 9) to DSD (I can get Sinc M @ 256x to work with no hiccups, as well as the long gaussian filters). PCM upsampling just sounds "clearer" and "less fuzzy" to me. There's also a lot more "space" and I feel like I need a much better headphone to truly appreciate the improvement in soundstaging. In other words, I think I'm still leaving a lot of performance on the table. My guess is PGGB ups the game further, but that requires a huge investment (monster PC, monster storage, $1k license)... maybe I'll get there one day!

Going Roon to Roon Bridge on my set up (see below) with native sampling rates and internal Gustard filters sounds worse than with HQP PCM upsampling in my Gustard-anchored setup.

@MartinWT do you upsample? I know you speak very highly of the native Gustard filters. The differences (and dare I say improvements) would be highly discernible on your system if I were to guess.

My setup right now: HQP via Roon on Laptop -> Router -> ultraRendu powered by LPS 1.2 in HQP NAA mode -> Gustard X26Pro (NOS Mode PCM filter) -> Topping A90 -> DCA x Drop Aeon Open X (balanced). TLP Audio power conditioner + Quartz Acoustics grounding boxes. Audience Ohno Balanced Interconnects. AQ NRG 4 power cables.

 

[kennyb123]

I use Roon as a front-end, and let HQP and HQP NAA do all the work on the back-end. It's a much nicer set up. I've been a long-term license holder but shelved it in favor of Audirvana. I haven't used Roon again until my recent purchase of an ultraRendu (thanks @punit). Since that purchase, my system clarity has improved markedly and I've finally been able to discern differences in upsampling by integrating HQP with Roon.

Happy to hear that things have advanced! Roon/HQPlayer integration is a good way to go.

PCM upsampling just sounds "clearer" and "less fuzzy" to me.

That's a good way to describe it. I call it a softness with DSD but this manifests itself as "fuzzy". I attribute this to a loss of timing information that impacts the stopping and starting of notes.

Going Roon to Roon Bridge on my set up (see below) with native sampling rates and internal Gustard filters sounds worse than with HQP PCM upsampling in my Gustard-anchored setup.

Agreed. Or said another way, the best way to harm PCM upscaling with HQP or PGGB is to switch off the Gustard's NOS Mode.