HQPlayer Impressions and Settings Rolling Thread

[bogi]

The Roon is set so I can choose in the bottom right of the screen either my Holo Spring 3 DAC (for NOS) or HQ Player (which would oversample and then send the signal to the Spring 3 DAC). Usually when I use the Spring 3 option for NOS in Roon, and then change Roon to HQ Player, I have to close out of Roon and HQ Player, and restart them before I can use HQ Player correctly.

You can reach everything you want in HQPlayer environment. You don't need to switch between Roon output and HQPlayer output.
You can use HQPlayer Client to switch output sample rate or to switch between PCM and DSD output.

You may look at these 8 pages to get idea what are optimal settings for Spring: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...-dac-r2r-dsd512/page/5/?do=userPosts&mid=4870

 

[IvanE92]

Wow. Replacing an iPhone playing Qobuz with a MacBook Pro and HQPlayer (upsampling FLAC downloads to 1.536 PCM or 256 DSD) made a big difference in my chain. Like, huge. Highly recommend this software. Best bang for the buck I believe I’ve spent on this hobby.

Next up… a DDC and I’m done (for now ). Enjoy the music!!

 

[bogi]

Replacing an iPhone playing Qobuz with a MacBook Pro and HQPlayer

Congrats! Are you playing Qobuz through HQPlayer Client?

Why DDC? Instead of DDC you can buy Intona galvanic isolator and stay with USB with improved sound.

 

[IvanE92]

Congrats! Are you playing Qobuz through HQPlayer Client?

I’ve tried playing directly from both. Does one do a better job?

 

[bogi]

I’ve tried playing directly from both. Does one do a better job?

HQPlayer Client way is technically easier than other ways to play Qobuz through HQPlayer since HQPlayer process is getting direct stream from Qobuz servers without need to run Qobuz app or an external sound source.
HQPlayer Client allows to adjust also HQPlayer specific settings, some of them can be changed on the fly without playback interruption, like oversampling filter and noise shaper.
That's technical point of view. Choose what sounds better and is more convenient to operate for you.

 

[kumar402]

HQPlayer Client way is technically easier than other ways to play Qobuz through HQPlayer since HQPlayer process is getting direct stream from Qobuz servers without need to run Qobuz app or an external sound source.
HQPlayer Client allows to adjust also HQPlayer specific settings, some of them can be changed on the fly without playback interruption, like oversampling filter and noise shaper.
That's technical point of view. Choose what sounds better and is more convenient to operate for you.

The whole point of Roon is UI and library management and once HQPlayer is set correctly then it runs smoothly in it. HQPlayer client doesn’t provide that level of UX. Not to mention Roon Remote etc

 

[bogi]

The whole point of Roon is UI and library management and once HQPlayer is set correctly then it runs smoothly in it. HQPlayer client doesn’t provide that level of UX. Not to mention Roon Remote etc

I answered to @IvanE92 who does not mention Roon in his signature. HQPlayer Client provides what is needed for Qobuz playback in compact and simple way. Roon library management is on higher level, no doubt.

With Roon, audio content is decoded by Roon and is sent to HQPlayer as raw PCM or DSD stream. With HQPlayer Client, Qobuz stream decoding is done by HQPlayer.

 

[IvanE92]

Happy to report the below PCM settings are working well on my Denfrips Pontus 12th-1 (per manual's recommendations and my ear) on modern, multi-track music:

• Filter 1x: sinc-MGa
• Filter Nx: sinc-MGa
• Sample rate ( Limit): Auto (usually outputs at 1.4112M or 1.536M)
• Dither: LNS15
• Bits: 20

Haven't really bothered with DSD; based on my research PCM is the way to go on R2R DACs. If anyone's interested, here's my setup for SDM:

• Filter 1x: Poly-sinc-gauss-hires-mp
• Filter Nx: Poly-sinc-gauss-hires-mp
• Shaper: ASDM7ECv3
• Bitrate: 44.1k x 512 or 1024 (with adaptive rate setting checked)

Honestly, both PCM and SDM on the Pontus II sound great and it's hard to pick between the two. The DSD option may have slightly better separation...maybe... and PCM may have more weight… but I tend to just stick it on PCM and not noodle too much

I can easily spend more time splitting hairs that enjoying my music!

 

[573017]

I use Roon (Tidal and HQ Player) on a Macbook Pro (M1) hooked up to a Holo Spring 3 and Holo Bliss. Is there any benefit of adding a Holo Red? Can the Holo Red do HQ Player better than the Macbook?

 

[kumar402]

I use Roon (Tidal and HQ Player) on a Macbook Pro (M1) hooked up to a Holo Spring 3 and Holo Bliss. Is there any benefit of adding a Holo Red? Can the Holo Red do HQ Player better than the Macbook?

It’s more about the input of DAC. MacBook will still run HQplayer and will do upsampling, it’s just that Red will act as NAA and input the signal to DAC with some reclocking. I for one keep Laptop and desktop away from Audio chain

 

[plumpudding2]

I have a question regarding license for HQPlayer.
Is the license transferable through different computers?
Currently I would like to use HQPlayer on my main workstation but in the near future I'm planing to use Mac mini or other pc workstation.
No problem with transferring license through different instances?

I use the same license on both my laptop for at the office and desktop at home, no need to transfer anything just register on each device with the same license file. Only limitation is I think you can't use HQP on both at the same time.

 

[573017]

It’s more about the input of DAC. MacBook will still run HQplayer and will do upsampling, it’s just that Red will act as NAA and input the signal to DAC with some reclocking. I for one keep Laptop and desktop away from Audio chain

What is the benefit of using a Holo Red, rather than just streaming the music from a computer through USB to the Holo Spring 3?

 

[kumar402]

What is the benefit of using a Holo Red, rather than just streaming the music from a computer through USB to the Holo Spring 3?

Well not sure about spring3 but many DAC in general don’t have good USB input and have superior Coax or I2S and hence a streamer or DDC with good clock comes in handy in those scenario. Also many a DAC don’t offer galvanic isolation via USB input and hence the noise from PC is carried to DAC and streamer or DDC like Red comes in handy.

 

[newToAudio100]

I'm trying to play qobuz through hq player and having a difficult time setting it up. I feel like it should be intuitive but it isn't. I downloaded files for offline play and they will not show up in hqplayer desktop.. From the client I only see local host and no qobuz option.

I found the file path qobuz uses for offline library and hq player will not recognize the files. Also not sure how to stream qobuz to hq player. I'm using the demo. Any help?

https://www.signalyst.com/quickstart.html
This guide was not helpful. I only have localhost option on the left drop down from client. No files showing up for desktop.

 

[573017]

Well not sure about spring3 but many DAC in general don’t have good USB input and have superior Coax or I2S and hence a streamer or DDC with good clock comes in handy in those scenario. Also many a DAC don’t offer galvanic isolation via USB input and hence the noise from PC is carried to DAC and streamer or DDC like Red comes in handy.

Yes, that is why I ask. The Holo Spring 3 has a great USB input with galvanic isolation and no jitter whatsoever. Since that is the main benefit of a DDC, I wouldn't think the Holo Red would be useful. But then I see people with Holo Springs and Holo Mays that use a Holo Red, so I am not sure why.