HQPlayer Impressions and Settings Rolling Thread

[MLGrado]

I am currently using my dsc2 dac with my class A EL84 tube amp in my bedroom and I agree what a magical combo the dsc2 with tubes are in my speaker system!! It’s a like a vinyl setup without clicks and pops and just keeps playing through the night!!!

I think we’ve had this discussion briefly before but yeah you were right it’s a very analog sound, but without all the negatives that come with say even the best vinyl playback. I still need to do some proper measurements but if I recall correctly. The dynamic range on the DSC2 I have is around 120 dB and the jitter is just nonexistent.

I’ve had some late night thoughts about Perhaps re-designing an analog output stage for it someday that replaces the output transformers for something a little more robust with a little more output. But I just really like the way it sounds right where it’s at so I’ll probably leave it alone. I learned my lesson a long time ago don’t mess with a good thing, or at least I think I learned it. Well I hope I learned it LOL

 

[BShaw]

After getting my new Holo Cyan 2 set up over the weekend with the help of my buddy Cam, I don’t even know where to begin. Especially adding dac correction for the specific model, holy cow.
I wasn’t able to play DSD on my Gustard R26, and it wasn’t clear to me just what I was hearing at first, but then yesterday without “trying” to listen critically I was listening to a Ralph Towner/Gary Peacock album and realized the way I was just blending into the music was a new experience, and the organic, natural sound was utterly captivating.
I’m hosting HQP and Roon on an M2 mini and it plays DSD 256 no problem with DAC correction, convo filters, and pretty long hqp filters. It bogged down badly at 512 though.

 

[MLGrado]

I finally received my Holo Cyan 2 yesterday and set it up (not exactly intuitive). My buddy Cam helped me get it dialed in so I wasn't floundering all night, and I was running PCM 768 and had the DAC correction in place. Holy smokes, I just have to really hand it to Jussi for what he's brought to digital audio. I told Cam today I consider HQP a component in my system no less than a DAC or a preamp. I'm sure the Cyan sounds great without HQP, but without directly comparing all I can say is this DAC with HQP/correction is ridiculously good and I can hardly imagine what a May KTE sounds like if it's sibling that costs 1/5 sounds like this. Switched to DSD tonight, I'll be listening all weekend to understand what the differences are, but right off the bat I hear less air/sparkle, a slightly more laid back presentation, and incredible holographic and 3 dimensional presentation. Timbre maybe a bit warmer and more organic, but that's an early impression. I'll report back after several more hours of gleeful listening and toggling between PCM and DSD, but this is an embarrasment of riches and either way it's a big win as far as I'm concerned. I'll also compare with/without DAC correction, because I have a suspicion this feature alone turned my Cyan into a Spring KTE if not more. It just doesn't seem possible this DAC could be so good for $1200, and clearly mop the floor with the R26.

Filters really DO make a difference.

The issue is the typical filter, in spite of the advancements in processing power (fpga,etc) makes it a real chore to hear the difference. Some DACs more than others.

Leveraging the power of a modern x86 CPU and NVidia GPU allows for ‘fine tuning’ with windowing that just isn’t practical otherwise.

As with anything in this hobby when you want the best, you will pay for it. My new PC for budgeting reasons is only state of the art ala 2021-22 ish. Which is still only enough to run DSD512, with most filters accessible. There are still a few that it doesn’t like. It’s okay because my DSC DAC only accepts up to DSD 512. I would like to try DSD1024 with HQ filters on my iFI iDSD Pro. I am pretty sure it accepts that rate as well as oversamples to it. But one thing about going faster and faster with the bitstream… the onboard logic can have a hard time keeping up, meaning there is a possible increase in overall system noise. So it’s possible depending on your hardware that the sweet spot indeed is at DSD512. Maybe even DSD256. Faster isn’t necessarily better in the end. Every system is different and synergy is the most important thing, I have found.

But the end result is absolutely worth it. The HQPlayer filter sound speaks for itself. It’s just in a word more…. Refined.

 

[MLGrado]

Great post @MLGrado, you are right it is so nice when the music overtakes the quest. I am having a similar lovely Sunday afternoon, currently not wanting for more but just enjoying the timeless and eternal Bach Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II now as played by Gerlinde Otto. My Matrix ES9038 DSAC isn't the latest and greatest, but as fed by HQ Player (settings below) and out to my McChanson tube amp. fitted with Mullard 6F6GT drivers, Tesla EL34 powers and my Meze Elite over the ears, I am as happy as if I won the lottery. Ears, mind and heart are content. How long will it last...not certain BUT I'm glad these moments exist to balance the restless acquisitiveness this hobby can engender.

Here are my HQP settings at the moment, and the album I referenced:

Couldn’t agree more. Getting lost in a 45 minute work by Brahms, Sibelius, Stravinsky and enjoying it so much the time seems to be no factor at all. Life is suspended in bliss.

That’s what a great live performance does and it’s a rare thing to duplicate at home.

It’s the highest praise I can give any system.

 

[dericchan1]

Filters really DO make a difference.

The issue is the typical filter, in spite of the advancements in processing power (fpga,etc) makes it a real chore to hear the difference. Some DACs more than others.

Leveraging the power of a modern x86 CPU and NVidia GPU allows for ‘fine tuning’ with windowing that just isn’t practical otherwise.

As with anything in this hobby when you want the best, you will pay for it. My new PC for budgeting reasons is only state of the art ala 2021-22 ish. Which is still only enough to run DSD512, with most filters accessible. There are still a few that it doesn’t like. It’s okay because my DSC DAC only accepts up to DSD 512. I would like to try DSD1024 with HQ filters on my iFI iDSD Pro. I am pretty sure it accepts that rate as well as oversamples to it. But one thing about going faster and faster with the bitstream… the onboard logic can have a hard time keeping up, meaning there is a possible increase in overall system noise. So it’s possible depending on your hardware that the sweet spot indeed is at DSD512. Maybe even DSD256. Faster isn’t necessarily better in the end. Every system is different and synergy is the most important thing, I have found.

But the end result is absolutely worth it. The HQPlayer filter sound speaks for itself. It’s just in a word more…. Refined.

Actually I thought the ifi pro only takes dsd512 being a limitation of the dac chip? I never thought about trying to feed dsd 1024 to the Pro but perhaps I could give it a spin…

Dsd512 sounded fantastic to me in my listening session last night!!

 

[MLGrado]

Actually I thought the ifi pro only takes dsd512 being a limitation of the dac chip? I never thought about trying to feed dsd 1024 to the Pro but perhaps I could give it a spin…

Dsd512 sounded fantastic to me in my listening session last night!!

you may be correct. When data goes in my brain, it spits some out... I seem to have a shift-register up there doing the work.

It would be limited by the XMOS chipset, if thats the case.

 

[dericchan1]

you are probably correct. When data goes in my brain, it spits some out... I seem to have a shift-register up there doing the work.

DSD512 max input is probably correct, limited by the XMOS chipset.

The dsc2 sound is too addictive, for the past month or so, I purposely put the dsc2 in the bedroom system because if I have it in the main system then I likely won’t listen to the Cyan 2 or the ifi pro. Not that they are not great dacs which makes me feel even worse about not using them in my main system.

It does make me wonder what might happen if I swap out the transformer output to something more robust but why fix something not broken?

 

[MLGrado]

The dsc2 sound is too addictive, for the past month or so, I purposely put the dsc2 in the bedroom system because if I have it in the main system then I likely won’t listen to the Cyan 2 or the ifi pro. Not that they are not great dacs which makes me feel even worse about not using them in my main system.

It does make me wonder what might happen if I swap out the transformer output to something more robust but why fix something not broken?

Although the PSAUDIO DirectStream is a bit of different animal that tries to put what HQPlayer does into the DAC hardware itself on its FPGA, however on the back-end its basically the same thing although its limited to a set 128x DSD rate. Even the analog output is fairly similar with transformer outputs.

What does it cost these days for the newest version? Over 8 grand US? I can only imagine HQplayer combined with the DSC DAC is a better version of the same concept. With WAY more flexibility too. For a lot less cash. If it were a commercial product I know the DSC would cost way, way more, but for those lucky enough to have one, wow what a high-end bargain.

 

[sendler2112]

I wasn’t able to play DSD on my Gustard R26,

The R26 sounds best with PCM705-768 (and LAN) anyway and sounds broken in comparison with DSD.

 

[jlaako]

I wonder if it’s worthwhile to upgrade ram speed, I am currently using some ddr4 64g ram. I mean I never really have any interest in going after dsd1024 but would be nice to know if ram speed does matter

RAM speed does matter for number of algorithms, since the data doesn't always fit in CPU caches, and then RAM speed becomes critical.

 

[suno23]

@jlaako is it better to use DAC CORRECTION w/ DSD512 vs no correction w/ DSD1024 on a Holo Spring 3

 

[MLGrado]

@jlaako

I know their are a couple of 'pseudo multi-bit' modulators as you put it in the instruction manual. I have assumed these are modulators that use multiple 1 bit modulators in parallel with unary coded quantizer and filter loop, Like a 3 level system that we might call 1.5 bit binary.

pseudo multi-bit because actually binary introduces its set of issues like glitch issues and increased noise levels due to more switches moving at once. These things are already problematic even in a fully digital system like HQPlayer on a PC, long before any analog conversion and dynamic element matching.

What about the AHM5EC5L and 7EC5L? Are these 'pseudo multi-bit' and does the 5L refer to 5 levels?

Thanks

Andrew

 

[suno23]

Not sure if this is the wrong approach but after some google searches I came across a post that shows how to make a bat. file to start hqplayer with its CPU priority set to high. Now I can upsample everything to 48k base DSD1024 no hiccups with most of the filters. Without setting priority to high I can only do 44.1k DSD1024.
With DAC Correction I can only do 48k DSD512 with all filters.
Would it be better to use DAC Correction at DSD512 or jump to DSD1024?

 

[plumpudding2]

Not sure if this is the wrong approach but after some google searches I came across a post that shows how to make a bat. file to start hqplayer with its CPU priority set to high. Now I can upsample everything to 48k base DSD1024 no hiccups with most of the filters. Without setting priority to high I can only do 44.1k DSD1024.
With DAC Correction I can only do 48k DSD512 with all filters.
Would it be better to use DAC Correction at DSD512 or jump

Can you share those resources? Last time Jussi said anything it was that HQPlayer sets its own thread priorities and you'll only mess that up if you change these things

 

[BShaw]

I'd appreciate some input about my settings, I'm pushing my M2 Mac Mini to it's limits, and was cruising along fine when streaming 44.1k files to DSD, but as soon as I get a Qobuz file above 44 I get stuttering. I checked the activity monitor, and with 44k files I'm running about 48%CPU, and 346% capacity. When I stream a 96k file, it jumps to 74% cpu and 600% capacity! DAC correction is on for my Cyan 2, and I don't want to give it up. My God the sound is unreal, when playing 44k tracks the sound was actually wrapping around me, I've never been able to achieve such alive 3 dimensional sound, it's very beautiful. Below are some pics of my settings, I wonder if I'm off somewhere? Thank you.