The new beta 3.13.0b3 of HQPlayer fixes the DSD->PCM conversion and wanted to report it works for me.
@brian, is it possible to provide a time when the next build that fixes the 12:40 minute overflow issue?
Ditto, 3.13.0b3 ā¦ DSD>PCM now working again, but still getting the 6:20s display freeze followed by play stopping at the conclusion of the next track on DSD128 files.
We move builds from alpha->stable when theyāre stableāit is an iterative process, so I donāt know exactly when we will release it.
The HQPlayer fix is simple and low risk, but thereās some more complex changes in other areas that need a little bit more validation before they can go out.
Thanks Brianā¦patience to get it right! Doesnāt look like Jussi is ready to release 3.13 yet either.
Thanks for the update Brian. Roon + HQPlayer are getting closer to being perfect, Bit-by-Bit, happy to wait. The integration has come a long way since December. Now if we can also change the HQP filters from Roon and also do multi-channel DSD in a few monthsā¦
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One other thing Iām looking forward to testing more once the new version is working is output of DSD256 files. The other day when I was doing my testing I notice that these were causing a lot of trouble with Roon and HQplayer negotiating particularly at the beginning of the track. This was with HQplayer and Roon running on the same machine sending output to a linux NAA on the same switch. When I drop the files directly into the hqplayer interface they beginning playing normallyā¦no hesitationā¦so it seems like it is something about the roon/hqplayer handshake or data transfer, or the way hqplayer processes the data once it is received from Roon. However, I had this problem even when HQplayer was in SDMdirect mode so its seems unlikely to be the result of a lack of processing power in the roon/hqplayer computer.
I have maybe two dozen DSD256 albums nowā¦so its not a big issue yetā¦but it might be something to put on your list of things to testā¦I believe Brian has an ifi dac that can do DSD256.
Iāve already reported this exact same problem on Build 99 HQPlayer Dropouts
Brian referred me to Jussi, and after ruling out all of the issues he suspected, he thinks it is something strange going on. Iāve sent him HQPlayer logs of HQPlayer playing DSD256 files with and without Roon (I can see nothing obvious on them) but havenāt heard back from him yet.
Thanksā¦Iāve heard from a number of people who all seem to be experiencing the same thing. Happens every time for meā¦so hopefully shouldnāt be too hard for Brian and Jussi to figure out. Obviously both are doing a bunch of testing before they each release the next versions. I want to do some more experimenting tomorrow to see what if any factors in the machine configurations might affect this.
If possible, it would be good for me to see the DSD256 issue before we release another build. That way if it is on our end, weāll have a chance to fix it and avoid another round of this.
Iāve so far been unable to reproduce any issues with DSD256, other than the āseekbar freezes after 3:10 and then playback eventually haltsā problem.
DSD256 playback is working fine for me using 3.13b3 right now (Roon + HQP running on Windows 8.1 using iFiās ASIO driver).
Do I need to anything besides starting playback of a DSD256 file? Are there particular filters/settings that are associated with the problem?
Mac OS 10.11.3 / Mac Mini 2012 / Roon 1.1 build 99 / HQplayer 3.13.0b2 / Cubox-i NAA - Jussiās 311 cubox-i build / IFI Micro iDSD - most recent firmware
DSD256 output (11289600 bit rate), any Filter, and Modulatorā¦doesnāt matter.
DoP or no DoP
Any DSD256 file plays fine straight out of HQplayer, but stutters initially (off and on for the first 15 seconds or so) when played from Roon to HQplayer. I get the exact same thing regardless of whether I use my NAA or go straight from the computer to the DAC.
I get the same thing if I downsample the DSD256 file to DSD128 and send it to my Auralic Vega. Perfect when dropped directly into HQplayerā¦stuttering when played from Roon to HQplayer.
Robert
Mac OS latest upgrade / Mac Pro 3.5 6-core / RoonServer 1.1 build 99 / HQplayer 3.13.0b3 / ExaSound Playpoint with HQPlayer NAA / ExaSound e22 - most recent firmware
Same results as Robert with DSD256 source files except that quite often it never settles down to play (keeps stuttering). Same for all filter/modulator combinations or with direct SDM.
Same results with 352.8PCM source files when output as DSD256 11.3 or 12.3.
All lower sampling rates - from 44.1 to 192 PCM, DSD64, DSD128 - play fine without significant hesitation output as DDSD256 11.3 or 12.3.
All problems vanish when I remove Roon from the chain and play with HQPlayer alone. Plays like a dream.
My HQP log files (sent to Jussi) comparing playing DSD output with and without Roon seem to show no difference in processes between the two.
I note that @zorntel and I both use Mac OS.
Craig
Just had a disconnect halfway through a song playing a whole dsf album playing as DSD128, using Roon build 99 with HQP 3.13b3
EDIT: Just disconnected on radio, first song (16/44.1) after the dsf album finished. @brian FYI.
@anon94274355, that sounds like it could be the one we tracked down earlier in the week (fix is not released yet).
The fact that @Peregrino sees this with 352.8k files suggests that this is related to data rate, not DSD format.
Iām ignoring NAA for the time beingāthis issue seems to happen both with and without it. Also, if playback works through HQPlayer -> USB but not with HQPlayer -> NAA, itās not likely to be a problem on the Roon side.
I set up a mac with an exaSound DAC today, since itās one that we know is associated with problems. At first it was pretty stable, but after a little while, I started getting drops.
I confirmed that Roonās buffers werenāt drainingāwe have at least 10s of audio in RAM at all times, and the storage (dsf files on local SSD in my case) wasnāt causing a bottleneck.
One interesting observation: if I kill Roon forcibly, HQPlayer keeps playing for a brief moment before it runs out of audio. This is about 1/2s for DSD256, and ~4s for 44.1k/16. Itās concerning that the bufferās length (measured in time) changes based on the materialāthis may explain why DSD256 is less stable. Iām going to contact Jussi and see what he thinks.
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Many thanks Brian.
Just one thing. You write:
āAlso, if playback works through HQPlayer -> USB but not with HQPlayer -> NAA, itās not likely to be a problem on the Roon side.ā
Maybe I misunderstand your point, but I thought we both said playback works through HQPlayer -> NAA, just not with Roon -> HQPlayer -> NAA; and @zorntel also said the same applied using USB direct from the computer. (I havenāt tried it without NAA because of logistics of my setup).
My point is, we have reports with and without NAA, so itās likely that NAA is not a factor. I wasnāt trying to represent the whole chain in that sentence.
My secondary point was: even if NAA is a factor, differences in behavior between HQPlayer->USB and HQPlayer->NAA arenāt really for us to sort out.
Okā¦here is some more data, Brian and Jussi. When I run Roon from a mac and send the DSD256 file to a Windows 7 machine running HQplayer 3.12 (either connected directly to an IFI micro iDSD or via a linux NAA), the file starts right awayā¦no stuttering. SOā¦the problem is either how the mac version of roon sends the DSD256 file (incidentally it still stops at the predicable place)ā¦or how the mac version of HQplayer receives the file.
Hope that helps!
Robert
Ok last piece of information on the DSD 256 stuttering with roon. I brought up a Linux Ubuntu studio 14. 04 machine this weekend to run HQ player (3.12}. It also does not stutter when I feed it files from roon (1.1 b99} running on my Mac. So it appears to be an issue only with the Mac running HQ player when receiving files from the Mac running roon. DSD files still stop on the second track after the 3:20 roon freeze, however. All tests done using a naa on Linux with.either IFI Micro iDSD at DSD256 or Auralic Vega with DoP at DSD128.
Brian, It would be really helpful if you could please check the ongoing discussion about this problem at:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/roon-hqplayer-integration-26975-new/
Is the fact that I am using RoonServer rather than ānormalā Roon (on the same Mac Pro as HQPlayer) likely to be causing MORE of a problem?!
Craig