HQPlayer NAA thread

Audio Gear Talk HQ Player
1

@jussi_laako I’m using macOS NAA.

I just updated to new macOS12 and just reporting macOS NAA works fine!

I need macOS NAA in that particular listening zone for 8ch audio over HDMI, Mac is connected to AVR.

AVR is used as 8ch DAC+amp with remote volume control, with DIY DSP active speakers (2.2 channels).

Audiolense created the DSP XO and room correction convolution filters, imported into HQPlayer Embedded Matrix.

8ch audio over HDMI with NAA OS or HQP OS doesn’t work , so I rely on macOS NAA.

So I need you to keep macOS NAA supported! :grinning: All is well with macOS 12.

I’d love for NAA OS or HQP OS to added support for HDMI audio (Intel driver) but for now, macOS NAA is functioning reliably.

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It is sort of tricky part, because on HDMI video output and audio go together. With some annoying dependencies. For example available audio bandwidth depends on your display resolution. This is because audio is transmitted in V-sync period at pixel clock rate. Also audio clocks are generated from the pixel clock.

HQPlayer OS and NAA OS try to keep the video side quiet which is one big source of interference in computers.

Another option is to run Ubuntu or Fedora and have networkaudiod package installed there.

networkaudiod package exists for macOS and Windows to deal with special cases.

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Any technical reason why this would be any different to macOS?

I can only think of one - if one day you stop supporting macOS NAA.

Unless you mean Ubuntu Desktop is less “noisy” than macOS ?

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At least native DSD support and possibility to have much lighter OS.

You can install Ubuntu with some very slim desktop. Or Linux Mint which is light variant of Ubuntu Desktop. I’m writing this on a very low power laptop with “Pentium Silver” CPU (Atom class), running Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop.

You can also scale down Fedora Workstation to XFCE, LXDE, Cinnamon or similar light desktop:
https://spins.fedoraproject.org/en/

If you want to run HQPlayer Desktop under it’s truly “native” environment, get KDE PLASMA (not light at all though). Since KDE PLASMA uses same GUI toolkit.

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@jussi_laako, which special cases are those?

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I use it to access my exaSound e28 DAC remotely, since I don’t have exaSound NAA and they don’t have Linux driver available. And it may be useful if you have AVR hooked up to a Mac Mini over HDMI (for video playback). Or something like that.

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Git it, thanks @jussi_laako.

Btw, your HQPlayer sounds awesome out of the 2012 MM with sinc-Mx LNS15 → USB → Linn Klimax DSM/3 (latest Organik version).

The HQP software is very user friendly, I just installed it from the downloaded files, and works first time for me.

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My use case described above
is special

Same Mac is used for video playback where audio goes through convolver

I could use that convolver also for music but prefer HQPlayer for critical music listening

Plus HQP allows for other audio inputs for all sorts of other sources that i use

So having macOS NAA is essential for me in that system that is not only dedicated to HQP

Every year theres a new macOS release I pray macOS NAA works.

All good for another year with latest macOS

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Hello!

Is there any implemenation of NAA protocol for moOde audio renderer?

BR
Dirk

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Hi Jussi

Any reason you’re not using Xfce instead for Linux Mint?

Supposed to use less resources than Cinnamon? Or not really less in actual use?

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I like Cinnamon experience more. I don’t think there are significant differences in resource usage.

Mint comes with two main desktop flavors, Cinnamon and Mate.

Ubuntu Studio is XFCE based, but I abandoned it in more recent versions due to problems and went back to regular Ubuntu Desktop (which is GNOME 3 these days). But if you want HQPlayer Desktop in it’s “native” environment, KDE Plasma is the choice.

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12

Hi @jussi_laako

What hardware is iFi Zen Stream running on?

Can we run any of your NAA OS images on it?

To by-pass the problematic Volumio based OS that it comes with?

I don’t have as much faith in iFi with supporting their kernel/OS, compared with SmallGreenComputer’s Rendu’s for example, but the iFi hardware itself seems ok.

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I think it is something based on some Rockchip SoM.

I have mine switched to exclusive NAA mode and it has been working just fine.

No…

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It’s is a nice idea if it was possible.

Roon and HQPlayer seem to work really well on this device.

It’s the kernel and the other protocols that are really ropey. Not sure it will get much better in the near future.

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The micro/Ultra/optical Rendu series are really well supported and maintained by SGC / Andrew Gillis.

I don’t have the same trust with iFi (long term, as you hint too).

But I can understand that Jussi can’t support all the SoC’s on the planet.

Would be a different story if the iFi Zen Stream was based on an RPi4 internally but sadly isn’t.

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Yes I fully understand the lack of trust.
The hardware for the Zen Stream is very nice and the software has a lot of potential, which has not been met by iFi.
I am semi hopeful that V3 actually fixes some of these issues, but I gave up using mine for anything but Roon and testing HQP for when I have a nicer machine to run HQP OS/embedded on.

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Still struggle to change it to a new streamer as ZS does not support Adi-2 DSD256…

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Hi @jussi_laako

Does your Pi NAA image run on Pi Zero model?

Thanks

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I don’t know. If it’s same hardware as Pi4, then maybe yes. But I have vague memory that it would be still at Pi3 level.

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Yes. Don’t you supply pi 3 images anymore?