HQPlayer running on another pc than the Roon Core

Audio Gear Talk HQ Player
1

Last try,

It is now end of June 2023 and HQPlayer 5 has arrived.

Has anyone by now created a simple working instruction to get Roon core (in my case running on a separate linux device in my network) to run on any windows pc in the network and produce music on any endpoint in the network?

The 30 min. trial time does not help experimentation a lot.

Or will this audio player remain the enigma it still is to me?

Regards,
Hans

2

Could you please clarify your setup, or desired setup?

I have at the moment 2 setups, of one is:

Roon Server (on Audiolinux server) to HQPlayer (on seperate Audiolinux server) to dac via NAA.

Should not be too complicated, but please note that Roon can play to different endpoints at the same time. HQPlayer can only play to 1 endpoint!

Dirk

3

Hi Dirk,

Thought something must be missing. I am completely new to NAA and how to implement this software.

My setup: (within the same network)

(1) Roon core (Rhein Z1 V2; I noticed that its successor, the Z1 plus, uses NAA and shows HQPlayer in its core operationg system Vitos. However my version does not have that.

(2) Windows PC running HQPlayer desktop/client

(3) other Windows PC running Roon remote and with an USB-attached DacMagic plus.

Am I asking the impossible?
Regards,
Hans

4

Alternative setup:

(1) Roon core (as above) + USB-attached DAC [operated by any Roon remote, e.g. iPad, etc.

(2) Windows PC running HQPlayer desktop/client

5

Hans

To start with, you do not need NAA! It can improve sound quality but it is not required.
And you can always add one later.

Now to your setup (without NAA):

  1. If you want to use HQPlayer, your dac needs to be connected to the Windows PC running HQplayer.
    In HQplayer configuration you must select your dac in Output.

2l In Roon, you have to add HQPlayer as endpoint. You can do that in Roon Settings - setup.
As your HQplayer server is another machine, you need to findout its ip-address (e.g. in Windows command line - cmd prompt- and then command ipconfig)

In Roon you enter the ip-address of the HQPlayer server (iso localhost).

It is strongly recommended to make use of wired connections (if necessarry via extra network switch) between router and your 2 servers.

For remotes, you can use whatever you want: Windows PC , smartphone /tablet, ‘.
If you wan to use a Windows laptop e.g. just download and install Roon. During installation Roon asks you if you want to install Roon server or client.
Choose client, and finish installation.
Your remote should find your Roon server automatically (if up and running of course)
Remotes can connect via wifi.

Try to do this in this order.
If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask.
Screenshots are always a big help.

Dirk

6

Ok, I’ll try to run HQPlayer on thet PC. It is/was on another pc and I think I need to release it first in my account with Signalyst. Now, the software will not run on that pc.

7

If you are runing the test version, best uninstall and re-install on other PC.

8

It is entirely possible.

In (3) you would have HQPlayer NAA (networkaudiod) binary running. That allows HQPlayer in (2) to access your DAC connected to (3).

1 Like
9

Hi gentlemen,

A bit belated because I caught the flu.
Thanks for the good and clear advice.

I believe that in my case I can only use HqPlayer in my office HiRes setup.
A bit too much of an investment for now.

I will continue this at a later stage.

Thanks a lot,
Hans

P.s. the 30 min. trial period is too nerve breaking to experiment with settings before spending a reasonable amount of money. Jussi, can this change in the future?

10

It is 30 minutes of use and then you need to restart the player for another 30 minutes and so on. For 30 days. It should be enough to figure out if it is good for you…

On purpose 30 minutes is a bit shorter than a regular album.

2 Likes
11

Sorry Jussi,

I gave up…

Regards,
Hans

12

Do you mean directly connected like a USB connection or just connected on the same network?
For instance, both roon core on a NUC and HQ player running on another more powerful computer connected to the same network switch and the roon end point connected to the same network but located in a different room of the house.

13

When you use HQPlayer, either on the same machine or on a different server on your network, HQPlayer = your Roon endpoint.

HQPlayer either talks (connects) directly to your DAC, e.g. via (but not limited to) usb,
or via its own NAA (Network Audio Adapter).

This has to be configured in the HQPlayer settings (ip-adress:8088).

Dirk

14

So there is no way to get the HQ player PC a good distance from the DAC to keep noise levels down in the listening room?

15

Yes there is, HQPlayer NAA
There is a dedicated topic HQPlayer NAA thread here on the Roon forum.

There is also a dedicated thread on the Audiophile style forum.

You can also find more info on signalyst.com, the official HQPlayer website

As an example, I am doing exactly that by means of an Holo Red box (1000€ in Europe)
(Far)Cheaper solutions do exist, as explained in the before mentioned threads

Dirk

16

Gotcha, Ok so within Roon no but if you set the Red up in NAA you can. I just picked up the Red recently but have only used it as a Roon endpoint or bridge (I often get the terminolgy confused) going to my Holo May KTE. How difficult is it to switch from Roon to NAA on the Red and which is the correct version of HQP I should be looking at? Desktop or Embedded, Windows or Linux? Sorry for the newb questions and I really appreciate the help.

17

You disable the Red output at Roon side (you cannot have two applications having exclusive access of one device), and point HQPlayer at the Holo Red. And you have Roon ↔ HQPlayer already functional, that’s it.

Alternatively you can also download my NAA OS image, burn it on microSD, swap that one into Red (when powered down), power it up and it is ready to go.

1 Like
18

There are different possibilties, depending on what you want.

To start with HQPlayer, both Desktop and Embedded are functionally the same, except for one major difference:
HQPlayerEmbedded has builtin upnp-renderer capabilities.
That means that other music players, such as Mconnect, Jplay for IOS, Audirvana, Lumin,… can also stream to HQPlayerEmbedded.
This does not work with HQPlayer desktop.

If you using a dedicated system for HQPlayerEmbedded, the easiest way is to use HQPlayerOS image,which you can burn on an usb stick (16GB at least if I remember well). Setting the bios to boot from your usb stick and you are good to go.
More detailed info on signalyst.com and the 2 fora that I referred to earlier.
HQPlayerOS will run HQPlayerEmbedded, and is managed through a webbrowser imnterface.

No real linux knowledge required.

If you are reluctant, or have strong preference for Windows or mac, choose for HQPlayer Desktop.

Related to HoloRed as NAA, you have again 2 main options.

  1. Either you go with the software delivered by Holo Audio, which let’s you switch between different functionalities, of which one is HQPlayer NAA.
  2. if you only will use Holo Red as HQPlayerNAA, it is better to use Jussi’s (developper HQPlayer) dedicated NAA image. You will need to burn the image on a similar micro ssd card as the one that comes with the Holo Red (keep the original as is, do not overwrite!)
    When you power on the Holo red with this micro ssd inserted, it will boot and that’s all there is to it.

Configuration of HQPlayer is done via webbrowser, using the ip-address of the HQPlayer server and port 8088
E.g. 192.168.0.240:8088

Hope this helps (a bit)
Dirk

2 Likes
19

Thanks guys