I’ve been running HQPlayer with the following setup for the past couple of years:
MacBook Pro M2
Parallels / Debian Linux 12 / BlackHole 2CH
HQPlayer 5 (DSD256)
T+A DAC 200
Everything worked perfectly until my kids got older and started using the machine for their own music. That eventually turned into a complete mess in the system settings, and now nothing works properly anymore.
At this point, I can either spend endless hours trying to fix everything—only to have it potentially broken again in a few weeks—or I can upgrade to a simpler, more reliable setup.
As far as I remember, the main reason for running Debian in Parallels was to avoid some CoreAudio issues on macOS.
So my first question is:
If I install HQPlayer Embedded inside the VM but keep the rest of the setup the same, would that actually simplify things?
I’ve also been looking at network streaming devices like the Holo Red.
Would something like that eliminate the need for the VM entirely?
For example: MacBook Pro → Holo Red → T+A DAC 200
Part of me feels that might be overkill, but maybe it’s the cleaner long-term solution.
Another option would be replacing the MacBook with a dedicated PC, but the family is used to Macs, so I’d really prefer not to go down that road.
My final question:
Does anyone have a simpler setup idea?
I don’t mind spending money if it means getting something that is easy to maintain and less likely to be broken by family use.
Let’s assume the ideal end goal would be DSD512 playback, which probably means I’d eventually upgrade the Mac to something like an M5 anyway.
Really appreciate everyone’s advice and experience here.
My main HQPlayer (embedded) setup uses a burly PC with GPU, and a Holo Red NAA endpoint connected to a Holo May, DSD512. But I have also another setup elsewhere with a Mac Mini M1, HQPlayer Desktop networked to a miniPC running NAA feeding DSD256 to another Holo May.
Define “simple”? My idea isn’t exactly simple, but it sounds better. Buy a fanless PC, for example, from Cirrus7 and install the HQPlayer OS (Embedded) on it. It’s extremely lightweight (about 20 processes) and has a real-time Linux kernel or at least something close to it. With this, you can run DSD1024 with the DAC200, which I highly recommend. You can also build your own high-performance audio PC. I’ve written a guide here:
Very good idea - lets break it further down - fixed setup:
MacBook Pro (family knows how to use it) → TBD → DAC200.
For TBD we have several options:
What I have today is parallels VM with Debian. Could I replace Debian with HQPlayer OS (Embedded) in the VM? That would probably make things already “simpler”. This would mean no HQPlayer Desktop? Just route the signal into the VM from Apple Music? Might got this wrong here
Are we saying a mini PC could be the TBD? So MacBook Pro → Mini PC → DAC200?
Would be amazing to solve this without necessarily adding more hardware - open for other ideas
Thinking again about your question, my recommendation would be to separate HQPlayer into its own server (yes, more hardware…) so that there’s no risk your family will scramble the setup. @StreamFidelity ‘s suggestion of using a Cirrus7 with HAPlayer OS is very reasonable. I’ve heard great things about those boxes, although I was never able to get one (I tried!) from the US.
On the other hand, you prefer to manage Macs, which makes sense. A suitable Mac Mini could also do the job, but in my setup the Mac Mini is just a server, with the DAC being driven by a NAA endpoint (mini PC). You could try to connect the Mac Mini to your DAC with USB, but you mentioned possible issues with Core Audio. I suspect those arise when the Mac is being used for multiple purposes, that is, when you want audio from other Mac apps to function as normal. That would not be an issue with a dedicated Mac Mini, if properly configured.
For example on my MacBook Pro, I have normal macOS audio going to the built-in Mac audio hardware. Only HQPlayer has access to the external DAC. This way there is no issue with regular macOS audio and HQPlayer in parallel (since the default output device is not the DAC).
No, I don’t see a reason why I would use a VM instead of running HQPlayer natively. VMs just add a lot of latency and overhead, so not a best choice for realtime applications.
I just set it up like this and yes it is working but wasn’t there something on a MAC why we needed the VM? I cant recall this anymore? Also the DAC200 is now saying DOP 256 (if I switch off DOP then I see PCM 7xx) instead of DSD. Here are my settings. @jussi_laako THANKS
“SDM pack” should be set to “DoP” here. As CoreAudio doesn’t natively support DSD. So DoP method is needed to work around this limitation when playing through CoreAudio.
My idea isn’t exactly simple, but it sounds better. Buy a fanless PC, for example, from Cirrus7 and install the HQPlayer OS (Embedded) on it. It’s extremely lightweight (about 20 processes) and has a real-time Linux kernel or at least something close to it. With this, you can run DSD1024 with the DAC200, which I highly recommend. You can also build your own high-performance audio PC. I’ve written a guide here:
