Roon + HQP - Hiccups and jitters

Hi I am using Roon and HQP with Tidal. I am on Windows 10. Mostly everything works great but seemingly, out of nowhere I get bad transmission/ jitters. My set up is: iPad for control , CPU with USB to a Lampizator 7. Is this the best way to configure or do I need to consider something else in the stream?
Brian

Hi Brian,

There are multiple potential causes of audio dropouts. This KB Article may help.

There are a few questions that might help to narrow down the issue in this case:

  • Do you only notice this issue with Tidal files meaning that local files play OK ?

  • What is the spec of the computer running the Core ?

  • Is HQP on the same machine ? If not, what is that computer spec ?

  • What type and resolution are the files you are playing ? What filter and output settings are you using in HQP ?

  • Where are your music files stored ?

  • What router or switches are you using in your network ? Are you using any Ethernet over Power devices ?

If the issue is confined to Tidal files then people have found that changing their DNS (Domain Name System) Server can solve problems associated with their ISP server. I use the Google Public DNS Servers.

Hi Andy,

No I get it both with my files and Tidal

This CPU is running latest version of Windows 10
64 bit
Processor: AMD A4-7300 with Radeon 3800 graphics card

HQP is on same CPU

PCM-poly-sinc-XLR

192

All music is on hard drive in this same CPU under ‘music’

Also only Ethernet is to wifi modem.

Hi Brian,

That CPU seems a [shade under an Intel i3 4130] (http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-4130-vs-AMD-A4-7300) in power.

I don’t see an XLR filter in HQP. Do you mean xtr ? If so it is the most CPU intensive filter in HQP. I’d suggest trying the following:

  • Is Multicore DSP selected in HQP Settings ? Try it both on and off and see which is better. Sometimes off can be better with a dual core CPU as there is an overhead associated with multicore processing;

  • Try some other filters in HQP;

  • Try upsampling in Roon’s DSP Engine instead of HQP. Roon has more efficient upsampling algorithms compared to HQP. The Precise filters in Roon have a similar design to the xtr filters in HQP, although the HQP filters are longer.

Hi Andy, thanks for the help. I didn’t realize this computer was on the low side for Roon specs. I want to upgrade it if it is deficient. Should I upgrade this box or go with ROCK? Not sure which direction is best?
Brian

Also multi ore DSP was selected. I turned it off and it seems better so far…

Brian

I think if you were to upgrade then you’d be wanting a new CPU and motherboard, which is pretty much a new box.

ROCK doesn’t enable you to run HQP on the same machine. ROCK takes over the machine and runs RoonServer exclusively. You can run HQP on another machine, but you wouldn’t buy two computers in order to do that, better to get one that can run both.

If you’re not wedded to HQP then you may not need to upgrade immediately. I think your current machine could upsample to 192 kHz in the Roon DSP Engine. Worth trying.

Having said that, any of the ROCK capable i5 NUCs will upsample to 192 kHz in Roon all day long without breaking a sweat.

If you were to consider a ROCK NUC as Core, then I’d encourage you to look at a network endpoint as well, instead of a direct USB connection between the Core and the Lampi DAC. A network endpoint enables some isolation from the inherently noisy computer environment.

If you wanted to retain HQP capability, then any upgrade should take into account your intended use. Upsampling to 192 kHz PCM or greater with HQP using the xtr filters will be fine with an i5. Once you start looking at upsampling to DSD 256 or DSD 512 using xtr filters then you will want a current i7 and a good nVidia graphics card for CUDA offload.

By way of example, you can see the parts list for my current server for Roon and HQP here. If you were interested in that sort of build then you would probably find a computer shop able to assemble and install everything for you if you bought through them. I enjoy
assembling them myself, but not everyone does. Even with this fire breather I have to use the xtr-2s version when upsampling to DSD 512.

But if you weren’t ever interested in upsampling to high DSD rates in HQP then an i5 running Windows 10, RoonServer and HQP is what I’d suggest. I also like the microRendu as a network endpoint.

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Thanks for all that information. I may have solved the dropout issue, at least for now; by turning off DSP in HQP. It resulted in way better Sonics, so far. I think I will eventually get an upgraded box. You mention i5 ? Wouldn’t i7 be better? Or does it matter. .? You may have gathered by now I am not a computer guy. :wink: I am more of a music guy. Discussing the virtues of post bop vs. bop is more my thing.).

Brian

Duh, I reread you email explaining i5 vs i7. Sorry for that last email…
Brian

No worries.

An i7 costs more to buy, run and cool and can be noisy if fans are used. If an i5 can handle your current and anticipated future requirements then it can be preferable.