Terminator also has NOS mode…just to make the choice harder. 
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Pretty much, yes. HQP is heavy lift when it comes to CPU load…
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Very, very, very nice rack!
Oh and everything else is awesome too.
I’m so confused between HOLO MAY KTE & Terminator-Plus … This will be my one time investment for the next 5 - 7 Years minimum … I’m unable to find a comparison review between the two…
And I guess the computer has to be connected over ethernet for quality networking…
I don’t personally use HQPlayer, so can’t really comment on the optimal topology. Roon will talk to it over IP, regardless of running the HQPlayer server on the same computer as the Roon Core or on a different machine. (When on the same system, you point Roon at 127.0.0.1 (localhost) IP.)
HQPlayer can then output in various ways, much like Roon itself can. It can output to a locally connected USB device, or it can output over the network using the HQPlayer “NAA” protocol. The NAA endpoint then outputs via USB/whatever on the DAC device. The NAA endpoint doesn’t need to be a powerful system, since it’s just pushing bits from A to B, not doing any processing of the bits. RoPieeeXL on a RPi would be an NAA endpoint option, for example.
Assuming you have HQPlayer upsampling (rescaling? not sure what term the author prefers) to max rates, you will want to use Ethernet instead of Wi-FI, if that was what you were really asking about with “quality networking”. 768k PCM/DSD512 are ~50Mbit/s, so stressful over Wi-Fi.
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I don’t know anything about The Halo DAC so can’t offer any thoughts on it. Good luck!
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If I understand correctly Lumin U1 is not an NAA endpoint. It will be tricky to get HQP in my case if I try to get one.
Thanks. I designed the rack with 20” deep shelves vs 18” and the shelf extensions were sized to be able to accommodate the Roon Nucleus+ if I ever decide to move it to the rack. My previous rack was done by Timbernation as well. Decent prices and good quality.
That is a question best directed at @wklie.
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I have the Holo spring 2 and rockna wavelight.
Holo in NOS fed by hqplayer sounds great.
Rockna in NOS with no upsampling sounds better.
Rockna in NOS with Roon upsampling to DSD is even better.
Rockna in NOS with hqplayer upsampling was not so nice to me…
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Yep you’re right. Lumin does not do hqplayer naa at the moment.
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Correct…not at this time, but like anything this could change but I wouldn’t bet on it.
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You should listen to this album on that setup.
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Nuc7i5 running Roon Rock in Akasa fan-less case feeding PS Audio Perfect Wave II DAC going to Balanced Audio Technology VK-3ix pre to Marchand active crooss-over, feeding pair of Dayton Audio subwoofer amps driving pair of VMPS subwoofers and a Balanced Audio Technology VK-220 amp (mid-tweets), Odyssey Khartago amp (bass) driving VMPS RM-V60 speakers. Nice large two channel dedicated acoustically treated room.
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In the dungeon.
Mac Mini running Roon Bridge/HQPlayer
USB into Matrix X-SPDIF 2
Optical into TEAC UD-501 DAC
Integrated: Rogue Sphinx V3
Speakers: Magnepan .7’s.
(Turntable is a Thorens TD-126 II going straight into the Sphinx’s internal phono stage. Gotta admit, it’s a pretty good one.)
Really like this amp. Two 12A7 tubes make it sound unlike any Class-D amp I’ve ever heard. Sounds great into the Maggies.
I’d go NAA instead of Roon Bridge but I already have NAA on my Pi/RoPieee… and with several systems in the house, I hate having to remote into the Core each time I want to change the output within HQPlayer. I’ll do some listening tests, but not sure I’ll really be able to tell the difference.
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I always wanted some VMPS speakers and subs. I always remembered drooling over their ads in the back of the hifi mags back in the day.
My GIK setup was well worth it. Sound treatments were a very noticeable improvement for me.
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