Hi. Excuse my newbie question.
I currently use Roon on a NUC (ROCK). I use it to stream from my Lumin U2 streamer, then the streamer is connected to my T+A Dac 200.
Then DAC 200 is connected to integrated amp.
I would like to install HQ Player embedded on a separate NUC and integrate it with Roon.
Where in the chain should I put the NUC with HQ Player installed on it?
Thank you.
The Last one before the endpoints.
As the Lumin U2 is not HQP NAA-capable, please tell me what you think his audio signal path looks like. NUC USB to T+A USB input?
Cheers.
So, between the DAC and amp? I am using balanced connection between the DAC and the amp. How would that work if I connect the DAC output to the NUC that is running HQ?
You drop the Lumin completely go Roon NUC ethernet to hqplayer PC then usb to T+A.
Keep in mind that to get DSD 512 and higher into the T+A it either needs to be fed by a PC running Windows and the appropriate T+A driver, OR, Linux PC with Kernel 4.4 or higher only (as noted on T+A product webpage). I"m not sure what @Jussi is using for Embedded which means, you might need to run the appropriate Linux distro .
I’d worry that it would be underpowered to run HQPlayer at high rate DSD with some of the filter / modulator combinations.
Edit, or you drop NUCs completely. Build a big PC that will run Roon AND HQPlayer, then go ethernet to something like a Holo Red and then USB to the T+A. This would personally be my choice, since the Red provides both Roon and NAA endpoint options. Again, no Lumin in sight.
HQPlayer OS for example works fine (6.1 kernel), or one of the supported Linux distributions.
Or one of the NAA’s as network endpoints for HQPlayer. For example Holo Red works fine. And Red running my NAA OS image should work up to DSD1024.
Yes Lumin need not be in the mix. Probably a money saving move (if you can sell the Lumin)
UPNP control point on your phone to Embedded PC. Done.
I didn’t want to mention it in my first post but I do exactly what you mentioned: Custom built PC that has Roon / HQplayer Desktop / HoloAudio Red / I2S to DAC/
14700K / 64gb DDR5 / 4070 Super / REW Convolution files. It creates a wonderful sound.
When you say a “big PC”, what do you have in mind? I need to pu this pc in my AV rack. I don’t want to have something that will generate a lot of noise and heat.
I don’t want to install a super big PC in my living room. Any other hardware suggestions?
Depends on what filters and modulation you like to use. To put into perspective, my raspberrry pi 5 OC’d to 3100hz can run HQplayer DSD256x48 7ECUL with default filters with convolution.
I don’t tinker with filters anymore after gone through the entire exercise of comparing filters, the default are just excellent allrounder that sounds great with anything you throw at them.
I do have a 13600K desktop PC with a 3080TI that has no issues with DSD512x48 with any 7EC modulators and pretty much any filters other than maybe Sinc L…
Also you can install your big pc in another room and simply use a small pc like a raspberry pi 4 as the NAA connected to your dac in your living room
For many practical configurations also Mac Mini with M2Pro should be good. Hopefully they update it to M3Pro soonish. For regular DSD256 output also basic Mac Mini 16 GB works fine. These are also compact and quiet.
For headless also some suitable PC running HQPlayer OS is good options. But there are so many possible variations for PCs that one would need to know a bit more about the goals to come up with something specific.
My goal is to be able to upsample Tidal stream to DSD 1024 (since my DAC supports it).
Then it is best to start with something like i9-14900K or 14900KS, fast DDR5 RAM and for example RTX 4070Ti Super, 4080 Super or 4090 GPU… You may still need to overclock it a bit.
Please remember that every doubling of output sampling rate at least doubles or quadruples the load. So you reach pretty high demands quickly…
DSD512 is easy though…
You don’t it belongs outside the listening area. What you put in the listening area is an NAA endpoint like the Holo Red as an example.
what is your custom build PC?
As has been stated, you only need to have the NAA in your room, e.g., HoloAudio Red.
Where can I download the NAA OS to install on Red?