I will most likely be selling the mscaler. I am also evaluating a new device from Audiowize… the SRC-DX. It allows owners of dual coax Chord dacs to get the full potential of HQPlayer and advanced filters without the mscaler. It takes the usb out and converts it to dual coax. It also uses the usb power so no wall warts needed and the possibility of ground plane noise.
1 Like
You find a lengthy discussion and lots of explanations in the Audiophile Style forum.
This forum is a good resource for HP Player support themes.
Jussi has spent considerable time there for all kind of insights into HQ Player.
1 Like
I had the same experience. With DSD512, the track skips if I use ASDM7EC, but HQP works well and sounds great with AMSDM7 512+fs .
1 Like
anyone can suggest if AMSDM7 512+fs is actually better than ASDM7?
How the subtle differences between various filters and modulators sound depends upon the gear, room and listener. On my system I preferred DSD7 256 +fs as I found it preserved more of the leading edge. I now prefer running DSD 256, poly-sinc ext2 and ASDM7EC.
The differences between ASDM7 512+fs and DSD7 256+fs, as I understand them, is that the first has greater adaptive capability (I am not sure when that might be required) and is a quasi multi-bit modulator. I expect that may make it better for some DACs and less suited to others.
The most anyone can say is to listen to a variety of combinations and use the ones that sound good to you.
What do you mean with “better”?
These modulator choices are rather individual selections.
Whatever you like “better” is better for you. Probably my choices are different to yours, but they are for sure not “better”.
I like the Audiophile Style HQP forum, though it often reads like a tech support message chain and can get really tedious. I have to skip through many many posts to find ones that are interesting or insightful into HQPlayer’s operation rather than about very detailed accounts of problems.
I think that is because HQP needs quite some tech and PC knowledge for operation at a satisfactory level.
It takes some time to find Jussi’s “lectures” on modulators and filters. I also think a bit less technical manual might be helpful.
1 Like
I’d like to see Roon become more integrated with HQPlayer, having HQP replace the Roon sound engine. And then have a less complex version of HQP options within the Roon interface. The diehards can continue with the computer science experiment if they wish, but I think both Roon and HQPlayer would benefit from a more user friendly integration and the improved sonics.
Agreed. That would be an ideal world.
HQ Player has many subscribers who don’t use Roon. Roon and HQ Player have quite different ideas about DSP. HQ Player (as you know) offers a wide variety of options, including some that are too computationally intensive for current consumer hardware. Roon aims at being computationally efficient so as to enable a wide variety of hardware to use the DSP.
My understanding is that there is no interest in Roon licensing HQ Player from either party.
The quest for the ideal shouldn"t blind us to the benefits of the existing implementation. Those who are uninterested in the ‘computer science experiment’ of HQ Player are likely to be satisfied with Roon’s current DSP, if they use DSP at all.
1 Like
I can only speak for myself. I find HQP to sound clearly superior to Roon’s sound. I don’t mind how HQP and Roon get along now, but I do think both HQP and Roon would benefit from combining more closely what they each do best. Not sure of the economics, but the user experience would be elevated for all, in my opinion.
I’m not suggesting doing away with the standalone HQP version, but rather creating a more user friendly version that’s integrated with Roon. I can operate HQP quite well, but feel many get turned off because of its complexity and then miss out on its amazing sound quality.
2 Likes
HQPlayer Embedded on my sonicTransporter i9 is quite simple. Even the user interface is fairly simple overall. There are still things to know but it is not hard.
I’d say 50% of those I recommend HQP to quit because it’s complex. I can operate HQP just fine now, but I stuck with the learning curve to get there.
I would like to be able to change HQP filters directly in the Roon iPad remote app.
1 Like
How can you use optical to the Chord DACs and still bypass their internal filter? I thought for Hugo 2 you need an input of at least 706k either through usb or dual coaxial.
at 705.6/768khz sampling input, chord dacs bypass their heavy lifting upsampling filter (wta1) and use a sequence of two lesser filters (poly + linear interpolation) to get to the final analog conversion frequency.
HQP input via USB or dual-coax (Audiowise SRC-DX) bypasses the wta1 and this shifts the internal fpga into a lower effort mode (and lower rf).
1 Like
The optical that @Daniel_Mance was referring to isn’t TOSlink.
to get 705.6/768khz optical into a chord dac requires an optical bridge using OPTO-DX.
I control my Win 10 PC and a Mac Labtop with Splashtop on an iPad.
My listening environment is two floors away from my Computers. With the help of Splashtop it is easy to control HQP on both PCs and to manage Roon from the iPad, plus any Computer noise is far away.
Yes, although before long one can reach a “set and forget” state.
My biggest challenge with HQP is no longer the complexity but its functionality. When I try to switch an ultraRendu between Roon-Ready and HQP, the USB handshake often is dropped (which may not be HQP’s fault, but it’s a problem regardless). HQP can’t be grouped with other endpoints. AFAIK tracking/pausing cannot be controlled from an IR remote.
After upgrading my DAC/Streamer and integrated amp, I’m finding the SQ with an ethernet connection (Router > ethernet > DAC/Streamer > RCA analog > amp), at up to DSD256, now is just about as good as I get with HQP (at up to DSD512). Still, I enjoy trying out the various HQP filters/modulators now and then.