I’m running Roon Server (headless) on an old i5 NUC with Debian 12 OS.
But in the early Roon days I used to run Roon on iMac, since I controlled it locally, not from iPad.
I am using the M4 only for HQP. Roon and HQPlayer NAA is running on my Rhein Z1 Plus server. I also have the Holo Audio Spring 3 L2 
Thanks to both of you!
Hope you both have a great holiday season!
Nick
Can you try if your Mac Mini M4 can run DSD512x48 - ASDM7EC-super 512+fs - poly-sinc-gauss-long/hires lp without stuttering? Thanks
Have you noticed any performance improvement when running Roon server on separate PC vs running it on the same PC with HQP server?
I’ll give you a generic answer and it also goes to why I prefer to run on Linux…
HQPlayer is on the cpu the entire time during playback and most of what it does, all of what does, is extremely time dependent. In fact, it might even run better on a non-preemtive OS but those are tricky beasts. If the OS preemps HQPlayer you get dropouts. I don’t know what @jussi_laako does to control this but if HQPlayer is the only thing running, or one of the very few things running, you get more consistent performance and especially if your configuration is already high utilization of the cores. Now, there is some advantage in the Performance vs Efficiency core architecture if you keep other things, like Roon, on the E cores and let HQPlayer own the P cores but I don’t know how to control that on anything but Linux.
All very configuration and architecture dependent though.
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Maybe I’ll keep the Mac Mini M1 running Roon and move HQPlayer to the M4.
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I will check this a bit later and return to this topic. I haven’t got much time to play with the M4 machine, since I’ve been busy on other things and my TODO-list is so long that I’d like to get some more items marked done, so that it doesn’t grow too big.
I will also try to get M4Pro at some point, but for now I have the most basic Mac Mini M4 model.
If Roon is configured to throttle scanning and such as much as possible, it doesn’t have huge load implications. But machines like the original Mac Mini M1 are pretty tight running HQPlayer algorithms without too much spare. Base M4 adds two more efficiency cores, which helps a bit.
If you remote control Roon and don’t run local GUI, it is more reasonable on load. For local GUIs, Roon can get pretty heavy (and HQPlayer Client can get pretty heavy too) on the GPU. So if you have a local GUI with both and the GPU is not most powerful one, it may be beneficial to split GUI and HQPlayer CUDA offload to separate GPUs. For example using Intel integrated GPU for display/Roon/Client and Nvidia GPU for offload. Or two Nvidia GPUs, like 4060 for display and something bigger for offload. If you have something like 4090, then I wouldn’t worry much about the GPU load from Roon/Client.
This is mostly thanks to significant multitasking improvements Nvidia has been doing over past couple of GPU generations. In the earlier days, GPU was practically rebooted each time there was a task switch. Nowadays, the GPU practically runs a proper multitasking OS. This is one of the things not apparent from the specifications, but something you really notice in practical use cases.
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Hello Jussy
So for that you would have to go directly into the munu of Hplayer Control or Server???
I’m not sure I’m with the correct context… But you could add internet radios as library playlists, for example through Client. And select those from Client for playback.
Hello Jussi
would you have a screenshot to show me because I can’t see how to proceed at all???
For example here I have uploade my di.fm favorite channels as .pls playlist and then saved it as “DI.FM” in HQPlayer library:
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Stable, cero droppings
sinc-MGa, ASDM7EC-ul
SDM: DSD512x48
DAC correction: on
Music: Jazz, Classical
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inspired by @Moy earlier experiments I’m finding this combo very interesting poly-sinc-ext3 / ASDM7EC-ul 512+fs. The somewhat ligtness of “UL” compensates the “fattness” of “ext3”. Been sticking to this combo for a while with rock/prog/jazz
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Yay! So inspiring to inspire you! I really like the combo too! Is my base for enjoying such type of music. As you mentioned the ul modulator sounds more balanced.
Edit:
I am using the super version but your suggestion with ul is more balanced for this music.
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I have dome quite a number of comparisons, but only using my ears. It started already when I had two different machines but wanted to go to single. That is when I found that HQPlayers built in player, configured using the HQP Client software included in complete HQP software suit, outplayed the Roon quite clearly. I progressed with my single pc setup and discovered that well in place, the Roon caught up again with HQPlayers player section when using the local host communication. When I today go back, after yet a bunch of transmission isolations the HQPlayer player again seems to outperfom the Roon. Have no explanations, just my observations. The difference is now much smaller than before, and since the Roon software is so much more pleasent to use, I remain in the Roon circle, to keep me uptodate as the company I work for is using the Roon software in their products. I wish I had a windows tablet or perhaps an Apple, to run HQP Client, the Android apps simply make me scream. I am not a fan of the HQP Client either to be honest, but after a couple of weeks with just this option I leraned how to manage. The problem is that nothing is self-explanatory self-explanatory on that intuitive manner as Windows become after years of use. There is a threshold getting close to the HQP software, but thankfully I am out of the darn Linux swamp I got stuck in for years in HQP4 Embedded. You should go on and try the paths for yourself. I have found that when going deep into SQ, the HQPlayer Client makes the best result, but not so sexy to use.
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Thanks for sharing. I do have similar experience with HQP Client vs Roon when playing music through HQP. Roon doesn’t sound quite as good. Same with JPLAY, which I tried recently in combination with Minimserver.
What I haven’t tried myself, and what would be quite a task to demo, is having Roon server on same server than HQP server (my current configuration) vs having Roon on its dedicated server running Roon Rock and HQP running on its own server as embedded. That’s why I’m asking.
If you use a separate downstream NAA endpoint with USB audio output, you isolate noise via an Intona and/or shielded Ethernet, and you do absolutely no DSP in Roon, then it will sound exactly the same.
Edit - I meant unshielded Ethernet.
Not in my experience.
I do exactly that. Hqplayer desktop → network switch sfp+ → fitlet3 NAA → usb to intona → dac.
I also have in other rooms/systems that connects cat6a to RPI4 as NAA → usb yo intona → dac
Roon still sounds different than using jplay iOS
Ok. Given that you use an Intona and thus USB audio, do you think that residual noise and/or jitter from upstream is still getting through the Intona and DAC clock, or that Roon is changing the bitstream?