It is documented in the manual’s filter table:
It is probably best choice for DSD1024 at the moment. With regular type modulators, DAC performance usually begins to degrade at DSD1024 with increased noise and distortion. While the AHM7EC8B uses different way to drive the D/A conversion stage which removes/reduces the negative side-effects of DSD1024 typically present.
This is DAC implementation dependent though, and not some simple digital domain thing. From pure digital domain point of view ASDM7EC-ul/light/fast/super (512+fs) would be better at DSD1024. So this is specifically related to properties and electronics behaviour of the DAC hardware. This was result of lot of development and objective measurements from the real world DAC analog outputs running specifically at DSD1024. If/when some day there’s a DAC that supports DSD2048, then it will be even better there.
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it seems from the drop in the efficiency cores load that you tweaked AHM7EC8B ; yet I still get erratic static. Sometimes I can enjoy gorgeous sound (most relaxed and natural ever) but then static again, most of the time very faint yet disturbing (to know it exists, mainly). What can I do ? number of blocks ? buffer ? etc what can I try ? could my Holo Red or Holo May show defects at that load? Tried with correction NOT enabled, quite a drop in load, in SQ too BTW, but still erratic static, like a clean vinyl that is never digital silent… Is it my Studio Max M1 that doesn’t cope ?
Sounds like you are getting lost USB packets. Are you running NAA OS 5.1.3 on Red? I would look into USB cable…
I don’t have my Red connected to any Holo Audio DACs at the moment though. But what I’ve tested it works fine with NAA OS.
I think I had updated to 5.1.3 ; anyway I Balenaetched anew. And swapped the Holo provided USB cable (might have come with the Spring I had prior to the May) for a Belkin saying “pro series optimum data transfer”. See I’m not a cryo quantum fairies made cable kind of guy ; yet there was harshness with the Belkin, maybe because I switched on and off the Holos after I lost connection (in fact was due to my slightly off ethernet cable that has lost its plastic clip when it went through a wall, secured with blu tack equivalent).
Still no luck. Faint static is NOT gone. Should I purchase a Supra USB cable ? else ? look elsewhere ?
I would look at the network side next. If 802.3x flow control (aka pause frames) is not properly functional on the network, it may cause issues. Less with NAA protocol version 5 (HQPlayer 5.x + NAA 5.x) than with protocol version 4 though.
You “Buffer time” is left to “Default” I assume? (this should work)
If you have some other device you could try temporarily as a NAA, such as a PC laptop or NUC, it would also help locating the potential issue.
Would you say that TA DAC 200 has currently the best DSD implementation on the market?
I’m going to try DSD1024 with the ASDM7EC shapers and report, but I’m afraid the Mac Mini won’t handle it
It is a very good one, and their 3100 series is probably even better, for significantly more money though. But I don’t want to go around stating what is “best”. For example Holo Audio also makes very good ones.
My Mac Mini M1 16GB can do DSD1024 with default filters and AHM7EC8B, with DAC correction… With ASDM7EC not.
M1 Max Studio 32GB same results, sent to Holo May… I still lean towards DSD256 with poly-sinc-long-lp and poly-sinc-short-lp with ASDM7EC-FAST.
DSD1024 with the same filters and AHM7EC8B sounds really good, but must be something with the ASDM7EC-FAST that keeps me going back to it. Before the FAST version was an option, I usually stuck with ASDM7ECv2. But there is a something with the FAST version that I really like.
I said it once before, I found that with the Holo May, the sound characteristics of the shapers are very noticeable.
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Thank you for your attention Jussi. I followed your suggestion and caused the whole village electrical grid to collapse. Well, probably a coincidence 
but nevertheless unnerving when it happens in the minute after backing up a USB key, etching NAA image on it, digging for the long out of use thunderbolt to ethernet dongle, etc… Anyway, my old MB Air as NAA has the same issues as Holo Red.
I once mentioned Apple TC in the path but it’s marginal and wifi relevant only ; main switch is my ISP box : Présentation de la Bbox Sensation NG+ Sagem 5330b - Bbox-Mag. It’s entry level (and promised optical fibre is 100 meters away only but not moving forward for months now). Nevertheless it pretends to work fine with no loss.
I’m stuck
pS btw what is that hqplyer listed as a device. Was listed under limited access and when I granted it full access I thought for a while I solved the issue but no and it just seems a ghost
using my MBP in screen sharing I launched PINGS from Studio’s Terminal
0% loss for RED, MB Air wifi connected and behind a VPN, wifi connected iPad, Time Capsule
100% loss (timeout) for the MBP (wifi) the Studio, and a what is it “Mac”
62 % loss (a window of work amidst timeout) for my iPhone
is it enlighting (for you) ? a firewall issue ?
Can’t be bothered to read all that but VPN and NAA don’t work together. At least HQP needs to get out through split tunneling.
OK, I suspect this is issue either source not keeping up, or with the May’s USB interface instead of something else.
You have HQPlayer OS running?
HQPlayer OS running ? Had it for sure when I used Embedded years ago ; as of now do you mean the NAA image ?
so, what do I do ?
Try I2S ? but you advocate against it.
What do you mean by source not keeping up ? network too slow ? else??
PS ping issues came from active stealth mode preventing pings. 0% packet loss when unchecked
HQPlayer OS appears as “hqplayer” device…
I don’t think I2S is going to help, IIRC, it is limited to DSD512 (at least from Red).
But I don’t know which USB interface you have in May. I have the “Gen2.0” and “Gen2.1” in my Holo DACs which both work fine. Both have the big USB3 type-B input connector, I believe based on XMOS.
HQPlayer computer doing the processing. But OTOH, if it can do DSD512 fine with ASDM7EC-fast, then DSD1024 with AHM7EC8B shouldn’t be an issue either, with same filters.
These kind of things shouldn’t exist within home network between devices. It means something more than a plain switch in the middle. But your screenshots look more like internet side things which are not important here.
Thank you very much Jussi. I have USB 2 connector on my May L2, same I had on Spring 3.
I have a GEN 2-RED appearing in the pop up menu but if I select it HQP processes fine but sends the data I don’t know where : no sound. So I select the line saying naa… Gen2.1…
FYI : the static I refer to sounds exactly (to my ears) like the static between tracks in DSD mode. It is almost unobstructive, a neglectable issue with DSD sources. I think AHM7EC8B can be a keeper for 2.0 64 DSD sources (with Mch I get static/short drop events once in a while but it does not seem that the increased load and bitrate trigger a static rampage). But I renounce using it with PCM sources, even RB and issue seems worse with increasing rates, most notably 192. But since it’s always a bit erratic, take it with a grain of salt.
is it a stupid idea to consider it a convolution files computation issue ?
I’ve just got into HQPlayer and have lost a few days cycling through different filters and shapers.
I bought a Mac mini M4 Pro to run this.
I’m looking for the best compromise if someone could chime in please.
I have a Holo May
My preference could change but at the moment I’m looking at for DSD using Sinc Mx. I would prefer ASDM7EC Super but I can’t get everything to run at the same time as the Mac freezes.
Which of these would be the better compromise?
Sinc Mx, ASDM7EC Super, DAC Correction ON, 48x256
OR
Sinc Mx, ASDM7EC Super, DAC Correction OFF, 48x512
OR
Sinc Mx, ASDM7EC Light, DAC Correction ON, 48x512
Wondering if DAC Correction is better than using a super filter, or if the super filter at 256 is better than light at 512.
On another note, I can return the Mac mini for a week. Would I be able to run all of the settings above I want if I got the 14 core CPU not the 12 core? Would more memory help (I have 26GB). Or would a base model M4 Max (also 14 core) work? Or the 16 core?
(If that last qn is too hard I can move it to a more appropriate thread)
Thanks!
The reason for your Mac freezing is probably sinc-Mx filter, which is quite heavy to run and takes a while to load. Try with Sinc-M for example. You might also want to try ASDM7EC-fast modulator in addition to Super and Light.
Anyway, there’s no best option. Use the settings which sound best to you.
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HQPlayer desktop is running on base model Mac mini M4 with 16gb. Holo Red is acting as NAA. My dac is Holo Audio Spring 3 (with Dac correction). Red and spring are connected using USB cable.
I am trying to get DSD 1024 to work (without short pauses) and use AHM7EC8B. Sofar it doesn’t work properly. Music stops playing shortly with different samplefrequency’s and bit depths.
What are the best filters to get this to work?
I have tried it with Gentooplayer and the naa-513-raspberrypi-holored image.
That’s the built-in DDC, so output will go to I2S/SPDIF/AES connectors.
Sorry, but I don’t really know what between tracks static you are talking about.
Convolution is not really related to output rates/format, but more to the source.