Which HQP Filter are you using? [2015-2023]

Stefano_Antonelli · May 9, 2022, 10:27am

You can find it here
https://www.signalyst.eu/bins/hqplayerd/images/
… the x64amd version

IgorSki · May 9, 2022, 10:30am

Qafro, about “my” software, all run in the same “headless” box:

Ubuntu Server 20.04.4 LTS with low latency kernel 5.13.0-30
Roon Server
HQPlayer Embedded AMD build hqplayerd_4.31.0-132amd_amd64.deb

qafro · May 9, 2022, 10:30am

Pls is the roonserver installed on the same NUC?

Stefano_Antonelli · May 9, 2022, 10:32am

No, using HQPlayer OS you cannot run anything else on Nuc
(and anyway I don’t use Roon at all)

IgorSki · May 9, 2022, 10:34am

Qafro, i strongly suspect, this issue is not at all related to HQP settings. Above you have tried already very “light” set up at DSD128, that must be accepted smoothly by your NUC CPU with out breaking a sweat.

qafro · May 9, 2022, 10:39am

Do I suspect Audio-Linux OS but I need to confirm. Therefore I need an OS to install Hqplayer and rooncore on NUC?

IgorSki · May 9, 2022, 11:47am

Qafro, strong reccomendation from many on this form including Jussi creator of HQPlayer is to try HQP OS image (please see several comments on this above with the links), this may serve as very good benchmark for performance and playback.

AudioLinux is a boutique system based on ArchLinux and to what I know for NUC’s is somewhat a challenge. Your sudden “stops” in blayback may be related to how Roonserver works with HQP inside this system. Jussi mentioned he does not work with this… consider this as “officially not tested”.

If you want to go “headless” - Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS on the other hand is one of several operating systems to which Jussi (uses) develops and tests HQPlayer software extensively. RoonServer works very stable as well.

I think we have created enough off-topic, Moderators may it make sense to move this conversation on HQPe performance to “hqp embedded” thread?

dabassgoesboomboom · May 9, 2022, 11:50am

Are you running trial version? Which stops after 30 minutes (this is normal).

Are you sure you uploaded the license key correctly?

qafro · May 9, 2022, 2:24pm

Full license and it runs over 1 hour sometimes, but I’ll try and install Ubuntu OS with Roonserver and HQplayer.
Try it out.

jussi_laako · May 9, 2022, 3:36pm

This is not a CPU load issue, but something else. Is this with streaming source or also with local content?

qafro · May 10, 2022, 2:46pm

Thanks, you all for resolving this issue - So far it seems that the original Linux was the target.

Ubuntu Server 20.04.4 LTS with low latency kernel 5.13.0-30
Roon Server
HQPlayer Embedded AMD build hqplayerd_4.31.0-132amd_amd64.deb
I’ve built the above, all good at the moment.

IgorSki · May 11, 2022, 12:40pm

Good! this set up has been working for me for a long time (as for many others) and it is rediculusly stable! My congratulations to you @qafro ! you’ve just opened a “pandora box” filled with new descoveries and emotions.

Going back to the original question of this topic - about the filters, for you and other possible NUC HQplayer users who will find this post, just for the reference…

With your Lampizator Atlantic SE+ DAC my reccomentation is to try PCM playback equally as DSD. PCM remains as personal preference to many HQp users. Your i7-10510U NUC should be able to digest pretty much all combinations of PCM Noise Shapers/Dithers + Filters @ 352.8/384 Khz (the higest your DAC can do, if I’m not mistaken, but your NUC CPU can go all the way up to 1,5MHz in PCM, if required, with very low CPU load)

For DSD/SDM a little of my HQPe NUC server experience. My i7-8665U can perform well with the following modulators (for starters, but not with all the filters) at SDM@256 (for DSD64/SACD and PCM 192/24 sources). I suggest you always try “7” and “5” class modulators as you may prefer one over the other for Lampizator:

ASDM7ECv2 / ASDM5ECv2 (extremely CPU demanding - at the edge of the performance)
ASDM7EC / ASDM5EC (slightly less CPU demanding as above)
ASDM7 / ASDM5 (relatively “light” for our NUC CPU’s)

As for the filters, with some of the above modulators @256 you should be able to run on your NUC (note on the HQPe web configuration page in the right top corner you have link for HQPe help, for more explaniations about the filters):

Without problems:

poly-sinc-*-2s - all of them easily for 1x and Nx
poly-sinc-gauss-short
poly-sinc-gauss
poly-sinc-gauss-long
poly-sinc-gauss-hires-lp - my personal preference for Nx rates
poly-sinc-gauss-hires-ip
poly-sinc-gauss-hires-mp - my personal preference for Nx rates
poly-sinc-ext
poly-sinc-ext2
poly-sinc-mqa-lp
poly-sinc-mqa-mp

The following filters play very well, but may require noticably long time to intialise and start playback:

poly-sinc-lp - very long time to start
poly-sinc-mp
poly-sinc-short-mp - my personal preferences for 1x rates

The following filters, reffered to as “XTR” are very CPU demanding, and less likely will run smoothely, but their “-2” versions, run very well, these are also personal preferences to many happy HQP users:

poly-sinc-xtr-…

I have not been paying too much attention to other remaining filters, including big “sinc-…” group, with probably one exception - “sinc-Ll”. I found this filter to be EXCEPTIONAL in my settings and to my ears and brain, but I can only run this with SDM@128, wich still sounds fantastic, especially for small or solo classical works, the sound of strings is hypnotising.

With SDM@256, I can not do poly-sinc-ext3 and poly-sinc-gauss-xl (xla) - playback constantly breaks.

By many the following is referred to as “day to day go-to filer”: poly-sinc-ext2
poly-sinc-gauss combinations are very highly regarded as well (example, as you had it):

1 x poly-sinc-gauss-long
N x poly-sinc-gauss-hires-lp

Enjoy your music!

steven_goodier · May 12, 2022, 4:25am

Question for the Denafrips users really.

I’m using Ares2 DAC with USB from Rpi and HQP image.

My current filter set up is - poly-sinc-gauss, NS9, PCM, 705.6kHz

Any other settings I could try for electronic music?

If I wanted to have a listen to DSD 128 or 256, what settings will I need to get started?

jussi_laako · May 12, 2022, 9:53am

That’s a good starting point. Please see the config help page for details and some suggestions regarding filters. But don’t get too much bound to those suggestions.

RPi4 doesn’t quite have enough processing power for doing proper DSD upsampling…

steven_goodier · May 12, 2022, 9:59am

So if I wanted to play with DSD, would an investment in Up squared be a solution. Or do I need to go the Desktop version and let my i5 NUC do the work?

Rugby · May 12, 2022, 2:31pm

It depends on what modulator and filters you wanted. I would start with what you have to get a feel for what you might (or might not) need.

Chunhao_Lee · May 14, 2022, 3:52pm

I thought I was listening to R-2R?
44.1 → gauss-long + ASDM5ECv2 → DSD1024
Felt quite relaxing and balanced. DAC was Denafrips Ares II.

IgorSki · May 17, 2022, 3:13pm

I assume i9-12900k? Is this with CUDA?

Chunhao_Lee · May 17, 2022, 3:51pm

Yes. It’s 12900K. CPU OC 51x, ring OC 44x.

Could do it without CUDA.

Using NAA would help a lot. USB thru ALSA would increase the utilization of the two primary P-cores).

IgorSki · May 18, 2022, 10:43am

Was a lot of techs and specs here latetly let’s talk about music for a change!

Caveat: I have R-2R DAC and I listen via floor standing speakers, i.e. there’s a room factor in what I hear (beside my ears, brain and general listening habbits)

In last few days I have been a bit puzzled with my listening experience and impressions. In regular “Your Daily Mixes” section ROON has offered me a “Radiohead” playlist. Excited, since I have not visited Radiohead and Co for a veeeeeeeery long while, I plunged into listening.

Annoying! This first reaction of mine caught me by surprise. Noisy, messy with poor channel separation, with voice drowned into the wall of sound. To be specific, here are few things that “kicked” me at the start of the mix (streaming from Qobuz):

Radiohead - Lewis (Mistreated)
Interpol - Everything is Wrong
Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

My latest default HQPlayer setings that digest a large volume on genres are 7ECv2 SDM@256 with:

1x poly-sinc-short-mp
Nx poly-sinc-gauss-hires-mp

First things first - I started to play with the filters. After multiple tries, including the “ext2” and “gauss” group of filters in SDM I ended up with 1x poly-sinc-gauss-hires-mp

I switched to PCM. IIR LNS15@1,5/1,4Mhz was producing smth less fatiguing, less irritating and more coherent.

I wonder what was it ?

Why “alternative” listening experience would be so much different technically to “prog” which is lately one of my main listening streams, and that is excelent with short-mp I largely suspect the recordings them selfs are the culprits, since not all the Radiohead is annoying like that. But equally this way of recoding seems to be intentional (to be frank, the worst was Arcade Fire)

I have looked at some locally saved files, et voila, no wonder I was knocked back earlier. Look at the waveform ! With a “whopping” dynamic range of 3. The source is “Hi-Rez” 44,1/24, btw…

So, I concluded I was “kicked” by that “loudness war” production. But equally - not all “loud” recordings with low dynamic range are that “bad”, the best example for this is Beck “Morning Phase”, “Colors” or “Sea Change”. Eh, I wonder…

What’s your HQP sweetspot for “Alternative” ?

What’s your HQP experience with “loudness war” recordings?