[Born2Cuddle]

@Born2Cuddle

It works a bit differently. You would need to connect your Q11 to a computer. It could be either your laptop or another computer in your LAN taking the role of audio endpoint called NAA (Network Audio Adapter). NAA can run for example on a cheap Pi4. Android devices cannot act as NAA.

You can use your Android device to control HQPlayer playback if you dont wish to sit behind your computer.

HQPlayer converts all content on the fly, it does not change the source content.

i7-6820HQ / 32GB is my laptop I used more than 1 year ago with HQPlayer (that time yet HQPlayer v4). I was able to run PCM to DSD256 conversion on the fly without nVidia GPU CUDA offload assistance. HQPlayer v5 is a bit lighter on resources (at least up to v5.4, I'm not sure with in the newest versions). Most probably you would be able to play all content at DSD256 with that laptop. FiiO Q11 supports DSD256 input, but CS43198 DAC chip does not allow so called direct DSD mode. You would need to find out what sounds better for you: upsampling to 352.8/384k (less computer load) or to DSD256. DSD256 could still sound better, that's what I experienced with ESS chips too which process DSD signal in similar way.

I'm not seeing a way to change from PCM to DSD.

 

[Superunknown2]

I just got a Holo Red streamer, and set it up. I am streaming off Tidal on a Macbook Pro (M3 Pro with 18 GB of Ram), or iPhone, to the Holo Red, to a Holo Spring 3 DAC and Holo Bliss amp. It is awesome. I use HQPlayer through Roon/Tidal on the Macbook. I got that working really well also. One thing that amazes me is that I seem to be able to run higher HQPlayer filters when I am streaming through a Holo Red than when I just had a USB cable going from my Macbook to the Holo Spring 3. This is especially true with DSD. For DSD I use the sinc-L filters, and was never able to get the bitrate above 256 before. Somehow, with the Holo Red, I can now get it up to 512 (with the ASDM7EC-super 512+fs modulator). It is even able to do 1024 with only modest stuttering. I have no idea how using the Holo Red could make it stream at a higher rate. Maybe it has something to do with the fact it is going through HQPlayer NAA.

 

[bogi]

I have no idea how using the Holo Red could make it stream at a higher rate. Maybe it has something to do with the fact it is going through HQPlayer NAA.

NAA does no processing on data so I can imagine that only as a result of different buffer sizes or result of noise influence.

DAC USB driver may allow to set USB buffer size. I'm not familiar with Mac in this regard.

Sometimes such a difference or even dropouts or white noise is coming from reasons related to USB port and cable. Front computer USB ports often don't work well under higher load since their long cable lead inside the case is very prone to be polluted by EMI. USB ports which are soldered directly to motherboard are preferred. Some USB cables which strictly don't follow USB specs (for example incorrect cable impedance or termination) can cause such issues too. There were cases that only USB cable was changed and everything went well.

 

[bogi]

I'm not seeing a way to change from PCM to DSD.

You need to have FiiO USB driver installed and then to adjust HQPlayer settings: your DAC set in ASIO output backend, SDM set as default output in Settings -> Output tab, 256x 44.1k set as max. DSD output rate. Try lower 44.1k based DSD output rate first, since maybe your laptop is not set optimally.

 

[Born2Cuddle]

You need to have FiiO USB driver installed and then to adjust HQPlayer settings: your DAC set in ASIO output backend, SDM set as default output in Settings -> Output tab, 256x 44.1k set as max. DSD output rate. Try lower 44.1k based DSD output rate first, since maybe your laptop is not set optimally.

Well slap my ass and call me Betty, this really does sound much better to me.

But when I change songs I hear nothing but a loud klaxon sound.
Here are some setting I have input-wasapi , default endpoint.

Output backend-asio, defice-fiio asio driver, default sdm(dsd), adaptive rate-unchecked

 

[Born2Cuddle]

Well slap my ass and call me Betty, this really does sound much better to me.

But when I change songs I hear nothing but a loud klaxon sound.
Here are some setting I have input-wasapi , default endpoint.

Output backend-asio, defice-fiio asio driver, default sdm(dsd), adaptive rate-unchecked

Figured it out. I changed sdm pack to dop

 

[bogi]

But when I change songs I hear nothing but a loud klaxon sound.

That's rather about your DAC, not about HQPlayer. Try if setting Idle time in Advanced tab has influence.
Set volume in HQPlayer to -3 or -6 dB to avoid signal limitation caused by upsampling. If you don't need to digitally attenuate to -60dB, you can set higher level for minimal volume in Outputs tab.
Try 256x 44.1k DSD rate, sound may yet improve. You may need to fully tick Multicore DSP in Advanced tab (it is tri-state check box, your current setting is the middle one).

 

[Born2Cuddle]

That's rather about your DAC, not about HQPlayer. Try if setting Idle time in Advanced tab has influence.
Set volume in HQPlayer to -3 or -6 dB to avoid signal limitation caused by upsampling. If you don't need to digitally attenuate to -60dB, you can set higher level for minimal volume in Outputs tab.
Try 256x 44.1k DSD rate, sound may yet improve. You may need to fully tick Multicore DSP in Advanced tab (it is tri-state check box, your current setting is the middle one).

I don't think I can do 256 on this PC. Check the bottom left on on HQplayer window.

Also, what settings do people think are best for getting the widest soundstage?

 

[bogi]

I don't think I can do 256 on this PC. Check the bottom left on on HQplayer window.

I was able to run DSD256 on my previous notebook with the same CPU. One needs to set high performance power profile in Windows. CPU frequency near 3GHz is usually needed to be reached in Turbo mode. Here is some post how it worked for me 2 years ago: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/19715-hq-player/?do=findComment&comment=1176167

Also, what settings do people think are best for getting the widest soundstage?

I don't consider a widest soundstage on headphones to be my goal. All the crossfeed and HRTF/binaural solutions are about making sound similar to listening from loudspeakers. Music content is mixed for listening on loudspeakers. Typical soundstage angle for listening on loudspeakers is 60°. Applying headphone crossfeed usually tames down too loud sounds from the most left and most right positions by moving them more forward into the wished angle, what actually makes soundstage less wide. But it improves instrument placement and separation and makes sound from headphones more natural.

The Matrix Pipeline dialog allows to configure Bauer crossfeed, 3 presets are available.

 

[Born2Cuddle]

I was able to run DSD256 on my previous notebook with the same CPU. One needs to set high performance power profile in Windows. CPU frequency near 3GHz is usually needed to be reached in Turbo mode. Here is some post how it worked for me 2 years ago: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/19715-hq-player/?do=findComment&comment=1176167


I don't consider a widest soundstage on headphones to be my goal. All the crossfeed and HRTF/binaural solutions are about making sound similar to listening from loudspeakers. Music content is mixed for listening on loudspeakers. Typical soundstage angle for listening on loudspeakers is 60°. Applying headphone crossfeed usually tames down too loud sounds from the most left and most right positions by moving them more forward into the wished angle, what actually makes soundstage less wide. But it improves instrument placement and separation and makes sound from headphones more natural.

The Matrix Pipeline dialog allows to configure Bauer crossfeed, 3 presets are available.

I switched to high performance and am still stuck at 128. I will play with this more tomorrow or the next day.

And I really appreciate all your help so far.

 

[Erick Muller]

That's rather about your DAC, not about HQPlayer. Try if setting Idle time in Advanced tab has influence.
Set volume in HQPlayer to -3 or -6 dB to avoid signal limitation caused by upsampling. If you don't need to digitally attenuate to -60dB, you can set higher level for minimal volume in Outputs tab.
Try 256x 44.1k DSD rate, sound may yet improve. You may need to fully tick Multicore DSP in Advanced tab (it is tri-state check box, your current setting is the middle one).

I also have my settings for digital attenuation at -60dB, how much should I start to bring it up and how do I know if I'm screwing things up? what should I listen to?

 

[Born2Cuddle]

If I have Qobuz on my Android phone (which I do not have) can I use that to to listen to HQplayer from my PC?

If not, I'm thinking that a small Windows tablet would work.

Any recommendation for a cheap (and small) Windows tablet that has USB-C? I'm assuming a Surface Go would work, but I am looking for something cheaper and smaller.

 

[plumpudding2]

I also have my settings for digital attenuation at -60dB, how much should I start to bring it up and how do I know if I'm screwing things up? what should I listen to?

I have no clue why he would mention maximum digital attenuation. That setting is only relevant if you have a 10v dac with extremely sensitive iems and you need to go even lower than -60db

 

[bogi]

I also have my settings for digital attenuation at -60dB, how much should I start to bring it up and how do I know if I'm screwing things up? what should I listen to?

This is not so easy topic how it could look. I already discussed with Jussi digital vs analog volume control topic in this thread one-two weeks ago. See my first post on the topic https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hqp...-settings-rolling-thread.968141/post-17978221
and then the discussion starting here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hqp...-settings-rolling-thread.968141/post-17986325

One aspect is subjectively perceived sound quality and other one is to avoid damaging of your headphones (or loudspeakers) with accidental full volume level.

Regarding sound quality, my suggestion is try yourself which combination of digital and analog volume level sounds best for you. It depends on your DAC and headamp/preamp noise floor level, sound signature of both and your listening preferences. You can adjust volume range in HQPlayer to allow finer settings in the area of your preference.

Suitable volume range set in HQPlayer of course depends on your headamp gain, sensitivity of headphones, if you are switching between different headphones and if you are the only user. I am using only HE-500 and I have set -12 dB as the lowest volume level and 0dB as the highest. I have usually set something around -6dB and doing fine adjustments to differences between recordings on my headamp. My headamp volume knob level is usually somewhere at 3/4. Even full headamp volume would not destroy my HE-500, but would be inconvenient with loud recordings. But I can imagine that when switching between headphones of very different sensitivity, there is a risk of omission which one were the last plugged in and too much power could be dangerous for the more sensitive ones.

Theoretically ideal situation would bring a headamp without any volume control, whose gain would just fit your headphones sensitivity so that 0dB HQPlayer level would set the maximum level you wish to listen to. Then you could use only digital volume control. Advantage would be that nothing is lost on headamp analog pot. As soon as you have analog pot in action then it is about which attenuation (digital or analog) means less loss. It is related to noise floor level of your DAC vs. headamp and the level of attenuation needed. That was the main point of the linked discussion. So the theoretically ideal headamp/preamp gain level is that one where you don't need to attenuate much.

 

[Erick Muller]

This is not so easy topic how it could look. I already discussed with Jussi digital vs analog volume control topic in this thread one-two weeks ago. See my first post on the topic https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hqp...-settings-rolling-thread.968141/post-17978221
and then the discussion starting here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hqp...-settings-rolling-thread.968141/post-17986325

One aspect is subjectively perceived sound quality and other one is to avoid damaging of your headphones (or loudspeakers) with accidental full volume level.

Regarding sound quality, my suggestion is try yourself which combination of digital and analog volume level sounds best for you. It depends on your DAC and headamp/preamp noise floor level, sound signature of both and your listening preferences. You can adjust volume range in HQPlayer to allow finer settings in the area of your preference.

Suitable volume range set in HQPlayer of course depends on your headamp gain, sensitivity of headphones, if you are switching between different headphones and if you are the only user. I am using only HE-500 and I have set -12 dB as the lowest volume level and 0dB as the highest. I have usually set something around -6dB and doing fine adjustments to differences between recordings on my headamp. My headamp volume knob level is usually somewhere at 3/4. Even full headamp volume would not destroy my HE-500, but would be inconvenient with loud recordings. But I can imagine that when switching between headphones of very different sensitivity, there is a risk of omission which one were the last plugged in and too much power could be dangerous for the more sensitive ones.

Theoretically ideal situation would bring a headamp without any volume control, whose gain would just fit your headphones sensitivity so that 0dB HQPlayer level would set the maximum level you wish to listen to. Then you could use only digital volume control. Advantage would be that nothing is lost on headamp analog pot. As soon as you have analog pot in action then it is about which attenuation (digital or analog) means less loss. It is related to noise floor level of your DAC vs. headamp and the level of attenuation needed. That was the main point of the linked discussion. So the theoretically ideal headamp/preamp gain level is that one where you don't need to attenuate much.

Thanks, I'll give it a read, maybe I'll experiment between the two, seems kind of risky for me because my current system is also serving as an audio out for my PC where I listen to other things outside of just music replay on HQP and goes to my 2.1 system so it could lead to really, REALLY, bad results if I forget that my amp it's at full tilt and then I go to general content on youtube for example.