HQ Player vs (modded) CD player - savvypaul's digital bake-off

[Grumpytim]

That's parcelcrap, and those relatively old displays can be hard to replace, let's hope it's just a loose connector.

As far as the vortexbox goes, the biggest 'improvement(s)' I made to an old HP EX490 were changing the CPU to initially a quad core from mono, and then to dual core, which actually was better at running LMS. Changing the system drive to SSD helped as did upgrading the RAM. The only reason I don't use it now is that the power supply was struggling, and would have been a real PITA to change. Which leads to the next question when you were getting the vortex box fettled, did you upgrade the power supply?

[savvypaul]

That's parcelcrap, and those relatively old displays can be hard to replace, let's hope it's just a loose connector.

As far as the vortexbox goes, the biggest 'improvement(s)' I made to an old HP EX490 were changing the CPU to initially a quad core from mono, and then to dual core, which actually was better at running LMS. Changing the system drive to SSD helped as did upgrading the RAM. The only reason I don't use it now is that the power supply was struggling, and would have been a real PITA to change. Which leads to the next question when you were getting the vortex box fettled, did you upgrade the power supply?

Hex core, SSD, 8gb ram, heatpipe cooling, new power supply (I think he mentioned 19v).

[Grumpytim]

So basically, apart from the motherboard - a new machine.

[Lindsayt]

Channel Classics has a dedicated site for downloading direct-to-DSD recordings:

https://www.nativedsd.com/

I have regularly sat with Jared Sachs in his mastering studio here at the other end of the village and he records, edits and mixes using DSD. What you hear are the not-messed-about-with studio masters as he has made them.

Last time I was there he was working on a full-orchestral performance of a Mahler symphony which was incredible.

It would be nice if direct to DSD recordings could become more mainstream to bring the price down from £20ish per album...

And to give a wider selection of albums, to include more of the sort of rock / pop music that's my biggest cup of tea...

[George Hincapie]

Have had HQ Player up and running for most of the afternoon / evening in trial mode - you can listen for 30 minutes at a time and then you have to restart the server.

There are a myriad of different filter and modulator settings, so I'm working my way (fairly) systematically through some of the more common choices to get a feel for where they each fit in. Some settings are very heavy on the CPU, so I will largely avoid those. There is a second or so delay when pressing play / pause, but no drop-outs or clicks or anything else to frighten the horses.

I have some initial thoughts about DSD vs PCM, and upsampling generally, but I'm going to wait a few days before writing anything up. It's a difficult job...

[CycleCoach]

Best part of a week with the new server / Roon / HQ Player software.

In ascending SQ order...

I think I sometimes marginally prefer Logitech Media Server to Roon used without upsampling, but it is negligible (and, possibly, imagined), so choosing Roon probably depends on how much you value the content management / presentation etc (LMS is open source, Roon is £10 per month).

Upsampling to PCM384 in Roon is marginally but repeatably preferred to LMS.

Upsampling to DSD256 in Roon is marginally but repeatably preferred to upsampling to PCM384 in Roon.

Upsampling to PCM384 in HQ Player is obviously and repeatably preferred to upsampling to PCM384 in Roon.

Upsampling to DSD256 in HQ Player is very obviously and repeatably preferred to upsampling to DSD256 in Roon (both when using HQP natively and when using Roon as the 'transport' buttons for HQP - doing the latter is much more user friendly and retains all the content management features of Roon).

That last stage is where, for me, it gets properly interesting and I really relax into the music for hours on end and lose the niggling feeling of artificiality that, ime, accompanies a lot of digital playback. That niggle previously tapped me on the shoulder after an hour or so, but now I'm listening for 5 or 6 hours continually whenever I can find the time. I am not missing the Garrard, much to my surprise.

Some provisos...

There are many ways to skin the digital cat. What works in one set up might be less successful in another. Synergy is still important, and dacs, networks and endpoints are all part of the equation. My RME DAC has a DSD Direct facility, and is reputed to sound at it's best in that setting.

Roon is a little CPU heavy. HQ Player is very CPU heavy.

Roon cost £10 per month (14 day free trial). HQ Player is a one off licence fee of £225 (but you can use it for 30 minutes at a time for free in trial mode).

[karatestu]

What happened to the modded Marantz CDP ?

[CN211276]

[quote=savvypaul post_id=231857 time=1667503

That last stage is where, for me, it gets properly interesting and I really relax into the music for hours on end and lose the niggling feeling of artificiality that, ime, accompanies a lot of digital playback. That niggle previously tapped me on the shoulder after an hour or so, but now I'm listening for 5 or 6 hours continually whenever I can find the time. I am not missing the Garrard, much to my surprise.


[/quote]

A very good point. I can listen to my main system all day but not the second system. Both systems are the same brands, NVA, Chord and Sonore. Although they are at opposite ends of the ranges the sound signature is similar. It is upscaling which makes me want to listen for lengthy periods. I seem to recall that when CD replaced vinyl as my main source in the 90s I played less music. I am convinced that the 44kHz cap, which does not apply to vinyl with all its short comings, was a factor along with the novelty of satellite TV and the music scene taking a nose dive.

[TheMadMick]

A very good point. I can listen to my main system all day but not the second system. Both systems are the same brands, NVA, Chord and Sonore. Although they are at opposite ends of the ranges the sound signature is similar. It is upscaling which makes me want to listen for lengthy periods. I seem to recall that when CD replaced vinyl as my main source in the 90s I played less music. I am convinced that the 44kHz cap, which does not apply to vinyl with all its short comings, was a factor along with the novelty of satellite TV and the music scene taking a nose dive.

In my view 44.1 CD gets a bad press not because it is inherently poor but because the decoders and following circuitry don't get the best out of it. I rip my CDs to FLAC and the quality of most is outstanding. The poorer ones are usually as a result of poor performance poor poor recording.

Whilst I don't particularly like quoting Russ Andrews, his philosophy of getting the best out of what you've got seems sound to me (even if the prices are really silly).

[savvypaul]

What happened to the modded Marantz CDP ?

It doesn't power up. Mark will have a look at it next week. I t may be something simple. If not, it will have to go back to the original owner.