Roon crashes when playing back DSD128, 256 files through HQPlayer > HQP NAA

The user password is admin and admin. And both CX and EX are on version 3.12.

Try restarting the HQPlayer on the CX and then on the EX.

Thanksā€¦ The only problem left is that in EX > HQP Settings > ALSA backend > Device I only see the ā€˜HDA Intel ā€¦ Analogā€™ option. I am messing around with restarting EX > HQServer Player, and replugging the USB cableā€¦

Yeah, thereā€™s a definite sequence to it. Try disconnect the DAC, shut down the EX, connect the DAC, and restart the EX.

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In a CX/EX setup HQPlayer Server should be active on only ONE of the servers (either the CX or the EX) and HQPlayer NAA should be active on the EX. The HQPlayer setting in Roon (located on CX) will point either to HQPlayer Server on the CX (use ā€˜localhostā€™) or on the EX (use the EX IP Address).

yes, this was my problem: the USB Audio 2.0 option showed under EX > HQPlayer Server > settings > ALSA > Device AFTER I disabled HQP on the CX.

OK (had to mess around with settings and Auto Rate Family), we have playback of redbook. Let me try DSDā€¦

DSD64 ok
DSD128 ok
DSD256 ok

HUH. Soā€¦ Perhaps the settings on my CX or overly ambitious and are killing the CX and causing my weird Roon Core dying issue?

But I still donā€™t understand the point of the ā€˜SDM directā€™ setting.

ā€¦ I will have to compare the two configs setting-by-setting. I am too new to HQP to remember everything.

Thanks, @mreid and all for your help.

Youā€™re welcome. But to be honest, I am still unsure whether I have it set up correctly!

From the HQPlayer help about SDM direct:

Direct SDM

When Direct SDM is enabled and DAC supports DSD input, DSD sources go through bit-perfect when output mode is SDM. When Direct SDM is disabled and output mode is SDM, Integrator and SDM-SDM Conversion parameters apply. When output mode is PCM, Gain +6 dB, SDM-PCM Conversion and Noise filter parameters apply. Note! When Direct SDM is enabled, volume control is set to fixed -3.5 dB value also for PCM sources when output mode is set to SDM to avoid sudden jumps in volume at format changing track transition.

Itā€™s there to ensure that everyone is left totally confused.

/sarcasm mode off

I try to avoid DSD like I avoid COVID so I really canā€™t say. There is an HQPlayer thread on Audiophile Style that can be helpful.

I use HQPlayer only for PCM upscaling, which I prefer. Iā€™m listening now to Roon/HQPlayer and it sounds great.

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Itā€™s working perfectly then

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OK, an update on this:

Iā€™m going through and recreating mreidā€™s settings in my HQP (on the CX), and then playing a DSD128 file in Roon through the HQP CX > NAA EX chain.
Changing DSD Sources > Integrator = IIR to FIR still crashed, neither did changing the Output mode settings. (still crashed with Auto, PCM, or SDM)

I did turn of Auto rate family, not sure if that interacts with the below

All at once, I changed
- 1x / Nx oversampling from poly-sinc-ext2 to closed-form-16m
- modulator from ASDM7ECv2 to DSD7 256+fs
- Bit rate from 5644800 to Auto

This enabled me to play back a DSD 128 file uninterrupted for about 5 minutes. Then it cut out, and the Roon app on my laptop lost connection with the server. The CX seems to be running pretty warm (in my 17 degrees c room) but of course I canā€™t confirm the CPU load until Antipodes give us the CPU monitor functionality again.

After waiting for the Roon UI to come back, I tried to play a DSD 256 file, but it wonā€™t play, and I within seconds lost the Roon UI again.

Iā€™ve switched to DSD5 modulator, DSD128 plays but 256 does not.

Hi cbru. In the top right hand corner, can you enable the log file and then click apply.
Leave DirectSDM enabled, and turn off Auto Rate Family. Leave the other settings as is, and then try to play some DSD files. Post the log file after it has crashed.

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Not sure I understand the full configuration but Iā€™ll try a shot in the dark here:
When the CX has run out of gas when experimenting with Roon transcoding, I enable
Parallelize Delta-Sigma Modulator [Enables multiple CPU Cores] in the Sample Rate Conversion menu and I can then transcode to DSD512 [the maximum rate my DAC can accept] without the CX getting hung up.

Suggesting a different filter is a good idea. Amongst the HQPlayer filters, CPU utilization will vary.

Which is why we need a CPU Monitor link from the dashboard.
Is was deleted in the last update.

I voted. Everybody vote. : )

Hey @Rich . Just to clarify, in this thread weā€™re talking about upsampling in another application called HQPlayer. Itā€™s quite different, and is said to sound a lot better, than the upsampling included in Roon.

It has extensive functionality but unfortunately that comes with the very complicated UI shown in mreidā€™s post. Getting everything working can be a bit of a palaver.

Indeed. Even the HQplayer developers will tell you that itā€™s best to play around with the settings until you find what you like. Hereā€™s one of the developers explaining the filters:

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Thanks for that link. Much of it is still like Greek to me though.

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