[sendler2112]

I was encouraged by other expert users to try bit settings closer to the actual measured signal to noise capabilities of the Gustard R26. People were telling me that the operating theory of HQ Player, and measurements of the R26, predicted optimal settings as low as 16 bit. I find with listening that there is a sweet spot for the R26 around 22-24 bits. Any higher and the sound gets artificially wider and slightly thinner and less solid. Any lower than 20 and it gets more and more compact and slightly more opaque.

 

[jlaako]

While i'm making bug reports: I've noticed sometimes there's an inconsistency between the limited counter and the Max value from the spectrum analyzer. In the past whenever I saw the limiting counter go up i'd also see the reported Max from the spectral analyzer be above 0.

Today they are inconsistent, To demonstrate I started a song and the meter at the same time (both reset to 0 first). 30 seconds into the song the client and main hqp window show limited count of 1 but the level meter shows maximum value of -1.71.

Limited counter can also increment for other reasons, so it is not just simple function of the output level. It is more of indication that bad output has been detected and action taken based on that. So it is more elaborate than just level indication.

 

[plumpudding2]

Limited counter can also increment for other reasons, so it is not just simple function of the output level. It is more of indication that bad output has been detected and action taken based on that. So it is more elaborate than just level indication.

Ok thanks, i'll trust the limited counter and not the output level meter then!

 

[ericx85]

Posting here since it's likely more relevant than the Wandla thread.

Anyone with the Wandla know if HQPlayer can only do DSD over DoP through the dac? Trying to do DSD without DoP just goes back to PCM when I try to play it. I can do DSD in Roon and Audirvana fine, but HQPlayer seems to force PCM unless using DoP.

 

[jlaako]

Posting here since it's likely more relevant than the Wandla thread.

Anyone with the Wandla know if HQPlayer can only do DSD over DoP through the dac? Trying to do DSD without DoP just goes back to PCM when I try to play it. I can do DSD in Roon and Audirvana fine, but HQPlayer seems to force PCM unless using DoP.

Yes it works fine without DoP. Except of course on macOS. Which OS are you using?

If you are using Windows, especially if you are using Roon as HQPlayer front-end, remember to disable Wandla from Roon Settings -> Audio. Otherwise both applications will try to access the ASIO driver at the same time. And in such case, all Thesycon drivers disable DSD capability (probably because they attempt to do some software mixing, which should never happen with ASIO). In other cases, on Windows, please make sure

Please also see last bullet point here:
https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/hqplayer

Roon doesn't have any setting for DoP, it will automatically use DoP if native DSD is not available. I don't know about Audirvana. In any case, on Windows you need to ensure you have only one application accessing (running) the ASIO driver at a time.

 

[ericx85]

That did the trick Jussi, thanks! Also you deserve a lot more credit for the contributions you made to the Wandla's filters. The thing sounds so good even outside of HQPlayer with the help of your filters.

I know Wandla doesn't have a nos mode, would it just be best to leave it on the HQ Apodizing filter when using HQPlayer?

 

[jlaako]

I know Wandla doesn't have a nos mode, would it just be best to leave it on the HQ Apodizing filter when using HQPlayer?

If you are using HQPlayer to run Wandla, run it at 705.6/768k PCM and the built-in filters get bypassed.

Or you could run it at DSD256 or DSD512 for example (using ASDM5EC-ul/light/super modulator).

 

[BShaw]

I finally received my Holo Cyan 2 yesterday and set it up (not exactly intuitive). My buddy Cam helped me get it dialed in so I wasn't floundering all night, and I was running PCM 768 and had the DAC correction in place. Holy smokes, I just have to really hand it to Jussi for what he's brought to digital audio. I told Cam today I consider HQP a component in my system no less than a DAC or a preamp. I'm sure the Cyan sounds great without HQP, but without directly comparing all I can say is this DAC with HQP/correction is ridiculously good and I can hardly imagine what a May KTE sounds like if it's sibling that costs 1/5 sounds like this. Switched to DSD tonight, I'll be listening all weekend to understand what the differences are, but right off the bat I hear less air/sparkle, a slightly more laid back presentation, and incredible holographic and 3 dimensional presentation. Timbre maybe a bit warmer and more organic, but that's an early impression. I'll report back after several more hours of gleeful listening and toggling between PCM and DSD, but this is an embarrasment of riches and either way it's a big win as far as I'm concerned. I'll also compare with/without DAC correction, because I have a suspicion this feature alone turned my Cyan into a Spring KTE if not more. It just doesn't seem possible this DAC could be so good for $1200, and clearly mop the floor with the R26.

 

[dericchan1]

I finally received my Holo Cyan 2 yesterday and set it up (not exactly intuitive). My buddy Cam helped me get it dialed in so I wasn't floundering all night, and I was running PCM 768 and had the DAC correction in place. Holy smokes, I just have to really hand it to Jussi for what he's brought to digital audio. I told Cam today I consider HQP a component in my system no less than a DAC or a preamp. I'm sure the Cyan sounds great without HQP, but without directly comparing all I can say is this DAC with HQP/correction is ridiculously good and I can hardly imagine what a May KTE sounds like if it's sibling that costs 1/5 sounds like this. Switched to DSD tonight, I'll be listening all weekend to understand what the differences are, but right off the bat I hear less air/sparkle, a slightly more laid back presentation, and incredible holographic and 3 dimensional presentation. Timbre maybe a bit warmer and more organic, but that's an early impression. I'll report back after several more hours of gleeful listening and toggling between PCM and DSD, but this is an embarrasment of riches and either way it's a big win as far as I'm concerned. I'll also compare with/without DAC correction, because I have a suspicion this feature alone turned my Cyan into a Spring KTE if not more. It just doesn't seem possible this DAC could be so good for $1200, and clearly mop the floor with the R26.

again I don’t think there is any dac out there that would not benefit from hqplayer but for a dac like the cyan2, hqplayer is a necessity. If YouTube reviewers think the cyan 2 is close to a spring or may but not quite, they have not heard the cyan 2 with hqplayer in dsd with dac correction..