Install HQPlayer's Network Audio Adapter

[agent_kith]

Snakeoil 0.1.4 onwards support HQPlayer's Network Audio Adapter. You'd need to download the debian package, and install it manually. Once installed, this software will automatically appear in the software player list.

:::IMPORTANT:::

Make sure you download the debian package for Trusty: Download link. Deb files for other distributions is not likely to work.

For people with an activation version of Snakeoil: 

1. *NEW* Newer versions of NNA requires IPV6, you'd need to upgrade your Snakeoil kernel to one with IPV6 support. An example would be vmlinuz-4.4.9-rt17-amd64-ipv6.tar.bz2 in this thread. Please refer to the Snakeoil manual on how to upgrade the kernel.
   
2. Download the deb file that suits your architecture, e.g. amd64 if you're running 64 bit Snakeoil, and i686 if you're running 32 bit Snakeoil.
   
3. Go to the Snakeoil tab, and look for the Deb install widget:
   
   
4. Click on the Pick Deb button, a file dialog would pop up. Select the deb file you've downloaded in Step 1. then click the Ok button.
   
5. The pop up dialog should disappear. Click on the Install button.
   
6. Wait for installation to finish.
   
   
7. Click the Back button.
   
8. Now go to the Software tab, and you should see HQPlayer Network Audio Adapter in the list.
   
   
9. Select that (Not MPD as pictured above, but HQPlayer from 3rd from bottom), and click OK. and you should be good to go.
   

[Ben-M]

I'm not sure of the best place for this, but it's HQPlayer related, so I'm hoping this is it. 

I want to install the full, HQPlayer Embedded on Snakeoil OS, so that I can do the upsampling on a purpose built Linux machine vs. Windows. Then from there I'll stream to an HQPlayer NAA device to feed my DAC. 

I don't see any option for this, but how could I do it? 

PS: I need to upsample to DSD512 for my DAC (T+A DAC 8 DSD) and I know I'll need an i7 for this vs. your recommended i3 or Atom CPUs.

[agent_kith]

I'm not sure of the best place for this, but it's HQPlayer related, so I'm hoping this is it. 

It's alright to post here as people looking for HQPlayer is likely to hit this NAA link.
 

I want to install the full, HQPlayer Embedded on Snakeoil OS, so that I can do the upsampling on a purpose built Linux machine vs. Windows. Then from there I'll stream to an HQPlayer NAA device to feed my DAC. 

I don't see any option for this, but how could I do it? 

For now just install HQPlayer as per their website instructions. Once the software is installed, SnakeoilOS will see it, and the option will appear in the servers list. You'd need the 64 bit Snakeoil OS to get this working (as Signalyst only have a 64 bit version of this software).

 

PS: I need to upsample to DSD512 for my DAC (T+A DAC 8 DSD) and I know I'll need an i7 for this vs. your recommended i3 or Atom CPUs.

For this purpose you'd need an i7, probably a good Xeon even.

Atom CPUs is unlikely to work well on it's own. Unless you can offload the processing onto a nvidia card (expensive these days due to bitcoin mining). That is assuming the linux edition of HQPlayer have CUDA support.

One potential problem with CUDA and high CPU loads is their influence when you have a ground loop. If you have a ground loop, high frequency noise will be generated if the CPU or GPU is under load. This may be audible to you.

To check if you have this problem, run either the following:

1. something graphically intensive (but no audio).
   
2. Load a image that's full white, connect a USB mouse to the PC (same hub as your DAC if you can), and just move the mouse around.
   

While the above is happening, go to your speakers and listen to the tweeters. If you hear some ramdom noise, you have a ground loop problem (address that if you can).. If you can't fix this problem, go back to your listening position and see if you can hear this noise. Normal 50 Hz ground loop hum will be drowned by the music, this high frequency noise doesn't. If you can hear it, and once your brain knows how it sounds like, for some reason you can no longer filter it out. In other words - once you hear this noise, you cannot unhear it . If you hear this, decide how big of an issue this is to you.

The reason for Atom CPU is mainly to alleviate this ground loop noise problem - less load = less noise.

[Ben-M]

I'm not sure of the best place for this, but it's HQPlayer related, so I'm hoping this is it. 

It's alright to post here as people looking for HQPlayer is likely to hit this NAA link.
 

I want to install the full, HQPlayer Embedded on Snakeoil OS, so that I can do the upsampling on a purpose built Linux machine vs. Windows. Then from there I'll stream to an HQPlayer NAA device to feed my DAC. 

I don't see any option for this, but how could I do it? 

For now just install HQPlayer as per their website instructions. Once the software is installed, SnakeoilOS will see it, and the option will appear in the servers list. You'd need the 64 bit Snakeoil OS to get this working (as Signalyst only have a 64 bit version of this software).
 

PS: I need to upsample to DSD512 for my DAC (T+A DAC 8 DSD) and I know I'll need an i7 for this vs. your recommended i3 or Atom CPUs.

For this purpose you'd need an i7, probably a good Xeon even.

Awesome, thanks a lot for getting back to me about that. I'll see if I can install Snakeoil OS over the next few weeks. Things are a little too busy with work right now for the time, but I'm super pumped to hear that it's a mostly straight forward install. 

And yeah, I'll be going with an i7-8700K for the upsampling computer. For the NAA I've already got a Windows based system I need to use until T+A update their DAC's firmware to allow it to receive DSD512 from Linux.

Just regarding CPU choice for the upsampling, the clockspeed vs. core count is more important for HQPlayer upsampling, so Xeons don't really offer much compared to highend i7s. Then the CUDA offload isn't a silver bullet either. The CPU is still the main workhorse, and then in some unique situations the GPU might sync up well with the CPU and be able to relieve some of the computational stress/add value. However, for the most part the CPU alone is the right bet and the GPU should only be reviewed after the fact. And with the GPUs, it seems only the uber highend Nvidias are very applicable to the task, so you can't even try to bootstrap a lower end CPU with a GPU to reach a higher level. 

I hope some of that is useful to some others who are hunting around the net for audiophile OS info and how to upsample audio via HQPlayer on Windows or Linux.

I'll be sure to drop by again once I make some progress and let you/everyone know how it's going.

[prog]

Hello,

I am also curious regarding HQPlayer Embedded. The web interface included with it, is efficient for controlling the filters and output device. Having that in conjunction to Roon, would be stellar.

I have attempted using the HQPlayer (VNC) -- this is the regular desktop app -- and it isn't the same. Plus, SnakeOil only allows me to use one or the other.

Is there anyway we can add HQPlayer Embedded as a client option?

--Prog

[agent_kith]

Hello,

I am also curious regarding HQPlayer Embedded. The web interface included with it, is efficient for controlling the filters and output device. Having that in conjunction to Roon, would be stellar.

I have attempted using the HQPlayer (VNC) -- this is the regular desktop app -- and it isn't the same. Plus, SnakeOil only allows me to use one or the other.

Is there anyway we can add HQPlayer Embedded as a client option?

--Prog

Didn't know about the embed version before to be honest. Added that into my list of things to do. Will let you know when it's ready.

[prog]

Hello,

I am also curious regarding HQPlayer Embedded. The web interface included with it, is efficient for controlling the filters and output device. Having that in conjunction to Roon, would be stellar.

I have attempted using the HQPlayer (VNC) -- this is the regular desktop app -- and it isn't the same. Plus, SnakeOil only allows me to use one or the other.

Is there anyway we can add HQPlayer Embedded as a client option?

--Prog

Didn't know about the embed version before to be honest. Added that into my list of things to do. Will let you know when it's ready. 

Sounds good. If this is done, I literally have no need for any other solution. Great work, and keep us posted!

[agent_kith]

HQPlayer and NAA now requires a CPU with SSE4.2 and above. This rules out Atom motherboards I think. But the i series (e.g. i5, i7, etc) being newer CPUs should have support.

In the next update I am going to put in a check in the HQPlayer and NAA installers to return an error if the CPU do not have SSE4 support.