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Signalyst HQPlayer - Is it worth the upgrade?

I have been reading high praises in audio forums about HQPlayer rendering the best sound quality from Qobuz or Tidal. I realize best is subjective in the context of one’s system and end user’s personal preferences driven by choice of gear and budget. 

I have been a long time Aurender user and also been using Roon now for past 3 years. Those who have read my posts knows my take on Roon as not the best sounding renderer when directly compared with Aurender’s Conductor app. Others may disagree with my position on Roon but those are my findings within the context of my system. I do enjoy Roon interface for obvious reasons but not so much the sound. 

The purpose of my post is to explore the possibility of elevating the sound of my existing Roon player (Merging Technologies + player) by integrating HQPlayer as the final renderer. By doing so, Roon will pass along a stream of bits from my local stored files on SSD and stream from Qobuz. This configuration allows me to enjoy the benefits of HQPlayer SQ and the fabulous library management capabilities of Roon at the same time.

I am seeking opinions from those who have actually compared Roon vs HQPlayer or using HQPlayer exclusively. Did you find HQPlayer worth the upgrade? What hardware or device you’re using to enjoy HQPlayer in your system. 

Thank you! 

PS: Please refrain from posting if you’re in bits are bits, 1’s and 0’s camp or believe high end streamer/servers are over priced and waste of money. 

lalitk
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,507 posts
 

@mgrif104 ,

That DAC you own is a level above the DAC 200 and HQ Player can only take it higher, per my experience. I am new to this whole HQ Player setup and not using the NAA feature. Have you tried the AudiophileStyle forum? I would like to know about this feature (for future) and can post it there. BTW, your system is awesome, yet simple at the same time.

@lalitk ,

I have always admired your setup. Very meticulous and well treated. As for the external PC that goes into sleep, you need to go into settings and choose the power plan to "High Performance". Then you can edit the "power plan" such that when it is "plugged in", it should never sleep, but the display can go into sleep in 1 minute. I suggest that you give that a try and PM me, if needed

@sns 

To each his own and I am glad that you found what you like. Thanks for sharing your experience.

lalitk's avatar
lalitk OP
5,836 posts
 

@milpai

Thank you for the kind words! It’s always rewarding to hear that my setup resonates with someone as discerning as yourself. Your advice on managing the PC’s sleep settings is appreciated. I will PM you once I revisit HQPlayer.

mgrif104
429 posts
 

@milpai 

Good points. I did post something similar over on audiophilestyle forums - and on what’s best - but haven’t gotten much guidance. However, there are a lot of DAC 200 owners so I’ll try a parallel path to what they’re suggesting.

I only just purchased the SDV 3100 - haven’t taken delivery of it yet. Candidly, the DAC 200 is so good on DSD that I hesitated to upgrade. I’ve told this story elsewhere. When I first auditioned the DAC 200 - I used it with my streamer converting whatever Qobuz or my stored files fed it. It was good, but it wasn’t massively better than the dac it replaced (which was a pretty nice and well respected Dac in its own right). It was when I fed it native DSD files converted by the Sirius processor that I had a “holy crap” moment and purchased it.

I hopefully get the unit later this week - but the holidays and family arriving mean it will be January (or later?) before I get things settled in. I certainly think it’s worth trying HQ player and roon with this unit. If that combination sonically outperforms my streamer and processor - I’d be delighted. And if it were also convenient (no tinkering, set and forget), I would be able to sell my other gear and reduce boxes, cables and clutter and my wife would be delighted.

Thanks for the kind words on my system. Not as purposeful in set up as yours (nice room and set up!) but it gets the job done nicely and it’s relatively “invisible “ in our living space.

More to come.

Best,

lalitk's avatar
lalitk OP
5,836 posts
 

@mgrif104 

Congratulations on SDV 3100. The SDV 3100 is a serious upgrade, especially if you’re already impressed by the DAC 200 with DSD. It’ll be interesting to hear your impressions once it’s settle down in your system. 

T+A knows how to do justice with DSD files much to the tune of my Merging Tech +player. I had the same holy crap moment when I first heard my collection of DSD files. You’re in for a royal treat with SDV 3100. 

milpai's avatar
milpai
2,507 posts
 

@mgrif104 

That is a fascinating upgrade to look forward to - completely different league. Before you sell the DAC 200, I hope you get a chance to experience DSD 512 on this DAC. In my experience the DAC 200 without DSD 512 is like Clark Kent. And with DSD 512, it is like Superman. At least in my setup, when you gop from DSD 256 to DSD 512 there is this "drive" or "zest" along with a "naturalness" that makes the recordings come alive.

There is no real tinkering, if your PC/laptop is set up correctly. The best part is that you can experiment with the filters/modulators from your phone/tablet. T+A's chipless design is optimal for DSD playback and was one of the reasons for me to get this DAC.

Not as purposeful in set up as yours (nice room and set up!) but it gets the job done nicely and it’s relatively “invisible “ in our living space.

Actually living rooms with large open space and high ceiling makes music sound so spacious. Unfortunately I do not have that liberty and hence had to move to the basement. Luckily that space is under the morning room, so that even if I play at 85db level, sound does not go to the bedrooms, since there is nothing above the morning room.

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