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HQPlayer Desktop

User Manual
Version 3.1.0

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Table of Contents
1.Introduction.........................................................................................................................4
1.1.DSDIFF and DSF playback.........................................................................................4
1.2.Network Audio..............................................................................................................5
2.Main screen.........................................................................................................................6
2.1.Transport selection (library).........................................................................................6
2.2.Transport filters............................................................................................................7
2.3.Song display................................................................................................................7
2.4.Track display................................................................................................................7
2.5.Time display.................................................................................................................7
2.6.Mode display................................................................................................................7
2.7.Convolution..................................................................................................................7
2.8.Phase inversion...........................................................................................................7
2.9.Repeat and Random playback....................................................................................82.10.Playlist management.................................................................................................82.11.Filter / oversampling selection...................................................................................82.12.Noise-shaping / dither / modulator selection...........................................................102.13.Sample rate selection..............................................................................................112.14.PCM / SDM (DSD) output mode selection..............................................................122.15.Volume control.........................................................................................................122.16.Position/seek bar.....................................................................................................12
3.Full-screen mode..............................................................................................................13
3.1.Switching views.........................................................................................................13
3.2.Album selection view.................................................................................................13
3.3.Playlist edit view........................................................................................................14
4.Library management.........................................................................................................15
5.Settings.............................................................................................................................175.1.DSDIFF/DSF settings................................................................................................18
5.2.Speaker setup............................................................................................................20
5.3.Network Audio Adapter naming.................................................................................22
5.4.ASIO channel mapping..............................................................................................22
6.Convolution engine...........................................................................................................24
7.Registering your copy.......................................................................................................26
7.1.Registering Linux version..........................................................................................26
8.Troubleshooting................................................................................................................27
8.1.Reporting bugs..........................................................................................................27
8.2.Sound problems with USB audio device...................................................................27
8.3.Generic......................................................................................................................27
8.4.Channel mapping.......................................................................................................28
8.5.No rates available......................................................................................................30
8.6.Known workarounds..................................................................................................30
9.Component licenses and trademarks...............................................................................32
9.1.HQPlayer...................................................................................................................32
9.2.FLAC..........................................................................................................................34
9.3.ASIO..........................................................................................................................34
9.4.Qt...............................................................................................................................34
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9.5.Botan..........................................................................................................................35
9.6.Trademarks................................................................................................................35

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1. Introduction
HQPlayer is a high quality audio player for Windows Vista, Windows 7, Linux and Mac
OS X. HQPlayer also features several user selectable high quality resamplers as wellas user selectable dither/noise shaping algorithms.
Some of the more affordable sound cards and D/A converters have suboptimal digital
and analog filters, while still having support for higher sampling rates. Effect of this can
reduced by applying high quality upsampling in software before feeding the signal tothe audio hardware at higher rate. This moves some of the artifacts of the suboptimal
hardware to higher frequencies, away from the audible band. Many of the hometheater amplifiers also re-sample internally to 48, 96 or 192 kHz, with the HQPlayer,these can be fed at the native rate.
Most modern D/A converters are delta-sigma type. Built-in delta-sigma modulator of
HQPlayer allows using DSD-capable converters with this native data format, in manycases bypassing lot of DSP processing in these converters and allowing more direct
data path to the conversion stage.
Resampling also allows playback for high resolution audio files on hardware capableof only lower sampling rates or bit depths. For lower bit depth playback, high quality
dither or noise shaping can be employed.
HQPlayer also includes a convolution engine for applying digital room correction filtersor other kinds of equalization.
These features ensure the best possible audio quality with the available audio
hardware.

1.1. DSDIFF and DSF playback
Playback of DSDIFF and DSF files is supported. In case hardware and drivers support
ASIO DSD -mode, or one of the “PCM packed” modes, these files can be played backin native format.
For devices capable of only PCM input, PDM (pulse density modulation) content ofthese files is converted to 176.4 (64fs), 352.8 (128fs) or 705.6 kHz (256fs) PCM (pulse
code modulation) format for playback through PCM audio hardware.The playback rateof DSDIFF and DSF files can be further altered by using resampling to chosen rate.
Thus, playback rates from 32 to 1536 kHz are possible. Used bit depth is always
maximum supported by the playback hardware.
Also multichannel loudspeaker delay- and level-processing is supported in bothconverted and native modes.

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1.2. Network Audio
Network Audio is a way to have remote audio adapters and DACs integrated
seamlessly with the player application. All the audio processing is performed at theplayer application side, and then streamed asynchronously over the network forreproduction.

Network Audio system

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2. Main screen
When the application is first started up, main screen is displayed.

Main screen
User interface also supports standard multimedia keys and equivalent remote controls.
It also features two modes, the traditional desktop application mode shown above, andnew touch-optimized full-screen mode available through the right-most button in the
toolbar.
Tracks, directory trees and playlist files can be added to the current playlist by dragand-drop from outside of the application.
Note! In case you experience clicks/pops between DSDIFF/DSF tracks, creating aplaylist for the tracks enables special code to reset the modulation state. Playback
won't be gapless in this mode.

2.1. Transport selection (library)Transport is the playback source location. It lists all configured FLAC-, DSDIFF-,
DSF- , WAV- and AIFF- file paths as well as playlist files and a CD-drive. For file path,each sub-directory is expected to be an album consisting of files in one of the
supported formats. Transports are structured in a tree model in Artist / Performer /Album / Song order.
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Selecting a new transport represents similar action as changing a CD in physical drive.
When album node is expanded, tracks of the album are listed. Selecting tracks
switches transport into playlist mode, where individual tracks (from same or different
album) can be added.

2.2. Transport filters
Transport view can be filtered by entering filtering rules. Rules can be in traditional“wildcard” ('*') format, or in Perl-style regular expression format, when prefixed with '#'.

2.3. Song display
For CD, this field is used only to display track numbers.
When playing back FLAC-files, metadata is shown. If metadata is not available a filename is shown. For DSDIFF-, DSF-, WAV- and AIFF- files, file name is displayed.

2.4. Track display
Current track number and total number of tracks on a transport is shown on thisdisplay. For CD, this is the normal track number. For FLAC/DSDIFF/DSF/WAV/AIFFfiles, track numbering is constructed per directory basis based on file name sortingorder. For preferred order, file names should begin with correct zero-prefixed tracknumber.

2.5. Time display
This display shows the selected time information. By default, it is the time frombeginning of the track. Other possible values are time from end of the track and total
time from end of the album (transport).

2.6. Mode display
Selected time display mode is indicated here. Shown values are “time” for the timefrom beginning of the track, “remain” for the time from end of the track and “totalremain” for the time from end of the album. Display mode can be changed by clicking
this box.

2.7. Convolution
When this button is depressed, convolution processing is completely bypassed. When
this button is pressed, convolution engine is active and the configured impulse
responses will be used to process the signal before resampling. Convolution can be
enabled and disabled during the playback.
Note! When source material sampling rate differs from the impulse sampling rate,
impulse responses will be scaled to the source material's sampling rate. This can havea huge impact on CPU load, and with large impulse responses will require significant
amount of CPU processing power.

2.8. Phase inversion
Absolute phase can be inverted in cases where volume control is available.

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2.9. Repeat and Random playback
Current tracklist/playlist can be repeated and played back in random order.

2.10. Playlist management
Clicking the “Clear playlist” -button clears the internal playlist transport. If some othertransport (such as album) is active, this doesn't have visible effect until new playlist is
created. Playlist can be also loaded and saved using corresponding buttons.
When other transport than playlist is selected, playlist is still in memory. Transport canbe switched back to the playlist by clicking the “Activate playlist” button.
Playlist playback of DSDIFF/DSF files is not gapless, but a special code is enabled inorder to avoid clicks/pops between unrelated tracks.

2.11. Filter / oversampling selection
This selection can be used to switch between resampling filters. This selection has an
impact on available hardware sampling rates. This selection cannot be changed during
playback. Different variants of “poly-sinc” are the most recommended by the author.

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FilterDescriptionnone

No sample rate conversion happens. Only sample depth ischanged as needed.

IIR

This is analog-sounding filter, especially suitable for recordings
containing strong transients, long post-echo is a side effect (notusually audible due to masking). A really steep IIR filter is used.
This filter type is similar to analog filters and has no pre-echo, but
has a long post-echo. Small amount of pass-band ripple is alsopresent. IIR filter is applied in time-domain. This filter performs
better when resampling with only factor of 2 or 3 and somewhat
worse at factor of 4 and higher.

FIR

Typical “oversampling” digital filter, generally suitable for mostuses (slight pre- and post-echo), but best on classical music
recorded in a real world acoustic environment such as concert hall.
This is the most ordinary filter type, usually present in hardware.
This filter is applied in time-domain. It has average amount of preand post-echo.

asymFIR

Asymmetric FIR, good for jazz/blues, and other music containing
transients recorded in real world acoustic environment. Otherwise
same as FIR, but with a shorter pre-echo and longer post-echo.
Modifies phase response, but not as much as minimum phase
FIR.

minphaseFIR

Minimum phase FIR, good for pop/rock/electronic music containing
strong transients such as drums and percussion and whererecording is made in a studio using multi-track equipment. No preecho, but somewhat long post-echo.

FFT

Technically good steep “brickwall” filter, but might have some side
effects (pre-echo) on material containing strong transients. Thisfilter is similar to FIR, but it is applied in frequency-domain and isquite efficient from performance point of view while having rather
long impulse response.

poly-sinc /better space

Linear phase polyphase sinc filter. Very high quality linear phaseresampling filter, can perform most of the typical conversion ratios.
Good phase response, but has some amount of pre-echo. See“FIR” for further details.

poly-sinc-mp /
better transients

Minimum phase polyphase sinc filter, otherwise similar to polysinc. Altered phase response, but no pre-echo. See“minphaseFIR” for further details.

poly-sinc-shrt

Otherwise similar as poly-sinc, but shorter pre- and post-echos atthe expense of filtering quality (not as sharp roll-off and reduced
stop-band attenuation).

poly-sinc-shrt-mp Minimum phase variant of poly-sinc-shrt. Otherwise similar to polysinc-mp, but shorter post-echo. Most optimal transient
reproduction.
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FilterDescription

poly-sinc-hb

Linear-phase polyphase half-band filter with steep cut-off and highattenuation.

sincThis is a special type of filter, slightly similar to FIR, but with apossibility of asynchronous operation for conversions from any
rate to any other rate. Computationally heavy.

polynomial-1

Polynomial interpolation. Most natural polynomial interpolation foraudio. Only two samples of pre- and post-echo. Frequency
response rolls off slowly in the top octave. Poor stop-band
rejection and will thus leak fairly high amount of ultrasonic noise.
These type of filters are sometimes referred to as “non-ringing” bysome manufacturers. Not recommended.

polynomial-2

Similar to polynomial-1, but higher stop-band rejection with theexpense of being a bit less natural for audio. Not recommended.

minringFIR

Minimum ringing FIR. Uses special algorithm to create a linearphase filter that minimizes amount of ringing while providing better
frequency-response and attenuation than polynomial interpolators.
Performance and ringing is between polynomial and poly-sincshort.

*-2s

Two stage oversampling. First stage rate conversion is performedby at least by factor of 8 using the selected algorithm, and further
converted to the final rate using “minringFIR” algorithm. This
lowers the overall CPU load, while preserving almost the same
conversion quality. Especially useful for highest output rates.

2.12. Noise-shaping / dither / modulator selection
This selection can be used to switch between different word-length reduction
algorithms. Especially important when playback hardware supports less than 24 bits.
This selection cannot be changed during playback.

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NS/Dither

Descriptionnone

No noise-shaping or dithering, only rounding. Mostly suitable for 32-bit
output hardware where quantization error is buried in thermal noise. Not
recommended.

NS1

Simple first order noise-shaping. Sample values are rounded and thequantization error is shaped such way that the error energy is pushed tothe higher frequencies. Suitable mostly for 176.4/192 kHz upsampling.

NS4

Fourth order noise-shaping. Similar in shape as “shaped” dither.
Suitable for all rates equal or higher than 88.2 kHz.

NS5

Fifth order noise-shaping. Fairly aggressive noise-shaping designed for
8x and 16x rates (352.8/384/705.6/768 kHz). Not recommended for
rates below 192 kHz. (Especially good for PCM1704 at those highest
rates.)

NS9

Ninth order noise-shaping. Very aggressive noise-shaping designed
especially for 4x rates (176.4/192 kHz) and recommended for these
rates. (Especially good for older 16-bit 4x rate capable multibit-DACs
like TDA154x etc.)

RPDF

Rectangular Probability Density Function. White noise dither.
Computationally light weight, but only suitable for 24-bit or higher
output hardware.

TPDF

Triangular Probability Density Function. This is the industry standard
simple dither mechanism. Suitable for any rate and recommended if
playback rate is 44.1/48 kHz. Recommended for general purpose use.

Gauss1Gaussian Probability Density Function. High quality flat frequency dither
recommended for rates at or below 96 kHz where noise-shaping is notsuitable.

shapedShaped dither. Noise used in this dither has shaped frequency
distribution to lower audibility of the dither noise. Suitable for playback
rates of 88.2/96 kHz, or higher.

DSD5

Fifth order one-bit delta-sigma modulator.

DSD5.1

Revised fifth order one-bit delta-sigma modulator.

DSD7

Seventh order one-bit delta-sigma modulator.

Note! Use of “NS1” with equipment sensitive to ultrasonic noise is not recommended.

2.13. Sample rate selection
This selection can be used to switch between supported hardware sample rates.
Available choices depend on selected transport and resampling filter type. This
selection cannot be changed during playback.
Note! When “none” is selected as resampling algorithm, output sampling rate isadjusted based on source file's sampling rate.

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2.14. PCM / SDM (DSD) output mode selection
In case playback hardware supports both modes, the mode can be changed using thisselection. In PCM mode, when source content is DSD it will be converted to PCM for
playback. In SDM mode, when source content is PCM it will be converted to SDM for
playback.
Note! Overloading the delta-sigma modulator in SDM mode will cause audible noises.
It is recommended to keep software volume at max -3 dB setting or lower when using
PCM to SDM conversion to avoid overloading the delta-sigma modulator. Maximum
modulation depth is monitored and when necessary limited to 50% as per SACD
specification.

2.15. Volume control
Playback volume can be controlled through volume multimedia keys or remote control,or by operating this adjustment wheel. Selected dither/noise-shaping algorithm hassignificant impact on quality of this adjustment.
When using any resampling, maximum recommended volume level is -2 dBFS to
avoid overloads in case material contains digital clipping/limiting.
Note! Never use software based volume control as sole mean for adjusting volume.
Always limit the maximum possible volume to reasonable levels by using suitablehardware adjustment!

2.16. Position/seek bar
Shows relative playback position of a currently playing song while also allowing seeks
to arbitrary position within the song.

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3. Full-screen mode
When full-screen button is clicked in the main window toolbar, following kind of screen
is shown either in maximized window or in full-screen, depending on corresponding
setting in Settings-dialog.

Full-screen modeThis display is optimized for touch-screens, but can be also used with a mouse orother suitable pointing device.
Cover art of the current track is shown as a background image, when available. If track
doesn't have embedded cover art, album/folder cover image is used instead. If nocover image is available, default background image is shown. Information about
current track is shown in the top left corner of the screen.
Track-listing is shown in top-right corner of the screen with high-light of current track
and possibility to directly select a track. Volume adjustment is in the lower right cornerand can be adjusted by dragging from the the adjustment either up or down. Volume
can be also operated using a mouse wheel when mouse pointer is within the control.

3.1. Switching views
Full-screen mode has three parallel views in horizontal direction. The view describedabove is the middle one. Views can be switched by flick gestures to left or right.

3.2. Album selection view
On the left, there is an album selection view with cover flow and search on the top of
the screen. When the search entry at the top of the screen is clicked or tapped, virtual
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keyboard is shown (Windows only). Clicking or tapping an album will select it for
playback and return the view back to the normal middle-view.

3.3. Playlist edit view
On the right, there is a playlist edit view shown below.

Playlist edit view
Going from left to right, there's an artist selection column, album selection column andtrack selection column. The right-most column is the current playlist. Tracks can be
added or removed using the + and – keys below. Tracks can be also reordered byusing the up/down arrow buttons. Or the playlist can be cleared using the C button.

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4. Library management
To edit library, open the “File” menu and select “Library...”. Following dialog will beshown.

Transport editing dialog
List shown on the left is the list of album locations available on the transport selector.
Each path is intended to represent an album consisting of files of same number ofchannels.
To remove an album from the listing, select the album path and click “Remove” button.
Once you are done with the editing, select either “OK” to save your changes or“Cancel” to discard the changes.
It is also possible to edit album metadata by double-clicking a cell.
To add an album path, click “Add...” to browse and select an album folder you wish to
add and click “OK”. Now the path to the selected file will be added to the list ofavailable albums. To add an entire directory tree, click “Add tree...” to browse andselect base directory of the tree you wish to add and click “OK”. All the nodes of thedirectory tree with recognized content will be added to the list of available albums.
Already known entries are automatically ignored (except for added folder cover art).
Select “Structure only” to extract metadata solely from the directory tree structure
instead of metadata embedded in files.
Metadata for each path is loaded when available. If metadata is not available within
the file, it is constructed from the full file path, assumed of being in format
Artist/Album/Song.
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Note! Each directory is assumed to contain only one type of supported playback files,
the first recognized type will be used and other types of files within the directory will beignored.
To clear the list, select “Remove all”, confirmation dialog will appear before the list iscleared.

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5. Settings
To change program's device settings, open the “File” menu and select “Settings...”.
Following dialog will be shown.

Settings dialog
Content of the device selection depends on the mode application was started in.
For WASAPI driver type, used audio endpoint (device) can be selected by using the“Device” selection which lists all the available audio endpoints in addition to the default
endpoint, which is the one selected in Windows Control Panel for the default audio
output.
For ASIO driver type, used audio device can be selected by using the “Device”
selection which lists all the available ASIO devices. “Ch. offset” can be used to selectthe channel which is considered to be the first in channel mapping (0-based).
For Network Audio driver type, list of remote audio devices is shown on the “Device”
selection.
On Linux, ALSA audio endpoint (device) can be selected by using the “Device”
selection which lists all the available hardware audio endpoints.
On Windows, drive letter for the CD drive can be changed from the “CD drive”
selection. On Linux, device node for the CD drive can be entered.
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Default audio processing settings can be changed from the “PCM Defaults” and “SDM
Defaults” boxes.
Number of channels can be chosen from “Channels” selection, possible choices are“2” for stereo, “5.1” for normal multichannel and “7.1” for extended multichannel.
DSD content can be transferred to the audio device by packing it into suitable PCM
container, two methods are allowed using the “SDM Pack” selection “uint8” to send abyte stream and “DoP” to use the DoP v1.1 standard. The “2wire” setting enables
dual-wire channel bonding to achieve 2x higher sampling rates for both PCM and
DoP-based DSD on those DACs that support this feature.
Channel mapping is following (regardless of driver type):0.
Front Left
1.

Front Right

2.

Front Center3.

Low Frequency (LFE)

4.

Back Left

5.

Back Right

6.

Side Left

7.

Side Right

Length of the hardware audio buffer (in milliseconds) can be changed by using “Buffertime” selection. It is recommended to use “Driver default”, unless audio drop-outs areexperienced. When “Driver default” is used, the audio driver defines length of thebuffer. In case of WASAPI, this is more or less fixed value. In case of ASIO, this can beusually controlled through ASIO control panel, which can be launched by selecting“ASIO Control Panel...” from the “Tools” menu. Values between 10 and 100 ms aremost recommended.
It is also possible to configure adjustment range of the volume control. When both
values are set to zero (0), volume control is bypassed completely.
When DAC with other bit depth than 24-bit is connected to a unidirectional interface
like S/PDIF or AES/EBU it is recommended to select correct number of bits from the“DAC bits” selection. If measurement results for the DAC are available, a value
corresponding to linear range of the DAC can be used.
To save the settings, click the “OK” button and to discard any setting changes click the“Cancel” button.
Note! Using one of the heavy algorithms for upsampling multichannel audio files canrequire significant amount of CPU processing power!
Note! Do NOT select anything other than “None” as SDM packing, unless you are
sure your hardware supports the particular special packed mode!

5.1. DSDIFF/DSF settings
Settings for the PDM → PCM conversion process can be changed through a settings
dialog available from the “File” menu by selecting “DSDIFF/DSF settings...”. Following
dialog will be displayed.

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DSDIFF/DSF settings dialog
DirectSDM setting disables all processing when source file is DSD content and output
format is SDM to a DSD-device.
DSDIFF or DSF file should typically have 6 dB of headroom on the signal level. By
selecting “6 dB gain” check box, 6 decibels of gain is applied, removing this headroom
from the converted signal. This way the normal playback level reaches that of CD,
FLAC, WAV or AIFF. However, this may cause digital clipping with some source
material and thus use of 6 dB gain is not recommended!
Type of conversion can be selected from the “Conversion type” drop list. Following
conversion types are supported.
Conversion type

Description

traditional

Traditional recursive conversion algorithm.
Minimizes amount of ringing by using slowroll-off filters.

single-steep

Single-pass conversion algorithm with steep
cut-off.

single-short

Single-pass conversion algorithm withnormal cut-off. Optimized tradeoff between
ringing and wide frequency response.

poly-lin

Linear-phase single-pass conversion
algorithm.

poly-mp

Minimum-phase single-pass conversion
algorithm.

poly-short-lin

Linear-phase slow roll-off single-passconversion algorithm. Recommended.

poly-short-mp

Minimum-phase slow roll-off single-passconversion algorithm.

Different types of noise filters are provided. These reduce amount of ultrasonic noisepresent in the source data. Standard filtering leaves low level of ultrasonic noise.
Some loudspeakers with tweeters of low power handling capability can be sensitive tothis noise, especially when higher listening volumes are used. Also some poorly
designed amplifiers can misbehave in presence of such ultrasonic content. Therefore
more aggressive noise filters can be selected by using “Noise filter” drop list. Thesefilters will also limit bandwidth available for the audio content. Following filters aresupported.
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When playback rate of DSDIFF or DSF is 88.2/96 kHz, use of extra noise filtering in
addition to “standard” is less important, since most of the noise will be cut out. When
playback rate of DSDIFF or DSF is 44.1/48 kHz, extra noise filtering in addition to“standard” is not needed and will actually just reduce playback quality.
Noise filter

Description

standard

Standard noise filter will be applied.
Recommended.

low

Similar to standard, but has lower cornerfrequency and results in almost flat noise
profile in ultrasonic range. Recommended.

sac

Sliding average converter.

wec

Weighted element converter.

slow-lin

Slow roll-off linear-phase filter.

slow-mpSlow roll-off minimum-phase filter.

fast-lin

Fast roll-off linear-phase filter.

fast-mp

Fast roll-off minimum-phase filter.

5.2. Speaker setup
For multichannel playback, speaker distances and playback levels can be configured
using speaker setup dialog. This dialog can be reached by opening “Tools” menu andselecting “Speaker Setup...”.

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Speaker setup dialog
In this dialog, distance to each individual speaker can be set in centimeters. Playbackof the speaker can be set using the volume slider and unit shown in upper right corneris in dB.
Pink noise test tone can be played by selecting the “Test tone” box. When the box ischecked, tone will be played in all channels, thus making it easy to adjust all levels insuch way that the they sound equal. When the box is grayed, tone will be played one
channel at the time in rotating manner, making it easy to adjust all levels using an SPL
meter.
Multichannel delay processing is done in target sampling rate. This increases
processing accuracy as the output sampling rate is increased.

5.3. Network Audio Adapter naming
Network Audio Adapters can be assigned a non-default name using Tools / Network
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naming menu selection and following dialog.

Network Audio Adapter naming dialog
When this dialog is opened, a NAA discovery is run and a list of discovered adapters
appears in a few seconds. Selecting an entry from the list displays the selected
address and it's associated name on the right. Name can be modified and sent to thedevice by clicking “Set” button. After each modification a re-discovery is run.
This way, different names can be assigned for different adapters for example for multiroom use, so that different adapters can be recognized and found even if theirassigned IP address changes over time.

5.4. ASIO channel mapping
When using ASIO, in addition to just using default channel mapping it is also possible
to assign custom channel mappings. This can be done by selecting “ASIO Channel
Mappings...” from the “Tools” menu.

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ASIO channel mapping dialog
In this dialog, left hand side shows the source channel and the channels reported by
the ASIO driver can be selected as destination channels from the drop lists on the righthand side.

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6. Convolution engine
Convolution engine can be configured through the “Convolution” menu and selecting“Engine setup...”.
Following dialog will be shown.

Convolution engine setup dialog
When “Engine enabled” option is checked, convolution engine is enabled at theapplication level and enabled by default at the startup time. Enable this selection only
after selecting suitable impulse response files and if you are certain that your files
contain intended impulse response data.
Convolution algorithm can be changed from the “Convolution engine” selection. There
are two possibilities, “overlap-add” consumes less CPU power and is recommended.
Another alternative is “overlap-save” which consumes more CPU power.
To select impulse response files, “Browse...” button can be used. A normal fileselection dialog will be shown. After a file is selected, some preliminary checks for thesuitability is done and an error message is displayed in case of incorrect file details.
Left and right channels can have independent files.
When an impulse response file is selected through “Browse...”, it's estimated gain
function is calculated and displayed in “IR gain” box. This can help choosing suitablevalue for “Gain compensation”. Also the default convolution engine can be selected.
When positive gain compensation is chosen, it is applied as negative gain when
convolution is disabled from the main screen. This makes it easier to compare impactof the particular convolution setup.
When provided impulse response is lower sampling rate than source material, it's highfrequency response can be expanded to cover the new bandwidth by selecting“Expand HF” setting.
Clicking “OK” will save the setting to the configuration file and the settings are readyfor use.
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Convolution engine requires impulse responses to be mono RIFF (WAV) format files.
If some of the channels don't need processing, or are not used, clearing the filename
will disable convolution engine for those channels.
For example popular Room EQ Wizard can export suitable impulse responses after
designing for “Generic” equalizer by selecting File → Export → Filters Impulse
Response as WAV. Expert users can also use open source DRC tool for designing
even suitable full-band correction filters.
Note! Use of long convolution filters for all eight channels of audio for hires audio files
will need substantial amount of CPU processing power!

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7. Registering your copy
Activation code can be entered by opening “Help” menu and choosing “Register...”.
Dialog will appear asking for the code. If your code was shipped with a name, fill alsoname field, otherwise leave it empty.
Code can be also entered after, or close to trial period closing when a dialog asking forthe code appears at startup time.
Note! Especially on Windows 7 it may be necessary to start the application as
Administrator in order to successfully store the registration code. To do it, right-click on
the application's Start-menu entry and select “Run as administrator” from the menu.

7.1. Registering Linux version
After purchasing a license for Linux version, key file will be provided. This file can beinstalled by selecting “Register...” from the “Help” menu.

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8. TroubleshootingThis chapter explains some known workarounds and things which you can try, in caseof problems.

8.1. Reporting bugs
In case you discover bugs, please enable log file functionality from the settings dialog,
try to reproduce the bug and send the log file together with a screen shot (PrtScn
button) to our support email address support@signalyst.com . The log file can be
typically found from \Users\<username>\AppData\Local\HQPlayer directory of thesystem drive. You may need to complete this path on the address bar of the Windows
Explorer as these are not shown by default. The log file is called hqplayer.log.

8.2. Sound problems with USB audio device
Default buffer size for USB audio devices is fairly small (10 ms) in Windows. This
sometimes causes various audio playback issues when some other process is loading
the system. If you experience such problems, increase size of the audio buffer bychanging the “Buffer time” setting in Settings-dialog. Good starting point is 100 ms.

8.3. Generic
You might want to check that your selected sound device has exclusive mode enabled
in endpoint properties.

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Endpoint properties dialog
With some buggy drivers it might also be necessary to change default format to matchthe sample rate you are trying to use with HQPlayer.

8.4. Channel mapping
Please note, that depending on sound device, channel mappings may have playbacksoftware independent implications. For example some cards perform internal downmix
of multichannel playback depending on speaker layout configured in their respective
control panels.
Here is example of speaker setup found in Windows Vista in Control Panel → Sound /Playback → Configure.

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Windows Vista Speaker Setup dialog
And here is example of Creative Audio Console speaker setup.

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Creative Audio Console
When using ASIO channel mapping with Creative driver, it is advisable to selectmaximum number of channels (7.1 Speakers) here in order to avoid conflicts between
downmixing done by the Creative hardware/drivers and channel mapping / speaker
setup processing done by the HQPlayer.

8.5. No rates available
In some cases, rate selection may stay empty. This means that there are no suitablehardware sampling rates available for selected source material and resampling filter
combination. In this case, try selecting different resampling filter, such as “sinc”,“minphase-sinc” or “none”.

8.6. Known workarounds
E-MU 0202 USB, 0404 USB and Tracker Pre USB
Driver may use fixed rate which can be changed from the E-MU control panel (iconcan be found from the system tray).

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E-MU Control Panel
Usually selecting 44.1 kHz rate and internal sync source allows rate control by thesoftware. If not, sample rate needs to be changed from this control panel before
clicking “Play” in HQPlayer, otherwise starting the device may fail. If this happens
anyway, you can click “Stop”, then correct the sampling rate in E-MU control panel andclick “Play” again.

Copyright © 2008-2013 Jussi Laako / Signalyst. All rights reserved.

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9. Component licenses and trademarks
Following licenses apply for specified components.

9.1. HQPlayer
HQPlayer End User License Agreement
CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING LICENSE AGREEMENT. BY OPENING THE PACKAGE OR
CLICKING ON THE "I AGREE" BUTTON, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY AND ARE
BECOMING A PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF
THIS AGREEMENT, CLICK THE "CANCEL" BUTTON, AND, IF APPLICABLE, RETURN THISPRODUCT TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND.
License Grant
The package contains software ("Software") and related explanatory written materials("Documentation"). "Software" includes any upgrades, modified versions, updates, additions and copiesof the Software. "You" means the person or company who is being licensed to use the Software orDocumentation. "We" and "us" means Jussi Laako, Signalyst.
This Software is licensed, not sold. We hereby grant you a nonexclusive license to use one copy of the
Software on any single computer, provided the Software is in use on only one computer at any time.
The Software is "in use" on a computer when it is loaded into temporary memory (RAM) or installed into
the permanent memory of a computer for example, a hard disk, CD-ROM or other storage device.
Title
We remain the owner of all right, title and interest in the Software and Documentation.
Archival or Backup Copies
You may either:· make one copy of the Software solely for backup or archival purposes;or· transfer the Software to a single hard disk, provided you keep theoriginal solely for backup or archival purposes.
Things You May Not Do
The Software and Documentation are protected by Finnish copyright laws and international treaties. You
must treat the Software and Documentation like any other copyrighted material--for example a book.
You may not:· copy the Documentation;· copy the Software except to make archival or backup copies asprovided above;· modify or adapt the Software or merge it into another program;· reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile or make any attempt todiscover the source code of the Software, except solely for the
purpose of using modified versions of the Qt library or other LGPL libraries,
only to the extent required for this purpose;· place the Software onto a server so that it is accessible via apublic network such as the Internet; or· sublicense, rent, lease or lend any portion of the Software orDocumentation.
Trial Version
Limited time trial license is provided solely for the purpose of verifying that the Software andDocumentation is suitable for You and performs as expected, before purchasing a license. As the trial
license is provided for verification purposes, there is NO WARRANTY or REMEDY. After the limited trial
time, You agree to either stop using the Software and Documentation or purchase a license if You want

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to continue using the Software and Documentation.
Transfers
You may transfer all your rights to use the Software and Documentation to another person or legal entity
provided you transfer this Agreement, the Software and Documentation, including all copies, updates
and prior versions to such person or entity and that you retain no copies, including copies stored oncomputer.
Limited Warranty
In case the Software was delivered to You electronically (over the internet):· as You have been able to test the software within a trial period toverify it's functionality for You, there is NO WARRANTY at all.
In case the Software was delivered to You on a physical media, we warrant that for a period of 14 days
after delivery of this copy of the Software to you:· the physical media on which this copy of the Software is distributed
will be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal
use; and· the Software will perform in substantial accordance with theDocumentation.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, THE FOREGOING LIMITED WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL
OTHER WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND WE DISCLAIM ANY AND
ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF TITLE,NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, regardlessof whether we know or had reason to know of your particular needs. No employee, agent, dealer or
distributor of ours is authorized to modify this limited warranty, nor to make any additional warranties.
Limited Remedy
In case the Software was delivered to You electronically (over the internet):· as You have been able to test the software within a trial period toverify it's functionality for You, there is NO REMEDY at all.
In case the Software was delivered to You on a physical media, our entire liability and your exclusive
remedy shall be:· the replacement of any diskette(s) or other media not meeting our
Limited Warranty which is returned to us or to an authorized Dealer
or Distributor with a copy of your receipt; or· if we or an authorized Dealer or Distributor are unable to deliver a
replacement diskette(s) or other media that is free of defects inmaterials or workmanship, you may terminate this Agreement by
returning the Software and Documentation and your money will be
refunded.
IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOSTPROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISINGFROM THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE (EVEN IF WE OR AN
AUTHORIZED DEALER OR DISTRIBUTOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THESEDAMAGES), OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
Term and Termination
This license agreement takes effect upon your use of the software and remains effective until
terminated. You may terminate it at any time by destroying all copies of the Software andDocumentation in your possession. It will also automatically terminate if you fail to comply with any termor condition of this license agreement. You agree on termination of this license to either return to us or
destroy all copies of the Software and Documentation in your possession.
Confidentiality
The Software contains trade secrets and proprietary know-how that belong to us and it is being madeavailable to you in strict confidence. ANY USE OR DISCLOSURE OF THE SOFTWARE, OR OF ITSALGORITHMS, PROTOCOLS OR INTERFACES, OTHER THAN IN STRICT ACCORDANCE WITH
THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT, MAY BE ACTIONABLE AS A VIOLATION OF OUR TRADE SECRET
Copyright © 2008-2013 Jussi Laako / Signalyst. All rights reserved.

34 / 36
RIGHTS.
General Provisions
1. This written license agreement is the exclusive agreement between you and us concerning theSoftware and Documentation and supersedes any and all prior oral or written agreements, negotiations
or other dealings between us concerning the Software.
2. This license agreement may be modified only by a writing signed by you and us.
3. In the event of litigation between you and us concerning the Software or Documentation, the litigation
will be held in District Court of Länsi-Uusimaa, Finland.
4. This license agreement is governed by the laws of Finland and international treaties.
5. You agree that the Software will not be shipped, transferred or exported into any country or used inany manner prohibited by the laws of Finland or European Union or any other export laws, restrictions
or regulations.

9.2. FLAC
Copyright © 2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007 Josh Coalson
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided
that the following conditions are met:
• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and thefollowing disclaimer.
•

Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions andthe following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

•

Neither the name of the Xiph.org Foundation nor the names of its contributors may be used toendorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS''AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIEDWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AREDISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDINGNEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE,
EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

9.3. ASIO

ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.

9.4. Qt
HQPlayer Desktop version uses unmodified version of Qt library. Qt can be
downloaded from http://qt-project.org/ . Or alternatively fromhttp://www.signalyst.com/src/qt485-src.7z .
Qt is Copyright © 2013 Digia Plc and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
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Qt is licensed under GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 with Digia Qt
LGPL Exception version 1.1.
Qt is a trademark of Digia Plc and/or its subsidiary(-ies).

9.5. Botan
Botan (http://botan.randombit.net/) is distributed under these terms::
Copyright (C) 1999-2012 Jack Lloyd
2001 Peter J Jones
2004-2007 Justin Karneges
2004 Vaclav Ovsik
2005 Matthew Gregan
2005-2006 Matt Johnston
2006 Luca Piccarreta
2007 Yves Jerschow
2007-2008 FlexSecure GmbH2007-2008 Technische Universitat Darmstadt
2007-2008 Falko Strenzke
2007-2008 Martin Doering
2007 Manuel Hartl
2007 Christoph Ludwig
2007 Patrick Sona
2010 Olivier de Gaalon
2012 Vojtech Kral
2012 Markus Wanner
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions aremet:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyrightnotice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyrightnotice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR(S) "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIEDWARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR(S) OR CONTRIBUTOR(S) BE
LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OFSUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR
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36 / 36
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCEOR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN
IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

9.6. Trademarks
Signalyst is a registered trademark of Jussi Laako.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2008-2013 Jussi Laako / Signalyst. All rights reserved.