DSD and MQA playback on ifi Zen One Signature DAC

Hi,

Am using ifi Zen One Signature as my main DAC connected to my windows 11 pro pc. In Audirvana Origin the Dac is not able to play DSD as native but it is doing DSD over PCM 1.0/1.1 and is limited to 64 and 128 but not 256, though my dac has native DSD256 capabilities.

Also when I set the output as ASIO the DSD is turned off on Native and MQA is not being detected.

If I select as Kernel Streaming then the MQA is being detected as a Decoder. But DSD Native is still not there.

Only if I select it as DSD over PCM 1.0/1.1 then only DSD 64 and 128 is turning on. I know DSD over PCM gets half of what the device’s max DSD bit support.

Also my debug log here:

Audirvana Origin 2.1.0 (20100)

Windows 11 (22621) with 8GB physical RAM

Connected account of : Satyajit Dey

SIGNAL PROCESSING:

Polarity Inversion:
	Globally: OFF
	Per track: ON
Effects plugins NOT ACTIVE

UPSAMPLING:
r8brain not in use
r8brain filter parameters
Bandwidth = 99.5%
Stop band attenuation 218dB
Phase linear

AUDIO VOLUME:
Max allowed volume: 100
Replay Gain: None
SW volume control: ON

LIBRARY SETTINGS:
Sync list: 0 folders
Library database path: C:\Users\satya\AppData\Local\Audirvana\Audirvana\AudirvanaDatabase.sqlite

Remote Control server:
Listening on 192.168.150.13 on port 59526

=================== AUDIO DEVICE ========================

Active method: Local

Max. memory for audio buffers: 1206MB

Local Audio Engine: ASIO 2
Driver version 1292
Use max I/O buffer size: ON

Preferred device:
iFi USB Audio Device
Model UID:iFi USB Audio Device
UID:iFi USB Audio Device

Active Sample Rate: 44.1kHz

Bridge settings:
Sample rate limitation: none
Sample rate switching latency: none
Limit bitdepth to 24bit: OFF
Mute during sample rate change: OFF

Selected device:iFi USB Audio Device
Manufacturer:
Model name: iFi USB Audio Device
Model UID: iFi USB Audio Device
UID: iFi USB Audio Device

8 available sample rates up to 384000Hz
44100
48000
88200
96000
176400
192000
352800
384000

Volume Control
Physical: No
Virtual: No

MQA capability
Auto-detect MQA devices: Yes
Not a MQA device, user set to not MQA
DSD capability: Unhandled

Device audio channels
Preferred stereo channels L:0 R:1
Channel bitmap: Ox3, layout:
Channel 0 mapped to 0
Channel 1 mapped to 1

Audio channels in use
Number of channels: 2
Use as stereo device only: No
Simple stereo device: Yes

1 output streams:
Number of active channels: 2, in 1 stream(s)
Channel #0 :Stream 0 channel 0
Channel #1 :Stream 0 channel 1
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 44.1kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 48kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 88.2kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 96kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 176.4kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 192kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 352.8kHz
2 ch Integer PCM 32bit little endian 384kHz

Local devices found : 2
Device #0: iFi USB Audio Device
Manufacturer:
Model UID: iFi USB Audio Device
UID: iFi USB Audio Device
Model name: iFi USB Audio Device
Device #1: Realtek ASIO
Manufacturer:
Model UID: Realtek ASIO
UID: Realtek ASIO
Model name: Realtek ASIO

UPnP

UPnP devices found : 1
Device #0: 32ES500_Series
UID: uuid:4D454930-0100-1000-8001-D8AFF1B22097
Location: http://192.168.150.101:55000/dmr/ddd.xml
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Model name: Panasonic VIErA

Chromecast

Chromecast devices found : 1
Device #0: TV
ID: DnsSd#BRAVIA-4K-VH2-0bac2463a12584407717cba758e2adba._googlecast._tcp.local#0
Model name: BRAVIA 4K VH2


Please let me know how I can solve this issue.

Did you install the ASIO driver?

The PCM carrier sample-rate for DoP transmission of DSD256 is 705.6kHz… the iFi DAC supports up to 384kHz or the PCM carrier sample-rate of 352.6kHz for DoP transmission of DSD128
:notes: :eye: :headphones: :eye: :notes:

The ZEN One Signature is the first ZEN DAC to support all hi-res: DSD256, PCM384, MQA384kHz, Bluetooth 96KHz.

Unit looks to be capable, I’m going with @bitracer he doesn’t have all the driver’s or firmware updates.

He should Goto iFi site and get the full package for his DAC

In the context of DoP… the PCM sample-rate of 384kHz is the limiting factor…
:notes: :eye: :headphones: :eye: :notes:

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He’s on windows, isn’t there a driver that can do dsd 256 on windows? I think that’s what racer is trying to achieve for him. I could be completely wrong, I’m allergic to Microsoft

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This why I focused on the DoP limitation… I understand Windows drivers will allow native raw DSDxxx transmission…
:notes: :eye: :headphones: :eye: :notes:

1 Like

We on same page sorta……:+1:t2:

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Yes I did

I did a full uninstallation and reinstallation of the Driver v5.12 and guess what… the DSD is back and I can play DSD256 on Native. Zen One is displaying Red LED indicator for the DSD256.

But still no auto detection of MQA… I can select it as MQA decoder manually. Don’t know if that will work.

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Bingo, set your MQA manually should work. For some reason iFi gear is really dependent upon downloading the most recent firmware and drivers. I’m thinking with windows especially.

1 Like

Thanks I will try that out.

Hi @satyajit the MQA auto detection will not work on ASIO, you need to set it up manually as the MQA auto detection is made for WASAPI :wink:

Oh thanks a lot…

By doing it manually will the MQA still work in ASIO mode?

Yes it is, you will see your device LED will change for the MQA color when starting playback.