I’ve just started with Audirvana and trying to play a DSD256 file on MacOS to AudioLab M-DAC+ via USB, but the DAC only shows PCM352.8kHz.
I’ve checked the DAC’s documentation and it’s capable of recognizing DSD (and it says the DAC’s screen should show DSD…).
Audirvana setting for DAC input is set to “DSD over PCM 1.1”. However, when the file is playing, Audirvana is only showing “PCM 64/352.8”
I’ve read many of the other posts in the forum about playing DSD files and I haven’t found an answer–thx.
To get DSD over PCM for DSD256, you need a PCM rate of 705.6.
What do your settings look like for upsampling and DAC maximum PCM and DSD capability?
Welcome…
Two things to take into consideration with this DAC and DSD playback
First @Jud points out that in-order to playback 11.2MHz 1-bit PDM (DSD256) the DAC must support the DoP 1.1 PCM carrier sample-rate of 705.6kHz… Your DAC supports up to 384kHz… The highest DSD sample-rate that you can playback is 5.8MHz DSD128 as the DoP 1.1 PCM carrier sample-rate is 352.8kHz.
The next consideration is that the AudioLab M-DAC+ uses the ESS Sabre32 9018 chipset… These DAC chipsets convert and up-sample all signals to a high sample-rate multi-bit (PCM) signal and decimate the result to a lower sample-rate for delivery to the D/A output circuitry… The DAC has no unfettered 1-bit PDM signal path to a simple low-passed filtered D/A circuit. You will be better served to convert your DSD files to PCM in Audirvāna (which can then also then accommodate your DSD256 files)… By offloading the decimation processing to Audirvāna, you are freeing the DAC platform from the burden of DSP overhead in the de-embedding of the 1-bit signal from the DoP carrier and the subsequent decimation processing of the 1-bit signal in the chipset.
thx so much for the quick response. Indeed, playing a DSD128 file in Audirvana came through as DSD5.8MHz at my DAC. I’ll pursue your 2nd consideration. I’ve got a lot to learn.
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thx so much. Playing a DSD128 file in Audirvana came through as DSD5.8MHz at my DAC.
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You may like to experiment with up-sampling all of your PCM files in r8Brain using the “Power of Two” up-sampling strategy. which will also reduce DSP overhead in the ESS chipset… Having the computer doing this, rather than the ESS chipset, reduces noise (jitter) in the clocking topologies of the DAC created by the DSP processing (sample-rate conversion) and improves the data signal integrity…