So I use a DAC that has its D to A converter chip and circuit optimized for DSD 256. This means the computer and Audirvana have to up convert to DSD 256 in the program. I recently purchased a new Mac Mini wih M1 CPU as it is reported to be a very good machine. I can perform DSD 128 conversion, but when I select DSD 256 i get white static and a high pitched squeal overlaid over the music. When watching the utility that shows CPU usage it pegs at 243% and stays there for as long as signal is being fed. At DSD 128 it jumps to 200% at the beginning of the track and stays there for about 5 seconds and then drops to 20%. When using PCM 352.8 kHz I am at 20% CPU usage.
Is there any reason why the new Mac Mini M1 cannot do DSD 256 conversion? Everything from bench test numbers show it should be capable. Is there anything within Audirvana that is incompatible or limiting for what I am needing to do?
I did lower the pre-load cache setting as suggested, does not change the white noise and high pitched oscillation sound over the music. I never had drop outs, but just a constant noise over the music.
Thats a good point, I had forgotten about that. I need to download some files so I have native DSD256 on hand. This is my first foray into these specialty formats. I listen to a lot of modern folk music, and those musicians can only afford to release their work on standard redbook CD. Folk musicians are always poor.
Downloaded a DSD256 file from 2L High resolution. It would play when selected for DSD 128 or PCM 352.8. But when you select DSD256 you get the same white noise and high pitched oscillation over the music. This is puzzling.
I would repurpose my laptop for a trial as it has an Intel i7-4200HQ, an older one 2.4 GHz. However this machine has Win 8.1 on it and cannot run Audirvana. So I had hoped to trial it on this machine and see if this was a MAC OS issue or not. Unfortunately that is not an option, and I don’t have a machine powerful enough in the house to do the upsampling in the software.
Hello, I have the same errors with the last Audirvana Version. I have also a Mac Mini M1. I do oversampling all *.flac from 44,1kHz-16bit to DSD256 an get suddenly interruptions. This happens also then upsampling 96kHz-24bit to DSD128 or DSD256. I get also interruptions if I switch to safari or to the launchpad.
With the HQplayer all oversampling runs fine, no interruptions. I use poly-sinc-ext and the Modulator ASDM7EC.
My DAC is an RME Adi-2 DAC fs.
In Audirvana, if you look at the DAC (Active Device) it should show the sample rates it’s capable of.
In my case the DAC is capable of DSD256 but only shows DSD128, because in DoP it requires more headroom than is possible. I’d need it to be capable of PCM 704, and the DAC can only manage 352. It’s an OSX restriction for the requirement of DoP.
My previous Mac was a late 2012 with 16 GB of RAM. I just recently aquired this DAC and moved to Audirvana for the server program, previously I was using Pure Music with an Audio Magic DAC which was a multi bit design capable of doing up to 24/192. This has been my first attempt at using a DSD capable DAC, and so far its not working out very well LOL. It seems to me that most DSD capable DAC will play whatever the native format is, and then once you have a DSD encoded file then you use that particular output. This particular DAC is not typical, and this may be my issue. The DAC chip has been configured to run at DSD256, and the unit itself is reported to offer its highest sound quality when fed that signal. So, the music program needs to convert any signal, whether it be 16/44.1 or DSD64/128 to DSD256 and feed it to the DAC. So far I cannot get the computer to do this without noise. Supposedly the M1 is supposed to have a powerful and flexible CPU chip, and the smaller format was valuable to me as it takes up less room in my audio cabinet. Others seems to use a WIN based machine with an i7 chipset. Problem is I bought from BH Photo, and have been informed that I have no return or exchange options on the Mini M1. Tough lesson learned.
Hi,
sorry I haven’t read this thread before I purchased a mac mini m1. Now I run in exactly this issue and returning the m1 like Wolfgangt is not an option for me. Is there another resolution meanwhile?