I am currently successfully streaming DoP64 via a Wiim Pro (with Audioquest coax cable to DAC), from my Mac Airbook M1 (latest OS update) and Audirvana Studio, to my Okto Research dac8 Stereo DAC.
Does anyone know of an low budget replacement for the Wiim Pro streamer, to enable wireless playing of DoP128 (the maximum spec for the Okto Research DAC)? I’ve tried both the Wiim Plus and the Wiim Plus Pro, and neither was able to successfully stream DoP128 to my Okto Research DAC. Wiim support was of no use in solving the problem, after multiple contacts they refused to even acknowledge that DoP is supported by their streamers.
Thank you. I was unable to find mention of DoP specifically on the Zen Stream site page. However, I sent a chat message and was assured they will get back to me via email (this being Sunday).
If you are determined to use Wireless transmission… You can send raw native DSD wirelessly on macOS… The USB bus requires that DSD is transmitted via DoP.
To add some technical insight…
The ESS Sabre chipset(s) used by the Okto DAC are PCM-centric… These DACs decimate 1-bit PDM (DSD) signals to PCM… So your best sound-quality will be reproduced by having Audirvāna do the decimation (down-conversion) of the DSD file to a PCM file… It is better to have the computer do the decimation processing, so to off-load this from the ESS chipset DSP/SDM processing where the conversion processing produces noise (jitter) in the chipset clocking topologies…
In DSD settings choose ‘None, convert to PCM’
I’m a bit confused at this point. Perhaps I should mention that I do not have any native DSD files. If I am correct in my assumption at this point, I’ve been upsampling my ripped CD files, from my Apple Music library, and Qobuz files via streaming, by choosing the DSD/r8brain options in Audirvana… Via uPnp to the Wiim for streaming to my DAC, and DSD128 via USB direct to my DAC. The Wiim shows as “[UPnP Wiim_Pass]” in the Network choices section of the “Output device selection” in Audirvana. And the Okto DAC display shows “DSD64 DoP” as what it’s receiving.
If I do as you’ve asked and choose “None, convert to PCM”, the DSD64/r8brain option is still available in Upsampling. However if I choose it, the Okto DAC display now shows “96 kHz PCM” as what it’s receiving, not DoP.
By the way, the Okto DAC specs, per it’s manual, show DoP128 as an option.
P.S. Thanks for your responses, they are much appreciated.
The following information may or may not be helpful.
FROM: Okto Research
“NEW: The recently released v1.6 firmware brings DoP decoding capability to SPDIF, optical and AES/EBU inputs, enabling direct playback from SACD players. Available for download below.”
(from Specifications, same link) “USB (asynchronous, UAC2.0 compliant), up to 384 kHz / 32 bit PCM, DSD256 or DoP128”
“Our design process took an unconventional path, ultimately deviating entirely from the D/A chip manufacturer guidelines.” Pavel Krasensky, dac8 Stereo designer
By decimating (down-converting) all DSD files to PCM in Audirvāna you are removing the burden of de-embedding the 1-bit PDM (DSD) signal from the DoP carrier file and removing the burden of the decimation (down-conversion) of the 1-bit DSD file to PCM, from the ESS chipset DSP architecture, where this DSP processing induces noise (jitter) in the chipset clocking topology.
When you modulate (up-sample) any PCM file to 1-bit PDM (DSD) there is no additional information created… The information encoded in the PCM file is bound by the resolution of the master source digitization/encoding and the Nyquist Frequency of the original encoding… Modulating any PCM file to any DSD sample-rate, entails inserting zero’s (0) in the data stream, and does not create any new harmonic or spatial information… What is achieved in the modulation of PCM files to DSD sample-rates is that the quality of the output signal presented to the D/A circuitry of a DSD-centric DAC, looks very similar to an analog waveform and the conversion from this digital signal requires a simple low-pass filter circuit to produce analog voltages at output.
In the case of ESS Sabre DACs, you are creating processing overhead in the chipset DSP when you present the DAC with a DoP signal, because the DAC is PCM-centric and converts all signals internally to high sample-rate PCM for output as multi-bit PCM…
If you have no DSD files then there is absolutely no reason to modulate (up-convert) PCM files to DSD in your case, where the Okto DAC topology is using ESS Sabre chipsets.
You may perceive an audible improvement by up-sampling all PCM files to 352.8kHz and 384kHz using the ‘Power of Two’ strategy, which will appropriately produce the proper logical result from different PCM sample-rates. This will reduce the sample-rate DSP processing in the ESS Sabre chipset. Careful adjustment of the r8Brain parametric controls allow for fine tuning to suit your aesthetic in the context of your DAC.
When you play a native DSD file it is better to convert these to PCM in Audirvāna, in the context of the ESS DAC chipset.
In the case of the ESS Sabre chipset, unless you are up-sampling using ‘Power of Two’ strategy in r8Brain, it will be better to disable the up-sampling module and deliver the PCM file directly to your DAC and convert DSD files to PCM.
Again, I do appreciate your responses. It’s a busy time for me now, so I may not be able to respond very quickly. However I did want to post this info regarding the DSD capabilities of the Okto Research dac8 Stereo DAC. From my research so far, I gather that the Okto DAC uses the ES9028PRO chip.
This link is to a posting by Pavel, the designer of the dac8 (I believe he’s also the owner of Okto Research, but I’m not sure of that). [Review and Measurements of Okto DAC8 8Ch DAC & Amp | Page 63 | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum]
And this link is to a Datasheet from an ESS Technology site: https://www.esstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ES9028PRO-Datasheet-v3.7.pdf
As you see, the ASR measurements are PCM-centric… The ESS technology is what it is…
“…The DAC8 PRO/Stereo also process native DSD as DSD from the beginning to the end…”
I am sure this statement is true, however, what does this mean…? What is meant by …“the end”? Is the signal being delivered for output as 1-bit PDM or multi-bit DSD-Wide? If the ESS DAC is involved it is multi-bit DSD-Wide…
I know it is hard to accept if you were expecting a DSD-centric DAC with an unfettered 1-bit PDM signal-path to a simple low-pass filtered D/A output…
I have pointed this out to many times before, you are not the first…
