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Before you figure out what Mac to get, you need to figure out how you're going to do DSD256 or DSD512 from a Mac. See what @ted_b says in Post #4475. Right now, the only way I know to do DSD rates higher than 128 is to use an ExaSound DAC with Exa's Mac ASIO driver.

 

Once you've got that sorted, I'm thinking a loaded mini (3.0GHz dual-core i7, 16GB RAM) or better should be good for what you want, although you might be able to squeak by with a little less. Maybe @Miska can be more definitive about hardware requirements.

 

--David

 

I see. Thank you. I completely forgot about that bottleneck.....I emailed Miska as well so I'll see what he says....

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Yes, I stand corrected. I was able to do this after the 5.0A firmware upgrade and some futzing around on my iDSD nano hooked up to my Mac Pro.

 

So @Geardaddy, please take note. DSD256 is do-able on a Mac; DSD512 is a problem. I apologize for the bad info. (I can only do DSD128 on my Mytek DAC, so I think that's what confused me.)

 

--David

 

No worries. My Lampizator will soon be able to process 512, so I hope to find a Mac solution for that and upsample everything to the hilt.....time will tell....

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Just to be more clear, the restriction isn't so much the Mac or OS X--except for the fact that Coreaudio requires DoP to send DSD (unless you have a custom ASIO driven DAC like exaSound). It is the DoP 50% overhead required for framing. So a DoP capable USB input board/DAC (such as your Lampi when updated) that can accept the rate for 512 can be driven by a Mac/DoP setup to DSD256.

If your DAC can only go non-DoP to 256, then DoP will only take you to 128.

 

Exactly. I found this out after further scratching and an email from Lucas....

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I plan on using a Linux based NAA or streamer fronted by a Mac server using Roon/HQplayer. I have now been told that this paradigm can spit out DSD1024 with no issues....case closed. I confess my ignorance.....the only remaining issue is to find a Mac with enough horsepower that does not cost 8k like the latest Mac Pros! I need to maximize Geekbench score for the least amount of $$$

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No it is not sacrilegious.. You can do that too, although there are not so many PCM DACs out there. (note the difference between PCM DAC and a DAC that merely accepts PCM input)

 

 

 

You can find one set of results here, DSC1 vs Metrum Musette:

Signalyst DSC1 - Page 21 - diyAudio

 

I will post more complete results for Musette on my blog here at CA once I find time. I have all the measurements done already.

 

Both are discrete DAC implementations. Although DSC1 is not a finished product but a DIY design and work-in-progress project that keeps improving as time goes.

 

To me, the DSC1 sounds much better than Musette, but I'm surely biased. :D

 

I obtained the Musette because it can accept 352.8/384k input and is decently priced. I expect some improvements in performance with the more expensive models.

 

Very interesting. I look forward to reading about it....

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I just run my 1st DSD256 test with:

 

Processing = MacBookPro 11,4 i7 2.2GHz, El Capitan 10.11.2, HQPlayer 3.12 (no tuning)

NAA = Lenovo T410 i5, Linux Mint 17.3 (no tuning)

DAC = JLsounds AKM4490 with JLsounds I2overUSB I/F

 

PCM16/44 to DSD256 non-DoP > ~ 33-35% CPU (no pipeline SDM / closed-form / DSD257+fs)

DSD64 to DSD256 non-DoP > ~18-20% CPU (no pipeline SDM / closed-form / DSD257+fs)

 

Some comments:

 

- pipeline SDM doesn't work with my system and HQP 3.12 (unable to play any file ... dunno why)

- I experienced some rare dropouts (tried to tune buffer to 100mSec but sometimes still occur ... need to investigate)

- MacBookPro at stable 30% usage doesn't spin fans too fast, so noise is definitely good

 

Hope useful. Have a nice day. Massimiliano

 

Thanks Massimiliano! That is very useful feedback....

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  • 3 weeks later...

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