SOtM smS-200 unveiled at Munich Hi-End

[xwollsock]

Has anybody noticed: in version 0.4.56 (if not earlier) it is possible to play dsd 64 files that have been compressed by wavpack, at least via MPD and DOP.  I haven't tried dsd 128 files yet. I use a Lyngdorf TDAI 2170, which apparently does not accept native dsd (maybe the other Lyngdorf user afrancois can confirm this) with an SOtM sMS 200 Ultra Neo.  (I do use Room Perfect, as my listening room has various deficiencies, which the system compensates for very nicely.) Wavpack compression seems to more than halve the size of the files I've tried.

 

After successfully updating to version 0.4.40 a while ago, I had various problems starting at 0.4.50 which I mentioned to May, together with the suggestion to look into compressed dsd files.  Fortunatley 0.4.56 works again for me.  I do have the blinking light, though, but will try what happens when I close the eunhasu tab in the notebooks's browser.    

 

I used the following page to play with the MPD settings: https://linux.die.net/man/5/mpd.conf

Initially I had used Squeezelite (coming from Daphile), but I always found the interface rather clumsy.  While at first I had occasional stutter on compressed dsd files, now this seems to have stopped, but I still need to play with the parameters some more.

 

Would somebode else be interested in a button for flipping the polarity (NOT shifting the phase!)  in MPD?  Several record labels are known for consistently inverting the polarity of their recordings (e.g. Chesky), others are hit and miss.  Moreover, wrong polarity seems to be advantageous when using headphones, to prevent unpleasant localization of voices or instruments in your head, as it adds diffusion.  Some amps have hardare buttons to switch the polarity (e.g. the Tact Millenium).  Certain speakers, in particular 3-way systems, seem mask the effect as they  intentionally flip the polarity of one of the frequency ranges.   On "straight" systems, however, the effect is quite obvious.  Consider one stroke of a bass drum.  The membrane of your speaker should first move outward, rather than inward.  Daphile eventually got such an option upon my request, however burried deep in the menus.  I've also asked the Moode developer; he claims that is can be done quite easily by means of alsa in MPD, but has other priorities at the moment.  (The Raspberry Pi with Moode is intended for a differernt room anyway, but for the time being has been hooked up in parallel with the sMS 200.)  I have no experience with Roon, is this option available there?

[xwollsock]

Thanks for the info, very nice!  That's certainly another reason for seriously considering ROON, even if it means installing another computer in the living room cabinet...  

 

Before I get too excited: Can this be done on-the-fly, while playing music?

[xwollsock]

3 hours ago, bmoregnr said:

I'd be inclined to do it to a copy of the files themselves in an editor such as Audacity rather than need or want a player to do it.

Of course, but first you have to find out which files need to be flipped, and that works best by listening and switching back and forth.