Is a USB audio DAC interface needed just for DSD streams?

[hdo]

To obtain best sound, do the followings;

1. Set sampling rate to your song track's sampling rate. If your song's sample rate is 44.1k, set 44.1k, etc.

2. Set bit width to your DAC's bit width. If your DAC is 32 bits, then set as 32 bits, etc.

3. Do not use resampling(up/down) and do not convert to DSD. It will lose sound quality.

[hdo]

13 minutes ago, WuNgUn said:

Sounds much more "natural" at 192Khz....

This can be true for treble sound. But overall sound can become somewhat weird!

[hdo]

16 minutes ago, WuNgUn said:

So from 192/16 to DSD256 or 512 is just a minor improvement? Im not sure my PC has the horsepower to do DSD256 or 512 anyway...

DSD has inferior sound to PCM, especially bass sound. Why do you think converting PCM tracks to DSD will improve sound? DSD bass sound is blurred. I don't like it.

[hdo]

5 minutes ago, WuNgUn said:

simply from a sample rate comparison, my DAC only supports up to 192Khz using spdif

That's max spdif supports. Commercial HD definition downloads are max 192khz. That's good enough. No need higher definition.

[hdo]

3 minutes ago, Kal Rubinson said:

There's no evidence for this statement.

I can clearly hear this. As you know, DSD is represented in a single bit. It cannot change volume level quickly. It has to change bit by bit, where as PCM can go from zero to maximum. Although you hear from loud speakers, you may not notice the difference.

[hdo]

13 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

native dsd is best!  Anyone that suggests differently is just wrong.

You cannot compare SACD/DSD to CD/PCM. DSDs are high definition. So it naturally sounds better than CD PCM tracks. If you try the same recordings from DXD converted to DSD vs PCM, you will hear the difference.

[hdo]

34 minutes ago, Kal Rubinson said:

What does that mean?

The sound difference is miniscule but is there. To hear the difference, you need very detailed headphones.

[hdo]

1 hour ago, Allan F said:

This is absolute nonsense. You simply don't know what you are talking about.

I know DSDers won't believe whatever truth is.

[hdo]

5 hours ago, Kal Rubinson said:

That's OK, then. It is probably an anomaly

I tested using "Quiet Winter Night" from 2L website, because it provides fair comparison from the same original. You may try yourself with detailed headphones.