It's official, Apple is transitioning to their own chips in the Mac

[AudioDoctor]

Here is the press release if you want to read it.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/apple-announces-mac-transition-to-apple-silicon/

I don't think this will affect Roon too much, it may eliminate using a Mac as a Core, but the control app already runs on Apple designed chips, so that won't be a problem. HQPlayer may not like it either. That i9 Sonic Transporter is looking better and better.

[AudioDoctor]

12 minutes ago, Matias said:

Wow, this is bad news for Intel.

 

I think Intel did it to themselves by not being able to advance their chips fast enough for Apple.

[AudioDoctor]

18 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I wonder if MacOS on ARM will support native DSD. 

 

That would be interesting wouldn't it.

[AudioDoctor]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

iOS supports native DSD with some apps right?

 

I honestly have no idea. Its my understanding it's only a consideration when outputting direct via USB. Network connections can go native. Am I wrong? I don't have any DSD yet, and my 2011 Mac Mini has zero chance of upsampling to DSD so I haven't tried it yet.

[AudioDoctor]

26 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Here’s the official statement from Onkyo HF Player for iOS

 

 

“DSD can be output as PCM or DoP. DoP Output function supports output of native DSD to DoP- and iPhone-compatible external devices (such as a DAC) via an appropriate wired connection. Playback of high-resolution files increases demands on CPU and battery resources.”

 

That's interesting. Macs with the T2 chip have a spotty record with audio output over USB. That's one reason I switched to network audio versus direct USB connection, I read the tea leaves, so to speak.

 

Edit: Right now, I can guarantee that Roon will work on a future iPad, and perhaps on an ARM Mac as a control point. Both Roon Server and HQPlayer will run on a Linux machine.

[AudioDoctor]

45 minutes ago, HenryOHenry said:

Any update on playing DSD files using an M1 Mac? I’m getting hiccups playing anything more than 64 on mine. Not sure if it’s a CPU issue (mine is a 2.3GHz dual-core i5 in a 2017 MBP) or I need more RAM (have 8 GB) or what. My Grace/Drop SDACB can supposedly handle DSD 256 and DXD, so DSD 128 should be no problem.

 

Any advice?

 

Are you upsampling or just playing?

[AudioDoctor]

1 hour ago, HenryOHenry said:

Just playing. I'm have no problems with PCM, upsampled or not. I can even play DXD, though the file sizes are insane and not worth it IMO. I’m only having problems with DSD above 64.

Thanks for that post. If you’re having a few hiccups playing 128, no wonder I’m having problems with my less powerful CPU. Sometimes 128 plays OK, sometimes not. It seems to depend on whether the track loads properly and on the track size. With shorter tracks, I can even play DSD 256.

 

 It might be worth increasing RAM to 16GB if you can, although I don't guarantee that would fix the issue though.

 

I fixed my issues by abandoning the Mac platform all together and building a server with significantly more power.