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What is a good approach to listening to DSD files (.dsf mainly) with a Chord DAVE? Edited: (my error in setting things up).

Hello, first of all, I'd like to say i'm not fluent with english so please, try be comprehensive with me ? I have 2 questions. Both of them are related to my configuration which is based on : A Raspberry PI 3 B+ (1 board) An Isolator v1.2 card (1 board) A KATANA V1.2 DAC (3 board) That makes a 5 boards stacked in the selled by Allo acrylic Case. This config is powered by 2 external power (both 5V 3A : coming from Allo's website and bought with the Katana) : 1st one directly on the Isolator card (USB-C connector) 2nd one using USB-C connector on the card on top of the set-up (SparkOS Micro Controller) There is a 8GB sd Card on which I've installed Volumio. Volumio is reading audio files from a NFS share located on a NAS. I don't have issues to read FLAC files but I can't read AAC, SACD tracks inside ISO file, DSD tracks inside ISO file, DFF files. 1- Can you explain me how can I do that please ? I also realised that when I don't play any track, it's like if there were some "wind" in the room. I mean I can hear a noise which I don't hear if I switch my amplifier on another source (like CD player, turntable or TV). 2- Do I have to check or change anything to make it work normally ? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Hi everybody, Maybe I am not posting this into the correct forum... but here it is : Anyone who knows how to do this can copy / paste this text where it belongs so that everyone hears about this news. I can rip any SACD stereo or multichannel on my recent Primare BD32 MKII, (with the latest firmware) so this one can be listed with the Oppo's and Pioneers among others. It makes ISO files (bit to bit copy of my SACD, as well as DSF files (as tracks) It works fine with the USB stick with the AutoScript folder (with 3 files in it) and together with ISO2DSD and it rips a 1 hour SACD in less then 15 minutes (over cabled IP network) I am a lucky guy ! Thx all of you. Koen.

I hope this isn't the wrong place to ask. I've got a Marantz SR7007. I use it's built in DAC for now which isn't DSD capable as far as i can tell. I downloaded the SACD Plugin and am curious if i have to change settings to convert to PCM and sample rate of 176.4khz due to my Marantz only having a 24/192 DAC. I currently have all the settings on to where it would play DSD, with DSD processor option ticked: Output Mode: DSD+PCM PCM Volume: +0db LFE as is PCM Sample rate: 352.8khz DSD2PCM Mode: I have no idea what to select here(Options are Multistage 32fp or 64fp/ Direct 32fp or 64fp/ Installable 32 or 64fp) DSD Processor: Ticked on. All my dsd files show they are playing at their resolution in Foobar status bar, but my Marantz is converting it to 24/192 on it's own correct? Should i ideally turn off dsd processor options and choose the 176.4khz sample rate or does it not matter? Thank you

This was my post in the SACD Ripping thread (via Oppo/Pioneer). I didn't want to derail that thread so I created this one about the value of SACD. Thanks Do you love SACD / DSD sound? I do and always have. Why is there so much negativity about it on the other sites? Whenever it is mentioned, people say it's just remastering, or DSD is fundamentally flawed, or it's a placebo affect. To me it's night and day with transparency, bass clarity, speed, far better defined images, lack-of-fatigue in the highs, no digital shrillness, analog-like-advantages, and on and on. But there is real, almost hostile pushback, and I just don't understand it. Yep, PCM processing has come a long way, and I love what my Chord DAVE does with PCM (and it also does a fine job with native DSD, thankfully), but there is nothing like DSD to these ears. I sure hope the format stays alive in some capacity. This new method of turning SACDs into files is a Godsend, and I would hope it revives DSD to some degree. Hope springs eternal you know. But it won't happen if there is all this criticism of it. I just don't get how the audiophile community could be so critical of something that just sounds so great. I guess there is no accounting for taste, but do others in this thread hear what I have always heard from DSD? Thanks for any comments. Here is the other thread about SACD ripping with Oppo/Pioneer.

Oppo has announced a few more details on their upcoming UDP-205 disc player.... Lossless High-resolution Audio Audio format support has been expanded to multi-channel DSD64/128, as well as 192kHz/24-bit PCM used in high-resolution lossless formats such AIFF, ALAC, APE, FLAC and WAV. (DSD64 is played back in native mode or converted to PCM, DSD128 converted to PCM.) http://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-205/

If you're a fan of Steely Dan and surround sound listener at all, you probably have one or more of Elliot Scheiner's fantastic 5.1 remixes of either Gaucho, Two Against Nature or Everything Must Go, or Donald Fagen's first three solo albums, and know how mind-blowingly good they are. In 2004, Universal listed Steely Dan's first six albums (Can't Buy A Thrill through Aja) as multichannel SACDs "coming soon" on their website, but they ended their support for surround sound music in early 2005 and the whole project was scrapped. Recently a small group of us from the QuadraphonicQuad.com forums have had some contact with someone close to the band who wants to see this project re-started, and can put the case forward on our behalf to someone at UMG who's in a position to investigate making it happen. Obviously with any kind of endeavour like this there are a million hurdles to overcome but it's our understanding via our contact that a show of support from potential purchasers might help get the ball rolling. The petition is here if you'd like to show your interest. Scheiner said in interviews circa 2006 that the 5.1 mix for Pretzel Logic at the very least was completed, so if we can help get that released at the very least, I'd consider it a major win simply based on how good his 5.1 remix of Gaucho is. Anything beyond that would be a bonus - I know we've all heard the "missing multi-tracks" stories about Black Cowand Aja, but who knows what's transpired in that regard in the last 10 years.

Playback Designs has announced their new Dream Series products which include the MPD-8 DAC with Quad DSD playback ($22,000) and the MPT-8 Digital Music Transport ($14,000 - $22,000) which brings CD and SACD disc playback along with an optional music server to the Dream Series products. The new Dream Series products will be shown in prototype form at the upcoming AXPONA and High End Munich audio shows in April and May 2017. http://positive-feedback.com/industry-news/playback-designs-dream-series-quad-dsd-dac-transport/

I was wondering about DACs that are especially good with DSD. Does anyone happen to use a separate DAC just for DSD files for performance reasons? Thanks.

I've collected a number of SACD ISOs I've been converting them using the sacd_extract.exe in Windows to DSF. I'm wondering if this is the best way to convert since some of the SACD ISOs may be in DSD128 or higher? Is there a conversion tool that supports outputting the higher resolutions, or will they all be converted to plain DSD? I'm not trying to upsample DSD, just preserve the original resolution. I've heard a couple of DSD512s that have sounded better than any recordings I have heard so far, except for the few times I've been able to hear master tape or copies of master tapes.

Hi everybody, Maybe I am not posting this into the correct forum... but here it is : Anyone who knows how to do this can copy / paste this text where it belongs so that everyone hears about this news. I can rip any SACD stereo or multichannel on my recent Primare BD32 MKII, (with the latest firmware) so this one can be listed with the Oppo's and Pioneers among others. It makes ISO files (bit to bit copy of my SACD, as well as DSF files (as tracks) It works fine with the USB stick with the AutoScript folder (with 3 files in it) and together with ISO2DSD and it rips a 1 hour SACD in less then 15 minutes (over cabled IP network) I am a lucky guy ! Thx all of you. Koen.

Hi everybody, I am completely new here (from Belgium, btw) and I have a question on how to rip SACD on an Oppo BDP-103EU. In picture attached you will find the numbers " 8550 " (which I suppose is the MediaTek MT8550 chipset) Although this is the setup (soft-and firmware version) of an Oppo BDP-103EU unit, I am not sure whether this unit indeed can rip SACD because 8550 is not 8580 (as is needed) nor 8560 chip. Can you eventually send me a picture of an Oppo 103 setup page with soft- and firmware details of which you are sure they will work for ripping SACD together with the ISO2DSD software ? Is there any limitation on the firmware upgrade ? Or how can one see that the Oppo actually has this MediaTek MT8580 chip (SOC) on board ? Thank you very much for your reply. You can do this here or preferably by PM to koen.michels(at)telenet.be Kindest regards. Koen. Note : I have not yet bought an Oppo 103 or 105 - Awaiting absolute certainty !

Hi everybody, I am completely new here (from Belgium, btw) and I have a question on how to rip SACD on an Oppo BDP-103EU. In picture attached you will find the numbers " 8550 " (which I suppose is the MediaTek MT8550 chipset) Although this is the setup (soft-and firmware version) of an Oppo BDP-103EU unit, I am not sure whether this unit indeed can rip SACD because 8550 is not 8580 (as is needed) nor 8560 chip. Can you eventually send me a picture of an Oppo 103 setup page with soft- and firmware details of which you are sure they will work for ripping SACD together with the ISO2DSD software ? Is there any limitation on the firmware upgrade ? Or how can one see that the Oppo actually has this MediaTek MT8580 chip (SOC) on board ? Thank you very much for your reply. You can do this here or preferably by PM to koen.michels(at)telenet.be Kindest regards. Koen. Note : I have not yet bought an Oppo 103 or 105 - Awaiting absolute certainty !

Just got this, terrific sound quality and "feeling"! I am very impressed with the mono re-mix. Also fired up the PS3 for the first time in a while, glad it still works. Hopefully, as with Sgt. Peppers, there will be many more good re-master releases over the next few years as we reach the 50th anniversaries of what I consider to be overall the best albums in "popular" music. Full disclosure, I was 15 when the Airplane came up with this. Happy listening!

When I buy SACDs, how can I be sure they aren't just Redbook CDs that have been upsampled?

Music Direct are taking orders for Heart like a Wheel in SACD or if you like Vinyl. This album has touched my heart many times. Given Linda's health at the moment, it's the least we can do is to place an order for this this fine work.

I currently own a Pioneer PD-10 which handles SACDs as well as CDs. It also plays back DVD-Rs on which have been recorded hi-res audio files sourced from shop-bought SACDS (my backups). I have many other 96/24 recordings of my own tho' which I'd like to put onto disk but lack the knowledge of how to do this without downgrading them? Is a DVD-R the answer and how to burn the files so that they playback on my Pioneer with no downgrade in quality? Thanks, peeps.

I very much love the Vivaldi interpretation of Dixit Dominus by Negri in the (originally?) Philips recording "Sacred Choral Music Vol. 5: Dixit Dominus RV595, Sacrum RV 586, In exitu Israel RV 604, Introduzione al Dixit RV 635" CD released in 1990. I am really crazy about it. Its like a 300 years old, early fusion of John Coltrane and The Doors ;-). But the sound quality is just awful, spoiling the joy of listening to a loud replay. Any idea which forum I could use to gather some music lovers to join me and approach Philips for a remastering...? Money does not matter... (stupid to say this, but I would be willing to spend more than for another silly 10-20 CDs). Sounds crazy, might be rediculous, but never give up... Any co-maniacs? Any ideas? Thanks guys!

Now I finally found a solution to extract SACD ISO files on the fly. No need for Terminal, or the SACD-Xtract software... I just use AudirvanaPlus … This cool software has ALL I NEED!!!!!! There is an option: "Add Files To iTunes" in AudirvanaPlus. Be sure first to uncheck the two boxes in the iTunes Prefs->Advanced: "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library". I then drag my ISO file to the new opened window, set the "Quality of the proxy files to "Uncompressed" and whushhhh…. AudirvanaPlus extracts, and converts all the files I need. And adds them to iTunes too When finished, remember to tick the two boxes in iTunes again. Hours, or even weeks of conversion are just done within minutes now. Best Regards KK

Hi all, I own some DSD files encapsulated into FLAC container. I do not know who is the author of those files but they play well on my previous Lumin Music player. Today I've tested those files in Jriver 18 but It don't play them. Jriver perfectly read tags of those flacs but if I listen to the sound I can hear only noise. I've some other .dff files that jriver play well. So my questions are: 1) there is some way to play those flacs in Jriver? 2) there is some tool to extract .dff files from those flacs ? thank you all.

Hi guys, I've been using A+ to convert my SACD.iso backups to .flac files. Unfortunately, my network player can't play 88.2kHz files, so A+(which is a great program for everything else) can't get me what I want. I have since discovered Saracon, which looks like it might be able to provide me with 24/96 files. However, I don't know how to mount/load/open my SACD.iso files. When I attempt a DSD to PCM conversion it asks for a .dff file. How can I produce a .dff file from my SACD.iso files? Or do I have to use a different program to convert my SACD.iso files to a PCM format?

Hi - I am new to this forum but have recently upgraded a lot of my equipment from speakers to receiver, blu ray player, 2 channel pre and power amp as well as my most recent additions the DAC2 DX from benchmark and the cocktail audio x40. My challenge is that I have music all over the place from my macbook stored locally to a NAS server by QNAP (and WDmycloud) to streaming services and SACD/CD etc. my goal has been lately to have a separate 2 channel system from my marantz sr7009 which was previously my all in one component for music/movies and more. my issue as of late is that I do not like having to plug in my macbook via hard link (usb/optical etc.) to the benchmark or other input (analog on jc-2 preamp) because I find it limiting. I dont think I have any digital outputs on my sr7009 and my BR player while quite capable of these tasks is not the easiest device to sort through NAS media files,etc. The cocktail audio player is a smorgasbord of technology and functionality but I have yet to tame this beast and there is not a lot of information out there right now to help. so my question would be this - (my equipment is listed below for reference) what would be the ideal way to hook up all the components in a way where I do not have to constantly plug/replug and switch wires and speaker cables around but can still watch movies in surround sound (from the sr7009) and use my separate two channel system (jc-2/dac2 dx/A-21 power amp) and ideally have music either played back via a media player (could be macbook pro or could be something else) streamed or playback by disc. I want the best in sound quality and to separate the two types of playback as much as possible as I have experienced an unbelievable clear, clean and eye opening sound from the new 2 channel separates moving from my all in one receiver and i do not want to sacrifice that in anyway. I also want to know what media playback method would work best, using a dedicated media player device like the cocktail audio player or something like an auralec/etc? or USB via my macbook is the best method? would be awesome to have my two subwoofers in the mix too but no one on other forums or anything I can find online seem to support stereo subwoofer setups. this would be ideal to me as i am not a huge fan of audyssey or other EQ when it comes to my tunes. happy to answer more questions as I have way too much equipment and very little know how:) speakers - B&W CM10 mains, CMC2 center, CM5 surrounds Subwoofers - dual SVS SB2000s receiver/BR = marantz sr7009 and ud7007 respectively 2 channel rig - Parasound JC-2 preamp, parasound A21 power amp (both two channel only) Digital - Benchmark dac2dx and macbook pro Cocktail Audio X-40 (DAC/media player/disc ripper/streamer and more) NAS - qnap ts431 and wdmcloud thanks in advance for anyone with enough patience and time to help out.

Luxman D-08u SACD Player and DAC "The D-08u looks so good and sounds so good playing discs or files via its USB input that at its price I can’t think of a better or more versatile way to crunch bits into music." "Where the Luxman player succeeds (and where so many other one-box players fall short) is in making the SACD layer sound like a better, fuller, more realistic version of the music captured on the CD layer." -Dennis Davis (The Audio Beat, October 2015) If you're looking for a player that is capable of getting the most out of your SACD collection, as well as, your hi-res downloads, then look no further than Luxman's flagship D-08u SACD/DAC player. The D-08u produces an expression and detail unimaginable for CD players using any less than Luxman's high quality components, attention to detail and of course passion for high-fidelity audio. Equipped with both USB and CD and ready for multiple file formats and platforms the D-08u is a CD player in a league of its own. With the D-08u you no longer have to agonize over choosing an SACD player or a stand-alone DAC. For more information or to purchase, please visit us here. This product qualifies for Free Shipping and 5% back in points when you register for Club Ciamara Membership Rewards Program 1.844.CIAMARA (1.844.242.6272) High End Audio Store NYC - Experience Ciamara

Hello, I'm working on a DSD to PCM conversion tool and I've just been looking into the click that you often get at the start and end of the converted tracks. I've written up a short entry on the topic here: https://code.google.com/p/dsf2flac/wiki/ClicksAtStartAndEnd which some may find interesting. All the best, Jack.

My apologies if this has been asked elsewhere, but I couldn't find a duplicate thread. What is your favorite SACD? Your choice could be for reasons of sound quality, great music, or both. My answer probably depends on the day of the week you ask me, but for today I would say, Ray Brown - Live at the Loa. And yours? Joel