DSD to PCM & Room Correction

[fredblue]

It can also be the case that folks are outputting DSD from their players, disabling any room correction or other processing. The DVD can benefit from all that. I'd bet that a great deal of DVD preference over SACD around here is due to that.

fwiw the majority of Oppo BDP/UDP owners running 5.1 should probably just let the player do the DSD to PCM transcoding, it's unlikely imho they'll find a common or garden AV Receiver with DSD capability that could do a better job

 

[Lord British]

fwiw the majority of Oppo BDP/UDP owners running 5.1 should probably just let the player do the DSD to PCM transcoding, it's unlikely imho they'll find a common or garden AV Receiver with DSD capability that could do a better job

I've always been curious about this. I have an OPPO UDP-205 connected by HDMI to a Pioneer Elite SC-95, and I let the receiver accept a native DSD signal from the OPPO. I dont think my ears can tell the difference between having the receiver accept a PCM or DSD signal, I only have it set up that way because I would think any time you can eliminate a conversion in the chain the better. Thoughts?

 

[DuncanS]

What I have found with my Oppo 203 & Pioneer SC-LX86 is that when a SACD has been authored 'hot', i.e. at or above the SACD level spec either will cut-out the audio when it hits that hot level. But they don't both do it with the same disc, so its down to their conversion algorithm! For example my AF Bob Dylan "Live 1964" SACD would cut-out the audio if I let the Pioneer play the DSD, but the Oppo happily converted to PCM with no audio cut-out - I can't remember which disc was the opposite. So, I usually let the Oppo convert from DSD to PCM until it objects to it, otherwise I can't tell the difference in the audio quality.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I've always been curious about this. I have an OPPO UDP-205 connected by HDMI to a Pioneer Elite SC-95, and I let the receiver accept a native DSD signal from the OPPO. I dont think my ears can tell the difference between having the receiver accept a PCM or DSD signal, I only have it set up that way because I would think any time you can eliminate a conversion in the chain the better. Thoughts?

It's my understanding that playing DSD does not allow for any signal processing, such as room correction or bass-management.
As long as your speaker placement is ideal, along with room treatment, full-rangeness of your speakers, and maybe factors I'm not thinking of, it should sound wonderful.
If your system is set to process these elements while listening to PCM, you might find the DSD experience lacking.

 

[fredblue]

I've always been curious about this. I have an OPPO UDP-205 connected by HDMI to a Pioneer Elite SC-95, and I let the receiver accept a native DSD signal from the OPPO. I dont think my ears can tell the difference between having the receiver accept a PCM or DSD signal, I only have it set up that way because I would think any time you can eliminate a conversion in the chain the better. Thoughts?

i'd be inclined to let the Oppo do the legwork and handle the DSD to PCM duties

 

[fredblue]

What I have found with my Oppo 203 & Pioneer SC-LX86 is that when a SACD has been authored 'hot', i.e. at or above the SACD level spec either will cut-out the audio when it hits that hot level. But they don't both do it with the same disc, so its down to their conversion algorithm! For example my AF Bob Dylan "Live 1964" SACD would cut-out the audio if I let the Pioneer play the DSD, but the Oppo happily converted to PCM with no audio cut-out - I can't remember which disc was the opposite. So, I usually let the Oppo convert from DSD to PCM until it objects to it, otherwise I can't tell the difference in the audio quality.

the old Thriller SACD did something similar when i was running DSD many moons ago, it'd stutter and pop in places if the AVR was doing the DSD donkey work but not if the BDP was doing the DSD>PCM process

 

[edisonbaggins]

Same with my 5.1 Super Session AF SACD, if memory serves.
Don't I have a Quad LP of this album? If so, are they substantially different mixes?

 

[himey]

any time you can eliminate a conversion in the chain the better

Yes, but in this case, the receiver is most likely converting to PCM. So you would be choosing where that would take place. The Oppo would most likely be the better choice.

 

[stobo222]

fwiw the majority of Oppo BDP/UDP owners running 5.1 should probably just let the player do the DSD to PCM transcoding, it's unlikely imho they'll find a common or garden AV Receiver with DSD capability that could do a better job

My thought has always been that the (Oppo) player should do the DSD D/A processing and the pre-processor should simply accept multi channel analog signals in. It's a pain and it is ugly, but then I have external analog (EQ) processing as well as quad/tri-amped speakers for all channels including surrounds. And it takes manual RTA analysis and adjustment to tune it all in properly. So now it really ugly, but I like it. Keeping it native.

 

[Owen Smith]

If you use delays for the different speakers (which is much simpler than room correction) playing as native DSD with no conversion to PCM anywhere you won't get the delays. Speaker level adjustments (which are pretty much guaranteed to be required in any setup) usually do work with native DSD playback since they're usually done in the DAC itself, or in the AV amp on the multi channel inputs.

Myself I have my Oppo 95 set to convert DSD to PCM so I get the delays, then multi channel analogue out to my AV amp, and the amp does the speaker level adjustments.

I have also found that if set for native DSD playback, the Tubular Bells SACD channels come out of the wrong speakers. Converted to PCM corrects that. I may have other SACDs that play incorrectly with native DSD but I don't make a habit of trying them all. I'm OK with DSD to PCM conversion and I can't hear any difference.

 

[barfle]

I've always been curious about this. I have an OPPO UDP-205 connected by HDMI to a Pioneer Elite SC-95, and I let the receiver accept a native DSD signal from the OPPO. I dont think my ears can tell the difference between having the receiver accept a PCM or DSD signal, I only have it set up that way because I would think any time you can eliminate a conversion in the chain the better. Thoughts?

I bought my 105 based on the reviews of its supeior audio performance, so I use its analog outputs to my Marantz pre-pro. The fact that the Oppo plays almost anything that fits in the drawer is a plus.

One time, I put a thumb drive with some FLAC files on it in the Oppo and in the Marantz. The difference was noticeable, although not stunning, and I prefered the DAC in the Oppo.

I believe the Marantz does not digitize the analog inputs, but I have no data to confirm that.

 

[JediJoker]

I believe the Marantz does not digitize the analog inputs, but I have no data to confirm that.

Only the stereo analog inputs. The multichannel is pass-through only, unless you go very high-end on your pre/pro or AVR.

 

[paligap]

My understanding is that, if you use room correction in your AVR, there is no reason to send it DSD because it will be converted to PCM to apply room correction.