I have installed the SACD plugin to Foobar so can convert ISO to FLAC but I have some questions about the settings. I'm at the very edge of my knowledge here so I imagine that all the options ought to work, but I thought it was best to check before converting all my ISOs. (I will prob then delete the ISOs as they are quite large, so I want to get it right.)
I'm trying to use the same settings as @skherbeck quoted above (partially from research and partially from sheep mentality.)
PCM Sample rate: The default is 44100. If I change it to 88k or 196k the playback speed from Foobar doubles or quadruples! That makes some sort of sense but can't be right. (I was expecting it to be 196k as a default which I would prob change to 88.)
DSD2PCM mode. I've chosen one of those with a low pass filter because I believe that's what actual SACD players have to do (as the DSD creates noise in the ultra high frequencies?) But again, which is really the best option?
PCM Volume. I've chosen +6db. I read that is best because, again, it's what a player does. (I think the reason is this: The head room given by DSD's one bit approach means that it converts to a low level PCM signal.) But on a few ISOs this results in severe distortion. I'm happy to use +6db if that is the norm, and then re-do the few that don't work. Is there a way to tell which I should use?
LFE I've left "as is" rather than a boost or drop.
Should I be using a DSD processor? It seems to work without choosing that option even though I also have the DSD Processor installed in Foobar.
So... what do others do? Is there a way to definitively tell what to do by looking at the properties of the ISO?
Do I need to even bother with these options? I don't really care about ISO playback on foobar. Perhaps the conversion works on its own parameters and ignores these?
When I choose convert, I get a warning that foobar does not support DSD passthru, so the conversion is not lossless. Of course, that looks worrying, but is it just the basic problem that any conversion from DSD to PCM is not strictly lossless? So although it's technically correct, I shouldn't worry too much? (I was also wondering if there are some conversion options that are less lossy than others.)
I'm not expecting a complete, definitive answer to all this, but if anybody has a comment on even part of this it might help me feel more confident in choosing my options. (Tbh, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I like to go with what's best to give my ears a chance to notice.)