dCS friends, can you check something for me?

Audio Gear Talk dCS
1

I’m seeing bit depth discrepancies on a few Qobuz 24/96 albums, where my Rossini shows some tracks as 16/96. I’m curious whether you all see the same thing.

Examples: Kevin Morby’s album, This is a Photograph (great album, BTW), where tracks 1-2 show at 24/96, but the rest of the album shows 16/96 (I see 24/96 for less than a second, then changes to 16/96). Also seeing this behavior for Cassandra Jenkins’ album, (An Overview on) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, where tracks 4-5 are 24/96, but the rest show as 16/96.

2

Hi Fred,

On my Rossini the same happens. It seems to me these albums are of mixed resolution.

If you have more dCS related questions you may want to try the dCS community, at

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3

Thanks! I am also over at the dCS Community forum, but wasn’t sure how many people there are Roon users.

4

Hi Fred,

In a poll run by dCS themselves it shows that about 48% of the dCS respondents is using Roon:

https://dcs.community/t/poll-what-is-the-main-way-you-control-your-dcs-system/4196?u=ermos

5

Wow, that’s higher than I would have guessed. I do find the Roon integration to be great.

6

Yes, dCS and Roon go together very well :ok_hand:

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7

The galvanic isolation on the network connection really makes a great difference.

8

In my case, I have a wired 1gbps network at home to which my NUC10i7+ROCK is connected. The connection to the Rossini DAC is:

Wired Network → Ethernet-SFP bridge → Optical network cable (25ft run to audio rack) → SFP-Ethernet bridge (running at 100mbps) → SoTM iSO-CAT6 Ethernet filter → Rossini’s “Loop” Ethernet port (runs at 100mbps)

The SFP-Ethernet bridge on the Rossini side is powered with an Ultracap LPS-1 power supply.

Do the LPS-1 and iSO-CAT6 make a difference? I don’t know, I had them lying around so why not use them?

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9

I was looking at the SoTM iSO-CAT6 just last night.

It’s been my experience that when one end of either USB or Ethernet are galvanically isolated the SQ is better. It’s also been my experience that when both ends are isolated the SQ is better still.

Is there such a thing as extra quiet? I don’t know. I haven’t taken the time to explore the reasons behind what I am hearing.

10

Ethernet is galvanically isolated by construction, assuming you DON’T use an ethernet cable with ground connections - and I would recommend one without shielding as well.

IMHO, the iSO-CAT6 is a waste of money, it is simply a transformer-coupled Ethernet relay, nothing odd, like the hospital Ethernet isolators - all they do is ensure no electrical coupling.

Why am I using it? Cuz I already spent the money and it doesn’t hurt I don’t think.

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11

I’ve been using fiber to my streamer for several years and then USB out to my DAC’s. Going back to Ethernet into the Bartok feels almost like starting over :wink:

12

fiber to streamer to USB in Bartok sounds fine. I would do this if I wanted to use HQPlayer and NAA, which probably sounds better than RAAT. But weighing convenience is important to me.

In your setup, can you control Bartok’s internal volume from within Roon?

13

I haven’t tried that, but can test it this evening. I currently am setup using a Pre amp.

14

I tried Audirvana through the Signature Rendu to the Bartók and didn’t hear a noticable difference between the network connection playing Roon.

I’m going to do a few listening tests this weekend. I have read a good number of impressions and config suggestions. It will be interesting to learn what I hear with our particular system.

15

I have been a Roon lifetime subscriber since July 2015. A long while back I compared Roon over RAAT vs Audirvana over USB, and at the time my impression was Audirvana sounded a tad better. But RAAT code has evolved (both on the core and the DAC/Streamer) so I don’t know how they would compare today.

Controlling Rossini’s volume from Roon is indispensable to me. My integrated amp is an Audio Note Kondo Ongaku - it has no remote. What I do is set the amp to the max volume I would like to listen to, and then trim it down just a bit with the internal Rossini volume to the level I want.

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