Based on Roon advice, I have disconnected my Mac Mini from my DAC (a Chord Qutest) and replaced the Mac with a SOtm sMS-200.
Could you give me some advice on the settings please?
When I log into the Eunhasu and click the setting for Roon Ready input, it asks for DSD Rate. The maximum setting it will allow me to select is x256. However, my DAC and the sMS-200 are capable of x512 so why won’t it allow me to choose the maximum for my equipment? Is this a limitation of Roon or do I have an incorrect setting somewhere?
Also, do you have any recommendations on which will achieve the maximum performance when it comes to lossless vs upsampled to DSD? I will try it for myself (which I haven’t yet) but I would be interested in your findings/ recommendations?
Hi, if your DAC hasn’t had a patch written for it in Linux it will not work natively, only DOP and it will be limited to a maximum of DSD256 I believe. You can certainly try upsampling into the DAC but the results are DAC dependent. I upsample and get a subtle improvement but my DAC maxes out at DSD128 so a fair bit less demanding than yours.
I don’t have any DSD files so the settings are largely irrelevant I guess. I just wanted to understand why I wasn’t able to set it up perfectly initially. Am I right in assuming there is no difference in sound quality between native DSD vs DOP?
Who would write the Linux patch you mentioned, Chord or Roon? My DAC isn’t recognised by Roon at the moment as it is quite a new model. Do you know how long it typically takes for Roon to recognise new products? The rest of the Chord range is there.
Do you work for Roon support or are you a forum member?
Hi, just a member. There shouldn’t be any difference between DSD native and DOP. That said it won’t stop some from saying they hear a difference, myself included! Manufacturers or occasionally distributors submit products for patches. These then get incorporated into music-centric distros such as end point software and ROCK. I don’t know the timescales for official product recognition. I suspect there is no set time, it happens when the stars align!