Core Machine (Operating system/System info/Roon build number)
Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)
Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.)
Description Of Issue
Why does all music copied in DSD sound worse than in e.g. FLAC.
Sounds like it comes out of a box, Tidal sounds even better. Applies not only to anything but everything that is copied.
What do you mean by “copied in DSD?” Do you mean that DSD originals sound worse when “copied” from the original to another “copy” in DSD than they do if you “copy” them to FLAC? Note that you cannot copy DSD to FLAC but only transcode it.
In any case, my experience is that DSD copies are identical to the original DSD and in no way inferior to FLAC copies from the same source.
Sorry if I was vague.
Original is original and remains so if played in the same format.
My prosessor does not decode/play DSD format.
What I meant is, if DSD is converted to PCM by Roon, it does not sound good at all in my set up.
In an A / B test it is clear that the sound is much better when the DSD file format is converted to PCM in another source such as my Oppo bluray player.
It is hard for me to respond to this. Obviously, there is some difference in having the conversion done in different devices. That said, I am surprised and skeptical about your reaction to Roon’s DSD-PCM conversion.
In order for Roon’s @support team to better assist you, please provide a brief description of your current setup using this link as a guide.
Make sure to describe your network configuration/topology, including any networking hardware currently in use, so they can have a clear understanding of how your devices are communicating.
Meridian 818v3 ID41 streaming card and Nucleus connected to an 16port HP Procurve network switch.
From switch, CAT6 cable connected to fiber modem that provide ip addresses to the equipment and internet.
Hi @Karl_Olsen,
Does the issue only impact when streaming the DSD to the Meridian zone or does it impact multiple zones?
Are there just a small set of DSD affected by the issue? If you don’t have other DSD tracks to test with, you can download some from the 2L Test Bench (right-click on the file size -> save as).
There is a general problem with playing DSD file format with Roon/Nucleus when it comes to sound quality.
Affects both multi-channel and stereo in my setup.
The Nucleus has lot of music I play in any format, multichannel and stereo.
When playing DSD (.dsf or .dff) music files, there are no doubt there is a problem with the conversion.
If i play same DSD files from an Oppo or another brand that convert DSD til PCM, there is no degradation in the sound quality.
This may have something to do that Roon is using software and other brand is using hardware for the conversion?
I would suggest an A//B blind test with DSD and PCM music playback and see for yourself to be honest.
Is your playback system limited to 44.1?
HDMI is limited to 88,2 kHz.
Since when? I stream 24/192 over HDMI.
48-hdmi multichannel
Can you post a picture of your page? I can’t understand how/where you’d insert “48-hdmi multichannel.”
Hi @Karl_Olsen,
Thanks for the screenshot! It looks like you have the Max Sample Rate set to 48kHz in that menu, can you please try increasing it to 192kHz and let us know if that helps?
My HDMI switch does not support more than 96kHz input, therefore no sound when playing 192kHz.
