I have noticed that when I attempt to play DSD64 files, even with sampling rate conversion and DSP disabled in Roon, the tracks are being converted to PCM before being sent to the Volumio Motivo for decoding and analog output. As far as I understand, the Motivo hardware supports native DSD playback.
Could you please help me understand why Roon Core is performing a DSD-to-PCM conversion in this scenario?
Are there any specific settings or requirements—either within Roon or on the Motivo endpoint—that I should adjust to enable direct DSD streaming (native DSD or DoP) instead of conversion to PCM?
Thank you for the detailed information regarding your setup. I’ve reviewed the diagnostic data enabled on your account and the Volumio Motivo device capabilities. Here’s what’s happening:
DSD-to-PCM Conversion in Roon
The Motivo endpoint advertises "dsd_mode":"none" in its RAAT output configuration.
This indicates that, as far as Roon is concerned, the device does not currently accept native DSD or DoP streams over RAAT.
As a result, even if the hardware supports native DSD, Roon will automatically convert DSD64 tracks to PCM before sending them.
Why this occurs despite hardware support
RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport) relies on the endpoint reporting its supported formats and DSD handling.
Since the Motivo endpoint reports "dsd_mode":"none", Roon assumes it cannot handle DSD natively.
Without explicit DoP or native DSD support advertised in the RAAT client, Roon defaults to PCM conversion.
Right now, Roon is converting DSD64 to PCM because the Motivo RAAT client does not report DSD capability ("dsd_mode":"none"). Enabling DoP or native DSD in the Motivo (if available) is required for Roon to send DSD without conversion. We also contacted the partners team to clarify the information about supported formats, and we will update you here as soon as possible.
When will Roon and Volumio provide a precise update to the Motivo endpoint encoding or capabilities reporting, so that the device can advertise its full native DSD or DoP support to Roon?
A clear timeline or commitment from both teams would be very helpful, as resolving this limitation is extremely important for my listening setup.
I would appreciate a direct answer regarding the timeframe or release plan for this feature update, so users like myself can finally enjoy native DSD playback as promised by the hardware capabilities.
Additionally, I have previously raised a question regarding KKBOX playback compatibility (discussion link: Regarding Album Playback Issues with Roon and KKBOX [Ticket in]. Could you please provide an update on the progress towards resolving that issue as well? Both matters are important for my user experience, and I hope to hear concrete feedback and next steps on both fronts.
As to DSD, but it’s the same with e.g. multichannel and AVRs, almost no (roon Ready) device manufacturer gives explicit information on detailed audio support with RAAT in public tech sheets or manuals. And roon Ready does not mean a device supports every single audio signal via RAAT that is supported natively through some other input implemented in that device.
RAAT is treated as a separate input type with its very own implementation and limitations, just like S/PDIF over Coax or TOSLink, USB, HDMI, I2S etc.
Many manufacturers are pretty shy when it comes to concrete audio support on concrete inputs. And reading the information given in tech sheet and manual of the Motivo doesn’t seem to be an exception here. And reading it carefully they don’t say anything about detailed RAAT support, not even about more concrete DSD support in general when it comes to inputs. They just mention DSD in combination with outputs which I find rather unusual.
So, neither Volumio nor roon do promise or advertise a concrete DSD functionality here. Because Volumio doesn’t want to be more precise (as many others as well) and roon is not the manufacturer of that device.
As written in several threads, this is sometimes (if going beyond PCM or stereo) a rather frustrating situation for (potential) customers. But unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to have changed.
In your specific case the device’s reporting of not being able to handle (stereo) DSD in some flavor over RAAT might be a bug and could be fixed. But don’t hold your breath.
We are terribly sorry to hear about the problem that you face within this thread.
As of now we can see that the problem is that Volumio does not advertise DSD so forcible conversion occurs.
We have raised this question internally but it will take some time to get to some conclusion.
We appreciate your feedback and time spent on this and it is possible that this problem will be solved, but as of now it is too early for us to say anything on the possible outcome.
Regarding your other thread: as @vadim said we have internal investigation tickets and some job will done on this in the future, however we might not provide exact estimates on solution which we are sorry for. But upon the fix the information about it will appear in release notes.
Let us know please if you have any other questions.
Via the Roon Bridge plugin (acknowledged, not Roon Ready) I achieve Native DSD and DoP.
Via the Squeezelite plugin I achieve DoP. Have you tried this.
Via UPnP with Audirvana I achieve Native DSD and DoP.
I find the above comment odd.
As the Motivo is a Roon Ready device, is it not known by Roon Labs (who tested it for its approval) if the Motivo as an RR endpoint has DSD capabilities?
The Roon Ready implementation should have a separate layer of settings of VolumioOS, correct?
@maddib I know the DSD is via RAAT, but the below sates the DSD settings need enabling on the Motivo before Roon sees the capability.
This is odd to me.
I can have DietPi (just an OS) and install Roon Bridge. With it connected to my DSD capable DAC I only enable Native DSD in Roon. The same applies for my FiiO R7. No settings on the R7 to enable for Roon/RAAT to support DSD.
The settings on my RPi with VolunioOS by default had Native DSD set, but this is for Volumio’s music player and not Roon Bridge.
It’s great will pick this up at some point, but I’m not sure the information being provided by Roon Support in this thread is fully accurate. The Roon Partners Team should look at this sooner because it goes against this
By this, Vadim is referring to the RAAT reporting the Motivo sends back to the roon server including its actual capability to process DSD over RAAT regardless of the reporting.
He does not refer to some settings in some Motivo specific app. At least that’s what I understand. Think enabling the DSD options in the Motivo app doesn’t change anything regarding RAAT.
My whole point here is that Roon’s implementation of the Motivo is the issue. It’s lessoned the features available from a Volumio endpoint. The info given from Roon support is confusing and conflicting.
Should this
Read as
“The Roon Ready implantation on the Motivo does not advertise DSD and this is a mistake”
And should this
Read as
“Check in Roon > endpoint settings for the Motivo that Native DSD of DoP are enabled (if available)”
Just checked myself. It is not there. I also remembered why. Roon is not presenting pointless options. You can’t choose DSD Playback strategy because only DoP is supported.
PS: There is also no option (shown) to choose exclusive mode – unless there is actually a choice to make.
Maybe, maybe not? If Roon Support says so, it is likely that way. The Poly example shows on the other hand that settings on an endpoint can very well influence the available options in Roon.
You can’t see/choose the max sample rate for DSD in Roon if the option for DSD / bit-perfect playback in Poly is disabled.
You can use volume control in Roon if DSD / bit-perfect playback in Poly is disabled.
IDK Volumio though, so I don’t know if there are settings that may influence the reporting of DSD capabilities like the DSD / bit-perfect setting on the Poly does. From other threads here I know that other streamer often have volume control settings that need to be turned off for DSD to work with Roon.
PS: For streamers with attached USB DAC, because USB is a two-way connection and also capable of advertising supported formats, a related setting may be even present in the DAC.
If I set the Volumio to DoP within the VolumioOS settings, Roon still plays Native DSD as it is set to do so Via Roon > Roon Bridge endpoint audio settings.
With Roon Ready this could of course be different for the Motivo, but an educated guess tells me otherwise.
I don’t think they need to know the settings on a third-party product to certify it. Also are the support people likely not the ones that do certifications – hence the wait time.
I also don’t think that Roon support can or should provide support for third-party products. Volumio should have suitable documentation that covers available configuration options and a support department that can answer questions of customers. As was pointed out above, this is an issue with the self-declaration of capabilities from the Volumio device. Customers should contact Volumio about it so they can fix it if it is an error or enhance their documentation in this regard if not IMHO.
They’re providing support for the Roon Ready implementation of the device. Roon test and certify the device. Yes I agree, Roon support are less likely to be the folks who certify the devices. However, I would expect some degree of knowledge to be held on file for each devices implantation so that it doesn’t turn in to a ‘tit for tat’ Roon said this and Volumio said that. That’s the whole point of the Roon Partner programme, isn’t it.
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