Ifi nano iDSD Black Label asio vs wasapi

[stephen_theilig]

Running a nano iDSD Black label. latest firmware for dac and roon. The dac supports MQA rendering, pcm 384khz and dsd 256 DXD, etc. Cant figure out which of the two outputs is the correct one. When I chose " ifi (by amr) HD usb audio asio for output I lose the MQA in settings, Can force it back on but it doesn’t unfold the signal correctly. Now when I chose, " ifi (by amr) HD+ usb audio wasapi, Roon identifies that its a MQA rendering dac, MQA unfolds all the way down the chain but it says that the dac doesn’t support DSD nor any pcm over 192khz. Just curiouse if im doing something wrong.

[xxx (Banned - toxicity)]

If you don’t get an answer on this forum, try iFi support. I’ve dealt with them in the past and they’re fairly responsive.

[john (John Iburg)]

Hello @stephen_theilig,

1. When using the ASIO driver, what do you have the MQA Capabilities set to in Device Setup?
2. When using the WASAPI driver, make sure to check the “Exclusive Mode” option.

-John

[stephen_theilig]

When I chose the ASIO driver it automatically chooses " No MQA support". I can check the box for rendering only which is what the Nano iDSD does but it doesn’t let the dac do the final unfolding. But I do get my native DSD and PCM up to 384khz.
When I chose the WASAPI driver, roon reconizes the MQA capabilities and auto selects render only. Perfect, but then it says on DSD playback convert to PCM and Max sample rate is only 192khz. Exclusive mode is on by default as well for WASAPI driver.

[dabassgoesboomboom]

When I chose the ASIO driver it automatically chooses " No MQA support". I can check the box for rendering only which is what the Nano iDSD does but it doesn’t let the dac do the final unfolding.

Hi Stephen

With ASIO, how do you know the DAC isn’t doing the final unfolding? What colour is the nano’s LED?

[john (John Iburg)]

Hello @stephen_theilig,

What color is the LED on the unit when playing MQA via ASIO with the Renderer Only option selected? Due to the way ASIO works, it is currently not possible for the device to report back it’s MQA status through the signal path in Roon.

-John

[stephen_theilig]

I was not aware that’s how ASIO works. When using ASIO the nano is showing the magenta color for mqa when I select the render option. So I would assume that the nano is indeed doing the final unfolding?

[dabassgoesboomboom]

When using ASIO the nano is showing the magenta color for mqa when I select the render option. So I would assume that the nano is indeed doing the final unfolding?

Yes if you get the magenta LED everything is good. And ASIO is always the better option when you have the option and if it’s working well.

[stephen_theilig]

Great, I appreciate all the feedback!