Hello all, I had a question about playing dsd files with a Nucleus One and capabilities of the processor to what music can be played with best clarity and not taxing the N1 processor. Thank you, Chris Peterson
The answer is more complicated. It depends.
Do you use a USB connected DAC or do you use Ethernet to connect to your endpoints?
I believe, that, being linux based, the Nucleus One will use DoP to transport DSD to a USB DAC. This, in and of itself has no impact but it can limit the maximum DSD rate that can be supported relative to using native DSD.
Irrespective of the connection method, do you do, or intend to do, equalization or room correction? If so, the available processing power of the Nucleus One may limit what you can do. DSD64 and DSD128 should be fine. I believe, DSD256 can be marginal - some settings may work others may not - and DSD512 is very unlikely to work.
With the Nucleus One, you can still play the high bit rate DSD sources with equalization or room correction but, if the processor cannot keep up, you will have to configure the endpoint(s) to downconvert to PCM.
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Nope it depends on if the DAC is in the Linux Kernel as supporting DSD, if it is you can get native up to DSD 512 normally. if not it will fallback to DoP if thats supported on the DAC and is UAC2 compliant, if not it will convert to PCM.
Same applies for network connected streamers as well. Unfortunately lots of DAC makers don’t support lInux well at all and only Native DSD on Windows and often not fully UAC compliant
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Be reminded, native DSD output via the integrated HDMI port is not possible by any chance.
Hi Chris. if your playing DSD files as recorded to a Roon Ready DSD capable DAC via Ethernet it should not tax the Nucleus One at all. It is DSP processing, conversions, up sampling or down sampling that puts a load on the cpu.
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Hello Wade, I have a usb connected dac(Astell and Kern Kann Max) Roon ready and dsd capable. Have not figured out what setting is best and how to get everything working properly yet. Working on tail scale for vpn running through Mac mini and iPhone for remote and Nucleus One which is not able to use tail scale as yet. Not sure why all devices show they have tail scale on them but not seeing if they are actually setting up the vpn because not seeing the 100 ip showing up on nucleus arc but seems to be connecting faster. Play by play for explaining would be helpful because I am very new to N1 Roon and dac settings and functionality. Thank you sir, Chris Peterson
Hello all, I have been reading everything and not much shows all the proper settings as the how to’s just show one way to hook things up and I have not seen how to get everything working as of yet. I appreciate all the help. I have my Nucleus one hard wired in and the dac usb connected and Mac mini hard wired in. Iphone is remote as well as Mac mini remote as well and Nucleus 1 as server or core. No music added as yet but Mac mini has all my music on iTunes and Nucleus 1 shows music through cached files shared on tidal. Just curious how and what would be the best way to put everything on the N1 for best audio quality and minimal dsp enhancement. Thank you all, Chris Peterson
Hi @chrispy90,
Thanks for reaching out to us to ask about this issue. DSD 128 will strain the N1 but might work. We looked at the profile for A&K and it will play DSD 128 over Roon Ready. However, there was no information about playing it via USB on Linux readily available. Hopefully that answers your question. If you need any more help please let us know!
Hello Maddib, I do not run hdmi for audio. I run dac into n1 via usb. I also run 3.5 aux out into my eras 100’s to send a better signal over WiFi or Bluetooth being limited then Sonos updated the WiFi sound to 192khz and 24 bit so hoping dsd will play over dop or another option. Thank you. Chris Peterson
Hello all, My question is how do I download and play dsd files. Very new and a break down how to would be greatly appreciated. Step by step and best sites available please. Working on the tail scale set up as well. Have tail scale on iPhone and Mac mini both switched on but Nucleus one still not switching on. The N1 is still not functioning with vpn it locks up and I have to reboot the N1 then it messes up my arc settings and says poor connection or unable to connect through cellular data. Not sure why tail scale is preinstalled but the hardest to get working properly. Probably a setting but always is a setting. Haha! Anyone have any experience with getting tail scale to show up on multiple devices and connect and have all connected devices show up on the devices to know if everything is working together like it should be. I have tried everything I have read and not all devices show up as working or with a green dot but each device is on that device with a green dot. I have emailed tail scale and waiting for response. Hopefully they know how to resolve the connection issue. I am not sure what setting means what and will relay the working settings when I know them to help others as well. Thank you, Chris Peterson
Hey @chrispy90,
Thanks for the follow-up!
In regard to DSD playback, a few things to consider:
- Music Library Integration: consider transferring your existing music collection from your Mac Mini to the Nucleus One’s internal storage. This centralizes your library, allowing Roon to manage and access your files more efficiently.
- DSD Playback Settings: Within the Roon app, navigate to Settings > Audio, select your DAC, and access Device Setup. Ensure that the DSD Playback Strategy is set to “Native” if your DAC supports it. If not, “DoP (DSD over PCM)” is an alternative.
- Processing Capabilities: The Nucleus One is capable of handling DSD64 and DSD128 files effectively. However, for DSD256 and higher, especially when using DSP features like equalization or room correction, the processing power may be insufficient, leading to potential playback issues. In such cases, consider downsampling higher-rate DSD files to a supported rate or disabling certain DSP functions.
In regards to Tailscale, give the below KB a read and let me know if it helps clear up any confusion:
We’ll be on standby for your reply! If you do run into additional issues, please let us know the specific point where you’re getting stuck, and we’ll be happy to help further. 
Hello Benjamin,
I have been talking with a tech at tail scale trying to resolve the unable to connect issues with tail scale. What I have found out is my Mac mini has a bug log which might explain why old networks or different networks are still trying to connect creating issue after issue with my devices not working properly. I have not had an easy set up that everyone seems to have. I have a working Nucleus 1 and arc for CarPlay but not the tail scale because that would increase the speed of bigger music file transfers so that is a must moving forward. Working on finding the error or bug log hoping that will shed some light on what is doing what with causing issues of connectivity.
Thank you for your help,
Chris Peterson
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Hey @chrispy90,
Thank you for the follow-up! Sorry to hear you’re still having issues with Tailscale, but I’m glad to hear Tailscale support is helping you out further!
Certainly let us know how things go, and if we can be of assistance along the way. 
Hello Benjamin,
Happy to report all devices showing up under my iPhone and my Mac mini is set up as exit node. Running a test later but should work great. Thank you for all your help all Roon support staff. Appreciate everyone’s help.
Chris Peterson
Great to hear @chrispy90! We’ll make sure this thread stays open a few days just in case, but we’ll mark the above as the Solution for now.
Hello all,
So what I have learned is all devices have to have the same sign on. I also had two Mac mini’s running. One Mac app and one stand alone. I switched to stand alone and tailscale disconnected so awaiting a response from Tailscale tech to fix the new problem which should be resolved in a couple of days. VPN transfer speed was super fast compared to cellular data and every sound detail is clear and spatial. Excited for what is to come when everything is functioning correctly. Basically when you do a search and tap to select it is immediately playing. Thanks again for all the help again,
Chris Peterson
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