ROCK On Intel NUC
Intel i5-5th Gen
16GB DDR4
3TB external drive
Networking Gear & Setup Details
Basic Vodaphone router
Ethernet
Connected Audio Devices
Meridian Pre & Power Amp (RCA)
Eversolo DMP-A6 to Denafrips Ares II via USB
Number of Tracks in Library
24140 Tracks
Description of Issue
Hi all.
I’m new to ROON and am still getting the hang of things so please bear with me if the questions I ask have been answered before. I have an Eversolo DMP-A6 being used solely as a streamer into an Ares II DAC via USB. Whilst looking at the signal path whilst using either local, over the network, or Tidal, Qobuz, I am seeing a DSP volume of 10 which I would like to remove as I have not enabled anything and would like a lossless path. I have searched and searched but cannot seem to find anything related. Also when playing MQA tracks through ROON in this same setup I get the output on my DMP-A6 screen showing the track as PCM, not MQA. Yet when I use the Tidal app on my iPad, phone or natively on the A6, without using ROON, it shows up as it should MQA.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
P.S My apologies for the crappy photo.
Can you post a Roon Signal Path, when you are playing a Tidal MQA track.
Have you setup Roon Device Settings for the DMP-A6 so that it reflects the MQA capability of the A6?
Can you post a screenshot of that page as well please.
[Picture 1 & 2] You are playing a local flac file not MQA looking at your signal path there is no indication its coming from Tidal.
Are you using the A6 USB out to another DAC as it looks like you are in your signal path. MQA will be broken out of your A6 to any DAC as the device is applying DSP volume you need it on fixed volume and on full for MQA to work to an ongoing DAC.
I am using an external DAc via USB, an Ares II. How would I turn off the dsp as this is definitely unwanted. Can you tell me why the last picture shows the MQA signal path but shows PCM on the A6? This only happens whilst using ROON.
No idea how you turn it off its somewhere in the Eversolo. Are you using its volume control? But it wont matter Ares 2 doesnt support MQA . At best you will get the first MQA decode to 96/24 or 88.2/24 via Roon, not sure the Eversolo will do this if sending to an external DAC,thats a question for them. Roon only sends PCM data to the device as MQA or otherwise. It looks to an external DAC the eversolo does not perform any MQA decoding so doesnt show up. Take out the DAC and play the same file and see what happens. But your never going to get MQA to work as your DAC doesnt support it. I would also set Roon to fixed volume not device.
Many thanks for the replies. I have turned the analogue volume setting in the DMP to max and enabled volume bypass mode and now have a lossless signal path. It may be my lack of knowledge but I was just wondering why playing MQA in the same setup through the DMP Tidal App shows as MQA on the display but ROON only shows it as PCM. Nevertheless I now have a clean signal path which is more important to me. Many thanks for your help.
The DMP app isn’t as transparent and only showing you metadata of incoming stream not its processing. Any DSP breaks MQA signalling and this the won’t be MQA to the DAC. Roon is one of the only solutions that can apply DSP and maintain MQA signalling to an ongoing DAC as long as you use Roons MQA decoder and not the devices. This still wouldn’t help you as the A6 would still break it and your outputting to a Non MQA capable DAC anyway. So you’re not getting any benefit of it. When Roon updates its code to be able to access the new Tidal Non MQA hires streams this becomes a moot point. Looks like the DMP A6 has already done this as it shows Tidal MAX and not Hifi Plus.
