Signal path quality grading

Hi Guys

can you pls tell me what is the quality levels in the signal path? so what is the best quality grading? is it enhanced? is it lossless? I want to know to where should I aim to.
I have seen the following and wonder if someone can order it from high to low:
-low quality
-high quality
-enhanced
-lossless

thnx

https://kb.roonlabs.com/Signal_Path

It’s the one that sounds best to you.

1 Like

thanx @BlackJack
so is it correct to say that this is the right order (from best to worst)?:
-lossless
-enhanced
-high quality
-low quality

No, you have to decide for yourself.

2 Likes

Yes, that is correct.

Lossless means the signal has not been altered, but that might not sound best to you on your system. That depends on the enhancements you have made using Roon DSP or your system.

1 Like

thnx @Philipp_Schaefer

I have no DSP on for my set

My personal preference would be lossless. I use that on my main system and don’t want to alter the digital source in any way.

If that doesn’t sound good for most things, I’d mess with the room or playback equipment before trying to fix it with DSP.

I’ve noticed that Tidal MQA streaming shows up as “enhanced”. I suppose that is better than “lossless”?

Maybe, maybe not. Which sounds better to you? Are you using an MQA capable DAC that can do the full MQA rendering? You really should let your ears tell you.

I would agree with the list, but in many circumstances “enhanced” might be truer to the original signal than “lossless”. The real goal is to get the recorded sound into your brain as faithfully as possible. That can almost always be aided by smart EQ to compensate for inaccuracies in transducers and rooms.

Think of EQ and convolution like the leveling feet you find on work benches. The floor at the factory where the bench was manufactured might have been flat, but your garage at home might not be. Is it better to screw the feet all the way in to preserve the accuracy of the table as it was built, or to use a level and adjust the feet until it’s flat where you have it placed? I think this would be more common if the “level”, in this case room measurement tools like REW, were easier to use.

2 Likes

MQA is not “lossless”, in that what goes in doesn’t come out. It is however arguably “enhanced”… hence all the “what sounds better to you” comments. I would strive for lossless, enhanced (only if necessary) by dsp or upsampling.

I would not strive for “lossless” when using MQA. Let Roon or an MQA DAC do the decoding from 44.1 or 48 to 88.2 or 96. It’s simply restoring the file. Then, let your MQA DAC do the rendering if it sounds better to you, and it will.

Jim, thats not quite how it works - MQA is not lossless, thats why there can never be a purple blob with it… but there are loads of other threads about this, no need to start another :wink:

Thanks all for the replies, make all sense to me. then I would like to ask for a recommendation for a ROON endpoint, I am using macmini as the core now, and its connected with HDMI directly to my ARCAM AVR550. The arcam does have good dacs but not MQA. I was considering added a ROON endpoint (with or without DAC) but maybe if there is a nice MQA DAC in a nice price, I would consider. any recommendations?

That’s exactly how it works. You are the person who said, “I would strive for lossless.” Bruno is asking about MQA. I advised Bruno to let Roon or his DAC do the decoding. Then, let his MQA DAC do the rendering. It will sound better than MQA with no decoding or rendering.

This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.