Some questions about Sample Rate Conversion

Roon Software Discussion
1

Hi,

I’ve got a local library of mostly 44.1 16bit files with some hi-res stuff mixed in.
I just added Qobuz to Roon and need to pick a max sample rate and bit depth.
I listen throughout the day mainly on Sonos set ups limited to 24bit 48Khz and my DX3 Pro with some IEMs that can do up to some crazy sample/bit rates.

I don’t believe in anything above 24 bit 96Khz can even plausibly provide any benefit, so that’s what I chose as my Qobuz streaming quality:

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But the above often results in Roon needing to convert the sample rate down to 48Khz from 96Khz. Is this conversion at all destructive? It doesn’t show lossless in signal path, but for all intents and purposes it’s lossless right?

I’m wondering if I should just choose 44.1 16 bit as my streaming quality for Qobuz and always get the lossless signal path, but then I’d lose out on the capabilities of my DX3 Pro and headphone set up…

Does Qobuz store multiple versions of the same file in different sample/bit rates or are they just downsampling on the fly themselves?

I guess the crux of my concern is if down sampling to 24bit 48khz from let’s say 24bit 96khz is worse than just asking Qobuz for the file in 16 bit 44.1 and being full lossless signal path…

Thanks for any clarification

2

It should not destroy anything audible. The fast filter used by Roon could be faster, but it’s not a significant concern. So, although not theoretically bit perfect, it is, as you say, lossless for all intents and purposes.

I personally don’t think anything above 44.1/16 adds any value, so that would save you some bandwidth. I only stream that if available.

I believe that, when different formats are available for the same track, they are truly different versions, not conversions.

1 Like
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Thank you!

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