Roon ARC
Device Integration (DACs, Carplay, Android Auto)
USB DAC integration in Android
Windows
Unrelated to issue
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Android, Topping G5
Unrelated
What is the issue or the question?
Roon doesn’t seem to support this configuration on Android, and downsamples the stream back to 44.1 rather than the original format (DSD). I’m running the Android app which seems to be v1.0 (from the Play Store) and there is no option for DSD support as I’ve seen in this support forum before.
In ARC settings, go to PLAYBACK and uncheck Automatically pick best quality. You may then choose a playback strategy for Wi-Fi and cellular.
I could be wrong, but DSD will be converted to PCM with Arc.
You can also adjust for upsampling via MUSE.
With DSD capable USB DACs I think it supports DSD:
Does ARC Support USB DACs?
Yes, ARC uses RAAT just like Roon and has the same capabilities with regard to USB DACs.
On iOS, bit-perfect playback is possible up to 768kHz / 24bit, and DSD256 using DoP.
On Android, playback on a USB DAC will sometimes yield a higher sample rate than the native rate of the Android device.
So here’s my configuration and the signal paths. Tested using a Qudelix 5K, FiiO BTR7 and Topping G5, all with the same result regardless of settings. It’s interesting that Roon ARC detects those device as only 48 kHz capable which would explain the downsampling. So from my observation, it sees the device fine but still seems to downsample to Android’s audio driver capabilities which is at 48 kHz only.
Test was done with a DSD256 file from my Roon Core
Update: So this seems like a bug. When I enable the USB Driver (Beta), when I plug in the FiiO BTR7 it finally gives me the pop-up to allow Roon ARC to access the USB device, just like the UAPP app. But, as soon as I hit play, Roon ARC crashes and closes out. It’s on a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Of course, without the USB driver enabled you use the built-in audio stack of Android, and this is 48 kHz, so everything needs to be downsampled. This is expected.
This would be a bug, though. It works fine for me with FiiO KA5 on Android and the USB driver. It detects the actual device capabilities (including DSD256) and uses them (I didn’t test with DSD but it works with hi-res PCM). And does not crash.
There are known issues with some DACs and some phones. See here and add your feedback. In particular, note the information and questions by Roon’s Connor toward the end of thread:
Awesome thank you so much @Suedkiez! I’ll add the feedback there. Luckily have another phone I can test this out so will try that as well.
IDK but I don’t see how any DSD playback to the DAC should work in combination with DSP (Headroom adjustment: -3dB) on a phone or tablet. Anyone tried this and did it work? If yes, how hot did the device run and how long lasted the battery charge?
Hi @danucalovj,
Thank you for your post and for adding your comments to the general tracking thread associated with this issue. While we don’t have an update to share at this time we are still actively investigating the issue; you’ll see posts from the team in the tracking thread as we make progress.
