@mike Apologies - though I do not need this setting at the moment because the DAC I am using can play all sample rates of the material I have available for playback, I do have a question on how this works.
Say for example my DAC can only output up to 24/96, what setting would I choose in Settings -> Audio under Max Sample rate? I see a choice of 1x, 2x, 4x? I don’t quite understand what choosing 2x would do as opposed to 4x if playing a 24/192 file? Is it mean playback would be 24/96 if I choose 2x and playback would be 24/48 if I choose 4x? If yes, why would one ever choose 1x?
I would have thought the dropdown would allow one to choose the maximum supported sample rate of the DAC (output).
I would have thought the dropdown would allow one to choose the maximum supported sample rate of the DAC (output).
This is exactly what it does. I think it’s just the terminology that’s causing confusion.
4x means: content above 4x will be downsampled to the 4x rate in the same family. 384 -> 192 and 352.8 -> 176.4
2x means: content above 2x will be downsampled to the 2x rate in the same family. 384,192 -> 96 and 352.8,176.4 -> 88.2
1x means: content above 1x will be downsampled to the 1x rate in the same family. 384,192,96 -> 48 and 352.8,176.4,88.2 -> 44.1
For quality purposes, we want to keep sample rates in the same family, since synchronous sample rate conversion is inherently a higher quality process than asynchronous sample rate conversion.
I don´t understand the “Max Sample Rate” in Roon´s output either. Why not just call it by the name, the sample rate is a number, ie. 192 and not a factor (ie. 2 X). I mean its easier to remember that your DAC has a maximum of 192 kHz then you have to do some math. I just LOVE the KISS theory: “Keep It Simple Stupid” ;=)