You were asking about DSD, not PCM.
Dirk
If I use Toslink, with max 192khz, should I still do convolution files in those rates? Or would 192khz on convolution file work better?
Convolution is performed as source rate, not upsampled rate.
HQPlayer will automatically downsample your convolution filter at source rate.
So far my experience chasing the higher numbers hasnāt been that greatā¦ I still end up enjoying 384 pcm and 256 dsd the most. I canāt find the right combination of filters/shapers for 1.536m pcm without it sounding āoffā. Or perhaps it is my accompanying gearā¦ Well thatās a new slippery slope.
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Apologies for this question. What are the EC modulators I keep seeing mentioned, where do I find this and what do they do?
Its probably just terminology for something im already using lol
Thanks
EC means Extra Compensation. Jussi hasnāt described the technical details sfaik.
These are heavy duty DSD modulators that require good CPU clock rates. Sometimes a system can benefit from offloading other computations by HQP (such as convolution) to CUDA freeing up the CPU for the EC modulators.
The general consensus is that the EC modulators are a step up in SQ. So much so that people will drop back from DSD 512 to DSD 256 in order to enable current hardware to run EC. I did this and currently use an EC modulator and ext2 filter at DSD 256 and am very happy with the sound.
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Thank youā¦but where are they and how do I select them?
Do you have screenshot to give mean idea?
Cheers
Right on track, āgeneral consensusā some people still prefer the previous gen non-EC modulators with higher DSD rates, the current barrier for EC is DSD256, no hardware today can do 512.
I was expecting the new 10th Gen Intel to hopefully reach 512 but with the Thermal Velocity Boost controls and āfavoredā cores donāt know if it will get you there, likely not.
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Are we just talking about The current modulator options under SDM settings?
Yes, thatās right.
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lolā¦and theres me thinking theres an āECā switch somewhere. Ok thank you
Indeed I amā¦even so Im still surprised that the full ābitā should be added considering Jussis comment
Im still thinking 1 should be used for DSD. Why would it be any higher id DSD is only 1 bit?
@jussi_laakoā¦I think you are the only person that truly knows
Yes, the EC is so good, it is getting me to upgrade from v3 to v4.
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Sorry more questions
Is there a way to have no filters but still upsample?
No. The type of upsampling used for audio is interpolation and it requires a low pass filter (interpolation filter).
See also the Reconstruction section here as follows:
The term oversampling is also used to denote a process used in the reconstruction phase of digital-to-analog conversion, in which an intermediate high sampling rate is used between the digital input and the analogue output. Here, digital interpolation is used to add additional samples between recorded samples, thereby converting the data to a higher sample rate, a form of upsampling. When the resulting higher-rate samples are converted to analog, a less complex and less expensive analog reconstruction filter is required. Essentially, this is a way to shift some of the complexity of reconstruction from analog to the digital domain. Oversampling in the ADC can achieve some of the same benefits as using a higher sample rate at the DAC.
Edit: The above is fairly dry so allow me to expand a little. Folks of my vintage or older (58) tend to remember analog filters deployed in graphic equalisers and think of digital filters in similar terms.
The low pass filters commonly used in DACs, however, are not there to pump the bass, but are used at very high frequencies (22 kHz) to cut out digital artefacts at even higher frequencies.
The simplest analogy is watching a spoked wheel on a movie. Remember how it can sometimes appear to be rotating slowly backwards ? This is an artefact of the frame (or sampling) rate. The low pass filters used in interpolation and reconstruction prevent similar effects in audio.
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Ok thanks ā¦
You could try poly sinc mqa mp. Itās a short slow roll off filter. Itās designed for high ress, but even for 1x I prefer it to all other filters. The sound to me is natural and warm and just right. It might help on 1536khz. Iām limited to 384 due to the Amanero interface unfortunately.
Wow you werenāt kidding! I tried ext2, asdm7ec, dsd512 and my ryzen 3900x + 2080 super stutters constantly during playback. Dsd256 is ok.
For the cpu multicore and CUDA offload options, are they supposed to be greyed out or checked?
Iāll give it a shot after I receive some new usb cables. Thanks for the tip!
Iād suggest grayed out, which lets the software decide what is most efficient. If it works then fine, but you can also try combinations with checked if you still experience stuttering.
I donāt think EC mods can be run at DSD 512 on current consumer hardware without some serious overclocking and cooling. Like liquid nitrogen cooling.
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