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Playing DSD with any players including Squeezebox Touch


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Some things sound too good to be true, but it is true.

 

With help from a fellow computer audio friend, I found a killer app that allows any playback software to stream DoP to a DSD DAC that supports DoP.

 

Since Friday, with an open sourced encoder, I have been playing DSD files encapsulated within FLAC files with my Squeezebox Touch outputting to a dCS.

 

The Squeezebox thinks it is outputting 176.4 PCM files;

 

The dCS reads the encapsulated stream as DoP streams and happy unpack it and play it as DSD files.

 

This dream software was discovered by a clever friend. I asked aloud that it would be so nice if the Squeezebox Touch could output DoP streams. He went ahead and did a 10 minute research and came up with below software.

 

It is a Foobar plugin so you will need Foobar 2000 to run it.

 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4jZ4NDGECzEczBjYVByNUdjdDg/edit

 

The software is quite easy to run. Even a Windows audio dummy like me was able to get it working.

 

You will need DSD files (DSF,DFF or ISO), outputs will be FLAC files which you can tag, and/or convert to other formats like AIFF or ALAC files. So yes even iTunes can play DSD files without Pure Music or Audirvana.

 

Try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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Output is a FLAC file? I don't understand, so how is this DSD. In the DoP standard the DSD file is not converted, merely placed in a PCM "shell" which allows it to be sent as if it were a PCM file, which it isn't.

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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>>Output is a FLAC file? I don't understand, so how is this DSD. In the DoP standard the DSD file is not converted, merely placed in a PCM "shell" which allows it to be sent as if it were a PCM file, which it isn't.

 

Yes like phofman said, FLAC is merely a "container" which contains the DoP data. When your DAC receives the FLAC file, it reads it as DSD files encapsulated with PCM which it is.

 

It sounded too good to be true but it works a charm with my dCS. The DSD lights came up like magic with wonderful music

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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It befuddles me how something so simple and elegant can be ignored all along. I was daydreaming about this feature and viola, this solution was already there all along with no one mentioning it.

 

BTW, this plugin can concert ISO, DSF and DFF files.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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Good to know more users found our software useful! :) The credit goes to the original foobar2000 SACD plugin author. We just add DoP file output function.

 

Hi so you are the one making this plugin? I heard from someone that it was skunk work resulting from the Lumin project. Glad that such innovation came from Hong Kong. You guys are my hero.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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Hi so you are the one making this plugin? I heard from someone that it was skunk work resulting from the Lumin project. Glad that such innovation came from Hong Kong. You guys are my hero.

 

Oh and you really need to spread the words out about this plugin. As of now it is a well kept secret, one that should really help with the current DSD DAC Indian summer.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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You will need DSD files (DSF,DFF or ISO), outputs will be FLAC files which you can tag, and/or convert to other formats like AIFF or ALAC files. So yes even iTunes can play DSD files without Pure Music or Audirvana.

Will it handle multichannel DSD?

Kal Rubinson

Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile

 

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I remember asking if this were possible a few months ago. I think I was told it was possible but not likely. Interesting that now it is as real 'thing'. Smart. If it's being sent as PCM why not encode directly in file for DoP? You can thank my qualities as a sage another time. If it still requires a DoP DAC tho what does one gain besides tagging? Will this help with say HDMI devices that can do DSD?

Macbook Pro 2010->DLNA/UPNP fed by Drobo->Oppo BDP-93->Yamaha RXV2065 ->Panasonic GT25 -> 5.0 system Bowers & Wilkins 683 towers, 685 surrounds, HTM61 center ->Mostly SPDIF, or Analog out. Some HDMI depending on source[br]Selling Art Is Tying Your Ego To A Leash And Walking It Like A DoG[br]

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Okay, sorry guys I'm being dense, but I don't understand.

 

I went to the download page,downloaded and installed the files in Foobar.

 

What am I supposed to do now? How should the output in Foobar be defined?

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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Will it handle multichannel DSD?

 

Yes I think so.

 

I tried converting a multichannel ISO and it attempted to encode both the stereo and the Multi-Channel files.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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Is there a version for Audirvana+/Mac?

 

How exactly do you do it? Do you convert to Flac with the tools on that page and then stream with an EDO enabled Touch?

 

The encoder itself is only in Windows/Foobar I believe

 

The resultant files should be supported by any players that supports FLAC. And apparently you can even further convert the FLAC file to AIFF or ALAC. So even Mac/iTUnes with or without Audirvana should support it.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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Okay, sorry guys I'm being dense, but I don't understand.

 

I went to the download page,downloaded and installed the files in Foobar.

 

What am I supposed to do now? How should the output in Foobar be defined?

 

Here is what I did:

 

1. download the "foo_input_packeddsd.dll" file and placed it in the Foobar Component folder

 

2. Install the FLAC plugin

 

3. After restarting Foobar you should see "SACD" under "File->preferences ->Tools" form within Foobar

 

Set up the following:

 

ASIO Driver Mode: DSD

 

PCM Sample Rate: 176400

 

DSD2PCM mode: DSD over PCM

 

Click on "Enable Tags"

 

---

 

Restart Foobar after setting the above up

 

Once done you can drag DSD files into Foobar, set up the Tags and Right Click and select "Convert" and choose FLAC. (I think even AIFF should work)

 

Try playing the resultant files thru USB to your DSD DAC, check to make sure it is playing DSD not PCM.

 

If it is playing PCM, something is set up wrong. THe first time I tried it was converted to plain PCM. I think I had to change the PCM Sample rate to 176400 to fix it.

 

I am no expert on this, for further help I think psme is the right guy to sak.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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agentsmith-

 

thanks, that was clear. Have it working now.

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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Works perfectly here on a Squeezebox Touch even through an Audiophilleo 2.

 

This will tide me over perfectly until the Community Squeeze Server does the packaging job automatically with tagged .dff files.

 

The trickiest thing here was all the restarts of Foobar and getting the wrapper plugin and the FLAC plugin all set up and outputting correctly.

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The FLAC frontend verifies the output files as meeting the proper FLAC file standards... Does that mean that different tracks can be edited (well, seamlessly spliced together, anyway) to form a larger, **gapless** file in Audacity? Just curious. - P2P

 

Audacity needs to be configured properly to provide bit-perfect operation. IMO merging files is much easier in sox:

 

 

 sox file1.flac file2.flac file3.flac large_output_file.flac

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The FLAC frontend verifies the output files as meeting the proper FLAC file standards... Does that mean that different tracks can be edited (well, seamlessly spliced together, anyway) to form a larger, **gapless** file in Audacity? Just curious. - P2P

 

I have to check but I think gapless playback 'just works' through a Squeezebox as the SBT eco-systems buffers the individual tracks just like with PCM.

 

An alternative (if you have just to have a single concatenated album file), is to use SACD_Extract to extract a single album file from the iso (with cue sheet!!), then with foobar, package that single album file. Then on playback individual track metadata is available to the player from the cue-sheet.

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A glitch with the Foobar convert. In my setup it seems to do a standard PCM FLAC export first. Then it will do another DoP packaging export. At this point it will ask to overwrite the existing files, which seems odd if you didnt know it had already exported a set of the wrong files. So at this point always say YES overwrite. If you don't then all you will end up with is a set of badly converted 176khz PCM files.

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Mine went smoothly after putting the FLAC.exe file in the Foobar folder. It sounds as though **your** Foobar installation has previously been pointed to (and is initially calling) another installation of the FLAC encoder in your system, somewhere in another folder. Does that sound possible, with your current setup? - P2P

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A glitch with the Foobar convert. In my setup it seems to do a standard PCM FLAC export first. Then it will do another DoP packaging export. At this point it will ask to overwrite the existing files, which seems odd if you didnt know it had already exported a set of the wrong files. So at this point always say YES overwrite. If you don't then all you will end up with is a set of badly converted 176khz PCM files.

 

Are you sure it was not trying to convert the stereo tracks after the multichannel tracks or vice versa? I recall having similar issues with multi-channel .ISO files.

Macbook Pro/MacMini/dCS Debussy/Cambridge 650BD[br]Vitus Audio SS-010/Living Voice OBX-R2 Speakers/Ultrasone Edition 8 phones[br]Airport Express/Meridian AD88[br]

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