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A good taste of DSD--what is your experience?

Over the last year or so I've pushed to get my digital front end to sound better.  I loosely define better to mean just that and "a touch more analog sounding."

My tube DAC is DSD 256 ready.  I had to use third party software to stream DSD to the DAC from my Mac Air.  I bought 6 DSD albums from Acoustic Sounds. 

While I generally think Redbook sounds great on this DAC and 96kHz files don't sound that much better and Redbook.  With DSD, the margin is greater for the better.  Everything still depends on how good the original recording is though.  

Some older recordings I tried, such as John Lee Hooker and Elvis, sound superb in DSD.  And through a 300B amp the vocals are scary real in the listening space.  The downside to me is cost of the albums, limited DSD library available, and the age-old problem for me of not having an album to hold and read.  I'm not fond of doing the ritual exclusively on a laptop.  

I'm curious as to the experiences of others.  If you have embraced this format, how do you run it and what changes to your system or listening habits have you made ,if any, to accommodate it?

128x128jbhiller
canibefrank
406 posts
 
@geoffkait I have those same ABKO Stones files. They display as DSD 1 bit format in Audirvana.... strangley enough, they do not display as DSD 128,256, whatever when they play on my SMSL SU8. That may be due to a display or actual functional limitation on the DAC although it is supposed to be DSD capable. Or it may actually be an Audio setting... I upsample everyting to SoX max bitrate- 756...I feel the redbok playbook sounds better.
i love those ABKO Stones DSD recordings.. the originals is recorded great and the DSD makes them sound smoother, more alive and present
canibefrank
406 posts
 
i did a bit of reading and unfortunately, Apple does not support native DSD playback
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,399 posts
 
That's correct--Apple doesn't support DSD. So, if you have a Mac you have to use third party software to send the DSD file to your DSD-capable DAC.  I'm using Colibri ($5 software) as I had trouble getting the popular Jriver to send the DSD in full form.  

GeoffKait, I'm curious about the Stones files.  I will look to see if I can buy some and see what my DAC reads out with on playback.  So far, with Colibri, my Doge Audio tube DAC shows the exact DSD specs as the files I purchased from Acoustic Sounds. 

anwar
119 posts
 
This old link is a good reference for those who are new to DSD format.

https://dsd-guide.com/where-can-you-find-dsd-music-downloads#.XaT2OugzZaQ

My favorite is Blue Coast Records - they record in the studio directly to DSD256.  Recording quality is superb, but limited choice.

NativeDSD also has some albums directly recorded in studio to DSD256, but they also have transfers from master tape to DSD done by others.  But beware with their upsampled versions - they call it remodulation but it is actually upsampled.  All their DSD512 were upsampled from DSD256.  Some of their DSD256 were also upsampled from the original format, e.g. DSD64.  So read the album's technical specs properly.

I use Intel NUC and Euphony Stylus (paid software based on Arch Linux) as my DIY streamer, my preference is play from locally attached SSD.  Euphony supports both DoP and native DSD over USB Audio to the max my bitrate that the DAC supports. If you want to read more, I've shared in CA forum.

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/56971-optimizing-nuc-euphony-stylus-ifi-into-sa-10/

Yes, DSD albums are expensive, so I normally wait until 15-20% offers.
jay23
210 posts
 
@geoffkait 
Does it sound like PCM, DSD, or analog? Surely the system you brag about is able to discern the differences. 😉
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