I have been wanting to try DSD for quite a while and saw the thread on Qobuz DSD downloads and grabbed one. It was a DSD 64 and showed on Rose as such with a 5k+ bit rate.
I then listened to the sample songs on Qobuz Hi Res. The Hi Res version to me sounded slightly better. My point being not that this is typical but why would I drop $ on files that are very similar to what I can access streaming?
Being hung up in this hobby, my immediate thought was whats wrong? Equipment? File? Recording?
Maybe nothing. Or just my expectations. I really like So What at 24/196. Maybe its not so much the DSD file or equipment is lacking as that streaming Hi Res is pretty dang good?
This is only based on this one experience. Not much of a sample. But interested in your thoughts as my guess is most folks stream AND have local files…many DSD. There must be a reason for that.
Hi Ron. DSD is controversial to some. My buddy Dr. Edgar Choueiri, the designer of all things BACCH believes DSD is a crime against God and Man. He will not tolerate it. My Audio Guru, George Vatchnadze, himself a great Pianist states he much prefers PCM to DSD. The lads here on the forum seem to be in favor of DSD. I guess I am fine with it. I was looking at my current collection, all stored on my NAS and I found I have a few albums in DSD.
DSD64___1390 Albums
DSD128___154 Albums
DSD256____83 Albums
I could see myself converting my DSD64 recordings to PCM. (I most likely will not do that though)
I can play all of these on my Grimm MU2 in their original state, no mucking about. Sadly, I can’t play any of this on my BACCH-SP adio without converting it to PCM. (Mucking about)
I have found that listening to DSD on the MU2 it all sounds wonderful. Better than 24.96. 24.192, 24.384 PCM? I would rather not answer that.
The file size when you go to DSD increases dramatically. Fortunately I have a lot of space on my NAS. Is it worth the extra disc space? That is a personal choice. Drives keep getting less costly.
My thought is, if you are curious, try it out. If I did not have any I think I would miss it. At the same time, 24.96 and 24.192 PCM recordings are super easy to listen to and might just be enough for most listeners. Tread lightly perhaps.
To answer your question, yes sir, DSD versus streaming wins. But I would hate to do a double blind test to see how accurately I can pick between them.
Thank you for the thoughtful answer and especially the real world experience.
After trying a few I belive we agree. My system is not on par with yours but results are similar. DSD sounds wonderful. However so does hi res. In the interest of minimizing any “mucking about” im just gonna stick with hi res.
I had to try it though. Glad I did to. May even get a title now and then.
I prefer local files, PCM or DSD, to streaming via Qobuz but in my setup the gap between them is fairly small. There, but small. I like having access to all the different masters of an album that either aren’t available on streaming services or get removed. Even for DSD files some albums have multiple masters available in DSD so being able to A/B/C them makes this hobby a lot of fun for me. I’d rather have access to all the masters possible than lock myself out of that opportunity if that makes sense.
For the song you listed, you’re referring to Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue right? If so I highly suggest purchasing the DSD 256 version of this album from highdeftapetransfers. The best $28 I’ve spent there. Compared to the MoFi SACD the HDTT is miles better IMO. The Sony SACD is pretty good. I’m not familiar with the 192/24 remaster but I will check it out.
I found as my streaming chain (third streamer in past two years) getting better, I prefer DSD more and more. MU2 playing DSD256 from internal storage is for sure better than playing any PCM in my system. These files do occupy a lot of room. My 8TB SSD is getting half full sooner than I expected.
Yes, I’ve said it all along that the digits are the same whether it’s in disc form or file form, but it’s quality of the playback unit that can make a huge difference in the sound, just like a better cartridge and turntable can dramatically improve the fidelity of a vinyl record.
I’ve been playng around with different platforms to put under my turntable and also under my Mk2 DAC. The HRS M3X2 platform is a revelation! Distortion that I didn’t know existed that was in the recording is gone. some recordings that sounded a bit shouty now sounds powerful and dynamic, but in a natural way that doesn’t offend the ears like before. Noise levels are much lowered that It has taken the sound of the turntable to another level! This is one impressive platform to put under a turntable. The Symposium Ultra I put under the MK2 also made made the DAC sound less digital. If you hear hardness in your digital, you can soften it with a good platform under your DAC. Feet matters too, but I find it’s the plaforms that is the heavy hitter.
This is my dream rack. Four M series platforms included.
