If I play a DSD64 dsf file on my Magna Hifi Mano Ultra via I2S to DS the DAC shows PCM 24-176 - shouldn´t it show DSD 64?
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Stefan
@embrya, did you email Jos over at Magna to ask him?
I’m disappointed that the Ultra can’t pass DSD128 via DoP over I2S to the DS DAC.
I am guessing Mano pre-converted it to PCM.
If I understood the emails I got from Jos (I’ve been interested in the Ultra) I don’t think it’s supposed to do that. @embrya, what SW server are you using with the Ultra?
The DS is accurate when displaying the sample rate, bit width and “DSDness” - it measures them. It’s definitely displaying what it’s getting. Something up stream has converted to PCM
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@tony22 Yes, and Jos wrote to me: " Sometimes a DAC needs a special signal to enable to DSD. It could also be a timing issue. If you set dop=10 in the picore settings?"
I don´t know yet where to set dop=10, but will give it a try once I know it.
I am using LMS at the Mano.
Ted’s right. I regularly have to tell people the DSD doesn’t have the ability to make stuff up. Tells you exactly what it’s receiving.
Okay. Also make sure that LMS isn’t doing any file format conversions.
FWIW it’s not a timing issue, there is some option wrong or other missconfiguration at the source. DoP is DSD smuggled in PCM, so nothing in the chain from the source to the DAC knows that it’s not 24/176.4. If it sounds OK, something did a DSD to PCM conversion, if it’s really quiet and hissy then the connection isn’t bit perfect, for example a volume isn’t set at unity.
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Ted, from what I think I understand about this particular streamer, it sends DSD over DoP out the I2S.
I was just trying to point out that any signal processing, e.g. a volume control, can corrupt DoP and then the DAC sees 24/176.4 that’s lowlevel and very distorted. If the sound out of the DAC is reasonably good then the connection and software are bitperfect and there’s an explicit conversion to PCM going on.
That may help to narrow things down a little.
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According to Mano Website info:
“FILE TYPES
Supported File Types: AAC, AIF, ALAC, DIF, DSF, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, WV and WMA
DSD, DoP (DSD over PCM) and , DSD to PCM 64x, (Playback only DSD 128x, 256x)”
Pure DSD should work then? I just learned that DoP means DSD over PCM and this is a bit cheating if I understood it right.
@tedsmith Sound is fine.
DoP gets the real DSD bits to the dac, in fact the DS changes DSD input to DoP as soon as it gets it so it can use the 24bit path that’s there for PCM.
DSD or DoP are fine thru the I2S inputs and both provide the same DSD bits to the DAC.
That does narrow things down, your source must be configured to convert DSD to 24/176.4 PCM.
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@embrya, according to what Jos told me via email, if you are using the I2S output from the Mano Ultra, it will only output DSD via DoP. From his email to me:
“Native DSD over I2S is not possible”.
The Mano must be feeding the DS a DoP stream, at least if you’re on I2S.
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My rig will not play back True DSD files over an NAS but it will via Audirvana accessing files on my NAS. The other problem may also be that the Magna Hifi Mano Ultra’s I2S is not compatible with the DSSr. My friends LKS DAC has the same problem when connected to my Sony UBP-X1000ES I2S output via HDMI to I2S adapter.
It’s been well documented that not everyone is playing nice with the HDMI I2S standard that PS Audio put out many years ago. PSA even provides the proper handshaking pinouts but it’s obvious not all manufacturers check this and prefer to put their engineering weight behind USB (ugh!) and coax (not so ugh!).
It’s sucks but the only other manufacturer that I’ve I2S success with Denafrips.
Joe
It is (so I’ve been told by Jos), but only at DSD64.
Tried together with Jos some settings (my Mano has PiCore 6.1.0 ) but finally Jos said:
“It probably doesn’t work with your DAC. With I2S DSD is very critical.”
And he said I may play around with settings to probably get it work…
He said he could get it work in the old PiCore version (3.x) under Holo and DoP 10.
But this does not show up under 6.1.0 and Jos didn´t expect that it´s gone with the new version thus would have to dive in to solve it somehow…
Unfortunate. I was looking at the Ultra as a streamer solution in place of the Bridge II, but if it can’t support the DS’s I2S interface it’s out.
I can confirm the Mano Ultra can send DSD (in DoP packets) over its I2S interface to the DSSnr just fine. Max rate is DSD64. That may disappoint some.
DSDSnr display shows as DSD.
I run RoPieee as a Roon Bridge. Not a single problem with it since purchase.
I looked at the Mano Ultra a year and half or so ago and quickly concluded that it was not what I was looking for to use with my DirectStream. I wanted something with I2S out that would support DSD256 and HQPlayer. Alas, I have found nothing so I still use my ultraRendu as an HQPlayer NAA and the Matrix SPDIF 2 for I2S output.