cxp said What’s a better upgrade, (1) adding a DS Jr to the SGCD and S300, or (2) changing out S300 to M700 and staying with SGCD as dac?I find once there is a good source, upgrading amplification makes a bigger difference than swapping out the source. But it is a game of leapfrog and trying is the only way to obtain the answer.
What draws me to the DSJr is because I am addicted to DSD (Audirvana PCM converted); I would love to have PS Audio’s optimized PCM->DSD conversion which is more sophisticated than Audirvana’s.
Why would a PCM to DSD conversion make for a better sound? This doesn’t make sense to me. Its one thing if the native file is DSD, i.e. and SACD disc but to convert from PCM seems skeptical. Regardless, why would Audirvana’s conversion method be inferior to PS Audio’s version?
Thanks
A large part of the improvement comes down to the filtering that happens in the DAC chip. PCM requires strong brickwall filtering which produces ringing - translates to blurry and unrealistic impulse response.
Simply converting to DSD benefits SGCD (ESS Sabre) due to different filters being used and simplifying the processing in the DAC. Most of the DACs on the market convert PCM into a DSD-kinda like format anyway. In other words, conversion simplifies the conversion process.
The Directstream products should be better due to the use of 20x DSD conversion for filtering… and then back down to 2xDSD for the analog output. Audirvana goes straight to 2x DSD. In essence, the filtering options are much better on the Directstream products.
Audirvana running PCM vs. DSD (converted from PCM) sound night and day different.
cxp: thanks for this information. I’ll admit I’ve been out of the digital domain for the last few years having spent more time listening to vinyl and occasionally spinning a CD or SACD, not my computer based music server. This is the first time however I have ever heard of or read that most DAC chips convert PCM to DSD, totally new one on me.
Interestingly enough there are those that claim brick wall filtering sounds better than multi delta sigma dac’s, go figure. I think I have this correct.
Most DAC chips do not really convert PCM to DSD. Rather they incorporate a multi-bit (as I recall three is common) sigma delta conversion. In a sense this is a half-way there/hybrid between PCM and DSD.
By converting to a very high frequency they can use gentler, more benign filters which obviate the need for brickwall filters. Additionally, the lower bit depth simplifies the digital to analog conversion.
Chip makers are however coy about the specifics of what they are doing and how.