In stand alone USB to SPdif adapter ?
I have a,USB output in a streamer and would like to play all the files DSD ones included into 24/192 capable Dac with SPDIf input . I do want to keep the internal dac able to play in native DSD . What box do I need ?
I have a,USB output in a streamer and would like to play all the files DSD ones included into 24/192 capable Dac with SPDIf input . I do want to keep the internal dac able to play in native DSD . What box do I need ?
I first misread the question, apologies for that.
If the DAC you want to drive can only handle 24 bit, 192 kHz PCM, you need a USB interface, a digital decimation filter, a sample rate converter and an S/PDIF interface. If it can also handle 176.4 kHz, you only need the USB interface, digital decimation filter and an S/PDIF interface. I don't know if anyone has designed a box containing all that.
If the DAC can handle DoP up to a sufficiently high bit rate, you only need logic that inserts DoP markers instead of a decimation filter.
If the DAC you want to drive can only handle 24 bit, 192 kHz PCM, you need a USB interface, a digital decimation filter, a sample rate converter and an S/PDIF interface. If it can also handle 176.4 kHz, you only need the USB interface, digital decimation filter and an S/PDIF interface. I don't know if anyone has designed a box containing all that.
If the DAC can handle DoP up to a sufficiently high bit rate, you only need logic that inserts DoP markers instead of a decimation filter.
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No Theta Gen VIII Mark 3 . I Have Auralic Altair (first edition fro m 2016) . It has USB digital output. I can set it up to 24/192 max but it most probably means the internal ESS dac will also play with that bitrate and i would like to use it to play DSD natively
I was suggesting it as a possibility but I would imagine it is somewhat outclassed by a Theta.
So you want the Altair for native DSD and the Theta for PCM?
So you want the Altair for native DSD and the Theta for PCM?
Seems you are looking for something that will play PCM, convert DSD to PCM, limit all to 24/192 and do it all on the fly. Can't think of an OTS solution and if there is I doubt it would be inexpensive.
No exactly. ALTAIR Streamer /Dac will play everything up to DSD252 and output DSd252on its only digital out which is USB . I want to use streaming DAC to its full capability and its a pretty decent sounding DAC but at the same time I want to have an option of using Theta Dac with addition of USB SPDif converter . I just want to have a possibility to play downsampled DSd files through Theta which can only accept 24/192 . The obvious option is to buy streamer only from auralic and set up bitrate to 24/192 and use one streamer dac for dsd and second streamer to play Theta. It's just an expensive option while I have digital out on DAc Streamer
A partly DIY solution would be to buy a USB to I2S and raw DSD interface (Amanero Combo 384 or one of the many others), use an FPGA board to convert raw DSD to PCM (with a bypass function in case the signal is already PCM) and connect it to some S/PDIF interface chip or board. The trick is to write Verilog or VHDL code that can be translated into a configuration file for the FPGA to make it do what it has to do.
I think I will forget for the moment DSD native playback and use Auralic Aries mini streamer setting it up for 24/194 bitstrate to use with Theta. I'm fussing with it becuase I read some opinions from few years back that Theta set up that way blows kilobucks DSD dacs and mini Aries has already SPDIF digital output although being 9 years old that SPDiF interface may not be up to current standards.
Are you sure it has a decimation filter? The manufacturer's website gives me the impression that it is just a USB interface.
I don't see it from description but people keep recommending Singxer line. When you think about it the case like mine should be a typical case of wanting to play High res DSD tracks you have on HDD on TDA1541 type of dac or any other DAC so why this is exotic question?
Good question, I don't know. Still, quoting
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/singxer-su-1-usb-bridge.21724/reviews
"There's also the matter of DSD and really-high-res PCM. Most modern DACs can accept up to 384kHz PCM over USB. Yet they top out at 192kHz over SPDIF or AES/EBU - that's just a general limitation of those transmission formats. Do you have a small collection of DXD music? Too bad, can't play it over the Singxer. Same deal with DSD - most DACs accept DSD128 or higher over USB, while the Singxer can only support DSD64 - and even then it requires a DAC willing to accept DoP over SPDIF - Some do, some don't. I'm certainly not a format nut and don't care about missing DSD512 capabilities but I do have a decent handful of DSD128 albums which I can't play through the SU-1. So this is something to consider. Note that the I2S output has no such limitations, on the off chance you are using one of the few DACs which handles that type of signal. When I paired it with a DirectStream DAC it worked flawlessly, and would thus be my default choice unless I could find some SQ-related reason not to go that route."
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/singxer-su-1-usb-bridge.21724/reviews
"There's also the matter of DSD and really-high-res PCM. Most modern DACs can accept up to 384kHz PCM over USB. Yet they top out at 192kHz over SPDIF or AES/EBU - that's just a general limitation of those transmission formats. Do you have a small collection of DXD music? Too bad, can't play it over the Singxer. Same deal with DSD - most DACs accept DSD128 or higher over USB, while the Singxer can only support DSD64 - and even then it requires a DAC willing to accept DoP over SPDIF - Some do, some don't. I'm certainly not a format nut and don't care about missing DSD512 capabilities but I do have a decent handful of DSD128 albums which I can't play through the SU-1. So this is something to consider. Note that the I2S output has no such limitations, on the off chance you are using one of the few DACs which handles that type of signal. When I paired it with a DirectStream DAC it worked flawlessly, and would thus be my default choice unless I could find some SQ-related reason not to go that route."
Sorry , I had a senior moment and yes , you are correct and were correct in all responses. I'm not sure why would it be expensive except the obvious.
Yes ,it's the old one and the only in the line of full featured Auralic streamers that has digital output (USB) . Unfortunately they didn't include the option to manipulate that USB output bit rate. I have it in Naim environment bedroom setup and quite like it. I would like to buy one for main rig but it would limit my ability to play 1200 DSD albums I have on HDD through Theta and the newer all in one Altair do not have digital outputs . The separates (auralic streamer + dac ) go for thousands of $$$ so I'm just pretty much limited to buying an older Auralic streamer beginning with Aries Femto with the sole purpose of a serving as a USB/Spdif /Bridge . I don't use online streaming platforms. I just want to stream the contend of my HDD through the house on local area network (without internet connection)
If one was to make it less about the Auralic and more about the Theta would the problem boil down to a method of limiting or converting anything sent to the Theta to 24/192 PCM?
Yes it boils down to that. I do have Aries mini but it doesn't have option of bitrate conversion which comes with more expensive Auralic streamers. The way I use it now is sending DSD from USB to Antelope Zodiac Gold which converts it to 384 Hz PCM so I play those files through Zodiac and becuase mini Aries has SPDiF outputs (optical and RCA) I play the rest of the files through Theta . It's little convoluted but it works. Beggars cant be choosers. I'm focusing on Auralic becuase I stumbled on the devices locally, and I made them work in my home to my liking. It's not about the ultimate quality but convenience of having the content of 13k albums I can play in living room , bedroom and workshop . I'm pretty much set on buying another Auralic Streamer and my whining here derives mostly from the fact that a big part of the cost of those streamers is support of a streaming platforms which I don't and for foreseeable future won't use. hence the desire for a simple DIY style "hack" which appears to be nothing but simple. I thought that there is $15 Chinese board on Alliexpress which does what I need to do in addition to transforming my miserable life into a technicolor but apparently it's not so simple.