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Devialet WiFi Bit Perfect?
#21
(21-Nov-2020, 09:50)David A Wrote:
(21-Nov-2020, 08:20)Sailor4W Wrote:
(20-Nov-2020, 23:22)Chris Marshall Wrote: I’ve played with upsampling in Roon with various ideas, max PCM, factor of 2 PCM and DSD.  Honestly, I can’t say I ever hard a clear improvement so just play everything native now and let the devialet do it’s own upsampling.

I agree, I also played around with upsampling and never heard a significant difference. Why should there be one in the first place?
With upsampling in the Devialet, you mean the actual upsampling in the conversion chip?
Anyhow, I like the sound of my Devialet as it is, therefore I don‘t see the need for me to pull all the bells and whistles.

While the Devialet will accept inputs of up to 24/192 and DSD64. My understanding is that internally it upscales everything to 40/392 for its DAC so whatever PCM resolution you send to it up to 24/192  is going to be upscaled and DSD64 is going to be converted to PCM and upscaled.

Like @Chris Marshall, I've played with upsampling in Roon and never heard an improvement. There is a comment from Roon somewhere in their user material that upscaling can be beneficial but that when it comes to a choice between doing it in Roon or doing it in your DAC, and the Devialet is our DAC, then if you have a good DAC it's probably best to let it do the job because the DAC manufacturer is in the best position to be able to optimise the DSP processing involved in order to get the best results from their DAC.

Oh OK, upsampling to 40/394! I wonder why Devialet then doesn't accept files up to 394 and upsampling only those that are less than 394. I know, there aren't 394 albums available yet (or hardly), but my guess is they'll be available in the future. I always wondered how Devialet would be able to cope with such trends.
SonicTransporter i5 - AirPort Extreme - Devialet Expert 120 - ATC SCM 19 v1
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#22
At the Oxford Audio event back in 2018, Mathieu Pernot mentioned that it would be technically possible (in terms of hardware) for a Pro to run PCM to 32bit/768kHz and DoP to DSD512. This would be via USB and would require a future firmware update.

At the time (12th July 2018) Mathieu joked that maybe they would do it if France win the world cup. Perhaps what he was not banking on was the eventual fact that France did indeed win the 2018 world cup. Anyway, that was two and a half years ago now, and it has not happened yet.

See link below for the posts at the time:

https://devialetchat.com/Thread-Last-min...6#pid76696

As an aside, the USB input is already capable of 32/192, but what actual use that is in practice I am not sure.
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#23
(22-Nov-2020, 10:48)Confused Wrote: At the Oxford Audio event back in 2018, Mathieu Pernot mentioned that it would be technically possible (in terms of hardware) for a Pro to run PCM to 32bit/768kHz and DoP to DSD512.  This would be via USB and would require a future firmware update. 

At the time (12th July 2018) Mathieu joked that maybe they would do it if France win the world cup.  Perhaps what he was not banking on was the eventual fact that France did indeed win the 2018 world cup.  Anyway, that was two and a half years ago now, and it has not happened yet.

See link below for the posts at the time:

https://devialetchat.com/Thread-Last-min...6#pid76696

As an aside, the USB input is already capable of 32/192, but what actual use that is in practice I am not sure.

At least good to know that Devialet is thinking about future developments to have the DAC upgraded with new trends, even if thinking is slow  Smile
SonicTransporter i5 - AirPort Extreme - Devialet Expert 120 - ATC SCM 19 v1
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#24
Last night, I've played about with a DSD album I downloaded from Native DSD https://www.nativedsd.com

I downloaded an album that I already have as a 24/192 PCM album: Feenbrothers Play Dave Brubeck https://www.nativedsd.com/catalogue/albu...e-brubeck/

It's a beautifully recorded one mic setup that I very much like! Whether the DSD file is simply a converted PCM file, I don't know.

I first started my listening via USB, as I've read in some forums here that DoP can only be done in Devialet via USB. So I dragged my Allo USBridge Signature along with the Shanti linear power supply to my Devialet and re-cabled everything to USB (as a matter of fact, I want to get rid of the USBridge Signature). Setup was easy, in the 'Device Setup', I set 'DSD Playback Strategy' to 'DSD over PCM' and that was it (see attached screenshot).

The first thing that struck me was that the DSD file was not as loud as the PCM file. Also, I did hear a difference, not prominent, though, but clearly audible, that the DSD file sounded a bit smoother. Particularly the cymbals sounded very smooth, whereas in the PCM file they tended to sound a bit brighter and harsher, but not much. On the other hand, the piano sounded better, more lively in the PCM file. After switching back and fourth, I decided it was a draw: DSD has some advantages for reproducing certain instruments and vice versa for PCM.

Then I removed the USBridge Signature out of the signal path and went back to Ethernet connection. Much to my surprise, the Devialet was able to play the DSD file without any problems (see attached file). And there I couldn't make out any difference between the PCM and DSD file.

So the difference I heard with USB could very well be generated by the USBridge, or maybe not.

In any case, I'll stay with Ethernet, as this is by far the simplest, and also to my ears, the best sounding mode of operation. But ?ll keep an eye on DSD!


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SonicTransporter i5 - AirPort Extreme - Devialet Expert 120 - ATC SCM 19 v1
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#25
DSD over ethernet works just fine.

For some reason. when DSD gets converted to PCM, the level drops by 6 dB so DSD doesn't sound as loud as the PCM version of the same track. I''ve ripped both the PCM and DSD layers of my SACDs and I have to raise the listening level of all of the DSD files by around 6 dB for then to sound as loud as the PCM version. Kal Robinson commented on this recently in one of his reviews in Stereophile and I can remember a long time ago reading an explanation of why it occurs but I can't remember where or what the reason was. You can get around the drop in volume by having Roon do the DSD to PCM conversion and increase the level by 6 dB in the process or just turn turn the volume up on the Devialet when you listen to DSD files. I just turn the volume up.
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#26
(22-Nov-2020, 20:53)David A Wrote: DSD over ethernet works just fine.

For some reason. when DSD gets converted to PCM, the level drops by 6 dB so DSD doesn't sound as loud as the PCM version of the same track.  I''ve ripped both the PCM and DSD layers of my SACDs and I have to raise the listening level of all of the DSD files by around 6 dB for then to sound as loud as the PCM version. Kal Robinson commented on this recently in one of his reviews in Stereophile and I can remember a long time ago reading an explanation of why it occurs but I can't remember where or what the reason was. You can get around the drop in volume by having Roon do the DSD to PCM conversion and increase the level by 6 dB in the process or just turn turn the volume up on the Devialet when you listen to DSD files. I just turn the volume up.

good to know that DSD drops by 6 dB in loudness, I didn't know that, just because I never cared about DSD. I'll keep an eye on such albums, could really be something nice!
SonicTransporter i5 - AirPort Extreme - Devialet Expert 120 - ATC SCM 19 v1
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