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Devialet and MQA
#11
The Devialet has no MQA capability. What that means is that if you play a song from Tidal which is encoded in MQA, say a 48 kHz 24 bit track, what you'll hear is the 48 kHz core of the stream and the MQA data is simply ignored. MQA encoded tracks will play on any device which can handle a data stream at the track's encoded resolution but it will only receive MQA encoding if it is processed by a device with MQA capability and the Devialet is definitely not MQA capable.

You did not say how you're streaming the song to your Devialet. If you're using Roon to access Tidal, then Roon is capable of performing the first MQA unfolding in software so you may have Roon doing that and passing the unfolded data stream to your Devialet. I have Roon doing the first unfold of MQA encoded material from Tidal, and also a file download I purchased which was MQA encoded.

There is a second "unfolding" possible with MQA encoded material but that process requires a processor with the appropriate hardware and it cannot be done with a software application so Roon does not do that unfold.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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#12
(31-May-2020, 10:00)David A Wrote: The Devialet has no MQA capability. What that means is that if you play a song from Tidal which is encoded in MQA, say a 48 kHz 24 bit track, what you'll hear is the 48 kHz core of the stream and the MQA data is simply ignored. MQA encoded tracks will play on any device which can handle a data stream at the track's encoded resolution but it will only receive MQA encoding if it is processed by a device with MQA capability and the Devialet is definitely not MQA capable.

You did not say how you're streaming the song to your Devialet. If you're using Roon to access Tidal, then Roon is capable of performing the first MQA unfolding in software so you may have Roon doing that and passing the unfolded data stream to your Devialet. I have Roon doing the first unfold of MQA encoded material from Tidal, and also a file download I purchased which was MQA encoded.

There is a second "unfolding" possible with MQA encoded material but that process requires a processor with the appropriate hardware and it cannot be done with a software application so Roon does not do that unfold.

I am glad you put the second "unfold" in quotes.  The second unfold is up-sampling and application of a specific MQA filter.  The MQA filter is supposed to improve time domain accuracy, but does invoke aliasing, which is often a compromise with such filters.  The MQA filter has been reverse engineered, and as it turns out there is noting special about it.  As the Devialet up-samples digital inputs anyway, the second "unfold" really is nothing to worry about.

Another point to note. Yes, Roon can perform the first unfold, so this would work if accessing MQA via Tidal within Roon. However, the Tidal app itself can also perform the first unfold, so you do not necessarily need Roon in the chain.
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#13
Devialet is by default upsampling everything via digital input?
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#14
Every modern and adequately built DAC is upsampling because it makes the reconstruction filter much simpler to do and with a less abrupt slope which is always better for the phase and other things like ringing.

Jean-Marie
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#15
(31-May-2020, 13:34)markush Wrote: Devialet is by default upsampling everything via digital input?

Having a default implies that you have the option to change the default behaviour to an alternative. There is no option or alternative. The DAC in a Devialet only operates at 24/192. The Devialet accepts lower resolution data but upscales it to 24/192. Even DSD input is converted to 24/192, the DAC cannot process DSD so it must be converted to PCM and rescaled to 24/192.

The only option we have is to decide whether the resampling and any DSD to PCM conversions are done by the Devialet or whether we do that processing elsewhere and only feed 24/192 data to the Devialet. My sole source is a Roon Nucleus+ serving data from my own library stored on the internal SSD I added, and from Tidal. I have experimented with having Roon do the upsampling/DSD conversion or letting my Devialet do it. I have not been able to discern a difference so I just let the Devialet do the work. You may get different results if you do the processing in some other device or software prior to sending it to your Devialet but that will be up to you to try for yourself.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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#16
Thanks for the update! Think I will also keep the upsampling at Devialet.
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#17
Yes, I am using Roon nucleus+ to stream
music to the Devialet with the “roon ready” input. They’re both connected to the same network: Ethernet cables going from the switch to both devices.

Previously there was also a dCS Network Bridge in the chain which was connected to the Devialet via digital XLR cable. Roon was connected wirelessly to the dCS Network Bridge: all three of them connected via ethernet cable to the same network switch.

I had a lot of people urging me to take the dCS Network Bridge out of the chain to keep the connection as simple as possible and take out an extra box in the chain. I know that the dCS network bridge does process MQA files. Quite honestly, I have not heard a difference in sound quality. But I’m still keeping the network bridge in case I change my mind in the future.


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#18
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I do listen to TIDAL through Roon


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#19
@Confused , Who did the reverse engineering? Any links?
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#20
(31-May-2020, 21:00)David A Wrote:
(31-May-2020, 13:34)markush Wrote: Devialet is by default upsampling everything via digital input?
Having a default implies that you have the option to change the default behaviour to an alternative. There is no option or alternative. The DAC in a Devialet only operates at 24/192. The Devialet accepts lower resolution data but upscales it to 24/192. Even DSD input is converted to 24/192, the DAC cannot process DSD so it must be converted to PCM and rescaled to 24/192.

I think it was mentioned in FW 8.1 release notes that Devialet Expert's internal native format is PCM 40 bits / 384 kHz. Unfortunately none of the inputs accepts 384 kHz, maximum being 192 kHz.
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