Source settings and my lack of understanding

So I was poking around in my DMP-6 settings and I’m trying to figure out which is best for my 2 channel setup.
I am using the coax output and the DAC in my Michi X3.
Under the “output parameters” there are settings for
-DSD audio
DSD to PCM
DSD over PCM

-MQA Support capability
Not support MQA
Decoder and renderer
Only renderer
With my somewhat limited understanding of this I am not sure which settings I should have selected

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

Are you playing any DSD or MQA content ?

 

I am not sure. Well MQA yes. I basically stream from Tidal. A selection of the music on Tidal is supposed to MQA but by understanding is that it’s a bit of a lie anyway. However if I stream directly from Tidal the purple MQA indicator lights up on the DMP-A6.
If I stream the same song from within the Eversolo app the MQA on the display changes to PCM.
So what’s the difference?

DSD? Don’t know. If it matters, I’m not playing CD’s or vinyl or any downloaded music through the A6. Strictly streaming from Tidal or some internet radio.

 

As you are outputting via coax spdif and sending to an external dac, then as regards DSD at least if you wanted that external DAC to handle DSD content, then it would be important to have these settings chosen appropriately. Thus if the external DAC cannot handle DSD at all then set your A6 to convert to PCM. If it can handle DoP I.e. DSD over PCM, then set the setting appropriately. As regards MQA, I have no experience of it, but you could try toggling between the decoder and full renderer settings and see if there is any difference.

 

In layman’s terms what is DSD and how does it apply to my 2 channel setup?

 

DSD is Direct Stream Digital and is an alternative to PCM as a way of encoding audio digital data. So PCM is a stream of samples at a defined sample rate, each sample can be 16 or 24 or 32 bits of data. The data is the overall intensity of the sound waveform at that instant of time. So standard CDs are 16 bit data at 44.1 kHz sample rate. DSD however is just a 1 bit snapshot of the sound intensity taken at a much higher sample rate, typically MHz rather than kHz. So SuperAudio CDs are DSD format with the sample rate at 64x that of standard CDs. So there is nothing other than just individual bits in the stream, the more 1s in sequence the higher the intensity, the more zeroes the lower the intensity. So no 16bit or 24bit or 32bit packets which when taken together give us a numeric value. Thus DSD is often converted to PCM just to carry out a basic operation like volume adjustment. Some audiophiles think DSD is a superior sounding format especially if the music is actually recorded in DSD in the first place. So you can purchase DSD files from specialist music provider websites and play them on streamers like the A6. How the bit stream is dealt with depends on the DAC, some DACs essentially convert to PCM first, others deal with the basic DSD bitstream is a more native fashion with very little processing to convert back to analog. Hope this helps as a basic intro, quite complex topic.

 

thank you for that.
So can I assume that seeing as all I use the A6 for is streaming from Tidal, having the setting on DSD to PCM is sufficient for my needs and is resulting in the optimal sound quality for my setup?

 

I don't know if Tidal uses DSD at all for any of its music content. Even if it did, conversion to the much more common PCM would probably have to occur at some stage. Thus the A6 internal DAC being of the ESS variety will convert to PCM anyway. I don't know about your external DAC and what it will do with DSD. Some audiophiles will listen to nothing other than DSD and go to great lengths to make sure it is handled in the best way at all stages of the audio chain. So I won't say it sounds just the same as PCM and not to worry about it, some people would object strongly to such statements. I have listened to some SACDs outputting raw DSD over I2S on quite good DACs, and I am not convinced it is very different to standard PCM. I have also used a Shanling ET3 CD Transport to play CDs but output them upsampled and reformatted to DSD sent again over I2S. Using a very good R2R DAC designed in part to play high rate DSD (Holo Audio Cyan2), this sounded great but is it very different really to the original CD played as PCM? Was not really personally convinced but I defer to the experts in this area who use advanced upsampling software like HQPlayer and who use this tool together with DSD to get improved audio reproduction e.g. better soundstage width or depth.

 

Nobody transmits DSD as that is simply not allowed. Only local SACD content can be played in DSD.
http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?thr...ther-knowhow-for-hifi-players-playback.86336/
The real unique thing about A6 is playing MCH via HDMI including even DSD.

 

The HDMI output was one of the reasons I bought the DMP-A6. As much as I haven't listened to much multi-channel music lately the option is there. So glad I bought the DMP-A6!

 

I assume you have the Michi X3 not the X3 Series 2 which has different capabilities?
Your best one connection solution is to use USB output from your DMP-A6 to USB input on your Michi X3 as this gives you a greater choice of PCM bitrates as well as DSD64 and DSD128.
The S/PDIF coax input is limited to PCM only and a maximum sampling rate of 192kHz whereas the USB input supports PCM sampling rates to 394kHz as well as DSD as previously mentioned.
The Michi X3 has no native MQA decoding capability. This was only implemented on the Series 2 version. IMHO MQA is a bit of a marketing con, but I'm sure some will have a different opinion.
BTW, nice amplifier.

 

I agree that MQA was just a marketing con. An elaborate one but still a con.

 

The A6 manual says the digital coax spdif output can handle DSD64 over DoP. So DSD packaged as PCM, but a form of DSD is being output not just over USB. Obviously the sample rates are much higher over USB.

 

You can change how you want it to output DSD under ‘Settings’ / ‘Audio’.

 

However the Michi X3 only accepts PCM to 24/192 via its S/PDIF coaxial input. The USB input accepts both PCM to 24/384 as well as DSD64 and DSD128.
Why convert DSD to PCM when the DAC in the X3 can handle both PCM and DSD natively? Besides converting DSD to DoP places an extra burden on the DMP-A6 and at some stage the OP might acquire DSD128 files they might want to playback.
Personal choice and just a suggestion.

 

I do have the X3, Series 2. And thanks by the way.
I have to confess that I am a serious dinosaur when it comes to all these playback modes available in today’s streaming world. Up until my very recent system upgrade I only ever used CD’s or vinyl. So the vast majority of the references to bits and bites and rates, DSD, PCM, etc, are all far above my head. And I don’t understand the purpose of ripping CD’s to the DMP-A6 either. I would simple play my CD. Although having just said that I have already saved many of my own records and CD’s to TIDAL’s memory for convenience.
Also, if all I am doing currently is streaming via Tidal, it may be a moot point considering what I understand is TIDAL’s limited output??

I don’t really want to get into the “experimenting”side of things (at this stage anyway) and would like to know what the best output method is for the best sound for only Tidal streaming.
At this time I am not into downloading, saving to files, all sorts of super duper high res music. I’m sure at some point in time I will be. Hell, I flatly refused anything but CD’s and vinyl up until 6 months ago.
I know it a subjective thing but can I assume there might be a general consensus on the output options available to me?

There does seem to be a bit of a learning curve ahead of me.

 

See, that’s all in a foreign language to my dinosaur brain.

 

Yes, coming to grips with new tech can sometimes be daunting. I'm a bit older than you and still believe that if it isn't broken you don't need to fix it. I still have a lot of my legacy equipment in use - CD players, SACD player, DVD-Audio player, DAT, MD and DCC machines. I also still play my extensive collection of vinyl records that I started amassing in the 1960s.
My rationale behind buying my DMP-A6 was simply the extent of my digital music library. Literally thousands of CDs, several hundred SACDs, a hundred or so DVD-Audio discs amounting to just under 4TB of files makes it a PITA trying to find the disc I'm looking for when searching through physical media on the shelves. The DMP-A6 makes this a breeze when it's working properly and can be done from the comfort of my listening chair via a tablet. Previously I had all my ripped digital music on my NAS (Network Attached Storage) and I accessed this on a PC with playback using Foobar2000 to my DAC or receiver. Yes, it worked but when compared to the DMP-A6 it was IMHO a cumbersome process. I will confess I have been listening to a lot more streaming content since acquiring the DMP-A6. Yes, these can be achieved on my Denon receiver but a "one stop shop" device is a far more convenient solution for my needs.

In answer to your question of " ..... and would like to know what the best output method is for the best sound for only Tidal streaming." To keep it simple I'd use the coaxial S/PDIF output of the DMP-A6 to one of the spare coaxial S/PDIF inputs on your Michi X3. The DAC in your Michi X3 is probably better than the DAC in the DMP-A6 but of course with all things audio personal preferences come into play. Don't waste your money buying a digital S/PDIF cable that costs an arm, a leg or a kidney. A quality cable under $50 should be more than highly satisfactory to do the job. A quick search on Amazon for "Digital Coaxial Cable" will show hundreds of products in the sub $50 price range.

 

Wow, how long does it take to rip thousands of CD’s? I have thought about doing that with the few hundred I have but am terrified at the idea of how long that would take.

I am currently using the coaxial out to the Michi, as you have also suggested. I am wondering about the USB route and what that might yield. But again, that might be pointless if I’m only listening to what Tidal puts out.

 

Why rip them if you subscribe to a streaming service, just rip the albums not available.
Keith