bcarr112281
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2011
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Hi Brian,
I can't claim that you're wrong, but I must admit that I thought it was possible to listen to DSD signal in surround, and not just stereo ?
Maybe it has become possible in the past few years, but I'm still not sure it's totally practical--yet! Have a look at the crazy lengths one person will go to attain 5.1 "native DSD" nirvana:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/first-multi-channel-direct-stream-digital-playback-solution-mytek-14946/
See this thread, too:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f23-dsp-room-correction-and-multi-channel-audio/mytek-multichannel-8x192-direct-stream-digital-capable-digital-analogue-converter-10646/
And then there's this announcement from Stereophile (March 2013):
Now, here's the really good news. The Oppo will play multichannel as well as stereo DSD and that makes the Oppo [103 or 105] the least expensive multichannel DSD-file player by a wide, wide margin. I have been enjoying glorious multichannel downloads from Channel Classics' website as well as a couple of their spectacular "live" session files (Mahler Symphony 1 and [. . .] made at the recording and without edits. Wow is all I can say.
This is a major development, as pure DSD multi-channel playback was unknown until recently. Indeed, SACD surround sound receivers output audio only after converting the DSD to PCM. It's especially true for room correction, bass management, and other such adjustments. I'm not sure why; it's simply the nature of the beast.
Again, many receivers unnecessarily convert stereo DSD to PCM, a process that's not always obvious. Does your receiver appear on this list?
Regards,
Brian