Lol this is what lead me down this rabbit hole
In Roon I have the setting DSD direct.
DSD via DOP is an option but I don’t use that.
On my R26 I have DSD direct off. Volume is always at fixed.
Sounds amazing. No pops or noise.
Turning DSD direct to On I hear graininess and louder hiss from the music background.
That points to a higher noise floor and bad SINAD. We have the measurement to prove that with DSD direct on SINAD is at 68db and with it off is 92db.
@labeelen who had the issue originallly, also confirmed that the noise he heard went away when he turned DSD direct off.
Unless Gustard says that DsD Direct off converts to pcm, the other explanation is that bypassing this interpolation filter with DSD direct on (which also happens when PCM NOS is on) results in noise.
It is also the reason the volume control doesn’t work because of the way digital volume control works.
I mean PCM NOS stands for NON OVERSAMPLING.