Anyone tried up-sampling to DSD256 and DSD512? I tried and got some stuttering. Both with onboard USB and Singxer SU-1 via I2S.
PCM files (any) upsampled to DSD native format sounds the best on the
Holo Audio Spring. Much better sounding than playing PCM native at any rate for a matter of fact.
The issue regarding the stutter is due to your computer not being fast enough since DSD encoding is very CPU intensive. There wouldn't be stutter if the program is able to utilize more CPU cores during it's DSD encoding process. Unfortunately programs like J.River Media Center does not offer multicore rendering or CUDA offload (uses help from the GPU). Due of that reason, HQPlayer would be a better choice as it offers these two features. Check my thread for more information:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,111561.msg771031.html#msg771031
Unfortunately for me I have already bought J.River Media Center so I cannot fathom to pay again for another program. Fortunately for me my computer is fast enough to play DSD512 (8xDSD) smoothly on J.River even when using a single core.
All mid-range computers from 2014 onward should be able to have smooth playback on J.River Media Center. Earlier computers (2013 and below) can too if they switch over to HQPlayer and utilize the multicore rendering feature.
If people are playing PCM natively or upsampling to 384KHz, give DSD encoding a try on the
Holo Audio Spring and
watch your mouth will drop.
If your computer cannot play 8xDSD (DSD512) without stuttering, try the less intensive ones like 4xDSD (DSD256) or 2xDSD (DSD128). Make sure to update your firmware to the v2.20 for DSD512 support.
To my own personal findings:
Playing PCM through DSD Native sounds too good to be true.
Playing PCM through DSD over DoP sounds great.
Playing PCM natively sounds good.
And no. I'm really not blowing it out of proportions. Try it for yourself and thank me later.
The level of improvements will strongly depend on your gear (headphones, D/A converter, amplifier, transporter, etc).
You're welcome.
Cheers,
Thanh