[gr8soundz]

Found some settings that seem to work with DoP for ALL sample rates in foobar (but only at DSD256 max).
 
I changed DSD Playback Method to DoP Marker and PCM to DSD to DSD256 (after re-reading iFi's tutorial stating that DoP limited to 256 on the Micro).
The other settings don't seem to be as critical. I've tried most all the SDM types but it didn't affect playability (sound quality changes a bit though; I settled on Type D for now) and I also chose to use asio at 64-bit.
 

 
 
Plays (i.e. transcodes) everything: 44/48/88/96/176/192khz. No distortion that I can detect and stable blue light on the Micro (its already fully charged so, per the manual, that blue is for DSD256; green would be PCM and magenta for 512).
 
Obviously not as high as DSD512 but still sounds very good. Will keep listening and comparing to see how much difference there is. But its nice to just set Foobar and leave it to playback whatever sample rate I wish without constant clicking to change settings.

 

[Sodafish]

I just got a replacement USB 3 extension cable as the stock one is a little on the short side for my purposes. It's just a cheap 2 meter one (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Matters-SuperSpeed-Female-Extension/dp/B00C7S1B4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427229959&sr=8-1&keywords=cable+matters+usb+3+extension), and it works, but the output volume and sound quality from the micro are significantly reduced when compared with using the blue stock one. Is this simply due to the longer length, cable perhaps not being true USB spec, or something else?
 
EDIT: scratch that, I was just being stupid: whilst handling the Micro I accidentally turned IEMatch on. Mystery solved

 

[jexby]

Yah the location of the IEMatch switch is just brutal IMO.
Always gets moved too easily during device transportation.

 

[gr8soundz]

Yah the location of the IEMatch switch is just brutal IMO.
Always gets moved too easily during device transportation.

 
Same here.
 
I normally don't use the stick-on feet some devices come with but I put them on the Micro after the IEMatch and Output switches kept moving.

 

[prot]

After reading through most of this and the "vs. Hugo" thread, I had pretty much decided that the micro iDSD was my all-in-one-go-anywhere DAC/amp to power all HPs I will ever own. Was going to order from Music Direct and have my friend bring it back in June. But I just discovered a local seller on Taiwan's version of Amazon just discounted it by 40%


So I'm going to pull the trigger and have it delivered to my doorstep for US$315

How about a shoplink? Or feel free to pm it

 

[gixxerwimp]

How about a shoplink? Or feel free to pm it

Doh! Too good to be true. gr8soundz caught my error. It turns out its the iDAC and not the iDSD (I'd forgot there was an iDAC and thought it was a typo). Back to plan A

Sorry about the error and confusion. I'm disappointed too.

I actually asked iFi about it and got this reply:

Thank you for your email.

We can confirm it is the micro iDAC and not the micro iDSD. They are different animals at different price points.

And the iDAC2 is coming out soon to replace the iDAC.

Checked for you and we do not know who this reseller is – so best purchase from an iFi retailer – even though there is not one in Taiwan.

You may have to look to another nearby country.

Thanks
Fiona

For all the latest iFi audio videos:http://bit.ly/1xy1UZb

 

[LoryWiv]

  Found some settings that seem to work with DoP for ALL sample rates in foobar (but only at DSD256 max).
 
I changed DSD Playback Method to DoP Marker and PCM to DSD to DSD256 (after re-reading iFi's tutorial stating that DoP limited to 256 on the Micro).
The other settings don't seem to be as critical. I've tried most all the SDM types but it didn't affect playability (sound quality changes a bit though; I settled on Type D for now) and I also chose to use asio at 64-bit.
 

 
 
Plays (i.e. transcodes) everything: 44/48/88/96/176/192khz. No distortion that I can detect and stable blue light on the Micro (its already fully charged so, per the manual, that blue is for DSD256; green would be PCM and magenta for 512).
 
Obviously not as high as DSD512 but still sounds very good. Will keep listening and comparing to see how much difference there is. But its nice to just set Foobar and leave it to playback whatever sample rate I wish without constant clicking to change settings.

Thanks for sharing what has worked well for you, i may give it a try as well! How is this configuration regarding cpu useage?

 

[maibuN]

Am I the only one who thinks bass is a bit imprecise with idsd? I lent my idsd to a friend and after getting it back the frist thing which came to my mind was how direct and warm it is which I like very much and second thing was that the bass is a bit hard to follow because it's imprecise.

 

[gr8soundz]

  Thanks for sharing what has worked well for you, i may give it a try as well! How is this configuration regarding cpu useage?

 
My i7 was around 18% at these settings.
 
Keep in mind I disabled a lot of cpu features in bios and maxed out every setting I could hear an improvement with. No worries though since I built the pc strictly as a "sound processing machine."
 
So YMMV but I believe any recent intel chip should have no problem with any of this.

 

[gr8soundz]

Just switched the Micro's dsd settings in foobar back to ASIO Native DSD512 (tried dsd128/256 too) and now I'm getting a popping sound distortion.
 
Didn't notice any distortion on that setting before but the iFi rep here did say the Micro's dsd plug-in can be buggy (restarts didn't work). Only seems to happen when using SDM Types A through D (I felt SDM Type D originally sounded best before the popping started). Switched back to the SDM Type C (FP32) as in iFi's tutorial and the popping goes away.
 
Absolutely no distortion when using the DoP Marker setting no matter the SDM type.
 
Seems I can no longer use any FP32 type of pcm to dsd method with native asio.
 
Can someone (including the iFi rep) clarify what types A through D represent? Also, does the FP32 stand for floating point 32-bit (versus integer)?
 
EDIT: I changed the Micro's usb streaming mode from minimum latency to standard. That mostly got rid of the popping (guess that's why safe and extra safe are options). Minimum worked for a while and sounded best imo but seems pushing settings too far may make the plug-in even more buggy.

 

[sandalaudio]

  Just switched the Micro's dsd settings in foobar back to ASIO Native DSD512 (tried dsd128/256 too) and now I'm getting a popping sound distortion.
 
Didn't notice any distortion on that setting before but the iFi rep here did say the Micro's dsd plug-in can be buggy (restarts didn't work). Only seems to happen when using SDM Types A through D (I felt SDM Type D originally sounded best before the popping started). Switched back to the SDM Type C (FP32) as in iFi's tutorial and the popping goes away.
 
Absolutely no distortion when using the DoP Marker setting no matter the SDM type.
 
Seems I can no longer use any FP32 type of pcm to dsd method with native asio.
 
Can someone (including the iFi rep) clarify what types A through D represent? Also, does the FP32 stand for floating point 32-bit (versus integer)?
 
EDIT: I changed the Micro's usb streaming mode from minimum latency to standard. That mostly got rid of the popping (guess that's why safe and extra safe are options). Minimum worked for a while and sounded best imo but seems pushing settings too far may make the plug-in even more buggy.

 
I remember the SDM (Sigma-Delta Modulator) Types A~D were the variants of the conversion algorithms proposed by Philips for SACD mastering a long time ago. I can't remember the exact differences, and I'm not sure whether the Foobar plugin types A~D correspond exactly to the Philips A~D, but I think Type D had the best sound quality and worst CPU load, while Type C had the worst sound quality and least CPU load.
 
In any case they all add artefacts to the native audio file, and which one sounds best to you is mostly subjective.
 
The popping you hear might be due to the computer not being able to process the conversion fast enough. The USB output to the micro iDSD only sends out the "converted" data, so theoretically it should not be influencing how it is converting the audio file.

 

[gr8soundz]

   
I remember the SDM (Sigma-Delta Modulator) Types A~D were the variants of the conversion algorithms proposed by Philips for SACD mastering a long time ago. I can't remember the exact differences, and I'm not sure whether the Foobar plugin types A~D correspond exactly to the Philips A~D, but I think Type D had the best sound quality and worst CPU load, while Type C had the worst sound quality and least CPU load.
 
In any case they all add artefacts to the native audio file, and which one sounds best to you is mostly subjective.
 
The popping you hear might be due to the computer not being able to process the conversion fast enough. The USB output to the micro iDSD only sends out the "converted" data, so theoretically it should not be influencing how it is converting the audio file.

 
Thanks for the info.
 
I agree; think I was pushing the pc a bit too far. Something has to give. Lowering the usb setting somehow works for now.

 

[LoryWiv]

   
My i7 was around 18% at these settings.
 
Keep in mind I disabled a lot of cpu features in bios and maxed out every setting I could hear an improvement with. No worries though since I built the pc strictly as a "sound processing machine."
 
So YMMV but I believe any recent intel chip should have no problem with any of this.

Sounds like an excellent result, thanks gr8soundz.

 

[iFi audio]

   
Thanks for the info.
 
I agree; think I was pushing the pc a bit too far. Something has to give. Lowering the usb setting somehow works for now.

 
Hi,
 
Sorry we cannot comment on the Foo DSD plug-in.
 
 
But as a general rule:
 
- Always use 8K buffers and the highest (safest) supported streaming mode.
 
- Low latency does not really matter for music playback.
 
Thanks.

 

[Triodemode]

  Found some settings that seem to work with DoP for ALL sample rates in foobar (but only at DSD256 max).
 
I changed DSD Playback Method to DoP Marker and PCM to DSD to DSD256 (after re-reading iFi's tutorial stating that DoP limited to 256 on the Micro).
The other settings don't seem to be as critical. I've tried most all the SDM types but it didn't affect playability (sound quality changes a bit though; I settled on Type D for now) and I also chose to use asio at 64-bit.
 

 
 
Plays (i.e. transcodes) everything: 44/48/88/96/176/192khz. No distortion that I can detect and stable blue light on the Micro (its already fully charged so, per the manual, that blue is for DSD256; green would be PCM and magenta for 512).
 
Obviously not as high as DSD512 but still sounds very good. Will keep listening and comparing to see how much difference there is. But its nice to just set Foobar and leave it to playback whatever sample rate I wish without constant clicking to change settings.

Thank you for taking the time to post this gr8soundz...  I am now able to 'transode' all PCM resolutions to DSD256 with Foobar also.