1 (edited by bricksie 2019-09-01 22:36:49)

Topic: ADI-2 DAC strange high frequency artifacts - DSD & HiRes

I recently downloaded some hires and DSD sample files to test them out (and see if I can hear a difference) and noticed something odd when playing some of them (I'm using an Raspberry Pi 3B running Volumio via USB - WiFi, not Ethernet). I did a search but couldn't find anything on this forum.

The recordings sound perfect - no clicks/pops/dropouts. However, when looking at the Analyzer screen, there are continuous small values on the last 3 bars on the bar graph centered around 16K, increasing linearly, with the last bar peaking at around -50 (the other 2 are lower, all 3 bounce around a bit). Music content doesn't matter; they're always there when playing .dff or .dsf files (I think all are DSD64). I notice that they're also present when playing 32/192 files (2 sample files) but disappear when playing a 32/176.4 files. The RPi is set to play DSD direct and not upsample/downsample files other files. I've used the test files with the RPi, and they show bit-perfect to 32 bits. Also interesting is that the peaks decrease slightly if I use the NOS filter vs the SD Sharp filter.

Anyone else notice this? I don't hear anything since I long ago lost the ability to hear >16kHz, so it's not bothering me. I just want to know if it's a known issue.

BTW the DAC has the latest firmware installed.

2

Re: ADI-2 DAC strange high frequency artifacts - DSD & HiRes

Many hi-res recordings include elevated high frequency noise. The analyser's ability of separating frequency bands is limited, so it bleeds over a bit. Check these files on a computer with one of the many tools to see the full frequency range, or just look at some pics in the web how terrible DSD64 is above 20 kHz...

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: ADI-2 DAC strange high frequency artifacts - DSD & HiRes

Thanks Matthias - good to know it's a software problem (the music files), not a hardware problem. So I suppose those frequencies aren't actually making it into the audible band, it's just an artifact of the analyser's limitations?

4

Re: ADI-2 DAC strange high frequency artifacts - DSD & HiRes

Exactly. They might mirror down through intermodulation distortion of your amp or speakers, but this is more theoretically, I wouldn't worry about that.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME