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Ability to automatically play a multichannel (DSD) album through 2 channels

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Paul S.A. Renaud:
Ability to automatically play a multichannel (DSD) album through 2 channels. My "output format" is "no change" for all sample rates and for DOP DSD. I do have a few DSD (and DVD AUDIO) albums with only multi-track and no 2-channel. How do I play these albums through my 2 channel setup without changing anything with respect to output format manually.

By the way it works for video playback.

Awesome Donkey:
Don't think you can do that with DSD without converting it (and going through a PCM stage).

blgentry:

--- Quote from: Paul S.A. Renaud on September 25, 2022, 02:31:36 am ---My "output format" is "no change" for all sample rates and for DOP DSD.
--- End quote ---

I think you mean that you have channels set to "source numbers channels"?  What you should have there is your real number of channels, which I believe is 2 channels, based on what you said.


--- Quote ---I do have a few DSD (and DVD AUDIO) albums with only multi-track and no 2-channel. How do I play these albums through my 2 channel setup without changing anything with respect to output format manually.

--- End quote ---

As AD said, DSD, when sent natively, is not manipulated or changed by Media Center at all.  Your DSD device (DAC, receiver, etc) makes the decisions on what to do with multi-channel DSD content.

DVD-A however, should be PCM.  Which means that MC does manipulate it if you tell it to.  If you have output format set to 2 channels, MC should mix down a multi-channel DVD-A file into 2 channel.

Best of luck.
Brian.

Paul S.A. Renaud:
Indeed the issue for PCM seems to work. Now a solution for DSD. So far I understand that down-mixing DSD Multichannel to DSD 2ch cannot be done without an in-between conversion via PCM but not automatically for a specific album; only for all albums in DSD. Roon can downmix 5.0 channel DSD automatically to DSD 2ch, but it is unclear whether that is achieved with a in between step in PCM.

blgentry:
I can outline some things for you to play with, but I won't be able to help much with a full solution.  Here's the outline:

ZONES in MC can be configured to play only certain content via "Zone Switch".  So you can have a Zone for "only DSD with more than 2 channels".  ..and of course your default zone which will zone switch to "everything else". 

Each Zone you configure can have it's own audio setup.  So your multi-channel DSD zone can have audio set up to be converted to 2 channel, via the internal PCM engine, and can then output DSD as two channel also. 

This last part (output as 2 channel DSD) is achieved with the DSP Studio > Output Encoding setting.  Usually you would never use this setting.  Because what comes out is "fake DSD"; meaning that it's not DSD from a file, it's DSD from PCM. You might want this because DSD has it's own sonic signature that you may enjoy.  If you don't want it, don't use the output encoding and MC will just output PCM.

So:  Zones.  Zone Switch.  DSP Studio configuration each Zone.  Optional Output Encoding.

Go forth young Jedi.

Brian.

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