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Author Topic: SACD iso files and low powered PC  (Read 4169 times)

iamimdoc

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SACD iso files and low powered PC
« on: September 07, 2014, 11:48:22 am »

Is it likely my CAPS1 server( benchmark score 471) can deal with SACD iso files on a NAS on the fly acceptably or is this likely to be an exercise in frustration?

If not likely to work are options

FASTER PC
extract files to flac
Other

Yes/no?

Thanks
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Jabs1542

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2014, 05:58:13 pm »

Extract files to DSF, then let MC sample them down to PCM if your DAC won't take DSD.
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6233638

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2014, 06:15:39 pm »

Generally a JRmark score of around 2000 is recommended for stereo DSD playback - though I believe this is for PCM output.
 
If your DAC has native DSD support it may be possible to bitstream uncompressed stereo tracks - it requires considerably less CPU power since the DAC handles the decoding.
DST compressed tracks will be out of the question with that system, but DST compression is less common with 2 channel tracks. (and required for multichannel)
 
If you have a PCM DAC, have difficulty even just bitstreaming DSD, or want to play multichannel files, you can use Media Center's conversion tools to create a PCM file (typically FLAC) that your system should be able to play.
The conversion will take some time, but it only needs to be done once.
It's worth mentioning that I would recommend keeping your original rip, rather than replacing it with the converted files.
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iamimdoc

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2014, 02:59:08 pm »

Ok

Thanks.  My DAC does not have DSD support

But, I moved an SACD iso file to my nas.  JRiver imported the file without issue.

Music plays but I get buffering issues every minute or so.   Hesitates then starts up again

So,
What is jriver doing? Converting ( if so to what)??
Buffering issue is likely to be nas issue or slow pc issue?

Thanks for advice/ help



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6233638

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2014, 03:06:12 pm »

Almost certainly a "slow PC" issue if the JRmark score is 471.
Media Center will convert DSD to PCM automatically during playback.
 
What you need to do is use the conversion tool (Tools → Library Tools → Convert Format) to create FLAC files from your SACDs to be able to play them smoothly on that system.
 
I would suggest that you set the bit-depth to 24-bit and the Output Format in DSP options to the highest multiple of 44.1kHz that your DAC supports. (the default conversion would be a 64-bit 352.8kHz file that is unnecessarily large, and your system may have difficulty playing)
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iamimdoc

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2014, 05:51:16 am »

Slow pc appears to be issue mainly.  I moved music to the local drive of the pc but  it still has issues, although less.

If I were to get a zippy new pc with jmark score of 2000 or so and used the networking features of jriver and used the slow pc ( but absolutely mechanically silent in the media room) as a renderer ( I think that is the correct term), would that likely solve my problem

Or

Would the slow pc always be a deal breaking, rally killing bottleneck?

Thanks
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6233638

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2014, 09:29:02 am »

If you have a score of 2000+ on JRmark, it should be able to handle any stereo tracks.
Multichannel may have higher requirements.
 
Rather than replacing the PC, I'd suggest converting to 24/176 FLAC. (or whatever the highest multiple of 44.1 is that your DAC supports)
Keep the ISO files in case you do change the PC, but use the FLACs for playback.
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iamimdoc

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2014, 10:55:56 am »

sounds like a plan

JRiver as good any to extract?  (?"software of choice")
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6233638

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2014, 11:30:17 am »

sounds like a plan
JRiver as good any to extract?  (?"software of choice")
Yes, Media Center does a great job converting to FLAC.
Just make sure that you are using the "Leave original file, add destination file to library" option.
 
I also find that using the option to convert one track at a time is most reliable with SACD, though it may not be necessary.
 
The only time to avoid Media Center for SACD conversion is when you're trying to split an ISO into DSF/DFF tracks. (i.e. DSD→DSD, rather than DSD→PCM)
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iamimdoc

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Re: SACD iso files and low powered PC
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2014, 05:43:44 am »

As a temporizing step I bought an IDSD NANO as it will play "everything".

The alphabet soup of acronyms in this realm of computer music is complex as are the configuration possibilities in JRiver

The (? Only)  way I could get things to work was

Select the Nano device as output device to WASAPI in jriver under tool options audio device
And
Under Tools Settings Turn on bistreaming to DSD ( with the irritating "None" as the preferred option) 

This plays all flacs and my SACD ISO files

So, is this the best configuration?
      Is this the only configuration?

Thanks

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