Playback software, drivers and bit-perfect setup

Inputs, sources, cables and clocking

Answers on this topic

Everything he said on this topic (68)

One-line summaries in our words, oldest first. Each link opens the original.

2014-04-16Watts says he does not know the Onkyo but advises keeping files in their original format and not letting the player alter the bits. Head-Fi, Apr 2014
2014-05-09Watts explains Hugo mutes on data or sample-rate changes to hide garbage from badly behaved software, costing about half a second, and says resets are computer driver failures. Head-Fi, May 2014
2014-06-02Watts relays that Android DSD may be fixed soon, says Hugo's DSD filter uses two custom DSP cores and converts DSD back to DXD, beyond computer converters. Head-Fi, Jun 2014
2014-06-26Watts advises sending 24/192 natively to Hugo despite its ADC noise-shaper noise, warning that PC sample-rate conversion degrades timing; one PC converting to 48 kHz sounded awful. Head-Fi, Jun 2014
2014-06-26Watts says software that only repackages or losslessly compresses without changing the data is fine, and suggests a listening test to confirm. Head-Fi, Jun 2014
2014-09-30Watts advises using USB over optical rather than letting the PC resample, and says decimating 88.2 to 44.1 is easier than upsampling as decimation has no timing problems. Head-Fi, Sep 2014
2015-04-20Watts gives each input's maximum data width and rate (SD USB and Bluetooth 16-bit/48 kHz, HD USB 32-bit/384 kHz, optical 192 kHz, coax 384 kHz) and battery life by input. Head-Fi, Apr 2015
2015-06-27Watts says it will work, but because of the galvanic isolation power is drawn from the source, so a charger or powered USB hub may be needed. needs context Head-Fi, Jun 2015
2015-11-13Watts says Chord tested it directly with an iPhone and it works. needs context Head-Fi, Nov 2015
2015-12-17Watts says he spent a month trying to make it seamless, but click-free, DC-protection-safe operation with an inaudible DC servo required this way; DSD runs as DoP or native ASIO, native only for DSD512. needs context Head-Fi, Dec 2015
2016-03-31Watts suggests the files are likely not bit perfect, since one gain-scaling stage loses depth and bad truncation hardens sound; a non-bit-perfect optical link would cause dropouts instead. needs context Head-Fi, Mar 2016
2016-05-22Watts says Chord knows no way to send native DSD on OS X, driverless UAC2 cannot resend faulty data like the Windows driver, and JRiver and Foobar played DSD glitch-free. Head-Fi, May 2016
2016-05-23Watts answers yes to three questions and says JRiver can misbehave, including after sleep, so he closes Chrome before opening JRiver and occasionally restarts. needs context Head-Fi, May 2016
2016-06-27Watts reports a JitterBug lifted DAVE with a mains-powered laptop from 0% to 75% but made no difference on battery, concluding RF couples mainly via USB. Head-Fi, Jun 2016
2016-08-09Watts says he has no iTunes experience, and recalls an iPhone in early testing applying gain to a supposedly bit-perfect file, possibly a settings issue. Head-Fi, Aug 2016
2016-08-10Watts says player differences depend on DAC isolation, OS and program; Chord's Windows driver resends errored packets, and with DAVE on a battery laptop he expects no differences. Head-Fi, Aug 2016
2016-09-15Watts says he uses a low-power HP Pavilion on battery and an MSI i7 laptop on the road, runs JRiver 21, and finds ASIO slightly better than WASAPI with Mojo. Head-Fi, Sep 2016
2016-09-16Watts reports no consistent difference between ASIO and WASAPI with DAVE from his design laptop on battery, using a 96k 24-bit Hildegard von Bingen recording. Head-Fi, Sep 2016
2016-11-28Watts says switching from PCM+ to DSD+ over USB resets the USB device, so close the media player, change mode and restart it to avoid an unstable state. Head-Fi, Nov 2016
2016-12-18Watts says ASIO and WASAPI are both bit perfect; DAVE shows no difference via isolation and battery laptop, yet ASIO sounds slightly better on Mojo, likely from less processor noise. Head-Fi, Dec 2016
2017-03-22Watts says unused inputs are powered down except the USB decoder, kept on when USB is connected because some apps crash otherwise. Head-Fi, Mar 2017
2017-08-03Watts says an app starting a new file must tell Hugo 2 the sample rate, otherwise the DAC, which sets the timing, continues at the previous rate. Head-Fi, Aug 2017
2017-09-01Watts says AAC is decoded by the source, but Dolby and DTS data sound bad; he leaves them unmuted so users know to set the source to stereo PCM. Head-Fi, Sep 2017
2017-09-24Watts says his Win 10 i7 machines play 768 kHz via JRiver and DSD512 via Foobar perfectly, and crackles or ticks are a source issue. Head-Fi, Sep 2017
2017-09-26Watts says his i5 laptop sometimes drops out at 192k, fixed by setting the JRiver process to high or real-time priority in Task Manager. Head-Fi, Sep 2017
2017-10-31Watts says the Chord Windows driver resends faulty packets but driverless is probably fine; to check, play DoP DSD, since non-bit-perfect data causes dropouts. Head-Fi, Oct 2017
2018-01-11Watts says ASIO is not supported on iOS, and dropouts come from the source sending faulty DoP data; the DAC now gives a tiny tick instead of a full mute. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
2018-01-11Watts says track-change mutes were fixed over a year ago by muting only on a net sample-rate change; JRiver's 1 second initial silence was the earlier workaround. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
2018-01-18Watts says to install standard Windows 10, then the Creators driver without uninstalling the standard driver. Head-Fi, Jan 2018
2018-02-19Watts says on Windows you must use safely remove hardware before turning off Hugo 2, as pulling USB can crash the OS. Head-Fi, Feb 2018
2018-04-19Watts says he cannot advise on Android versions since manufacturers modify USB audio, but his Motorola and his children's Moto phones work fine. Head-Fi, Apr 2018
2018-04-25Watts says USB runs at 32 bits with 16-bit sources zero-padded; the source must not upsample, so check 44.1k files show red. Head-Fi, Apr 2018
2018-05-20Watts says it supports native DSD up to DSD 512 via the ASIO driver and DoP up to DSD 256; he does not know about Linux. Head-Fi, May 2018
2018-05-21Watts says Chord confirmed ASIO is Windows only, so on Linux DSD is DoP only. Head-Fi, May 2018
2018-05-22Watts says Linux needs varied drivers for native DSD while DoP is driverless but less efficient, capping it at DSD 256; his DSD 512 track sounds flat and soft. Head-Fi, May 2018
2018-05-26Watts says the Chord Windows driver resends faulty USB packets unlike driverless USB, errors would sound as clicks, and optical errors are all-or-nothing and rare in practice. Head-Fi, May 2018
2018-07-02Watts says extra headroom would matter only if Roon altered the file; with bit perfect files the WTA1's 2.76dB overload margin cannot be exceeded. Head-Fi, Jul 2018
2018-07-05Watts says the USB decoder seems to have failed after three sources and two cables, noting Windows updates sometimes need driver reinstallation. Head-Fi, Jul 2018
2018-08-21Watts lists his sources: a Motorola Android phone with Onkyo HF Player, JRiver on Windows 10, a Kimilar OTG adaptor for the M scaler, and generic certified USB cables. Head-Fi, Aug 2018
2018-08-29Watts says an orange indicator means 48k, so the player converts 44.1k; yellow means 88.2k MQA unfold, which is lossy with a 22.05 kHz notch; original 44.1k is better. Head-Fi, Aug 2018
2018-09-18Watts says the M scaler PSU came from TT2 testing, grounded C13 PSUs caused ground loops, quality SMPS beat linears, the Chord driver works, and auto low-power mode exists. Head-Fi, Sep 2018
2018-12-07Watts says MC 21, 22 and 24 on USB never gave him issues, lower output rates are not down conversions, and pass-through is not bit perfect due to attenuation compensation. Head-Fi, Dec 2018
2019-01-09Watts says JRiver on Windows 10 with Chord's ASIO driver plays DSD512 without clicks, and relays Chord's Matt's Mac advice: stop backups, change USB port, try Roon. Head-Fi, Jan 2019
2019-03-03Watts says the Hugo M Scaler adds no dither at full 1M taps, treats 16-bit as 24-bit, and a PC set to 16-bit mode truncates and re-dithers 24-bit sources. Head-Fi, Mar 2019
2019-05-18Watts gives three reasons DSD must be converted to PCM, notes Chord knows of the Linux DSD512 issue, and says 44.1 via M scaler sounds better. Head-Fi, May 2019
2019-09-23Watts explains he avoids native DSD conversion for jitter sensitivity and noise, and that DoP (to DSD256) and native ASIO transmission (to DSD512) deliver identical data. Head-Fi, Sep 2019
2020-02-09Watts says USB data error rates with a certified type 2 cable are too low to worry about, and errors would be obvious as clicks and dropouts with DoP. Head-Fi, Feb 2020
2020-02-25Watts says the M Scaler and TT2 detect sample rate differently, and advises padding track changes with silence in JRiver or a re-sync delay in Roon. Head-Fi, Feb 2020
2020-05-05Watts says data integrity plays no part, as long M scaler tests at -200dB never showed a bit error, but injected noise and processor activity can change the sound. Head-Fi, May 2020
2020-07-28Watts says low gain sounds slightly different from high gain due to two extra feedback components, and ASIO is preferred for DSD512, possibly with less processing than WASAPI. Head-Fi, Jul 2020
2021-08-08Watts says the Primephonic app seems to upsample, advises checking the native rate, explains sample-rate-change clicks, and says the clicks cannot damage the M scaler or DAC. Head-Fi, Aug 2021
2021-10-21Watts says longer M Scaler BNC cables sound better by suppressing 2GHz ground current, 2m beats 1m markedly, his PowerAdd supplies while charging, and the app sends 192k. Head-Fi, Oct 2021
2022-02-15Watts relays Chord's view that Mojo 2 USB noise reports look like a USB sync loss, advises exclusive mode and closing apps first, then emailing Chord support. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
2022-02-15Watts says running without a battery will be fine, and on Windows advises installing Chord's driver rather than generic drivers, with ASIO also available. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
2022-02-20Watts says USB latency is insignificant against WTA latency, DoP works to DSD256 on Linux and macOS, native DSD512 needs Windows ASIO, and 44.1/16 with M Scaler beats DSD512. Head-Fi, Feb 2022
2022-03-31Watts says 32-bit integer reaches TT2's FPGA but 32-bit float is unsupported; he runs TT2 at +7 via M scaler, and Utopia needs high gain, low gain suiting IEMs. Head-Fi, Mar 2022
2022-05-14Watts says WTA taps split between future and past; M scaler video mode uses 98,304 future and 507,904 past taps (606,208 total); ASIO native USB allows DSD512, with fewer pops. Head-Fi, May 2022
2022-06-23Watts says wrong-speed data on sample-rate changes comes from buffered data clocked out at the new rate; adding a delay in Roon or JRiver, or stopping between tracks, fixes it. Head-Fi, Jun 2022
2022-06-24Watts gives player settings (5 s silence at startup for hardware sync, standard track gap, silence playback enabled) that he says avoid sample-rate and track-change problems. needs context Head-Fi, Jun 2022
2022-07-06Watts says Chord is investigating the Mojo 2 USB noise issue but cannot replicate it; exclusive mode makes it rare, and the noise is the maximum at that volume setting. Head-Fi, Jul 2022
2023-01-09Watts says a bit-perfect path would support all rates from 44.1 to 192 kHz, and suggests a JRiver trial to check bit-perfect output and DoP instead of Roon. Head-Fi, Jan 2023
2023-02-04Watts says MQA can be decoded in software, and reports, untested by him, that some prefer playing MQA files undecoded at 44.1 or 48 kHz. Dusty Audio 56:46
2023-02-04Watts says to check bit perfection, send a DSD file as DoP, which decodes only if bit perfect; JRiver or Roon reports can be trusted. Dusty Audio 1:05:36
2023-02-04Watts advises owners to check with a DSD file: if it plays as DSD, the path is bit perfect. Dusty Audio 1:10:46
2023-10-20Watts says Qutest is UAC2 compliant. Head-Fi, Oct 2023
2023-11-30Watts says a Roon resync delay fixes USB sample-rate-change clicks by flushing buffers, and optical from the streamer avoids them, limited to 192k, often with better sound. Head-Fi, Nov 2023
2023-12-16Watts says Qutest's sample rate display is accurate because the WTA filter must know the incoming rate, so a 96k file shown as red was sample rate converted by the source. Head-Fi, Dec 2023
2024-11-11Watts advises sending bit-perfect data in its mastered format, calls DSD technically flawed, and says he uses Hugo 2 with Stealth, so Mojo 2 will drive Stealth fine. Head-Fi, Nov 2024