Advance-topics/native-dsd-support

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Native DSD is another way of playing DSD material on your Snakeoil PC. Traditionally, DSD data is wrapped in PCM and sent to the DAC. This method is commonly known as DSD over PCM (DoP).

A newer method is to send the raw DSD data directly to your DAC. This is called native DSD, and is only supported by some DACs.

How To Enable Native DSD Kernel

Download the native kernel from this thread - Native DSD: linux-4.4.9-rt17, install the kernel and reboot your Snakeoil PC.

For MPD and Squeezelite, set your streaming mode to "Native (PCM or DSD)", and away you go!

Supported Native DSD DACs

The following DACs will output native DSD, some requiree the custom native DSD kernel shown above. Please report back if you own any of the following uncofirmed DACs so we can keep this list up to date.

DAC	Comments	Confirmed
Amanero Combo 384	Snakeoil DSD kernel > 20181024 Need to update Amanero firmware to 1099
Aune X1S 32BIT/384 DSD DAC	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
dCS Scarlatti	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
Denon	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
DIYINHK DSD DXD 384kHz USB to I2S/DSD	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
iFi Audio micro/nano iDSD	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
Gustard DAC-X20U Yulong DA9	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
Kitsune/HOLO Spring DAC	Snakeoil DSD kernel > 20181118
JLsounds I2SoverUSB	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
Makua Molamola	Snakeoil DSD kernel > 20180318
Marantz	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
Matrix Audio X-Sabre	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
OPPO HA-1	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
OPPO Sonica	Snakeoil DSD kernel > 20180619
Playback Designs DAC	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
PS Audio NuWave DAC	All Snakeoil kernels with USB audio
xDuoo XD-05	Snakeoil DSD kernel > 20180318

What If Your Native DAC Is Not In The List?

Be aware of the following:

• Only works from Snakeoil OS (Blind Testing) 1.1.4 and up
• Only works with DSD kernel dated 14 Apr 2019 (20190414) and later
• Dynamic DSD Format configuration is current in beta testing and only available in activated editions of Snakeoils
• You need to set the ALSA mixer volume to 100% for native DSD to work
• Incorrect settings may damage your audio equipment. Since native DSD requires the software ALSA mixer to be at 100%, this implies you'll need a a pre-amplifier or integrated amplifier with a volume control. Please set your amplifier volume control to minimum, and slowly dial it up and check that the native DSD stream is decoded properly by your DAC.
• At this stage only one USB DAC is supported. If you have multiple native USB DACs, you have to adjust this every time.

On activated Snakeoil PCs, an extra DSD panel will appear in the Snakeoil section when you boot with the custom Snakeoil DSD kernel. On a fresh setup, "No Native DSD" is the default option. This setting implies your DAC is PCM only and does not support native DSD.

If you know your DAC supports native DSD streaming, you can change this option to one of the following DSD formats. Please check with your DAC manufacturer for the correct setting:

Once a DSD format is selected, two more configuration options will appear. The first is USB ID, short for USB identification code. This is a unique identifier for your USB DAC.

If you do not know the ID, click on the magnifying glass and Snakeoil will detect the first USB DAC in your system. To prevent false positives, please ensure you connect ONLY the native USB DAC to your Snakeoil PC.

Select the Altset profile for DSD output. Again please refer to your DAC manufacturer for the correct parameter.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap the "Save" button. This setting will be applied to your DAC on reboot, power up, or when you reconnect the DAC. So at this stage, you can simply disconnect the USB cable of your DAC, wait two seconds and reconnect the cable. Your USB DAC is now native DSD capable!

Configure your player for native DSD streaming, play some DSD material at low level, ensure the stream is decoded correctly before dialling the volume back to normal listening levels.

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