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PS Audio, DSD, Roon: Should I download DSD or 24/96 PCM?

I have a PS Audio Perfect Wave Dac mkII with Bridge II. This is not a dac that will play DSD. I use Roon to control the music, and that particular software will convert DSD to PCM. 

 I’m interested in purchasing the high-resolution version of  The complete Beethoven piano sonatas by Mari Kodama on the Pentatone label. It’s pretty incredible! It’s also a little expensive and I don’t want to make a format mistake.

If I buy the DSD version, I will be all set if and when I upgrade to a DSD dac in the future.  But as this might not happen for a few years, I am worried that the DSD version might not sound good enough on my system.

 If that’s not the case however, and the Roon conversion from DSD to PCM will be on par with the PCM version that I can buy, that would be the best option.

therein lies the question: is Roon’s DSD to PCM conversion as good as a straight PCM version?  Or perhaps even better?
marktomaras
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georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
At the moment you have a Delta Sigma Dac. Most DSD capable dacs are also Delta Sigma.
Stick with the DSD download, don't go 24bit PCM or DXD, unless you have one of the few R2R Mulibit Dacs that can do DSD also, but they are expensive.

 Here is something MoJo Music said, that says it simply:

" When a PCM file is played on a native DSD (delta sigma) single-bit converter, the single-bit DAC chip has to convert the PCM to DSD in real-time. This is one of the major reasons people claim DSD sounds better than PCM, when in fact, it is just that the chip in most modern single-bit (delta sigma)  DACs do a poor job of decoding PCM."

Cheers George  
  
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