DSD-Guide - How do I know if my portable DAC plays DSD?

3 Simple Ways to Find Out!

We get a lot of questions as to whether this or that device plays DSD. In fact, today we had a question about the ifi iDAC2 as to whether it will play DSD audio. Here are some simple tricks you can do at home.

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3 Simple ways to find out if you can play DSD files with my system

1. Understand what a DAC or soundcard is and look it up on google.
   Yes, that’s right… do a search for your DAC online and read the manufacturer’s spec sheet. That’s what we’re going to when you write to us. With thousands of playback systems, we don’t keep them all in our heads. By the way, if you can hear audio, voices, music, etc then your computer and iPhone has a DAC… most commonly called a soundcard.
   
   Playback varies by device so check your device specs. Some phones can be equipped with DSD playback (like some Samsung phones) but otherwise you’ll need an external DAC to hear larger audio files of better quality. If your DAC says it plays up to DSD128, then it won’t play DSD256. If it only lists WAV, FLAC or PCM, then it won’t play DSD.
   

2. Understand what “sampling rate” means. Don’t beat yourself up… it’s confusing for pros, too.
   Here’s a wonderful article posted at DSD-Guide.com that leads to a Paul McGowan article on the different sampling rates.
   https://dsd-guide.com/basic-guide-sampling-rates-what-it-and-how-does-affect-sound-your-music
   Understand that if you can play Spotify files doesn’t mean you can play HD or DSD files. There are as many variations of compressed audio (like MP3) as there are uncompressed audio. If you’re equipment or ears aren’t up to some people’s hearing, don’t worry. Consider yourself lucky you won’t be spending oodles of money for the best sound. The difference between a DSD256 file and an mp3 can be very small to some and dramatically different to others.
   

3. Test out these free files that offer 10 different formats.
   Blue Coast Music offers one song in 10 formats that include DSD, WAV, FLAC and MQA. It’s free. Download it and see if you can get any of the files to play. That’s a good start!
   https://bluecoastmusic.com/hifilife/test-your-music-systems-for-high-resolution-audio-dsd-wav-flac-and-mqa-with-free-downloads

See what you learn and write to us!

Support@dsd-guide.com and tell your friends!

Cheers and enjoy your music!
The DSD-Guide Crew