The lack of an answer tells me there ain’t no good answer.
There are a couple of threads on this issue dating back a couple years, and some of our most seasoned and experienced colleagues here put in a good deal of brain power to look for a solution and no joy. So, I assume this is a systemic problem, that can’t be fixed by fiddling with settings, swapping around cables or just hoping to have it go away. I’ve asked the question directly several times here as have you, and others.
If I’d known of this before I decided to sell off some components I really liked (also from dCS - brand loyalty might only run one way it seems) to underwrite a Vivaldi stack I, might have gone a different route. Or just been satisfied with what I already had (Rosinni DAC and clock). If I knew this was gonna be a problem, and dCS wasn’t gonna do anything about it (other than tell me to subscribe to Roon), that woulda influenced greatly the first decision. If ya want me to subscribe to Roon to solve a problem inherent in your components, then you owe me $14.99 a month.
Another thing I’d like to know is what purpose does the DAC buffer serve if not this?
Another thing I’d like to know is does dCS think maybe they should let prospective customers know about this at the time of purchase decision? I bought my DAC and Upsampler used from a dealer I like and trust, and the clock I bought brand new. If I’d paid retail for the whole kit, and had not been told of this before the purchase I’d be more irritated than I already am.
Stupid analogy - imagine buying a hearing aid that needed a second to activate when it sensed sound - you’d spend your life wondering how a sentence someone spoke to you started…I’d go look for a better hearing aid myself.
So, am I gonna sell off what I already have? Nope. But it is a bit embarrassing when I have friends over and want to show off my system with the highest quality recordings available in DSD, and have to explain why the first second of some songs is missing if I switch to a normal track. I get some wrinkled eyebrows when I explain why, and answer in the negative or a shrug of the shoulders the logical next question - “is it gonna get fixed”?
My level of irritation grows as the simple question continues to go unanswered - you guys gonna fix this?