Request for DSD256 playback

Unfortunately, I have to disagree. Throughout his YouTube videos over the years, Paul often makes “factual” statements that are not factual at all. :laughing:

In that video you linked for example, he states - “DSD is the best recording medium on the planet, it just is”. From an Engineering point of view, DSD vs. PCM has been disputed for as long as DSD has been around, for recording or otherwise. There are no facts of one being better than the other.

The dCS folks would know for sure, but I believe mathematically, there’s no way to convert from DSD to PCM completely losslessly (audibility of the losses aside).

So, Paul’s discussion about the proprietary Zephir filter converting “perfectly” is highly suspect.

If I’m not mistaken, the Zephir filter is based on algorithm’s within BitPerfect’s DSDMaster application, for which there is little technical details, but this is what they have to say about DSD to PCM conversion;

Unlike conversions within the PCM format ( WAV to FLAC, etc ), conversions from DSD to PCM - or the other way round - cannot be done losslessly. This is a mathematical fact, even though some otherwise well-informed individuals can be heard to assert otherwise.

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