Using Third Party Streamers with dCS Products

dCS Products
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There have been a couple of threads on this topic recently and forum members may have seen the recent reviews of the Antipodes Oladra in Hifi+ Magazine and the Innuos Nazaré in Stereophile, both of which mention connection to dCS products. In this post we will try to lay out the pros and cons of different streaming configurations for dCS products and how external streamers should be set up for optimum format support, clocking systems (which have a major influence on sound quality) and user experience when used in conjunction with dCS products. All current dCS systems contain a network streamer – most contain it in the same chassis as the DAC, but in others like Vivaldi or Varèse it is a separate unit. For the sake of clarity, I will therefore refer to streaming-enabled dCS products as “dCS devices”.

Format Support

dCS devices all offer a variety of different connections for their digital inputs. These can be broken down into two categories, Synchronous (S/PDIF and AES) and Asynchronous (USB and Network). The common Synchronous interfaces are all limited in bandwidth compared to their Asynchronous counterparts. S/PDIF and AES are both supported up to 24/192 PCM or DSD64** whereas USB and Network connections can both support higher bandwidths enabling broader format support (see chart below). Note that only the Network input can support native DSD files (DFF/DSF format) whereas S/PDIF, AES and USB require DSD to be encoded as DoP which requires support at both the server and the DAC ends (most but not all third-party streamers support DoP on their USB outputs). DoP results in identical sound quality to “native” DSD as the data converted by the DAC is identical.

** Current dCS systems support dual AES which raises the limit to 24/384 or DSD128 but very few third-party streamers support this.

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So, for the broadest format support we recommend using the network interface on dCS devices.

Clocking

dCS DACs support three clocking regimes:

  1. Word Clock Input (W) where the clock in the DAC (plus a synchronous source if it has a suitable word clock input) is slaved to an external Master Clock which “manages” or “steers” the clock in the DAC to ensure the two remain in sync as well as reducing jitter.
  2. Master Clock (M) where the clock in the DAC is the master.
  3. Audio Clock (A) where the master clock is embedded in and extracted from the audio stream.

These are in descending order of preference, with 1 offering the best jitter performance and sound quality, and 3 the worst. For more detail on clocking please see our website.

It is important to note that external sources such as Disc Transports or Servers connected with synchronous connections (S/PDIF or AES) must offer a word clock input to be compatible with 1 or 2 and most third-party streamer products do not.

So, from a clocking/sound quality perspective we recommend using Asynchronous interfaces, USB or network.

User Experience

This covers several areas, some of which are highly subjective and some less so.

Streaming Services

dCS devices all contain a streaming board which supports a wide variety of streaming services/protocols:

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Note that apart from Airplay (which is limited to 24/48) all these services use the same underlying network mechanisms to transport audio to the dCS device so any differences in sound quality are due to factors other than the service/protocol used (for instance different masters/versions or the application of some additional DSP).

Local Storage

All dCS devices also support UPnP, a widely adopted standard that allows the playback of files stored on the local network (either ripped from disc or downloaded). UPnP is supported by many popular client apps such as Audirvāna and JPLAY as well as dCS Mosaic and dCS Mosaic ACTUS. To play locally stored files all that is required in addition to the dCS device is some local storage, such as a laptop or NAS, and a UPnP server that has access to the files stored there. We recommend MinimServer as that is the one we test against, but any standard-compliant UPnP server should work.

Network vs USB

When using connection methods other than network with a third-party streamer the streamer determines which services/protocols and which client apps are supported. This is naturally a subjective choice, however the dCS device still needs to be connected to the network to receive firmware updates and allow settings to be controlled from the Mosaic app, so if it supports the user’s preferred streaming service and client app the network connection offers a convenience advantage.

When used with a Varèse the principal difference in the user experience between the USB input and the network input is that the former bypasses most of the functionality of the Varèse UI for displaying track metadata, album art etc. However, there are other minor differences in the user experience between USB and network connections with all dCS devices. For instance, when using the network interface the dCS device is aware of upcoming sample rate changes and can pause the audio until the DAC has completed the switch to the new sample rate (we mute and unmute the output to avoid loud pops during sample rate changes). With a USB connection the DAC only finds out about the sample rate as it changes and is unable to pause the audio until it is ready, which may result in the beginning of the track being cut.

So, from a user experience perspective we recommend the network interface.

Summary

In summary, for broadest format support with no dependencies on protocol support in the server, best sound quality through compatibility with the lowest jitter clocking regimes, and the best user experience across the dCS range, we recommend the network interface for connecting to third party servers. For those that do not support a network connection to the DAC we would recommend USB as the best alternative.

We will be following up this post with recommended configurations for a number of third-party streamers.

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@AndrewS , your posts are always illuminating but this is one of your best and deals with a topic area related to numerous queries over the years. I trust it will be copied as a FAQ. Knowing that you understand us “out here”, having one been one of us previously, is significant.

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Thanks Pete, much appreciated.

Yes, stay tuned, we have some stuff cooking there. I think you’ll like it :wink:

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Intriguing.
I look forward to the ‘big reveal’… :grinning_face:

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Very helpful, Andrew.

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I chose this approach; streamer is Aurender W20SE which is connected to a Vivaldi Apex Dac using dual AES/EBU. Aurender’s clock is synchronised to the dac by connecting Vivaldi’s wordclock output into Aurender’s wordclock input (bnc/bnc, Vivaldi is master). This combination doesn’t require RS232 connection, switches between different formats/bitrates during streaming are processed immediately and flawlessly.

Aurender’s Conductor app integrates Qobuz, Tidal and local files in a sublime way, internet radio is also available. Conductor is particularly pleasant for everyday use, stable and reliable.

The set is expected to be supplemented with a Vivaldi Master Clock at some point, although it already sounds great at this very moment!

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great post- thanks Andrew!

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Nice post. As an aside, my streamer, a Grimm MU1, does not offer any external clock, so it is providing the source based clocking (via AES/EBU) to the Vivaldi Upsampler, which passes that to the Vivaldi APEX DAC clock input 3. My one external clock only acts as a master for my Uptone etherREGEN switch. Because of the Upsampler’s dual AES capability, the DAC is able to play nearly all DXD and DSD formats. And I recently altered my DAC AES modes so that AES 3/4 is set to Auto and AES 1/2 set to OFF. Haven’t experienced the odd occurrence of the DAC switching from AES3+4 to AES1 since.

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I also have a Grimm MU1. It’s such an original and creative design, albeit somewhat quirky. Of course its lack of a wordclock input puts it at a disadvantage in the dCS eco system. Even so, it acquits itself surprisingly well compared to the internal streamer which has the external clock input.

The recent advent of Qobuz Connect prompted me to compare the two. They do sound a bit different, but I’d be hard pressed to say one was better.

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Agree with you that the design is what I’d call “self-limiting”. But what it does, it does really well. Since I use it as only a Roon endpoint (a separate MacMini M1 is doing the Roon Server function) that still demands I keep both the MacMini Roon code and MU1 Roon code up to date and consistent which can be a pain. Hoping the upcoming MU1 firmware update “fixes” some of this or at least obviates this issue for me. And with it, the availability to abandon Roon for JPLAY or Audirvana will be welcome as my source of most listening is a local library on a NAS.

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My connections are essentially the same, but now with the new Aurender N50. Due to the purchase price being (too) high for me, I sold my dCS Vivaldi clock, Aurender N20, a clock cable and power cable to be able to afford the N50. For me, this is one of the biggest improvements in recent times… an amazing music experience!

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This is what gets me on the separate streamer thing. Is it really better or just different, or even different at all?

If you can’t really tell then why bother having a separate streamer? I have the vivaldi upsampler and other streamers like the one in my melco n1zs mk2, plus in the wiim ultra, and other’s. I very much doubt the streamer in the vivaldi has been done poorly, you would hope that a £25/£35 grand streamer might bring you something more, but does it really?
As in the listening I have done with dCS, with them using the vivaldi, rossini and the varese, all streaming I haven’t found any lacking. Plus a recent demo with the new antipodes oladra into the vivaldi didn’t for see do much at all over the upsampler, certainly not worth a few grand let alone the huge asking price it has.

So is it really just adding for the sake of it or what? I don’t know

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Well the MU1 is not just a streamer, it’s also a Roon Core…

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I guess that could be an advantage, but as I don’t personally use roon then it wouldn’t be for me.

I have tried roon twice over the years using my mac and the roon’s own core but on both occasions I found it to be missing somewhat in the sound quality for whatever reason and the search engines it uses can be found elsewhere if that’s what you desire.

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Thank you for your essential post. There is also the Oladra review from STEREOPHILE by Serinus (https://www.stereophile.com/content/antipodes-oladra-serverstreamerreclocker) that asks questions about connections and sofwares. Unfortunately like other reviewers he doesn’t talk about MOSAIC. I had the opportunity to listen to the Oladra on my system connected to the network with ROON: it works very well. From my point of view it’s much more user friendly than MOSAIC but it’s also a significant additional cost.Is it worth it ? That is the question. It may depend on the size of the music library and your own memory: I have 6 500 albums and 85 000 tracks. For the moment in addition to MOSAIC, I use a ROON NUCLEUS PLUS connected to a MELCO DELA switch itself connected to my VIVALDI upsampler through a MELCO DELA N1Z … as a NAS. As far as I can remerber it seems to me that it worked better with the OLADRA. I wish I could check it soon.

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Everyone has been telling me I will hear a significant uplift in SQ if I bypass my Rossini Apex Player streamer to use Oladra instead. So I went to my audio dealer and did the A/B. I was told Oladra connected to Rossini by USB sounds best so I went with that. I listened to: 1/ CD versus ripped file on Oladra. 2/ USB drive file direct into Rossini versus exact same file loaded on Oladra. 3/ Qobus via Rossini (Mosaic) versus Oladra. I tried different file resolutions plus DSD. Just as Dunc said above, they did sound very marginally different. But better? Definitely not to my ears. So if I had a vast library of files and wished to rip my CD collection, and couldn’t cope with Mosaic or needed Roon the money could be worth it. But I don’t want any of that right now and am happy with simplicity. So for pure SQ, I cannot justify the considerable cost. That’s my personal experience, but I hope it helps others who may be wondering. Thanks to my brilliant audio dealer for letting me spend the considerable time doing the demo.

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Oladra seems to be the new kid on the block that certain dealers are pushing right now. I first heard it as the hifi deluxe show this year into a vivaldi dac, I noticed that they did really have it set up as good as they could and the dac wasn’t also set to what i would say a better configuration, I mentioned it to one guy running the room only to be told it’s all correct.

But whatever it didn’t really shout to me better or different, or anything really, and certainly made me thing at the time why? I have since heard it again and comparing it to the upsampler, I couldn’t really say which was playing, as they would play a few tracks and change over, and if you left the room like I did for a while and return, I certainly couldn’t say which was being used.

Maybe it’s just me, and i am too old to hear it, but I am more than happy to keep my upsampler, and maybe dCS have a nice surprise in the wing’s to update it in some way. But I can’t say I am bothered much about DSD 256, but let’s see.

Cheers dunc

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Agree - definitely flavour of the month - and Absolute Sounds affiliated dealers are pushing it - It doesn’t help its case that it looks like a Pace made SkyTV box from 1998 however.

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It’s funny as at the same show the year before, the guy that owns absolute sounds said, if you stream music then you are not getting the hole picture and you should only use vinyl or cd. The following year once he has Antipodes on board, it’s the best sounding source you can get.

Strange that, and made us all laugh in my group when he came out with it in his speech, that he feels he needs to do. It’s a shame they don’t spend more time on getting the rooms to sound great, as every year they fail to impress

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Yeah - they’re a funny outfit, so core to the UK high end - and dCS clearly have a symbiotic relationship with them and have had for many years - but definitely they’re a bit prone to hyperbole.

They do have a bit of a problem though - and so the UK high end therefore also does - in that both Ricardo and Pedro are in their 70s, and while both are hugely energetic still, clearly still love what they do, and definitely go the extra mile for their customers - I’m not aware of a succession plan. I only ever see those two. I hope there is one, because as i say - the UK high end is massively diminished without them doing what they do.

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