SACD Add-on

[Slee]

C21a Dune HD box. No dsd bitsream, regardless of add-on setting.

Always converts to LPCM 192.

[vpeter]

Last time I check DTS didn’t work: DSD on USB DAC

[outolintu]

After investigating Kodi forums, it seems to be a Kodi restriction. Waiting for Kodi 22…

[Joe_90]

I have never been able to get a native DSD stream to work over HDMI. The SACD add-on will enable you to play an SACD ISO file, but it always converts to LPCM. I doubt if you would notice the sound quality difference with a DSD stream direct to your amplifier, though.

[Slee]

I completely agree. I probably can’t notice mp3 320 vs FLAC.

Its more just being able to bitstream if only to see what the source music is on the Receiver display.

[HeresJohnny]

Just to be clear, the DSD (digital) signal has to be converted to analogue at some stage so it can reach your ears as music. Usually the conversion which has the highest quality is the one by the DAC in your amp or a by a dedicated DAC and not by software like Kodi. However, if you don’t have expensive speakers you might not hear the difference. Then again it’s always satisfying when the little lights on your amp or dedicated DAC show that it’s converting a bitstream, if nothing else.

[Joe_90]

There’s no analogue conversion being done by Kodi - DSD to LPCM is entirely in the digital domain. The final digital to analogue conversion (DAC) is being done by the amplifier in both cases. The little lights on the amp or DAC do show whether the input stream is DSD or LPCM as you say, so there’s that

[Slee]

I gave up on SACD for now. I converted all my DSF files to FLAC 24-88.

Extended info in the DSF tags aren’t read in Kodi and I need that extra info to do what I want with my collection.

If bitstream and correct tag reading are fixed in the future, I might try the DSF again.

[Joe_90]

That’s what I did with my SACD collection - converted from DSD to PCM 24bit / 88kHz in Foobar. I have retained my rips in ISO format also, for the day when Kodi is able to stream DSD over HDMI natively.
Until then, I can use my Sony Blu-ray to stream my SACDs in DSD to my amp. I can’t tell the difference between DSD and PCM converted at 24/88 in any case!