Problems transcoding/playing DSF(128) - WAV24;176 on OPPO Sonica DAC

[tbe2013]

Hi@all,

sitting here and playing with a friends new Oppo Sonica DAC. We are using MinimServer 0.8.5.3 update 126 on a Synology DS214play.
Normally we are transcoding all our flac files to wav24 with the following stream.transcode options flac:wav24,alac:wav24,mp3:wav24,dsf(128):wav24;176
The Sonica DAC is able to play all formats except dsf to wav24 or any other output format. DSD64 can be played natively. DSD128 cannot be played natively neither with the selected transcoding option. I also gambled around with BubblePlayer and FFMPEG transcoding and had a hit with L16 96. Directly transcoded with MinimStreamer I had no chance to get this working.
If I play native 24/176.4 KHz flac, converted to wav24, everything is fine with the DAC. Any Idea what is going wrong?
@SimonCN: Any Logs I can provide you with for debugging?
Thank you all for your assistance.

Regards
Tobias

[simoncn]

I have tried this on a DS713+ (similar CPU to the DS214play) and it works OK with my DAC.

Transcoding can alter the timing of the audio data packets and some DACs are sensitive to this. Please produce a debug log by doing the following:

1) From the MinimWatch minim icon, select Show log
2) In the log window, change the logging level to Debug
3) Leave the logging window open
4) Try to play a transcoded DSF128 file
5) After 20 seconds, click 'Save as' in the log window and save the log data to a file
6) Zip the log file and attach the zipped file as a file attachment to a post here (see this post for instructions)

I will look at the log file and let you know what I find.

[tbe2013]

Hey Simon,
this seems to be specific for the Sonica. Transcoding the same content and playing it with my Naim and my fathers T+A works pretty fine too. I'll get you the debug logs asap.
Regards
Tobias

(11-11-2018 21:28)simoncn Wrote:  I have tried this on a DS713+ (similar CPU to the DS214play) and it works OK with my DAC.

Transcoding can alter the timing of the audio data packets and some DACs are sensitive to this. Please produce a debug log by doing the following:

1) From the MinimWatch minim icon, select Show log
2) In the log window, change the logging level to Debug
3) Leave the logging window open
4) Try to play a transcoded DSF128 file
5) After 20 seconds, click 'Save as' in the log window and save the log data to a file
6) Zip the log file and attach the zipped file as a file attachment to a post here (see this post for instructions)

I will look at the log file and let you know what I find.

[tbe2013]

Simon,
find the log attached.
Regards
Tobias

(12-11-2018 11:52)tbe2013 Wrote:  Hey Simon,
this seems to be specific for the Sonica. Transcoding the same content and playing it with my Naim and my fathers T+A works pretty fine too. I'll get you the debug logs asap.
Regards
Tobias

(11-11-2018 21:28)simoncn Wrote:  I have tried this on a DS713+ (similar CPU to the DS214play) and it works OK with my DAC.

Transcoding can alter the timing of the audio data packets and some DACs are sensitive to this. Please produce a debug log by doing the following:

1) From the MinimWatch minim icon, select Show log
2) In the log window, change the logging level to Debug
3) Leave the logging window open
4) Try to play a transcoded DSF128 file
5) After 20 seconds, click 'Save as' in the log window and save the log data to a file
6) Zip the log file and attach the zipped file as a file attachment to a post here (see this post for instructions)

I will look at the log file and let you know what I find.

[simoncn]

PM sent.

[tbe2013]

New Logs attached.
_2 plays without interruption.

(13-11-2018 18:17)simoncn Wrote:  PM sent.

[tbe2013]

New logs 20181119

(13-11-2018 20:40)tbe2013 Wrote:  New Logs attached.
_2 plays without interruption.

(13-11-2018 18:17)simoncn Wrote:  PM sent.

[simoncn]

Thanks for these logs. I have checked them and everything looks fine, so it seems that my changes have fixed the problems.

The problems were caused by MinimStreamer not handling some byte-range requests correctly when doing transcoding. Byte-range requests are used by some renderers but not others and this is why you only saw these problems when using the OPPO Sonica DAC.

The fix is now available in MinimStreamer 0.7.9 for automatic update and manual installation. Thanks for your help with diagnosing and fixing the problem.

[tbe2013]

Hey Simon,
thank you again for your outstanding support. Your assistance is highly appreciated. Keep going!
Regards
Tobias

(20-11-2018 15:37)simoncn Wrote:  Thanks for these logs. I have checked them and everything looks fine, so it seems that my changes have fixed the problems.

The problems were caused by MinimStreamer not handling some byte-range requests correctly when doing transcoding. Byte-range requests are used by some renderers but not others and this is why you only saw these problems when using the OPPO Sonica DAC.

The fix is now available in MinimStreamer 0.7.9 for automatic update and manual installation. Thanks for your help with diagnosing and fixing the problem.