transcoding using dsf:wav;176 vs dsf:wav24;176

[simoncn]

(31-10-2015 17:27)Andre Gosselin Wrote:  Hi,
The default bit width is set to 32 when transcoding dsf to wav using the setting "dsf:wav;176". Is there any theoritical or practical advantage to using 32 bit transcoding instead of the 24 bit width you get with setting "dsf:wav24;176". Both settings work on my DAC (cable ethernet connection), and frankly I cannot tell the difference, but this may depend on the type of music I am listening to. I assume that the 24 bit transcoding would use up less bandwidth, which may matter in a WI-FI setup (but this is not my case). Could 32-bit transcoding require less processing power and be more efficient ?

Any comment on your part about this point would be most welcome.

Regards

The default is 32 bits and 352.8 kHz because this is what ffmpeg produces by default. As a general principle, I think it's a good idea to use the maximum bit depth that your DAC can support unless your network doesn't have enough bandwidth for this. I will do a comparison between 32-bit and 24-bit output and also between 352.8 kHz and 176.4 kHz to see if I can hear any difference.