Why transcode?

[whoof62]

my question is:
dsf and dff files can not play directly?
Do I need to turn them into wav?

[DavidHB]

(21-10-2017 06:36)whoof62 Wrote:  dsf and dff files can not play directly? Do I need to turn them into wav?

As DSF and DFF are file types supported by MinimServer and MinimStreamer (for local content), whether they will play or not will be a function of your streaming device. Both file types can be input types to MinimStreamer, and WAV24 would, I guess, be the preferred output type, assuming that the player supports it and your network can reliably provide the required bandwidth.

To answer the question posed in the thread title, transcoding is sometimes used to give a (typically quite small) improvement in sound quality and sometimes to play files in formats the player does not support, in both cases while leaving the original file intact. I use transcoding for sound quality purposes. The difference is, as I said, not large, but it is noticeable and, now it is set up, the process is entirely automatic and the improvement comes for free.

David

[simoncn]

The first step is to try transcoding your DSF and DFF files to DoP/WAV format by installing MinimStreamer and setting the stream.transcode property to dsf:dopwav, dff:dopwav. Which renderer are you using?

[whoof62]

Naim NDS X5. But i haven't changed the server from Twonky to Minim.
I'm very uncertain whether to change or not.
Do you think that Minim is better than Twonky?
Sound of Minim is more audiophile than twonky?

[BlueDog]

(21-10-2017 14:42)whoof62 Wrote:  Naim NDS X5...

Do you mean ND5 XS? The ND5 XS has native DSD64 support and will play DSF files served by Minimserver without the need for transcoding.

[whoof62]

OK.
And what do you think about sound quality?
Twonky or Minim?

[BlueDog]

Personally, I don't believe that server software has a "sound" - I leave that sort of discussion to the audiophools and snake oil salesmen.

I use Minim because it just works and is infinitely more configurable than Twonky.

[whoof62]

but how does it work with the melco? Song titles and related information do not appear on the front screen.

[BlueDog]

Sorry, not a clue - I'm using a Qnap NAS here.

There are plenty of Melco users on here though, I'm sure one of them will be able to help you with that question.

[simoncn]

The song titles do appear if you are using the current 3.70 firmware.