Pop between tracks when transcoding

[dtune]

This for me is a big issue. When transcoding I get a popping sound between tracks. I have to transcode because my DAC does not support DSF files.

I have read on this forum it is not the fault of the server but I have tried every android and iOS control program and all produce the pop when playing DSF files. My renderer is JPlay Femto which I will not change since ultimate quality is my goal. I am beggining to suspect ffmpeg as the culprit.

All my files are locally stored on and internal harddrive on my computer.

Surely someone else is has used minim server and JPlay Femto.

[simoncn]

It is not the fault of the server. How were the DSF files created?

[dtune]

(10-03-2022 17:11)simoncn Wrote:  It is not the fault of the server. How were the DSF files created?

Simon,

They come from different sources. Some were Vinyl ripped directly to DSF files. A few were from DSD ISO files created with PS3 conversion method and then split out to individual files using JRiver conversion.

I know this isn't apples to apples comparison but here are the list of playback methods (mostly trials) I have tested ALL using JPlay Femto as Renderer.

1> Illustrate Asset UPNP server using Bubble UPNP controller and JPlay Femto Renderer. I certainly didn't like Asset as well as Minim and Asset has a limit of 24/96 for playback. I would like to use the capabilities of my DAC at 24/192. There were NO pops between DSF tracks.
2> Roon with JPlay REnderer. Worked perfectly but a small degradation of sound quality compared to Minim Server combo.
3> Audirvana Studio- Everything works well and sound quality is very close to Minim server. No Pops between DSF tracks played at 24/176. I hate to have to pay a subscription to play local files but I guess I may have to if a better solution isn't forthcoming.
4> JRiver using JPlay output. You have to trick the computer to make this combo work but slightly sterile sounding. NO pops between DSF Tracks when resampled to 24/192 or 24/176.

All of these except JRiver and JPlay Femto were trials. I bought minim server based on all the good reports I heard on JPlay forum. Note: I can't use JPlay server because it doesn't support transcoding. I don't want to convert DSF files to Wave because one of these days I intend to buy a DAC capable of playing DSF native. This is not an insubstantial investment since my current DAC is roughly $4K value.

Thanks for your help.

Dale

[simoncn]

When using Asset UPnP, what transcoding setting are you using?

When using MinimServer, what transcoding setting are you using?

Did you use the same DSF files for all your tests? This is important because the files can be the cause of the problem.

If you have two consecutive tracks (preferably not too large) that show the problem when using MinimServer and don't show the problem when using Asset UPnP, please upload these to my FTP server. I will send you a PM with the server details.

[dtune]

Simon, Since I loved your program I have uninstalled Asset but I suppose I could start the trial again. Yes I used the same tracks.

Asset just transcodes DSF (DSD64) file to 24/96 wave. (Basically a check box in file type settings to play in 24/96 Wave.)

Minim Server DSF transcodes to 24/176 wave using ffmpeg.exe in bin folder. Are there better alternatives???

The files in question are 180 Mb (each) X two files.

Dale

[simoncn]

Please upload these two files and I will try them with both Asset and MinimServer.

[simoncn]

Thanks for uploading the tracks. I tried them with MinimServer and Asset UPnP, in both cases transcoded to WAV 24/96. With both MinimServer and Asset UPnP, I heard the popping sound between the tracks.

This happens because each track is transcoded to WAV separately. DSD files store the audio signal as a sequence of volume steps (+1 or -1) relative to the previous volume. When changing to a new track, the transcoder does not have any information about the previous volume at the end of the preceding track, so it is unable to encode the starting volume of the new track correctly.

[dtune]

Simon, How is it that software such as JRiver, Audirvana and Roon can manage pop free playback with DSF files. I think you are saying I need to give up on he minim server solution which is a shame as it is perfect in all other aspects.

Dale

[dtune]

Finally, could using a transcode program other than ffpeg.exe bring the required result?

[simoncn]

These other programs might be doing transcoding in the renderer rather than in the server. The renderer has the ending audio samples from the previous track, so it can use these samples to get the correct starting volume for the next track. The UPnP protocol requires the server to serve each track separately, so it is not possible for a UPnP server to do this.