Don’t think my UnitiServe will handle them though, plus I normally convert my hi res files so I can play them in the car. I have been tempted but so far resisted.
Ah Unitiserve,
If you do ever get hold of a DSD file & wont to convert it, I use dBpoweramp to convert DSD to FLAC & Mp3.
I could just load in on to a USB, there’s a reasonable selection on the HD Tracks site.
That’s true to a degree @ChrisSU but some rock SACDs (which is of course DSD in disc form) can sound exceptional – Pink Floyd, Can and the Rolling Stones particularly. None were recorded in native DSD, but they do sound good.
The site I have mentioned supposedly is native DSD recordings.
I thought,but someone correct me if I am wrong, that the dac Naim uses in it’s streamers does not support DSD. Afaik the firmware converts it to PCM which then is fed to the dac. But I’ve been wrong before. 
I have several DSD files but to my ears they sound better if I first convert them to 24/176.4 PCM files using Xrecode3 and then play them on my NDS. Xrecode3 ,using the proper settings,does a far better job in converting then the firmware of my NDS. At least to my ears. 
You are right, your Unitiserve can’t serve or play them. I store DSDs on mine, and use Roon to send them to the streamer.
That was, I admit, a generalisation!
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DoP takes groups of 16 adjacent 1-bit samples from a DSD stream & packs them into 16 bits of a 24/176 data stream. The stream is transmitted to a DoP compatible DAC & is unpacked & played as DoP. There is no conversion.
Thanks Mike, i thought wrongly it was converted.
All I can remember is that when DSD came along to the Dac V1 the FW update made everything sound worse, including flac. Maybe it since were fixed but I reverted back to older FW and used it like that for the rest of its years before I sold it on
All Naim’s DAC convert DSD to PCM inside the DSP, no matter the DAC chip can support native DSD signal or not.
If interested, check out the PS Audio DirectStream DAC. It converts PCM to DSD. Before owning the PS Audio transport and DAC combo, I had numerous SACD players (Marantz, Sony, etc.) that revealed a staggering difference between “red book” CD and SACD. With the PS Audio DAC the difference between CD and SACD is subtle. To be clear, the only way to play an SACD through the PS Audio DAC is to also use the PS Audio transport with an HDMI/i2S cable connecting the two units. I have a large CD/SACD collection so this combo works well for me and I like the sound via my Naim amps. The DAC can also stream Tidal, Qobuz, etc.
You can also visit the Blue Coast Music website. They have a free download section that gives you one song in nine different formats so you can compare DSD, FLAC, WAV, MQA etc.
Good luck!
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If someone likes urgency, focus, involvement, and has Naim streamers, the DSD is not the Naim sound, more Accuphase or PS audio : nice , soft, detailed, but lacking life and real dynamics.
I feel that those who want really to hear what dsd is about, in all its glory, they need to have dacs that decode true dsd, native dsd, not dsd converted to PCM or in DOT format as with Naim.
IMHO, from what I read sometimes on reviews.
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@frenchrooster I have yet to find a format that universally sounds better than a redbook rip from D100>N10. Thats via the ND555 and the Nova systems. Some HiRes is good, not much is better. Naim demo from redbook rips and now I know why. Its weird but sometimes less is more. Jazz recording’s can be an exception where HiRes sounds more appealing but again its marginal and not always universal. Maybe I am not so refined as to appreciate HiRes who knows!
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Interview with Brendon Heinst from Trptk about HiRes in general and DSD versus 32 bits PCM as a recording format.
This could be enlightening and perhaps correct some common misconceptions.
Worth the 26 minutes:
You and Thomas have similar systems, but different opinions on hirez and DSD I feel.
Thomas like 2l audiophile recordings, a lot on dsd format. He will certainly clarify if I am wrong.
As for me, I have never heard dsd recordings sounding good with Naim streamers. But feel however that other dacs should render more justice to it, specifically those who can decode true dsd.
never heard David Elias before this thread. Great find - thanks!
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Ah ok, thanks for clarifying. Maybe it’s the reason it’s sound good.
Have never heard DXD, but will try. However I once went on the site , 2l, but couldn’t find music I like.
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