Qobuz or Tidal?

Be aware that Blu-ray players usually cap their s/pdif outputs at 24bit 48kHz.

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Thanks Richard

Not sure how many rules I am breaking with this post but if allowed, it looks to me that this does have a decent audio output.

whathifi. sony ubp-x700 review

ā€˜Despite not flashing the hi-res audio badge, the X700 can play up to 24bit/192kHz files in all popular files, including WAV, FLAC and DSD.ā€™

Am I reading this correctly?
cg

Itā€™s fine.

Just be aware that while it may be able to play them through its own internal DACs, it likely wonā€™t output them at that resolution through the digital s/pdif output.

It may well ā€˜meanā€™ that it can play 24/192 over the HDMIā€¦unless it explicitly states re Co-ax etcā€¦?

I didnā€™t actually realise the point Richard has made re the output being capped on most BD digital outputsā€¦and I guess the way of the world then pushes you up to the higher player levels that may feature a higher spec S/PDIFā€¦I guess one other approach is some kind of ā€˜break outā€™ HDMI box, but obviously this is then all getting moreā€¦

SC

A really great combination is a mac mini running Audirvana + Qobuz and hsoting the local library using upnp to the streamer and controlled by the Audirvana app on an tablet or phone.

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I can vouch for that. Although in my case the Mac Mini is an old Dell laptop.

Same process on a Mac

Yes, there is a debate.

But I donā€™t actually think anybody agrees with post youā€™ve highlighted. :grin:

If transport, cable and DAC are high quality, 24/192 via toslink is an option.

I stream 24/192 into ndac without a problem.

My vote goes to qobuz.

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7 weeks - I wish . It took me years but worth it none the less.

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I did have a few false starts which didnā€™t help

Well yes, I tend to agreeā€¦!
I linked to that particular post simply to take the OP to the section of discussion that was relevantā€¦

SC

As it happens, I have a UBP-X700 in a bedroom, took a while for the lightbulb to go onā€¦!

The manual is fairly simple, but it does seem to indicate that 192Hz output is possible through the S/PDIF outputā€¦(see pics)

And I dare say it will definitely do so for audio files when streamed or via USB etcā€¦The bigger issue is whether it will be allowed to do so when playing via Blu-ray Discā€¦After Richard mentioned the ā€˜cappingā€™ issue, I read up a little on the subject ā€“ I think itā€™s all to do with Copyright Protection. Unlike over HDMI, S/PDIF and TOS do not feature any form of Copyright Protection, therefore the ā€˜Alliancesā€™ insist that no Uncompressed form of audio can be output over S/PDIF when playing BD Movies ā€“ by default, all BD discs carry a secondary ā€˜lossyā€™ audio track and this is what would be outputā€¦I believe it will still be higher resolution than 16/44, but it will be a lossy compressionā€¦
There are also bandwitdh issues at play, as S/PDIF cannot carry uncompressed multi-channel ā€“ I think the limit is 6 channels of Bitstream at 24/48, though Iā€™m not 100%ā€¦But it certainly cannot carry uncompressed 5.1/7.1 (i.e True HD).

The big unknown, to me anyway, is just what the scenario is with BD Audio discs such as SOTLW etcā€¦Are they copyright protected in the same way as BD Movie discs or are they more lenient ā€“ I know they are typically ā€˜region freeā€™ encoded.
Bandwidth wise, there shouldnā€™t be a problem with the Stereo hi-res version of the audio ā€“ that should be fine up to 24/192 over S/PDIF, providing the player allows this from a BD discā€¦
But the Atmos mix, I donā€™t knowā€¦?
The thing is, re Atmos, is that itā€™s essentially metadata based (piggy backs the True HD signal and tells the decoder/receiver where to ā€˜placeā€™ the height audio based upon the end user setup and number of speakers ā€“ This cannot happen via S/PDIF or TOS as the metadata is stripped out, so basically itā€™s effectively downsampled to ā€˜standardā€™ multi-channel 5.1, 7.1 etc, though I believe it would still be uncompressed audioā€¦
Obviously, none of this really matters if youā€™re interested in simply down-mixing to 2 channel stereoā€¦so you donā€™t really need the Atmos mix anyway and can just use the Stereo Hi-Res mix on the disc ā€“ providing of course, the player will allow that full resolution to output over S/PDIF from a Blu-ray discā€¦!! :man_shrugging:

I guess some testing needs to be doneā€¦

It may be worth popping the question over in the Home Theatre room of the Forum, may be someone there with more insight and knowledgeā€¦

SC

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TOS is arguably limited re resolutionā€¦I think Naim have it at 96kHz.
Official original spec was actually 48kHz, but that has grown over timeā€¦Modern cables can certainly transmit 2-channel 24/192, but itā€™s very dependent on factors, the end points being one of themā€¦
S/PDIF would be the safer bet if you really want/need 24/192ā€¦

SC

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So just FYI, I just popped the Cureā€™s SOALW BD disc in to the Sony to establish what is on there and how itā€™s formattedā€¦
(this is via HDMI v2.1)
You have the Stereo PCM mix at 24/96, which is basically the same (resolution anyway) as the HD formats that are available to download/streamā€¦
Then thereā€™s the Atmos Mix ā€“ which does output as uncompressed True HD at 48Khzā€¦
So you wouldnā€™t get the Atmos over S/PDIF, but then you donā€™t want the multi-channel anyway and would be down-mixing, so better off with the stereo PCM and at the higher 24/96ā€¦and then you can question if youā€™re as well getting the Download and/or streaming direct to your NDX2ā€¦?
Iā€™m sure there may be some subtle mastering differences across the formats, but how discernible this ends up beingā€¦? @elverdiblanco reported he thought a rip from the Atmos mix sounded better and not as ā€˜loudā€™, though that could be the result of the down-mix to 2-channel, Iā€™m not sureā€¦

BTW ā€“ a quick play of a couple of the tracks via the bedroom Tv & Sonos Arc, sounded fairly crap! Give me the 24/96 via the Mu-so in the room any timeā€¦!

SC

Thanks SC - thatā€™s brilliant and very helpful.

From what I can tell (given the gaps in knowledge in some of what can be relied upon), I am probably better taking an HDMI output from the BR player into an HDMI to Coax converter (something like this - Blustream HD11AU HDMI Audio Embedder / De-Embedder) and then into the NDX2 using Coax. Potentially not the cheapest option but will be sure to offer the high res I am after, assuming the output from the converter is also high res. I can check with the distributer later on.

I guess that also opens up the BR player options as they will all have HDMI when only some had any other form of digital output (Coax / Toslink)

At the end of the day, thereā€™s no doubt this is more about having a bit of fun seeing what can be achieved and actually being able to play some of the (very few) discs I have in this format. It will also mean being able to play concert DVD / BR discs as audio only.
Thanks again
cg

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Rather than all that, wouldnā€™t it just be easier to rip the audio from your discs then simply stream as normal?

Naim donā€™t limit Toslink to 96.
As far as I recall they donā€™t manufacture anything that will output Toslink, itā€™s all coax.

I stream 24/192 into ndac without a problem, so, there is no limit for Toslink at the input.

If dac manufactures specify max input is 96, itā€™s simply because they canā€™t control the quality of the transport or cable.

If transport, cable and DAC are high quality, 24/192 via toslink is an option.

There was thread a few weeks ago concerning Dave inputs, people seem very happy with toslink sound quality, and very happy it can do 192.

Due to Copyright Protection rules for Blu-ray the coax and optical digital outputs of Blu-ray players is restricted to 16/48.
I have many Pure Audio Blu-ray discs with 24/48, 24/96 and 24/192 tracks, the only way to get Hi-Res out of Blu-ray players is digital via HDMI or the Analogue outputs that top range Blu-ray players have.

Thanks - that fills in the missing info I was after.

Further suggests that HDMI out from Blu-ray player to a converter to Co-ax is the likely solution - and quite probably the only one as well

cg