Will UnitiQute play 24bit 192 Khz WAV music file?

quote:

Originally posted by GoBlue:
Hello-
I currently have an HDX and have ordered 2 unitiqutes for my home music network. I have purchased and downloaded a number of classic music pieces from Linn Records that are 24bit and 192kHz. The Naim unitiqute specs say that it will play 24 bit and 96 kHz. Am I out of luck? Will the UnitiQute still play the music but "downgrade" it to 96 kHZ automatically or will I have to convert these files? I assume the HDX plays the Hi Res files at the full 24 bit 192 kHZ?
Thanks in advance.
Bob
(Go Blue)
Unitiqute specs:
http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-product-range/579

Reading the documentation playback seems to be limited to 24/96 when streamed over UPnP or when read from a USB-stick.
A bit daft to put such a limit on those devices IMO.

The SPDIF inputs are capable of 24/192. So you would have connect an SPDIF-cable to be able to enjoy the full 24/192.

A strange design decision to limit those two inputs while the Qute itself is capable of processing the higher resolution.

On the other hand you could downsample the Linn downloads to 24/96 yourself with an application like dBPoweramp.


EDIT

I don't understand why not all devices support the 24/192 HiRes format?
Even 24/96 is not fully capable of reproducing certain wave-forms properly.
I copied this from a Korg white paper on the strengths of 1-bit DSD recording like on SACD and other 1-bit formats.

It is a kind of a laboratory kind of test but it shows quite clearly the difference in possibilities to recreate some wave forms:



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aleg

Sorry, I simply do not believe the 24/96 graph. It looks identical to the one to it's left.

Agreed-and I'm not sure what they're trying to demonstrate. How about letting someone who knows how to use a DSO set up the graphs...?

For those wanting to read the whole paper

The 1-Bit Advantage – Future Proof Recording Explained

I think the example is plausible.

They may have choosen this 20kHz frequency because it probably is on the borderline and I dont know about the block wave-form they have choosen to test it on. It may be also constructed to show where PCM might fail on.

But with 96kHz sampling frequency there are only 4 samples digitally and I could imagine (not being a digital engineer or theoretical savvy on that subject matter) it is hard to recrate in DAC this block wave form from just 4 samples.

Maybe someone else could chime in and tell if this issue is plausible?

I can imagine this type of wave-forms and this frequency might not be very important in audio playback, but the gust of the white paper is more about recording/archiving signals truthfully in the digital domain.

Anyone else who likes to comment?

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aleg

Aleg, it's not that there won't be a difference when playing hi-res files (there will be, both due to sample rate AND bit depth), it's that the Korg white paper takes a few liberties in the service of its conclusion.

In general, DSD is roughly equivalent (in PCM equivalents) of 384 kHz / 32-bit performance, although few sources actually make good use of this bandwidth and dynamic range before they disintegrate into noise.

This affects ultimate performance on the replay end as well, as you have a significant amount of out-of-band noise that requires filtering (with DSD replay, often in the analog domain).

What a flawed test (The 1-Bit Advantage – Future Proof Recording Explained), taking a square-wave at 20KHz and comparing 1 Bit with PCM. I am sure if audio was made up of 20KHz square-waves it would be a valid test, instead as it is made up from sine waves.

Also that paper does not show that 1 bit generates such high frequency noise (I have worked on software codecs which transform 1 bit to 352KHz 24 bit), that it has to have a low-pass filter installed, I think Sony recommend 50KHz off the top of my head.