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COMPUTER-BASED AUDIO SET-UP
CONFIGURING YOUR PLAYBACK SOFTWARE
The final step in the configuration process is to make each of the applications which you want to play
through the M1 system use the appropriate USB driver. We can only give general suggestions here, as
every software package has different menus, configuration options, etc. In principle, you want to select
one of the two following driver options within your software application:
1.
XMOS USB Audio 2.0 ST 308E (ASIO)
2.
XMOS USB Audio (WASAPI)
Both options work equally well, but we are unable to predict whether one will work better in your
specific situation. There is a known functional difference when it comes to the playback of DSD files
however, which we will explain below.
As the M1 supports PCM rates up to 32-bit/384 kHz and both DSD64 and DSD128, be sure to configure
your playback software to pass all sample rates up to these limits. NOTE: if you use the Control Panel to
look at the sample rate when transmitting DSD, it will appear as 176.4 kHz for DSD64 and 352.8 kHz for
DSD128 due to the need to use the DoP format for transmission.
If you plan to play DSD source files through your M1, you will need to ensure that your playback software
is configured for:
1.
DSD bitstreaming ON
2.
DSD bitstream in DoP format
The M1 can ONLY decode DSD signals which are transmitted using the DoP protocol–it cannot decode
raw DSD bitstreams. This is where the functionality of the ASIO and WASAPI driver options differ: ASIO
supports the transmission of DoP and raw DSD bitstreams, whereas WASAPI supports only DoP. NOTE:
DoP is NOT a conversion from DSD to PCM; it is merely the packaging of DSD data in a PCM ‘container’
for transmission using PCM protocols. The M1 unpacks the raw DSD data from the DoP frames, and
there is no change in audio quality.
