I do agree with some of the things you've stated... but I think you've overstated a few... and there are a few I'm not sure are correct.
The DSD signal that is normally sent over HDMI is a true DSD signal - sent over an encrypted HDMI connection.
(The original SACD standard requires that any DSD signal originating from an SACD disc be sent via an encrypted connection.)
Recent Oppo players were able to do this, as are some Sony players, and probably a few others.
I also am NOT aware of any PC-based hardware that will output this format... although there is a lot of third-party PC hardware available.
And I wouldn't rule out the possibility that some Apple computers may be able to do so.
(I also wouldn't rule it out entirely for Linux or Android based players - which includes some high-end specialty players - although I don't know of any that do.)
I should also point out that the Oppo players do in fact allow you to play DSD FILES in several related formats via HDMI...
I assume the same is true for the Sony players (although I don't think we've tried it)...
And that option works just fine with our processors that support DSD.
Both DoP (DSD-over-PCM) and "direct DSD" are ways of encapsulating DSD into a PCM signal.
And both of these formats are currently used for sending DSD via USB.
This is the most widely used method for sending true DSD signals from a computer.
(I've seen people talking about using DoP via HDMI or Ethernet - and it should be possible - but I don't know of anyone currently offering it.)
This means that the DSD signal is broken into segments - which are then packed into frames or packets for transmission - and reassembled at the other end.
Both encapsulate the signal and both deliver a true DSD signal at the other end (the only difference is that "direct DSD" uses bandwidth more efficiently).
I don't know the current bandwidth limitations for this method...
Although USB Audio Class 2 has a bandwidth that supports sample rates up 768 kHz in stereo...
(Which would be more than enough to send six channels at 88.2 kHz.)
Incidentally....
"Sending DSD directly via HDMI" is NOT the same as "DSD-direct"...
"DSD-direct" is simply an encapsulation scheme similar to DoP (but which uses bandwidth more efficiently)...
While quite a few products support this, it is not as widely supported as DoP, and requires special drivers (usually ASIO).
And, yes, a significant amount of high frequency image noise is generated as part of the process of converting a DSD signal back into analog...
Which is why a low pass filter is a necessary part of properly performing the conversion...
This is comparable to the reconstruction filter required when converting PCM...
And is included as part of the design in any properly designed DAC...
(It is not "an extra"... or "a necessary evil"... it is part of the appropriate math involved in the conversion process.)
And, yes, most hardware and software players that support any form of DSD are able to convert the DSD signal internally and output it as PCM.
And, at that point, it is a standard PCM signal which can be played by anything that supports PCM of the appropriate bit-rate.
Note that there is some disagreement about the "natural" bit rate to use when converting DSD to PCM.
88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kHz are all used by different players or programs.
While 88.2 kHz and 176.4 kHz are slightly simpler to use mathematically... and many vendors prefer them...
There is no such thing as "a direct bit-perfect conversion" between DSD and PCM.
I personally see no technical benefit to DSD... and hear no audible difference... and I do value processing like bass management and room correction...
So I personally prefer converting DSD to PCM at the earliest convenient opportunity (as a file if possible).
However, since some of our customers like DSD, we offer it, and plan to continue to offer it, on our high end processors.
NOW... as per Emotiva processors....
The XMC-1, XMC-2, RMC-1, and RMC-1L ALL support playing a true DSD signal via HDMI.
And, since their DACs all support DSD directly, they can all do so without any internal conversion to PCM.
(However, if you make that choice, you sacrifice all processing and room correction, which cannot be performed on a pure DSD signal.)
None of our current processors support DoP via HDMI or Ethernet or "direct DSD" via HDMI or Ethernet.
(And, as far as I know, we have no immediate plans to do so.)
The XMC-2, RMC-1, and RMC-1L WILL support DoP via USB in the future - although it is not implemented at the moment.
We have no plans to add support for DoP in the XMC-1.
We have no current plans to support "direct DSD" in any of our processors - although I wouldn't rule it out entirely.
The XMC-1 supports PCM and DSD via HDMI.
It's up to the software on the computer to get the file into one of those formats.
I have heard of various issues with WASAPI mode and HDMI before.
One suggestion seems to be to try various bit depths, like 16 bits, rather than "auto".... because not all devices support all choices there.
(Of course you could just let the software play it as PCM.... )
Not completely true Keith, and, as you well know, certainly not helpful to the original poster who is potentially going to waste more frustrating hours trying to get this to work....
he needs to give up now!
gards - you should stop scouring the internet also. I have done that for you. Below is the definitive answer.
As Keith has discussed and commented before, there are two ways to output DSD over HDMI and
no amount of time spent will get a DSD bitstream, in any form, from a Windows PC to an Emotiva processor over HDMI.
The XMC-2, RMC-1 and RMC-1L (But not your XMC-1) will accept stereo DSD over the USB DAC input when encoded as DoP, but only stereo, and there is no way to get a multichannel DSD Direct bitstream from a Windows PC to ANY Emotiva Processor, past or present.
With Emotiva processors, the best and only way to listen to a stereo or multichannel DSD file over HDMI is to use software to convert the DSD to a regular 24bit 176.4kHz PCM audio file and transmit that.
If your graphics hardware doesn't support 24/176.4 then fudge it with 24/88.2 or 24/44.1 (You could use 24/192 but then there is some mathematically messy resampling)
(NB If you software convert DSD to any PCM signal over 96kHz then you MUST use a 50kHz (or lower) low pass filter to stop any ultrasonic DSD noise from frying your tweeters! JRiver implements a 30kHz filter by default but you can select the Scarlet Book SACD specification 50kHz if you want.)
The two ways to transmit DSD over HDMI are DSD Direct and DoP
(DoP = DSD over PCM and is a DSD bitstream encapsulated in a 24bit 192kHz PCM envelope. Every HDMI connection can transmit 24/192)
Issue No. 1: No PC graphics chipset in use will output pure DSD Direct over HDMI.
(It is the graphics chipset that encapsulates and delivers the HDMI, not the sound hardware or software, and the graphics chipset has to allow/enable the 2.8 MHz audio alongside a conventional HDMI video signal)
This DSD Direct over HDMI is in the original specification of NVIDIA and Intel Integrated Graphics, but the drivers have never been written to actually make it happen.
What you CAN do from any PC is output the raw DSD bitstream as a DoP signal.
Software like JRiver Media Center or Audiovana can send a seemingly conventional 24 bit 192kHz audio stream CONTAINING a muxed DSD 2.8MHz signal. The raw DSD can be extracted from this in the DAC or processor
Issue No. 2: The problem for Emotiva users is that none of the Emotiva processors will decode that incoming DoP signal and extract the DSD to play it direct. They only take a raw DSD Direct signal, such as that from a SACD player.
Summary:
1) Keith's partial truth - The XMC-1 (and the newer XMC-2, RMC-1(L) G3P) can indeed accept DSD over HDMI but only as long as it is Scarlet Book DSD Direct over HDMI (This has to be the same DSD direct signal you would get from a high end Sony SACD player or an Oppo universal disc player like my BDP-105)
2) No Windows PC can output Scarlet Book DSD Direct. (it's possible some Apple PC's can or could?)
3) Windows PC's can output DSD over PCM (DoP) to either USB (Stereo only) or HDMI (Stereo and Multichannel). This is probably the WASAPI signal your Audiovana is transmitting over HDMI.
4) No past or present Emotiva processor's HDMI inputs will decode DoP and internally reconstruct the DSD signal so this option is closed down to Emotiva users.
5) No Emotiva processor accepts audio over Ethernet (DLNA) so cannot use the Ethernet version of DoP (DoPE) either
6) Your XMC-1 does not accept DoP over USB, whereas the XMC-2 and RMC-1(L) will. However, this is limited to stereo DSD as the bandwidth will not carry Multichannel DSD
