If you are tired of listening to low quality or standard quality music and your desire is to instead play live and recording-studio grade, original quality sound, this is your one stop shop. You will discover details in the music you were never able to hear before.
Jonas, co-founder of NativeDSD
Get our Starter Pack and listen to Native DSD
We invite your ears to discover what’s possible with music available in DSD. You will find links and information on the full albums that these Stereo DSD sample tracks are taken from. This includes information on the corresponding Artists, Albums & Labels in the detailed track listing in this booklet.
This Starter Pack is free of charge* – with many thanks to the participating labels!
The Tracks on the free DSD Sampler are available in DSD 64, 128, 256 and 512 in both stereo and multichannel. Choose the rate & channel structure that is compatible with your playback setup.
More help in choosing the right channels and quality.
* DSD 64 is Free. Multichannel and Stereo DSD 128, 256 and 512 are available at a small fee to cover the data transfer costs.
Download
- Add your desired resolution & channel structure to the cart
- Checkout & Start your Download by using our Download Manager.
Get ready
After downloading using our app, move audio-files to your music player and hit play!
If you downloaded directly from the browser, you have to unzip the .zip file. For tips on un-zipping, see this article.
Play
- Use a player that can accept the .dsf file format
- Add the downloaded files to the player/server
- Make sure your output is set to the DSD capable DAC you use
- Sit back and enjoy!
More help on getting started is found in this Help Article on Getting Started, or scroll down.
Full Albums
You may purchase the full albums from which these tracks originate in Stereo (2ch) DSD and Multichannel (5ch) DSD as well, up to DSD512. The full albums are listed here.
Playing DSD and DXD files
We created the DSD Database to give you a full overview of what is available in both Hardware and Software. It is updated weekly and contains a list of DACs with their list price, performance and link to manufacturer’s website as well as playback Software / Conversion software lists. DSD DAC Database.
You will need a computer, stand-alone music server, or a portable device to play DSD files. We will start off with computer based options:
Desktop Software Players that can play DSD and DXD files:
- Roon: Stereo and Multichannel (www.roonlabs.com)
- JRiver: Stereo and Multichannel (www.jriver.com)
- Audirvana: Stereo and Multichannel (www.audirvana.com)
- In iTunes you can play DSD files when using BitPerfect and DSD Master (Read more in our Quick Guide) [MAC only]
Many more applications are listed here!
iPhone, iPad and Android DSD playback apps:
- Onkyo HF Player for Android
- USB Audio Player Pro for Android
- iOS iPhone and iPad DSD playback from Onkyo
- More mobile apps can be found here
There are many more applications that can play DSD files, find them here
Digital to Analogue (D/A) Conversion:
Output Hardware
When using computer (and portable) based playback, you will need a device that converts the digital (DSD Data) information to an Analogue signal, in other words, a DAC. There are literally hundreds of DAC’s on the market, and they are available in a wide variety of prices.
You connect the DAC to your computer or portable device commonly with a USB-cable. From the DAC you plug in your Headphones or send the signal to your amplifier and speaker system.
Read the complete guide in this help center article.
Choosing the right Quality
Most listeners choose the highest sample rate that their unit (DAC) can accept.
- DXD = 352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM PCM .flac, 8 times redbook
- 64 = DSD 64 (aka DSD) 2.8 MHz .dsf file, which is 64 times 44.1 kHz
- 128 = DSD 128 (aka Double DSD) 5.6 MHz .dsf file, 128 times 44.1 kHz
- 256 = DSD 256 (aka Quad DSD) 11.2 MHz .dsf file, 256 times 44.1 kHz
- 512 = DSD 512 (aka Octa DSD) 22.4 MHz .dsf file, 512 times 44.1 kHz
- “Analog to DSD64/128/256/512” as sometimes displayed in our tech specs section on album pages means that the original Analog tapes were digitised directly to the indicated DSD rate or DXD.
Check your DAC
All DSD-capable units can accept DSD 64, but not all can accept DSD 128 or higher. Please check which rates your DAC can handle before placing your purchase.