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Welcome to the World of DSD

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 recording quality sound, this is your one stop shop. You will find details in the music you were never able to hear before.

Jared Sacks, Managing Director and Co-founder
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Get our Starter Pack and listen to Native DSD

This Starter Pack is available for only €1* – with many thanks to the participating labels! 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.

The Tracks on the free DSD Sampler are available in DSD64, 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.

*€1 for DSD64, and bits more for the higher rates.

Download

  1. Add your desired resolution & channel structure to the cart
  2. Checkout & Start your Download

Unzip

After downloading, you have to unzip the .zip file. For tips on un-zipping, see this article.

Play

  1. Use a player that can accept the .dsf file format
  2. Add the downloaded starter pack files to the player/ server
  3. Make sure your output is set to the DSD capable DAC you use

More help on getting started is found in this Help Article on Getting Started.

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.

Help with getting started 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:

iPhone, iPad and Android DSD playback apps

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. By the way, NativeDSD also sells DAC’s in the Gear store.

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.

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