I've not read the AVS thread for a couple weeks now, but at the time I stopped no one had even offered a guess.

DSD is a strange format. While PCM stores the quantified volume level which was sampled at a point in time, DSD stores only if the waveform was increasing or decreasing since in the last millionth of a second. PCM can store perfect square waves, and DC voltage (neither of which is good for speakers). But DSD has a slew rate and the closest it can get to DC is storing one step up and then one step down alternatingly. There are also re-sync points stored every-so-often to allow for scanning forward or reverse.

There are so few receivers which support DSD over HDMI, and so few players which send it; that an implementation issue in the receiver may be hard to narrow down vs. a player problem--although I think Oppo's last DVD player also supported it and didn't have problems paired with the same receiver. But if I had to guess I'd point toward the ups and downs not tracking completely and once a re-sync point arrives there's a hard transition to the now correct level causing a little click.


Pioneer PDP-5020FD, Marantz SR6011
Axiom M5HP, VP160HP, QS8
Sony PS4, surround backs
-Chris