Upsample or Oversample?

[chessman]

Does anyone know if the Esoteric K-01 sample rate choices are upsampling or are, instead, oversampling?

[chessman]

Umm, cue the crickets.

[Masterlu]

Trick question?

[chessman]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Trick question?

I don't think so. I understand oversample to be reading the same information a number of times to ensure a correct read. I understand upsample to be a method of interpolation, i.e. estimating what information would occupy the gaps if the data was expanded. I think up sampling goes hand in hand with increasing sentence length, e.g. Increasing from 16 bit to 24 bit length. Obviously, since it started with only 16 bits, arriving at 24 bits requires interpolation. To me, it is similar to up converting 460i signal to 720p in video - no real information from the source is being read, instead it is estimates of what would be there if it had been recorded in 720p.

So when Esoteric is offering 2x sample rate, I am trying to figure out if the end result is 16/44.1 read twice or is the result 24/96 because it was interpolated?

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by -E-

Oversample is something typically used when spinning discs. If you ever remember on CD players way back in they day... it would sometimes have a little sticker of something like "8x oversample" - which meant exactly what Randy said: it reads the same pit 8x. The reasoning was to ensure proper read to the buffer. Upsample is changing the native rate.

Captain obvious here... so the K01/3 players are Upsampling? By the way, it seems the Remedy does a similar thing?

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by crwilli

Captain obvious here... so the K01/3 players are Upsampling? By the way, it seems the Remedy does a similar thing?

The Remedy is a re-clocker.

[-E-]

The remedy also forces an upsample/transcode (output jumps to 24/96).

Esoteric devices have the ability to run native, 2x, or 4x upsample pre-DAC. Once it hits the actual chip, however, it is, like all other DACs, resampled to whatever the native rate of the chip is.

[chessman]

So, 16/44.1 flac via USB to K-01 with NO upsampling has the least amount of interpolations (and thereby lowest jitter)?

[-E-]

Jitter is irrelevant to this discussion.

The first part of your statement is correct, however.

[chessman]

Originally Posted by -E-

Jitter is irrelevant to this discussion. The first part of your statement is correct, however.

I mentioned jitter thinking it may be a consequence of interpolation. Silenzio to K-01 playing 16/44.1 sounds better than Sonos to Remedy to K-01 playing 24/96 and I was trying to figure out why?