# DSD files direct play in PlexAmp
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157
**Category:** Feature Suggestions
**Tags:** plexamp
**Created:** [November 29, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157 "2023-11-29T17:39:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Addeo](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Addeo)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/1 "2023-11-29T17:39:00Z")
**DSD** (_Direct Stream Digital_) audio format has been back in fashion for a few years now. Most new digital products (from DACs to music streamers) boast DSD compatibility, and the music catalogue is now big enough to command respect. PlexAmp unfortunately decode DSD (DSF) files into FLAC. This has a significant impact on the quality of the music being played.
Many advanced PlexAmp users will probably see this feature implemented in PlexAmp as native transport DSD (DSF) files to our DAC’s.
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### Author:  [@NestorLeone](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NestorLeone)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/2 "2024-09-11T16:33:22Z")
I suscribe to this…
A Passthrough option that skips the code that PlexAmp uses to manipulate audio shouldn’t be that complicated.
Let’s hope this gets into their roadmap
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### Author:  [@benjamindaines](https://forums.plex.tv/u/benjamindaines)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/3 "2024-11-03T02:02:23Z")
+1 especially if a device supports it
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### Author:  [@kkygeek\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/kkygeek_gmail_com)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/4 "2024-11-14T19:05:49Z")
+1 for native or DoP dsd passthrough
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### Author:  [@Azothyran](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Azothyran)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/5 "2025-05-30T18:27:40Z")
> [@Addeo](#):
>
> PlexAmp unfortunately decode DSD (DSF) files into FLAC. This has a significant impact on the quality of the music being played.
I’m gonna need some sauce for those claims, chef. You’ve properly ABX’d a DSD file converted into PCM with **perfect volume matching of the original vs the output** and were able to distinguish them from each other? I think that would be a world-first.
I’m all for bitstreaming the original file if possible (which from reading other posts, it appears DSD is converted to PCM due to incompatibility with SweetFades and other cool stuffs according to the devs) but pulling statements out of one’s booty-hole give a really bad look for the argument.
If anyone feels like arguing in support of these unsubstantiated claims and fail to produce real-world ABX testing including complete documentation of testing methodology and example source files, I have some diamond-encrusted S-PDIF cables to sell them; I swear they’ll make your digital audio sound so much more “warm and analog”.
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### Author:  [@koupa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/koupa)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/6 "2025-05-31T17:20:18Z")
DSD to FLAC conversion is not lossless. They are fundamentally different technologies and you must apply filters to match them.
If someone can or can’t hear the difference it’s irrelevant. My mother listens music through a 99$ tablet. A friend owns a 5.1 reference system plus a studio since he is a film score composer. You can’t deny both their choices.
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### Author:  [@squishy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/squishy)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2025, 11:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/7 "2025-07-15T11:59:16Z")
I would also love to see DSD in Plex.
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### Author:  [@itsamezachary](https://forums.plex.tv/u/itsamezachary)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/8 "2025-07-19T20:42:18Z")
I wonder how hard this is to do. I only have a few SACD rips myself, but having gone through the process of actually figuring out how to do so I can tell you it was an absolute pain in the ass. DSD support is not ubiquitous. It’s basically a dead format. As I understand it ffmpeg doesn’t have DSD support directly. It decodes the file, resamples it to PCM, and does what the user wants with it after that. So if plex wanted direct DSD playback they’d have to find a way around ffmpeg since their entire media engine is built on that as far as I know.
Maybe they could add an option in the server to just pass the raw DSD data to the player, and the player could connect to a hardware DSD capable DAC? I think most people that care about DSD to play it would be open to that. Just an idea.
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### Author:  [@paulf558](https://forums.plex.tv/u/paulf558)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2025, 9:32pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/9 "2025-10-26T21:32:24Z")
Apparently Native DSD supported on lumin players. I wonder why there are no settings in plexamp, quite annoying.
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### Author:  [@csabo00](https://forums.plex.tv/u/csabo00)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/10 "2026-07-30T17:34:39Z")
+1 on DSD. Regardless of quality difference i want to play the original file.
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### Author:  [@scrollop](https://forums.plex.tv/u/scrollop)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/dsd-files-direct-play-in-plexamp/861157/11 "2026-08-03T17:08:47Z")
Yes, exclusive audio in plexamp on win (as Plex has) would be very good (at the moment using plex to listne to music on win11)