- Thread Starter
- #21
I’m getting near retirement now, but I spent about 20 years in QA before switching to financial services for my last five. So I’m pretty comfortable digging into Windows drivers, USB descriptors, and registry behavior.
To answer the question: in my testing, JRiver in WASAPI mode isn’t doing anything the DO100 Pro can’t also handle in foobar. After adding the SACD ISO plugin in foobar, both players produced essentially the same results — same formats, same rates, and no audible differences. From a playback‑quality standpoint, they’re equivalent.
What was surprising is how non‑obvious the correct settings are. It took quite a few AI troubleshooting sessions and a lot of trial‑and‑error before everything finally lined up. Once configured properly, WASAPI delivers full high‑rate PCM and proper DSD→PCM conversion without any issues.
My only lingering frustration is the ASIO situation. SMSL bundles an installer that looks like it includes ASIO, but the DO100 Pro never exposes an ASIO endpoint to Windows, so the driver never activates. There’s no documentation explaining this, and I haven’t received any response from SMSL. That lack of clarity is disappointing, especially in an industry where features sometimes just “disappear” without explanation.
That said, WASAPI works perfectly with this DAC, and both JRiver and foobar achieve the same high‑quality playback. So even though I’d prefer SMSL to be more transparent, I’m fine running WASAPI and moving on — just don’t expect ASIO with the DO100 Pro.
To answer the question: in my testing, JRiver in WASAPI mode isn’t doing anything the DO100 Pro can’t also handle in foobar. After adding the SACD ISO plugin in foobar, both players produced essentially the same results — same formats, same rates, and no audible differences. From a playback‑quality standpoint, they’re equivalent.
What was surprising is how non‑obvious the correct settings are. It took quite a few AI troubleshooting sessions and a lot of trial‑and‑error before everything finally lined up. Once configured properly, WASAPI delivers full high‑rate PCM and proper DSD→PCM conversion without any issues.
My only lingering frustration is the ASIO situation. SMSL bundles an installer that looks like it includes ASIO, but the DO100 Pro never exposes an ASIO endpoint to Windows, so the driver never activates. There’s no documentation explaining this, and I haven’t received any response from SMSL. That lack of clarity is disappointing, especially in an industry where features sometimes just “disappear” without explanation.
That said, WASAPI works perfectly with this DAC, and both JRiver and foobar achieve the same high‑quality playback. So even though I’d prefer SMSL to be more transparent, I’m fine running WASAPI and moving on — just don’t expect ASIO with the DO100 Pro.
