SHIKARDOSSOUND · PICTURE · YOUR ORBIT
Sunlight · Arkhipo-Osipovka
RUEN

USB DAC and the VULAN engine

Connecting an external device, the audio path, bit depth and DSD.

Connect a USB DAC through VULAN

  1. Connect the DAC with a suitable USB cable, then connect headphones or an amplifier to it.
  2. If Android asks to give SHIKARDOS access to the USB device, allow it.
  3. In sound settings, find “VULAN — bit output to DAC” and enable it.
  4. Play a familiar recording at a moderate volume and check VULAN's status.
The result

“VULAN is playing — sound goes to DAC” is different from “VULAN enabled, waiting for DAC”.

Read the “Signal path”

  1. Play a song and open Player.
  2. Tap the recording-format lines to open “Signal path”.
  3. Review the source, decoder, sample rate, processing and output.
  4. For diagnosis, compare the file sample rate with the output rate. Any resampling is indicated separately.
The result

You see the actual path of current playback instead of guessing from a file extension.

Explore the VULAN path in layers →

Choose VULAN bit depth

  1. Connect a USB DAC and open Settings → “VULAN bit depth”.
  2. “Maximum” selects the DAC's widest mode. “Match file” uses the song's bit depth, or the nearest higher supported mode if that depth is unavailable.
  3. “24-bit” and “16-bit” request those bit depths; if unsupported by the DAC, the nearest higher depth is selected.
  4. Check the actual mode in the signal path.
The result

The USB DAC mode follows your selection. Version 1.2.6 fixed crackling when changing songs.

DSD and DoP: why processing is disabled

  1. Check whether your DAC supports DSD via DoP.
  2. With VULAN enabled, find “DSD to DAC unchanged (DoP)”.
  3. Enable this setting for a compatible device and a DSD recording.
  4. Check the signal path. Equalization, DSD volume and processing are disabled in DoP mode.
The result

With supported DoP, DSD is transmitted without processing. This is a separate mode, not a promise of Native DSD for every DAC.