What bit-perfect means
Bit-perfect means the DAC receives exactly the samples that are in your file: the same values, at the file’s own sample rate, with nothing added, removed or recalculated on the way. The DAC then turns those samples into sound, the way the recording was mastered.
Why it is not a given
Section titled “Why it is not a given”Between a file and a DAC sits software, and most of it changes the signal without telling you:
- A system mixer (on a computer, a phone or many streamers) converts every source to one fixed rate, often 48 kHz, so it can mix notification sounds into the music. A 96 kHz album then reaches the DAC at 48 kHz.
- Digital volume lowers the level by recalculating every sample. Done well it is inaudible, but the samples are no longer the ones in the file.
- Loudness levelling (ReplayGain, “normalise volume”) does the same between tracks.
- Converting DSD to PCM because the player or the DAC cannot take DSD.
- Lossy sources such as MP3, AAC or most streaming services were never bit-perfect to begin with.
None of this is a fault. The problem is that you usually cannot see it.
How bitwerk plays bit-perfect
Section titled “How bitwerk plays bit-perfect”- The library delivers the original file byte for byte, and the player hands the samples straight to the DAC, with no system mixer and no hidden resampling.
- The DAC is set to each track’s own rate, up to 384 kHz and 32 bit, and only when the rate changes, so an album plays through without clicks.
- DSD plays natively or as DoP (DSD over PCM) up to DSD512 when the DAC supports it.
- Volume can stay bit-perfect: leave the player at 100 % and turn down at the amplifier, or use the DAC’s own volume control.
How you can see it
Section titled “How you can see it”Every room shows a badge next to the format: Bit-Perfect when the samples at the DAC are the ones in the file, DSP as soon as anything is calculated. Tap DSP and it lists every reason (volume below 100 %, resampling, room correction, room sync) with what to change to stay bit-perfect. On an s1 or an m1 the light in the corner glows green while it plays bit-perfect.
Processing is sometimes what you want: room correction or loudness matching for a fair A/B comparison. bitwerk does it in 64 bit with dither, and it says so. The full list of reasons is in the features.
Does it make an audible difference?
Section titled “Does it make an audible difference?”Often a small one, sometimes none. A good resampler or a careful digital volume is hard to hear. What bit-perfect guarantees is not a sound but a fact: what you hear is what is in the file, and nothing in the chain is guessing on your behalf. For a studio checking a master, a dealer comparing DACs or a listener who paid for a 24-bit release, that is the point.
Hear it in your own room
Tell us which DAC and amplifier you use, and we tell you how bitwerk plays bit-perfect with them.