Compatible Hardware
Built for a clean chain
Svarga is happiest when the playback path is simple enough to verify: your files, your Mac, your DAC, and no mystery resampler hiding in the middle.
Svarga is intentionally conservative about compatibility language. We would rather describe the classes of setups that fit well than publish a giant brand whitelist we cannot keep honest.
Best fit
What Svarga is designed around
- Direct playback to a Core Audio-compatible wired DAC.
- Local music libraries on your Mac, external drives, iCloud Drive, or a NAS share.
- Listeners who want to check Signal Path and confirm the source rate actually reached the output.
- DSD64 to DSD512 playback through DoP-capable USB DACs, with PCM conversion available when compatibility matters more than purity.
Use with caveats
Where the clean path gets harder
- Bluetooth, AirPlay, HDMI, and virtual devices can be useful, but they are not where Svarga's pure-path promise is strongest.
- Network renderers can work well for convenience, but they add more variables than a local USB DAC.
- If DSP, ReplayGain, or room correction is active, Svarga will show that openly instead of claiming the path is untouched.
- If your DAC does not validate DoP, DSD falls back to PCM conversion or a visible failure state depending on your chosen mode.
Output Options
What Svarga can play through
- Local output: the reference path for bit-perfect playback, hog mode, verified sample-rate switching, and DoP-capable USB DAC use.
- DLNA / UPnP renderers: supported for compatible network outputs on the local network, with renderer discovery, refresh, and connect-by-IP workflows.
- Chromecast: supported as a convenience output path when you want to throw playback to a compatible device instead of the desk DAC.
- Bluetooth, AirPlay, HDMI, and virtual devices: usable, but not the place where Svarga's strict pure-path promise is strongest.
In the app, the output picker is organized around Local, DLNA / UPnP, and Chromecast so you can tell immediately what class of path you are on.
Library Sources
Where Svarga can read music from
- Local folders and external USB drives are the simplest, most predictable source paths.
- iCloud Drive is supported when your library lives in Apple's cloud-backed storage and files may need to download on demand.
- SMB and AFP NAS shares are first-class practical v1 paths, with credentials stored in macOS Keychain.
- There is scaffolding for broader cloud-drive sources, but local folders, USB, iCloud Drive, SMB, and AFP are the main day-one paths described in the docs.
If your music lives on a NAS, the right test flow is: add the source, verify the share details, run Test, then Scan before depending on it for everyday playback.
Network Caveats
What changes once the network is in the loop
- Radio can route through local output, DLNA, or Chromecast depending on what you select.
- DSD over local USB DAC is one thing; DSD over network renderers is another. Svarga should not blindly send raw DSF/DFF or DoP to unverified DLNA devices.
- If you switch from a DSD-capable local DAC to a non-DSD network path, the expected behavior is warning, blocking, or PCM conversion depending on the supported output.
- Network discovery can be imperfect in the real world, so compatible renderers may sometimes need refresh or manual IP-based connection.
Pre-flight
Setup checklist before launch day
- Use macOS 13.0 or later. Apple Silicon is the recommended hardware path.
- Connect the DAC directly and confirm macOS can see it as a normal Core Audio output.
- Keep a known-good FLAC or ALAC album handy for the first test.
- If you plan to use DSD, make sure the DAC explicitly supports DoP and can show that state on its own display or control panel.
- If your library lives on iCloud Drive or a NAS, test file availability and scan speed before you rely on it for daily listening.
- If you plan to use DLNA or Chromecast, make sure the renderer is on the same network and visible before treating it like a dependable output.
First test
The five-minute validation pass
- Play a local FLAC or ALAC track through the output you actually intend to use.
- Open Signal Path and confirm the selected device, source rate, and DSP status.
- Switch to a higher-rate PCM file and confirm the output follows it.
- If you care about DSD, test a DSF or DFF file with Auto or DoP mode enabled.
- Only after the basic local path is behaving should you start layering on radio, NAS shares, or network outputs.