And in other news, some smart folks have thought outside the box, and combined DoP, FLAC, and existing software to give you
http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?98978-SB-Touch-amp-DSD-with-a-DoP-DAC!
via
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/playing-dsd-any-players-including-squeezebox-touch-16346/
Exec summary
DoP = DSD over PCM - play the DSD bits, (not converted as), but packaged as PCM - so you can use S/PDIF or toslink as the transport mechanism.
FLAC is a container with well a defined tagging ecosystem.
So tag + playback using software of choice - output as PCM - PCM input interpreted as DSD ... looks fun stuff
I've played with the DSD->PCM conversion in foobar2K so I can play some DSD test tracks back on a PCM dac - not that you'd want to , more as a proof of concept .
Lacking a DoP capable DAC , I can't test this out at the moment - but I like the idea.
So Benefits are existing PCM playback software / hardware (e.g. SB Touch) but will drive a DoP capable DAC ....
Would only work with bit perfect playback - so no replaygain , software volume / EQ - as the PCM data isn't really PCM Audio so can't be manipulated as such.
Gapless might work ...
Interesting stuff