[Krobar]

Guys,

The manual states that STR-DN840 can receive DSD via HDMI, doesn't mention whether it is DSD64 or DSD128 though. Is that's all I need to connect HTPC to receiver? I want to buy a couple of DSD albums from dsdfile to output them from my speaker set (Monitor Audio)

From the talk on this thread I see that you can't simply upload DSDIFF files to XBMC, right? Is there any workaround or any plugin available? I just want to play those files as usual as, say, mp3 files. With no unneeded hassle.

Another question would be do I need another DAC to process DSD? Or my receiver is just as capable as any other external DAC?

You need the Kodi beta to play the files. I think DSDIFF will work but dsf is the best choice as it works out of the box and supports tagging. The files will be converted to hi-res PCM by Kodi because the Graphics card driver for ATI/NVIDIA/Intel do not support raw DSD output. Your receiver does support raw dsd so if the graphics drivers/hardware add support in future it would probably work (ATI and Nvidia just need to add support, they are the only link in the chain now blocking raw DSD).

So I guess the only way to play them would be chaining HTPC and AVR via 3.5" to 2*RCA plugs. That will be DoP which is meh.
The only device which is capable of playing DSD via DLNA is OPPO BDP-103/105 as far as I know. Thanks for the input though.

Just output PCM over HDMI, the loss in quality is tiny and if you need room correction or bass management the reciever will convert to PCM even if source is DSD (In which case raw DSD is irrelevant).