Shootout at the Linux Corral: AudioLinux vs Euphony

[Gavin1977]

On 3/19/2019 at 7:14 PM, bobfa said:

Over the past few days I have been listening to the system and have some observations to report.  

 

What I have been doing is swapping between Audiolinux booting to the RAM and Euphony booting from the Optane M.2 stick in the NUC endpoint The endpoint is running Roon Bridge.  The Server is running Roon on Euphony.  ***As of right now this is hard to do with a configuration problem in Euphony that is patched on my system and should be in the next release.  (Bleeding edge)

 

The first track that three of us have observed a significant and immediate difference is "Fanfare for the Common Man" on the Telarc release.  The first minute of the track tells us a lot.  Running AL the ring of the inital Gong hits are almost recessed.  They just do not sound right.  Reboot into Euphony and that wonderful ring is there and the decay just lasts forever.  The kettle drums are more distinctly presented.  Then the single trumpet comes in and it is haunting.  

 

 

Listening to Rodrigo and Gabriela play on their third album is a joy.  With Eyphony the edge of the guitars is gone the low and middle registers are much more present.  You can listen to the whole album and not feel drained.

 

 

Ok, we are moving off to a little different world here.  Grab "The Sound of Silence" from Immortalized by Disturbed.  Play that track all the way through a couple of times on Audiolinux and then listen to it on Euphony. You tell me what you hear!  Note: This version is a perfect rendition for our times as was the Simon and Garfunkle original for that time!  (The YouTube video is cool too.)

 

 

Joe Ford is an electronic music artist and there is quite a lot to listen in his works.  On the album "Culture" the second track "Distilled" will really show you the differences in the operating systems. Euphony is amazing at playing this one back.  When you are done with that track try the first track "Culture"

 

 

I have to run for now, but one last note.  Listen to "Omega" from BT's "Untitled" album.  The inital really deep base portion is amazing.  The track is long and the second half is very detailed and quiet.  Also around the 6 min mark there are a lot of differences to be heard.  Stuff is just missing on Audiolinux.  

 

 

Bob

 

PS:  Sorry for your Wallet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm now a few weeks into listening to both AudioLinux and Euphony on my dnhe NUC, 16GB RAM and Optane H10 drive - All music streamed from Tidal HiFi quality.  I have compared exactly the same tracks as yourself and I can completely concur with your findings.  Partiqularly "Fanfare for the Common Man" - Audiolinux (set up Extreme, Ramboot) sounds comparitively flat and muted, as you say the decay and representation of the instruments is better on Euphony - it is an easily dicernable difference.  

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela... everything just has more drama, energy and sounds more tangible.  I have found that this finding can be applied for all of the tracks you used for testing.

 

I also find that all of the functionality 'just works' with Euphony - it's a cracking piece of software.  I had quite some difficulty with AudioLinux, although it now works perfectly.

 

Playback using Euphony Stylus (controlled via iPhone or Laptop) sounds ever so marginally better to my ears as the default Euphony Playback engine does some upscaling which I personally think sounds better than the built in HQPlayer.  Airplay even sounds good, but Stylus is better.

[bobfa]

11 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

I'm now a few weeks into listening to both AudioLinux and Euphony on my dnhe NUC, 16GB RAM and Optane H10 drive - All music streamed from Tidal HiFi quality.  I have compared exactly the same tracks as yourself and I can completely concur with your findings.  Partiqularly "Fanfare for the Common Man" - Audiolinux (set up Extreme, Ramboot) sounds comparitively flat and muted, as you say the decay and representation of the instruments is better on Euphony - it is an easily dicernable difference.  

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela... everything just has more drama, energy and sounds more tangible.  I have found that this finding can be applied for all of the tracks you used for testing.

 

I also find that all of the functionality 'just works' with Euphony - it's a cracking piece of software.  I had quite some difficulty with AudioLinux, although it now works perfectly.

 

Playback using Euphony Stylus (controlled via iPhone or Laptop) sounds ever so marginally better to my ears as the default Euphony Playback engine does some upscaling which I personally think sounds better than the built in HQPlayer.  Airplay even sounds good, but Stylus is better.

I am really glad that you have been able to reproduce my findings.  And I am even happier that you have a better sounding system for yourself!  Thanks for the report.

 

[michaeltay5871]

I have personally tried both Euphony and AudioLinux and found without doubt that Euphony is better sounding.  No matter how I tweak Audiolinux it has a somewhat brighter and more forward sound.  Has anyone tweak AL to be very close or even better than Euphony?  I would greatly appreciate if he or she can share the settings here.

[flkin]

Sometime back I compared my install of AL with the demo version of Euphony on a USB drive. At that time I found that AL was quite a bit better than Euphony and stopped further experiments.

 

Looks like I might have to revisit Euphony or pick up a full version to experiment again since there are so many good reports here. But it's not a high priority for me as my current system sounds so very good already.

 

Anyone interested in Lpost, and my optimised AL settings can find it in the Pink Faun 2.16 thread on page 10 onwards. Some ongoing discussions there on AL settings with Bios tuning.

 

One key setting I noticed that most seem to use in AL that I don't use is the Extreme mode setting. Try it without

[AnotherSpin]

6 hours ago, michaeltay5871 said:

I have personally tried both Euphony and AudioLinux and found without doubt that Euphony is better sounding.  No matter how I tweak Audiolinux it has a somewhat brighter and more forward sound.  Has anyone tweak AL to be very close or even better than Euphony?  I would greatly appreciate if he or she can share the settings here.

 

I was comparing both Euphony and AL at the NUC endpoint in combination with HQP desktop at the server. Al sounds preferable to me in this combination. If I may use analogy, AL vs. Euphony resembles me HQP vs. Audirvana. 

 

I tried many different AL settings, but found out default works just fine, with only ramroot enabled, realtime extreme. 

[Lukasluis]

I find that the in my system the combination of AL and Euphony gives the best synergy.

 

AL 5.2 BFQ running Roon Server on NUC 8i7BNH Ramroot Enabled, Boot mode-Standard, Priority-Extreme, Scaling Driver-ACPI, Max Frequency, Turbo Off, Hyperthreading Off, RoonDB on Optane memory, LAN Bridged to NUC 7I3BNH, Akasa case, running Euphony-Stylus EP. 

 

I find that AL in both machines sounds lean. I have to adjust my DSP and subwoofer settings to have higher bass than my usual room curve to give me the much needed bloom and meat. With Euphony on both machines, I set to my normal room curve but I miss the. Transparency and PRAT of AL. It sounds quite boring. 

 

Both OS's have equal stage width and image height with Euphony better on image density. 

 

Combining AL and Euphony gives me Bloom, PRAT, transparency, Image Density, better defined Soundstaging and imaging. 

 

Both machines are powered by ZEROZONE 19volts Ultra Low Noise LPS and with low latency RAM

[shyamwanne]

Has anyone yet compared Euphony Stylus vs. AL with Roon/HQ Player?     I think to compare Euphony to AL, AL should also be running HQ Player.  Since both then can do upsampling etc.

 

[botrytis]

Do people know how updated the Euphony OS is? And how often do they update the kernel? The reason I am asking is if this kernel is an older version (not 2017 or newer) the server can be corrupted.

 

Just asking.

[Holzohr]

1 hour ago, botrytis said:

Do people know how updated the Euphony OS is? And how often do they update the kernel? The reason I am asking is if this kernel is an older version (not 2017 or newer) the server can be corrupted.

 

There were two updates in July.

 

uname -r gives out: 4.18.7-rt5-3-rt-bfq

[Cazzesman]

Evening all,

 

I'm alittle bit late to the Euphony party,  having only just been made aware of it.   This knowledge has just come at the right time because I was about to embark on the 'Upgrade trail'.

 

In the next few weeks I will be updating my purpose built DIY Audio PC.

 

Currently System - CAPS (Lagoon - WS2012 R2 Essentials OS with Audiophile Optimizer v2.20 in Ultimate Core mode - Fidelizer 8.1pro -128g SS HD + Sotm USB exp card) - Synology NAS DS416 Slim - JRiver 18.  Curious USB out of Sotm into Mutec MC3+ USB.   AES 110 ohm out of Mutec into Kii3's

 

I was looking at Updating to WS2019, AO 3.0 and Fidelizer 8.4 and Jriver Ver 24.    Also replacing the 128gig SSD with a 2TB to have the music stored 'in house'.

 

I have some questions re the Euphony - Stilus setup.

 

1.   The mutec requires a driver to be installed on WS2012 and 2019.    Do you need to install the Mutec driver in the Euphony and if so is that simply done the normal way.

2.   I take it Euphony can still send the signal via the Sotm PCIe USB card to the Mutec?

3.   I looked but couldn't find any, has anyone compared a similar system to mine using WS2019, AO3.0 and Fidleizer to the Euphony?    Results???

 

Regards Cazzesman

[Gavin1977]

2 hours ago, Cazzesman said:

Evening all,

 

I'm alittle bit late to the Euphony party,  having only just been made aware of it.   This knowledge has just come at the right time because I was about to embark on the 'Upgrade trail'.

 

In the next few weeks I will be updating my purpose built DIY Audio PC.

 

Currently System - CAPS (Lagoon - WS2012 R2 Essentials OS with Audiophile Optimizer v2.20 in Ultimate Core mode - Fidelizer 8.1pro -128g SS HD + Sotm USB exp card) - Synology NAS DS416 Slim - JRiver 18.  Curious USB out of Sotm into Mutec MC3+ USB.   AES 110 ohm out of Mutec into Kii3's

 

I was looking at Updating to WS2019, AO 3.0 and Fidelizer 8.4 and Jriver Ver 24.    Also replacing the 128gig SSD with a 2TB to have the music stored 'in house'.

 

I have some questions re the Euphony - Stilus setup.

 

1.   The mutec requires a driver to be installed on WS2012 and 2019.    Do you need to install the Mutec driver in the Euphony and if so is that simply done the normal way.

2.   I take it Euphony can still send the signal via the Sotm PCIe USB card to the Mutec?

3.   I looked but couldn't find any, has anyone compared a similar system to mine using WS2019, AO3.0 and Fidleizer to the Euphony?    Results???

 

Regards Cazzesman

Looks like you're in an ideal place to compare WS2019, AO and Fidelizer vs Euphony - you can run Euphony from a USB stick on your existing (or new) setup.  I have not found any other comparisions either, so would be very interested in your findings if you could post them here.

 

Regarding points 1 & 2 - if it works with linux then it should work with Euphony.  Download the trial version of Euphony and test it.

[Holzohr]

2 hours ago, Cazzesman said:

1.   The mutec requires a driver to be installed on WS2012 and 2019.    Do you need to install the Mutec driver in the Euphony and if so is that simply done the normal way.

2.   I take it Euphony can still send the signal via the Sotm PCIe USB card to the Mutec?

3.   I looked but couldn't find any, has anyone compared a similar system to mine using WS2019, AO3.0 and Fidleizer to the Euphony?    Results???

 

1. The Mutec should work without the need to install anything. Euphony is based on Archlinux.

 

2. Yes.

 

3. Hmm.. I had a Windows Server 2019 core installation on my former computer (I should update my signature!). Indeed I would recommend to update from WS 2012 to WS 2019. The installation is much more convenient now with AO 3.0 (thanks to Phil).

 

Well, testing Euphony on that former computer animated me to build a new one, more powerful and to purchase the Euphony license. I don't use the Stylus player. I am more into the Roon/HQPlayer tandem. The plan is to make a WS 2019 core installation on this new computer (Intel i7-8700, ASRock Z390m-itx/ac, 16GB RAM, 32GB Optane drive). I want to give JPlay Femto another try. I found it pretty impressing. And besides I want to try Audiolinux again. I already have bought two more 32GB Optane drives.

About results.. hmm.. I found WS 2019 in core mode with AO 3.0 beta, Fidelizer, Roon, HQPlayer and JPlay Femto trial great on my former system. But then to my surprise I was surprised by this Euphony! So much that I opened my wallet. 

[AnotherSpin]

Anyone interested in comparing AL and Euphony may want to try new Euphony ramroot option. See @austinpop post here:

 

[JohanJ]

Thanks to all of you for the valuable info from this forum.  That makes an obligation to write a little post about my test audiolinux/euphony.

 

I am a long time user of Audiolinux in conjunction with Roon server and off and on (mostly on) HQplayer embedded.

I have a homebuild server with an i7, 8gb, asus mobo and a samsung SSD, powered with a HDPlex lineair psu. The server streams from NAS (synology) or Qobuz hi res to a Microrendu. The uRendu is hooked up to a Lampizator Atlantic which has the Amanero board. From there it goes to a Tentlab volume control, a Belles 350A poweramp to Totem Forests.

 

I just wanted to try Euphony after all I read from here, however I am very satisfied about Audiolinux. So I am very curious. Euphony is on a Sandisk USB stick and Audiolinux goes from the SSD.

 

I tried Euphony in above setup with the combinations Roon and Roon with HQplayer. In the config with the uRendu I couldn't make Stylus working, despite of the very nice and quick response of the Euphony heldesk.

I be honest with you: I couldn't hear much of a difference in this setup, maybe due to the microrendu as endpoint (Roon endpoint as well as NAA).

 

Because I was eager to listen to Stylus, I hooked the server directly into the Lampizator leaving uRendu out of the equasion.

Wow... what a difference. Much more in your face, much more bass. Also the combination Roon/Hqpd gave me the same impression.

Well we all know that when something sounds differently it is not necessairily better... After a while I got a little annoyance about the amount of bass. Maybe this is due to my room, but it was really tiring to listen to.

I am not a boomy bass guy. I love well balanced bass and this was too much. So I gave up with Euphony for now. I have lots of trial days left and I will try later and see if my findings are repeatable.

 

BTW: I tried also playing into RAM. I never liked this option in AL, no difference in Euphony. Hard, harsh and do I sometimes hear distortion in fortissimo string passages?

BTW2: how is it actually possible that Euphony gives so much low energy, also in a comparible setup with Roon/ hqpd, where the only relevant difference is the OS, both basically Archlinux.  Mmm.. .what did they do?

 

Going back to AL this whole endeavour gave me another insight: The server directly into the DAC, without the uRendu is actually a nice sound!

So for now I put my money on the new version of Audiolinux and maybe I buy a nice ifi iUSB to get something more out of my server.

Thanks Euphony for the trial and the more than perfect helpdesk. But to be honest, Piero's help and advice is also first class.

 

[davide256]

1 hour ago, JohanJ said:

Thanks to all of you for the valuable info from this forum.  That makes an obligation to write a little post about my test audiolinux/euphony.

 

I am a long time user of Audiolinux in conjunction with Roon server and off and on (mostly on) HQplayer embedded.

I have a homebuild server with an i7, 8gb, asus mobo and a samsung SSD, powered with a HDPlex lineair psu. The server streams from NAS (synology) or Qobuz hi res to a Microrendu. The uRendu is hooked up to a Lampizator Atlantic which has the Amanero board. From there it goes to a Tentlab volume control, a Belles 350A poweramp to Totem Forests.

 

I just wanted to try Euphony after all I read from here, however I am very satisfied about Audiolinux. So I am very curious. Euphony is on a Sandisk USB stick and Audiolinux goes from the SSD.

 

I tried Euphony in above setup with the combinations Roon and Roon with HQplayer. In the config with the uRendu I couldn't make Stylus working, despite of the very nice and quick response of the Euphony heldesk.

I be honest with you: I couldn't hear much of a difference in this setup, maybe due to the microrendu as endpoint (Roon endpoint as well as NAA).

 

Because I was eager to listen to Stylus, I hooked the server directly into the Lampizator leaving uRendu out of the equasion.

Wow... what a difference. Much more in your face, much more bass. Also the combination Roon/Hqpd gave me the same impression.

Well we all know that when something sounds differently it is not necessairily better... After a while I got a little annoyance about the amount of bass. Maybe this is due to my room, but it was really tiring to listen to.

I am not a boomy bass guy. I love well balanced bass and this was too much. So I gave up with Euphony for now. I have lots of trial days left and I will try later and see if my findings are repeatable.

 

BTW: I tried also playing into RAM. I never liked this option in AL, no difference in Euphony. Hard, harsh and do I sometimes hear distortion in fortissimo string passages?

BTW2: how is it actually possible that Euphony gives so much low energy, also in a comparible setup with Roon/ hqpd, where the only relevant difference is the OS, both basically Archlinux.  Mmm.. .what did they do?

 

Going back to AL this whole endeavour gave me another insight: The server directly into the DAC, without the uRendu is actually a nice sound!

So for now I put my money on the new version of Audiolinux and maybe I buy a nice ifi iUSB to get something more out of my server.

Thanks Euphony for the trial and the more than perfect helpdesk. But to be honest, Piero's help and advice is also first class.

 

HD/ SSD in the NUC connected to DAC is problematic, will drag your SQ down. Better to boot off USB or Optane. That harshness you are hearing is most likely coming from

drive reads  injecting noise into the power bus supply  during audio playback. Optane and USB seem to behave better

 

Yea, MR is pleasant but limiting, I went through 2 before I got on the AL/Euphony train

 

That fortissimo distortion may be your PS. It's an improvement I noted going from HDPLEX 200 to Uptone Audio JS-2 powering an i3NUC

 

 

 

 

[lpost]

On 5/31/2019 at 11:12 AM, flkin said:

No, just Roon without upsampling. Also NUMA disabled. And no hyper threading.

 

Although I've extensively used it in the past, I'm preferring Roon to HQPe currently.

 

Is this still the case or have you moved to Euphony/Stylus or Euphony/roon/stylusEP?

[flkin]

My preferred player is Euphony currently and using Stylus without HQP. I keep trying different HQP settings (within Stylus) but always return to using it without. Roon/StylusEP is pretty good too but inevitably I’d return to Stylus eventually. The interface isn’t as smooth as Roon, not even close, and it isn’t good for finding new music at all. But after a while of using it, it’s getting easier to navigate. 
 

one trick I tried is to keep a backup of my music database (both local and Tidal) in another computer with my bookmarks/tabs settings via a Restore from a Roon backup from the 2.16. Then use that to run Roon for music searching. I use that as a reference when I can’t find things in Stylus. 
 

that said I haven’t compared the latest Euphony to the recent AudioLinux major update. Might have a chance to do so soon.

[lpost]

Thanks, good info.  I just booted up Euphony on USB stick but it doesn't see my I2S board so I have no outputs.  Does Euphony only support USB out?

 

Looks like I'll try AL 3.1...

[Lukasluis]

1 hour ago, flkin said:

one trick I tried is to keep a backup of my music database (both local and Tidal) in another computer with my bookmarks/tabs settings via a Restore from a Roon backup from the 2.16. Then use that to run Roon for music searching. I use that as a reference when I can’t find things in Stylus. 

Thanks for the tip. I'll copy your process as Roon is now unused since moving to Euphony and now to Gentooplayer/MPD.

[m3lraaHnevetS]

10 hours ago, lpost said:

Thanks, good info.  I just booted up Euphony on USB stick but it doesn't see my I2S board so I have no outputs.  Does Euphony only support USB out?

 

Looks like I'll try AL 3.1...

Euphony also did not see the Pink Faun I2S board in my PC, but after booting into windows and than back into Euphony, Euphony did see the board...might work for you as well 

[lpost]

I only have Audio-Linux on the machine.  I'll try it again, perhaps I need to initiate the trial before the output will be seen.

[lpost]

After a couple of reboots I see in Audio Services, enable internal cards.  I need to spend more time with Euphony but at first listen it sounds the same as AL 3.1.

 

Daily mood changes account for more differences than the OS so far.

[Peter Avgeris]

After some time involved in Euphony setup, I am here to write my own impressions.

 

For all my storage requirements I am using a NAS. Homemade machine with Supermicro server board, 12x 8Tb WD REd HDDs & 128 Gbytes or ECC Registered RAM. I have been using WS2019/AO3/JPlay for quite some time now.

I have made a vast improvement in sound quality 2 weeks ago, by lifting my server PC from the router/switch interface and plugging it directly on my NAS second NIC. This was one of the most dramatic upgrades I have ever had, by bridging the two NICs on the NAS. This is a new upgrade on FreeNAS 11.3.

 

So I have evaluated using one and two PCs with Euphony, all with identical motherboards. I am really so curious of the fact that some guys here do not experience anything that much big from going to a dual PC setup with Euphony. Guys, the improvement is really really big to the point of forgetting anything alternative.

 

My last adventure is playing with Euphony server and stylus control software on the server (control) pc, with StylusEP and Roon bridge on the audio (endpoint) pc. I am using the Pink Faun I2s bridge and after many comparisons I can say that this is really a game changer, for me digital audio reproduction is a no-go thing without this I2s bridge, even for playing DSD by converting to PCM I2s. Sound comes out unprocessed with stunning immediacy and clarity. USB interface is not for audio, even if you plug out-of-this-world USB cards with insane P/Ss and clocks. You will always miss that kind of magic. In the end, you should not forget that I'm an analog, vinyl & tubes guy...

 

Best sound was achieved with Stylus control software on PC1 and StylusEP on PC2.

 

Second best sound was achieved with Roon control software on PC1 and Roon bridge on PC2. Controlling Roon onto anything else than Roon bridge was intolerable to my ears.

 

Practically, for me it is the first time I am experiencing very good sound out of my Roon license. The only penalty of using Roon is the requirement for a huge local hard disc, in excess of 100 Gbytes, while with Stylus control software the requirements go down to less than 8Gbytes for my 100.000+ albums library. But then again, for maximum sound quality, you need to stick to Stylus.

 

Hope that my findings could be helpful to you.

 

[davide256]

17 minutes ago, Peter Avgeris said:

After some time involved in Euphony setup, I am here to write my own impressions.

 

For all my storage requirements I am using a NAS. Homemade machine with Supermicro server board, 12x 8Tb WD REd HDDs & 128 Gbytes or ECC Registered RAM. I have been using WS2019/AO3/JPlay for quite some time now.

I have made a vast improvement in sound quality 2 weeks ago, by lifting my server PC from the router/switch interface and plugging it directly on my NAS second NIC. This was one of the most dramatic upgrades I have ever had, by bridging the two NICs on the NAS. This is a new upgrade on FreeNAS 11.3.

 

So I have evaluated using one and two PCs with Euphony, all with identical motherboards. I am really so curious of the fact that some guys here do not experience anything that much big from going to a dual PC setup with Euphony. Guys, the improvement is really really big to the point of forgetting anything alternative.

 

My last adventure is playing with Euphony server and stylus control software on the server (control) pc, with StylusEP and Roon bridge on the audio (endpoint) pc. I am using the Pink Faun I2s bridge and after many comparisons I can say that this is really a game changer, for me digital audio reproduction is a no-go thing without this I2s bridge, even for playing DSD by converting to PCM I2s. Sound comes out unprocessed with stunning immediacy and clarity. USB interface is not for audio, even if you plug out-of-this-world USB cards with insane P/Ss and clocks. You will always miss that kind of magic. In the end, you should not forget that I'm an analog, vinyl & tubes guy...

 

Best sound was achieved with Stylus control software on PC1 and StylusEP on PC2.

 

Second best sound was achieved with Roon control software on PC1 and Roon bridge on PC2. Controlling Roon onto anything else than Roon bridge was intolerable to my ears.

 

Practically, for me it is the first time I am experiencing very good sound out of my Roon license. The only penalty of using Roon is the requirement for a huge local hard disc, in excess of 100 Gbytes, while with Stylus control software the requirements go down to less than 8Gbytes for my 100.000+ albums library. But then again, for maximum sound quality, you need to stick to Stylus.

 

Hope that my findings could be helpful to you.

 

Peter, streaming has a lot of variables in it, including system effects.  Would you be so kind as to disclose your server environment and audio chain? I've not had any gain from

running a second PC either as Roon or Euphony server to Stylus endpoint. For Roon, I have found that when using it the HQplayer option for Stylus endpoint does improve sound,

you might want to try that also.

[Peter Avgeris]

Davide256,

 

My server and player are built with the same configuration, all identical except RAM. Supermicro board, Intel Xeon CPU, 12Gb ECC ram for the server and 6Gb ECC ram for the player. They are connected directly without network switch (bridged NICs). The NAS is a Supermicro 10 core 20 threads Intel Xeon CPU with 128Gb Reg ECC RAM, also connected in series with my server PC (no router, no switch). I don't stream through Tidal Qobuz but only play locally. So the machines are in series, NAS > Server PC > Audio PC > DAC >

 

I need to use Roon due to the exceptional handling of mu big library. Stylus is better in all aspects that relate to sound quality, no need to lose any more time on this topic. But Roon suffers from poor sound quality compared even to JRiver. Now, with this dual PC configuration through Euphony platform, Roon core on PC1 and Roon Bridge on PC2, it is the very first time I'm experiencing really good sound. OK, not exactly up to Stylus interface, but very tolerable. I am not using HQplayer because I never liked this program. HQP is basically a DSD interface. I don't use a DSD DAC but a genuine R2R for both PCM & DSD files. You may laugh here: TDA1540! This has given me the most natural, holographic presentation so far.

 

I am open to evaluate additional DACs but one thing I am not willing to leave from: Pink Faun I2s bridge. With this card I can finally get digital music that is not only tolerable but very pleasant to my ears. I have tried so many USB to I2s devices, can't tolerate anything. Don't forget that I'm an analog guy and manufacturer of exotic audio components with tubes. I cannot compare of course the vinyl reproduction through exceptional gear to anything digital but after so many years, this is the *FIRST* time I am experiencing really good sound.

 

I have been asking myself many times, how is it possible to buy so expensive digital streamers and listen through USB interfaces with tons of additional processing and why not give a try to this unique and exceptional component, the Pink Faun I2s bridge! You will end up with a minimum of 3 chips less.

 

With this card, the dual PC configuration flies to another league. With a single PC configuration without Pink Faun but with a USB adapter, I could not tolerate the end result, so you've just got something here to try.