Subjective comparison of Software Music Player

[manisandher]

4 hours ago, jabbr said:

All DACs filter.

 

Ahem. Not all...

[manisandher]

Thanks for the writeup @manueljenkin. I agree with @acg that you've been very fair.

 

I feel for anyone coming into the XXHighEnd universe totally cold (Anthony and I have been hanging around it for a long time). There's a lot to get your head around. But as Antony says, it's worth it if your goal is the absolute best sound quality.

 

Anthony already mentioned loading everything (OS and XXHighEnd) into RAM. This gives you the very, very best SQ. You'll need order a 'RAM-OS' disk from @PeterSt to do this.

 

If you're not quite ready to commit to a RAM-OS disk, make sure you try the 'Minimize OS' function in XXHighEnd, which strips the OS processing right down. And then try playing back from 'Unattended', which kills much of the remaining processing (file transfer, GUI, etc.) just before playback starts.

 

As for DACs, yes XXHighEnd works very well with NOS DACs. But... they need to be able to accept high bit/sample rates for XXHighEnd to be able to do its stuff. Not many such DACs exist. Peter's own NOS1 DAC (that both Anthony, I and many XXHighEnd users use) is based on the PCM1704U-K chip (8 or them!) and accepts up to 32/768. It's a wonderful combination with XXHighEnd. However, XXHighEnd works very nicely with my RME ADI-2 Pro FS R too (which I'm listening to right now in fact 🙂).

 

It's always amazed me that XXHighEnd has never gotten the sort of attention it deserves. It was a game-changer 13 years ago, and continues to be so... IMESHO.

 

[I have zero affiliation to Phasure, but have been a very happy customer for many years.]

 

Mani.

[manisandher]

6 hours ago, manueljenkin said:

I would prefer to avoid delta Sigma.

 

I've been a strong advocate of R2R DACs for a long time, but wouldn't worry too much about this nowadays. My RME uses an AKM delta-sigma DAC chip and sounds really, really good. And in any event, >99.99% of the music we all listen to has been recorded using ADCs with delta-sigma chips 🙂.

 

Regarding amps, I love the sound of my F5 monos - they are simply the cleanest amps I've ever owned/heard. The circuit boards are easily obtained and I think they're pretty popular with DIYers. If class A isn't your thing, I'd look into the class A/B offerings from Neurochrome. I'd personally steer well clear of any class D amps, but that's very much a personal choice based on bad past experiences.

 

Mani.