I must admit, it’s been a while when I properly tested these filters. But sinc-M I used for a long time with Spring 3 because I liked its smoother sound signature. ASDM7EC-super I’ve used a lot also and if you prefer smooth and easygoing, that should be your choice for modulator.
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Cheers for the suggestion of -super, I am trying the 7EC one now and it definitely sounds more laid back. I like neutral sound, but I have class D amplifier and very revealing speakers (Volent VL-2 Paragon) so its a little too much neutral (if that makes sense).
Almost too laid back with ext3, but will listen some more. Will try it with gauss and gauss-long later on (I don’t like the sinc filters, if for no other reason then the horrible delay).
I recommend trying all the four variants, -ul, -light, -fast and -super. They all perform technically very well, so no need to worry. But they each have their own distinct flavor you may notice if you try switching between those, easier to pick up if you switch on the fly.
I notice when playing back DSD to the AH90 there is a small static pop at start of playback and between tracks. Is this phenomenon specific to the DAC or to DSD in general? Is there a way to avoid these clicks and pops?
Did you update firmware for DSD Direct?
Are you at a fixed sample rate of 44.1kHz x 128 or 44.1kHz x 256?
I don’t have any pop - I am fixed DSD256x44.1kHz rate
I use the LAN input (NAA)
iFi Neo Stream also ?
But AH90 measures much better than any iFi DAC (limited by the DSD1793 chip mainly)
AH90 is definitely punching above its weight. I’ve got the Topping D90se and Denafrips Ares 2 to compare it too, and it’s such a nice sound.
I’m interested in seeing whether Holo will go LAN input, and it becomes the new meta.
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Makes sense to include a Holo Red inside the same box as DAC.
Probably first with May 2 , as an option perhaps?
In the meantime you can be more than happy with AH90
Technically very excellent and convenient, other than the inconvenience of the firmware update
Yes, I’ve updated the firmware to enable DSD direct mode. Even just changing the mode from off to wide, I’ll hear some clicking. Then when NAA enables output, I’ll hear some just before playback. When changing tracks it also happens. I’ve tried disabling the quick pause option, it seems to diminish occurences but I wonder if it has anything to do with buffer size or some related parameter
And sample rate output? Can you share screenshots of all your HQP settings
I recommend to have “Idle time” set to for example 30 seconds. This greatly reduces the amount of DAC start/stop cycles with Roon. And makes the overall interaction much quicker.
I have to say I like the EC7-super modulator with filter gauss-long! More laid back compared to the other modulators I have tried, but without losing any in soundstage or details.
And if you want it even more laid back you can use ext3 as PCM filter, or even IIR/IIR2 to get it even more laid back and analog (but that’s to much for my taste).
Anyway, really nice to have these kinds of options to fine-tune your HiFi system. My system is to forward and edgy but now it sounds almost like smooth class A 
It seems to be a little more CPU demanding though, but still works for DSD256 on my computer. It takes about 17% CPU on my Ryzen 5950x for 44.1khz source and 19% for 96khz source.
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Ok, I’ve added the idle_time attribute to the engine element of the config. But I am not playing from Roon. Right now I am directly using HQplayer library either through web interface, or client.
I think disabling the quick pause option has really reduced the number of occurrences. I notice it the most when changing bitrate, but can still hear it just not as loud between tracks. This might be also be on DAC firmware side also.
From what I’ve been able to find, I understand this comes from PCM-DSD conversion math that lead to incomplete sample at start-end of track? T
Your web config still shows “Idle time” as “Default” which means disabled for most cases. If you manually modified the configuration file, did you remember to restart the hqplayerd service afterwads? Otherwise it doesn’t get loaded and can get lost if you store the configuration from HQPlayer before it gets reloaded.
It is also helpful with Client, as many times 30 or 60 seconds is enough when selecting next set of music for playback. Thus the engine and DAC doesn’t need to stop meanwhile.
Yes, it should…
Yes, for that reason the DSD specs require that DAC mutes it’s output for 50 ms across start/stop event. Not all DACs manage to do it properly though. But it can also depend on input, for example it is usually less of a problem with USB input (handled by the USB Audio Class implementation) and more of a problem for example through I2S.
I don’t know what the neighbors are doing but it doesn’t seem to have an effect on anything. The fan doesn’t seem too either.
I just replaced a Rotel 1090 with a Holo Serene KTE and I think you would be in heaven! With the amp on and the preamp at max there is no freaking noise! NONE! The slight hum of the power supply and the green light on the Serene, and I mean hold your ear to the preamp to hear the hum, is the only way you’d know the system is on. Well, the green glow of the McIntosh logo on the amp give it away too! 
I think the “Blacker Background” people refer too comes from the absence of any noise what so ever from unit.
Edit: to keep this post on topic… from the short list of best dacs to use with hqplayer… I have a May KTE shipping next week. 
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hyhlo
congrats
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I have looked into your new pre-amp. There are two torodials. The tiny hum is probably a tiny dc-shift on the mains. If it does not put out any noise on the signal, the dc-shift consequential harmonics on transformer secondaries is well handled inside! I don’t know how to disguise this apparent OT … 
Hope no one kill me … 
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I inquired with Gustard about the small click I’m hearing in DSDD mode and here is their reply:
In the previous AKM dac chip solutions,there was a significant pop noise when switching between PCM and DSD,and it was difficult to resolve.The new AK4191+4499 combination has greatly reduced this noise,but it still cannot achieve complete silence.
Oh well, can never have it all it or so it seems.
On another note about the AH90, is there a DAC correction profile for it? I thought I read somewhere that it was seen as Gustard R26 but my instance of HQplayer embedded does not list anything under DAC correction on the matrix page.
Their comment is specific to switching between PCM and DSD
But your issue is only with DSD256x44.1kHz right and changing tracks?
Yours is a different issue?
I hear a small click, fainter but similar to the one when switching to DSD. Happens when HQplayer locks onto playback, and between every track. Whether I play directly from HQplayer library or Jplay.