Ahh, with new chips. With my AKM’s the difference is 3.5 dB.
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That’s the down side of having same product out with three different chips…
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You mean AKM 4490 vs 4493 ?
Yes, mine are with AK4490EQ.
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I have AKM 4493. Do ESS even have a direct mode?
It’s from the attached link …
No, ESS doesn’t have direct mode. I’d guess the ADI-2 firmware handles this.
Also the DSD D/A conversion filter settings have different frequency values for 4490 and 4493. 4490 has 50 and 150 kHz (re DSD64). 4493 has 39 and 76 kHz (re DSD64).
Are you sure? My 4493 says 50 and 150 in the GUI.
Yes Jussi is correct (as always!). It is the DAC chip filters - chip datasheet shows this.
RME hasn’t updated their firmware for 4493 model to show correct DSD filters
Again, as Jussi wrote ” That’s the down side of having same product out with three different chips…” All these revisions are taking its toll.
RME’s answer, as expected:
“Hello,
This is normal, see manual:
The output level for digital full scale is 1.0 dB lower than with standard DSD mode. Therefore the maximum analog output levels are 1.0 dB lower than the reference values. ”
I never doubted the correctness in signal processing. I just think it’s a strange way of communicating this in the GUI.
Hi, now I bought the darn RME anyway, so I will do some more extensive and perhaps logic fault tracing. Hope I can bother you some time soon with my results and possible reasons for malfunction, if it even is malfunction. There is the ever present sense of the idiot behind the steering wheel, too 
I thought I begin with PCM output, it sounded better already there compared to the older Dac-1, and hey, my wife’s got a remote now …
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Yes no problem! Share as many screenshots as you can, so we can see all your HQP settings!
Hi, I’ve had a few moments of insight, when without a specific plan, I started to scroll around in the menu of the RME. There was a number of checked functions that became clear to me played a big role in the behaviour. I thought some of the things mentioned in above comments just belonged to HQP, but it seems as RME has a number of similar options in its’ menu and when checked it controls the HQPe, so to speak backwards. So, eg direct DSD is an option also in RME. When unchecked volume started for any setting. Further, a quite advanced modulator and heavy filters for some reason have started to work. But playback of 24/192 will not work, when 16/44.1 does. Yet auto rate family is checked and sample rate is set to auto, while max is 11 million and some. So some clarity is beginning to unfold, but some is still not in plain sight yet. Why won’t 24/192 upsample in same modulator as 16/44.1? Or is it the same very subtle hints from the software, instead of a text message: “you can’t do that, idiot” …
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I don’t quite follow what your problem is, exactly. One thing you have to do in HQPlayer is to set it to DoP for DSD. RME only works with DoP.
Do you have “48k DSD” checked under output device settings?
And your output rate limit must be 48k x256 (12.288 MHz).
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As previously requested, screenshots of all your HQP settings helps
“A picture tells 1000 words” 
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@jussi_laako
@dabassgoesboomboom
Here is the latest working settings. And it really does work. There is a complete change of SQ, the mids an highs a wide open, there no midbass boom and there is a very extended low bass. I might have some suspicions about a device fed by a SMPSU, there is not the “velvet” sweetness of the highly detailed mid and high, and I think there are some more to squeeze out from the DAC in terms of noise cancellation and drainage. Any suggestions on alternative settings to try are of couse welcome and highly appreciated.
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Based on the above screen shot, I have to ask; I have chosen SDM as output. Further I have chosen 48K DSD. In Roon that results when clicking the blue star next to play console, it replies I am playing PCM with 384kHz and Shaped Dither. In the RME Display there is no saying I playback DSD format. Where can I get “proof” of me playing DSD format? Should I set other parameters to get the desired DSD format, or will it never show anywhere? Is the displayed dither applied, or is it just a result of me asking to send DSD over PCM. Should I have both DoP and 48K DSD checked?
Suggestions is welcome. Also alternatives if you see anything that might further improve SQ. It sounds really sweet now. But there is always this quriosity present …
Edit: Yes, obviously I should, now the DAC and Roon went over to display DSD256.
So, now I am finally in the DSD upsampling league. I’ll just have to scoll through the last couple of days history (thanks Roon for the feature) to scrutinize the newly found setting.
Any suggestions of further setting changes is still welcome, even if I was able to sort one out myself.
Nice to see you solved this.
@Marten_Skoger mentioned a few days ago above, DoP must be selected for ADI-2 + Linux/macOS
Now it comes to what your CPU can handle
Try:
1x = poly-sinc-ext3 or ext2 (try both)
Nx = poly-sinc-short-lp
ASDM7EC v2. Or ASDM7
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