Currently resting ears. However found this in the Anubis documentation. The output setting was on the default “slow”. I guess I should have tried “Brickwall”.
Those apply to PCM inputs.
Their system for port numbering is super-confusing. The input XLRs (8, below) are labelled 1 and 2. And the output XLRs (7, below) are ALSO labelled 1 and 2 !! I’ve put stickers on mine to make it clearer. Pretty sure these are the output settings, as per text at bottom of previous post’s images. (To make it worse they have some 1/4inch jacks labelled 1, 2 on the back and then some 3, 4 jacks on both the back and the front!)
I don’t see any problem. In pro audio world you’re facing lots of mics / instruments / midi inputs and / or lots of speaker sets. So marking number is make more sense than marking L or R especially when using ANEMAN to connect those I/Os.
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A follow-up to this thread (6 months on).
Over the following few weeks I became increasingly hypersensitive to noise. The sudden noise of a kitchen knife on a wooden chopping board was suddenly unbearable. When a truck, but then later a car passed on a quiet street I started putting my hands over my ears. This public act made me confront the fact that the situation was ridiculous. Understanding that everything has a cause and aware that I have in the past have had problems with vitamin and mineral deficiencies (as a result of a microbiome disturbed by some weird experimental eating years ago: once they get into the small intestine they can cause all sorts of problems) I searched the internet for studies relating diet to hearing problems. And found the following paper:
The studies on Guinea pigs showing that magnesium levels were correlated with both temporary and permanent “threshold shifts” (threshold being the quietest sound detectable in a hearing test) convinced me that this was worth a try. It’s easier to order Magnesium pills from Amazon, receive them the next day than to go through the whole palava of blood tests. Was not altogether surprised that, after taking 400mg (2 capsules) by the next day the symptoms were radically improved. In fact neither cars nor brusque noises in the kitchen bothered me. A win.
So, what to make of the thread above. My hypothesis is that, with low Magnesium levels my ears were not able to adapt to “loud” sounds (by raising the threshold level, so to speak). So even quiet sounds were quite loud to me (which was great for appreciating the resonant frequencies of a harpsichord!). My further hypothesis is that HQplayer with the given settings and DAC really was producing some “loud” sounds at high frequencies that healthy ears would have successfully attenuated. But my ears were unable to reduce the impact that those high frequencies had. With the result that I now have some (mild) tinnitus. (And my hearing is perhaps not quite as good as before.) Higher in this thread there was mention of “listening fatigue”. That is perhaps a different reference to the fact that there are sounds that we do not hear directly (and therefore reduce with the volume control) but which can have a cumulative effect upon our ears. Possibly they are at higher frequencies.
Another way of looking at it is that my low Magnsesium levels perhaps turned me into a sensitive listening device, a sort of canary in a coal mine that draws attention to a signal too weak cause alarm, yet potentially important.
Eventually would like to do some more tests. First must understand my ears, what they are capable of, how they react to existing system. Then when have that baseline go try another, known, approved DAC.
I’d also recommend visiting an ear specialist and getting a comprehensive hearing test
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Hyperacusis can accompany noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus. I have had all three for over 30 years, but the hyperacusis has resolved somewhat. There is not much that can be done for tinnitus, but I take vitamin B that seems to help a little. Placebo??
Can you remind which DAC you use, which filters you liked and which you didn’t like? From memory some combinations made your symptoms worse?
And now?
Details in the thread above will be more reliable than my memory. But was using ESS 9026 and ESS 9018 (chips) based DACs. As I recall problems were most apparent when converting to DSD (my preferred). I loved the result, the volume was adjusted correctly (and on the low side) but my ears were signalling a problem. On the one hand it’s now apparent they were hypersensitive because of Magnesium deficiency. On the other hand they were being sensitive to SOMETHING. Since my DACs are not preferred or recommended (and I’m the only one complaining) it’s additionally possible there’s an issue there. Am eager to try another DAC but first of all must see if the existing DACs create problems now Magnesium levels are OK. This is tricky because a) there is residual tinnitus (whose presence is magnified psychologically once one starts listening intently); b) obviously I don’t want to risk any further damage, so must look for subtle effects from small amounts of listening rather than large doses of sound; If can establish a baseline will then take gear to a dealer and try with other DAC. If there is still a problem, if it is DAC related then will buy new DAC + lifetime Roon and HQplayer licences.
Incidentally it’s quite easy to do basic hearing tests with a tone generator on laptop and an app offering frequency analysis on phone. That way you can a) confirm on phone that generated tone is present and strong; b) confirm with your ears the extent that you can hear it (initially I doubted maybe computer speakers couldn’t generate higher frequencies!!). As a kid I once had a hearing test and there was one note audiologist tested that just seemed to go on forever: turns out I was listening to her fridge in the next room 
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So has the improvement since taking magnesium been daily? I know you wrote the next day was a big improvement but what about day 2, 3 etc. And how many days has it been now? The issue never came back ?
Time to return to DSD
The problem of being hypersensitive to noise (passing cars, bangs in the kitchen, people talking loudly, power tools, radios etc) seemed to be “fixed” after just one dose of Magnesium. But obviously I continued to take Magnesium for a while afterwards to build up bodily reserves / blood serum levels. And now take it occasionally (eat relatively little meat and do have malabsorption issues due (IMHO) to microbiome having risen a bit high in the small intestine).
This pattern of “one dose changes everything when you’re running on empty” have experienced in other domains, most notably Vitamin B12 and Zinc.
Despite a fix for hypersensitivity having been found I put the music / audiophilia on hold in order to rest the ears, so to speak. Now, six months on am starting to experiment. It never was a problem listening without HQplayer and it seems that it is not a problem now. It seems I still enjoy music very much. Short test also confirm that listening with HQplayer is still a MUCH BETTER EXPERIENCE. Both in terms of what I can hear and in terms of how I respond to the music itself. What is not yet apparent is whether there might be any negative consequences, whether, though no longer hypersensitive, my ears might still complain about this signal chain (perhaps because have the wrong DAC?). Will take it gently.
Just be careful not to turn up volume too much… Cleaner sound may lead to listening louder as louder doesn’t become annoying as easily… And dynamic peaks may get 3 dB higher due to avoiding clipped inter-sample overs, which also contributes to cleaner sound. Although 3 dB is not so much.
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I don’t have time to read all comments above but a quick browse shows that the culprit seems to be assigned to high frequencies. I have two 18" subs that according to the manufacturer should always have their 20Hz high pass filter turned on. I tried without one day and found that they sounded much more natural that way, so I left it. It wasn’t until I listened for a while that I found there was pressure on my ears that was clearly coming from the subs, but was too low in frequency to be audible. I ended up turning the subs down in volume so now I have the best of both worlds.
Long story short; could it be low, rather than high frequencies that cause the ringing?
I’m not a doctor, but I think you have hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. This is a medical issue, not a music playback system issue. You need to see a licensed ENT to diagnose whatever is going on and why. In the meantime, protect your ears from high volume sounds from any source and any frequency.
About the only thing you can do for tinnitus is masking with a white noise machine by your bed to help you sleep. Tinnitus is loudest at night in a quiet bedroom with your ear on the pillow. There can be other causes for tinnitus including certain medications a person might be taking, etc. If tinnitus is in only one ear, there can be some other causes that need to be diagnosed.
See an ENT.
That said, if you never hear it when away from your music system, then maybe it’s not tinnitus at all, but the hyperacusis symptoms go hand in hand with tinnitus and high frequency hearing loss.
Mine is at 4000 hz, in both ears, and constant for 30 or 40 years now. It is no fun, but you do learn to deal with it.
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The provocation being inaudible, it COULD be low frequency. However I’m using Electrostatic Headphones that are notoriously bad at lower frequencies, even audible ones! Also remember noticing ears responding disagreeably during sustained higher pitches, such as a soprano holding a note (despite perceptible volume being lowish).
My hypersensitivity was fixed by taking Magnesium pills. Such tinnitus as I now have is mild. Personally I tend to stay away from experts unless there is a real expectation they might be able to do something.