I’m hopeless at that kind of fine distinction. I think the most I can say is that I haven’t swapped back, so something in me is liking it.
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Thanks for being nice and not just saying it like it is - that I really am just going bonkers 
The sad fact of the matter is I’m currently listening off-axis and in a connected room, so haven’t properly done any A/B. I’ll probably do it tomorrow.
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I have tested the EXT2 filter and unlike you guys I do experience an upward shift in the midrange that I am not fond of . For me this filter creates some unbalance inn the midrange.
My overall favorite is poly-sinc-xtr-lp(dsd256). On my gear I even prefer this above dsd512 poly-sinc-xtr-lp-2s. I am feeling (more than hearing) just a little bit more weight/pressure(?) with 1 step XTR.
I immediatelly admit I would not be able to pass any listening test, blind or not🤔
Another filter I do like is ClosedForm but this depends more from specific album quality.
Overall XTR is bringing most of my albums almost on par in a good way. Excellent albums sounding excellent , lower quality albums are ‘improved’.
The more I read about filtering and upsampling, the LESS I seem to understand. I really do not get a grip on the big differences in perceived sound ‘color’ and quality.
Dirk
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I stay away from A/B’ing these days. It causes me too much anxiety
Based on memory and feeling (dodgy, I know) I feel there is more depth to parts of songs that I am familiar with, where I never noticed anything special about depth before.
Still curious to know if you notice anything later.
Like you, I don’t feel tempted to change filter also. Less fiddling and more music listening is always great.
Hi Dirk, what are the specs of your HQP machine?
Have you tried the non-2s DSD512 version or is that too much for your HQP machine?
And what DAC, if you don’t mind me asking?
Cheers, sean.
I have a Pinkfaun 2.16 streamer with an (upgraded) AMD 2600 Rizen processor (8 real cores and 8 virtual cores, base processor speed 3,7Ghz) + 32Gb RAM.
1 * 250Gb SSD for OS and applications, 1 * 4gb SSD for music .
OS is Audiolinux. Machine is headless, so no GPU.
I have tried non-2s DSD512, but only with poly-sinc-xtr-lp . Music is stuttering although processor load is about 35% (to be multiplied by 2 due to virtual cores, dixit Miska)
I did no test the lighter versions of poly-sinc.
Reason hereto is that I have a T+A 8 DSD dac, making use of an Amanero USB interface. With Native Linux , the Amanero USB does not work reliably with DSD512 (whatever the filter).
I am running now with an Amanero firmware (1099c with CLPD1080) that works flawlessly with DSD256
Dirk
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Nice Dirk!
Fantastic DAC there.
I hope DAC8 DSD users get stable DSD512 Linux support one day (those that prefer DSD512). It seems like the work continues by Amanero (it hasn’t stopped) so that’s a positive.
That’s all I’ve been waiting for, to commit to the DAC8 DSD. Once Jussi says it is good to go with HQP Embedded at DSD512 (once he’s tested personally himself) I’m all in.
I have tested DSD512 with firmware 2005be, working fine for 98% of the time, but not 100%.
And this firmware only supports DSD, no PCM.
I believe with this Dac, the filter type has more impact on perceived SQ than DSD256/512.
With Windows the Dac has no problems whatsoever with DSD512.
I was using a dedicated Win10 pc with jriver before, but I really was fed up with updates and other issues.
With the flawless integration of Qobuz into Roon, I am extremely happy with my system.
I really do not care for the ‘numbers’ anymore, as it will not stop anyway ( DSD1024,…)
Just would like to get a better understanding about filters impacting sound
Dirk
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I am using a DirectStream DAC and I have HQPlayer Embedded setup to upsample PCM content to the DAC’s max PCM rate of 24/352.8. I am using the poly-sinc-xtr-lp filter and the NS5 noise shaper. This is my favorite setup.
I have tried the ext2 filter but it doesn’t have the fullness that the xtr filter has. The difference is small but I do notice it over time.
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Hi, i’ve also updated DAC8 DSD Amanero USB firmware to 1099c:
Perfectly stable up to DSD256 (“native”) , no more “clicks” when switching PCM / DSD modes in DoP playback, SQ is much better than DSD128 (DoP) !
I am satisfied and much less impatient and anxious on Amanero ability to fix DSD512 with Linux.
However not enough power from my I5 6260 CPU to use HQP XTR filter (even -2s version when playing 24/48 source). I will have to upgrade my server HW.