Had the great pleasure of hosting Ed Hsu (Eurodriver) the last few days in my music room. Ed came to upgrade the SSD capacity on my SGM2015 server.
But of greater significance, Ed upgraded my HQPlayer software to the latest 3.16.0 version and we were able to test a new filter (poly-sinc-xtr) with four DACs: Nagra HD, Aqua Formula, Pacific Microsonics model 2, and the Playback Designs MPS-5.
The new poly-sinc-xtr filter was a revelation. Optimizing the settings for each DAC raised the level of performance for all four DACs (whether PCM or DSD centric) in my system by an order of magnitude relative to their corresponding prior baselines.
These were not subtle differences. Each DAC produced jaw-dropping differences that required only a software change in the SGM/HQPlayer software - a zero marginal cost that was equivalent to a major component change. And that is taking into account that my system was already what I personally considered to be an already high level of performance.
Of course, the results will vary by system. And it appears that the level of improvement is directly related at least in part to the signal/noise in a system.
I have seen and heard the future of digital - at least in my system. And it lies in the SGM/HQPlayer combo - an utterly reliable and flexible digital server that is guaranteed to stay ahead of the curve due to its inherent upgradability; a platform that is overdesigned for performance and low-noise; and its DAC agnostic framework.
The SGM/HQPlayer combo can be optimized to deliver the best sound quality that a DAC can provide in the specific context of the surrounding system components and the user's sonic preferences. Something that no traditional transport can do easily.
Thank you Edward for a delightful visit that raised the performance level of my system by a very positive order of magnitude. It is always a pleasure.