Thanks. A bit mire than I wanted to pay, but was the first class D where the reviewer had nothing to say. No flavor, just an amp. Compared to all the previous class D I have heard, that is a huge advance! It was well reviewed by Amirm's bench measurements.
Applying something close to the Walker Curve has proved it is more a matter of the room and eq than DAC. Not completely but largely. The right answer may be adding a choke to the tweeter. Give me a first order LP @ 4000 or 6000. Maybe switchable. 4-5-6 and forgo the host based mess. The LF corrections were al less than a couple DB. Audible but hard to say which is correct.
Digging into FOOBAR to test WASAPI on the D30. Found out everything is add-ins. It may do what I want if I can dig deep enough.
Another thread said post Vista/7, Windows does not screw up the audio path, so using the default or Topping driver and APO is fine. No reason to load the WASAPI or ASIO plugins for Foobar/Jriver/ etc. with Voicemeter. But still contradictory if I should say 16 , 24 or 32 bits to give Windows the "room" to play. Pretty consistent on picking the correct sample rate. I THINK, WASAPI makes that correct dynamically.
Waiting to see if it stutters again. So far today has been fine. The files it failed on the other day played fine. I don't want to blame the DAC if it was the PC.
No one has piped in with what I don't get if I run the generic Windows driver. In reality, for CD and maybe some HD files, what is the D30 buying me? Through cans, I can hear a tiny difference in super low level detail, but not through the speakers and that is what I want it for. I do get remote volume. Don't need the Schiit as a preamp, but lose it as a head amp. Don't listen to cans anyway except on my desk for Y-tubes in the morning when the wife is asleep. Maybe I am wrong, but all the super duper features only apply if I go to some streaming services for insane bit and sample rates or the ugly MPQ. Whatever the DSD something is.
If I never need past 24/96, does it matter?
Is the volume done in the digital domain, or is it a chip in the analog?
I think I am still confirming, once one reaches a "decent" DAC, differences sonically are tiny. Would a Gustard or Cord actually sound different through speakers? An R2R? Granted, there are a lot that do sound different. Worse. And some are very expensive!
Well, I need to listen some more. Maybe another Brown Betty Heff. Interesting ale, not the usual Heff. Strong wheat note on the nose, but not in the flavor. I want something crisp but not as sweet as Blue Moon or as dry as Hoppium.