just to follow up with an earlier query, i removed 1.5 GB worth of non-essential stuff (x11, python, development packages et cetera) and there was a very noticeable increase in sound quality. this is such a sensational little headless device now and thanks again to all involved
thanks heiner. i know max2play is as lightweight as it gets. Thanks for putting together a truly amazing tool. my intention was -and perhaps i am not alone in this endeavor- to go the extra mile to tweak the OS further and make the Rpi a purist 2-channel only streamer. I have tweaked the relevant conf file, set a new default device, took out plugequal and resampling, all with good results. What I have not done/could not do yet is:
• Disable multichannel (I still have under audio player surround 21, surround 40, surround 41 etc)
• Disable multi-room
• Disable video
• I cannot assess if kodi for instance auto starts services. If it does I want to disable them because I do not use kodi