What is the point of this discussion when we don't even have the same set of filters to compare?

My understanding the only filter missing from the AKM dac is brickwall, can you share your favourite filter if any and why? Thank you.

I have ADI-2/4 Pro SE (ESS) and the 1st. Gen. ADI-2 Pro silverface (AKM).

The filters choices available on ADI-2 DAC (AKM and ESS) are a bit different to the Pro’s.
Even same named filters on AKM and ESS are in fact different, either.
This is documented in the manuals, which have the charts for each model.

Finally it’s best advice to listen and find out what’s one’s personal favorite.
A lot of people e.g. seem to like (or tolerate) the foggy aliasing artifacts the NOS filter produces - the opposite of “black background”, admittedly combined with a perfect phase- and impulse-response.
To each his own, and the preferred music style is an additional factor that shouldn’t been underestimated.

Just keep in mind: the filter’s audible effects are subtle and best evaluated at 44.1 kHz sample rate.

Upsampling to higher SR’s BTW doesn’t circumvent the filter question, it just “bakes” the upsampler’s filters into the file.

There are opinions that offline upsampling can be superior to realtime, as longer filter coefficients can be used.
Take this with a grain of salt, I’ve not further evaluated this, aside from practically using high quality offline resampling in my recording studio if necessary.

Still, physics say that frequency-, phase- and impulse-response are inseparable linked together.
You can’t change one without effecting the others.
Filters just differently balance the compromise between these three.

Once an analog source ist digitized with a certain sample rate, what’s removed can’t be brought back.