I don't think there is a single person on this forum who knows about using OS/2 as an audio player.
I have experience using various Linux and windows builds:
Daphile-probably the first and easiest option to learn, has a classic sound of any Linux system, slightly seasoned with the softness of the LMS, on which it is actually built.
Volumio
SnakeOilOS
BlackOS
AudioLinux
RoonRock
HQPlayer (NAA)
...
Basically, all Linux systems have a common sound signature. The main focus on detail, at the expense of consistency and fusion of the canvas, there is also a certain amount of compression. Vocals are slightly constrained and not as natural as for example it is presented by Windows builds for audio using optimizations.
Under Windows, it is a little more difficult to download something that initially works and is ready. But the result of refining Windows for audio applications inspires me more. Yes, it is more difficult to figure out which parameter in the OS affects the aspect of sound, but initially the sound is just slightly slow and muddy. Unlike Linux, which even on a fully linear power supply manages to cut my ears.
OS/2... well.. this is not just another build of some OS you know. No... not even close.
Its core is written in IBM for military, space needs, and the banking sector, a long time ago, it was optimized and compiled in assembler, most drivers are written in low-level languages and work with hardware without layers of abstraction.
(By the way. Windows, from version NT 3.5 onwards, uses parts of the OS2 core at its core. )
now this OS is being brought up to modern standards by the ArcaNoae team under an IBM license.
I have it running on a fairly well-known Supermicro x10sba motherboard with full LPSU and surpasses such streamers as Soundaware D300REF, DCS Bridge, Auralic G2... The first I own myself, the second and third I took for a while.
I support the development of a free PM123 player for this OS, which allows you to play any type of file in any resolution, including DSD 1024. This player also allows you to control playback via the UPNP protocol, so that the computer can be used in headless mode.
For example, I use Jriver as a media server, it is installed on a separate computer, there is also a separate NAS server with music storage, and it is managed on a tablet via the iOS version of Jremote. I really like the functionality and convenience.
Currently, USB audio drivers allow you to connect converters based on XMOS, Amanero, PCM, and ARM architecture to the system. Almost all popular types of converters and DACs work with this OS without problems.
The developers of the Audio stack, free programmers, are not from the ArcaNoae staff, but they try to quickly make corrections to support new devices.
The main qualities of this OS include: Speed, accuracy in transmitting complex rhythms, Dynamic range (the ability to show the scene on a single canvas behind a precisely worked-out main image, a lot of nuances from the supporting parts and quiet sounds, without drawing attention to them). This OS is characterized by a General analogous presentation without signs of digital processing: listeners often note the similarity of the source on ArcaOS with the sound of the master tape, deep, slightly dark.
I apologize for the long post, I got carried away