Fear not. I am putting ReserveCache in a [startup] section. It's just that when I put it at the start of the config it buggered things up. It's now at the end and the player is working fine.

Same problems with emphatic, though. I have ReserveCache set to 48 and I still get just the menu outline but can't see the options.

Emphatic issues (starting from track info mode) - choose emphatic off Hijack menu.
Track info shows but is static even though track still plays.
Push knob button first - nothing. No buttons work except for pause (and off).
Off and on gets me back to track info and buttons work but emphatic no longer loaded.

Looks like I'm gonna have to be doing a few tests of different scenarios. That's my sad Friday evening in alone sorted.