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    The Computer Audiophile

    Computer Audiophile Pocket Server - C.A.P.S.

    m10_shot2-s.jpgOver the last several months I've researched different combinations of motherboards, computer cases, audio cards, and accessories that go along with these components. The goal of all this research was to put together a hardware and software music server solution that I would actually use and the Computer Audiophile readers could actually use. I would do the leg work, test & listen to everything, and provide the information for CA readers to put together the exact same music server. This sounds somewhat simple until one considers all the requirements that go into such an audiophile solution. Great sound, great looking, no moving parts, silent, fairly inexpensive, and 100% of the components must be available today. Along the way this server was named the Pocket Server by a colleague who was very surprise at its small size when I pulled it out of my carry-on luggage. The server is a bit larger today than it was at that time but the name hasn't changed. What follows is the story of the Computer Audiophile Pocket Server and all the information required to recreate the $1,500 C.A.P.S solution.

     

     

     

    Jack of All Trades Master of None

     

    Like many audiophiles I am never satisfied with the status quo. The status quo in computer based audio is to purchase a Windows based PC or a Macintosh, plug it in, and let 'er rip. That type of a solution works wonderful for the vast majority of the world's population and it's one I recommend frequently when the situation arises. Moving beyond the status quo many audiophiles including myself customize standard Macs and PCs until they're satisfied with the sound quality. This customization still does not address many of the issues inherent in a machine built for general computing and is often like polishing a turd. The CA Pocket Server Project began with a completely blank whiteboard. This way I had no turds to polish or in audiophile terms I had no jitter to clean up from the start. It's always better to build a fanless system rather than install inches of acoustical foam, fight with noise, and worry about other issues related to fans. That's the general thought process I used to approach this project. Plus, the always pertinent acronym K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid.

     

     

     

    Requirements

     

    The Computer Audiophile Pocket Server requirements were non-negotiable. I had to satisfy these requirements or the project would be a failure. I also elected to use many components that I haven't already discussed. I didn't want to rehash The Zalman or hFX based music servers I wrote about in 2008 and 2009. Those servers are still great, but don't meet all the C.A.P.S. requirements.

     

    • Absolutely silent.
    • Capable of great sound.
    • Great looking.
    • No moving parts.
    • Fairly inexpensive.
    • No legacy components.
    • Easy to operate.
      • Directly or
      • Remotely
    • Easy to assemble / install
    • Assembly / installation by one's self or
    • Assembly / installation by local computer shop, son, daughter, neighbor, or friend.
    • Small size.
    • Low power consumption.
    • Low heat.
    • Accept an add-in card for audio or additional capabilities. Hardware & Software must accept appropriate add-in cards.
    • Play 16/44.1, 24/44.1, 24/88.2, 24/96, 24/176.4, and 24/192 all bit perfect.

     

     

     

     

    Operating System

     

    The first step in the process was to test different operating systems. I rules out previous versions of Windows, including the apparent audiophile standard XP, because they were not current. Copies of Windows XP (OEM) are still floating around some of the online shops, but I was ready to retire XP anyway. That left Windows 7 as the Microsoft based candidate. Building a Mac OS X based machine (Hackintosh) is of no interest to me as it violates the Terms Of Service of OS X and is more of a tweaker's system than most audiophiles are willing to accept. Beyond the mainstream consumer operating systems I used used a variant of Berkeley Unix called FreeBSD in addition to a few distributions of Linux. I ruled out FreeBSD fairly quickly. After using it for a few hours as a music server I concluded FreeBSD was better left to host web servers and other business type applications. I am very fond of FreeBSD and I really wanted to like it as a music server OS but squeezing a square peg in a round hole wasn't a goal of the CA Pocket Server Project. I spent much more time researching and using Linux based operating systems than all the others combined. As I said at RMAF 2009, and I still believe today, Linux is the future for music servers. The only caveat is Linux requires quite a bit of knowledge to setup as a music server. The amount of knowledge required is a show-stopper for 99% of the Earth's population let alone analog loving audiophiles. However, if I could satisfy the C.A.P.S. requirements I was willing to attempt writing an extremely thorough how-to Linux guide for CA readers to build this music server. The Linux based operating systems I used are Debian Linux, Voyage Linux, Puppy Linux, Arch Linux, openSUSE, Ubuntu Studio, and probably a couple more that I can't remember at this time. The final selection of an operating system for the C.A.P.S. server came down to Windows 7 and Voyage Linux.

     

     

    Voyage Linux is an incredibly small operating system. It can fit on a tiny USB memory stick, compact flash drive, or any hard drive currently available. The initial installation requires about 128 Megabytes of disk space, not to be confused with 128 Gigabytes. Voyage installs as a barebones operating system. The user must add or update audio features such as Music Player Daemon (MPD), Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA), and other tools like NCMPC and Minion. There are countless options when using Linux. This is a great thing for most Linux users but can be overwhelming to those trying it for the first time. I forced myself to use Voyage Linux for many weeks. Without the option to jump over to a Mac or Windows based server one can become very well versed in Linux music servers. On the contrary one can quit using a Linux music server due to frustration if one doesn't have the necessary time and skills to work through problems. The Voyage based system I setup satisfied all but three of the stated C.A.P.S. requirements. Requirements 7,12, and 13 were constant battles. I tried a few different audio cards and had varying levels of success with each of them. I used an ESi MAYA44 and RME 9632 for much of the time. I was unable to pass 24/176.4 digital audio out of the ESi MAYA44. The MAYA44 data sheets proclaim support up to 24/192, but the user manual states clearly on page 34, "Sample rate supports : 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, (192)kHz *Coaxial Output only." Without 24/176.4 the MAYA44 card failed the requirement. The RME 9632 audio card was a different story. About 100 hours into the configuration nightmare I was able to pass bit perfect audio on all required sample rates. Configuring the RME 9632 in Linux was extremely frustrating. There are bits and pieces of outdated user generated documentation all over the Internet. If there is demand I will create my definitive guide to the RME 9632 on Linux. There are software, firmware, and hardware incompatibilities to work through. I'm really happy I put in the time to make it work on the C.A.P.S. server as I learned quite a bit in the process. Once I had the card working on all the required sample rates I still had problems changing sample rates on the fly when I switched audio tracks. I could not get this to work no matter what I tried. I did create scripts to change sample rates but each one had to be called up via command line before playing a track that required a sample rate change. This mix of problems is what lead me to exclude Linux from the list of possible operating systems. Requirements 12 and 13 combined equate to a system that is not easy to use. Audio cards with Linux support that also support the required sample rates are few and far between. The cards that do exist are not user friendly enough for most people to use on a daily basis. Canned servers, that one can purchase off the shelf, based on Linux and cards such as the RME 9632, RME HDSP AES-32, Lynx AES16 (with OSS drivers), or even the ESi Juli@ card have a bright future. Creating this type of solution at home for one's self is not for the average audiophile seeking to listen to music rather than fiddle with a computer. That said, I continue to use Linux in my listening room next to my other servers.

     

     

     

    Note: The ESi Juli@ card supports all the required sample rates but can be very hard to obtain. I was unable to procure one during the several months of this project. Even with a Juli@ card a Linux based solution still does not meet the C.A.P.S. requirements.

     

     

    <b>Windows 7</b> satisfies all of the software based requirements. It is capable of great sound, it's a current OS, easy to operate and install, works with more hardware than any other OS, and is capable of bit perfect playback at all required sample rates when configured properly. I selected the more efficient 32-bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate as the operating system of choice for the C.A.P.S. server. More than anything the 64-bit version ruled itself out because of the minimum hardware requirements for a 64-bit OS. I could not use the hardware I wanted and still use the 64-bit version of Windows 7. Even if the hardware supported 64-bit Windows 7 I still think I would use the 32-bit version. There are no benefits to using a 64-bit operating system on the C.A.P.S. server. I selected J River Media Center 14 as the playback and library management application for the C.A.P.S. server. MC 14 has become my new go-to Windows based music application because of its features, flexibility, and bit perfect playback.

     

     

     

     

    Hardware

     

    The motherboard is the most critical component of the C.A.P.S. server. Without the right motherboard most of the requirements can't met. Readers not schooled in computer hardware should know a motherboard is the main board to which everything in a computer connects. The motherboard dictates what CPU can be used, how much memory can be used, how many and what type of hard drives can be used, and everything else that goes together to build a working computer. The first criterion I used to determine the best motherboard for the C.A.P.S. server was number four, no moving parts. There are many methods to eliminate moving parts from a motherboard such as the addition of passive cooling used in servers based on the Zalman TNN300 or hFX chassis. Adding passive or active cooling only increases complexity. I wanted a motherboard with no moving parts out of the box. Such a motherboard had to include passive cooling as part of the board's design. This requirement reduced the number of qualifying motherboards down to a handful. I had previously built a Linux based music sever using a motherboard from the swiss company PC Engines. These boards are very small, have incredibly low power requirements, but have too many limitations for the C.A.P.S. server. PCI slots, memory slots, hard drive capabilities, and operating system limitations were too much to overcome. One capability I really like using with a current PC Engines board I have is Power over Ethernet (PoE). This board receives all its power via an Ethernet cable. It's a nice bonus in the aesthetics department when one can remove the power cable from a component. After much research and testing I selected the mini-itx Intel D945GSEJT motherboard for the C.A.P.S. server (Photo 1)(Photo 2). This board has a built-in, non-removable, Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz CPU that is passively cooled with low profile attached heat sinks. No CPU fan required. The Intel D945GSEJT has two SATA hard drive ports. Connecting standard SATA solid state hard drives (SSD) eliminates another source of moving parts from the server. Spinning hard drives are a source for noise, greater power requirements, increased heat, and can limit the computer case options. One feature that elevates the Intel D945GSEJT motherboard above others is the built-in full size PCI slot. This satisfies the requirement for add-in audio cards or additional capabilities. By additional capabilities I am talking about a PCI FireWire card to connect a FireWire DAC or FireWire hard drive for people using USB DACs.

     

    <img src="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/psu.jpg" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" align="left">Power requirement for the Intel D945GSEJT is very flexible. One can use a traditional computer power supply that connects to the board's 2x2 power port. These traditional power supplies are rarely fanless, rarely silent, and can decrease the number of computer case options due to mounting requirements. The Intel D945GSEJT also accepts an external 12 volt power supply similar to most laptops on the market. A silent fanless external power brick was easily my choice to power the C.A.P.S. server.

     

     

    Other notable features of the Intel D945GSEJT include on-board S/PDIF digital audio output headers. Header is another term for pins on the motherboard to which one can connect devices. This output supports 16/44.1, 24/48, and 24/96 sample rates. A special cable is required <a href="" class="thickbox" rel="C.A.P.S-Cable">(Photo 1)</a> <a href="" class="thickbox" rel="C.A.P.S-Cable">(https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/IMG_0080.JPG)</a> to use this S/PDIF output as there are no built-in S/PDIF ports. A full-mini PCI Express slot is available for wireless cards or other devices like a hardware decoder to increase video playback capabilities. One of the USB headers on the D945GSEJT can be used for an eUSB solid state drive. I purchased an eight GB eUSB drive for this server <a href="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/atp-8gb.png" class="thickbox" rel="C.A.P.S-eUSB">(Photo 1)</a> <a href="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/atp-8gb-measurements.gif" class="thickbox" rel="C.A.P.S-eUSB">(Photo 2)</a>, but did not use it with the Windows 7 installation. Windows 7 will not install to a USB drive even if it's placed directly on the motherboard. I have installed Linux to this tiny drive without any issues. An underrated feature of small mini-itx motherboards is the network speed capabilities. Many small boards only contain 10/100 Mbps network cards. The Intel D945GSEJT has an on-board 10/100/1000 Mbps card commonly referred to as a gigabit Ethernet card.

     

     

    <img src="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/sodimm2gb.jpg" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" align="left">The maximum amount of random access memory <b>(RAM)</b> the Intel D945GSEJT will accept is two GB in its only memory slot. The decision to use two GB of RAM doesn't require any thought or further discussion here. Just add to cart, it's cheap. Selecting a hard drive to meet the no moving parts requirement is easy if one has unlimited funds. Fortunately Solid State Drives <b>(SSD)</b> continue to decrease in price every week. At the time of this writing an OCZ Vertex Turbo 60GB SSD is $219. This is not the exact drive I used in the C.A.P.S. server but it's contains the same amount of disk space as the one I used. If I were putting together the C.A.P.S. server today I would purchase the OCZ drive previously mentioned. There is currently no way store most people's music collections on local solid state hard drives. The available sizes just aren't large enough without spending thousands of dollars on convoluted PCI/e SSD devices. That's why I selected a 60GB SSD. Most music must be stored elsewhere. My music is located on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. If an external spinning USB or FireWire drive is necessary then so be it. At least C.A.P.S. server is free from internal moving parts for now. In the future it will be possible to house all one's music locally on solid state storage.

     

    <b>Audio card</b> selection for the C.A.P.S. server was fairly easy for me, a Lynx AES16. I am a strong supporter of the Lynx AES16 PCI card for its sound quality and its advanced capabilities. The Lynx enables one to use an external clocking device and supports dual wire AES. I used both of these features during the <i>d</i>CS component review. Along with the Lynx AES16 card I also recommend a custom cable from a place like Redco. Redco will make a cable with only one or two AES wires and a clock wire if desired for about $60. That said, there are many more audio cards available. I hesitate to say it but I did use the Merging Technologies Mykerinos card and Pyramix software on the C.A.P.S. server for a few weeks. Wonderful sound, but it doesn't meet many of the requirements of this project. An audio card I would really like to use in the C.A.P.S. server is the ASUS Xonar Essence St. I currently have the STX PCIe version that will not work in the C.A.P.S. server as it doesn't have a PCIe slot. A few weeks ago ASUS provided me a prerelease ASIO driver for the STX card. I was very pleased to see the card now outputting bit perfect audio at 16/44.1, 24/96, and 24/192. According to ASUS 24/88.2 and 24/176.4 support will be part of the final ASIO driver version. The reason I mention all of this about a card that won't work in the C.A.P.S. server is because this driver also works for the ST PCI version of the Xonar Essence card. Since I haven't heard the ST version I can't comment on the sound quality. However if the quality is similar to the STX version with the new ASIO driver I will highly recommend the ASUS Xonar Essence ST card and consider it a great option for the C.A.P.S. server. The ST PCI version of the card is available for around $200 at many online stores.

     

     

    During this project I researched a countless number of <b>computer cases</b>. I'm glad I did the research, but I could have saved all that time by selecting the case I originally wanted from day one of the project. The Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10 computer case was clearly the best case for the C.A.P.S. server. Audiophiles not only like great sound, we like excellent build quality and products that look just as good as our audio components. The all aluminum (5mm) Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10 case meets or exceeds all the requirements set out for the C.A.P.S. server. The case ships with a 60mm fan, but it's only required if the internal components need additional air flow. I never took the fan out of the box. The M10 is built for a mini-itx motherboard such as the Intel D945GSEJT. Installation is very simple. Origen<sup>ae</sup> provides the four required screws to attach the board to the bottom of the case. The 2.5" 60GB SSD selected for the C.A.P.S. server screws easily onto the inside panel right next to the SATA power and data cable ports on the motherboard <a href="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/IMG_0077.JPG" class="thickbox" rel="C.A.P.S-SSD">(Photo)</a>. Also included is a mountable tray to hold a slim slot-loading CD/DVD drive. I didn't install such a drive as I wanted to keep things very simple and I had no need for an internal CD/DVD drive. I used a USB CD/DVD drive to install Windows and I use a different computer to rip my CDs to the easily accessible NAS device. If I did install a DVD drive I would select the Pioneer DVR-TS08 slim slot-loading SATA drive for under $60. The M10 case features a very nice looking front display and hidden infrared sensor. I was unable to utilize these features because the Intel D945GSEJT motherboard has a power incompatibility with the M10. The M10 ships with its own 150 watt external power supply but I was unable to make it work with the Intel D945GSEJT motherboard. The D945GSEJT would not accept power via the 2x2 connector and the internal case electronics required a 20/24 pin motherboard connection, that the D945GSEJT doesn't have, to function properly. This incompatibility may have a silver lining. Audiophiles are always seeking ways to turn off unneeded features or capabilities and frequently use single purpose components such as a DAC with separate power supply or separate external clock. Turning off a component's display is nothing new to audiophiles either. This time there is no option to turn the display on or use the included remote control. I don't know if the lack of these features reduces any electrical noise inside the case but I'm willing to bet an argument could be made in support of such a reduction. Again, this is strictly because I selected a motherboard that was not 100% compatible with the M10 case. I've read other reports of these features working very well. In fact with a compatible motherboard it would be possible to control applications like J River Media Center via the infrared remote control. The Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10 case supports half-hight PCI cards sitting vertically in the motherboard's PCI slot. I placed an ASUS Xonar HDAV 1.3 Slim card into the PCI slot and it lined up perfectly with the hole to screw the card into place stabilizing it with the unique internal metal frame of the case. The M10 can also accommodate full size PCI cards like the Lynx AES16 and ASUS Xonar Essence ST by use of a PCI riser card <a href="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/IMG_0076.JPG" class="thickbox" rel="C.A.P.S-Riser">(Photo)</a>. A PCI riser card simply enables the PCI card to mount horizontally instead of its native vertical placement. I know of no detrimental effects by using such a riser card. I was initially concerned about heat dissipation as most of the motherboard rests underneath the horizontally mounted Lynx AES16 card. Thus far I've yet to experience any heat related issues. I've even listened to four hours straight of 24/176.4 HRx material outputting dual wire AES to a DAC without a single hiccup and the M10 case is cool to the touch. Inside the case the Lynx AES16 card is no hotter than any other installation I've seen. The bottom of the Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10 case features four metal with rubber bottom feet. The feet are tall enough to allow placement of the case on short carpeting and the rubber bottom of the feet enable one to place the case on any surface without scratching. I currently place the M10 case on carpet in my listening room instead of behind a wall where my other music servers reside. The case looks very nice and I have no reason to hide such a component. This placement also allows me to use short AES cables from my Lynx AES16 card to my DAC. Overall I don't consider the power incompatibility an issue. I would purchase this case without the extra features were it available in such a configuration. Plus, I personally user remote desktop for control of the server and wouldn't use the IR receiver or front panel anyway.

     

    <img src="https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/images/graphics/2010/0208/imo_touch.png" style="padding: 5pt 10pt 7pt 5pt;" align="left">Use of a <b>monitor</b> is not something I normally consider with my music servers. The Intel D945GSEJT does have analog DSUB and digital DVI video outputs. One of these is certainly required for system setup and could continue to be used if necessary. Seeking to add something extra to the C.A.P.S. server I contacted the nice people at Mimo. A few days later an iMo 7" Pivot Touch USB monitor arrived at my door. On paper or computer screen this touchscreen monitor seems too good to be true for only $199. Unfortunately it is too good to be true. I used the iMo 7" Pivot Touch on Windows and Mac system before concluding it wasn't my cup of tea. Connected to the C.A.P.S. server I had nothing but trouble using this little touchscreen. Initial setup wasn't very smooth, but I was eventually able to see my desktop on the iMo. Next I went through all the calibration steps to fine tune the touchscreen. Calibration is pretty simple, but when it came to actual use the iMo was a nonstarter. If I had infant size fingers I would like the monitor about 10% more than I currently like it. I don't have huge fingers but they are too large to click on a single track easily. Forget about navigating a menu. I had to touch the screen about one inch away from my intended target. This was troubling when I had to touch the lower right corner. My finger needed to be an inch off the screen over the non-touchscreen frame of the monitor. The only good thing I can say about the iMo Pivot Touch 7" touchscreen is that it may work as neat display similar to how Jeff Kalt of Resolution Audio used the non-touchscreen version at CES this year. I do not recommend people purchase this monitor before using it themselves. Needless to say the iMo 7" Pivot Touch did not make the cut to be part of the C.A.P.S. server.

     

     

     

    <b>Comparison</b>

     

    Compared to a Zalman TNN300 based silent music server the C.A.P.S. server comes out very well. The two main benefits of the Zalman baed server are disk space and the ability to use PCI Express cards in addition to PCI cards. The Zalman is also capable of handling more memory. Both servers are absolutely silent with no moving parts. The Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10 based C.A.P.S. server is far more visually appealing than a Zalman TNN300. The Zalman case is no longer manufactured although there are plenty left in the supply chain here in the U.S. The C.A.P.S. server case is $320 and the Zalman TNN300 is $690. Not a single component in the Zalman servers is less expensive than coresponding C.A.P.S. serve component. The C.A.P.S. server (9.5" x 4" x 9.8" w feet, 6.6 lbs.) consumes far less space than a TNN300 (13" x 9" x 18.5" 32.5 lbs.). The CA Pocket Server is an excellent way to use a Lynx card in one's system without planting a huge PC tower next to audio components. I think both the C.A.P.S. and Zalman based servers are capable of similar great sound quality.

     

     

     

    <b>Wrap-Up</b>

     

     

    The Computer Audiophile Pocket Server project was frustrating at times but well worth the time, money, and effort. Make no mistake the C.A.P.S. server will never be a commercial product that benefits Computer Audiophile financially. This server was created to be a great solution for myself and CA readers alike. There are an unlimited number of ways to change this configuration or adjust it to one's personal needs. No single configuration is the right configuration for everyone. Despite some technical terms weaved into the article this is a really easy music server to build as a whole or in part. I know many people who like to dig into projects like this and I also know many people who want nothing to do with a computer project. Fortunately the C.A.P.S. server was created with both groups of people in mind. Using off the shelf parts currently available to anyone CA readers can undertake this project themselves or simply call up a local computer shop and have them put it together. Whether one builds it, buys it, or brushes it off is irrelevant. The Computer Audiophile Pocket Server's purpose is to increase one's enjoyment of our wonderful hobby.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <i>The Computer Audiophile Pocket Server piece by piece</i>

     

    <b>Motherboard</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/d945gsejt">Intel D945GSEJT Johnstown Mini-ITX Motherboard</a> - $109.00</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Power Supply</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/pw_12v6a7">Power Adapter DC 12 V, 80 W</a> - $29.00</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>RAM</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/256msq64v6u">TRANSCEND 256MSQ64V6U SO-DIMM DDR2 667 Memory 2GB</a> - $73.00</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Solid State Drive</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227469&cm_re=ocz_ssd_turbo-_-20-227-469-_-Product">OCZ Vertex Turbo OCZSSD2-1VTXT60G 2.5" 60GB SSD</a> - $219.00</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>PCI Riser</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/bp_pci_jt">PCI Riser Card for D945GSEJT</a> - $10.95</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Digital Audio Card</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://sonore.us/Lynx-AudioCards.html">Lynx AES16 PCI Audio Card</a> - $625</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Custom AES Cable</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.Redco.com">Lynx AES16 Cable</a> - ~$60</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Computer Case</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.shop.perfecthometheater.com/product.sc?productId=201&categoryId=30">Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10</a> - $320</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Music Application</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.jrmediacenter.com/purchase.html">J River Media Center 14</a> - $50</li>

    </ul>

     

     

     

    Other bits and pieces used during the C.A.P.S. Project that did not make the final build.

     

    <b>Hardware Decoder</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/bcm970012">Broadcom BCM970012 - PCIe Mini Card</a> - $59.00</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Solid State Drive</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/fdm44xdi4g">Emphase 44-pin Industrial Flash Disk Module 4 GB - 4000X</a> - $69.00

    (Windows installation too large for 4GB version)</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Solid State Drive</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.memory4less.com/m4l_itemdetail.asp?itemid=1442265462">OCZ 16GB PATA PCIe Mini Solid State Drive</a> - $151.69

    (Will not fit on Intel D945GSEJT motherboard)</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Solid State Drive</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.memorysuppliers.com/eusb-ssd-8gb-af8gssgh.html?CAWELAID=325272124">ATP eUSB SSD 8GB Z-U130</a> - $139

    (Windows can't be installed to this drive)</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Wireless Card</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/int_5100">Intel Wifi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N PCIe Mini Card</a> - $29.00</li>

    </ul>

     

    <b>Wireless Antenna</b>

    <ul>

    <li><a href="http://www.logicsupply.com/products/kdbv0a_pc250">Wireless Dual Band Antenna, 108 mm (4") and Pigtail Cable</a> - $17.00</li>

    </ul>

     

     

     

     

     

    <b> Click To Enlarge Photos</b>

     

    C.A.P.S. Server in my listening room.

     

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    Stock Photos of Origen<sup>ae</sup> M10

     

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    Jammrock: 60Gb is fine for MP3s: you squeeze loads of albums on an iPod. <br />

    <br />

    But seriously, well-heeled audiophiles building a music server are surely not going to hobble its performance with a compressed format (like FLAC), not when such a leap in sound quality comes for free by using AIFF or WAV. The CAPS is built from the ground up to pass 24/192 . . . so let's talk about the space overhead: that level of quality comes at the price of roughly a meg a second, 60Mb a minute, 17 minutes per Gigabyte, maybe 12x single album CDs on a partially occupied 60gb drive -- assuming a streamlined 5Gb OS -- 24 albums per 60gb drive if we deal in 24/96. <br />

    <br />

    Assuming we're still talking about music lovers, we're in the realm of 200-album collections (minimum!). Even in 16-bit, that's a lot of space. We just need to forget about SSDs until they become economically viable in terabyte capacities. QED.<br />

    <br />

    The Zotac Ion 230 board has a single Atom chip, passive cooling (no fan) and no DC conversion: only the dual-core 330 needs a fan: the more powerful (and less suitable) 330 board also 'features' DC conversion and wireless: no, no, no. <br />

    <br />

    The linear PSU + Zotac Ion 230 recipe costs less than $500 (£350 in my part of the world) plus OS and case. The power supply is much better, and (plus a $100 BD-ROM) it does BluRay without a glitch.<br />

    <br />

    But I am curious about building the system around the Linx card: if in audition it bests the Realtek SPDIF drivers on the Zotac, then maybe it justifies the cost . . .

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    <i>"But I am curious about building the system around the Linx card: if in audition it bests the Realtek SPDIF drivers on the Zotac, then maybe it justifies the cost . . ."</i><br />

    <br />

    Hi hubsand - I connected the special cable pictured in my article directly to the S/PDIF headers on the motherboard. I was so displeased with the sound I could barely listen. The Lynx is a great card and it's very versatile for external clocking and dual wire applications.

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    . . . as Harry Hill would say: fight! <br />

    <br />

    The UK price of the Lynx card is scary-expensive (double that Stateside), but we'll import the bits and audition the Lynx with an Atom ITX board. Unless anyone has built one locally and fancies a bake-off?<br />

    <br />

    There is a board with PCIe, a fanless single core Atom and Nvidia Ion for bluray: see here: http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Point-of-View-NVIDIA-ION-Intel-Atom-230-Nvidia-MCP7A-ION-Gigabit-LAN-Mini-ITX-Motherboard_24658.html<br />

    <br />

    This would probably also run the Asus Xonar card, too . . .

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    Can't wait to hear your opinion on the Essence ST[X] with the updated ASIO driver! I've been eyeing that card for a long time.

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    I agree 60 GB is not a lot, thus my 128 GB suggestion, but again it is a moot point if you have a good home network with a media server or NAS with multiple TB's worth of storage. And that's the point made in the article. The CAPS is a great front-end, and that's what it's designed for, not necessarily a media server.<br />

    <br />

    Audiophiles love their separates after all and that can easily translate to the CA niche.<br />

    <br />

    FLAC = Free Lossless Audio Codec. Lossless being the key word...besides free. I've done bit comparisons between WAV output and FLAC output and they are identical. There is no reason to shun FLAC because it uses compression when you save about 50% on disk space and end up with identical audio quality. It does use more CPU than WAV but an Atom can handle high res FLAC with ease.<br />

    <br />

    I am interesting in your ION, Lynx experience. Drop me a PM if you make a write up.

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    Just a thought - but Husband menationed two or three times the Zotac Ion motherboards - but IIRC these don't have PCI slots?? There is a ASUS motherboard with Atom / ION chipset with a PCI slot (but has a fan) and another from a company called POV or Point of View (which IS fanless).<br />

    <br />

    Eloise

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    Hello Chris,<br />

    <br />

    Great article.<br />

    I am too very interested to build a Linux Music Server.<br />

    I was wondering if you talked to Alsa people about the impossibility to output the sound automatically (a la Amarra) with the original sample rate. If so, what was their answer?<br />

    <br />

    Baocrazy

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    Only the new Synergy boards from Zotac have PCIe slots. None of their other boards need it for 2-channel audio: they all have SPDIF coax on board. It's a cheap socket, but with a good cable, it sounds superb. <br />

    <br />

    The POV board may be perfect: it has PCIe, no fan and does BluRay, but the quality isn't as good as the Zotac. Actually, most Atom boards with heatsinks don't need the fan . . . .<br />

    <br />

    What's twisting my melon right now is the possibility of obtaining better digital throughput using a dedicated card (like the Xonar or Lynx). Zotac's implementation is very lean: there's almost no power overhead, and that enables the system to run pure, clean and streamlined on a 90W linear regulated supply. Powering a motherboard-sized, audiophile-grade soundcard designed for D-A, then not using 90% of it, makes my Occam's Razor twitchy.<br />

    <br />

    At least the Asus is sensibly priced: presumably the perfect card for this application is the best shielded, but lowest spec version?<br />

    <br />

    I wonder whether a smarter alternative is simply to retrofit a Zotac board with an isolated WBT coax . . .

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    @baocrazy, If the application is configured correctly then ALSA will change sample rates on the fly. The trick is to bypass the mixer, and write directly to the hardware.

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    Hi hubsand - Are you sure that on-board S/PDIF coax meets the requirements set out in my article? I'm willing to bet it will not handle 24/88.2 or 24/176.4 sample rates without resampling. Can you check for us?

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    "I was wondering if you talked to Alsa people about the impossibility to output the sound automatically (a la Amarra) with the original sample rate"<br />

    <br />

    This can be done with ease, but it is not really a feature of ALSA directly, but rather of the driver for the specific card, under ALSA. Thus, you may experience different results according to the card or chipset you are using. <br />

    <br />

    I can tell you that it can happen as you described with the Intel HD Audio ALSA driver, with the Realtek chipset. It also happens with the ESI Juli@. I didn't have good results with an old Creative Sound Blaster. <br />

    <br />

    ALSA has a mixer, alsamixer, which is the default route for all sounds in the system. The mixer resamples everything to 48KHz. So the casual user of ALSA will not get bit perfect output. In order to achieve the bit perfect output, you have to bypass the mixer and plug directly to the hardware.<br />

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    Chris: Support for 24/192 is spotty, granted. And considerably software-dependent: preferred WASAPI on our streamlined system was fine with 24/192 but not 24/88.1, for instance. However, reaching for 24/192 was less of a priority than standardising on a rock-stable 24/96 platform . . . we're not convinced that 96+ sample rates are relevant for the foreseeable future. <br />

    <br />

    Getting the domestic industry to 24/96 is already a titanic (but very worthwhile) struggle. I take the view that diminishing returns, compatibility issues, availability of music, and file sizes all count heavily against 24/192 for the next 2-3 years. In fact, for playback I manually resample our 24/88.1 and 24/192 files to 24/96 in Soundbooth Pro. 'Originals' get archived, future-proof. No problem.<br />

    <br />

    I do admit that our recipe priorities were different: I didn't set a 24/192 requirement. But we did cast in stone that it had to be BluRay capable, and not use a switch mode power supply.

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    Thanks for this information.<br />

    <br />

    Do you have some url to share on how to realise that with those two soundcards you mentionned?<br />

    <br />

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    Chris<br />

    <br />

    The build doesn't appear to have a DVD drive? I've always thought that this minimalism makes sense (given that I can rip on another computer) but wouldn't it make installation and/or upgrades of the OS much harder?<br />

    <br />

    Cheers,<br />

    APS<br />

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    @baocrazy<br />

    <br />

    Not sure if you were looking for links from me, anyway here is the info for MPD, which is the app I would recommend on Linux:<br />

    <br />

    Check this thread for a detailed discussion for using plughw and hw for writing directly to the hardware, and how to check the sound subsystem to see that the sample rate is changing:<br />

    http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Auraliti-Music-Player-and-DAC<br />

    <br />

    This isn't about sample rate, but how the latest builds of mpd can pad the differently bits for some DACs<br />

    http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/New-mpd-feature-cleaner-signal<br />

    <br />

    As long as I'm talking about mpd, I did mention in the one thread that WAV and AIFF id3 tags work flawlessly in MPD. I have since found one flaw - using the default libaudiofile sound library mpd uses for WAV/AIFF playback will actually attempt to play the tag, which comes out as a sub-second burst of static. The latest builds in GIT allow the use of libsndfile library, which doesn't have this problem, though it does have an issue with not updating the progress bar in clients, though this new issue is purely cosmetic.<br />

    <br />

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    Chris-<br />

    An excellent article and obviously the result of an immense amount of work. It does beg the question though of the end result (sonics only) vs. a very simple Mac Mini solution with Pure Vinyl, for example. The $1500 target price does not appear to include about $180 for Windows 7, unless I'm mistaken, bringing the total cost of the CAPS solution to about double that of a Mac Mini and PV. <br />

    <br />

    I can certainly understand the immense value of this solution for those who are not interested in a Mac-based server, have a "bug" for an iTunes-based player, or have the desire, as you state, for more flexibility for an external clock or for use with a DAC that can accept only AES or SPDIF. <br />

    <br />

    Given that you have considerable listening experience amongst the various servers in your own system, my core question is whether you (or anyone else here) believe that this CAPS server provides a "material" sonic improvement over a mac/Amarra Mini (24/96 only) or PV (24/192), etc. off-the-shelf solution when used with a common DAC (obviously one that could also accept FW or USB). I'm not comparing this to a full Mac pro/Lynx solution, which obviously is not cost competitive.<br />

    <br />

    Thanks again for a great article!<br />

    Tom

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    We recently ran several auditions of our $500 dedicated Windows 7 digital transport (of similar spec to the CAPS*) against MacMini and MacBook equivalents, running PureVinyl. The MacBook was audibly less 'artefacted' than the Mini but the only way the MacBook could reach the level of the Windows machine with a moderately good coaxial interconnect was via a very high quality USB cable -- and only then when using a DAC with well implemented USB input.<br />

    <br />

    As a die-hard Mac user, it really pains me to say that, for the same money, a Windows 7 machine generally sounds better, and runs BluRay.<br />

    <br />

    Chris' version uses the (very) expensive Lynx card and drivers, which in principle offers even higher quality digital-out, and the possibility of entering the DAC via AES/EBU, which is almost always a definite plus. We'll be building this, and the Xonar/ASIO based version mentioned above, and running some comparative auditions in the next few weeks, but as things stand, Windows or Linux digital transports have some persuasive advantages, unless you're committed to end-to-end excellence in USB or FireWire.<br />

    <br />

    * No Lynx card, but BluRay capable and with a linear regulated PSU.

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    Chris<br />

    Very well researched, written and comprehensive write up. Thanks for the obvious effort you put in. Pretty thankless task putting your head above the parapets.<br />

    <br />

    IME Linux & MPD is perfect with USB Dacs (partic async) and not alot else - it's just too much of a PITA to configure anything requiring a driver to achieve automatic sample rate switching - RME and Lynx have both defeated me..life's too short. Having said that, along with Amarra, MPD has given me the best playback sound I have experienced from a computer digital transport.<br />

    <br />

    I run Win7 64 on my current Lappie - Asus UL30, SSD, M2Tech HiFace, J River 14 and Wasapi out: no problem at all with latest (beta?) 64 Hiface driver from Marco. No stutters or distortion. Very nice sound. <br />

    <br />

    The Hiface (esp BNC) is a nice alternative to the Lynx esp for lappie users or those on a budget:). Not as good for sure but a whole lot less expensive and works really well.... if Marco would just release linux drivers for it I would be a very happy little vegemite.<br />

    <br />

    Cheers<br />

    A

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    Very nice setup, Chris, but i'm wondering about whether PoE is good enough. As I have written elsewhere, I'm have a strong suspicion that when a good power supply vastly improves the sound from the Sq.box, even when only the digital output is used, then the power supply of a music server is also likely to have an important influence. Something that forum members are also speculating on in the thread about the G5 vs. the Mini. <br />

    <br />

    As I understood your article, you also have the option to use a "real" power supply. Have you tried comparing it with PoE?

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    Hi Encore - PoE was only an option for the Alix PC Engines board I used on another server. The CAPS server requires power from the external supply or a more traditional internal computer power supply.

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    It seems to me that the power supply is the one component of this system that could use an upgrade. I've been wondering if the aftermarket squeezebox power supplies would be compatible with the Intel or Alix boards. I can't find enough info to confirm 100%, but I suspect the answer is yes. I was looking at Welborne Labs:<br />

    http://welbornelabs.com/squeeze.htm<br />

    <br />

    Never heard back from them when I emailed them inquiring about the same though.

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    Chris,<br />

    <br />

    I'm thinking about building my own solution based on your great article. Since I'll be using an Ayre QB-9 I won't need the sound card, making the system much cheaper to build. But I'm also thinking about using Intel D410PT motherboard since it can support 4Gbyte memory and 64bit operation. This would generate 10W heat instead of the 2.5W generated by the D945GSEJT you are using. Do you see any compatibility or heat issue with the D410PT?<br />

    <br />

    Thanks for the answer in advance.

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    Hey ahp,<br />

    <br />

    you will not need the 4GB, nor will it be an advantage, when you use 64-bit. You should prefer the 32-bit version. On the other hand, the mainboard of your choice does only support 100MBit networkspeed. No problem when you play 16/44.1 files, but the 24/192 files are much bigger. You will get longer interrupts, when you load the tracks over the network.<br />

    <br />

    Bernhard

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    For those of us who have never built a computer (but have replaced a few parts, added boards)<br />

    <br />

    1) Could a Compact Flash Card be used instead of a SS drive? The guy at Frys's though it could and would be cheaper<br />

    <br />

    2) Could the sound card be left out entirely if one were satisfied with USB DAC sound for now? <br />

    <br />

    3) Can you explain how one gets the operating system onto the drive (without a CD/DVD drive)? Or the music player software? Or the drivers for my NAS drives (Iocell and Maxtor drives)?<br />

    <br />

    Sorry if this is readily apparent to others...

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    Hi iamimdoc - Good questions.<br />

    <br />

    <i>1) Could a Compact Flash Card be used instead of a SS drive? The guy at Frys's though it could and would be cheaper</i><br />

    <br />

    This is certainly an option, but there is no free lunch. Most CF cards are very slow and really not designed to host an OS like Windows.<br />

    <br />

    <i>2) Could the sound card be left out entirely if one were satisfied with USB DAC sound for now?</i><br />

    <br />

    100% yes.<br />

    <br />

    <i>3) Can you explain how one gets the operating system onto the drive (without a CD/DVD drive)? Or the music player software? Or the drivers for my NAS drives (Iocell and Maxtor drives)?</i><br />

    <br />

    I use a USB CD/DVD drive for the OS install and down the rest of the software via Internet.

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