Article: C.A.P.S. v2.0

[cjf]

I have been following with interest the progress of the CAPS v2 project and must commend Chris for his choices in computing hardware for this new project. <br />

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Out of curiosity I began my own search at alternative options, just to see what else was out there. The hope was to possibly find a board or processor that offered an even smaller footprint in terms power output and noise reduction while still providing enough processing and memory resources to run a Win7 OS adequately. <br />

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After my search was over I could only conclude that at this time the components chosen by Chris for this setup seem to be about as ideal as you can get in today’s market.<br />

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As the popularity of this setup begins to grow I have already seen a few posts about folks looking to swap out the "Switching" power supply for a "Linear" unit in hopes of providing a cleaner energy source.<br />

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In addition to the previously mentioned Power Supply tweak, I have thought of a few others that I would like throw out there and get some opinions on.<br />

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Tweak #1<br />

What about the use of an external USB FlashDrive large enough to hold a Win7 OS in replacement of the internal SSD. The PC would obviously need to be configured in the BIOS to "Boot" from the USB stick to accomplish this but could such a configuration even further reduce the amount of noise within the PC chassis above and beyond the already excellent SSD specs?<br />

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Tweak #2<br />

In the ideal configuration state of the CAPS v2 design I would venture a guess that the goal is to keep it as isolated as possible from other external power sources, especially during audio playback. In sticking with this ideal configuration what are your thoughts on avoiding the use of Large Capacity External USB drives that have their own power source via the standard Wall Wart? These devices are currently being plugged directly into the "Sterile" CAPS v2 server. How likely is it that this could be a potential entry point for noise entering into the playback chain?<br />

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Tweak # 3<br />

This one is along the same lines as Tweak #2 above but refers to the use of an External NAS drive connected via Ethernet. The use of an Ethernet cable being connected during audio playback could also potentially create an entry point for electrical noise into the system as it is tied to the External NAS and its Wall Wart. Maybe another option would be to store your audio files on a second USB Flash Drive connected to one of the remaining onboard USB 2.0 ports of the CAPS v2 server? Granted, you probably won't fit all of your audio files on the USB Flash Drive but you could certainly keep a full nights worth of Playlist files on it.<br />

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I understand that these above mentioned tweaks may be entering into the Extreme side of ultimate audio playback but in essence that is the goal of many of use on this forum.<br />

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Please post your thoughts and Thanks again to Chris for his efforts in bringing this project to the public.<br />

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[Priaptor]

am very glad I came upon and began participating in this great site. I have learned a tremendous amount from the posters as well as from Chris.<br />

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I was skeptical at first of computer audio in general. Got my feet wet with PS Audio's DAC and Bridge and their fantastic transport, never really achieving with computer streaming what I could with their transport.<br />

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Fast forward to my system being built over the last year, to one that I believe is very revealing. I have been using a MacMini with PureMusic and an Audio Research DAC8 for close to 6 months, saw the AudirvanaPlus thread and tried it out. I figured, I might as well try Amarra, which I liked better (subjective of course). Took the cobwebs off the transport and found it still was superior to my Mac setup. This all occurred just prior to Chris's review of the Aurender which was a product of interest for me. But more important than the review, were some of his comments comparing sources.<br />

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With that I decided, as long as I began this quest, let me see if I could improve. I loaded bootcamp and JRiver with ARC Windows driver v 1.25 and was pretty impressed. I ordered from Small Green Computer the C.A.P.S. 2.0 and have been blown away by just how good it is.<br />

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As someone who owns both, I can tell you, at least from my perch, the Transport is going up for sale. I have a lender WaveLink coming (hopefully this week) so I can further compare Mac based server based on some people's recommendation for the ARC. I now have a new standard for my system. I also find the SplashtopHD app for the iPad to be a great "remote" for CAPS.<br />

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The caveat I will add here is that as I have expressed elsewhere, I am not sure how ARC drivers are optimized for Mac v. Windows. It is my opinion, they are better optimized for Windows, which may be a reason why I am experiencing what I am.

[rbhorowitz]

If you are using a product such as the Hiface EVO is the PCI Card in the CAPS Server a duplication of efforts or do these things complement each other?<br />

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Robert<br />

[mbain]

I am excited to hear that you are experiencing a new level of enjoyment from your audio system. Very curious to hear of your thoughts regarding CAPS experience compared to LINUX solutions ie. Bryston BDP-1, Auraliti, Sonore and possibly Aurender... or have you decided not to go there? I too have DAC 8 and am trying to decide how to significantly upgrade the front end. Presently using Squeezebox Touch.

[Priaptor]

It has made a very big difference with my system.<br />

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I am going to experiment with a loaner Wavelink and my MacMini but have decided not to go the route of the Aurender, etc. What I am getting with my current system since I introduced the CAPS 2 has surpassed all other avenues.<br />

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After hearing Tom's experience with the Sonore and relative to a PS Audio transport (which we both own) on systems very close to each other, his feeling was the Transport and Sonore were not too dissimilar. The CAPS has surpassed the PS Transport by a significant margin so at some point, I have to just enjoy the music. The Transport on my system outperformed my Mac based players.<br />

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While I am sure the CAPS is doing a great job, I just wonder about the difference in drivers for Mac v. Windows with the DAC 8. Before buying the CAPS I did some experimentation with a Bootcamp Mac with Windows which also sounded better than my Mac/Mac-Player. The sound was better than what I was getting from my transport, my previous standard. The CAPS was another step up from there.<br />

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So based on Tom's experience who is using a very similar system to me, including the same speakers and DAC with his relative findings comparing the transport to the Sonore I feel comfortable I am getting what may be the best possible sound from the DAC8. I will be investigating others claims regarding the Wavelink, which I was supposed to have by now. Hopefully early next week.

[Afveep]

Priaptor,<br />

I remain very anxious to hear your continuing thoughts. As you mention, we have very similar systems and likely very similar tastes. I do want to clarify for others though what is between the lines of your summary of my results with the Sonore server vs PS PWT into the ARC DAC8. I had the Sonore Classic server with SOtM AES output for a brief loan and compared this with the PWT via AES into the DAC8. I believe that the AES output is not the preferred output choice for either given other DAC options. I believe that the ideal is the I2S output options for each, if your DAC supports it ( such as the PWD). So, while I found the Sonore and PWT very close via AES into the DAC8, the Sonore, in my option, will likely sound even better via either I2S or SOtM USB output into other DACs. Just a clarification.

[Priaptor]

The DAC 8 unfortunately cannot work with their USB solution due to ARC's proprietary drivers hence the need to go AES. <br />

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I was using Tom's comparison, strictly for purposes of the DAC8.<br />

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His comparison as well as Chris's Aurender review was only a guide I used before taking the AES Linus server route for the DAC 8 which ultimately led me to explore the CAPS 2. <br />

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As I said, with the ARC, their may indeed be other factors in play, given what others have reported.

[RSB]

I have finally gotten around to paring the programs and services running on my CAPS-2 server. As Chris suggested in the article above, I have "adjusted it for best performance", disabled System Restore, Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, Windows Update, and removed the Anti-virus program, etc.<br />

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While it is difficult to A/B the result, my initial impression is that there is a fair improvement in SQ. Have any of you experienced this? (I get the impression because of the lack of a lot of discussion on this topic that many people are running W7 stock as I have up until now.)<br />

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While the increase in SQ is wonderful, this also leads me to a problem - I'm scared of viruses, etc. My CAPS-2 has a LAN connection and streams music from a central computer, and therefore also has permanent access to the internet. I haven't found a way to shut off the internet access to this machine only. I suppose I could isolate the machine and put the music files on an ESATA drive, but then I lose the Remote Desktop Connection, as well as a fair amount of ease of use.<br />

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Am I overly worried? Should I be doing something differently?<br />

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Thanks to Chris for the wonderful site, and all of your consideration!<br />

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<br />

Randy <br />

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[1audio]

If you have a router (Gateway device to be exact) between your network and the cable/dsl modem you have very little to worry about. The box will have a firewall in it. If you aren't going out to the web the router won't be opening connections to the outside from your box and it can't be found from the outside if there is no open access. <br />

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You can use Shields Up: https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 to see if you have any security holes. I would not worry too much if you have taken these precautions.

[RSB]

Demian - <br />

<br />

Thanks for your thoughtful reply and excellent suggestion! I do have a router with a firewall. I used Shields up and the results were good. I am going to run the pared down version of W7 and not worry. And worse case, I just reinstall. No worries!<br />

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Thanks!<br />

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Randy

[89reksal]

I have firewall and windows defender disabled on my CAPS 2 player as well. No other virus protection or other protection software installed. I have no browser installed, which I feel helps avoid a potential problem with unwanted internet access, as well as being one less thing running on the computer.<br />

If I want or need to get an update or download for something on the CAPS, I download it on another computer and move it across the LAN to the CAPS.<br />

I use J River which is the only internet access on the CAPS, since I use it to stream internet radio sometimes.<br />

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Bill

[machinehead]

RSB. Another option would be to connect your music server to a wireless router that is not connected to the internet, that way you could control it with the various Wifi remote apps.

[rfarris1]

As this is really an output via USB server, what are the DACs of choice people are using with the CAPS 2.0?<br />

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Thanks

[extracampine]

I'm using a Weiss DAC2, works pretty well with it! Though connected via firewire and not USB. Still have SOTM power filter, but not SOTM USB filter as I'm not outputting anything special via USB. What you're really asking is what is a good USB DAC, and there are plenty of threads for that!

[kennythekey]

I will be using the Eastern Electric DAC Plus, as one of the upgrade features (Plus) is a 24bit 192KHz Async USB input. This is my first modern DAC, so I cannot provide a comparison to other types.<br />

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I have not built my CAPS 2.0 yet, so no comment about the sound of this combination.

[machinehead]

I am in the process of building a similar server (mini-itx) and will be starting with a Lynx AES16 card feeding my Alpha Dac via AES, as I already have that card. I am not sure if it would fit in the CAPS case though.

[machinehead]

Appologies if this has already been discussed, but I could not find it. If I go with Win 7 64 Pro vs Ultimate, what am I loosing.<br />

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Thanks.

[Jud]

Routers are far better than software firewalls in my experience, but a couple of suggestions:<br />

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- Make damned sure you change the default password to something as strong as you care to remember (or you can write it down if you're at home, because in practicality once a hacker has physical access to your machine, that's all she wrote). If a hacker has access to your router through a default password, then obviously that's not going to be much good to you for security.<br />

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- Though you can't be sent an unsolicited virus through a secured router, for those very few times you might "ask in" a virus (which you can still do by, e.g., clicking a link), an anti-virus program is a good thing. One that has a very low resource footprint and isn't horribly expensive comes from a company called ESET. If you or others won't be downloading anything from the Internet to your machine or putting any files on it from non-music discs, USB sticks, etc., an anti-virus probably isn't necessary.

[joelha]

I may have missed this in the thread and I am confessing to my ignorance in PC construction (I've never built one) but where can I find step-by-step instructions for putting one of these units together?<br />

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Thanks,<br />

<br />

Joel

[Garf]

Well, I jumped on the CAPS bandwagon. Just ordered the parts last week, and assembled it at work during lunch today, including installing windows 7. <br />

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The reasons I made the switch is that while the linux dedicated music server was nice, it just wasn't my preferred OS, and not on hardware I am familiar with. The small issues I had with playback, and the difficulties in maintaining my music library just were not worth it to me. Having to manage my library through jRiver made it an easy choice.<br />

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What I did not end up doing is ordering the SOtM USB board (they were out of stock). This is probably a good thing, as it will be no different than my current PC system I listen to with jRiver, nor much different than my Voyage MPD system on my ALIX box. They both run off the USB built onto the mother board, on a dedicated USB header. <br />

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I also saved some money on the case, as I couldn't see paying that much for a small aluminum case, with an LED display I had no intention of using. I took the name of the case from Chris' article, pasted it in the search engine for a particular large online retailer's website, and bought an 89 dollar case that was similar. All I can say is that the motherboard fits fine, and the fit and finish is acceptable to me. Your millage may vary, caveat emptor, and all that. <br />

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I may or may not buy the SOtM USB board, depending on the sound I get out of it, and if I can effectively isolate the USB bus that I am using to output to my DAC. In any case, it is a relatively cheap upgrade I can do at anytime, though most likely not before I upgrade my DAC. As I will not be doing that anytime soon, I would imagine I would be better off waiting for a CAPS 3.0 update before I open the case up again. <br />

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Now to take the computer home, RDP into it and start tweaking the OS for optimal computer playback. Under $700 dollars, and hours of fun to be had, worth every penny in my honest opinion. Just wish my wife agreed with me!<br />

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[beetlemania]

http://www.directron.com/miniitxguide.html<br />

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It's not especially complicated. If you can operate a screwdriver and plug cables into sockets, you will be successful. The motherboard and should include specific instructions including how to correctly match the power switch cables to the motherboard and such. I just built my new server this weekend, took about an hour including having to back-track my ODD installation 'cus I had the wrong sequence for attaching the ODD to the bracket versus attaching the bracket to the case.

[joelha]

beetlemania,<br />

<br />

So should I assume that I can follow the directron.com directions to assemble the CAPS 2.0?<br />

<br />

Joel

[The Computer Audiophile]

Or just buy an assembled C.A.P.S. v2.0 from Small Green Computer<br />

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http://shop.smallgreencomputer.com/CAPS-20-CAPS.htm<br />

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[joelha]

Thanks Chris.<br />

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Because of your addictive website, I want to build this unit myself.<br />

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And I'm holding you personally responsible. <br />

<br />

Joel

[The Computer Audiophile]

Ha!