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

[tallos]

Would love to know if Chris is working on a V.03...does any one know???

[mr_bill]

Question:<br />

Do you just copy your current files from a hard drive to the new CAPS 2.0 64GB hard drive to migrate your music files?

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Baron - It will be quite awhile before v3 appears. I have some ideas in my head about what I want to do for it, but I haven't taken any real steps toward the design. Plus, I am very happy with the performance of v2. I don't want to fix what's no broken.<br />

[mr_bill]

Hi Chris,<br />

Could you answer my questions directly above?<br />

Thanks for your help,

[Steen]

OK, too bad... <br />

Thanks a lot Julf<br />

<br />

You can still get rid of some unwelcome vibrations though - if You care to experiment - it hides in every corner in even a single resistor, dampening it will give you better sound...<br />

<br />

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi mr_bill - I normally use the CAPS server with a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device that can hold several Terabytes. I have connected an external eSATA drive to the server as well. I don't store any music on the internal 64GB drive as it is too small for music storage.<br />

<br />

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Steen - I wouldn't wish mixing sand and oil with a computer or hard drive on my worst enemy.

[Priaptor]

I had my dealer and good friend come over to listen to my system. He hasn't heard my system in months and I have been bragging about how good it sounds. He is NOT a computer guy type.<br />

<br />

He left my house absolutely astounded. We are both ARC guys and he couldn't believe the difference the CAPS 2.0 made in the system.<br />

<br />

At least with the DAC 8, no comparison between my transport (now gone), Mac based system vs. CAPS 2.0<br />

[Steen]

Hi Chris<br />

<br />

If You add some feathers--><br />

You might get a different outlook<br />

<br />

Don't mind my English...It's a first...<br />

<br />

[vortecjr]

I would like to see a picture of the oil and sand project because I can't get a mental picture of what your doing:) <br />

<br />

I have used a car battery with a 12VDC server and it works really well. In fact one of my servers ran at a show last year with the Empirical Audio Monolith<br />

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/monolith<br />

<br />

Jesus R

[Steen]

Hi Jesus R.<br />

<br />

I'll take some pictures, but it'll be a short while yet...<br />

Thanks for the interest.<br />

<br />

Incidentally; concerning the "Computer damping" of vibrations, I think that's what Charles Altmann & Ken Ischiwata are doing with some of their stuff; encapsulating with lacker or "tar" like substances respectively (perhaps it ought to be the other way around considering their whereabouts!). <br />

<br />

Life is a mighty Strange Brew, so not necessarily need for oil, sand (& feathers). I do believe that electronics also prefer to "breathe", so "complete encapsulation" might be overdoing it and kills some "aliveness". <br />

A sandbox for leading away and "stocking" vibrations is a must though - to me anyway - but it does look a bit nutty...<br />

<br />

Looking forward to get some knowhow about batteries... <br />

<br />

And I'll be glad to share my own experiences...

[Steen]

Hi Again Jesus R.<br />

<br />

As I tend to get immersed in things, My outlook has gotten a bit foggy...<br />

<br />

...Like an automatic voice says in quite a few airports:<br />

<br />

"Mind....... .......the Gap"<br />

<br />

Just got taxes to review, and it always feels like stepping into Quicksand...(thats the sad thing about Denmark; we pride ourselves in having the worlds' highest taxes).<br />

<br />

I'll have to postpone the CDplayer pictures till about mid March or later...And I think the CA forum might not be the right place for that either. A side by side test with sand, oil etc. vs a conventional box is the only thing that would make sense here, and I certainly don't have the means for that.<br />

<br />

Going down now; into the Valley to Forge a coin-shaped Talisman with Washington one the one side and probably the Qheen of Denmark on the other, toss it up and find out how & where to expose the boxing when reemerging...<br />

<br />

...Diverging? Off Course! But there's a Black Sabbath Cocktail party on the way down and a Buddha retreat on the way up, not bad at all..! <br />

<br />

<br />

PS. thanks for the link, I'll look into it when time allows...<br />

<br />

Steen

[ontherocks]

Has anybody tried to upgrade the power and data wires inside the caps2? I know this sounds like an analog DIY approach but there is no reason better concuctors would not be beneficial for a music servor by using cardas, kimber or jenalabs wires for example.

[dallasjustice]

Andrew does this with his little green computer CAPS 2. I believe they are custom silver plated wire; pretty nice compared standard molex.

[chryses]

For folks considering a C.A.P.S. build, I wanted to flag that the Asus E45M-I Deluxe is (finally) available here in the U.S. <br />

<br />

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131807<br />

<br />

I haven't used it or the Jetway board Chris recommends, but the E450 architecture does seem to have some advantages over the D525 - namely, support for 8GB of RAM (instead of 4GB) at 1333mhz (instead of 800), superior integrated graphics (better for scrolling around in J. River theater view), and support for 3D via an HDMI 1.4 interface (because you never know when somebody is going to offer a program that lets you view your album art in 3D).<br />

<br />

Anyway, just a thought.

[machinehead]

It only has a PCIe slot, no PCI slot, so the SOTM card would be out.<br />

<br />

I tried a similar board from Jetway that does have a PCI slot, and the graphics are good, but not good enough to view video in JRiver, FYI.

[chryses]

Good point, machinehead. I suppose one could always buy a PCIe-to-PCI converter card, but the reviews for the one I could find are not encouraging (and even if it worked properly it would add to the overall cost of the system and the card might sit too high in a small case):<br />

<br />

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158165<br />

<br />

Your experience with the Jetway board doesn't sound encouraging - did that board use the AMD e350 or e450? The reviews I've read suggest that both of these AMD solutions are up to the task of handling 1080p playback in XMBC without issue - perhaps video in JRiver is a different story. My understanding is that the Intel D525 struggles with high resolution video - hence the desire for one of the AMD chips.

[machinehead]

Hi chryses,<br />

<br />

Here is the barebones box that I bought:<br />

<br />

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856107094<br />

<br />

It is not fanless, but that was going to be a DIY project.<br />

<br />

It also is rated at 1080P.<br />

<br />

The render engine in JRiver is called madVR and requires a pretty fast computer to run well, think i5 and a dedicated video card with DDR5.<br />

<br />

It was a learning lesson for me as I wanted to take advantage of the great audio and video of JRiver.<br />

<br />

I am now considering my options.<br />

<br />

Let me know what you end up doing.

[ontherocks]

Thanks Dallasjustice for this information, would be nice to know the needed gages for these wires.<br />

<br />

More generally, i am interested to know about options to tweak the CAPS2 (beyond power supply issues already well developped). I read in Chris Conneker description of the CAPS2 that he says "I currently enjoy a highly tweaked C.A.P.S. v2.0 server". Would be great to have ideas on possible upgrades!<br />

<br />

On my part i was planning to upgrade the wires and to use ByBees slipstreams on the Paul Hynes linear PSU IEC plugs, and ERS paper (Stillpoint) for some components of the music server.<br />

can any upgrades couldbe performed on the sotm products as well like better caps, regulators or clock?<br />

any experience of cryotreatment of the PCBs?<br />

[needledrop]

I would love to build something similar to CAPS 2.0 that could be used to serve both audio & video from an eSata-attached RAID tower.<br />

<br />

The RAID tower (with its noisy fan) will be on the other side of the wall, with the interconnect going through the wall.<br />

<br />

Are there any boards that otherwise meet the CAPS 2.0 requirements, that have 8GB RAM expansion, HDMI out, USB 3.0 (not absolutely necessary) but that have a PCI slot, not a PCIe?<br />

<br />

I am trying to find something that could be used for video but that can accommodate the sotm usb card without having to use an adapter.<br />

<br />

Any ideas?<br />

<br />

This would be a stand alone server like CAPS 2.0, but for audio and video.

[Chris Gr]

Hi Needledrop,<br />

<br />

The Asus E45M1-M Pro meets your requirements.<br />

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_CPU_on_Board/E45M1M_PRO/<br />

<br />

Cheers<br />

Christophe

[ontherocks]

This is such a wonderful forum especially when you get answers.<br />

<br />

To the folks who built a CAPS2 and more...<br />

<br />

a) Has anyone tried to have separate power supplies (at least rails)not only for the USB card, the SSD and the motherboard BUT also for the memory DDR2??? The new Paul Hynes supply SR7EHD I want to order has a 400VA mains transformer which can accomodate up to 4 secondary rails. Is there any BIOS optimization involved, in particular for firing sequence? Where could i find good info on BIOS optimization in general in the context of the CAPS2 ?<br />

<br />

b) I am thinking of having the SOtM products (USB card, SATA filter)upgraded (better regulators, caps, resistors like SM Zfoils, clock and its supply (for the usb card)). Any experience? Any idea on which omponents are being used on these 2 products?<br />

<br />

For those interested by having separate power supplies for the CAPS2 I could post the current requirements and voltage tolerances of each part (MoBo, SoTM, SSD)

[Mike Gillespie]

Somewhere else on this thread some sharp observer commented that the Caps 2.0 server that Chris has used in certain reviews has been "heavily tweaked" Does any one know what those tweaks are? And other tweaks that may improve the sound quality of the Caps 2.0? Eg, outboard power supply, etc. I'm trying to figure out whether to buy my friend's Aurender S10 server at a deep discount or buy a Caps 2.0 and tweak it. Thanks.

[machinehead]

Just be careful and don't make the same mistake that I did.<br />

<br />

The AMD onboard APU is not powerful enough to render video well inside of JRiver. <br />

<br />

My JRiver benchmark was 695, with 8GB of RAM and a SSD, you would need over 1200 benchmark and 2500 is better to render HQ video with JRiver.<br />

<br />

There are several subjects on the matter in the JRiver forum.<br />

<br />

Unfortunately I could not coax the guys from JRiver to give a min. hardware spec. to render video properly. Even though this is a standard practice for software vendors. I found this poor customer support since the PC I built for the task doesn't work even though it is rated for 1080P. <br />

<br />

Anyway, do some research on the subject before buying hardware if JRiver is your plan for video playback, you will avoid the lengthy return process I am going through...

[peterschindler]

Hello Everyone!<br />

<br />

I would really like to build the CASP 2.0. While I studied I.T. and worked in that field for quite some time, I'm now at an age where I feel that an iPhone could be simpler...<br />

<br />

That said, there is still a bit of the tinkerer in me, and so I think I'd relish the task of building the CASP 2.0 myself, but I dread the thought of having to sift through driver manuals and getting there by trial and error.<br />

<br />

So, my question: has anyone built the thing and written up an idiot's guide of the steps along the way? I suspect that plugging the hardware together should be Lego's play, but what about the software?<br />

<br />

If I build it, am more than happy, of course, to provide feedback/input to the guide to make it better over time...<br />

<br />

Many thanks in advance to you all!<br />

Peter<br />