Article: Computer Audiophile Pocket Server C.A.P.S. v3 Zuma

[scraps@midnight]

Mike...Not a dumb question at all. Heck, I'm just glad someone is paying attention! I'm pretty frustrated with this and cannot seem to get anywhere.

 

My music storage drive which is a Deskstar 4TB although I have tried many drives of all sizes and it responds the same so it's the enclosure. I called OWC yesterday and they had no clue. They said they'd check into it and email me back which of course they did not do. It seems something like a driver update to the Oxford 944 chipset should be around but they did not know of any.

 

I also keep getting this error message in Device Manager, Other Devices, PCI Simple Communications Controller shows the yellow triangle error thenn something about no driver for it if you drill down. I updated all the drivers from Intel and nothing corrects this. Anyone else have this?

[Phous]

Following up on previous post regarding multi resolution playback. I have found that the sotm is definitely the problem since I can us the motherboard usb with out issue. I have also noticed the latency on windows 8 is awful. See this link for further info:

 

Windows 8's greatest weakness: DPC latency - AnandTech Forums

 

i am switched back to windows 7 and the latency is excellent, however the sotm card still does not work. And first impressions, windows 8 on the motherboard sounds much better than 7. If anyone finds a fix for the sotm, let us know. If anyone knows of a port or interrupt fix since some of the readers do not have this problem, please let us know.

[Mike Gillespie]

Update: It's the OWC case. I bought a cheap enclosure from Microcenter, popped a drive in and it saw it right away via eSATA. I guess now I am curious if anyone else has tried the OWC Mecury Pro Elite enclosure with this computer via eSATA. I have another one but it's not here. I'll be able to try it in a week or so to see if it is a defective case or a compatibility issue with all of them.

 

Scraps,

 

Are you still using the enclosure from Microcenter? If so, can you send a link?

 

I'm interested in seeing if there's a difference in SQ by taking the SSD boot disc out of the Streacom case and isolating it with its own LPS and connecting it via Esata to the MOBO.

 

I could run into the same problem since I was going to use a OWC case.

 

Has any one solved the OWC case issue?

[Mike Gillespie]

Should we really be connecting the Molex from the mobo to the SOtM USB card? I ask this because May Park (see her note below reported above in this thread by Sebassie) says yes, you have to connect it.

 

But Chris, in his discussing using the Red Wine battery supply to Carbon server, said that running the Battery to the SOtM but using the AC/DC power supply to the mobo resulted in significant loss of SQ.

 

If the SOtM automatically disconnects power from the mobo when it detects an external source, then why was there loss of SQ in this example?

 

If there is no good answer, maybe then it's better not to connect the Molex from the mobo to the SOtM to prevent noise from getting into the SOtM.

 

Any thoughts?

 

-------------------------

 

Here is relevant portion from Chris' Carbon review:

 

I initially assumed that powering only the SOtM tX-USBexp card via battery, with the internal PSU disconnected, and the motherboard powered via the Seasonic PSU would yield an equal or nearly equal benefit as powering the entire server via battery. I was wrong with this assumption. Even though the clean battery power source of the Black Lightning was used to power the SOtM card that sends power to the USB receiver chip in the EMM Labs DAC2X I still heard harsh electrical noise through my speakers. Based on this test it appears that noise from the Seasonic PSU / motherboard combo is getting to the SOtM card via the PCIe slot's gold connectors.

 

------------------

 

Here's the relevant info from this thread above re SOtM's official position:

Answer from SotM Korea

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/my-new-caps-v2-build%3B-best-digital-ive-heard-13548/index9.html#post201897

 

Posted by: sebassie

On: 01-29-2013 01:49 PM

 

 

---Quote (Originally by ejn1)---

I would have thought disconnected the molex would be desirable to stop the dirty power from the mobo getting in but maybe the sotm shutting it off prevents it but not sure the benefit of leaving connected. I'm going this route also now as Paul Hynes is going to add a second rail to the SR5 he is building me so I can power the SOTM. I really like the battery pack but would rather not live with another box on the shelve.

---End Quote---

I got an email with this information. I quote:

 

When you use tX-USBexp with applying the external power, you don't need to

connect the molex 4pin connector, but we recommend you to use it for the

safety. for example, when the external power is suddenly blocked, the

tX-USBexp will be damaged, but when you connect it to the molex 4pin, you

don't need to worry about the damages.

 

Thank you.

Best Regard,

May Park

Tel : +82-41-576-7663

[scraps@midnight]

Mike...I do not have the model number, it was a Vantec enclosure. I also bought this Newegg.com - macally G-S350SUAB2 Aluminum 3.5" Silver USB2.0 / eSATA / FireWire External Enclosure which is a little closer to the OWC and does not seem to have the compatibly issues so far. It uses the Oxford 934 chipset, the OWC Oxford 944. The issue with the new enclosure is fear:) If you read the reviews on Newegg there seems to be a very high failure rate dragging the drives along with it. Unpleasant. Anyway, point here is I think you could use just about any other enclosure for your exercise.

 

So I at least have an enclosure that is working but no, have not solved the OWC mystery nor the error in Device Manager. Sure would like some input if any of you guys have thoughts/ideas.

[Mike Gillespie]

Thanks, Scraps. I'll post the results in about a week when I get the external drive and enclosure.

[RBremer]

Hi Chris,

Thank you! Great work and excelent write-up !

A year ago I´ve build a variation of CAPS v2 using the DN2800MT MB and used the internal S/PDIF header with a RCA connector to enable feeding the DAC (Marantz SA8400 and ARC DAC8) using the coax input.

From many tests and evaluations with friends my conclusion is that the COAX connection is better (stereo image and clearer highs) than USB on both DACs.

I now plan to build a Zuma variation also using the available S/PDIF header from the DH77EB MB.

I wonder if you or some CA member has used a similar setup ?

Best Regards

Rolf Bremer (Sao Paulo , Brazil)

[agillis]

We have been getting a lot of requests for a Firewire interface on the CAPS v3 this week. You can already add Firewire to the Carbon using the Express Card slot. But you don't need to pay for the SOtM USB card if you only have a FireWire DAC. I added a Firewire option to the Zuma and the the Topanga.

 

I'm use a PCIe Firewire card with a TI chipset. The TI Firewire chip has been recommended on several audio sites. The card I'm using has 2x 1394B Firewire ports + 1x 1394A Firewire port so you can easily connect your DAC no matter what type of connector it has.

[RBremer]

This is a view of the use of the S/PDIF header from DN2800MT Mobo to enable Coax connection to my DAC:

[ehous]

On your spdif header, I experimented with several isolation transformers before finding Scientific Conversions. They offer the best digital isolaters of all I tried. The one he recommended I use had a shield that I shorted to the computer chassis and with a neutric isolated bnc on a pci slot plate, it worked great. Something to consider.

 

Also, if your spdif header on the mb has three poles, remove the third wire. It's a 5 volt feed for optical and adds noise.

 

This is a view of the use of the S/PDIF header from DN2800MT Mobo to enable Coax connection to my DAC:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4190[/ATTACH]

[tranz]

Brilliant! Thanks Chris.

 

Question: Any reason you are only doing a USB to DAC connection as opposed to a PCIe Lynx or RME type card with AES/EBU cabling to the DAC?

 

Cheers!

[ehous]

I purchased about every sound card out there a few years back, the mother board always sounded better. Even if using direct sound. I believe the issue on the pro cards was always asio. Wasapi or direct sound were more musical.

 

 

 

Brilliant! Thanks Chris.

 

Question: Any reason you are only doing a USB to DAC connection as opposed to a PCIe Lynx or RME type card with AES/EBU cabling to the DAC?

 

Cheers!

[JJJ]

One question re cases. I have the Streacom case in black and as Chris notes it is very easily marked (not permanently but a brush of a finger will leave a smudge on the surface). I would like to find a brushed aluminium case of similar build. Is the silver version of this case again an anodized finish or brushed? Other ideas?

[JJJ]

Brilliant! Thanks Chris.

 

Question: Any reason you are only doing a USB to DAC connection as opposed to a PCIe Lynx or RME type card with AES/EBU cabling to the DAC?

 

Cheers!

 

I am using a Juli@ XTe card on mine as my DAC accepts either SPDIF cox or AES/EBU. The Juli@ card outputs SPDIF over coax via its breakout cable. Bryston use the same card but have installed a proprietary PCB to take the Juli@'s DIN off-ramp directly to SPDIF and do the conversion to AES/EBU. One great advantage of this card is that you can disconnect the entire analogue section and not install it thereby not risking any pollution from the analogue circuitry. It is also possible to modify the card to upgrade the on-board regulator and power it independently of the motherboard.

[kevalin]

I have the silver case. It is same type of surface finish but durable and no issues withholding the abuse of my two children. The really nice finished anodized cases are 3x the cost. I would consider it, in hindsight.

[Phous]

Follow up to the sotm and high Rez issues.

 

The sotm issue ended up being the plug and play drivers in the Classe CP800. With the current setup, it will not work with USB 3.0. According to Classe, a board revision will be available in spring 2013 that will allow it to work with usb3.0 and allow it to process and play 192khz files. This is great news for CP800 owners.

 

 

I am also experiencing great results with windows 7 in regards to lower latency, the glitches with windows 8 higher latency were causing poor playback. Not sure exactly what the #'s mean, windows seven runs at 41, windows 8 rarely ran below 1000, usually around 1100.

 

 

Please respond if you know better, we look forward to honest input.

[JJJ]

I have the silver case. It is same type of surface finish but durable and no issues withholding the abuse of my two children. The really nice finished anodized cases are 3x the cost. I would consider it, in hindsight.

 

Ok thanks. I would be interested to hear from people who have found a brushed aluminium case with thick (say, 10mm) faceplate. I think the Streacom case is "ok" but it would be nice to get something of higher quality.

[harry26]

hi chris,

for the 16gb crucial memory you mentioned is the part number correct (CT2KIT102464BD160B).

very few sites carry this.cant find this on the crucal web site too.

if possible can you post a link from where can i buy it?

[Mike Gillespie]

harry26, I believe I posted many pages back that this is no longer being made. There is a Ballistix Crucial memory that I believe others are using with success. If you look back through this thread, you'll find some good replacements and sources.

[harry26]

Thanks mike. But in the zuma article chris mentions not to use ballistics ram and says it caused reboots?

[JJJ]

I read in this thread someone asking about how the hard drive was mounted. I think the answer is either it wasn't or possibly double back tape was used. I found that the SATA noise filter is manufactured upside down from the mounting holes on the drive. That bugs me, so I am going to try using some intermediate cables between the filter and the drive. That won't be as neat, but I can then attach the drive to the case with screws.

 

Is this really the case? I was about to purchase the filter but this seems absolutely bonkers. I don't like the idea of fitting parts with velcro and don't even like the idea of not having the filter bolted to the enclosure. Can someone please confirm the orientation of the filter versus an SSD drive?

 

Also, in my build I need to affix the digital portion of the Juli@ XTe card to the enclosure (it will attach to the mobo via flexible riser and will be wired to a female RCA plug for S/PDIF output). I was planning to do this with a couple of M3 threaded spacers bolted to the enclosure, providing a platform for affixing the card. My question is whether I should use nylon spacers or is tapped brass ok? (I will be using existing fixture holes in the card.

[JJJ]

If it is upside down I guess one could readily drill and tap the lid of the SSD so that the threaded mounting holes go all the way through and then you could screw mount the drive inverted.

[Audio_ELF]

Could you not screw some stand-offs onto the bottom of the SSD to raise it up, then screw through the bottom of the case as (it appears) is recommended for securing a drive normally?

 

Chris, if you see this... can you give any recommendations for motherboards which have PCI slots along side the PCIe slots? Several people have enquired about using the old SotM PCI card.

 

Eloise

[Alain92]

Eloise

 

The DQ77MK is quite similar to the DH77EB and has :

- one PCIe 3.0x16

- one PCIe 2.0x1

- one PCIe 2.0x4

- one PCI (legacy)

 

Alain

[harry26]

guys,

i did caps zuma build.my samsung 840 pro SSD is not getting detected by the bios if i use the sotm sata filer.if i remove the filter the ssd gets detected.

i tried this sotm filter in one of my other PC with oCZ SSD.same issue.

 

infact i had bought two of thes filters.none of them worked.am i missing anything here or the filters mite be defective??

appreciate any help regarding this.