Noob's Proposal For New System - A Request For Assesment & Wisdom

[mayhem13]

Some Bitfrost have USB some don't, I highly recommend USB.

 

Why?

[mayhem13]

Thanks Nombedes & David.

I checked out the CAPS (Zuma) components and it uses a $350.00 sound card. David's advice leads me to believe this is not a necessary choice. It would be great to save $250-$300 if a $50-$100 PCIe card would yield close to the same sound quality and s/n ratio. I'm also convinced the i7 processor as overkill for a rig that will never do anything beyond sound output and the occasional web surfing. I've made a few other economical adjustments that shouldn't affect performance, but I would really to hear some good opinions.

 

Here's the new configuration using an ugly Zuma CAPS wannabe. Any thoughts?

1. ***FLAC files

2. ***Internal Hard Drive (WD 2TB Sata hdd installed in below computer)

3. Homebrew CAPS (ZUMA) tentatively to be comprised of:

exact parts as Zuma:

$90 same win8 64b

$100.00 same mobo: Intel DH77EB / BOXDH77EB

$65.00 same SATA Power Noise Filter: SotM

$79.00 same psu + picoPSU-150-XT + 102W Adapter Power Kit (will it fit in my case? Check first.)

$50.00 same JRMC

Substitutions:

$75.00 Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D PCIe 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Optical Out

$60.00 Silverstone Black Aluminum Case Micro ATX Media Center

$50.00 cpu Intel Celeron G540 Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G540

$60.00 internal ssd ADATA Premier Pro SP900 ASP900S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$26.00 ram ADATA XPG Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-2G

$655.00 total cost(add $275 if Zuma's sound card is necessary)

4. Software Player (I'm open to suggestions. Winamp, iTunes, MediaMonkey, etc)

5. Unknown optical interconnect from optical out on sound card to optical in on DAC

6. DAC - Schiit Bitfrost

 

7. Unknown RCA interconnect from DAC analog out to receiver RCA preamp in

 

8. ***Preamp/Amp: Denon DRA-1025R 2-channel receiver (Class-A amplification and Denon's top-of-the-line model when I bought it new in the late 1980's at Federated's going-out-of-business sale.)

 

9. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from Denon's “Main Out” to RCA “line in” on sub woofer

 

10. ***Sub Woofer: Velodyne F1200 (circa 1995, 12” woofer, 20-85hz +/- 3db, internal amp produces 100 watts RMS, bass management which I plan on using [adjusted to 80hz])

 

11. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from “line out” to “Main In” on Denon receiver

 

12. Unknown speaker wire (or gauge) from Denon to speakers

 

13. ***Speakers: stand-mounted Canton Karat 920 DC bookshelf speakers (circa 1996, 7” woofer + tweeter, none bi-amp)

 

14. ***My 52 year old ear

 

 

Thanks again, folks.

 

Your Asus card via Optical with a glass TosLink will be just fine. It's what's on the other end that counts.

[mayhem13]

Other may disagree with me but I'm not a fan of Laptop/notebooks for audio file source direct playback....far too noisey an environment and plenty of design compromises for the sake of portability and space.

 

Didn't completely understand your first chart as to what you have and don't have but I 'think'? you already have a PC playing Flac files through an optical out of an Asus Card?

If I'm right, I say order up a glass optical cable and the Bitfrost first.

 

Some of what seems extreme costs with the CAPs servers is the expensive case used. There's much less expensive cases available if you wish to build a server based on CAPs. While my iTunes server isn't caps, I did use a nice, affordable Silverstone Lascala series

 

SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.- LC13-E

[mayhem13]

Other may disagree with me but I'm not a fan of Laptop/notebooks for audio file source direct playback....far too noisey an environment and plenty of design compromises for the sake of portability and space.

 

At the risk of sounding too easily swayed, another post (yours) changed my mind - again. I'm going with CAPS!

 

It's that $350 sound card that gets me. I can't see how an expensive sound card can make any difference when the outboard DAC is doing all the work. I guess there's more research to be done before pulling the trigger on anything.

 

Thanks.

 

SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.- LC13-E

 

While I wouldn't spend $350 on a sound add either, in respect to the designer, the omission of it no longer makes it a CAPS.......and that's ok. Chris and other have done some excellent work and research to develop an outta tha box solution for computer audio....but I'm sure he would agree there's more than one way to the same destination.

 

A few things I've picked up along the ways of reading here and other places, as well as real work experiences.....

 

I like optical.....it cannot transmit electrical interference. If the effects of said EMI are already in the bitstream, then there's nothing to be done with any of the transmission methods anyway. Optical is limited in bandwidth, but as Paul mentioned there's little reputable commercial content available to the consumer and I doubt that's going to change. And IMO only, there's no audible benefit of the higher rates

 

The DAC 'IS' responsible for dealing with whatever jitter may be present, whether its USB, Optical, whatever. If the correct implementation of DA conversion is there and proper error correction, the DAC can handle it. This kinda tech isn't exactly cheap and IMO wouldn't expect it done in a sub $300 product.....for all intents and purposes. What's 'good enough' is the an individual question and yours to answer.

 

Processors.......more cores, more switches, more heat, more power, more noise. Some will make the arguement for latency....in the real world fro one end of the chain to the other, the reduced latency of a faster CPUs is negligible when compared to other factors. Just my opinion of course.

 

SSD drives.....I like em for the operating system....super fast boot times, no noise or heat, what's not to like? For external drives, standard HDD is fine but I prefer eSata interface for external of you have to go that route. USB3 is certainly fast.....and extremely electically noisey. Stay away....far far away.

[mayhem13]

Great real world experiences Paul! Of course, being the objectivist that I'm believed to be, I can't develop any facts from your experiences, but I can sure make some assumptions and I agree with your experiences strongly.

 

Coincidentally, I'm heading to Micro Center right now to pick up the final pieces for a local music only server. They're got these killer bundle deals with iCore processors, compatable Mobos and SSD drives. Imagine an i3 ivy bridge, Sata 6 Mobo and 120gig SSD for $250......yummy!

 

Not really final....don't have the case yet. I'm gonna machine my own faceplate from billet aluminum with the Bridgeport mill at work. Should be fun..........?

[mayhem13]

CONFIGURATION AS OF 2/14/12 @ 8am PACIFIC TIME

 

 

This whole rig will only remove $1191.00 from my wallet, possibly less according to mayhem13 & Eloise. I won't be using USB anyway.

 

 

 

The differences between the following computer configuration & Chris' reputable CAPS box are: 1. Case (not as sleek looking but shouldn't affect sound output or ambient noise and extra room actually gives it some advantages), 2. Ram (shouldn't affect SQ and if it did, a few bucks additional would buy Chris' choice), 3. Lower Sandy Bridge CPU (shouldn't make any audible difference and will provide all the power needed for audio-only use), 4. Cheaper but good SSD of same capacity (again, shouldn't make any audible difference), 5. Addition of Internal 3TB WD Green hdd (will add tiny bit of ambient noise, but I've had 3 of these in my HTPC for tw years & know how silent and cool they are – extremely), 6. Different sound card (affect – unknown, but it shouldn't make any measurable difference).

 

 

Computers are modular beasts, are they not? If I end up not liking the SQ from the $40.00 Asus sound card (or anything else) in this configuration, I'll THEN spend the $350.00 for the CAPS approved solution. Other than that, this box should be a winner. Interconnects? You be the judge, please.

 

 

 

 

COMPUTER ($820.00)

$60.00 SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum skin reinforced plastic front panel, 0.8mm SECC body MILO Series ML03B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

$100.00 Intel BOXDH77EB LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

$46.00 G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT

$50.00 Intel Celeron G540 Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G540

$60.00 ADATA Premier Pro SP600 ASP600S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$140.00 3TB Internal Western Digital SATA Green Hard Drive

$40.00 ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1 Channels PCI Express x1 Interface Gaming Audio Card

$60.00 picoPSU-150-XT + 102W Adapter Power Kit

$50.00 Playback App: JRMC v18

$9.00 USB 3.0 internal cable

$65.00 SOtM In-Line SATA Power Noise Filter

$140.00 Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 64-bit (Full Version) – OEM

 

 

EVERYTHING ELSE ($371.00)

$100.00 Schiit Modi DAC (sub-$300? Yes, but these have an excellent rep for sounding way beyond its price point. The designer of DTS - and a whole lot more - makes these and sells 'em direct)

$50.00 Media Software JRiver Media Center

$5.00 Optical Cable (1)

$11.00 RCA Cable Belkin 3' RCA (2)

$0.00 Integrated Amp ****Denon DRA-1025R receiver

$73.00 Sub Woofer RCA Cable 20' bluejean (3)

$0.00 Sub Woofer Velodyne F1200 Powered with Variable Crossover

$73.00 Sub Woofer RCA Cable 20' bluejean (3)

$0.00 Integrated Amp ****Denon DRA-1025R receiver

$60.00 Speaker Cable *****16-gauge Accell B109B 100ft UltraAudio speaker cable (4)

$0.00 Speakers *********Canton Karat 920 DC (stands yet tbd)

$0.00 Remote Control **********Kindle Fire and/or Harmony One

$0.00 Remote Control Software ***Gizmo – included with JRMC

$14.00 Bluetooth Receiver ******* IOGEAR GBU421 2.1 USB Micro Adapter USB (5)

 

 

$1191.00 GRAND TOTAL “OUT OF POCKET” (PLUS TAX AND SHIPPING WHERE APPLICABLE)

links to most of this stuff:

 

1. Optical cable - http://www.amazon.com/Optical-Toslink-Fiber-Plated-Digital/dp/B001VJ680U/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360835480&sr=1-3&keywords=audiophile+optical

2. Belkin 3' RCA (Amazon.com: Belkin PureAV RCA Audio Cable 3 ft: Electronics)

3. 20' bluejean rca subwoofer cable (Amazon.com: Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Double-Shielded Low Capacitance Subwoofer Cable, 20 foot, White: Electronics r=1-11&keywords=blue+jean+cable+rca)

4. 16-gauge Accell B109B UltraAudio speaker cable (100ft) Amazon.com: Accell B109B-100F UltraAudio Speaker Cable, 16-Gauge CL3-rated 100ft / 30m: Electronics r=1-10&keywords=speaker+cable

5. IOGEAR GBU421 Bluetooth 2.1 USB Micro Adapter USB IOGEAR GBU421 Bluetooth 2.1 USB Micro Adapter - Newegg.com)

 

Just give serious considerations to the power supply......the mother of all evils where PC audio is concerned. .......and sorry to say I don't have any useful advice here. Best to search around here a bit in past threads or create a new one.

[mayhem13]

Don't forget the glass optical cable.....nothing too crazy as glass is glass. Remember that they're not as flexible as plastic and you'll need to consider the routing from the Server to your audio gear when selecting the correct length. The mfgr should provide some info on minimum radii.