Paul Pang musicserver/pc my experiences

[paulpaul]

The board is fine, powering the ocxo from it's 5V usb supply is not, you could try powering it from a separate stable fast(high bandwidth) 5V supply. Get something which can atleast supply 1A of current. Most OCXO's will draw up to 800mA for the first 5 minutes or so of operation. It is possible to get a reasonably stable running system with a ppa ocxo on your gigabyte board.

 

Edit: Also check the speed at which your memory is running. This model gigabyte is unstable at higher memory clockspeeds.

 

I got a Hyperjuice 10000wh with usb 5v 2.1A output. Is it good enough to power up the clock?

[edbk]

I got a Hyperjuice 10000wh with usb 5v 2.1A output. Is it good enough to power up the clock?

 

Yep thatll do it!

[kilroy]

The board is fine, powering the ocxo from it's 5V usb supply is not, you could try powering it from a separate stable fast(high bandwidth) 5V supply. Get something which can atleast supply 1A of current. Most OCXO's will draw up to 800mA for the first 5 minutes or so of operation. It is possible to get a reasonably stable running system with a ppa ocxo on your gigabyte board.

 

Edit: Also check the speed at which your memory is running. This model gigabyte is unstable at higher memory clockspeeds.

 

He doesn't have the Gigabyte board, I do.

 

My experience was the opposite of yours with the clock on the Asus.

[edbk]

He doesn't have the Gigabyte board, I do.

 

My experience was the opposite of yours with the clock on the Asus.

 

Ok then you can ignore the memory speed

[paulpaul]

Ok then you can ignore the memory speed

 

I can't boot up the machine this evening. I powered up the clock with hyperjuice battery and it was warm then, but the PC could not boot up.

[edbk]

I can't boot up the machine this evening. I powered up the clock with hyperjuice battery and it was warm then, but the PC could not boot up.

 

Really? That should really work quite well. Did you close the case again after installing the battery? The ppa is very sensitive, it can even reboot from just moving your hand within 3-4 inches of the clock.

[paulpaul]

Really? That should really work quite well. Did you close the case again after installing the battery? The ppa is very sensitive, it can even reboot from just moving your hand within 3-4 inches of the clock.

 

I just have a chance to boot up once and listened a few songs with dropouts all the time, and then it rebooted again.

 

Did you use PPA Pico PSU?

[edbk]

No but afaik thats just a regular pico psu. Even the 6700K on an asus z170m-plus draws a maximum of 128watts during filter setup (100% cpu load), the 6700T should draw way less, maybe 5A @12V max. But about those dropouts, what are you trying to do with hqp?

[paulpaul]

No but afaik thats just a regular pico psu. Even the 6700K on an asus z170m-plus draws a maximum of 128watts during filter setup (100% cpu load), the 6700T should draw way less, maybe 5A @12V max. But about those dropouts, what are you trying to do with hqp?

 

I suspect this is not really related to loading. I tried play a DSD file and CPU loading dropped almost to 0%. Buffer was increased to 250ms. Dropouts still happened. I really don't have any ideas.

[paulpaul]

I suspect this is not really related to loading. I tried play a DSD file and CPU loading dropped almost to 0%. Buffer was increased to 250ms. Dropouts still happened. I really don't have any ideas.

 

I do plan to buy a new mobo. Cannot spend any more time on this PC.

[Dev]

I too had problems with pico/lpsu combinations several times. So far I have blown out two pico psu from over voltage. I had bought a bunch of PPA parts - v4 (ocxo based) usb card, Ram and PPA clock module upgrades (fried a ASRock mobo but made it work on Asus). Usually to debug boot problems, I have a cheap Corsair ATX psu and try that whenever I run into problems like these. Disconnect everything except the mobo and cpu. Once you get into the bios successfully, try to connect the SSD boot drive. When that succeeds, connect the USB card. So one step at a time. It helps narrow down the problem better.

[edbk]

I suspect this is not really related to loading. I tried play a DSD file and CPU loading dropped almost to 0%. Buffer was increased to 250ms. Dropouts still happened. I really don't have any ideas.

 

Hmm thats pretty strange. However I dont think your dropouts are hardware related. Software seems much more likely. Getting the ppa ocxo running stable is challenging though. Clock instability symptoms are more in the realm of boot instability, freezes, reboots. I suspect you're battling 2 seperate issues here.

[kilroy]

I can't boot up the machine this evening. I powered up the clock with hyperjuice battery and it was warm then, but the PC could not boot up.

 

 

It's the SATA cables. PP's sound great but can be barely functional. Replace the OS drive cable with a generic and the problem will go away most likely. Then tell him to give you a replacement or your money back.

[Dev]

It's the SATA cables. PP's sound great but can be barely functional. Replace the OS drive cable with a generic and the problem will go away most likely. Then tell him to give you a replacement or your money back.

 

if the Bios/UEFI was able to run, then likely it could be the sata cables. I have read problems with JCAT/PPA sata cables in other forums as well.

[EuroDriver]

Arrrh ! the nostalgic joys of a home brew PC

 

Been there, done that, :-)

[mitkey]

I am basically using PP OCXO for audio PC with 2012 R2 in core mode.

 

for control PC, as a matter of experiment, I used Intel NUC 5ppyh with LPS on 2012 R2 in GUI mode.

 

for best sound quality, I hook blujeans cat 6a to audio PC and configure a fix IP.

 

my problem is the NUC Wireless does not have a 2012 driver and I am forced to use a mouse to control foobar2k. I wonder how can I get around this ? (although a h170 mobo with dual ethernet port would save the day, I am refrain to minimize spending on control PC).

 

is it possible to use a USB-gigabit ether such as USB3GIG linksys to work as second ethernet in 2012R2 gui mode ?

[tboooe]

I am basically using PP OCXO for audio PC with 2012 R2 in core mode.

 

for control PC, as a matter of experiment, I used Intel NUC 5ppyh with LPS on 2012 R2 in GUI mode.

 

for best sound quality, I hook blujeans cat 6a to audio PC and configure a fix IP.

 

my problem is the NUC Wireless does not have a 2012 driver and I am forced to use a mouse to control foobar2k. I wonder how can I get around this ? (although a h170 mobo with dual ethernet port would save the day, I am refrain to minimize spending on control PC).

 

is it possible to use a USB-gigabit ether such as USB3GIG linksys to work as second ethernet in 2012R2 gui mode ?

 

Have you tried installing the driver for Win 10? That should work. I've used a usb3 to gigabit adapter as well with my Server machine. Both worked fine.

[paulpaul]

Have you tried installing the driver for Win 10? That should work. I've used a usb3 to gigabit adapter as well with my Server machine. Both worked fine.

 

After spending 6 days of experimenting this PC, the causes are:

 

1. A loose contact of Clock jumper

2. My HDMI connection with Panasonic LED TV caused a lot or problems. I guess my TV HDMI is sort of not "very compatible" with the onboard graphics card.

3. Missing a media streaming driver caused the stuttering when playing HQPlayer

 

I would say PPA products are good in quality and the loose contact could be due to shipment.

[Pepsican]

After spending 6 days of experimenting this PC, the causes are:

 

1. A loose contact of Clock jumper

2. My HDMI connection with Panasonic LED TV caused a lot or problems. I guess my TV HDMI is sort of not "very compatible" with the onboard graphics card.

3. Missing a media streaming driver caused the stuttering when playing HQPlayer

 

I would say PPA products are good in quality and the loose contact could be due to shipment.

 

 

Hurrah! Also fair of you to post back your comments :-)

[edbk]

Congratulations, must be a relief!

[paulpaul]

Hurrah! Also fair of you to post back your comments :-)

 

My belief is that Paul Pang is a master in CAS but sometimes he could be too busy to take care all these nitty gritty stuff. I am sure this is piece of cake for him. Sorry, I am a naive and still have a long journey to go.

[paulpaul]

Congratulations, must be a relief!

 

The three issue hasn't sorted out yet.

 

I tried a few things regarding the dropouts.

 

Connect HQPlayer's PC Windows 10 to NAA v. 311 Cubox-i4Pro. A lot of dropouts.

Connect HQPlayer's PC Windows 10 to NAA v.32 MacBook Air. No dropouts

Install NAA v.321 for Cubox-i4Pro. HQPlayer cannot connect to NAA

 

Still a long way to go.

[Evo-No-Revo]

Hope sharing my PPA experience is OK here.

 

I myself bought a PPA music server and LPSU in mid 2014. It took about three months to get. Let me say that it sounds incredible. I love the sound..

 

I did have to deal with a cable connections coming loose in shipping. Paul told me to look for that.

 

My issues started though because of the way Paul uses thermal paste on the bottom and sides of the top cover. They are to make physical contact with his custom made heat sinks and case sides. When I removed the cover, not being much beyond an upper level computer novice, I didn't even know what the paste was. I figured it was some sort of cooling contact. But I tried to clean it up a little. Then I started having heat issues to the point it wouldn't run. I didn't want to use some local IT around my area so I actually sent it back to Paul. He got it dialed back in and returned in about two months.

 

I then let Server 2012 completely expire and couldn't get 2102 R2 reinstalled. At that point I didn't want to send it back to Taiwan or trust anyone local. I now understand it isn't that big of a deal..... I called Audio Phil and asked for a referral in the US and he referred my Leon Motta in Florida. I sent the server to Leon. He is a real pleasure to deal with and makes himself very available. He really takes his work personally and will make sure you are satisfied.

 

Leon rebuilt my PPA server using a new case and heat pipes for cooling and all of my PPA components. I have had some issues but that is because of my stunted IT abilities and 2012 R2. I still had to make 100% sure all connections were tight after shipping. Three times I have shipped and three times had connection issues.

 

The server sounds outstanding but I am tired of interacting with Windows or Mac to access my music. I have bought an Aurender N10 and actually love listening to music again. I no longer deal with the Windows 2012 R2/Audioptimizer/HQ Player/Roon chain.

 

I am selling my Paul Pang Built/Leon Motta Rebuilt audio/video server with PPA LPSU. PM or I will post a for sale thread some day...

 

If and when I go back to a Windows based system Leon will build my server from the ground up. And using lots of Pang's parts.

 

I definitely get the sense Paul is very courteous, honest and way too overloaded. It is a hard place to step up to employees and still keep that personal hand on all aspects or a growing business. Indecision at the point Paul is now can hurt the image even though the product is really quite good.

[rkraanen]

I have had my PP Music Server and switch for a while now. The Music server has been sent back twice and the switch once. Now the server is broken and for the last 4 months I have been emailing Paul Pang but he just doesn’t reply. The sound is very good, but the quality of the music server parts is crap. I will never buy something related to Paul Pang ever again. I can’t say the service is bad, as there simply is no service.