Another HDPLEX H5 Gen 2 build

[germay0653]

Case: HD-PLEX H5 Gen 2

MB: ASUS MAXIMUS VII GENE

CPU: Intel i7-4785T

Memory: 16 GB G.Skill TridentX PC3-21300

Disk - OS: Plextor M6e Series 256GB M.2 PCIe

Disk - Music: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB

USB: PPA Studio 3.0 V3

Power Sources: HDPLEX 100W LPS with 250W ATX Converter, 2 - TeraDAK X1 LPS (1 for PPA USB Card, 1 for Music disk)

Cables: ModDIY Red sleeved Silver Plated Copper for MB, Light Harmonic Lightspeed 10G USB

Software: OS - Win 10 Pro, Fidelizer (Free version), Roon, JPLAY

 

[ElviaCaprice]

Very good, germay, does the Regen still help in better SQ with your optimized CAPS?

[germay0653]

I now have the CAPS hooked up to my HT/Two channel system (see my profile on head-fi for that system config). I pulled the Regen out to use it with the headphone system. In the HT/Two channel system I really had a hard time discerning a difference. The Regen does wonders when using a lesser DAC, IMO.

[tboooe]

Nice! I am diggin on those red sleeved power cables! I was thinking about picking up a white sleeved set. Do you mind if I ask which cable set you bought exactly?

 

By the way, i intend to pick up a Paul Pang V4 USB to use with my dual head Light Harmonic cable once my HDPlex 300W ATX linear power supply arrives. I am curious what improvement you heard using the Paul Pang versus what you had previously. I am currently using the usb output from the mobo.

[ElviaCaprice]

I now have the CAPS hooked up to my HT/Two channel system (see my profile on head-fi for that system config). I pulled the Regen out to use it with the headphone system. In the HT/Two channel system I really had a hard time discerning a difference. The Regen does wonders when using a lesser DAC, IMO.

 

Okay, I gotta ask, interesting, why build a caps for a home theater preamp processor? Why not just stream the digital signal HDMI or Ethernet?

[germay0653]

Nice! I am diggin on those red sleeved power cables! I was thinking about picking up a white sleeved set. Do you mind if I ask which cable set you bought exactly?

 

By the way, i intend to pick up a Paul Pang V4 USB to use with my dual head Light Harmonic cable once my HDPlex 300W ATX linear power supply arrives. I am curious what improvement you heard using the Paul Pang versus what you had previously. I am currently using the usb output from the mobo.

 

Regarding the cables, I gave them the specs, cable type, connectors, pin types, pinouts and lengths, I wanted for the build along with the sleeve color.

 

Too early to tell the difference between what I had before and the PPA card. I will tell you the OCXC clock throws off a bit of heat and it should because it's oven controlled to optimize the performance of the crystal. I've been listening through speakers but still need to use the cans for critical listening. The price/performance ratio for cans makes them a lot more affordable than a set of speakers and/or sub.

[germay0653]

Okay, I gotta ask, interesting, why build a caps for a home theater preamp processor? Why not just stream the digital signal HDMI or Ethernet?

 

Because it's a good stereo preamp and I bypass most of the HT DSP when listening to music only.

 

I use the bass management to set crossover points between the L & R speakers and a sub. I've also been trying to utilize the DIRAC Live DSP to compensate for room acoustics. I may still purchase room treatments if the DSP doesn't cut it. My room isn't built to golden ratio dimensions so room modes and reflections need to be managed.

[zerung]

Great job Germay! What made you not go for PCIeSSD and forget those cables and bottle neck speed?

[germay0653]

Great job Germay! What made you not go for PCIeSSD and forget those cables and bottle neck speed?

 

I did go for PCIe SSD with the Plextor but, unfortunately, it's only x2, not x4 on this MB. I use it for the OS and the Samsung 1TB for music. I believe the speed is better utilized by the OS as opposed to the music disk.

[zerung]

Good one G. I am getting my system together and have taken a slightly different path, newer CPU, faster ram support,etc.. But I can why you did what you did. But I don't see You Have upgraded the mobo clock?

I bet it sounds great....

[germay0653]

Correct, I did not upgrade the MB clock because I didn't want to void the warranty on the MB plus I have never removed a stock clock to replace it with one of Paul's. I had already purchased many of the components before the Z170 and LGA 1151 platforms came out so I stuck with the Z97 and LGA 1150. I already had the memory from another build and for audio purposes it is fast enough. Also, I switched from a JCAT USB to the PPA USB because my JCAT is one from the first batch from them and wasn't compatible with the VII GENE MB. It just would not boot with the JCAT card.

 

The system is improving over time. Some people don't believe in burn-in but I do.

[andru26]

Hi Germay,

 

Do the ModDIY Red sleeved Silver Plated Copper cables bring any improvement in SQ, beside the fact that they look great in your build?

[germay0653]

Hard to say because those are the only cables I have ever used for this build so I have nothing to compare it to. I would think improvement, if any, would be marginal at best.

 

Hi Germay,

 

Do the ModDIY Red sleeved Silver Plated Copper cables bring any improvement in SQ, beside the fact that they look great in your build?

[andru26]

Thanks Germay.

 

One more question: I know that HD Plex 100W LPS is able to power both the USB card and the SSD with its separate outputs. Yet, you are using the 2 Teradak LPSU instead.

Did you compare the sound when using the HD Plex 100W alone vs your current setup? I would be very interested to find out about this.

[ElviaCaprice]

Thanks Germay.

 

One more question: I know that HD Plex 100W LPS is able to power both the USB card and the SSD with its separate outputs. Yet, you are using the 2 Teradak LPSU instead.

Did you compare the sound when using the HD Plex 100W alone vs your current setup? I would be very interested to find out about this.

 

You don't want to do that. Separate power supplies for each the USB card and SSD is more ideal so as to not have any power feedback corrupt each other, especially for the USB card. Also I don't think the 5V output of the HDPlex 100W LPS has enough output/amps to power both?

[andru26]

You don't want to do that. Separate power supplies for each the USB card and SSD is more ideal so as to not have any power feedback corrupt each other, especially for the USB card. Also I don't think the 5V output of the HDPlex 100W LPS does not have enough output/amps to power both?

 

Ok, I see. And what do you think about going full ATX with: HDPLEX Fanless 300W ATX Linear Power Supply with Modular ATX Output

Any experience with this one?

[ElviaCaprice]

Ok, I see. And what do you think about going full ATX with: HDPLEX Fanless 300W ATX Linear Power Supply with Modular ATX Output

Any experience with this one?

 

Yes, the original was a disaster in my experience. But, Larry is working on making corrections. When that will happen, who knows. Until it is released and some feedback has occurred, I wouldn't touch it. Take Larry's time frames with a grain of salt. It could be another year for all we know. Basically, the 300W ATX is not an option as of now. Use the same as Germay to power your PC. I would power the USB card and SSD (OS) separately with Uptone's new LPS-1, 2 of them. I use a switching 5V power supply to power all my other 5V HDD's.

 

Note: You could use the 5V and 5V variable output on the HDPlex 100 LPS for powering your SSD and USB card. But honestly, I'm not so hot on the HDPlex as a pure power source, for the PC, okay. Short term solution SSD, USB, okay.

[andru26]

Yes, the original was a disaster in my experience. But, Larry is working on making corrections. When that will happen, who knows. Until it is released and some feedback has occurred, I wouldn't touch it. Take Larry's time frames with a grain of salt. It could be another year for all we know. Basically, the 300W ATX is not an option as of now. Use the same as Germay to power your PC. I would power the USB card and SSD (OS) separately with Uptone's new LPS-1, 2 of them. I use a switching 5V power supply to power all my other 5V HDD's.

 

Note: You could use the 5V and 5V variable output on the HDPlex 100 LPS for powering your SSD and USB card. But honestly, I'm not so hot on the HDPlex as a pure power source, for the PC, okay. Short term solution SSD, USB, okay.

 

Hi ElviaCaprice,

Thanks for the details. As a matter of fact, I am not very sure what power solution to choose for my PC. HD Plex looks good for its flexibility, but I am sure it has its limits.

I also noticed Uptone's JS-2 Linear Power Supply which looks high quality, but that also doesn't seem to be able to power the PC + USB + SATA, because it only has 2 outputs.

Honestly, I would prefer to go for a all in one solution LPSU, if possible, but not in the detriment of the SQ.

Could you make some recommendations?

[ElviaCaprice]

Hi ElviaCaprice,

Thanks for the details. As a matter of fact, I am not very sure what power solution to choose for my PC. HD Plex looks good for its flexibility, but I am sure it has its limits.

I also noticed Uptone's JS-2 Linear Power Supply which looks high quality, but that also doesn't seem to be able to power the PC + USB + SATA, because it only has 2 outputs.

Honestly, I would prefer to go for a all in one solution LPSU, if possible, but not in the detriment of the SQ.

Could you make some recommendations?

 

All depends on your build, media player, DAC. Are you going to go low power motherboard/CPU or High power upsampling, or something in between?

Myself, I'm something in between, but scaled down for low power, I like to do video also with HQ sound.

 

Either way, I was like you, wanted a one power solution. Don't do it. Came to the conclusion your better off with various power supplies and different power sockets independent of each other, on your walls.

[andru26]

All depends on your build, media player, DAC. Are you going to go low power motherboard/CPU or High power upsampling, or something in between?

Myself, I'm something in between, but scaled down for low power, I like to do video also with HQ sound.

I am planning to go for low power with this CPU (Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1235L v5 (8M Cache, 2.00 GHz) Specifications) and this Mobo (https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SAE-M.cfm).

My DAC has its own LPSU, so I will be needing the new LPSU for my PC only, plus SSD and USB card.

What do you think?

[ElviaCaprice]

I am planning to go for low power with this CPU (Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1235L v5 (8M Cache, 2.00 GHz) Specifications) and this Mobo (https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SAE-M.cfm).

My DAC has its own LPSU, so I will be needing the new LPSU for my PC only, plus SSD and USB card.

What do you think?

 

Why such a big mobo? I like the Intel Xeon processor but an I7 would probably serve you just as well. Do you want to upsample with HQP? What media player do you like best? Does your DAC do DSD? Are you going to use a graphics card? Obviously with that Mobo and CPU you have to use a graphics card, that can be power intensive. Correct? I don't see built in graphics on that mobo.

[andru26]

Well, the mobo is Micro-ATX, it's not big. It's the same as the one shown here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/attachments/f10-music-servers/23908d1454263215-hdplex-2nd-gen-h5-silent-music-player-build-hd-plex_h5_music_player_1.jpg

 

I chosen Xeon, because it supports ECC memory and more importantly Apacer Industrial RAM, which many recommend as being high quality.

 

I am now using BHE as player which I find superior to Jriver. Unfortunately, I don't have experience with HQP, but I will give it a try.

 

My DAC doees DSD 128x, but I might be looking into higher resolution DACs in the future.

[ElviaCaprice]

Well, the mobo is Micro-ATX, it's not big. It's the same as the one shown here: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/attachments/f10-music-servers/23908d1454263215-hdplex-2nd-gen-h5-silent-music-player-build-hd-plex_h5_music_player_1.jpg

 

I chosen Xeon, because it supports ECC memory and more importantly Apacer Industrial RAM, which many recommend as being high quality.

 

I am now using BHE as player which I find superior to Jriver. Unfortunately, I don't have experience with HQP, but I will give it a try.

 

My DAC doees DSD 128x, but I might be looking into higher resolution DACs in the future.

 

Okay, with that answer your going to need a lot of power I would imagine, for HQP and the graphics card. Personally I would go with a fanless switching power supply for your 24 pin, CPU and graphics power. You'll have to do some searches for the best one in your application. I would skip the HDPlex components altogether. Use silent fans but power them separately, not from the mobo. Power separately your USB card and SSD (OS).

 

Many folks would use a dual PC system for high power PC. I'm probably not the one to ask about a high powered system for audio.

[andru26]

Okay, with that answer your going to need a lot of power I would imagine. Personally I would go with a fanless switching power supply for your 24 pin, CPU and graphics power. You'll have to do some searches for the best one in your application. I would skip the HDPlex components altogether. Use silent fans but power them separately, not from the mobo. Power separately your USB card and SSD (OS).

 

Many folks would use a dual PC system for high power PC.

 

Why do you think I would need a lot of power? The CPU TDP is only 25W.

I am not planning to use HDD, I would like to go with a 32Gb M.2 for the OS and 1Tb SATA SSD for music storage.

I also want to use a fanless solution with the HDPlex H5 case, same as Germay.

 

Larry from HDPlex said that HDPLEX 100W LPS with 250W ATX Converter are good for this job.

 

Am I missing something here?

[ElviaCaprice]

What are you going to do for graphics? HDD's are not an issue, you can power them separately. Will that motherboard work in the HDPlex H5 case???

I don't see it listed as compatible, that mobo, might want to check with Larry. Looking at it and from my build with the H5, I think it will work.