HTPC / Minimserver build (HDPlex H5 + 100W Linear Power Supply)

[imckt]

My old QNAP NAS installed with Minimserver and KODI. As the hardware is outdated and not powerful enough to handle HEVC 4K, I have choose to build my own one.

 

Building process is really straight forward. Remember to choose the GX16-2 connector for the case. The Nano 250W DC-ATX must be placed close enough to the GX16-2 connector. Power connection chain as below

 

100W LPS (19V XLR output) -> GX16-2 connector on the case -> Nano 250W DC-ATX (19V input) -> Motherboard/SATA power connector

 

Configuration

HDPlex H5 Gen2 case for passive cooling (Can handle 95TPW CPU)

HDPlex 100W LPS (Clean power is important for both Hifi and AV purpose)

HDPlex 250W DC-ATX (Convert the 19V output from LPS into MB/CPU/SATA power)

Gigabyte M.ATX G1 Sniper M7

Intel i5-6500 Skylake (65TPW, CPU power should able to handle HEVC 4K)

Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit

Crucial MX200 M.2 500G SSD (Make it simple without SATA cable)

Broadcom 1G Fiber LAN card with SFP (For LAN ground isolation)

Elfidelity Rainbow Sugar 2 (For noise absorption)

[sandston]

Ive been curious about the ElFidelity noise canceling card. This company gets no attention on CA. While its not SOTM or Paul Pang I'm surprised there hasnt been more talk about the merits of these affordable computer audio products. I own there USB card and with an ELCheapo LPS its managed to remove quite a bit of noise from my less that optimum computer server. Sorry to hijack the thread with the first response but would love to hear your experience with the ElFidelity.

[imckt]

I also owned Elfidelity USB card. With LPS supply to the USB card, they perform well with the price tag of USD 25. Of course you cannot compare SoTM / PPA as they are in different price range. But if you are looking for causal listening with bedroom PC, this should be a great choice.

 

For the PCIe noise absorption card, they need time for run-in. They improve my video output. There is no harm to try with only USD 25.

[tboooe]

Just wondering if you considered getting the HDPlex 300W LPS ATX supply to replace both the 100W LPS and 250 AC-DC converter board? I just got one and will be using to to power 2 PCs directly. Hopefully by getting rid of the 250 AC-DC board I will get some improvement in sound.

[Cebolla]

My old QNAP NAS installed with Minimserver and KODI. As the hardware is outdated and not powerful enough to handle HEVC 4K, I have choose to build my own one.

 

Building process is really straight forward. Remember to choose the GX16-2 connector for the case. The Nano 250W DC-ATX must be placed close enough to the GX16-2 connector. Power connection chain as below

 

100W LPS (19V XLR output) -> GX16-2 connector on the case -> Nano 250W DC-ATX (19V input) -> Motherboard/SATA power connector

 

Configuration

HDPlex H5 Gen2 case for passive cooling (Can handle 95TPW CPU)

HDPlex 100W LPS (Clean power is important for both Hifi and AV purpose)

HDPlex 250W DC-ATX (Convert the 19V output from LPS into MB/CPU/SATA power)

Gigabyte M.ATX G1 Sniper M7

Intel i5-6500 Skylake (65TPW, CPU power should able to handle HEVC 4K)

Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit

Crucial MX200 M.2 500G SSD (Make it simple without SATA cable)

Broadcom 1G Fiber LAN card with SFP (For LAN ground isolation)

Elfidelity Rainbow Sugar 2 (For noise absorption)

Wow, talking about requiring a physical build and processing power at opposite ends of the spectrum. I just run my MinimServer on a tiny, efficient, very low powered Raspberry Pi!

 

Though of course I don't run anything else on it, apart from the BubbleUPnP Server helper software, certainly not KODI nor any other thing to do with supplying video files

[imckt]

Considered 300W LPS but it kills my budget. My DLNA DAC feed by LAN instead of USB. I will pay more attention on LAN isolation instead (Running Minimserver). But if i am using USB connection, probably I will buy the 300W LPS.

 

A good LPS definitely improve the HDMI ouput. Compared a normal PSU with the HDplex 100W LPS - Better contrast, color is more vivid, squeeze details in dark area and lines are more solid. But AV function does not justify for an expensive LPS.

 

FYI. AQ jitterbug also provide some improvement in HDMI output.

[SimoneF]

I also owned Elfidelity USB card. With LPS supply to the USB card, they perform well with the price tag of USD 25. Of course you cannot compare SoTM / PPA as they are in different price range. But if you are looking for causal listening with bedroom PC, this should be a great choice.

 

For the PCIe noise absorption card, they need time for run-in. They improve my video output. There is no harm to try with only USD 25.

 

Why it is not possible to compare it with sotm? They do exactly the same thing

[imckt]

I have owned the SotM before and it is broken. And i buy Elfidelity as the replacement. My first impression is the sound a bit blur than before. But i am still happy to keep it as I would like a budget card for my bedroom PC. There is already a big improvement from motherboard USB port.

 

Sotm/PPA is a PCIe to USB bridge card, while Elfidelity is connect to USB panel within motherboard. They all perform power filtering and accept LPS. But Sotm/PPA has clock chip while Elfidelity does not. According to Elfidelity say, they believe their approach is better than Sotm/PPA due to simplicity in signal path. (ICH->USB directly, instead of ICH->PCIE->USB)

 

To my ear, Sotm perform better than Elfidelity. But Elfidelity exceed my expectation with 1/10 of Sotm price.

[germay0653]

Just wondering if you considered getting the HDPlex 300W LPS ATX supply to replace both the 100W LPS and 250 AC-DC converter board? I just got one and will be using to to power 2 PCs directly. Hopefully by getting rid of the 250 AC-DC board I will get some improvement in sound.

 

Doesn't the DC to ATX conversion still need to happen and it's just inside the LPS main chassis, as opposed to in the PC, with the 300W version?

[tboooe]

Doesn't the DC to ATX conversion still need to happen and it's just inside the LPS main chassis, as opposed to in the PC, with the 300W version?

 

I thought the 250w internal converter board is switch mode? If so I was hoping replacing that with a lps atx would be better.

[germay0653]

I thought the 250w internal converter board is switch mode? If so I was hoping replacing that with a lps atx would be better.

 

It's doing the same thing internally as the 250W DC to ATX is doing externally but has a max wattage of 300. It also provides other outputs on the back of the LPS to power other components. The LPS itself is converting AC @YourCountriesVoltage to DC @somevoltage. That DC @somevoltage then needs to be converted (which is what the converter is doing) to the following DC output voltages (+3.3V, +5V, +12V and -12V) to power the motherboards own components.

[SimoneF]

I have owned the SotM before and it is broken. And i buy Elfidelity as the replacement. My first impression is the sound a bit blur than before. But i am still happy to keep it as I would like a budget card for my bedroom PC. There is already a big improvement from motherboard USB port.

 

Sotm/PPA is a PCIe to USB bridge card, while Elfidelity is connect to USB panel within motherboard. They all perform power filtering and accept LPS. But Sotm/PPA has clock chip while Elfidelity does not. According to Elfidelity say, they believe their approach is better than Sotm/PPA due to simplicity in signal path. (ICH->USB directly, instead of ICH->PCIE->USB)

 

To my ear, Sotm perform better than Elfidelity. But Elfidelity exceed my expectation with 1/10 of Sotm price.

 

Yes sotm and PPa have an internal clock. But in asynchronous trasfer the master clock is in the dac, not in the usb pcie card. It could be useful with a isochronous audio streaming but every modern dac Are asynchronous. So i honestly think that spending 350€ just to separate power pins to data pins (because i hope that if someone spend 350€ for the card he could spend 50€ for a LPS) is quite nonsense.

Ps: tried both the elfidelity and the sotm

[germay0653]

Yes sotm and PPa have an internal clock. But in asynchronous trasfer the master clock is in the dac, not in the usb pcie card. It could be useful with a isochronous audio streaming but every modern dac Are asynchronous. So i honestly think that spending 350€ just to separate power pins to data pins (because i hope that if someone spend 350€ for the card he could spend 50€ for a LPS) is quite nonsense.

Ps: tried both the elfidelity and the sotm

 

Async or not, the cleaner (less noise, EMI, RFI) and more timely the arrival of the signal is when it gets to the DAC, the less work the DAC has to do to correct or interpret it. That work the DAC has to do in performing the correction induces it's own noise also. If you have the opportunity, you should try the JPLAY or PPA cards in conjunction with something like the Uptone Audio REGEN. Everything in the chain can make a difference. It just ends up being how much you're willing to spend to get the improvement. Your, and nobody else's, decision as to whether it's worth it.

[Dev]

I use a PPA v4 card along with Jplay/AO, with Intona/RUR in chain and I can honestly say that its quiet an improvement over using the stock mobo USB port.

[tboooe]

That DC @somevoltage then needs to be converted (which is what the converter is doing) to the following DC output voltages (+3.3V, +5V, +12V and -12V) to power the motherboards own components.

 

I guess this is where I may be missing something. How is the 300W LPS and the 250W internal board doing this DC conversion? The HDPlex site says the 250W internal board is 94% efficient which leads me to believe it has to be a switch mode supply. As I understand it, the 300W does this conversion linearly which is why it is so large and gets so much hotter than the 250W board.

 

If I am totally wrong can someone please educate me on how the DC conversion is being done on both these products?

[Tone Depth]

The 300W ATX LPSU converts AC to DC with independent DC outputs (+19V, +12V, +9V (7V-19V adjustable), and +5V USB 3.1 type C). One of these outputs could be used with the HiFi 250W DC-ATX mounted in the H5 chassis converting to the ATX DC voltages for the motherboard and components. The HiFi 250W DC-ATX is a SMPS and has much higher ripple values in mV.

 

The 300W ATX LPSU also converts AC directly to ATX DC (+12V, -12V, +5V, +3.3V, and +5V USB) through the ATX modular outputs. These would be connected to ATX modular inputs on the H5 chassis, and then internally to the motherboard and components. These modular outputs have much lower ripple values in mV.

 

I guess this is where I may be missing something. How is the 300W LPS and the 250W internal board doing this DC conversion? The HDPlex site says the 250W internal board is 94% efficient which leads me to believe it has to be a switch mode supply. As I understand it, the 300W does this conversion linearly which is why it is so large and gets so much hotter than the 250W board.

 

If I am totally wrong can someone please educate me on how the DC conversion is being done on both these products?

[germay0653]

Don't sweat the details Tboooe. The 300W LPSU has more power, is more versatile (more output connections) and quieter (less ripple) than the 100W with 250W DC to ATX Converter. Internally, it's taking the AC and converting it to all the DC voltage values you'll probably ever need.

 

Specification for Independent Output:

 

[TABLE=width: 100%]

[TR]

[TD=width: 30%]Output Voltage [/TD]

[TD=width: 20%]Max DC Current [/TD]

[TD=width: 20%]Full Load DC Current[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%]Output Voltage Tolerance[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]Ripple (mV) [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [TABLE=width: 100%]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] +19V [/TH]

[TD=width: 20%] 7A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 5A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 3mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] +12V [/TH]

[TD=width: 16%] 7A[/TD]

[TD=width: 16%] 5A[/TD]

[TD=width: 16%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 2mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] +9V Adjustable 7V-19V[/TH]

[TD=width: 16%] 3A[/TD]

[TD=width: 16%] 2A[/TD]

[TD=width: 16%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 2mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] +5V (Including USB 3.1 Type C)[/TH]

[TD=width: 16%] 3A[/TD]

[TD=width: 16%] 2A[/TD]

[TD=width: 16%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 2mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

 

Specification ATX Modular Output:

 

[TABLE=width: 100%]

[TR]

[TD=width: 30%]Output Voltage [/TD]

[TD=width: 20%]Max DC Current [/TD]

[TD=width: 20%]Full Load DC Current[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%]Output Voltage Tolerance[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%]Ripple (mV) [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [TABLE=width: 100%]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] +12V [/TH]

[TD=width: 20%] 18A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 15A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 3mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] -12V [/TH]

[TD=width: 20%] 1A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 0.5A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 5mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%]+5V[/TH]

[TD=width: 20%] 16A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 13A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 2%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 3mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] +3.3V [/TH]

[TD=width: 20%] 16A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 13A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 1%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 3mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TH=width: 30%] 5V SB[/TH]

[TD=width: 20%] 3A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 12A[/TD]

[TD=width: 20%] 1%[/TD]

[TD=width: 10%] 5mV[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

The Ripple values for the ATX modular output are 10 fold better (quieter) than the separate 250W DC to ATX converter. It's hotter because it's doing more work to accommodate more output, both voltage and amperage, capability.

 

=

I guess this is where I may be missing something. How is the 300W LPS and the 250W internal board doing this DC conversion? The HDPlex site says the 250W internal board is 94% efficient which leads me to believe it has to be a switch mode supply. As I understand it, the 300W does this conversion linearly which is why it is so large and gets so much hotter than the 250W board.

 

If I am totally wrong can someone please educate me on how the DC conversion is being done on both these products?