A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming

[rickca]

13 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

No, I don't think it does.  Molex or 2.1 DC only.  Not sure why, but SOtM could explain.

If the computer is running but the tX-USBexp has no power, why would the card get damaged?  I'll ask SOtM about why it doesn't use PCIe slot power.

 

@jean-michel6 since you brought this up, can you please explain?

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, lmitche said:

Congrats! You win today's CA "Where's Waldo " prize!

 

Why no rectifier?

[lmitche]

19 minutes ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

Why no rectifier?

My choice was to use it as a DC to DC supply, rectifiers are for AC to DC operations. I didn't have a transformer small enough for AC operation.

[auricgoldfinger]

Just now, lmitche said:

It's a DC to DC supply, rectifiers are for AC to DC operations.

 

That's what I was guessing. 

 

Thanks.

[tims]

3 hours ago, rickca said:

I don't understand this.  Even if the tx-USBexp card is not powered by a 4-pin Molex, doesn't it get power from the PCIe slot?

 

Is this safety measure unique to the tx-USBexp, or does it apply to any externally powered PCIe card that also has a 4-pin or SATA power connector? 

 

Can someone please try to answer this?  I'm about to start powering a PCIe USB card (not SOtM) and my internal SSD with external linear power supplies, and I want to make sure I don't fry them!

I've been asking May from SOtM pretty much the same things in the last few days as I have a SOtM sMS-1000SQ server with tx-USBexp and sCLK-EX boards and plan to power my tx-USBexp card externally. 

May has confirmed that in my setup the tx-USBexp gets it's power internally (12v from the 4 pin Molex connector on the tx-USB board) and there is a power cable from the tx-USBexp to the sCLK-EX board presumably also supplying 12v to the sCLK board?

 

What I can't figure out is if I supply external power (between 6.5v ~ 9v) to the tx-USBexp board  does the voltage to the sCLK-EX remain at 12v (from the internal  Molex connector) or changes to the external input voltage (whatever it is between 6.5v ~ 9v)? 

  

I don't think the sCLK-EX can accept a range of input voltage as there are jumpers on the sCLK-EX board that can be changed to three different input voltages only: 12v, 9v or 6.5 ~ 8.5v.  Seems pointless (to a degree) if the tx-USBexp is getting good quality external power and the sCLK-EX is still getting the crappy 12v internal power from the Molex connector or maybe my understanding of how it works is wrong.  

@Johnseye: I think you have the same setup with tx-USBexp and sCLK-EX boards - do you know how the power supply (from the tx board to the sCLK board) is configured when using an external supply?

 

Thanks

[jean-michel6]

6 hours ago, rickca said:

If the computer is running but the tX-USBexp has no power, why would the card get damaged?  I'll ask SOtM about why it doesn't use PCIe slot power.

 

@jean-michel6 since you brought this up, can you please explain?

Ricka

 

I do not really have an explanation. 

It is sotm which says that if you use external power for your pcie txUSB card it is safer to power it also the moles I ternal power connector. 

They say that if the computer is powered with no power to the usb pcie card it may get damaged. 

Myself i use only the external power as I have found that the use of the internal molex power degrade the sound. 

 

If if you need further info only sotm can answer.  

[jean-michel6]

16 hours ago, str-1 said:

My apologies if this question has been addressed in earlier posts.  I’ve followed one or two promising links from the index but couldn’t find what I was looking for.  When using a USB regenerator like the tx-USBultra or ISO Regen, are the USB cables before and after of equal importance in terms of their impact on sound quality, or would the payback on investing in better quality be greater with the cable after the regenerator than with the one before it (or vice versa)?

I have this set up and by far the last cable between txUSB ultra and DAC is the most important. 

 

[Cooler]

I have plans to build custom PC, similar to romaz's one. But i dont understand few things.

He uses sCLK-EX board, which control clocks on motherboard, usb devices inside PC, then he uses tX-USBultra, which controls clocks of iso-regen and router. And both these devices he feeds with one Mutec ref10. So the whole data stream synced starting from router and finishing usb output.

 

 

I thought to do similar thing, and i bought JCAT Net card with good clock, also had plans to buy AQVOX AQ-Switch with good clock, but here is a concern. If these devices not synced, is that mean i wont get similar results to romaz's approach? Is that crucial to have all devices synced to one master clocked, or enough to have good clocks in each device?

Can you clarify this, guys?

[Johnseye]

12 hours ago, tims said:

I've been asking May from SOtM pretty much the same things in the last few days as I have a SOtM sMS-1000SQ server with tx-USBexp and sCLK-EX boards and plan to power my tx-USBexp card externally. 

May has confirmed that in my setup the tx-USBexp gets it's power internally (12v from the 4 pin Molex connector on the tx-USB board) and there is a power cable from the tx-USBexp to the sCLK-EX board presumably also supplying 12v to the sCLK board?

 

What I can't figure out is if I supply external power (between 6.5v ~ 9v) to the tx-USBexp board  does the voltage to the sCLK-EX remain at 12v (from the internal  Molex connector) or changes to the external input voltage (whatever it is between 6.5v ~ 9v)? 

 

Why use the 12v molex if you power externally with 9v?  The 9v power to the tX-USBexp will power the sCLK.  If your 9v external power is from a cleaner source, and it's more direct not passing through the motherboard, why not just use it?

 

12 hours ago, tims said:

  

I don't think the sCLK-EX can accept a range of input voltage as there are jumpers on the sCLK-EX board that can be changed to three different input voltages only: 12v, 9v or 6.5 ~ 8.5v.  Seems pointless (to a degree) if the tx-USBexp is getting good quality external power and the sCLK-EX is still getting the crappy 12v internal power from the Molex connector or maybe my understanding of how it works is wrong.  

@Johnseye: I think you have the same setup with tx-USBexp and sCLK-EX boards - do you know how the power supply (from the tx board to the sCLK board) is configured when using an external supply?

 

Thanks

 

The sCLK can accept a range of voltage.

A removable cable from the tX-USBexp connects to the sCLK for power.

 

[Johnseye]

7 hours ago, Cooler said:

I have plans to build custom PC, similar to romaz's one. But i dont understand few things.

He uses sCLK-EX board, which control clocks on motherboard, usb devices inside PC, then he uses tX-USBultra, which controls clocks of iso-regen and router. And both these devices he feeds with one Mutec ref10. So the whole data stream synced starting from router and finishing usb output.

 

 

I thought to do similar thing, and i bought JCAT Net card with good clock, also had plans to buy AQVOX AQ-Switch with good clock, but here is a concern. If these devices not synced, is that mean i wont get similar results to romaz's approach? Is that crucial to have all devices synced to one master clocked, or enough to have good clocks in each device?

Can you clarify this, guys?

 

It certainly helps.  Crucial or not is relative.  It will sound much better if you do.

[tims]

2 hours ago, Johnseye said:

 

Why use the 12v molex if you power externally with 9v?  The 9v power to the tX-USBexp will power the sCLK.  If your 9v external power is from a cleaner source, and it's more direct not passing through the motherboard, why not just use it?

 

 

The sCLK can accept a range of voltage.

A removable cable from the tX-USBexp connects to the sCLK for power.

 

Thanks for your reply. 

If the tx board is powered by the 12v from the molex connector then presumably(?) there is 12v going to the sCLK board and the sCLK board is set for 12v via the board's jumpers.

If I feed say 7v externally (without opening up the server and disconnecting the Molex connector) then again presumably there will be 7v going to the sCLK board but that means the sCLK jumpers will have to be changed to suit the new input voltage?  Or is the voltage going to the sCLk still 12 v via the internal connector?

That's what I'm trying to understand. 

[RickyV]

11 hours ago, Cooler said:

I have plans to build custom PC, similar to romaz's one. But i dont understand few things.

He uses sCLK-EX board, which control clocks on motherboard, usb devices inside PC, then he uses tX-USBultra, which controls clocks of iso-regen and router. And both these devices he feeds with one Mutec ref10. So the whole data stream synced starting from router and finishing usb output.

 

 

I thought to do similar thing, and i bought JCAT Net card with good clock, also had plans to buy AQVOX AQ-Switch with good clock, but here is a concern. If these devices not synced, is that mean i wont get similar results to romaz's approach? Is that crucial to have all devices synced to one master clocked, or enough to have good clocks in each device?

Can you clarify this, guys?

 

Hi cooler,

i think the all synced clock is a unproven concept. So it is not necessery better then unsynced. I think @austinpop did a test on that and could not hear a difference between the two. 

I went the unsynced route, the newclassd route.

I made the choice that i was not going to buy a expensive reference clock like the ref10 or the cybershaft. Second i believe that the sCLK-ex alone is not better then a newclassd neutron star or mabe the same as a newclassd neutrino clock.

Honestly i think the neutron star is much better then the sCLK-ex but nobody knows for sure.

What it comes down to is how many clocks you need and what is the cheapest way to change them. 

BTW a neutron star has two outputs and thay are synced and galvanic isolated.

From left to right; power supply for neutron star, Neutron star and the neutrino.

[mozes]

8 minutes ago, RickyV said:

 

Hi cooler,

i think the all synced clock is a unproven concept. So it is not necessery better then unsynced. I think @austinpop did a test on that and could not hear a difference between the two. 

I went the unsynced route, the newclassd route.

I made the choice that i was not going to buy a expensive reference clock like the ref10 or the cybershaft. Second i believe that the sCLK-ex alone is not better then a newclassd neutron star or mabe the same as a newclassd neutrino clock.

Honestly i think the neutron star is much better then the sCLK-ex but nobody knows for sure.

What it comes down to is how many clocks you need and what is the cheapest way to change them. 

BTW a neutron star has two outputs and thay are synced and galvanic isolated.

From left to right; power supply for neutron star, Neutron star and the neutrino.

Interesting this Neutron stuff, never heard of it. Can you customize the clock frequency?

[RickyV]

http://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=2&hv=1

 

I do not know why but you have to drop a product in the shopping cart to see the real price you pay. It is much cheaper then on product paige.

[mozes]

3 minutes ago, RickyV said:

http://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=2&hv=1

Thanks I like how they offer it by frequency. Did you install it inside any of your equipment? You need good DIY skills here 

[Cooler]

29 minutes ago, RickyV said:

 

Hi cooler,

i think the all synced clock is a unproven concept. So it is not necessery better then unsynced. I think @austinpop did a test on that and could not hear a difference between the two. 

I went the unsynced route, the newclassd route.

I made the choice that i was not going to buy a expensive reference clock like the ref10 or the cybershaft. Second i believe that the sCLK-ex alone is not better then a newclassd neutron star or mabe the same as a newclassd neutrino clock.

Honestly i think the neutron star is much better then the sCLK-ex but nobody knows for sure.

What it comes down to is how many clocks you need and what is the cheapest way to change them. 

BTW a neutron star has two outputs and thay are synced and galvanic isolated.

From left to right; power supply for neutron star, Neutron star and the neutrino.

Sounds great, but i have no proper skills to use this stuff. Can you show some pics, how you connected these clocks to motherboard and what supply do you use with them(power supply for neutron star connect to which device)?!

[RickyV]

Till now i modded a netgear fs105 with a neutrino. And i modded a iso regen with a Neutron star. 

Soon i have some pics and comments of the iso regen mod. But what i can say now it is certainly better now.

The neutron star is a “sort of” ocxo clock, if that says something.

 

DIY skills really necessary

[Cooler]

16 minutes ago, RickyV said:

http://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=2&hv=1

 

I do not know why but you have to drop a product in the shopping cart to see the real price you pay. It is much cheaper then on product paige.

Because prices with VAT (tax), if you put USA into the Country field, it will exclude VAT from price, which is 19%

[RickyV]

2 minutes ago, Cooler said:

Because prices with VAT (tax), if you put USA into the Country field, it will exclude VAT from price, which is 19%

 

Aha great

 

[RickyV]

 

the netgear switch with newclassd regulator power supply.

You really need diy skills for this. If you do not have the skills you better go the sotm route and sent them  the mobo, switch etc and let them do it.

[Johnseye]

2 hours ago, tims said:

Thanks for your reply. 

If the tx board is powered by the 12v from the molex connector then presumably(?) there is 12v going to the sCLK board and the sCLK board is set for 12v via the board's jumpers.

If I feed say 7v externally (without opening up the server and disconnecting the Molex connector) then again presumably there will be 7v going to the sCLK board but that means the sCLK jumpers will have to be changed to suit the new input voltage?  Or is the voltage going to the sCLk still 12 v via the internal connector?

That's what I'm trying to understand. 

 

Here's a question I asked May, and her response.  My question isn't exactly what you're looking for but this should help.

 

Can I take 12v power from the motherboard to power the tX-USBexp and sCLK-EX via SATA power PCB module?  Then output power from sCLK-EX to tX-USBultra USB module DC In?

 

The tX-USBexp can take 12V internal power, but when you use external power to tX-USBexp, it can’t be 12V, it should be max.9V.

You can power to tX-USBexp externally(9V) and power to sCLK-EX via external 9V-> tX-USBexp-> sCLK-EX directly without SATA connection.

and If you use 12V IDE power to tX-USBexp, yes, you can use this power to sCLK-EX via the J403(tX-USBexp) to  sCLK-EX’s Power input connector(Check the page 2 on the manual), the sCLK-EX should set to accept 12V.

[Cooler]

del

[RickyV]

15 minutes ago, Cooler said:

del

 

If you onely want to buy a sCLK-ex you need skills too. Measure dc voltage of xo you want to replace and you have to know the frequency. Unsoldering the xo ect.

[Cooler]

I think sotm provides this kind of service, but i have no idea how much it costs

I just try to collect all necessary info and decide, whether i go with my DIY PC or i go for some kind of aurender or Zenith\Antipods.

For me, it is hobby, buy this device, sell that, try this and that, i spent few days playing with linux configuration, i would love to have hardware skills as well, but lack of the time, you know. I missed opportunity to study all this soldering stuff in university, i studied microelectronics, but've never used soldering iron... Maybe when i will be retired old guy, will invest some time in this thing))

[RickyV]

Ah that is me,,, the old guy???? !!  What?