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

[tims]

32 minutes ago, AmusedToD said:

..........................The good thing is that the superior clock that can be found in the txUSBultra is also used in the sms200Ultra, and the sms200Ultra can be modified in a way to support up to 2 external devices (for example a switch and a router). So one can send his/her sms200Ultra and his router/switch to SOTM for them to make the mods.........

Did you discuss how much extra it would cost to get the sms200Ultra modded to support up to two external devices?

[tims]

Maybe off-topic but I read the following paragraph about how a DAC's USB receiver setup can be a major limitation to SQ by the comparatively noisy USB implementation in the DAC itself, no matter what's in front of it - ISO regen, tx-USBULTRA etc (they are discussing a ISO-regen).

"Even if it did everything it claimed, and servicing those claims resulted in audible benefits, it's still going to be limited by the comparatively noisy USB implementation in the DAC itself (speaking generally, the USB receiver setup inside the DAC will be far noisier than S/PDIF implementations). In other words, as long as it's still USB there are hard limits as to what you can achieve and no external box can fix the USB issues that exist in the DAC itself.
If you must add a box between your source and DAC, stick to something that doesn't keep you in USB land."

 

http://superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/uptone-iso-regen-thoughts.4331/

 

Anyone more knowledgeable than myself got any thoughts on this - should money rather be spent on a DAC with a totl femto clock with reclocking circuitry, super regulators etc?

 

Thanks

 

 

[tims]

23 hours ago, ElviaCaprice said:

I have to say, my current digital frontend is the best I've ever heard.  The detail and stage presence is fantastic.  Not a hint of glimmer from the mobo or any stray AC corruption.

 

I place the improvement on a few factors.  One, get off the direct AC grid, all components server to speakers.  I can't stress enough that I think it's mostly about power, low power, low impedance, especially the mobo.  I don't think the clocks are as important as we think, other than they need clean stream and power to work at their optimum or better (do no harm). 

 

Another factor is the ISO Regen, just a fantastic component which I will say is all you need between the server and DAC.  So far an additional ISO Regen and/or SOTM USB BEXP audio card added nothing, but to be fair, I only have 4 LPS-1's and not enough PS's to give them a proper testing.

 

Thirdly, and most important, the adapter/chord between the USB components.  Adding the USPCB from Uptone between the server and ISO Regen was huge (my last update, replacing a Supra USB chord), along with between the ISO Regen and DAC.

 

If I stopped today and remained with my system as is in the signature below I would be happy.

Thanks for your continuing updates on the IR.  

If I've understood correctly you are now using two USPCB's; one between your ISO Rendu and DAC and the other between your server and ISO Rendu.

What I don't quite get is how the DAC/IR/Server combo is now physically set up using the two USPBC's.  Are the Server and DAC now sitting back to back with the ISO Rendu and USBPC's in-between them?  

Any chance of a photo of your setup?

 

Thanks

 

[tims]

12 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

ISO-Regen meets Ultra Trifecta - First Impressions

 

With about 70 hours under the ISO-Regen's belt, I decided it was safe to try a first listen. This time, Eric and I met at my place using my headphone setup (see sig) as the reference.

 

We will do another round in a couple weeks when the ISO-Regen should have at least 200 hours of burn-in.

 

Note: 

• All components were powered by LPS-1 PSUs.
• The sCLK-EX modded Zyxel switch (aka Z-switch) and modded sMS-200 were powered by a single LPS-1 using a Ghent Y-cable.
• Galvanic isolation was ON (switch set to position I) on the ISO-Regen in all cases except experiment 5 below.

Key Questions and Associated Experiments

1. Compare mR+ISO-Regen vs Ultra Trifecta - Does adding the ISO-Regen to the mR close the gap relative the SOtM Ultra trifecta?
   • Baseline:          Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > tX-USBultra (Ultra Trifecta)
   • Comparison:     mR > ISO-Regen
   • Result: 
     • Sorry folks, this is still no contest. The Ultra trifecta has significantly better SQ. It will be interesting to see how much further the Ultrarendu closes the gap. As I have maintained, the secret sauce in the trifecta has to be the modded switch. Once more such reclocking switches come along, there should be many more viable alternatives. But for now, the Trifecta rules.
        
2. Replace tX-USBultra with ISO-Regen
   • Baseline:          Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > tX-USBultra
   • Comparison:     Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen
   • Result: 
     • Very close. WOW. Very, very close! We are so impressed with the ISO-Regen. 
     • Ultimately, we differed slightly in our overall preference.
       • Eric felt the ISO-Regen sounded better by a hair
       • Rajiv felt the tX was ahead by a nose
     • Minor differences aside, it points to the fact that the ISO-R is an insane value for the money.
        
3. Add ISO-Regen before tX in the trifecta
   • Baseline:            Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen
   • Comparison:       Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra
   • Result: 
     • The best sounding configuration of the day.
     • Again, we differed slightly in our overall preference.
       • Eric felt he could not hear the incremental improvement the tX added over the baseline
       • Rajiv felt the tX added a noticeable increase in SQ - notably low end heft and a tad more resolution
          
4. Add ISO-Regen after tX in the trifecta
   • Baseline:           Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra
   • Comparison:      Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > tX-USBultra > ISO-Regen
   • Result: 
     • Not as good as before the tX
     • This sounded flatter, smaller, and a bit lacking in resolution and texture
        
5. Which sounds better - GI ON or OFF
   • Baseline:           Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen (GI ON) > tX-USBultra
   • Comparison:      Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen (GI OFF) > tX-USBultra
   • Result: 
     • This wasn't as cut and dried as I expected
     • Over several tracks, we concluded the GI setting of ON (default) sounded better, but the difference was small
     • On at least one track (Nightingale by Norah Jones on DSD), we felt the GI OFF sounded a tad more natural
   • Editorial: @Superdad - I already ragged you about the labels for the GI DIP switch in the ISO-R thread. Enough said.
      
6. Finally, we retried a couple of Ethernet experiments. 
   What is the SQ effect of iSO-Cat 6 Isolator
   • Baseline:           generic 6a > Z-switch > Supra 6a > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra
   • Comparison:      generic 6a > iSO-Cat6 > BJC 6a > Z-switch > Supra 6a > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra
   • Result: 
     • No impact. Nada. Zip. Zero.
     • We continue to hear no effect from these isolators - first on Eric's system, now mine.
     • Others do. Odd.
        
7. What is the SQ effect of dCBL-Cat7 cable
   • Baseline:           generic 6a > iSO-Cat6 > BJC 6a > Z-switch > Supra 6a > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra
   • Comparison:      generic 6a > iSO-Cat6 > BJC 6a > Z-switch > dCBL-7 > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra
   • Result: 
     • Definite improvement
     • Consistent with SQ improvement we heard on Eric's system
     • But magnitude of SQ improvement is not large enough for me to justify the cost of the cable ($500)
     • Might be worth picking up used.

Overall Musings

• The ISO-Regen is a gem. Why am I not surprised! My order for one has already been placed.
• The Trifecta with ISO-Regen (Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra) is true endgame material. At some level I agree with @hols - the ISO-R adds color. But for me, it corrects the slightly thin SOtM house sound with the more mellow and rich Uptone house sound. The end result is magical. But expensive. No doubt. There's no free lunch.
• In decreasing order of performance, taking price into consideration:
  • $3190:    Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > ISO-Regen > tX-USBultra + 3 x LPS-1s
  • $2540     Z-switch > sMS-200 mod > tX-USBultra + 2 x LPS-1s
  • $2940     Z-switch > sMS-200ultra > ISO-Regen + 3 x LPS-1s
    • you can get by sharing an LPS-1 between the Z-switch and the ISO-R, but as has been pointed out, this defeats GI.
• Bottom line: The Ultra trifecta is still - for me - a  real sweet spot in terms of value for money. If you can swing a bit more, the Trifecta+ISO-Regen is just sublime. After that, you can slice and dice into subsets as your budget requires.

Thanks for the shootout - very informative and I like the format; easy to understand.

 

Maybe it's already been done and I've missed it but is it somehow possible to do a straight comparison between the ISO-Regen and the tX-USBultra without the switch, sMS-200 mod etc?

Thanks.

[tims]

Nice setup! Your system must be up there with Romaz's.

Do you have a link/recipe to the DIY silver USB cable you built?

[tims]

9 hours ago, dgarretson said:

I've had enough run-in now to compare powering the sMS-200Ultra and USBultra on the sMS-500 at 9V, to a double-regulated 7V rail on my Hynes SR7.  The comparison is a bit unfair: the sMS-500 uses their standard copper Y-umbilical, as compared to a more heroic .999 solid silver umbilical with Oyaide connectors that I made for the SR7.  Each conductor in the thick trunk portion is a twist of eight strands of 20awg(totaling around 11awg.) The trunk divides into two tributaries of four strands each(totaling around 14awg) into two Oyaide DC-2.1G plugs(2.1 x 5.5mm.)  I particularly like the Oyaide DC connectors for their oversized solder points relative to standard Digikey items.
 

In this configuration, the SR7 is an obvious step up from the sMS-500.  More clarity, separation, depth, airiness, general refinement, on a dead- calm background.  Of course there is a huge difference in price between these power supplies.   

Dgarretson,

 

I'm waiting on a PH SR7 and was thinking about building DC cables similar to yours but didn't know what male/female(?) connector to buy to plug into the SR7 end.  

Appreciate if you could give me a link or the connector type you used for this.

 

Thanks

[tims]

15 minutes ago, rickca said:

I'm just not sure whether you need pressure between the LPS-1 and the heat sink for a thermal pad to be effective.  My experience with heat sinks is limited to CPU and video card coolers.

This film is very good - better conductivity than some paste/insulator.

Kerafol film

[tims]

Anyone please let me know if this switch (D-link DGS-105) is OK to get the clock mod done by SOtM?

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JRCC7VC/ref=twister_B073XHJBCG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Thanks

[tims]

1 hour ago, tims said:

Anyone please let me know if this switch (D-link DGS-105) is OK to get the clock mod done by SOtM?

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JRCC7VC/ref=twister_B073XHJBCG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Thanks

Whoops!  Sorry, that should have read:

Anyone please let me know if this switch (ZyXEL GS-105S v2 5-Port) is OK  to get the clock mod done by SOtM?

Not the D-link DGS-105.  The ZyXEL switch is OK?

 

[tims]

Not sure if this has mentioned here before but the Audiobacon website has a new comprehensive review of the sMS-200Ultra. 

They compare different power supplies (the SOtM MBPS-d2s,  Uptone Ultracap LPS1 and Paul Hynes SR7) and also SQ differences between the sMS-200Ultra and the Sonore UltraRendu.

 

What I found interesting is the comparisons between the sMS-200Ultra,  a stock sMS-200 and an sMS-200 that has been externally super clocked:

 

"Comparisons

vs. SOtM sMS-200
The sMS-200ultra is a completely different beast versus the original. Surprisingly, the venerable sMS-200 sounds soft and confused in comparison. It’s just not as refined, articulate, or dynamic. The sMS-200ultra is quite a few shades more natural and organic sounding with a more proper density to voices and all types of instruments. I didn’t suspect including a super clock would be this transformative. The difference is truly astonishing.

vs. SOtM sMS-200 (Externally clocked)
If you’re curious, the tone of the original internally clocked sMS-200 versus its externally clocked counterpart is virtually the same. The difference is better timbre, dimensionality, blacker background, better contouring/layering, pinpoint imaging, and an overall realism to the music.
That said, I was surprised at sonic variance between the externally super clocked sMS-200 and the internally super clocked sMS-200ultra. They’re both being clocked by the same sCLK-EX but the sMS-200 uses the super clock residing in the tX-USBultra via two 6″ clock cables. So technically the only difference is the clock cables and the fact that the sMS-200 is synced with the switch and tX-USBultra.
The externally clocked sMS-200 has a lower noise floor, is airier, and just has more proper phase timing. Soundstage is also deeper and wider. The isolated sMS-200ultra, on the other hand, was supremely rich and euphoric while still maintaining a good amount of dimensionality.
I really enjoyed the tone and timbre of the sMS-200ultra, even though its clock wasn’t synced with the tX-USBultra or modified switch. There was a point where I actually enjoyed the isolated sMS-200ultra more. However, not being synced at the ethernet and USB layers does have its, possibly deal-breaking, implications.

The audible benefits of syncing the clocks across devices:
Lower noise floor
Quicker and proper transients
Much better soundstage depth and width
More precise imaging
Better resolution

In the end, I stuck with the synced setup. Although incredibly musical, not being synced across the chain just doesn’t sound as lifelike. I didn’t find this tradeoff worthwhile after extensive listening. This is the reason why I believe the Ultra Trifecta would be the ultimate combination. With the tX-USBultra and sMS-200ultra synced to an even better master clock…who knows what might happen. Hopefully, I’ll find out soon."

 

sMS-200Ultra Review

 

 

[tims]

I have several smaller capacity ssd drives and my plan is to buy a 4 to 6 bay hub (with an external power input) and use these drives as storage for my music files. 

 

I don't have much knowledge about the best way to connect this external hub to my server.  Should I be looking for a hub that has a esata and USB3 output and (if possible) connect the hub directly to my motherboard using a esata to sata connector or would the SQ quality improvement be minimal over using the USB3 output?

 

Finally would a SOtM sata II filter be a good idea to fit externally between the hub and server?

 

Thanks

 

Tim

[tims]

Hi @Johnseye

 

From your description of your power supply chain: tX-USBexp > sCLK-EX > txUSBultra, I'm curious if you tried powering the txUSBultra with it's own (good quality PS) and not from the sCLK-EX output.  If so, was there any difference SQ wise?

 

The reason I ask is that I've had my sotm sMS-1000U player upgraded to an SQ version (with a tx-USBexp and sCLK-EX) and I also got sotm to use one of the sCLK-EX clock points to feed an external tx-USBhubEX that I hope makes it essentially a tx-USBultra.

If I can somehow power the tx-USBhubEX with the output of the sCLK-EX then this will save me a substantial amount buying a LPS-1 or something similar to power the tx-USBhubEX.

 

Cheers.

[tims]

2 hours ago, Lebouwsky said:

 

Instead of using an external  tx-usbultra you can use a tx-usbhubin like @Alan_J reported somewhere in december. Hubin, usbexp, sclk is powered by 1 power supply. The usbhubin gives you 2 usb ports. With this “win to usb” tool you can install Windows server 2016 on a usbb stick or equivilant and put it in the spair usb port of the hubin. This way you save one power supply (the one to the ssd) and it’s filtered top notch. 

 

Just a thought, maybe I’m overthinking this.

 

https://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/resource/install-windows-server-on-external-hard-drive.html

 

 

Yes, thanks. 

I did ask them that but apparently the tx-USBhubIN does not fit in their sMS-1000SQ with the upgraded tx-USBexp and the sCLK-EX boards in there so I had to get the external tx-USBhubEX instead. 

[tims]

On 1/24/2018 at 2:23 PM, Johnseye said:

 

The tX-USBexp, sCLK-EX and tX-USBultra all get powered by my Paul Hynes SR7 this way.  It's not going to get better.  Additionally, the sCLK-EX has some of its own filtering so powering the tX-USBultra through the sCLK-EX is optimal and what you get when you buy a standalone version and not broken out like I have.

 

That said, I could power it from an LPS-1 or now LPS-1.2 but I'd have to buy a new one because it's being used to power my SSD right now.

 

You should be able to power the USBhub from the sCLK-EX.  You can either go the route I did or probably connect the blue and white cable directly to the USBhub's board.  I think there's a power adapter on it for the cable to connect.

 

 

I would either contact May at SOtM or Crux Audio who are SOtM's US distributor.  You may want to source a cheaper version though.  Mine was $60 and they used stranded copper.  They also sell a different copper version and a silver version for more.

@JohnseyeThanks for this information.

Regarding powering the tx-USBexp the options are: (from an earlier post of yours); internally via the 4 pin IDE Molex at 12v or externally at 9v maximum.  The only thing I don't get is that reading the tx-USBexp operating instructions it states:

"If the tX-USBexp get powered by the external power input, make sure not to cut off the external power

while PC is powered on. If the external power is suddenly cut off, the internal parts of tX-USBexp or PC
will be damaged.....If you connect the IDE power cable inside of PC to the IDE power input connector of tX-USBexp while the tX-USBexp get powered by the external power input, it can prevent the damage of the internal parts of tX-USBexp or PC when the external power suddenly cut off."

(tx-USBexp Operating Instructions)

 

Is this your understanding?  I don't get how you can power the tx-USBexp externally at 9v and also internally at 12v via the 4 pin Molex connector at the same time?

 

Cheers

 

[tims]

7 hours ago, jean-michel6 said:

...........

As for the txUSB exp pcie card , it has its own dedicated psu. Sotm recommend as a safety to also power it with the internal flat 4 pin connector found in pc's. 

This is a safety measure to protect the card who could get damaged if the computer is running and the card has no power. 

Since i have found this to be sonically inferior , I am using only the external power. 

 

Hi @jean-michel6

 

I also want to feed my tx-USBexp card with an external psu but I will have to open up my SOtM server to disconnect the tx-USBexp cards internal  supply as you have done.  This may invalidate my warranty doing this so do you recall if the SQ was markedly better when you disconnected the internal supply of the tx-USBexp card?

 

Thanks

[tims]

1 hour ago, jean-michel6 said:

Hi Tims 

 

Yes the sq gain is significant if you already have a resolving system. 

I have two friends who did the same and experienced a nice sq boost. 

The sotm pcie card requires 6,5 to 9 volts external supply and if you do not use the USB 5 volt , 1A or less is fine. 

However you MUST follow this powering sequence :

- start : power to sotm pcie then power on to mobo

- stop : power off mobo then power off the sotm pcie 

 

Me and my friends have been running like that for months with no issue. 

Great, thanks for the information. 

I have a PH SR7 on order that will eventually supply the mobo and the txUSB with separate feeds.   I wonder if I disconnect the internal supply from the txUSB (as you have done) and power up/power down the SR7 to turn the server on and off that should be OK?

I will talk to May from sotm about it.

 

 

[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

[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. 

[tims]

Maybe I'm in the minority here but if this project goes ahead would it be a good idea to have it's own separate thread?

I (and maybe others) do not plan to participate and I think there must be a whole load of things to figure out that may be better with a fresh thread/topic purely devoted to the build.

Just a thought!  

[tims]

6 hours ago, RickyV said:

Well reclock the ISO regen then. Sounds much better now. For me the ISO regen after the jcat USB femto didn't improve sq, still sounded lean. Jcat on its alone sounded more balanced.

With the neutron star 2 the sound is balanced nicely but with much better resolution and detail all over the place.

i think the crystek 575 shouldn't be used at the end of the chain, sound is unbalanced. 

I'm considering getting my ISO Regen converted to accept external clocking - mind if I ask who did the clock conversion for your IR?

 

Thanks

[tims]

On 3/8/2018 at 3:36 PM, LTG2010 said:

I've got a couple of boards and the supply is meant to be flexible to suit a few lower power boards along with SOTM's boards. Currently i'm using a Supermicro X10SBA. The processor is a celeron j1900 and only needs 10 or 12 watts. There's a 24 pin atx connector and a 4pin 12v atx connector, this (4 pin) supplies the processor when in atx mode, this is what I understood when discussing it with Supermicro's tech help.

Sean's designs use a booster module to increase power from 1.5 to 5 amps we only need one for the 5 v rail on this board, since there's a bit more going on at 5v.  With the 2 transformers one will have the 2 x 12v rails, the other one the rest. I think it best to isolate the CPU from the other components. The more rails the cleaner the supply to each board / component.

Currently I'm powering it with just 12v to the board with a meanwell medical grade smps, 9v to the SOTM boards from a sPS500 via the txUSB-exp and 5v to the ssd from an lps1, the hdd powered from the board. (3 supplies)

May at SOTM felt a good supply to the txUSB-exp is filtered and passed on to the sCLK-ex and again filtered & onto the txUSB Hubin, but I think 3 seperate rails will boost their performance. I'll be able to test this out in 2 or 3 weeks.

 

1 hour ago, LTG2010 said:

My Linear ATX power supply by sean Jacobs arrived today. It needs a few weeks for component burn in but it's already sounding great, large soundstage, great dynamics, silent background, very detailed, neutral, good bass, very pleased, took just under 3 months mainly due to transformer manufacture.

It's a twin transformer design with 9 rails, 3.3v, 5v, 2x12V for the motherboard/CPU, 2x5v for ssd and hdd and 3x9v for SOTM trio.

It comes with a single umbilical connection at power supply and gland that feeds into the server. The wires are colour coded, but bare ended as Sean has an exclusivity agreement with Innuos. Heres my ScLK-ex server.

ATX wiring information is readily available here's a link with some good detail - this is how I did it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX

I used ATX extension cables by Silverstone, 24 pin and 4 pin for the seperate CPU rail, simply cut off the male connectors to expose the wire and group the ground, 3.3v, 5v & 12V wires together and solder these to your seperate power supply feeds. The ground wires are all common on the motherboard so these can be all connected or daisy chained.

Modern motherboards don't need negative -12v voltages (pin 14), you can ignore these. A linear power supply does not have a 3.3V sensing voltage (pin 13) you can snip that off. You can't turn off your linear power supply from the pc so no need for the power on feed (pin 16). Pin 9 (purple) is the stanby voltage and is 5v, so connect this with your 5v feed (red wires).

Pin 8 (usually grey) is the power ok signal. The atx power supply sends a 5v signal to the motherboard once its all powered up and stable. We don't have this on a linear power supply so we need to 'fool' the motherboard into thinking its receiving a power ok signal, otherwise it won't boot. So we also connect this to the 5v feed. The power ok signal should activate between 100ms - 500ms after the supply is switched on, some motherboards might not boot if this criteria is not met. I had no problems with the supermicro X10, if your's does not boot you can easily get around this with a cheap delay relay from ebay, there are other methods also.

I originally made up some ATX connectors with silver plated copper cables and for powering the hard discs, these sounded awfull, very bright and distorted, so I switched to the Silverstone leads that appear to be tinned plated copper. For the SSD and hard disc I used Neotech OFC copper, amazing how a small piece of cable can clean up the sound. If making up your own SATA power connector, the middle pin is +5v and a pin either side of that is ground. Similarly I used Neotech copper for SOTM boards directly soldered to the board behind the external connectors, thus avoiding external connections and jack plugs.

Alec

 

 

Back in early March you wrote

 "Currently I'm powering it with just 12v to the board with a meanwell medical grade smps, 9v to the SOTM boards from a sPS500 via the txUSB-exp and 5v to the ssd from an lps1, the hdd powered from the board. (3 supplies)

May at SOTM felt a good supply to the txUSB-exp is filtered and passed on to the sCLK-ex and again filtered & onto the txUSB Hubin, but I think 3 seperate rails will boost their performance. I'll be able to test this out in 2 or 3 weeks."

 

I'd be most interested to read more about this as I've run out of PS outputs from my LPS so possibly using one rail (or not!) to feed my txUSB-exp > sCLK-ex > txUSBhub-ex would help a lot.

Thanks

[tims]

38 minutes ago, LTG2010 said:

You can do it with just one 9V rail supply to txUSBexp. SOTM supply cable/board connectors that connect to sCLK-ex and then onto the USBhub. I used the sPS500 set at 9v with a y-cable from Ghent audio, one connection  to txUSB-exp linked to sCLK-ex and one connection to txUSBhub-in

Yes, thanks. 

I don't know what your plans are with your new PS but it would be interesting to compare how a single 9v supply sounds (as you described above) compared to feeding each of the txUSB-exp, sCLK-ex and txUSBhub-in with their own separate power supplies.

[tims]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

The other area I've been dabbling in is clock cables. My baseline for some time has been:

• 50Ω SMB to SMB cable to reclocked switch: Digikey J1212-ND 12" RG-316

I recently tried the following alternatives:

• 50Ω SMB cable: Pasternack PE34269LF-8, RG400 Coax, RoHS, 8 inches......
• Results

First, the SMB cable comparison - this was a test to see if going from a 12" RG-316 to an 8" RG-400 cable would yield an improvement. I had asked Lee about it, and he thought it should... but it did not. I found the Digikey RG-316 baseline to sound better. 

Your baseline 50Ω smb to smb digikey cable - is this the one going from your Tx-ultra to the Zyxel switch? 

I'm using the (longish) generic smb-smb cable supplied by sotm between my music server and a tx-USBhub-EX.  Just wondering  if you originally had the same sotm smb cable and upgraded to this digikey cable?

[tims]

16 minutes ago, jean-michel6 said:

Is there a problem with this thread ? Since I see no activity since last Friday ?

Yes, I'm also missing my morning fix of "novel"

[tims]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

Just wanted to pop in and say I am back from my travels, and hope to be more active. Meanwhile I have a lot of catching up to do with all the JSSG 360 findings! 

 

It will be interesting to compare JSSG 360 treated cables in multiple domains, like:

• DC
• clocks
• USB
• Ethernet

with their expensive "reference" counterparts. For example:

1. I know the JSSG 360 Lush outperformed the original by a clear margin.
2. But, does a JSSG 360 DC cable, like the Gotham or Supra, equal or outperform silver cables like the Audio Sensibility or Paul Hynes?
3. Does a JSSG 360 Ethernet cable equal or outperform the likes of the SOtM dCBL-Cat7?
4. Does a JSSG 360 Pasternack clock cable equal or outperform a Habst?

Sadly, the whole JSSG 360 layering process of braid/heatshield/braid is a bit outside my threshold of DIY skill. However, I'm open to loaners, and I'd be happy to compare with the reference cables I mentioned, since I have/own all of them.

There's seems to have been a plethora of new diy dc cables lately so any cable "shootout" would be great.

 Rajiv, have you tried any of the cheap POE adaptor/cat7,8 cables (Ugreen etc) discussed in the "ISO Regen performance improvement Cheap!" thread as yet?