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

[beerandmusic]

1 hour ago, limniscate said:

Audiobacon.net has compared them.

 

@austinpop, @Bruce Orr and I will be comparing them on Monday.

can you provide link...i googled and can't find one comparing the ultras

[limniscate]

I don't think he's actually published a comparison but know he's compared the two from our discussions at RMAF.

[marce]

1 hour ago, Johnseye said:

We've broached EMC/EMI/RF concepts in this thread before.  After experiencing positive results from shielding with the 3M sheets I started looking further into this.  Roy was talking with me about a conversation he had with Rob Watts who recommended using ferrite on the USB cable.  This isn't uncommon with computer based USB, display, mouse, etc cables.  I did some digging about ferrite in the audio realm and came across this article.  It's in depth, but at a minimum have a look at the summary and conclusion points.  I've pasted the 4 common sources here.  There's solid evidence behind this.  I'm going to begin adding ferrite cores to my cables and will share my opinions on audible impact if any.

 

http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/AESPaperFerritesASGWeb.pdf

 

1. An audio cable will be excited as an antenna by radio signals that surround it, causing current to flow along its length. Most of the current will flow on the shield, but the current can also induce a common mode voltage on the signal conductor(s).

 

2. Improper termination of cable shields within equipment (the Pin 1 problem) injects RF shield current directly into the equipment, [6] where it is detected by several well known mechanisms. [2]

 

3. Imperfect inductive coupling between conductors of a shielded twisted-pair cable converts shield current to a differential voltage on the signal pair (SCIN).

 

4. Inadequate low-pass filtering of signal input and outputs lets RF present on the signal conductors into equipment. Equipment can be sensitive to both differential mode voltage (between the signal conductors) and common mode voltage (an equal voltage on both signal conductors).

Nice to see ferrite's get some good press in the audio world, for high frequency noise reduction they are a useful tool, I have posted some pi layouts with a distinct moat somewhere. Will dig out some notes later, also Murata's got some good catalogues worth looking at. Mainly SMD devices but some good info.

Mains cables (and others) can be looped through the ferrite more than once, this does increase the effect of the ferrite.

 

 

[auricgoldfinger]

@Johnseye  You may want to check out this link: https://www.murata.com/en-us/products/emc/ferrite/basic/selection

 

Summary

 

Following these points will enable you to select the optimum ferrite core.

Shape
Select the core with the smallest possible inner diameter (this is the most important point).
Make sure the length exceeds the outer diameter.
For effective results, the priority order is (1) inner diameter, (2) length, and (3) outer diameter.

Number of turns of wire
Basically, the effect is proportional to the square of the number of turns of wire.
For frequencies above 300 MHz, do not wind more than 3 turns of wire.

Materials
If you use Murata products, the materials make no difference at higher frequencies (above 30MHz).

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, Johnseye said:

 

I'm going to try these because they range from 100-500MHz at 100 ohm.

 

https://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&itemSeq=243445819&uq=636458279157585775

 

And this for the Lush

https://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&itemSeq=243199166&uq=636458279157575775

 

 

These links are bringing up 6,717,697 results for me.  Is anyone else having the same problem?

[auricgoldfinger]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

John,

 

please post any ferrite clamps you find. Roy mentioned somewhere he sourced a bunch inexpensively from Digikey.

 

Their website is a joy to navigate.  

 

Here is Roy's post: 

 

[Johnseye]

2 hours ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

These links are bringing up 6,717,697 results for me.  Is anyone else having the same problem?

 

Here are the Digi Key part numbers

 

732-3635-ND

445-2047-ND

[Johnseye]

3 hours ago, auricgoldfinger said:

@Johnseye  You may want to check out this link: https://www.murata.com/en-us/products/emc/ferrite/basic/selection

 

Summary

 

Following these points will enable you to select the optimum ferrite core.

Shape
Select the core with the smallest possible inner diameter (this is the most important point).
Make sure the length exceeds the outer diameter.
For effective results, the priority order is (1) inner diameter, (2) length, and (3) outer diameter.

Number of turns of wire
Basically, the effect is proportional to the square of the number of turns of wire.
For frequencies above 300 MHz, do not wind more than 3 turns of wire.

Materials
If you use Murata products, the materials make no difference at higher frequencies (above 30MHz).

 

Each snap on ferrite core is equal to 1 wire turn.  I selected the smallest possible inner diameter that should fit the cable based on the cable's outer diameter.

[Speedskater]

Jim Brown is the go-to EMI/RFI expert, especially about ferrite chokes:

"RFI, Ferrites, and Common Mode Chokes For Hams" (skip over the Ham sections)
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

"Understanding How Ferrites Can Prevent and Eliminate RF Interference to Audio Systems"
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/SAC0305Ferrites.pdf

"New Understandings of the Use of Ferrites in the Prevention and Suppression of RF Interference to Audio Systems"
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/AES...itesASGWeb.pdf

__________________

[Johnseye]

28 minutes ago, Speedskater said:

Jim Brown is the go-to EMI/RFI expert, especially about ferrite chokes:

"RFI, Ferrites, and Common Mode Chokes For Hams" (skip over the Ham sections)
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/RFI-Ham.pdf

"Understanding How Ferrites Can Prevent and Eliminate RF Interference to Audio Systems"
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/SAC0305Ferrites.pdf

"New Understandings of the Use of Ferrites in the Prevention and Suppression of RF Interference to Audio Systems"
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/AES...itesASGWeb.pdf

__________________

 

Yup, I found a post from you about 5 years ago and shared the last pdf you linked in an earlier post.  Thanks for  the help with this.

[charlesphoto]

Just ordered a set of these. The rest of the family leaves town next week and I was planning on dressing the cables anyway so thought I’d give these a try. Will report back.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KLVUQ38/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Speedskater]

2 hours ago, Johnseye said:

 

Yup, I found a post from you about 5 years ago and shared the last pdf you linked in an earlier post.  Thanks for  the help with this.

About 50 more good Jim Brown papers and Power Points.

http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, charlesphoto said:

Just ordered a set of these. The rest of the family leaves town next week and I was planning on dressing the cables anyway so thought I’d give these a try. Will report back.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KLVUQ38/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Problem with these is there's no frequency or impedance rating.  Any reason why you chose those over others at Amazon?

[charlesphoto]

16 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

Problem with these is there's no frequency or impedance rating.  Any reason why you chose those over others at Amazon?

 

No reason really other than price and the reviews. None of the cheap combo kits offer any stats. I figured I’d try them and at least I can get an idea of various sizes needed before plopping down $5 ea on the digikey ones mentioned. If they make a difference for the good well alright - if not I’m not out a lot of money. Plus they’ll be here on Sunday. 

[austinpop]

7 hours ago, charlesphoto said:

 

No reason really other than price and the reviews. None of the cheap combo kits offer any stats. I figured I’d try them and at least I can get an idea of various sizes needed before plopping down $5 ea on the digikey ones mentioned. If they make a difference for the good well alright - if not I’m not out a lot of money. Plus they’ll be here on Sunday. 

 

I like your style! ? 

 

Please keep us posted.

[jean-michel6]

On 09/11/2017 at 5:45 AM, Johnseye said:

For those considering modifying their mobo, the Jetway board had the following clocks: Main clock, 2*LAN, USB, Display, & I.O Controller. The IO controller is a 6*UART and appears to be related to the COM ports. I elected to only modify the system and ethernet clocks. I won't be using the on board USB and see no reason for the others. 

 

I went with the tX-USBultra option. I asked SOtM to pull the sCLK-EX out of it and make direct connections to the mobo and tX-USBexp clocks. An SMB connector will then run from the sCLK-EX to the remaining card in the tX-USBultra which is a tx-USBhub. 

 

I will also be using an Intel X-25E SSD with SOtM SATA 2 filter. This was an afterthought inspired by recent discussions here about SSD noise. Roy tried convincing me on this a while ago but I was stuck on an M2 solution. It's a worth while comparison. A no cable,  direct connection, low power SSD vs a low power cable connected and filtered SSD. 

 

I will have a lot of connectivity options and tests to perform. Other than adding some of Barry Diament"s vibration isolation from Ingress, this should be my final system modifications. Well there is an upcoming LPS from a reputable company I'll be getting as well. 

Hi John,

 

Very interesting , i am going a similar path but with a different mobo board the super micro X10SBA  which is also a good board for audio and easier to source in Europe than the jetway.

I am currently testing the tx-USB ultra in my system. Very smart your idea to buy this and move the sCLK-ex board to the mobo. 

How do you will power the sCLK-EX board , txUSB hub .

 

I am going also the same way with the os ssd with used intel X25-SE .

However i have read in jplay forum that there is a much preferred solution than ssd. 

It is to go with cf cards . To implement this you need an inexpensive cf to sata adapter , run your sata in ide mod and use industrial slc cf cards which are bootable. 

I will be trying that also in a few weeks. 

[charlesphoto]

12 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

I like your style! ? 

 

Please keep us posted.

 

I like keeping this hobby fun... and thank you. 

[Johnseye]

8 hours ago, jean-michel6 said:

Hi John,

 

Very interesting , i am going a similar path but with a different mobo board the super micro X10SBA  which is also a good board for audio and easier to source in Europe than the jetway.

I am currently testing the tx-USB ultra in my system. Very smart your idea to buy this and move the sCLK-ex board to the mobo. 

How do you will power the sCLK-EX board , txUSB hub .

 

I am going also the same way with the os ssd with used intel X25-SE .

However i have read in jplay forum that there is a much preferred solution than ssd. 

It is to go with cf cards . To implement this you need an inexpensive cf to sata adapter , run your sata in ide mod and use industrial slc cf cards which are bootable. 

I will be trying that also in a few weeks. 

 

I'm about to write a post that will share what I've learned about splitting off the sCLK-ex from the tx-USBultra as well as other things I've learned as my hardware's been with SOtM.  It will be up shortly.

 

Regarding the CF card.  Here's what Roy had to say about that.  "compact flash boot drives are only possible with motherboards that incorporate a BIOS that allows for the older PATA drives and unfortunately, none of the SoC motherboards I wanted to use allow for this legacy option."

[bmoura]

On 11/3/2017 at 12:12 PM, austinpop said:

 

There seems to be genuine affection for this product, especially from several senior CA'ers who've been on CA for many years. 

 

Is there a history here? Was the SGM a product conceived and/or developed by CA'ers? 

 

Just curious.

 

Here is the first part (Chapter 1) of a new review on the Sound Galleries server from David Robinson at Positive Feedback.

https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/impressions-sound-galleries-sgm2015/

 

[jean-michel6]

On 22/10/2017 at 2:50 AM, tboooe said:

I would love to hear your feedback once you return.  Can you be a bit more specific about the DC-DC converter mod?  What exactly was done?

I finally took the time to put in my system these 2 sotm modified MC 220 TP link (optical-rj45 converter ). 

Before I speak I talk about the effect of this mod let me mention briefly my system. 

It is a dual pc fed y batteries and running under roon ( Linux ). 

The player PC has an sotm tx-USBexp card who is connecte to a dx-USBhd which has a sCLK-ex clock board inside and 2 of the clocks were used for the FMC .

Both pc are linked with an optical switch. 

The dc-dc mod done by sotm on the fac is simply replacing those converters by less noisy components .

 

Now what about the impact of this mod . In a wor : amazing , i did not expect such a big improvement with this mod. The sound is much more analogic and natural , i have completely lost a very small brightness in the high midrange. 

I am extremely happy. 

I think the mod I did is a little bit similar to what have observed those who have installed à sotm modes switch between their server and renderer .

 

I did not expect to get such a big improvement , basically I think what this mod does is improve the timing of the flow of data between the server and the player.

However if I look at the overall lan connection between the two pc's there is 5 clock (lan server mobo, fmc , optical switch ,fmc , lan player )  and only the two fac have the upgraded sotm ( sCLK-ex) clock. 

 

I can't imagine what I can get once I have all 5 clocks modified ... I will go in that direction. 

 

Computer audio d'iOS is really fun and sometime frustrating but results are stunning. 

[Johnseye]

First off I want to comment on how amazing May and Lee have been to work with.  Their time zone is GMT +9 which means they're 15 hours ahead of my time zone.  This makes the time window for communication short.  Phone communication with May is also challenging.  I tried calling many times but could not coordinate once.  Then May suggested Whatsapp and that's when it clicked.  She made herself available very very late in her day.  Because of how custom this work is, not to mention the further customizations I requested, there's nothing spelled out in writing about how it should work.  This thread is your best resource, and specifically Roy's post about his sCLK-ex build with pictures.  Pictures are worth a thousand words.

 

My modified equipment should be in my hands early this week.  Shipping my board, memory and switch (no need to ship SSD) via FedEx was about $95 and I work for a logistics company with an excellent FedEx discount.  I shipped it on a Friday and they had it in hand on Monday.  Once SOtM was able to look at the board and tell me what could be done I spent 3 days attempting to communicate via email which was a huge waste of time.  Once I was able to finalize the build it took SOtM a day or less to get the work done.  SOtM's cost to return ship from SK was even less at about $65.

 

 tX-USBultra breakout

 

I did not own a tX-USBultra before so couldn't get a look inside.  I also couldn't find a good picture of how the sCLK-EX and USB module inside the chassis were connected.  I'd still like to get a good look at how they are connected so if anyone has a picture or could take one, specifically showing the DC power and clock tap connections between the power module, USB module and sCLK-EX not only would I appreciate it, but it would clear things up for anyone else looking to do this mod.

 

According to Steven at Audio Stream, the tX-USBultra is an sCLK-EX and tX-USBhubIN.  Considering the cost of these two cards separately is $700 (with one tap) + $350 you get a slight price break at $990 plus you get the tX-USBultra chassis.  I don't know for sure if it is the tX-USBhubIN as I never asked this directly of May.  So I will refer to it as the "USB module" because that's what May called it.  Crux was also offering a 10% discount which May honored for the tX-USBultra and tX-USBexp only.  All other hardware and work were at standard costs.  If May no longer honors that discount, maybe buy it from Crux first then ship it with your other hardware.

 

I went with the 12v version because I've loosely heard this offers better SQ, but my SR7 can also power it.  The sMS-500 can also do the job, and I have a hunch the next version of the LPS-1 will also.  According to May, the DC power into the tX-USBultra goes to the sCLK-EX first, is "purified" and then goes to the USB module.  I still don't know how the sCLK-EX feeds power to the USB module so I had to wing my solution and in doing so accounted for every possible option.  I couldn't get a clear understanding from May despite asking the question from several different angles how the USB card gets powered by the sCLK-EX.  I chalk it up to communicating over text.  A good picture of an intact tX-USBultra should clear this up.  What I have is the option to power the tX-USBultra chassis and USB module inside it direct from a 2.5mm DC in and that can either come from an external source or from the sCLK-EX as you see in the picture below.  What I wanted was a simple cable directly connecting the two cards.  I didn't want to have to use multiple LPSUs to power both cards since I had planned for the SR7 to do this.  I still may be able to power it through that blue and white cable directly, but this also may not be possible due to the need for the USB module to be connected to the external DC power in.  This is the unknown at this point.  I can power the sCLK-EX from an external power source (extra $55)  or I can power it via SATA which you see in this picture.  What I'm hoping is possible, is that my SR7 plugs into the tX-USBexp card's external IN, feeding the sCLK-EX, then the tX-USBultra (USB module).  Something very helpful to note is that the external DC IN power bracket can be adjusted on the sCLK-EX to take 6.5-8.5, 9 or 12v.

 

I opted for the 50 ohm master clock for wider compatibility options in the future.  Everything you see in the picture can be timed with as a single master clock connection.  I ordered a 6" SMB cable from DigiKey, part number J1206-ND.  SOtM provides a 1M cable only.  All direct clock tap connections from the sCLK-EX use a removable cable which looks to me like 6".  Direct taps from the sCLK-EX are $50 and include the cable.  The SMB connection is a tap @ $50 plus $70 for the SMB adapter and cable.

 

Motherboard and SATA II

 

The Jetway NF591-3160 has a quad core Celeron with frequency of 1.6GHz and burst to 2.24GHz.  It runs at 6W TDP.  It will upsample PCM to 192kHZ with ease.  This proc can not be dumbed down in the BIOS.  Unless I can't find how to lower the frequency, that's it.  I don't know if Roy's DFI board can be dumbed down, but may be worth checking if you want that.  I chose this board for a few reasons.  It has an M.2 slot.  This opens up SSD options.  I had been hoping to use an Optane drive with it, but am not sure if that's possible.  Regardless, I can make a direct SSD connection to the board without a cable via M.2 eliminating any noise that could enter a cable.  At the last minute, after reading some current conversations about noisy SSD's, I decided to take Roy's advice and buy an Intel X-25 E SLC SSD and SOtM's SATA II filter.  Refer to Roy's post as to why he believes this to be the best known solution to eliminate noise with an SSD.  I trust his research.  The board has a PCI slot and a mini-PCIe slot for multiple PCI card options.

 

One thing I noticed while looking at the picture of Roy's board is that his SSD was externally powered.  He did not mention how he did this.  I have an option to power a SATA device from the mobo via a cable.  I will compare this vs. the external connection.  This external DC to SSD power option wasn't cheap.  I have no idea why, but it's $55 for the external power IN, plus $150 for the cable to the SSD.  I sure hope that cable is silver because it's only 30CM long.  It's not listed on SOtM's site.

 

The mobo has 6 clock points: Main clock, 2*LAN, USB, Display, and I.O. Controller.  I believe the IO controller is for the COM ports.  I only tapped the 2 LAN points which use one tap and the main clock.  I see no need for the onboard USB personally.

 

 

Bill of Materials

 

- tX-USBultra (12V), 50ohm MC: 1200USD retail

- tX-USBexp: 350USD retail

- 3 points sCLK-EX enabling cost : USD150 (USD50/a point), 1 point for tX-USBexp, 2 points for the motherboard. The clock points on sCLK-EX are enabled and programmed.

- 3 points hard wired connection (sCLK-EX <-> tX-USBexp & motherboard) : USD150 (USD50/a point).

- 1 point SMB connection (sCLK-EX <-> tX-USBultra internal board) : USD70

- SATA Filter II : USD65 x2 = USD130

 

You'll note I bought 2 SATA II filters.  This was a mistake in communication.  I now have an extra if anyone would like to buy it.

 

The cost of this work is nearly identical to my Hynes SR7.  This makes me curious as to which will have the biggest impact to SQ.

 

Here's my spaghetti.  Pretty much everything will be contained inside the PC case with only SMB and power cables connecting the tX-USBultra.

 

 

A simple schematic, not of my specific mobo.

 

 

The external DC power bracket

 

 

The sCLK-EX power selection

 

[austinpop]

10 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

First off I want to comment on how amazing May and Lee have been to work with.  Their time zone is GMT +9 which means they're 15 hours ahead of my time zone.  This makes the time window for communication short.  Phone communication with May is also challenging.  I tried calling many times but could not coordinate once.  Then May suggested Whatsapp and that's when it clicked.  She made herself available very very late in her day.  Because of how custom this work is, not to mention the further customizations I requested, there's nothing spelled out in writing about how it should work.  This thread is your best resource, and specifically Roy's post about his sCLK-ex build with pictures.  Pictures are worth a thousand words.

 

My modified equipment should be in my hands early this week.  Shipping my board, memory and switch (no need to ship SSD) via FedEx was about $95 and I work for a logistics company with an excellent FedEx discount.  I shipped it on a Friday and they had it in hand on Monday.  Once SOtM was able to look at the board and tell me what could be done I spent 3 days attempting to communicate via email which was a huge waste of time.  Once I was able to finalize the build it took SOtM a day or less to get the work done.  SOtM's cost to return ship from SK was even less at about $65.

 

 tX-USBultra breakout

 

I did not own a tX-USBultra before so couldn't get a look inside.  I also couldn't find a good picture of how the sCLK-EX and USB module inside the chassis were connected.  I'd still like to get a good look at how they are connected so if anyone has a picture or could take one, specifically showing the DC power and clock tap connections between the power module, USB module and sCLK-EX not only would I appreciate it, but it would clear things up for anyone else looking to do this mod.

 

According to Steven at Audio Stream, the tX-USBultra is an sCLK-EX and tX-USBhubIN.  Considering the cost of these two cards separately is $700 (with one tap) + $350 you get a slight price break at $990 plus you get the tX-USBultra chassis.  I don't know for sure if it is the tX-USBhubIN as I never asked this directly of May.  So I will refer to it as the "USB module" because that's what May called it.  Crux was also offering a 10% discount which May honored for the tX-USBultra and tX-USBexp only.  All other hardware and work were at standard costs.  If May no longer honors that discount, maybe buy it from Crux first then ship it with your other hardware.

 

I went with the 12v version because I've loosely heard this offers better SQ, but my SR7 can also power it.  The sMS-500 can also do the job, and I have a hunch the next version of the LPS-1 will also.  According to May, the DC power into the tX-USBultra goes to the sCLK-EX first, is "purified" and then goes to the USB module.  I still don't know how the sCLK-EX feeds power to the USB module so I had to wing my solution and in doing so accounted for every possible option.  I couldn't get a clear understanding from May despite asking the question from several different angles how the USB card gets powered by the sCLK-EX.  I chalk it up to communicating over text.  A good picture of an intact tX-USBultra should clear this up.  What I have is the option to power the tX-USBultra chassis and USB module inside it direct from a 2.5mm DC in and that can either come from an external source or from the sCLK-EX as you see in the picture below.  What I wanted was a simple cable directly connecting the two cards.  I didn't want to have to use multiple LPSUs to power both cards since I had planned for the SR7 to do this.  I still may be able to power it through that blue and white cable directly, but this also may not be possible due to the need for the USB module to be connected to the external DC power in.  This is the unknown at this point.  I can power the sCLK-EX from an external power source (extra $55)  or I can power it via SATA which you see in this picture.  What I'm hoping is possible, is that my SR7 plugs into the tX-USBexp card's external IN, feeding the sCLK-EX, then the tX-USBultra (USB module).  Something very helpful to note is that the external DC IN power bracket can be adjusted on the sCLK-EX to take 6.5-8.5, 9 or 12v.

 

I opted for the 50 ohm master clock for wider compatibility options in the future.  Everything you see in the picture can be timed with as a single master clock connection.  I ordered a 6" SMB cable from DigiKey, part number J1206-ND.  SOtM provides a 1M cable only.  All direct clock tap connections from the sCLK-EX use a removable cable which looks to me like 6".  Direct taps from the sCLK-EX are $50 and include the cable.  The SMB connection is a tap @ $50 plus $70 for the SMB adapter and cable.

 

Motherboard and SATA II

 

The Jetway NF591-3160 has a quad core Celeron with frequency of 1.6GHz and burst to 2.24GHz.  It runs at 6TDP.  It will upsample PCM to 192kHZ with ease.  This proc can not be dumbed down in the BIOS.  Unless I can't find how to lower the frequency, that's it.  I don't know if Roy's DFI board can be dumbed down, but may be worth checking if you want that.  I chose this board for a few reasons.  It has an M.2 slot.  This opens up SSD options.  I had been hoping to use an Optane drive with it, but am not sure if that's possible.  Regardless, I can make a direct SSD connection to the board without a cable via M.2 eliminating any noise that could enter a cable.  At the last minute, after reading some current conversations about noisy SSD's, I decided to take Roy's advice and buy an Intel X-25 E SLC SSD and SOtM's SATA II filter.  Refer to Roy's post as to why he believes this to be the best known solution to eliminate noise with an SSD.  I trust his research.  The board has a PCI slot and a mini-PCIe slot for multiple PCI card options.

 

One thing I noticed while looking at the picture of Roy's board is that his SSD was externally powered.  He did not mention how he did this.  I have an option to power a SATA device from the mobo via a cable.  I will compare this vs. the external connection.  This external DC to SSD power option wasn't cheap.  I have no idea why, but it's $55 for the external power IN, plus $150 for the cable to the SSD.  I sure hope that cable is silver because it's only 30CM long.  It's not listed on SOtM's site.

 

The mobo has 6 clock points: Main clock, 2*LAN, USB, Display, and I.O. Controller.  I believe the IO controller is for the COM ports.  I only tapped the 2 LAN points which use one tap and the main clock.  I see no need for the onboard USB personally.

 

 

Bill of Materials

 

- tX-USBultra (12V), 50ohm MC: 1200USD retail

- tX-USBexp: 350USD retail

- 3 points sCLK-EX enabling cost : USD150 (USD50/a point), 1 point for tX-USBexp, 2 points for the motherboard. The clock points on sCLK-EX are enabled and programmed.

- 3 points hard wired connection (sCLK-EX <-> tX-USBexp & motherboard) : USD150 (USD50/a point).

- 1 point SMB connection (sCLK-EX <-> tX-USBultra internal board) : USD70

- SATA Filter II : USD65 x2 = USD130

 

You'll note I bought 2 SATA II filters.  This was a mistake in communication.  I now have an extra if anyone would like to buy it.

 

The cost of this work is nearly identical to my Hynes SR7.  This makes me curious as to which will have the biggest impact to SQ.

 

Here's my spaghetti.  Pretty much everything will be contained inside the PC case with only SMB and power cables connecting the tX-USBultra.

 

 

A simple schematic, not of my specific mobo.

 

 

The external DC power bracket

 

 

The sCLK-EX power selection

 

 

Awesome! 

 

Thanks for your detailed post, especially the BoM and the schematic. I can't wait to hear how it sounds for you. 

[Johnseye]

2 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Awesome! 

 

Thanks for your detailed post, especially the BoM and the schematic. I can't wait to hear how it sounds for you. 

 

Hopefully you will also hear for yourself if you come up for Axpona.  It would be nice to hear if there's any difference between trifecta's and it's quite possible they sound similar if not the same given the sCLK-EX is the basis.

 

If you're able to take a picture of the inside of your tX-USBultra I'd be grateful.  Not knowing how difficult this could be, I understand if you can't.

[rickca]

1 hour ago, Johnseye said:

According to May, the DC power into the tX-USBultra goes to the sCLK-EX first, is "purified" and then goes to the USB module.  I still don't know how the sCLK-EX feeds power to the USB module so I had to wing my solution and in doing so accounted for every possible option.  I couldn't get a clear understanding from May despite asking the question from several different angles how the USB card gets powered by the sCLK-EX.

I suspected you could transplant the sCLK-EX from a tX-USBultra into a PC and then install a clock connect PCB in the tX-USBultra.  Amazing that you have actually figured out how to do it with SOtM, even though there are some remaining questions.

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, jean-michel6 said:

I finally took the time to put in my system these 2 sotm modified MC 220 TP link (optical-rj45 converter ). 

Before I speak I talk about the effect of this mod let me mention briefly my system. 

It is a dual pc fed y batteries and running under roon ( Linux ). 

The player PC has an sotm tx-USBexp card who is connecte to a dx-USBhd which has a sCLK-ex clock board inside and 2 of the clocks were used for the FMC .

Both pc are linked with an optical switch. 

The dc-dc mod done by sotm on the fac is simply replacing those converters by less noisy components .

 

Now what about the impact of this mod . In a wor : amazing , i did not expect such a big improvement with this mod. The sound is much more analogic and natural , i have completely lost a very small brightness in the high midrange. 

I am extremely happy. 

I think the mod I did is a little bit similar to what have observed those who have installed à sotm modes switch between their server and renderer .

 

I did not expect to get such a big improvement , basically I think what this mod does is improve the timing of the flow of data between the server and the player.

However if I look at the overall lan connection between the two pc's there is 5 clock (lan server mobo, fmc , optical switch ,fmc , lan player )  and only the two fac have the upgraded sotm ( sCLK-ex) clock. 

 

I can't imagine what I can get once I have all 5 clocks modified ... I will go in that direction. 

 

Computer audio d'iOS is really fun and sometime frustrating but results are stunning. 

 

I have SOtM-modded FCM's arriving this week.  I'm really excited to hear them based on your experience!