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

[seeteeyou]

FYI - I just found this link to chassis for NUC

 

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/530471877921/

 

And then there's another seller who seemed to offer custom-made acrylic ones

 

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/556114764804/

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/556115020872/

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/556195813954/

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/557357359656/

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/562018985173/

https://www.yoycart.com/Product/562862655652/

[seeteeyou]

34 minutes ago, romaz said:

Yes, this uses a better board than my own as it uses a Celeron with a larger secondary cache which should result in less latency.  It also utilizes DDR4 RAM instead of DDR3.  At this point, I do not know which type of RAM is lower latency.

 

Not sure about the latency part but I compared DDR3 from different companies back in January

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?page=225&tab=comments#comment-762083

 

Just like the relatively low current draw of Intel SLC drives, we could stick with the ones with lowest values but it's just a matter of finding single 8GB sticks that don't draw THAT much current to begin with.

 

Unfortunately BIOS settings from NUC boards might not give us anything to run our RAM at a lower speed. If that were the case, we'll have to figure out how to control the speed with specific software instead.

[seeteeyou]

17 minutes ago, romaz said:

I think my point with separating server and renderer has more to do with distributing tasks (such as library management, DSP, upsampling, rendering, etc) so that a single CPU doesn't have to do all the work.

 

Have you looked into NUMA by any chance?

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/38729-a-crowd-funded-motherboards-for-audiophiles-part-1/?tab=comments#comment-791428

 

Running dual Xeon at a much lower speed could be fun to experiment with.

[seeteeyou]

2 minutes ago, romaz said:

Whether I upgrade my NUC with an sCLK-EX board or not, I haven't decided because what I have now is sounding so good although I suspect at some point, I will want to do it so that I can take further advantage of the REF10.

 

Since your modified Oppo UDP-205 (with "lowly" OCXO that's placed inside the same chassis) should sound at least as good when compared to your ZENith SE + tX-USBultra + Habst + REF10 + Paul Hynes SR7 combo, what if we're applying the same "direct-path" tricks with an excellent OCXO like these guys instead?

 

http://newclassd.com/index.php?page=200&hv=1

 

Given a wide range of frequencies could be chosen, maybe we could find something that's gonna be able to match what NUC would actually need.

[seeteeyou]

https://fit-iot.com/web/products/fitlet2/

 

fitlet2 J3455 Barebone     × 1 = $161
https://fit-iot.com/web/product/fitlet2-j3455-barebone/

 

16 GB eMMC module for fitlet2     × 1 = $14
https://fit-iot.com/web/product/16-gb-emmc-module-for-fitlet2/

 

Not bad for $175 plus shipping?

[seeteeyou]

On 8/8/2018 at 7:29 PM, romaz said:

I have no scientific explanation for so many differences that I hear but as best as I have been able to figure out, good digital amounts to 3 things:  (1) low noise, (2) low impedance, and (3) low latency.

 

Ain't that kinda like those Blue Zones: (1) low salt, (2) low sugar, and (3) low fat?

 

Seriously, does low latency affect our music servers as much as High Frequency Trading and High Performance Computing?

 

Ultra low latency Ethernet (UCS “usNIC”): questions and answers

https://blogs.cisco.com/performance/ultra-low-latency-ethernet-questions-and-answers

 

Ultra-Low latency for Everybody

http://www.mellanox.com/blog/2017/05/3877/

[seeteeyou]

Could this be even better than eMMC or what? Simply boot the VHD image off USB disk and then unplug that afterwards

 

Diskless Windows 10 PC Setup Procedure
https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/26705-diskless-windows-10-pc-setup-procedure/

 

randytsuch's audio page: Running Windows from RAM
http://randytsuch-audio.blogspot.com/2016/02/running-windows-from-ram.html

 

Install and Boot all versions of Windows from VHD using Firadisk
http://agnipulse.com/2017/01/install-boot-all-versions-windows-vhd-using-firadisk/

 

Windows on a RAM disk / Geek magazine
http://geek-mag.com/posts/185172/

 

138 - Directly boot from a Windows 7/8/10 VHD file with grub4dos
https://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/138ntboot

 

Someone actually put Windows PE on his NAA and obviously that USB drive could be unplugged once the OS was good to go

 

https://post76.hk/thread-263931-1-1.html

[seeteeyou]

Does it actually make sense or not?

 

Ethernet or WiFi – which is better for high-end audio streaming?
https://darko.audio/2018/08/ethernet-or-wifi-which-is-better-for-high-end-audio-streaming/

Quote

 

“The network router, the NAS and other network device are directly attached to the router using Ethernet cable which can be quite noisy. If the streamer is attached to the router using Ethernet cable then the noise can easily be transmitted to the streamer over this physical link. The regular CE, FCC and other EMC standards only guarantee the device will work stably, but when we are talking about sound quality, we are actually talking about EMI noise that is 1/1000 of the EMC’s standard, so it affects [sound quality] a lot. That’s why audiophiles say different NAS or different routers sound different.

 

The Ethernet cable is [also] a big problem. It runs long and can pick up low-frequency noise which cannot be filtered out. This noise will introduce jitter at low frequencies which no PLL circuit can get rid of and it will affect sound quality a lot.

 

WiFi will sound better if:

 

The engineer that designed the streamer knows how to design the WiFi module right. ‘Right’ means the module does not introduce noise to other audio circuits sharing the same ground circuit;

 

The WiFi signal between streamer and router is strong and stable. This is because if you have a poor WiFi signal, the WiFi protocol will try to fetch the data again and again due to large error rate (Yes, we use TCP to transfer music data which has error correction). If there are too many retries, it will add additional load to the processor and potentially generate more EMI noise.

 

The reason that many audiophile companies claim Ethernet to sound better is that they are not capable of designing a good WiFi circuit and they have no such background knowledge (poor WiFi network). All our streamers use existing Intel WiFi modules because they work well on a Linux system and they are well designed with minimum EMI noise generation and, most importantly, we know how to design the circuit around it correctly.”

 

 

[seeteeyou]

For an Intel NUC without eMMC storage, maybe we could actually boot Windows off any SATA drives inside USB enclosures. Once we're done with the booting into RAM, that USB enclosure could be powered off and therefore it's completely diskless with zero noise.

 

Anyways, some of us should be interested in comparing diskless Supermicro X10SBA-L versus diskless Intel NUC with Celeron. Of course running Windows would be a challenge because each VHD image must be kept quite a bit less than 8GB as either Bay Trail or Apollo Lake couldn't support more than 8GB of RAM.

[seeteeyou]

Oh man, sometimes we shouldn't trust Intel too much then

 

https://ark.intel.com/products/95594/Intel-Celeron-Processor-J3455-2M-Cache-up-to-2_3-GHz

 

I guess that Auto Correct changed Fitlet to Filter automatically. Anyways Asrock seemed to be an interesting option for $160

 

https://www.asrock.com/nettop/Intel/Beebox%20Series%20(Apollo%20Lake)/index.asp
https://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-BEB3455

Quote

Inte Pentium® J4205 & Celeron® J3455 Quad Core CPU
Dual Channel DDR3L SO-DIMM (Max. 16GB)

 

(Could "Inte" be some kinda knockoff stuff? LOL)

 

Now we just need to figure out if booting the entire OS into RAM were playing the most important role or otherwise. Basically we could put any VHD images on any drives as a starter. Then the drive itself could be either powered off or unplugged after the OS itself is ready.

[seeteeyou]

Oh no, I was hoping that maybe Jay could have borrowed a pair of Habst from @romaz because (other than Synergistic Research) that should be the only choice with separately connected ground

 

https://audiobacon.net/2018/08/11/the-audiophiles-short-list-the-best-digital-coaxial-cables/

 

Did anyone try Synergistic Research's flagship from their lending library by any chance?

 

https://www.thecableco.com/lending-library

https://www.thecableco.com/galileo-uef-digital-5428.html

40% off the RCA version

https://www.thecableco.com/galileo-uef-digital-2m.html

They even made an Ethernet cable

https://www.thecableco.com/galileo-uef-ethernet-cables.html

[seeteeyou]

2 hours ago, Confused said:

The thing is, to me the Habst has probably delivered more than this, it is like I am only now discovering what the REF10 can add to the system.

 

Or we could also look at that from a different perspective, the investment in REF10 itself might not be justified unless we're also matching that with something short and sweet like 0.5M Habst.

 

Now we could tell exactly why they're recommending Pasternack on one hand, while showcasing REF10 with Habst on another. Just trying to keep that secret to themselves since it wouldn't be all that appealing when a product actually requires such an expensive cable to perform the way it should

https://www.facebook.com/mutecpro/posts/1307154836032310

 

2 hours ago, Confused said:

I had agreed with SOtM that I would send back the sMS-200Ultra for Neo upgrade, and send back my tX-USBultra too, such that I could have shorter internal clock cables fitted.

 

Similarly, maybe we'll only discover what sCLK-EX can add to the system when those internal clock cables are replaced by something that could rival Habst. Of course that might not be feasible for now or else @romaz should have done that already.

 

2 hours ago, Confused said:

Maybe fate is sending me a message!

 

Don't forget that @romaz was actually reporting that neither ultraRendu nor sMS-200Ultra could perform as well as an unmodified Intel NUC with eMMC, though booting the entire optimized OS into RAM might play the most important role.

[seeteeyou]

31 minutes ago, Confused said:

Yes, I was intrigued by this also.  I did wonder how much the Dream OS added to this result, there could be many factors I guess.  I shall certainly be keeping an eye out for any developments or reports relating to this.

 

Someone in Taiwan already got that whole RamOS enchilada started back in November 2015

 

http://www.myav.com.tw/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=20473423

 

He actually kept tweaking Windows 10 before each version was released and everyone could download that install.wim for free. The latest one was posted in July and the SQ should be even better when compared to version 15025

 

http://www.myav.com.tw/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=20482516

 

I bet that we could surpass Intel NUC with eMMC with a completely diskless system, though it's still hard to tell if diskless Supermicro X10SBA were superior to Intel NUC with eMMC.

 

Discussions about running Windows on diskless systems turned out to begin WAY back in 2010

 

http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=70

 

And then tons of freebies could be downloaded as well

 

http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=83

 

By far the most interesting ones seemed to be Windows PE based on both Server 2016 as well as Server 2019 since they're getting network and audio drivers working, IMHO they really are super slim when compared to that 6GB Dream OS. The former one is just under 500MB while the latter one is only 525MB

 

http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=383909

http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=410068

 

Other flavors are linked below

 

Win7PE_RamOS_x86
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=365509

 

Win8.1PE(X64)RAMOS
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=322257

 

Win8&Win8.1RamOS
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=337109

 

WIN8.1 RAMOS
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=338318

 

Windows 8.1 With Update2 PE(RAMOS With DISM)
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=339348

 

Win8&8.1RamOS
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=339697

 

Win8.1RamOSx64 + XPPE
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=347242

 

win8.1_up3_ramos(x86+x64)
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=362567

 

Win10_RamOS_17134.137x64
http://bbs.wuyou.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=409956

[seeteeyou]

12 hours ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

These links are down now.  They were working earlier today.  I wonder if the exposure here has anything to do with it?

 

PCHIFI RAMOS

https://pan.baidu.com/s/1m687ZMt2CutjVAbm23wP6w

SHA1: AF4BBF55DBFC0E4F419204D386EA00D61E08C231

 

Ramos Server2016

https://pan.baidu.com/s/160tCctWpHO5MBbXRUhIrig PW:8l6c

SHA1: 4332426DC99E6B6197ACB30D245BCE74420F9F60

 

Server 2016 PE

https://pan.baidu.com/s/1hseBs6S PW:92kw

 

Server 2019 PE

https://pan.baidu.com/s/1o8Qvvvk PW:8n1w

 

Some servers in China might seem to be unavailable intermittently, anyways everything could be easily found when we do a search on Google so that shouldn't be such a big deal IMHO.

 

Even if they weren't accessible, we could always create our own images easily

 

LiveSystem pro / MultiPE-builder-software / NEW!
http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=241.0

 

Win10PE SE Release
http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=1336.0

 

PEBakery Release
http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=2324.0

 

ChrisPE - a PEBakery Team release
http://theoven.org/index.php?topic=2417.0

 

MistyPE
http://mistyprojects.co.uk/download.htm

http://mistyprojects.co.uk/mistype/mistype.docs/readme.html

 

WinPE - Minimum RAM Requirements
http://mistyprojects.co.uk/documents/WinPE.RAM/winpe.ram.usage.htm

 

Creating a Flat Boot WinPE
http://mistyprojects.co.uk/documents/WinPE.RAM/winpe.ram.usage_files/FlatBoot.htm

 

115 - Convert a WinPE 'Flat-File' ISO to a ramdisk (boot.wim) ISO
https://www.rmprepusb.com/tutorials/115

 

WinPE: Install on a Hard Drive (Flat Boot or Non-RAM)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/winpe-install-on-a-hard-drive--flat-boot-or-non-ram

 

Boot to WinPE
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/boot-to-winpe

 

Drvload Command-Line Options
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/drvload-command-line-options

 

DISM Driver Servicing (.inf) Command-Line Options
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/dism-driver-servicing-command-line-options-s14

 

Device Drivers
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/device-drivers-and-deployment-overview

 

Add and Remove Drivers to an offline Windows Image
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-and-remove-drivers-to-an-offline-windows-image

 

Add Device Drivers to Windows During Windows Setup
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-device-drivers-to-windows-during-windows-setup

 

WinPE: Mount and Customize
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/winpe-mount-and-customize

 

WinPE Network Drivers: Initializing and adding drivers
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/winpe-network-drivers-initializing-and-adding-drivers

 

WinPE Optional Components (OC) Reference
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/winpe-add-packages--optional-components-reference

 

Add or Remove Packages Offline Using DISM
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/add-or-remove-packages-offline-using-dism

 

WinPE: Create USB Bootable drive
https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/commercialization-public/blob/master/manufacture/desktop/winpe-create-usb-bootable-drive.md

 

UEFI and BIOS modes in WinPE
https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/commercialization-public/blob/master/manufacture/desktop/boot-to-uefi-mode-or-legacy-bios-mode.md

 

Install Windows 7 to a VHD and boot from it!
http://agnipulse.com/2009/06/install-windows-7-to-a-vhd-and-boot-from-it/

 

Imdisk Virtual Disk Driver
http://agnipulse.com/2010/02/imdisk-virtual-disk-driver/

 

Install Grub4Dos to your Hard Disk
http://agnipulse.com/2010/06/install-grub4dos-hard-disk/

 

Easily Modify Boot Sectors with Bootice!
http://agnipulse.com/2010/10/easily-modify-bootsector-bootice/

 

Beginners Guide to Creating Custom Windows PE
http://agnipulse.com/2011/06/beginners-guide-creating-custom-windows-pe/

 

Virtual Machine USB Boot
http://agnipulse.com/2013/12/virtual-machine-usb-boot/

 

Native VHD Boot on unsupported versions of Windows 7
http://agnipulse.com/2016/12/native-vhd-boot-unsupported-versions-windows-7/

 

Install and Boot all versions of Windows from VHD using Firadisk
http://agnipulse.com/2017/01/install-boot-all-versions-windows-vhd-using-firadisk/

 

How to backup drivers in Windows 10 using DISM
https://winaero.com/blog/backup-drivers-before-reinstalling-windows-10-using-dism/

 

Adding Windows PE drivers
http://toolscenter.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/sgtk_sa_win/add_winpe_drivers.html

 

Add Driver to the Exported WinPE Bootable Disk ISO File
https://kb.easeus.com/art.php?id=10025

 

Build a WinPE with wireless support
http://www.scconfigmgr.com/2018/03/06/build-a-winpe-with-wireless-support/

 

Customizing WindowsPE 2.0 For Use With Specific OEM, PnP Hardware Drivers, Menu Items, and Paragon Scripts Using Paragon Customization Scripts
https://www.paragon-software.com/export/sites/paragonsoftware.com/docs/WinPE2.0_Customization.pdf

 

WIN7: Adding Drivers to a winPE image
https://youtu.be/k0nUS2J59UE

 

How To Create an 8.1 Windows PE with Custom Drivers
https://youtu.be/c3rY5WAj0c0

 

How To Inject WinPE Drivers Into a Boot Image and Create a Capture Image - Windows Deployment
https://youtu.be/2Y9MIiItY-4

[seeteeyou]

42 minutes ago, hurka said:

 

That certainly looked like a thumb drive after an accident in the kitchen

 

 

[seeteeyou]

1 minute ago, jean-michel6 said:

I will be using it to power a to link fmc 220.

 

Does a pair of TP-LINK MC220L require one 25MHz clock on the Tx side plus another 25MHz one on the Rx side? If so, we could have a smoking deal when we get two of them

 

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/connor-winfield/OH4610LF-025.0M/CW899-ND/5641634

 

Those A123 batteries cost about 4 RMB (about $0.6) a piece in China but they might or might not be genuine imitation

 

https://pro18650.taobao.com

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=551650873526

 

It would be fantastic if someone were able to make another version with two slots for 26650 and we could use a pair of A123 ANR26650 instead

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=559189013755

http://a123batteries.com/anr26650-lithium-ion-cylindrical-cell-anr26650m1-b/

[seeteeyou]

Recently Cybershaft announced whole bunch of new models (all the way from OP15 to OP20) plus another clock distributor with 3 outputs

 

http://www.cybershaft.jp

http://www.cybershaft.jp/overseas01.html

 

However, maybe the lack of DC power input might seem to be a big deal when compared to what we're able to get from SOtM?

[seeteeyou]

28 minutes ago, austinpop said:

The presence of models all the way to OP20 is intriguing, albeit at an eye-watering price of 567,000¥, or $5135.

 

We still have to factor in the costs of excellent clock cables or else we're basically wasting our money on such an expensive reference clock. And then there's also external grounding for Habst since we couldn't afford to ground that with an output from Cybershaft.

 

As usual we've gotta be aware of the degradation when we're going all the way from the crystal inside Cybershaft to other components such as UpTone Audio EtherREGEN or SOtM sCLK-EX etc. It might be somewhat difficult to justify the additional costs when we're climbing up the ladder, the performance of OP20 itself could very be degraded significantly since we're jumping through all the hoops.

 

And then there's also something about the quality of the PSU since we really know nothing about that at the moment. FINEMET core transformers are supposedly some of the best choices from Japan (I wish that someone could compare that to flagship models from Paul Hynes / Sean Jacobs etc.) but it's highly unlikely for Cybershaft to include that due to prohibitive costs.

 

We still haven't seen any comparisons between SOtM's approach (i.e. external OCXO with exceptional phase noise followed by significant degradation) and Pink Faun's / Adrian Wun's approach (i.e. internal OCXO with average phase noise followed by minimal degradation) yet, though we might get an answer from @romaz in a few months after DS-1 streamer from TLS is ready.

 

It's so intriguing since the starting point itself should be an Intel NUC with a fantastic baseline 

 

https://www.provantage.com/intel-boxnuc7cjyh1~7ITSP1N8.htm

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/mini-pcs/nuc-kits/NUC7xJY_TechProdSpec.pdf#page=23

Quote

The Intel NUC Mini PC NUC7CJYS contains a 32 GB Embedded MultiMediaCard (e-MMC) onboard storage module with Windows 10 Home operating system preinstalled. The Intel NUC Kit NUC7CJYH and Intel NUC Kit NUC7PJYH do not contain e-MMc storage nor Windows 10 preinstalled.

 

In other words, we could actually build a completely diskless system (without an e-MMC) thanks to PXE or iSCSI

 

https://communities.intel.com/thread/117127#559446

 

Intel® Ethernet Connections Boot Utility, Preboot Images, and EFI Drivers

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19186/Intel-Ethernet-Connections-Boot-Utility-Preboot-Images-and-EFI-Drivers

 

Realtek

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?PFid=5&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3

 

Serva Download
https://www.vercot.com/~serva/download.html

 

Ultimate PXE (Network) Boot Tutorial
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/335603-ultimate-pxe-network-boot-tutorial/

[seeteeyou]

57 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Hauling the OS activity data over the network just creates a ton of noise on both Linux and Windows.

 

As @romaz mentioned before, it would be interesting to try one of those reclocked network switches from TLS / UpTone Audio / SOtM etc.

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?page=359&tab=comments#comment-860030

On 8/8/2018 at 7:29 PM, romaz said:

In this instance, with the reclocked switch in the "direct" pathway, I decided to swap out my SE once again and replaced it with my noisy Mac Pro and what I found was truly revelatory.  This switch very effectively isolated the noise coming from the Mac Pro.  As I A/B'd between SE and Mac Pro, the difference between the 2 was now subtle at best.  In blind testing, I was unable to tell that there was a meaningful difference at all.

 

57 minutes ago, lmitche said:

I guess one could try it again with ramboot.

 

Completely diskless setup could also be done with USB drives. Some enclosures have a switch to power it off so that could be flipped after the entire OS is booted into RAM

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Tool-free-Enclosure-Optimized-EC-UASP/dp/B00OJ3UJ2S

https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Enclosure-Optimized-Tool-Free-FE2010/dp/B01FQ5R0PG

https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Enclosure-External-Tool-free-FE2001/dp/B00DW374W4

 

57 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Linux will uefi boot with Windows removed, but the console is blank afterwards so we have to remote into the box for setup.

 

Did you try a distro that's running entirely from RAM? The real test could very well be comparing the latency of RAM versus that of Optane IMHO.

[seeteeyou]

And then there's the question, do we wanna invest in a reference clock plus relatively expensive Habst cable(s) or wait for Hugo M Scaler (roughly $4,500) instead?

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?page=148&tab=comments#comment-723032

On 9/25/2017 at 5:16 PM, romaz said:

Practically speaking, this results in a massive improvement in DAVE's resolution, so massive that the collective impact of my server mods which includes 8 clocks being replaced pales in comparison to what Blu Mk2 provides. For those of you who own a Chord DAVE, I would suggest you prioritize getting a Blu Mk2 beyond anything else discussed on this thread. Combined with Chord's upcoming "digital" amplifiers, there will be no more resolute or transparent way of listening to a digital file. Despite all of this, I am finding, however, that the quality of the music server still matters.

 

For owners of Chord (Hugo 2/Qutest/Hugo TT 2/DAVE) DACs, the latter one should be a better bet since we could take advantage of all 1 million taps.

 

For the others, we're talking about only 250K taps (i.e. only 192kHz via either single coaxial or optical) and therefore the improvements might or might not be as good as what a reference clock could offer.

[seeteeyou]

Apparently there are some DIY kits that would accept 6 pieces of 18650 batteries, though they're designed for those 3.7V Li-ion batteries in the first place instead of 3.2V LiFePO4 ones

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=529049384463

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=529567260681

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-6V-5V-6V-9V-12V-Power-Bank-Box-USB-6x18650-Battery-Charger-Adapter-USA-Seller/162900193174

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/12V-19V-21V-out-put-mobile-note-book-power-bank-box-18650-battery-case-box-section/32295627283.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc-19v-mobile-power-bank-box-18650-battery-case-box-section-6-universal-mobile-phone-charging/1568863317.html

Quote

• DC Output: DC5.5*2.1-2.5MM 3.6V/2.5A;5V/2.1A;6V/1.8A;9V/1.1A;12V/0.6A (with current limiting and temperature protection)
• USB Port Output: 5V/2.1A(max)
• Total Output Power: 75W(max) , DC Port: 65W(max)

 

 

 

More importantly, those voltage regulators inside the box should pretty much suck anyways. At least they're claiming 65W output (max) so that's high enough for that particular 36W requirement of LPS-1.2 from UpTone Audio.

 

A relatively inexpensive way to power those LT3045-based PSUs from Alexey and Michael etc. while going completely off the grid. Ideally someone could build something similar with whole bunch of LT3045 inside the power bank itself.

 

Now the question is how much current would an Intel NUC actually draw @ 12V when it's "only" acting as an endpoint. LPS-1.2 should be out since the TDP of Celeron J4005 alone is already 10W. If the current were 5A or less, then it's a good idea to go for LSIB-HPULN

 

https://www.mpaudio.net/product-page/lsib-hpuln-ps

 

Let's say we could actually get away with 1.5A @ 15V or 22.5W, DXP-1A5DSC should be an ideal choice for $145

 

http://www.ldovr.com/product-p/dxp-1a5dsc.htm

 

Looking forward to a comparison between DXP-1A5DSC and SR4 (or even SR7) in the future.

[seeteeyou]

Oh my, they actually jacked up the price to $72 while it's only $49 plus shipping here

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LT3045-four-parallel-regulated-power-supply-5V-2A-Upgrade-LT3042/273135946356

 

Originally it's closer to $29 (i.e. 200 RMB) in China

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=565126246341

 

They also made an inferior version (1A output) with a different regulator, that ain't any good when compared to LT3045

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=546522549178

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-to-6-5V-adjustable-1A-Battery-powered-adjustable-power-supply-board/273384388438

[seeteeyou]

Maybe it could be fun to run multiple units at the same time?

 

NUC NAS
https://www.medo64.com/2015/09/nuc-nas/

 

Rockstor on the Intel NUC
http://rockstor.com/blog/tutorials/rockstor-on-the-intel-nuc/

 

Intel NUC intel nuc d54250wykh working
https://xpenology.com/forum/topic/9422-intel-nuc-intel-nuc-d54250wykh-working/

https://xpenology.com/forum/topic/8373-user-reported-compatibility-thread-for-dsm-61/?tab=comments#comment-91144

 

6th gen Intel NUC running ESXi as router (with USB 3.0->Gigabit NIC)?

https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/4xy3zc/6th_gen_intel_nuc_running_esxi_as_router_with_usb/

 

Intel NUC router with nftables

https://medium.com/@prasmussen/intel-nuc-router-with-nftables-9a9a1e44db9c

 

Scripts to configure an Intel NUC to act as a router

https://github.com/nokia/intel-nuc-router

 

A USB3/Gigabit Ethernet adapter (ASIX AX88179 chipset recommended)

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Gigabit-Ethernet-Network-Adapter/dp/B00AQM8586

 

StarTech.com USB 3.0 to Dual Port Gigabit Ethernet Adapter NIC with USB Port (USB32000SPT)
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adapter-USB32000SPT/dp/B00D8XTOD0

https://www.startech.com/Networking-IO/usb-network-adapters/USB-3-to-Dual-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adapter-NIC-with-USB-Port~USB32000SPT

Quote

ASIX - AX88179

 

M.2 dual Ethernet Module Kit

https://shop.udoo.org/usa/m-2-dual-ethernet-module-kit.html

 

Adding a second NIC to a 5th Gen Intel NUC (Or other PCIe Cards)
https://www.virten.net/2015/09/adding-a-second-nic-to-a-5th-gen-intel-nuc-or-other-pcie-cards/

 

 

 

[seeteeyou]

https://nucblog.net/2018/04/gemini-lake-nuc-review-nuc7cjyh-linux-htpc-conclusions/

Quote

• Idle at Windows 10 desktop: 7.2 W
• Playing 4k HEVC video: 11.8 W
• Prime95 stress test: 15.6 W
• Prime95 stress test and Cinebench OpenGL test simultaneously: 24.1 W

 

So far I could only find one clock @ 25MHz that's next to the Realtek Gigabit Ethernet chip, do you guys see anything else?

 

 

[seeteeyou]

https://ark.intel.com/products/126136/Intel-NUC-7-Essential-a-Mini-PC-with-Windows-10---NUC7CJYSAL

 

Even 16GB of RAM turned out to be OK

 

https://youtu.be/402RT0f13pk#t=341

 

 

 

However, Intel just announced Coffee Lake (20W / 28W TDP) NUC recently featuring Thunderbolt 3

 

https://newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-introduces-new-nuc-kits-nuc-mini-pcs-intel-nuc-family/

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-bean-canyon-nuc-arrive-coffee-lake-u/

 

We could actually add an expansion chassis via Thunderbolt 3 and then install our own PCIe card(s) with external power

 

https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node-duo

https://www.sonnetstore.com/collections/thunderbolt-expansion-systems

 

Cheapest i3 models are starting at $280

 

https://www.provantage.com/intel-boxnuc8i3bek1~7ITSP1QQ.htm

https://www.provantage.com/intel-boxnuc8i3beh1~7ITSP1QP.htm

 

FYI - even Thunderbolt seemed to be supported under Windows PE

 

https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/how13364/winpe-10-driver-pack

Quote

Intel Thunderbolt Controller Driver

 

Not sure if Gemini Lake or Coffee Lake were having better SQ, though.