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

[rickca]

I'm running my NUC7PJYH/AL ramroot wireless and it sounds great.  When the Uptone Audio EtherREGEN is available I'll probably run wired instead Asus RT-AC3100 -> EtherREGEN -> NUC.

 

In the meantime, I decided to try the 19V fixed rail of my new HDPLEX 200W LPS on the Asus router... specs are 19V/max 2.37A.  I really wasn't expecting much.  I was wrong.  There's definitely an improvement in clarity that is quite compelling.

 

The NUC7PJYH (10W TDP) runs on the HDPLEX 2A adjustable rail set to 15V.  I've done some BIOS tuning like disabling SpeedStep to optimize sound quality, but the NUC booted up no problem right out of the box with this supply. 

 

[rickca]

For those who want to build a very powerful server, some intriguing upcoming AMD processors.

https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3068713/amds-16-core-ryzen-9-cpu-prematurely-listed-by-russian-retailer

[rickca]

On 12/27/2018 at 7:12 PM, rickca said:

But would it sound better to have the NUC run only the player/endpoint function and run the server function (I guess that's LMS) on Windows 10?  

Thanks to @austinpop and @LTG2010 I have this working ... LMS on Windows 10 server and squeezelite on AL/NUC7PJYH.  I have my own rips on the Windows 10 server.

 

So now a question about streaming Qobuz with this configuration.  Both my Windows 10 machine and my NUC are running wireless 5GHz.  With UPnP/DLNA, the Qobuz FLAC goes straight to the renderer (unless you're running A+) ... the server running MinimServer isn't involved.  What about my Windows 10/NUC configuration running LMS/squeezelite?  Since the Qobuz plugin is an LMS thing (not squeezelite), does the Qobuz FLAC come to the LMS instance running on Windows 10 and then get sent to squeezelite on the NUC?  Or is it like UPnP/DLNA, and the Qobuz FLAC goes straight to the renderer?

 

The reason for this question?  When playing my own rips, obviously server side optimizations like power supply will make a difference.  I'm wondering whether they would make any difference when streaming from Qobuz.

[rickca]

I spent some time listening to my NUC7PJYH running headless AL ramroot/extreme with a Paul Hynes SR4 today.  It was an OMG moment.  Better bass articulation, dynamics and richer tone than I've ever heard from the NUC.  The SR4 is staying put.

 

I'm using a silver DC cable supplied by PH for the SR4.  To be fair, I don't have a DC cable of comparable quality for my other linear power supplies.  Every LPS I own uses a different connector.  I don't have enough experience with DC cables to know how much of what I'm hearing is attributable to the cable. 

 

[rickca]

7 hours ago, hols said:

We have also tried to use the stock 19V SMPS that come with the NUC8i7 Kit and the sound is way way inferior to my HDplex 19V output. 

Which HDPLEX are you using?  Is it the new 200W LPS or an older unit? 

[rickca]

5 minutes ago, hols said:

I use Supra cat 8 ethernet cables in other less strategic areas

Do you know whether the standard Supra cat 8 ethernet cables have a floating shield or not?  I've heard good feedback about these for the price.

[rickca]

5 minutes ago, hols said:

I am not sure but I think Supra does not give floating shield because part of the plug is metal and so cannot isolate the ground.

Thanks.  I fell off my chair when I looked up the price of those Vertere Pulse HB ethernet cables. 

[rickca]

21 minutes ago, Iving said:

molex on mobo inc PCIe

I still don't get it.  What molex on the motherboard?  Are you saying that your motherboard (which delivers power to the PCIe slots) is powered by your HDPLEX?  How is this supplying dedicated PCIe power from the HDPLEX?  Sorry if I'm just being dense.  I can't really tell what you're doing from the pictures alone.

[rickca]

On 1/15/2019 at 4:42 AM, numlog said:

it turns out that with a card adapter like this M.2 can be powered externally

How?

[rickca]

34 minutes ago, rickca said:

I still don't get it.  What molex on the motherboard?  Are you saying that your motherboard (which delivers power to the PCIe slots) is powered by your HDPLEX?  How is this supplying dedicated PCIe power from the HDPLEX?  Sorry if I'm just being dense.  I can't really tell what you're doing from the pictures alone.

OK now I see what you mean.  I didn't realize the Z270-WS has a 6-pin for the PCIe slots on the motherboard.  I've never seen that feature before.

[rickca]

17 minutes ago, numlog said:

by cutting PCIe power pin traces and soldering on an external supply, a sloppy solution but it works. just after finding that this guy found another way. this one doesnt require modding but uses 5V external power when M.2 are powered with 3.3V( probably for the same reason the adapter uses 12V from PCIe slot, because PC 3.3V rail is expected to be dirty), with probably a DC-DC converter onboard to drop it down, so Id still prefer modify the adapter and use my own 3.3V supply.

OK, that kind of mod is way beyond my DIY skills.  I'd forgotten that Roy mentioned that Addonics card.

[rickca]

15 minutes ago, austinpop said:

it doesn't remove the additional benefit that bridging still seems to provide

How are you bridging on the i7 NUC, are you using a USB ethernet adapter?

[rickca]

Just now, austinpop said:

 

Correct.

That's the first thing I got right today.  I'm about to brave a birthday party for a 4 year old girl and her friends.  It gets worse ... it's at Chuck E. Cheese's.  I've learned it's best to let her Mom make all the critical decisions.  

[rickca]

7 minutes ago, elan120 said:

I also like the JCAT Net Femto card, and having it clocked with sCLK-EX and sCLK-OCX10 now is really elevated SQ higher.

Beautiful setup.  My question is whether the EtherREGEN will reduce the need for such a sophisticated server.  I'm hoping.

[rickca]

3 minutes ago, andervt said:

I also compared my SOTM-SMS-200 Ultra Neo and tx-USBultra (no master clock) to the 4-core Pentium Audio Linux NUC.

Some people are using a tX-USBultra with a quad core pentium NUC running AL.  Try comparing sMS-200ultra Neo + tX-USBultra to NUC/AL + tX-USBultra.

[rickca]

1 minute ago, mozes said:

Interesting, I actually found that in terms of SQ, it goes like this:

LPS-1.2>LPS-1>sPS-500

 

That's because you're not selling sPS-500.

[rickca]

16 hours ago, Geir-T said:

This has led to several changes over the past couple of years and the latest one change was to replace my Microrendu with a NUCPJYH built into an Akasa fanless case. This led to a clear improvement in my system and I decided to find out how this compared to the SOtM-SMS-200 Ultra Neo  & tx-USBultra. Based on the findings reported here, I expected the NUC alternative to be better, but to my surprise I found the opposite to be the case.

As I suggested earlier, you need to compare NUC7PJYH + tX-USBultra to sMS-200ultra Neo + tX-USBultra ... or just NUC7PJYH vs sMS-200ultra.

 

The Paul Hynes SR4 is wonderful with the NUC7PJYH.  I don't have an sPS-500 so I can't tell you how they compare.  The only way to buy an SR4 is to order directly from Paul Hynes ([email protected]).

 

The SR4 (with PH DC3FSXLR silver cable) at 12V gives the impression of 'biggie sizing' the NUC7PJYH.  It delivers better bass articulation and dynamics and a richer tone.  I'd encourage you to try it. 

 

I'm really happy with the sound quality running AudioLinux (ramroot/extreme mode) of the NUC7PJYH/SR4 combination, and I'm not even using a tX-USBultra.

 

 

 

[rickca]

2 hours ago, Superdad said:

Even then I mange to bother some people

Well nobody likes mange.

[rickca]

On 2/8/2018 at 10:54 PM, rickca said:

I got that Startech 4-port dual channel USB 3.1 Gen2 card and I'm in the process of sourcing a DC jack to SATA power connector cable with 5V for it.  I will try using an LPS-1.2 directly to power this card before implementing the 6V ==>5V LT3045 approach.  The DC jack will be mounted on an expansion slot bracket.

I just found out from Startech that this card (PEXUSB314A2V) uses 12V from the optional LP4 molex or SATA power connector, not 5V.  This makes sense because the card is designed to work with power from the PCIe slot only ... and PCIe supplies only 3.3V and 12V.

 

[rickca]

 

39 minutes ago, numlog said:

Was the goal to provide clean 5V through the USB ports or power the USB chips? you can still achieve both with that card

How can you achieve both?  Here is what I got from Startech

 

[rickca]

@numlog your expertise is impressive!  Unfortunately, I am unable to do anything requiring fine motor skills like soldering due to my shaky hands.  I really appreciate you taking the time to document your solution.  I hope another user will benefit from your guidance.

[rickca]

Just announced ... Amazon is buying wifi mesh company Eero.

[rickca]

Sorry I'm lost.  How can you have a switch between the server and the endpoint and still be bridging the server?

[rickca]

OK thanks, guys!  I understand the ethernet bridge idea, but I was hung up on thinking one leg of the bridge connected the server to the endpoint.  Now instead the server is connected to the switch and the endpoint is connected to the switch.

 

The other leg of the ethernet bridge connects to the router (or another intervening switch).

 

If we use the terminology 'ethernet bridge' meaning two or more bridged NICs I think we can avoid confusion.

[rickca]

I always thought the reason we were using an ethernet bridge on the server was to directly attach an endpoint instead of attaching the endpoint to the router.

 

Now that we have both server and endpoint connected to the same switch, why is using an ethernet bridge still a good idea?

 

Sorry if I'm being really obtuse.