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

[Johnseye]

10 hours ago, atxkyle said:

I believe Roon ROCK is based on a minimalist Linux OS.  (Plenty of info about it on Roon’s website.)

 

1 hour ago, mourip said:

 

It is similar, but having tried it, I found AL to easily exceed it. AL can run completely in ram, allows you to operate with no storage drives at all, and has many tweak options. Also ROCK is plug and pray, only officially supporting certain NUC models. AL can run on almost anything. I have run it on a Mac, a regular Windows desktop, a NUC, and a CAPS-like fanless box.

 

ROCK will probably meet the needs of many audiophiles but not the crazies that congregate here 🙂

 

I've gone back and forth with ROCK many times.  AL sounds better out of the gate.  I've never had a problem installing ROCK on anything, but that's only about 4 different hardware platforms.

[Johnseye]

Some big changes in my soundscape recently.  They aren't 100% complete but I'm close.

• I received a nice package from SOtM yesterday. 
  • An sNH-10G with sCLK-EX, Evox cap (that thing is huge!) and silver wire upgrades.  The 3 remaining taps from the sCLK-EX now provide clocking from my NUC's system, NIC and (2) HDMI.  
  • Another sCLK-EX with taps used for the tX-USBultra and my server's system, (2) NICs and tX-USBexp was upgraded with the Evox cap.
• Jeff Hedback of HD Acoustics conducted an analysis of my listening room where he measured reflections, decay and frequency response.  The cost to do this is very reasonable.  Jeff did everything remotely, shipping his gear to me.  I played some test tones and recorded them with his gear.  I had also been talking with Bob Hodas, who has an impressive background.  Bob would come on site and this could be a future, but more costly effort.
  • I gave Jeff measurements of everything in my room along with pictures.  He provided a detailed report and took time to explain the results.  He then created a design with recommendations for treatments.  My room already had wall absorption panels, but I knew they weren't good enough as they didn't go down to 80Hz.  So a change to the absorption wall treatments closest to the speakers, some diffusion and absorption on the ceiling and better absorption behind the speakers was recommended.
    • I have installed Vicoustic Multifuser DC2 panels to the ceiling and added insulation behind the speakers where there is a cavity behind the projector screen.  The DC2 panels are light and easy to install.  I did paint them so they would blend in more with the ceiling.  As the are polystyrene care needs to be taken.
    • I have GIK 244 traps on order which will be used to the sides, at the first reflection point of the speakers and on the ceiling above the speaker.  I will also be installing a 242 trap in the middle of the ceiling which will be surrounded by the Vicoustic DC2 panels.

Our main efforts were to resolve an issue between 100-200Hz.  This is where the acoustic treatments should help.  Once everything is in place I will re-run the analysis with Jeff.

 

My Persona 9H speakers have Anthem Room Correction (ARC) built in.  ARC only impacts the sound below 500Hz.  While I typically don't run DSP on 2 channel, these speakers are a bit unique and what they can do is fantastic.  By applying it at the speakers themselves the change will impact analog sound without converting it to digital.  This means vinyl can receive DSP while remaining unmodified analog. I can also turn ARC on and off with the push of a button.  The difference is stunning.  The low end is tamed allowing for a more accurate bass representation while revealing music in other frequencies that would be otherwise masked.  I am hearing sounds I couldn't hear before.

 

 

This is just another example of the analysis which helps to understand the room's characteristics and apply corrective action.

 

 

I will share pictures of the server - NUC - tX-USBultra spaghetti later.  Where I just had a little spaghetti before, it's a big bowl of stuff now.  I will also share pictures of the room once the treatment is completed in a couple weeks.  I also need to let the new SOtM components burn in as well as apply EMI RF shielding to the SMB cables.

 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

Congratulations on your recent changes and acquisitions!  I'll be interested to know how you decide to shield the SMB cables since their diameters are so small.

 

My plan is to use Tinned Copper Metal Braided Sleeving then another sleeve over the copper.  You can easily get a copper sleeve as small as .08" in diameter.

[Johnseye]

21 minutes ago, seatrope said:

Question for those who have had their NUC modded by SOTM:

 

I have experienced some occasional (1-2 times a day) loud hissing noise mixed in with music using Roon with the modified NUC and external REF10 master clock recently. I never heard this before NUC was modified, not sure if it could be from some problem with the NUC modification.

 

If I pause the music and hit play the noise keeps going. If I go back to beginning of the track and play, the noise goes away.

 

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Obviously this could be related to any number of things included network issues, Roon glitches or DAC problems as well.

 

thanks!

 

I can get a similar hissing noise issue when upsampling with HQPlayer to PCM 384. I believe it's interrelated to the upsampling multiplier, HQPlayer and my Spring DAC. If I start out listening at 352 then pause and bump it up to 384 it works. 

[Johnseye]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

Mindful of @bobfa's point that these general topics are OT in the Shootout thread, I'm posting this here.

 

 

If there is one "new" finding in all of this recent progress, it is that combined with all the previously known optimizations of clean power, separate CPU power, linear supplies, better clocks, etc., running with a very powerful CPU like the i7-8700K provides a level of dynamism and clarity we have not heard from the low-powered CPU approach of the likes of the ZENith SE, the sMS-200ultra, and even the NUCs.

 

However the key thing here is that we operate these massively powerful CPUs at very low utilization - as we see with the non-upsampling use cases of Roon or Stylus.

 

Once you add upsampling into the mix, all bets are off, as it remains to be seen what the effect of that energy consumption due to high CPU utilization will be on:

1. the ability of fanless cases to cope with the added heat
2. the effect CPUs running at very high temps on SQ.

I had a chat with Nuno @nvitorino about this at Munich. I asked him if he would consider incorporating our findings in his server line - i.e. something like a ZENith or Statement containing powerful i7 and i9 cores. He said it was OK for us hobbyists to go this route, as we have the skill and knowledge to control our workloads and ensure we ran at very low utilizations. As a commercial vendor, he cannot control what people do with the box, and his concern is that people who try to do heavy DSP and upsampling may not get the SQ benefit - indeed, they may get the opposite effect. Also, this would put a strain on the PSUs, since they would have to design the PSUs for the heaviest case, which would require far more powerful and expensive PSUs than are currently in those boxes.

 

So this is a valid concern.

 

I think folks in the upsampling HQPlayer space need to run their own experiments and see where the sweet spot is. I would not be surprised if the answer is not standalone, but a distributed configuration: a separate powerful server for upsampling, and an endpoint, perhaps still using a powerful i7 or i9 core, but running NAA at very low CPU utilization. Please note - this is pure conjecture on my part, but it's an educated guess on what I and Roy have experienced thus far with non-upsampled Roon and Stylus.

 

Your assumptions are correct Rajiv.  I do not own a Chord M Scaler. My direction has been to use an NOS DAC and HQPlayer. As you know, last year I was using a single ASRock ITX board modified by SOtM and powered by the SR7 with the HDPlex converter. Separately powering the board and CPU by separate rails of the HDPlex 400 LPSU was actually an improvement. 

 

Most recently I have incorporated a SOtM modified NUC as the endpoint. It's using the sCLK-EX taps of an sNH-10G and both are powered by the SR7. Everything is clocked by the Mutec; server, NUC and switch. The NUC is running as an HQPlayer NAA.

 

I upsample with HQPlayer and depending on the filter can exceed the tap count of an M Scaler. I don't question the M Scaler's prowess but there's pros and cons to both solutions. Since running my system this way I have been challenged to differentiate analog from digital. I will take analog sourced vinyl and put it side by side with a digital source and I can't tell the difference. This is incredibly easy to blind test. I had Bob over last week and he confirmed what I had.  He couldn't tell the difference either. 

 

On another note, I have finished correcting my room after Jeff Hedback's testing, analysis and recommendations. The change is remarkable. This kind of effort is limited to those who can make changes to their listening environment. Depending where this is, the wife factor can be in play but there are still tasteful and wife acceptable changes that can be made. In my case I had free reign and so applied absorbers and diffusers on the ceiling and walls. The impact is bigger than all the little tweaks we make. It's at the macro level. 

 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, bobfa said:

 

Due to the location of my gear, I have to keep one cable.  I have to test the VBus switch with my Kii Control to see if it needs power or not.  

 

What is funny about this is when I changed systems I kept the USB setup the same.  I had forgotten that I could not use the USBPCB because of the size of my Shiit DAC in my old cabinet!  

 

I guess that this does not look too funky hanging off of the KII control.  @SuperdadI wonder if I can flip that end plate on the ISORegen so the text is upright?

 

How does it sound?

[Johnseye]

On 6/16/2019 at 11:22 PM, Chopin75 said:

You have a web link to these speakers ? 

 

If you're interested in the Sopras you should listen to the Paradigm Personas.  Ideally side by side, which is what I did.  Both use beryllium.  Both sound amazing.

[Johnseye]

59 minutes ago, Chopin75 said:

Hmm Paradigm Personas 3 is similar pricing to Focal Kanta 2. I can't afford the Sopras I can only do Focal Kanta 2 . 

I wonder how the Paradigm Personas compares with Focal Kanta ?

 

I only compared the Persona 3's to the Sopras.  I liked the Persona's slightly better but their character is very similar.  Worth a listen at least if you're going to spend that much.

[Johnseye]

2 hours ago, happydance said:

@austinpop 

...as a few members have talked about retiring their NUC's, do you still believe in this device as a near end game solution, or have you moved on too? Thanks!

 

Rajiv is spot on.

 

I'd also like to add that there are other components that can impact your decision of whether to NUC or not.  I use a Hynes SR7 and have played around with the latest one box Euphony solution.  The difference with my components from Roy and Rajiv is that I use HQPlayer with an NOS DAC.  This has a significant impact as I've found no benefit to Euphony Stylus and the one box solution.  Not to mention Stylus is archaic compared to Roon.  I had been using the one box solution previously and benefited from adding the NUC.  To each his own...YMMV.

[Johnseye]

3 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

Great teaser post from Eric!

 

I have acquired a Farad Super3 12V PSU from Mattijs, and am burning it in. Given how long it took for my SR-4 to fully burn in, and the level of interest I'm sure there is for this comparison, please be patient.  

 

Once I feel the Farad is fully burned in, Eric and I will conduct a PSU shootout between the Farad Super3, the LPS-1.2, the SR-4, and the mighty SR-7, all set at 12V.

 

It's an exciting time to be an, um, LPSU fan.

 

Looking forward to this. I've been holding off on placing another order with Paul until I hear this outcome. 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

 

Working on it...

 

🍿

[Johnseye]

I had been considering bringing my Audio Alchemy DAC home from the office and using it in my family room system.  I bought another NUC partially for this purpose.  Now I'm having second thoughts as I think I'm going to keep my AA DAC in the office.

 

If anyone's interested in a brand spankin new 7i7DNKE NUC let me know via PM.  I'm still tempted to keep it since these things are hard to come by and out of production, but if anyone's interested I'll part with it.

 

I'm still running my SOtM modified 7i7DNKE and extremely happy with the sound I'm getting.  That combined with the room analysis and new treatments has me in a great place.

[Johnseye]

Maybe OT maybe not, but funny just the same whether it's our electrician our ourselves.

 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, George Hincapie said:

 

Shoildn't be necessary with EtherRegen. Any well made cable should do the job.

 

The cable will still have an impact. 

[Johnseye]

On 8/20/2019 at 5:20 PM, austinpop said:

Hi all,

 

It seems this thread has gone quiet in terms of posts by some of the "regulars" who have followed it from the beginning. My assumption, or at least hope, is that people are just happy with their systems now, and hence have no reason to post.

 

So as a way to revitalize this thread, I have a proposal. Please consider posting a description your system in its current state. If possible, please showcase which of the optimizations we've covered in this thread's long history you've tried, and what you found. You can be as 💻terse or verbose as you want. For example, here's an update I posted on July 31: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?do=findComment&comment=977429

 

BTW - this isn't just for old-timers. New followers of this thread are welcome to join in. I just want the focus to be on:

• changes that have resulted in SQ improvement, as experienced by direct listening
• changes in the general area of the digital transport chain upstream of the DAC, which is the primary focus of this thread - although we do stray from time to time!

Feel free to share where you think you might optimize next, or if you're done optimizing (i.e. "happy"), say so.

 

To jog your memories, I'm listing the categories of optimizations that we have covered over the lifetime of this thread. I very likely may have missed a category or two. But you get the idea.

• Bridging Ethernet interfaces on music server
• Better PSUs (upstream of DAC)
• Better quality system clocks for USB, Ethernet, and system
• Better quality word clocks - for example in DDCs like Mutec MC-3+, SOtM dX-USB HD Ultra, Singxer DC-1
• Reference 10MHz clocks
• USB regenerators 
• Ethernet regenerators (switches)
• Standalone vs. distributed - where did you land?
• Endpoint optimization - NUCs etc
• Server optimization - mobos, cards, etc
• OS optimization - AL, Euphony etc 
• Music SW optimization - Roon, HQPlayer, SL, Stylus etc
• Assorted:
  • Digital cables - USB, Ethernet, clock, etc
  • Power cables
  • Power optimizations
    • Dedicated circuits
    • Regenerators, conditioners, isolation transformers etc.
  • Cable shielding - JSSG, JSSG360
  • Isolators, filters
  • Grounding - JSGT, etc
  • Fuses
  • Other accessories

 

I'll show you mine if you show me yours. 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, sig8 said:

Contrary to conventional wisdom; sound got little more relaxed. Nothing else changed, even used the same RAM modules, only the board and processor were different.

 

Could have been something with the board physically or chipset related as well. 

[Johnseye]

On 8/23/2019 at 12:20 PM, Blackmorec said:

Quite a few of you now have implemented the ‘guidance’ found in this thread and managed to create  some really high performing systems that quite possibly exceed your previous expectations. In the meantime I’ve continued to refine my system, which is entirely off the shelf bar a couple of key mods to the network to try and achieve similar levels with I believe some degree of success. I’m just wondering if you’ve noticed that as things got better, you started to get improvements that were clear to hear but quite difficult to analyse and describe, other than a rather lame “the music sounds more real” or “everything sounds better”.  Beyond that there isn’t particularly more of anything.....it just sounds better.....more natural, more real, more alive, more vibrant, more there but almost indescribable in the usual hi-fi parlance. I can’t actually pick out what got better, just that it did and sometimes by a not trivial amount. Anyone else feeling that their recent upgrades brought great, but difficult to quantify and describe sonic improvements?

 

The removal of noise from components will allow the music to be heard without that influence layered into it. Noise will come from many places such as power, clocking, EMI/RFI, etc. As you remove those sources of noise from your system you may hear more of an influence from a different noise source that was combined with or mask by another noise source. Descriptions of what you hear are based on this and interpreted by layman's terms as best as possible. 

[Johnseye]

13 minutes ago, austinpop said:

Let's put that price in context. If you add up the approx price of:

• a tX-USBultra SE with master clock input:    $1500
• one rail of an SR-7 DR:                                      $1300
• one 10MHz clock tap from Ref-10:                $1300 (assuming you use the Ref-10 with 3 devices)

You're still at over $4000. If the Phoenix can match the SQ performance of the above combination at $3149, they may have a winner on their hands. We won't know until it's been tested.

 

Match the quality of the SR7, arguably the most important component? Doubtful. Then match the quality of a REF10? 

[Johnseye]

6 minutes ago, LJONESATL said:

Based upon everyone's feedback and praise, I've also just ordered a new Farad3 19v from Mattijs.  As others have pointed out, I've ordered it with the Rhodium fuse.  It will be be used primarily for a new custom audio PC I'm building specifically for Euphony. I'm using an HDPLEX H3 v2 Fan less chassis in conjunction with their 400W HIFI DC to ATX converter for the time being.  This Farad 3 will supply the power to that unit.  I've used the HDPLEX 200W LPS to power another identical build and am curious to hear the difference.

 

Did you inquire as to whether the Farad3 19v could be directly connected to the PC with the right cabling/adapters, eliminating a need for the converter?

 

[Johnseye]

23 hours ago, cat6man said:

will audiolinux and hqplayer work with just 4G of RAM? (I currently have a single 8G sodimm)

 

Yes

[Johnseye]

4 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Very good to know JSSG360^3 is working out on your USB cable as well.

 

I also changed out my Gotham output cable to the same 16AWG solid silver wire in JSSG360^3 configuration two days ago on my MPAudio power supply that is powering my tX-USBUltra, and it is showing the same improvement as my other JSSG360^3 silver DC cables, so I am quite happy with the result.

 

Below is a picture showing the JSSG360^3 silver output DC cable (on the left).

 

Elan did you modify the capacitor in that PSU yourself or was it stock? 

[Johnseye]

9 hours ago, austinpop said:

PSU Update

 

As I posted a few weeks ago, I needed to experiment where in my system the 3 DR rails of my new Paul Hynes SR-7 PSU had the biggest impact. I've now completed a full round of comparisons and settled on locations. To illustrate the experiment, here is a picture of my latest system topology:

 

 

The experiment was to decide where to put 2 of my SR-7 DR rails, with the 3rd 15V/6A DR rail powering my HMS. The choices were the blue and red circles in the picture.

1. Powering my server (red combo)
   • SR-7 19V/10A DR rail > HDPlex DC-ATX adapter > ATX on the mobo
   • SR-7 12V/6A DR rail > EPS (CPU) on mobo
   • JCAT Net card now bus powered
   • Switch and tX-USBultra powered by 12V/3A SR7 SR rails
      
2. Powering the switch and tX (blue combo)
   • HDPlex 400W ATX LPS powering the server
     • ATX output > ATX on mobo
     • separate 12V/7A rail (modded from the stock 19V XLR output) > EPS on mobo
   • SR-4 5V/2A > JCAT Net Card Femto
   • SR-7 12V/6a DR rail > sNH-10G switch
   • SR-7 12V/6a DR rail > tX-USBultra

Result: While this was not a trivial swap, and took some time to switch from the red to the blue combo and back, the end result was that I found the blue combo, i.e. DR rails on the switch and tX-USBultra, to sound better. So for now, I am keeping my HDPlex 400W Linear ATX supply.

 

Corollary: I was able to borrow @limniscate's SR7MR2DRXL for a few days, and constructed an all-SR7DR super combo chain:

• SR-7 19V/10A DR rail > HDPlex DC-ATX adapter > ATX on the mobo
• SR-7 12V/6A DR rail > EPS (CPU) on mobo
• JCAT Net card now bus powered
• SR-7 12V/6a DR rail > sNH-10G switch
• SR-7 12V/6a DR rail > tX-USBultra

This super-combo just smokes both the red and blue combos! I have a hard time even articulating how good this sounds. The HDPlex Linear ATX supply is already very good, but using the SR-7 to power the server just takes it to another level. SQ improves across the board, in dynamics, transparency, bass articulation, tonality and imaging. I finally got to hear what @romaz has been raving about, and it is truly something! I know the current buzz is about the impossibly expensive (for me) SGM Extreme, but I really have to wonder just how much better the Extreme or Innuos Statement can be over my custom server powered by SR-7 DR rails. Maybe in the not too distant future, we'll be able to find out.

 

I'm now on the hunt for another SR-7 MR2DRXL, so I'm waiting to see if a slot on Paul's custom build queue opens up.

 

Finally, here are some miscellaneous findings from these PSU experiments:

1. HDPlex's bigger, badder 800W DC-ATX adapter is a real SQ champ. It sounds significantly better than the 400W DC-ATX adapter. Thanks again to Roy for this tip. While it does take up more space, and really needs a bigger case than the HDPlex H3, it makes up for it in SQ. The other potential concern is inrush current, if you're trying to use it with a lower current rail. In my case, my 19V/10A rail didn't even break a sweat.
2. PSU SQ is related to the current demand and capacity. By this I mean two things:
   • Just because a PSU "works" under a certain load does not mean it will sound its best
   • PSUs that have lower current capacity tend to underperform as the load approaches their capacity.
   • Several cases in point:
     • When powering the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ (a current-hungry application), I found the JS-2 to outperform the SR-4, even though in a lower-current application powering the tX-USBultra, the SR-4 outperformed the JS-2. Yes, the SR-4 "worked" in this application, but its nominal 2A sustained max current made it sound more constricted and polite than the JS-2
     • Similarly, when powering the Chord TT-2 with the Farad Super 3 and the SR4-15, the Farad's superior 3A current rating allowed it to sound better than the SR-4. Again, in a lower-current application powering the tX-USBultra, the SR-4 and Farad were neck and neck.
3. Finding 2 is relevant to explain the results of another experiment I tried. Since I also have a 3-rail SR-7 SR, with 15v/5a, 15v/3a, and 15v/2a rails, I wondered if I could use an SR 12v/4a rail (derated current due to voltage reduction) to power my server's CPU via the EPS port. As it turned out, this did not outperform the EPS powered from the 12V/7A rail from the HDPlex. While the SR7 SR rail had some advantages in the form of tonality, refinement, and transparency, it lacked the dynamics of the HDPlex by quite a margin, which tilted the balance in the HDPlex's favor.
4. When powering a music server, muscular current capacity matters in the PSU.

 

Great info, thanks Rajiv. 

 

This is how I've been running my system and fully agree with your findings. 

 

While the SR7 is the grail, would you consider a Farad in its place until you get a second or is it not worth it? Or do you need more amperage? 

 

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

The second option would be the upcoming Farad Super 12 supply with their own DC-ATX adapter. I'm not sure yet if Mattijs is ready to share anything publicly, but I know this is in the works.

 

Yes, this is what I'm waiting for.  Depending on how it gets reviewed.

 

Not sure if you're doing anymore DAC shootouts, but the new Holo May is about to be released.  I don't think you tried any R2R DACs but this one is supposed to be a next gen.

[Johnseye]

24 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

No, I've hung up my DAC reviewing boots for a while. BTW - the Denafrips Terminator DAC I reviewed is R2R.

 

You should have tried it with HQPlayer 😜

[Johnseye]

On 12/15/2019 at 5:37 PM, romaz said:

I thought I'd provide an update.  I apologize for another War and Peace length post but it's been awhile since I last posted and since I don't know when I'll post again, I figured I'd leave it all on the table.  Like always, the following represents my opinions based on personal observations and so YMMV.  Full disclosure, I have no financial motivations.

 

Some may recall that a year and a half ago, I transitioned to a pair of Wilson Alexia Series 2 speakers.  The good news is that these are as good as I hoped they would be.  The bad news is that they are also as bad as I feared they could be.

 

These speakers aren't that difficult to drive but are so much more revealing of the qualities of the driving amplifier than what I previously had that with the wrong amplification, they can sound lifeless and dull.  I ran the gamut of amplifiers, basically whatever I could get my hands on from friends, dealers, and directly from manufacturers and just when I thought the Alexias had shown me all they could, an amplifier would come along and I'd realize the Alexias had more to give.  As I went through this exhaustive exercise, I found that the best amplifiers shared 2 very important traits:  control and immediacy. 

 

Without control, complex instrument lines blur into one another.  Transients are smeared.  Resolution and transparency are compromised.  As for immediacy, here is a view of Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco that I hope to never see again while at a performance there.  It is from high up in the 2nd tier and I have fallen asleep from seats like this.  I might as well have stayed home:

 

 

The following is a stock photo but is an actual view from my preferred seats -- the very front row. 

 

 

These are actually not elite seats as it turns out this vantage point is too close and too low for some tastes and so to my good fortune, I find these seats frequently available and affordable.  The point is they provide the immediacy that I crave and even on days when I arrive to these seats after an exhausting day, my engagement is always there.  I can hear the performers' subtlest expressions.  I can hear them take their breaths.  I can more easily discern the timbral variations between the 1st and 2nd violinist and better glean the space between them.  The soundstage is wider and deeper.  There is simply better localization of everything and while it's easier to hear mistakes from this close up, when perfection happens, you appreciate it better.  For someone like me who craves presence, being this close up is enthralling.

 

Music servers are the same way.  To my ears, they provide the exact same qualities that a good amplifier provides and the very best music servers I have heard amount to the equivalent of a serious amplifier upgrade.  Given the large price tag of some of the very best amplifiers, this is saying a lot.  

 

Power

 

It has been said that when listening to a really good amplifier, what you are really listening to is a really good power supply.  This is just as true for music servers.  It starts at the power supply and to date, I have yet to personally use a power supply in a DIY build that performs as well as a DR (double regulated) SR7 from Paul Hynes.  My latest SR7 arrived earlier this year in a large Streacom FC10 chassis and this thing must weigh at least 50 lbs.  It includes the Teflon board and Vishay Foil resistor upgrades for all 3 rails and if you zoom in, you can see what the off-white colored Teflon PCBs look like. 

 

 

Like Teflon coated frying pans, they are very smooth and slippery to the touch.  They also have a low dielectric constant leading to a smoother presentation with less smearing, especially in the treble.  Compared against my standard DR-SR7, the presentation also sounds a bit faster.  While not as impactful as going from SR to DR, it squeezes out the last bit of performance from the SR7 that Paul is capable of and I have found it to be worthwhile. 

 

With this SR7 as a foundation, I have found my servers to be competitive with anything I have put them up against.  Here are photos of Streacom's FC9 chassis against Aurender's latest W20SE.  

 

 

The Aurender is a very attractive unit and is solidly built as it should be for $20k.  While it's presentation is very refined and is an obvious improvement over the outgoing W20, in comparison to my server, the transients sound too soft and smeared.  There is an obvious downgrade in resolution and the immediacy is not the same as it lacks that startling quality that my server is capable of when called for.  It's as if I'm sitting high up in the 2nd tier at the Davies Symphony Hall.  In isolation and if money is not a concern, I doubt its buyer will complain but in comparison, the W20SE is a disappointment given its mediocre performance and high asking price.  While there are probably a multitude of factors, I believe the transient softness and lack of immediacy I am hearing is largely due to its hybrid battery power supply.  

 

For those who have been patiently waiting for their bespoke SR7s, the most encouraging thing I can say is "hang in there."  This is my 4th SR7 and so I know your pain but the wait has been worth it.  It will probably outlast every other component you own because you'll likely never outgrow its capabilities.

 

For those not in the hunt for their own custom spec'd DR SR7 or are biding their time until their's arrives, there is hope in the form of the HDPlex 800W DC-ATX Converter ($248):

 

This has been discussed by others already and so I won't go into it too much.  It's been out for awhile and when I first noticed it, what caught my attention is the low voltage variance of only 0.1-0.6% for the ATX rails that matter and so I felt it was worth the gamble to try it.  In comparison, the 400W DC-ATX converter I was previously using had reported voltage variances of about 1% and for the all important 12V rail which has a reported variance of only 0.1%, this represents a 10-fold improvement!  

 

If a power supply can't maintain voltage (i.e. if voltage sags) which can happen when a PSU is pressed, then based on Ohm's Law, the power supply's capacity to deliver current is compromised.  This ability to maintain voltage is one of the things that makes a DR SR7 sound more controlled and more dynamic and this is exactly what I hear with this converter.  While a 19V DR SR7 rail powering this converter sounds otherworldly, I am finding even the 400W HDPlex ATX LPSU powering this converter via its 19V rail to sound very good and much better sounding than the HDPlex directly powering the motherboard via its ATX connector.  So good that you can use this converter to power both the ATX portion of the motherboard AND the CPU and get surprisingly good results without having to devote a 2nd precious rail to the CPU.  All you would need from your 19V rail is adequate headroom and so for those looking for simplicity, high performance for the dollar, and more ready availability, a single 19V/8-10A rail from Paul Hynes Design LTD, Farad, or Keces could work out well.  In a pinch, the HDPlex's 19V/5A rail is proving to be very satisfying.  It should come as no surprise given my experience with my SR7s that I would have a bias towards Paul's supplies but what is further appealing to me with the fairly affordable, off-the-shelf single rail SR7s from Paul Hynes Design LTD is the Streacom FC-9 chassis that's used as this chassis is presently my preferred chassis to build with.  For those who are space constrained and need or prefer to stack the server on top of the PSU or are looking for the aesthetic of a matching server and PSU chassis (like the innuOS Statement), then this SR7 is all the more appealing.

 

For those looking to power other peripherals such as Chord's M-Scaler, a JCAT card, tX-USBultra, or network switch, consider one of these:

https://www.ldovr.com/product-p/dxp-1a5s.htm

 

Credit to @seeteeyou for bringing this to my attention and I now have one on order.  Combine one of these DXP-1A5S ($99) single stage regulation power supplies with a 19V SR4 and you now have a Hynes DR rail capable of up to 1.5A output between 3.3-15V.

 

For those on a tight budget, then consider the DXP-1A5DSC ($149) dual stage regulation model as you can combine it with an inexpensive PowerAdd battery and using that battery's 20V/4.5A output, you now get linear DR output.  I have one of these on order also.

 

Chassis

 

This component is more important than some people may realize.  With certain servers like the SGM Extreme, the chassis can be the single most expensive part.  Yes, a good chassis is important for aesthetics and can make an audible difference with respect to minimizing unwanted resonances but there is another important practical consideration.  No one wants spinning fans inside their server based on the acoustic and electrical noise that fans create and so a passively cooled server is what most audiophiles strive for.  At the present time, for DIY, this means fanless cases from Streacom, HDPlex, or Akasa.  Soon, JCAT will be introducing their own fanless chassis that will be able to accommodate a full-sized ATX motherboard and so this is very welcome news.  The ability of these chassis to effectively dissipate heat is crucial as it limits what CPU you can use. 

For example, Streacom claims its FC-9 Alpha's passive cooling design can accommodate a CPU with up to a 95w TDP but recommends a CPU with only a 65w TDP.  I have found this to be true.  With a recent build utilizing an AMD 12-core 3900X (TDP of 105w), I am unable to run this CPU without de-throttling it significantly (down to 2.4GHz) because this chassis can't handle this CPU's heat output.  While CPU temps of 80 degrees C are considered tolerable in gaming rigs and 3D modeling workstations, I find CPU temps this high to result in fatiguing harshness and so with this build, I shot for temps of <50 degrees C.  

 

The SGM Extreme, which utilizes a chassis and a fanless cooling system specifically designed for the dual Xeons housed within has average CPU temps of only 40 degrees C and chassis temps of only 35 degrees C during even prolonged use according to Emile Bok.  This is quite remarkable as this should have not only SQ benefits but also longevity benefits.

 

Vibration Control

 

A few months ago, I was introduced to the CenterStage2 footers (starting at $320 each) from Critical Mass Systems based in my hometown of Chicago. 

 

 

My first thought was "Oh no, not another footer."  I already own a variety of footers and had settled on a certain combination that was working well for me.  With my heaviest gear such as amplifiers, I liked the very even-handed noise reduction I got from the HRS Vortex footers.  Because of their small footprint, I had been using Stillpoints Ultra SS footers under my power supplies.  I used to be a much bigger fan of Stillpoints but I have had to be careful with them under certain gear because they have a tendency to "oversharpen" resulting in a presentation that doesn't sound natural to me but under my power supplies, I generally liked what they did.  Under everything else, including my DAC, server, and even my Wilson Alexia 2s, I had been using high grade G5 Titanium footers ($35-$50 each) that were custom made for me by an audiophile friend from Taiwan who owns a titanium factory.  Titanium resonates at a frequency well outside the range of audibility and so I have found these footers to be quite effective without adding any unnatural coloration.  They are especially effective under my Wilson Alexia 2s.  

 

When I first tried the CS2 footers under my DAC and music server, I was warned they would sound horrible during the first 2-3 days, so bad that I would want to take them out.  I was intrigued by this statement because if a product like a footer can result in that large of a delta of bad sound that I would want to take them out, then this tells me just how negatively impactful vibration can be.  More importantly, once this footer settled, could it then result in a similarly large delta in the positive direction?  This, in fact, has been the case.  So much so that I have been slowly replacing my other footers with these.  As you might expect, good vibration control results in improved clarity and focus but these footers do something else I have never before experienced with vibration control devices.  I hesitate to call it a coloration because the tonal color is neither warmer nor cooler yet the signature is "creamier" and more immersive without smearing detail.  It's hard to explain but these are the most musical footers I have yet heard and improve resolution quite dramatically.  What is especially nice about the CS2s is that if there is desire to stack one component on top of another, while this is generally not something I like to do, these footers allow you to do so without apparent detriment, at least none that I can hear.

 

If there is a downside to the CS2 footers, they are quite expensive and for those looking for a less expensive solution, there are the Daiza platforms by Taiko Audio. 

 

 

I saw these first hand during my visit to the Taiko Audio factory in Hengelo in The Netherlands and they are attractive with an earthy look to them but also relatively inexpensive (starting at 400 Euros for a platform).  They also come with a money-back guarantee.  They are made of German Panzerholz wood and are designed to couple with your component resulting in a significant dampening of vibrations.  I have not had a chance to evaluate these yet in my system but they were used exclusively in Taiko Audio's listening room and I was quite impressed by the overall presentation and so I feel these deserve further exploration.  For those who are curious, the footers built into in the SGM Extreme's chassis are a hybrid design that include this Panzerholz wood and so I know that Emile fully believes in the vibration dampening qualities of this wood.

 

CPU

 

If you recall my last long post, it was quite surprising just how impactful I found the CPU to be to the overall presentation and all things considered, probably the 2nd largest difference maker behind only the quality of the power supply.  How could a stock Celeron NUC sound better than devices like an sMS-200 or ultraRendu that use low power/low noise ARM CPUs and are designed specifically for high quality audio playback with low phase noise clocks and linear regulation?  If you recall, the initial thought was this improvement in SQ was due to a better OS (AudioLinux running resident in RAM) and yet SQ improved further as I transitioned from a Celeron NUC to a more powerful i7 NUC.  While no doubt the OS plays a large role, in my mind, the CPU plays the bigger role.  From the i7 NUC to an 8700T (35w TDP) to an 8700K (95w TDP), dynamics improved but if I wasn't careful, so did harshness.  Fortunately, with effective CPU heat dissipation and higher quality PSUs (HDPlex --> SR7), this harshness went away and what was left was a fuller bodied presentation with superior dynamics and with transients that were more fully and powerfully expressed.  I won't name names but anytime I hear a server today that runs Roon and is powered by weak Celeron or Pentium, the presentation I hear can sound clean but also sounds thin and sterile.  For me, there's just no going back and I suspect in time, once these companies do their own testing, they'll start to incorporate higher power CPUs.  I find that even streamers or endpoints that run RoonBridge benefit from high power CPUs and so it makes sense that someone like Pink Faun would market a server/streamer combo that use equivalent high-power CPUs.

 

 

The questions for me now are Intel vs AMD (which is better?) and cores vs CPU frequency (which is more important?).  If you ask the companies building high-power servers, Jord at Pink Faun prefers AMD and Emile at Taiko Audio prefers Intel.  Both have told me they believe cores to be more important than CPU frequency in a non-upsampling Roon server although in my testing of Intel's 8700T, turning Turbo off which effectively caps CPU frequency to 2.4GHz didn't sound as dynamic as leaving Turbo turned on so probably, in a perfect world, if heat isn't an issue and the power supply is solid, it would be ideal to have both a large number of cores and high CPU frequency.  I know with HQP upsampling to DSD, higher CPU frequency begins to take on greater importance.

 

As I dipped my feet into AMD waters, I've been able to test 2 different Ryzen CPUs including an older 2600 (65w TDP) with 6-cores/12-threads and a max CPU frequency of 3.9GHz and a newer 3900X (105w TDP) with 12-cores/24-threads and a max CPU frequency of 4.6GHz.  As stated above, because of heat issues, I was forced to throttle the 3900X's CPU frequency down to 2.4GHz to keep CPU temps down to acceptable limits but even with this de-throttling, the more core-rich 3900X sounded more dynamic, better controlled, and more expansive.  This would support that cores are more important than CPU frequency if forced to choose.

 

As for AMD vs Intel, this one is more difficult for me.  With the AMD 3900X (12-cores) vs the Intel 8700K (6-cores) and outputting via USB, the AMD 3900X sounds once again more dynamic, better controlled and more expansive but there is also a mechanical character to the sound that is less natural and more clinical sounding to my ears.  The Intel 8700K, in contrast, sounds more liquid, tonally richer, and more intimate and so there is no definitive winner based on what I'm hearing.  Is this due to the CPUs themselves or are the motherboards/chipset/RAM/etc. playing just as big of a role and is it possible to get the best of all worlds? 

 

Motherboard

 

The chassis plays a big role in the decision for which motherboard to use as most fanless cases cannot accommodate anything larger than a mini-ITX sized board although the new HDPlex H3 V3 ($258) and the Streacom FC9 Alpha ($300) are both capable of uATX boards.  As far as I am aware, the only fanless cases that can accommodate a full sized ATX motherboard are the HDPlex H5 V2 ($298) and the Streacom FC10 Alpha (approx $400).  The problem with both of these chassis is that you are forced to use PCIe extender cables which is less than ideal.  Hopefully, the upcoming JCAT chassis will not have this limitation.

 

As previously posted, the gaming motherboards I tested seem to have an edge over non-gaming motherboards presumably due to better VRMs and use of multi-layer PCBs with more copper in the trace paths resulting in better isolation, grounding, and power delivery.  Because VRMs require real-estate, the ideal sized board would be a full sized ATX motherboard. 

 

If limited to mini-ITX, for Intel, the best board I have found is the Asrock Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/AC.

 

 

For AMD, thanks to @Nenon, it is the ASUS ROG Strix-X470-I. 

 

Between the two, the Asrock Intel board has the superior VRM.  I have already discussed the high quality VRM used in the Asrock board in a previous post.  Unfortunately, the large CPU cooler mounts used by AMD CPUs takes up precious real estate on the already cramped mini-ITX motherboard and so it is the VRM that is compromised.  This may account for perceived sound quality differences between the two.  This also suggests that for AMD CPUs, it would be better to use a full sized ATX motherboard which would likely have a higher quality VRM. 

 

The block diagram supplied by ASUS suggests, however, that the ASUS AMD board probably has the better architecture where the PCIe slot, M.2 slots, and 4 of the USB slots all bypass the bandwidth limited chipset (PCH).  With Asrock's Intel board, the M.2 slots and USB slots all have to go through the PCH.  To my ears, with the AMD board, the 4 blue USB ports on the back (which connect directly to the CPU) do indeed sound slightly better than the 2 red ones (which connect through the chipset).  Here is the block diagram for the ASUS ROG Strix B450-I which I am told is equivalent to the ASUS ROG Strix X470-I:

 

 

Good quality uATX-sized boards are not so easy to find.  I had purchased the Asrock X470D4U and had high hopes for this board based on the block diagram provided by Asrock.

 

Fortunately, before I could open the box, I read @Nenon's unfavorable review of this board which was quite timely as I was able to return it without having to go through the aggravation.  

 

The best uATX board may well be the ASUS ROG Maximus XI Gene which is designed for Intel CPUs and used by @StreamFidelity in his build below although I have not yet personally tried this board.  Unfortunately, I know of no good uATX board for AMD.

 

 

I have to compliment @StreamFidelity as this is a masterclass build -- very clean with excellent attention to detail.  I don't think I could do it any better and I especially like the CPU cooling enhancements.

 

RAM

 

I won't really go into this except to give kudos to both @Nenon and @Marcin_gps for bringing to our consciousness the Apacer brand.  I bought Apacer ECC DDR3 memory and an SLC compact flash card back in 2017 based on Marcin's recommendations for a build that only momentarily saw the light of day.  Having purchased Apacer's ECC DDR4 memory for a recent AMD build based on Nenon's findings, there is definitely a nice uptick in SQ.

 

 

JCAT

 

JCAT deserves its own subheading here as 2 of their products single-handedly salvaged a somewhat unnatural and mechanical sounding AMD build, even with the Apacer RAM. 

 

 

Those who read my last lengthy post know that I found the Femto Net card to sound incredible with my Intel build and it is just as incredible with this AMD build.  This ASUS board's stock Ethernet port pales in comparison.  This time around, I compared it against a 10Gtek SFP+ PCIe card with the Startech SFP transceiver that Emile at Taiko Audio likes.

 

 

This fiber network card immediately brought forth a lower noise floor, a greater sense of resolution with very well defined bass and extended treble but the presentation was bright and thin and didn't sound natural and so I much prefer the JCAT Femto Net card.  It turns out that I misinterpreted Emile as he not only prefers the Startech SFP transceiver but also the Startech SFP PCIe card and so this will require exploration as the greater perceived resolution brought about by the fiber card is desirable.  If Marcin is able to somehow marry the benefits of SFP with his current Femto Net card, this could be worthwhile. 

 

This was my first experience with JCAT's Femto USB card.  The card that shipped to me had the older firmware and I was quite surprised by how much difference in SQ a firmware upgrade could make.  While the 4 blue USB 3.1 ports on the back of the ASUS motherboard sound better than the 2 red ones, it isn't saying much because the stock USB ports on the back of my Intel 8700K server still sound more natural.  If it wasn't for the Femto USB card, I don't think I could recommend this AMD build at all and so in this sense, just like the Femto Net Card, this card is a game changer.  

 

Directly compared against my tX-USBultra with the EVOX cap + Ref10 master clock, the tX yields slightly better detail resolution with a greater sense of air and space.  Powered by a DR SR7 rail, it is very dynamic sounding.  Those that know my situation, however, know that I have had a love/hate relationship with the tX-USBultra.  I have pulled it out several times because it can sound thin and so perhaps I would prefer it with copper rather than silver DC cabling.  This is where the Femto USB card, to my ears, is better.  While it doesn't have that last bit of detail resolution and air that the tX has, what it brings to the table is rich, glorious tone and body.  Timbres are expressed beautifully and naturally and it is eminently a more listenable presentation to me.

 

But there is a caveat.  This beautiful presentation that is so captivating ONLY occurs when I power the Femto USB card with a DR SR7 rail.  The results are not the same with an HDPlex, LPS-1.2, SR4, or even SR SR7.  What about bus power with a DR SR7 19V rail + HDPlex 800w DC-ATX converter providing that bus power?  With the Femto Net card, this provides excellent results.  If you purely bus power the Femto USB card, it will work but the Femto USB card will fail to pass 5V VBUS to your DAC and my DAC requires 5V VBUS power.  I found a workaround by using an iFI iDefender 3.0.  With this device, I was then able to send my DAC clean 5V VBUS power using an LPS-1.2 and so I was hopeful but unfortunately, this still didn't come close to what I got by externally powering this card with a DR SR7 rail.  

 

Operating System + Playback software

 

I placed this close to the bottom of my post but it deserves to be at the top.  Along with the power supply and the CPU, the OS and software player have tremendous ability to affect the sound presentation even with bit-perfect playback.  Many already know my preference for the combination of Euphony + Stylus and this preference has not changed. 

 

Željko at Euphony has been using Rajiv and me (and perhaps others) to vet Euphony and Stylus updates to make sure his coding changes haven't somehow negatively altered SQ and it has been amazing to witness how even subtle changes did indeed negatively impact SQ.  On more than one occasion, we have been left scratching our heads and so credit to Željko for not being rash and careless with these updates. 

 

As for Stylus vs Roon, I don't know what to say.  I spent $500 for a lifetime Roon subscription and given Roon's superior library management capabilities, I would like nothing better than to use Roon but every time I move back from Stylus to Roon for playback, there is a massive loss of engagement.  With complex orchestral music, Roon just sounds horribly controlled to me.  The latest 1.7 update has led to improvements but to my ears, not enough.  If I specifically allocate 12 of the 24 available cores (both real and virtual) that the 3900X offers, control improves but not enough.   StylusEP improves it but once again, not enough.  For my tastes, Stylus remains the best playback software I have heard at home.

 

What is interesting is that the SGM Extreme uses Roon and during my brief time with the Extreme, I heard none of the control issues that I hear at home.  Somehow, Emile has figured out how to tame Roon in ways that I have not.  Some are aware that I have placed an order for my own Extreme and so no doubt, once I receive it, I will load Euphony and Stylus (via USB stick) and see how it compares.

 

SGM Extreme

 

Given the knowledge accumulated through so many hours of testing and comparing, the natural question arises why I would buy an SGM Extreme?  The bottom line is as much as I would like to, I cannot build a server of the caliber of the Extreme.  I don't think anyone but Emile can.  Having communicated with Emile at length over a span of months, it became evident that Emile has spent many more hours than I have with his testing and comparing.  He even quit his day job as a university level IT professional so he can test and compare all day long.  Unlike me, he has access to measuring equipment and has spent tens of thousands of Euros measuring the noise spectra of motherboards, CPUs, chipsets, clocks, memory, storage media, and power supplies to guide his path whereas I am left to random guesses as to which CPU and motherboard might sound best.  I also do not have the gifts that Emile has with respect to hardware and software optimization capability including network allocation.  I don't think most other IT professionals do either based on the fact that no one else has come up with a server like the Extreme.  Here is an example of one of Emile's e-mails to me and I think you'll quickly get the picture as to how Emile views music server design.  I had asked Emile why he felt he needed to use 48GB of RAM in the Extreme when this seemed like overkill and would potentially be a significant source of noise:

 

"Well RAM is a topic on its own, to start with, the 2 cpu’s are split into domains (NUMA / SNC), so you really have 2 x 6 dimms, 6 for each CPU, they are not shared. Music services have their own cpu/dimms and the OS has its own cpu/dims. So its sort of a core and endpoint into a single machine going beyond just core allocations for individual processes. These Ram modules are a custom order type, similar to the Apacer types popular in the Jplay forums, but taking it just a bit further. They do create less noise and draw less current then other offerings. If more dimms reduce performance, it typically means your power supply is negatively impacted by the increased current draw. As occupying more memory channels increases bandwidth and reduces wait states, you do get better individual process performance."  "What you really want to do is reduce your hardware active processing times as much as possible. The net effect is much like a class A amplifier, you have a higher baseline power consumption, but power draw does not vary much, and this is very good for a more “natural/relaxed” sound. I hope this makes sense 🙂 But you do need a power supply which is very comfortable supplying the load. You really want the least possible variation in load, and higher cpu power / bandwidth systems are better at that with very low load music playback processes."

 

As for the Extreme being a core and endpoint in a single chassis, this was interesting for me as well.  You basically have 2 CPUs with each CPU having its own dedicated RAM bank (24GB each) and so there is a genuine distribution of tasks between 2 machines just like dual Pink Faun 2.16Xs.  While I very much like what I heard in the Aries Cerat room at Munich this past May where dual 2.16Xs were playing, this configuration costs north of $30k, has fewer cores, uses a noisy SSD, consumes more than 200 watts, and capably functions as a room heater.  I find the Extreme to be a more elegant and practical solution and at least on paper, I believe it is the most technologically advanced music server at this time.  My brief listening experience in Taiko Audio's listening room did nothing to dissuade me from this opinion.  

 

Happy holidays.   

 

 

Thanks for the update Roy.  Did you happen to send your board out to SOtM for clock taps to the sCLK, are you waiting for the SOtM motherboard or are you no longer interested in the clock mods?