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

[LTG2010]

37 minutes ago, stinart said:

Are you sure you are not having any drawbacks from moving to battery power?

Could be very poor mains quality, hence the improvement with battery.

[Confused]

33 minutes ago, stinart said:

 

Are you sure you are not having any drawbacks from moving to battery power?  I have the 200 ultra (upgraded to neo) powered by sps 500 and because my job is  related to energy , i ' ve tried powering sotm with several types of 12v batteries  even expensive ones using good quality dc cable ,  but always with  disappointing results :   hazy  sound and "wooly"  bass.  Not even a contest for sps500

 

I am not  questioning  your findings ,  but the truth is  i never liked consumer class batteries on audio devices except switches which you can hear the improvement over stock ps

Actually I am sure that there are some drawbacks from battery power.  The key point I was making was that with my system I was noticing some slight distortion with the treble with the sPS-500, and this was annoying me enormously, using the battery reduced this, and removal of this annoyance had a big benefit to my listening enjoyment.  There are some negatives elsewhere, hence why I plan to switch to SR4’s, not stick with battery power.  Of course, won’t know for sure how this will work out until I try it.

[Confused]

11 minutes ago, LTG2010 said:

Could be very poor mains quality, hence the improvement with battery.

I noticed similar using the sPS-500 with my microRendu, and switching to the LPS-1 removed the issue.  Although I guess the LPS-1 also serves to isolate from the mains, as should any decently designed LPSU.  Mains may be a factor I agree, but I think it is pretty good where I live, but it’s impossible to be sure. One thing to consider, in both scenarios the next bit of kit in the chain is the MC3+USB, and this is running from the same mains supply.

[LTG2010]

1 minute ago, Confused said:

I noticed similar using the sPS-500 with my microRendu, and switching to the LPS-1 removed the issue.  Although I guess the LPS-1 also serves to isolate from the mains, as should any decently designed LPSU.  Mains may be a factor I agree, but I think it is pretty good where I live, but it’s impossible to be sure.  

An isolation transformer might do wonders for your system, if you can borrow one well worth a try.

Neotech OCC copper is very detailed but smooth sounding, if you can get a DC lead made up with say AWG 16, should not matter if its 500mm.

[Confused]

23 minutes ago, LTG2010 said:

An isolation transformer might do wonders for your system, if you can borrow one well worth a try.

Neotech OCC copper is very detailed but smooth sounding, if you can get a DC lead made up with say AWG 16, should not matter if its 500mm.

Yes, agreed.  I heard a demo of a Devialet D500 once with a big PS Audio mains conditioner, which noticeably killed the dynamics of the system.  Isolation transformers might be a much better option.

[Confused]

On 10/1/2018 at 8:31 PM, LTG2010 said:

An isolation transformer might do wonders for your system, if you can borrow one well worth a try.

Neotech OCC copper is very detailed but smooth sounding, if you can get a DC lead made up with say AWG 16, should not matter if its 500mm.

I gather that the DC cables offered by Paul Hynes are 22 SWG.  Surely adequate for 0.5m length?  Maybe not?

[auricgoldfinger]

13 minutes ago, Confused said:

I gather that the DC cables offered by Paul Hynes are 22 SWG.  Surely adequate for 0.5m length?  Maybe not?

 

I have no experience with Paul's cables.  In my experience, there is a significant difference in SQ between 22 AWG and 16 AWG DC cables, regardless of length.  Whether you prefer copper or silver is a personal choice.

[LTG2010]

34 minutes ago, Confused said:

I gather that the DC cables offered by Paul Hynes are 22 SWG.  Surely adequate for 0.5m length?  Maybe not?

The resistance of the AWG16 wire will be approximately 1/4 of a 22AWG wire so it should in theory sound better, but I also don't know much about Paul's cables, I expect they will sound great.

[Cornan]

On 10/1/2018 at 9:21 PM, Confused said:

Actually I am sure that there are some drawbacks from battery power.  The key point I was making was that with my system I was noticing some slight distortion with the treble with the sPS-500, and this was annoying me enormously, using the battery reduced this, and removal of this annoyance had a big benefit to my listening enjoyment.  There are some negatives elsewhere, hence why I plan to switch to SR4’s, not stick with battery power.  Of course, won’t know for sure how this will work out until I try it.

 

Battery drawbacks can be adressed. I have both isolation transformer and AC mains DC blocker and this nifty 2A LT3045 BPS with 18650 size A123 LiFePO4s still concur LPS-1.2 at the spot https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F273135946356 

 

Thanks @seeteeyou for the tip! ?

[latenz]

On 9/28/2018 at 11:10 PM, sig8 said:

And I am the living example of unsuccessful NUC boot on AudioLinux. I got the same NUC what @lmitche

has. It just won't boot on AudioLinux. I got another one thinking something wrong with first one, still same. @lmitche shared his bios pictures, i followed one by one, still no. Tried several USB flash drives. It boots without issue on Ubuntu and AudioLinux headless, but not on AudioLinux. Almost gave it up, but if I ultimately go with headless then it won't matter. I was just trying to compare it to my i7-6700 up-sampling vs NOS on NUC in HQPe because Roy raved about this NUC. Same flash drives will boot without issue on my i7 and on my J1900. Done several resets of bios, even updated bios to 0044 on one of them.

hi

did you get audiolinux running on youre nuc. since audiolinux needs uefi boot (after version 2..01) my nuc 7i7bnh will not boot. i tried diffrent usb sticks diffrent biosversions with no luck...anyone with the same problem

[lmitche]

10 minutes ago, latenz said:

hi

did you get audiolinux running on youre nuc. since audiolinux needs uefi boot (after version 2..01) my nuc 7i7bnh will not boot. i tried diffrent usb sticks diffrent biosversions with no luck...anyone with the same problem

It may have booted, but you can't see anything on the display. Check the network light. If it's blinking, you may be up and running. Check your router to see if it issued a dhcp lease. If so, install and login with NoMachine client from another machine.

 

Once done get to an elevated command  prompt and type "yaourt -Syu" to update the software for your environment. Do a clean shutdown and it should boot ok.

 

Also, I can't get a picture on my tv, but an old Samsung monitor works perfectly.

 

 

[latenz]

2 minutes ago, lmitche said:

It may have booted, but you can't see anything on the display. Check the network light. If it's blinking, you may be up and running. Check your router to see if it issued a dhcp lease. If so, install and login with NoMachine client from another machine.

 

Once done get to an elevated command  prompt and type "yaourt -Syu" to update the software for your environment. Do a clean shutdown and it should boot ok.

 

Also, I can't get a picture on my tv, but an old Samsung monitor works perfectly.

 

 

thanks...i am on the lxqt version not the headless one? maybe thats a misunderstanding...

[lmitche]

20 minutes ago, latenz said:

thanks...i am on the lxqt version not the headless one? maybe thats a misunderstanding...

The problem happens on the lxqt version. I've never seen it on the headless version which is all command line mode.

 

My guess is that the CEC stuff is screwy in the bios.

[beautiful music]

How the Audiolinux compared to AO/Process Lasso/Fidelizer Pro?

 

I know it is a different things but maybe someone tried both and can give us more information.

[sig8]

13 hours ago, latenz said:

hi

did you get audiolinux running on youre nuc. since audiolinux needs uefi boot (after version 2..01) my nuc 7i7bnh will not boot. i tried diffrent usb sticks diffrent biosversions with no luck...anyone with the same problem

The latest version of lxqt which I received from Piero boots without issues on NUC (but not on i7-6700). An older version works on the i7 machine, so I have a version which works on each machine. I also tried different flash drives, etc. but same result.

[sig8]

7 hours ago, beautiful music said:

How the Audiolinux compared to AO/Process Lasso/Fidelizer Pro?

 

I know it is a different things but maybe someone tried both and can give us more information.

I was using WIn 10 machine with AO/Process Lasso/Fidelizer Pro before I tried AudioLinux. There is no comparison, AudioLinux overall SQ is much better, and I am using it with HQPe and JRiver/JRemote for control. Haven't tried Headless but would in next few weeks once things settle down (it has a learning curve for me).

[beautiful music]

20 minutes ago, sig8 said:

I was using WIn 10 machine with AO/Process Lasso/Fidelizer Pro before I tried AudioLinux. There is no comparison, AudioLinux overall SQ is much better, and I am using it with HQPe and JRiver/JRemote for control. Haven't tried Headless but would in next few weeks once things settle down (it has a learning curve for me).

Thanks for your feedback and this is what I thought.

[Mark62]

I have been trying to make the bridged connection work so I can experience the stated benefits.  I have a Windows 10 PC with 2 NIC's.  I have used the instructions to bridge the NIC's and set a static IP address per the instructions.  I have 1 NIC connected to one of my router's ports and the other to a Sonore UltraRendu.

 

I am using Roon to access FLAC files on my NAS (which is connected via USB to my Asus router) + Tidal and send the music to my ultraRendu.

 

Prior to bridging, all works fine.  Once I bridge the NIC's, I can successfully access the internet through NIC#1 which connects to my router.  However, I cannot access the NAS attached to the router via my PC (in file explorer - it is visible but shows the red "no go" image and won't connect) and Roon cannot access it either.  Further, if I try to play Tidal through Roon to my ultraRendu (connected to NIC #2), I get severe stuttering and fairly quickly - I get a notice in Roon that there are network issues.

 

Any suggestions to try?

 

Thanks!

[d_elm]

34 minutes ago, Mark62 said:

I have been trying to make the bridged connection work so I can experience the stated benefits.  I have a Windows 10 PC with 2 NIC's.  I have used the instructions to bridge the NIC's and set a static IP address per the instructions.  I have 1 NIC connected to one of my router's ports and the other to a Sonore UltraRendu.

 

I am using Roon to access FLAC files on my NAS (which is connected via USB to my Asus router) + Tidal and send the music to my ultraRendu.

 

Prior to bridging, all works fine.  Once I bridge the NIC's, I can successfully access the internet through NIC#1 which connects to my router.  However, I cannot access the NAS attached to the router via my PC (in file explorer - it is visible but shows the red "no go" image and won't connect) and Roon cannot access it either.  Further, if I try to play Tidal through Roon to my ultraRendu (connected to NIC #2), I get severe stuttering and fairly quickly - I get a notice in Roon that there are network issues.

 

Any suggestions to try?

 

Thanks!

Before bridging what were the NIC IP address and gateway ?

[Mark62]

The Gateway address matched exactly my router address.  The NIC IP address matched my router with the exception of the last number after the 3rd period...instead of "xxx.yyy.zzz.1", it was "xxx.yyy.zzz.55"  That was for the NIC that previously was accessing the internet.  The other NIC started with a different IP address, but I used the one for the NIC that accessed the internet.  After bridging, I had the bridged network's IP address and gateway address matching that of NIC#1's from prior to bridging.

 

Thx.

[austinpop]

33 minutes ago, Mark62 said:

The Gateway address matched exactly my router address.  The NIC IP address matched my router with the exception of the last number after the 3rd period...instead of "xxx.yyy.zzz.1", it was "xxx.yyy.zzz.55"  That was for the NIC that previously was accessing the internet.  The other NIC started with a different IP address, but I used the one for the NIC that accessed the internet.  After bridging, I had the bridged network's IP address and gateway address matching that of NIC#1's from prior to bridging.

 

Thx.

 

Hi,

 

Its been a while since I built my bridge, but please check the index in the first post for suggestions. Look for the posts in the section on using a 3rd dummy WiFi adapter in the bridge. That’s what solved my stuttering issues.

 

Also a couple quick points about static addresses. First, you don’t necessarily need to allot a static address to the bridge. It can still do DHCP. But if you do decide to go static, pick an address outside the DHCP allocation range of your router. This is usually something you can look for in your router UI. So if the DHCP server in your router picks addresses in the range 2-100 for DHCP clients, set your bridge’s static address to a number greater than 100, and make sure you’re not colliding with another static address.

[d_elm]

34 minutes ago, Mark62 said:

The Gateway address matched exactly my router address.  The NIC IP address matched my router with the exception of the last number after the 3rd period...instead of "xxx.yyy.zzz.1", it was "xxx.yyy.zzz.55"  That was for the NIC that previously was accessing the internet.  The other NIC started with a different IP address, but I used the one for the NIC that accessed the internet.  After bridging, I had the bridged network's IP address and gateway address matching that of NIC#1's from prior to bridging.

 

Thx.

When I did bridging with Windows 10 pro (do not have bridging now) one NIC was on 192.168.0.53 with gateway to internet 192.168.0.98 and the other NIC was 192.168.1.2 with no gateway.  Netmask is 255.255.255.0. After bridging ping from any network device to any other network device worked.  This is without any registry or service changes.

[beautiful music]

14 hours ago, sig8 said:

I was using WIn 10 machine with AO/Process Lasso/Fidelizer Pro before I tried AudioLinux. There is no comparison, AudioLinux overall SQ is much better, and I am using it with HQPe and JRiver/JRemote for control. Haven't tried Headless but would in next few weeks once things settle down (it has a learning curve for me).

Just to make sure if I have Win10 installed in my HP Laptop and AFAIK I can run Audiolinux in RAM so should Win10 be erased or it will remain as it is.

 

Also does that mean if I want to run Audiolinux shall I install it every time from USB if I turned off my laptop or what?

 

Further explanation is highly appreciated. 

[sig8]

7 hours ago, beautiful music said:

Just to make sure if I have Win10 installed in my HP Laptop and AFAIK I can run Audiolinux in RAM so should Win10 be erased or it will remain as it is.

 

Also does that mean if I want to run Audiolinux shall I install it every time from USB if I turned off my laptop or what?

 

Further explanation is highly appreciated. 

Ask this to Piero at Audiolinux to be sure.

[Mark62]

8 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

Hi,

 

Its been a while since I built my bridge, but please check the index in the first post for suggestions. Look for the posts in the section on using a 3rd dummy WiFi adapter in the bridge. That’s what solved my stuttering issues.

 

Also a couple quick points about static addresses. First, you don’t necessarily need to allot a static address to the bridge. It can still do DHCP. But if you do decide to go static, pick an address outside the DHCP allocation range of your router. This is usually something you can look for in your router UI. So if the DHCP server in your router picks addresses in the range 2-100 for DHCP clients, set your bridge’s static address to a number greater than 100, and make sure you’re not colliding with another static address.

Thanks for the lead on the 3rd dummy wifi in the bridge.  I'll try that first.  And, thanks for the great summary post.  As I've tried to get into this topic, it has been extremely helpful.  I just recently got an ultraRendu and have been so impressed with its sound.  If it can get even better, I'll be quite happy!