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

[romaz]

2 hours ago, greenleo said:

If the file disk is working, then these two effects are working together and it is hard to estimate how large the individual effects is.  Using a RAM disk to play back, the file disk should be idle.  Then function of providing better signal is gone.  By using an ordinary SATA cable connected to the file disk as a control, and compare it with using a Pachanko SATA cable, the rejection of EMI back to the system by the Pachanko cable may be estimated.  Then how to build a better CAS may be formulated.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

3

 

I think you might have missed my point with that post but my opinion on the matter is all there and I don't know how else to explain it.  Without realizing it, we are all using RAM disks even now but generally, we call them buffers.  Our Ethernet switches use buffers.  Our DAC uses a buffer.  Roon buffers 1-2 tracks into memory and so playback is from RAM and not directly from an SSD or hard drive.  Try streaming a track from Tidal and disconnect the Ethernet cable and you'll notice that playback will continue.  You could do the same with a USB memory stick or SATA hard drive and yet, the characteristics of the drive and the cable still shines through.  If we all accept that an SSD sounds different from a hard drive or a compact flash card, why shouldn't a SATA cable have an impact?  Read the last part of that post again.  It's the best way I know how to describe what is happening.

[pam1975]

11 hours ago, lmitche said:

Hi All,

 

The  SATA SAGA continues!  

 

Thanks to Alex Crespi, I learned of a thread in usaudiomart where others have tested a large number of very cheap <$2 SATA cables and claim increased SQ with several brands.  I have ordered what appears to be the top three models, and they will dripple in over the next few weeks.Given the terrific results of the earlier SATA experiments I would not be surprised that there is more SQ to be gained here.

 

If you are interested I can post test results here.  

 

Larry

hi Larry, didn't see that thread anywhere on usaudiomart...?

[lmitche]

52 minutes ago, pam1975 said:

hi Larry, didn't see that thread anywhere on usaudiomart...?

It's rather like this thread with topics weaving in and out. Here is a useful starting point:

 

https://www.usaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1172&start=540

[pam1975]

18 minutes ago, lmitche said:

It's rather like this thread with topics weaving in and out. Here is a useful starting point:

 

https://www.usaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1172&start=540

thank you!

[beautiful music]

On 3/12/2017 at 11:21 PM, sadekkhalifa said:

I'm a new comer here in this thread.In fact i succeed to make a static bridge between my microRendu direct connection to my laptop using LAN cable and wifi.

 

But i don't know what is the right configuration in jRiver MC21 to run my stored music in my internal HD.

 

Any advice is highly appreciated.

I Bought also sMS-200 but i'm trying to see microRendu performance before to listen to sMS-200

 

I figured out how to run a music from jRiver MC21 while I'm connecting sMS-200, i found the sMS-200 under Playing now in the upper left corner in jRiver, i just select the sMs-200 and it appeared with green logo then i opened my music from internal HD.

[amgradmd]

So I finally got the direct connection to work with my PS Audio Directstream DAC! It was not without it's difficulties, mostly self-inflicted since I'm not a networking guru. It turns out the problem I had when trying to connect with my Mac Mini was that I wasn't selecting both Ethernet and Thunderbolt Ethernet when bridging the Thunderbolt ethernet connection. Ugh. Of course! The point is that the sound is fantastic! Noticeably better than through the switch. I didn't get a chance to listen for long last night since I got it working pretty late, but it's pretty clear that the music has more dynamics, better instrument separation, just more pop, in general. Thanks to Romaz for pointing me in the right direction! 

[romaz]

2 hours ago, amgradmd said:

So I finally got the direct connection to work with my PS Audio Directstream DAC! It was not without it's difficulties, mostly self-inflicted since I'm not a networking guru. It turns out the problem I had when trying to connect with my Mac Mini was that I wasn't selecting both Ethernet and Thunderbolt Ethernet when bridging the Thunderbolt ethernet connection. Ugh. Of course! The point is that the sound is fantastic! Noticeably better than through the switch. I didn't get a chance to listen for long last night since I got it working pretty late, but it's pretty clear that the music has more dynamics, better instrument separation, just more pop, in general. Thanks to Romaz for pointing me in the right direction! 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Are you saying you have succeeded in directly connecting your server to Bridge II?

[amgradmd]

If by server you mean my Mac Mini, then I have! I don't have a NAS, just to be clear. Like I said, it wasn't without it's frustrations, but it was worth it. Plus I learned a lot about my network and router, so there's that. I forgot to mention that my previous setup had optical fiber isolation to the Mac and in between the DAC and switch, and this setup easily beats that, FWIW. I hadn't noticed a significant improvement with optical isolation, honestly, but kept it since it worked. 

[romaz]

4 minutes ago, amgradmd said:

If by server you mean my Mac Mini, then I have! I don't have a NAS, just to be clear. Like I said, it wasn't without it's frustrations, but it was worth it. Plus I learned a lot about my network and router, so there's that. I forgot to mention that my previous setup had optical fiber isolation to the Mac and in between the DAC and switch, and this setup easily beats that, FWIW. I hadn't noticed a significant improvement with optical isolation, honestly, but kept it since it worked. 

 

 

Thanks for explaining.  Yes, server = Mac Mini.  My experience with optical isolation is similar to yours.

[amgradmd]

For those who aren't fluent in Mac bridge networking (I wasn't), here's a rundown of how to do it which I posted on PSAudio.com forum:

 

Connect a Thunderbolt Ethernet adaoter into one of the TB ports and direct connect the ethernet cable to the DS DAC. Then do the following:

 

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network.

Click the Action pop-up menu (gear icon) then choose Manage Virtual Interfaces.

Click Add +,  choose New Bridge, then select the interfaces to include in the bridge. This is important – select BOTH Ethernet and Thunderbolt Ethernet. This tripped my up for a while, as did several other things I won’t go into. Hey, I’m just a doctor, not a networking expert here! 

 

From there selected the option for DHCP to manage IP address for the Thunderbolt Bridge (too many Bridges!). Then I went into the DS Bridge II menu and manually put in a workable IP address, also including the subnet mask (the same as the Thunderbolt Bridge) but not the DNS server or Gateway. Maybe I could have put those in, but I didn’t need to. After waiting a minute, the router saw the DAC! Unreal. It is listed in my router client list as “CoversDigitalCo., LTD” who is the manufacturer of the Bridge II, I guess. I have no idea why it took me so long to get to this point, I swear. It seems so simple. 

[limniscate]

On 3/31/2017 at 0:39 PM, romaz said:

 

Thanks for explaining.  Yes, server = Mac Mini.  My experience with optical isolation is similar to yours.

I tried network isolation and didn't notice a difference either.

[Superdad]

On 3/31/2017 at 10:41 AM, amgradmd said:

Connect a Thunderbolt Ethernet adaoter into one of the TB ports and direct connect the ethernet cable to the DS DAC. 

 

@amgradmd If you did as you described, then you now in for a real treat:

 

The signal integrity of the Ethernet controller in Apple's Thunderbolt>Ethernet dongle is no where near as good as the Broadcom controller chip in your Mac mini.  

So reverse your set-up, and make the direct connection to your PSA DAC;s Bridge II from the Mac mini's built-in Ethernet port--and use the TB>Ethernet adapter for your regular network connection.

 

Try that and I promise you will be delighted.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, I started doing my Mac>Mac connection this way years ago.  For me the difference between the dongle and the built in port is not subtle.

 

And maybe get yourself a BlueJeans/Belden Cat6a cable.  I compared a whole variety of Ethernet cables (sans any of the audiophile brands), and the BJC was the clear winner--and for such a modest price.

 

Cheers,

--Alex C.

[amgradmd]

Thanks so much for that tip, Alex! I did notice a difference right away. My SQ keeps getting better and better!  

 

As for the ethernet cable, I've tried a couple different ones from generic Cat5 cables to Blues Jeans Cat5e, Cat6, 6a, Audioquest Cinnamon (Cat7) and now Tera Grand Cat7. My favorite of the bunch so far have been the AQ Cinnamon and the Tera Grand, easily. The Tera Grands are Amazon specials, btw. Very economically priced compared to AQ. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around how an ethernet cable can make a significant difference, but it really can. I honestly can't tell a difference between the AQ and the TG cables, though. Both are equally musical to me. So TG Cat7 cables it is for me. I have my cabling from my modem to router and from switch to Mac and Mac to DS DAC taken care of. I will replace the generic 5e from router to switch (about 25 feet) at some point in the future also the TG. I would audition one for yourself. I'd be interested in your opinion. Thanks, again, Alex!

[tboooe]

@amgradmdcurious about the Tera Grand cat7 cables. Did you get the flat one or the double shielded?  Btw, I thought I read somewhere cat7 are not as good as cat6 (at least theoretically) because of some potential noise caused by the way cat7 cables are designed?  

 

Here is what I posted back in October:

 

I just read up on Cat7 and in a nutshell it's better than Cat6 due to "shielding of its twisted pairs, which significantly improves noise resistance." 

[amgradmd]

I got the standard double shielded. They were highly recommended by another insane person, er, audiophile on PSAudio.com forums.He said that the TG cables bettered the AQ Vodka cables he had. I think they sound pretty identical to the AQ Cinnamons, myself. I've never auditioned the Vodkas. I think the theoretical problem with the double shielded has to do with connector in that if designed poorly can lead to ground loops. I don't believe these cables have this problem. They sound fantastic, IMO, and are relatively cheap along the order of Blue Jeans cables. I get nothing but clean files with not distortion at all like I used to get occasionally with BJ cables. I think this is because of the fact that I have a serious collection of power cords and wires behind my rack and some EMI is inevitable with those. I do think the BJ cables were a big step up from the generic cat5 cables I had, it's just that these offer a bit more clarity across the board. Hope this helps. 

[tboooe]

@amgradmdthank you.  I just bought 2 of the double shielded. Let's see what happens.  

[amgradmd]

Cool. Let me know what you think!

[bit01]

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 5:02 AM, bit01 said:

Thank you to the OP for this tweak.

 

I used an Anker USB to ethernet adapter plugged into the Paul Pang USB hub with a LPS. I assigned a static IP address to it and bridged it with the main network! That by-passed the TP-Link switch & MC110CS FMCs I had been using.

The clarity of the soundscape is even better, the backdrop seemingly dead quiet!

.....

 

I found the very affordable Tera Grand 'CAT-7 Ultra flat' with the braided outer jacket to be excellent in that position, among the few that I tried including the AQ Vodka! - but I understand there are cheap counterfeits out there (so -mind where you purchase from if interested).

re-cap

[romaz]

13 minutes ago, bit01 said:

re-cap

 

I appreciate all the reports on Ethernet cables.  I have personally found that anything within the "direct path," especially cabling, seems to make a much larger impact than before and so it's great to hear from others what sounds great, especially when we're talking about inexpensive options.  Others have PM'd me about Ethernet cable shootouts they are currently conducting and I hope they publicly post their results here.  One person, for example, has found the Supra CAT7 to sound very good and that 2m length sounds better than 1m.  SOtM has their own CAT7 that incorporates a filter box and they have indicated that this cable must be a minimum of 1.5m in length for its filtering effect to work optimally.  This seems to be a case where shorter isn't necessarily better.  Furthermore, some are suggesting that stranded Ethernet cabling sounds better (more textured) than solid core wire, which is also very interesting.  Since most of us also have experience with the BJC CAT6A, it helps to use this as a reference to provide perspective that many of us can relate to.

[romaz]

My motherboard and various PCIe cards are now en route to SOtM to have their clocks replaced with the sCLK-EX.  A total of 4 clocks will be replaced including my motherboard's main system clock, the clock on an Intel dual-port gigabit LAN PCIe card, the clock on a PCIe SATA card, and finally the clock on a PCIe USB 2.0 card.  SOtM has told me they should be able to replace all the switching regulators on these PCIe add-on cards with their ultra low noise linear regulators and also add high quality capacitors.  I also sent SOtM my newly purchased HD Plex 300W-Hi Fi-DC to ATX converter as they have suggested that they can improve this converter by replacing the polymer condenser with a better one.  They will also be constructing my ATX cabling for me using their UP-OCC grade wiring.

 

I didn't have time to do any lengthy critical comparisons but before I shipped it all out, I put everything together to make sure everything worked.  I purchased an EVGA 850W Titanium ATX PSU to compare against the HD Plex 300W DC-ATX converter which was powered by my 19V HD Plex LPSU (my 19v Paul Hynes SR7 hasn't arrived yet).  The EVGA ATX PSU has ripple noise numbers between 3-5mV at 10% load which isn't spectacular when compared against the elite lower power LPSUs but it's better than the ripple numbers posted by the HDPLex DC-ATX converter. Since my CPU will consume 11w max and the motherboard will only be powering 4GB of RAM and the 3 PCIe add-on cards I listed above, at idle, this machine is consuming about 5w and with the CPU's turbocharging and hyperthreading disabled and the CPU running at 1.1GHz, during routine playback, power consumption was generally less than 15w and so I am well below 10% load for this EVGA ATX PSU.  Based on preliminary listening, both PSUs sounded very good.  It was difficult to say that one sounded better than the other.

 

While I didn't have time to try it, I expect to dethrottle both my CPU and RAM down to 800Mhz each for even less draw.  While this practice is counter-intuitive for those who oversample with HQPlayer, with my CAD CAT, this led to a nice bump in SQ and I am hoping for similar results provided that everything runs stable.

 

I did install Windows Server 2012R2 (but not AO) onto my 2TB Samsung EVO SSD, a Toshiba 1TB 5400 SATA II 2.5 inch hard drive and my recently purchased Intel X25-E SLC SATA II SSD. For some reason, I could not successfully install Windows Server 2012R2 onto my 32GB compact flash (even with the BIOS set to IDE mode) and so I wasn't able to experience how this sounded but I know of a few things I can try and so I haven't given up.  What I will say is that when connected to a standard SATA cable, my 2TB Samsung EVO SSD sounded the worst of the lot while the Intel X25-E sounded best with the Toshiba hard drive somewhere in the middle but closer to the Intel X25-E than the Samsung SSD.  With the Pachanko SATA Reference cable, the differences diminished considerably although the X25-E was still noticeably more to my preference (just a calmer presentation with a smoother edge).  During this testing, these drives were powered by an LPS-1.  

 

I also tested how the X25-E sounded when connected to the SYBA PCIe SATA adapter vs the motherboard's native SATA3 and SATA2 ports.  The difference wasn't as large as I imagined it would be and once again, the Pachanko SATA cable and LPS-1 may have something to do with it.  Also, since this is a SATA II SSD, regardless of whether it is placed on fast or slow bus, its throughput will always be slower than a SATA III drive.  Despite the smaller differences, I did find a preference for when the X25-E was attached to the SYBA PCIe SATA adapter. The good news is I heard none of the issues that @lmitche heard with his adapter from the standpoint of a thinner sound and female sibilance.  Tonality was quite rich and full bodied and there was a greater immediacy to the sound when compared to the motherboard's native SATA ports.  Whether this will lead to fatigue with long-term listening, I'm not sure but I'm hoping that things will only improve once the clock on this PCIe card has been upgraded and its switching regulators have been replaced.

 

One other area I got to test was 2GB vs 4GB of RAM.  While the difference wasn't huge, 2GB for sure sounds better and I will see if I can get 2GB to work out.

[greenleo]

2 hours ago, romaz said:

 

I appreciate all the reports on Ethernet cables.  I have personally found that anything within the "direct path," especially cabling, seems to make a much larger impact than before and so it's great to hear from others what sounds great, especially when we're talking about inexpensive options.  Others have PM'd me about Ethernet cable shootouts they are currently conducting and I hope they publicly post their results here.  One person, for example, has found the Supra CAT7 to sound very good and that 2m length sounds better than 1m.  SOtM has their own CAT7 that incorporates a filter box and they have indicated that this cable must be a minimum of 1.5m in length for its filtering effect to work optimally.  This seems to be a case where shorter isn't necessarily better.  Furthermore, some are suggesting that stranded Ethernet cabling sounds better (more textured) than solid core wire, which is also very interesting.  Since most of us also have experience with the BJC CAT6A, it helps to use this as a reference to provide perspective that many of us can relate to.

Could it be the refection problem when the length of the LAN cable is too short?  Hence the requirement of minimum length?

[greenleo]

1 hour ago, romaz said:

My motherboard and various PCIe cards are now en route to SOtM to have their clocks replaced with the sCLK-EX.  A total of 4 clocks will be replaced including my motherboard's main system clock, the clock on an Intel dual-port gigabit LAN PCIe card, the clock on a PCIe SATA card, and finally the clock on a PCIe USB 2.0 card.  SOtM has told me they should be able to replace all the switching regulators on these PCIe add-on cards with their ultra low noise linear regulators and also add high quality capacitors.  I also sent SOtM my newly purchased HD Plex 300W-Hi Fi-DC to ATX converter as they have suggested that they can improve this converter by replacing the polymer condenser with a better one.  They will also be constructing my ATX cabling for me using their UP-OCC grade wiring.

 

I didn't have time to do any lengthy critical comparisons but before I shipped it all out, I put everything together to make sure everything worked.  I purchased an EVGA 850W Titanium ATX PSU to compare against the HD Plex 300W DC-ATX converter which was powered by my 19V HD Plex LPSU (my 19v Paul Hynes SR7 hasn't arrived yet).  The EVGA ATX PSU has ripple noise numbers between 3-5mV at 10% load which isn't spectacular when compared against the elite lower power LPSUs but it's better than the ripple numbers posted by the HDPLex DC-ATX converter. Since my CPU will consume 11w max and the motherboard will only be powering 4GB of RAM and the 3 PCIe add-on cards I listed above, at idle, this machine is consuming about 5w and with the CPU's turbocharging and hyperthreading disabled and the CPU running at 1.1GHz, during routine playback, power consumption was generally less than 15w and so I am well below 10% load for this EVGA ATX PSU.  Based on preliminary listening, both PSUs sounded very good.  It was difficult to say that one sounded better than the other.

 

While I didn't have time to try it, I expect to dethrottle both my CPU and RAM down to 800Mhz each for even less draw.  While this practice is counter-intuitive for those who oversample with HQPlayer, with my CAD CAT, this led to a nice bump in SQ and I am hoping for similar results provided that everything runs stable.

 

I did install Windows Server 2012R2 (but not AO) onto my 2TB Samsung EVO SSD, a Toshiba 1TB 5400 SATA II 2.5 inch hard drive and my recently purchased Intel X25-E SLC SATA II SSD. For some reason, I could not successfully install Windows Server 2012R2 onto my 32GB compact flash (even with the BIOS set to IDE mode) and so I wasn't able to experience how this sounded but I know of a few things I can try and so I haven't given up.  What I will say is that when connected to a standard SATA cable, my 2TB Samsung EVO SSD sounded the worst of the lot while the Intel X25-E sounded best with the Toshiba hard drive somewhere in the middle but closer to the Intel X25-E than the Samsung SSD.  With the Pachanko SATA Reference cable, the differences diminished considerably although the X25-E was still noticeably more to my preference (just a calmer presentation with a smoother edge).  During this testing, these drives were powered by an LPS-1.  

 

I also tested how the X25-E sounded when connected to the SYBA PCIe SATA adapter vs the motherboard's native SATA3 and SATA2 ports.  The difference wasn't as large as I imagined it would be and once again, the Pachanko SATA cable and LPS-1 may have something to do with it.  Also, since this is a SATA II SSD, regardless of whether it is placed on fast or slow bus, its throughput will always be slower than a SATA III drive.  Despite the smaller differences, I did find a preference for when the X25-E was attached to the SYBA PCIe SATA adapter. The good news is I heard none of the issues that @lmitche heard with his adapter from the standpoint of a thinner sound and female sibilance.  Tonality was quite rich and full bodied and there was a greater immediacy to the sound when compared to the motherboard's native SATA ports.  Whether this will lead to fatigue with long-term listening, I'm not sure but I'm hoping that things will only improve once the clock on this PCIe card has been upgraded and its switching regulators have been replaced.

 

One other area I got to test was 2GB vs 4GB of RAM.  While the difference wasn't huge, 2GB for sure sounds better and I will see if I can get 2GB to work out.

Thank you Roy.

 

It is clear that SQ wise Intel X25E >HD>Samsung SSD with normal SATA cable.  Would you minbd tell us the comparison between  Samsung SSD with Pachanko cable and Intel X25E with normal cable?.

 

[romaz]

39 minutes ago, greenleo said:

Could it be the refection problem when the length of the LAN cable is too short?  Hence the requirement of minimum length?

1

 

With respect to the SOtM CAT7, according to SOtM, the length is needed purely from the standpoint of the filter.  I can't speak for the Supra CAT8 (sorry, I mistakenly referred to it as a CAT7 cable) but my guess is that the reason is the same.  TotalDac also makes a filtered Ethernet cable and this cable comes only as a 2m length cable for the same reason.   As for reflections, as far as I am aware, Ethernet cables are not subject to reflections in the same way as digital SPDIF cables are due to the lower frequencies that they operate under.  For example, I have BJC CAT6A Ethernet cables in various lengths from 1 foot to 15 feet and as far as I can tell, they all sound the same.  

[romaz]

41 minutes ago, greenleo said:

Thank you Roy.

 

It is clear that SQ wise Intel X25E >HD>Samsung SSD with normal SATA cable.  Would you minbd tell us the comparison between  Samsung SSD with Pachanko cable and Intel X25E with normal cable?.

 

 

 

The Pachanko SATA Reference cable results in a smoother and yet more textured presentation and very noticeably attenuates the slight glare present with even the X25-E when connected to the inexpensive SATA cable.  It makes the much brighter glare from the Samsung SSD more tolerable and when I briefly went back to my Mac Mini with the OS on a PCIe NVMe SSD, the contrast between the two is even more stark.  I would say avoid NVMe if at all possible.

 

While the Toshiba hard drive when connected to the Pachanko SATA cable and powered by the LPS-1 also sounded very good, I have completely ruled it out due to vibrations.  It would reside on an aluminum tray right next to where my clock board will be placed and even at idle, this drive will likely be spinning and so I can imagine how that could negatively impact the clock board.  Furthermore, as the drive spins, it is audible which is a no go for me.

[Theobetley]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 10:15 PM, romaz said:

 

Thanks, you always provide great links.  I had seen some of these already.

 

As a rule, during music playback, most believe any form of power management that saves power is a bad thing and so I am not sure that I would be in favor of ALPM.  During music playback, you want your system in a ready and responsive state at all times and not having to awaken from some low power state at inopportune times since that will represent a form of latency.  In this regard, you want a storage medium that doesn't draw much current during random reads or writes if you are talking about an OS drive or during sequential reads if you are talking about a music storage drive.  Low current draw when in an active idle state is also good since you don't want your storage drive still drawing large amounts of current once your music track has already been buffered into memory.  This is another reason why I believe the OS drive makes a larger impact on SQ than a storage drive because unlike a music storage drive that can afford to go idle once a track is buffered into memory, the OS drive is generally active all the time.

 

I think the general consensus is that speed and power = noise and slower and less powerful is generally less noisy.   Others have reported that SATA II sounds better than SATA III and so the best sounding SSDs would seem to be the ones that are no longer in production.  Based on what I could find, the Intel X25-E SSD, in particular, caught my attention.  These drives are no longer in production but they are still readily available and I was able to secure a brand new 64GB drive for only $80 (originally $800 when they were first released).  Because they are based on SLC NAND, they have 10x the number of write/erase cycles as the cheaper MLC or TLC NAND based SSDs and so they should last a very long time.  Some have suggested that SLC also sounds better than MLC or TLC and this may be due to better controllers since SLC SSDs are generally "cost no object" drives designed for data critical servers.  This Intel X25E is also a SATA II drive and so its typical current draw when idle is a minuscule 8mA and during routine "workstation type I/O" is only 220mA.  These numbers represent less draw than an Apacer SLC compact flash drive.  

 

My thinking is that this Intel X25-E has a shot at sounding better than compact flash not only because it draws less current but also because is has much lower latency.  Very soon, I will be making the following comparisons as OS drives:  Intel X25-E 64GB SLC SATA II SSD vs 32GB compact flash type 1 vs Toshiba 1GB 5400 SATA II hard drive vs Samsung 850 EVO 2TB SATA III SSD.  I also have a Samsung 850 Pro 4TB SATA III SSD but there's no point comparing that one as it is sure to be the noisiest.  Each drive will connect to my SATA-to-PCIE adapter card via a Pachanko Reference SATA cable and powered by an LPS-1.

 

One thing I am indeed curious about is the possibility of using the Toshiba 5400 SATA II hard drive as both an OS and music storage drive similar to what @lmitche does.  Only hard drives have the option of being large enough and yet electrically quiet enough to serve as a both an OS drive and music storage drive.  While Gordon Rankin has suggested that using one drive for both OS and music storage will result in playback latency issues resulting in more errors, with Roon, because tracks are buffered into memory, I am not anticipating too much downside using one drive as both an OS drive and music storage drive.  It turns out there are still quite a few 2.5 inch SATA II hard drives in production today and this particular model consumes only 300mA during active reads and writes, lower than even a WD Green or Blue.

 

So Romaz I know you recommended a pcie adapter for cf cards somewhere in this thread but I cant find it. Can you direct me to the post or simply reiterate the adapter you tried?