Jump to content
IGNORED

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


Message added by The Computer Audiophile

Important and useful information about this thread

Posting guidelines

History and index of useful posts

Most important: please realize this thread is about bleeding edge experimentation and discovery. No one has The Answer™. If you are not into tweaking, just know that you can have a musically satisfying system without doing any of the nutty things we do here.

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

 

Just a caveat - are you sure a single Farad 3 supply has enough power for your needs? It's a great PSU, but it's limited to 3A, as you know.

 

The whole point of the single server that Roy mentioned - see this post and this one - is to power it with generously overprovisioned PSUs, which we think contribute to the outstanding dynamics. Even with his current server, which I believe he mentioned consumes under 50W steady state, he is powering it with 2 rails from his SR-7:

  • a 19V/5A rail to an HDPlex DC-ATX adapter, which then feeds the ATX input (12v, 5v, 3.3v) of the motherboard.
  • a separate 12V/5A rail to the EPS input of the motherboard, to power the CPU separately.

That's way more than a single Farad Super 3 can supply - nor is it designed to.

I was told that the HDPlex 400 DC-ATX needs 10 A to run properly 

Link to comment
24 minutes ago, Chopin75 said:

I was told that the HDPlex 400 DC-ATX needs 10 A to run properly 

 

Where did you hear/read that? HDPlex recommends their own 200w LPS with it for audio applications and I can find nothing on their site that mentions needing 10A. The 12v and 19v outputs of the 200w unit are rated at 10A but that is their max, not a recommendation.

 

Thanks.


"Don't Believe Everything You Think"

System

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Chopin75 said:

Also didn’t someone here tested this out and found that it requires about 6-7 A ? Or was it 6-7V. I can’t remember, sorry for confusing people! 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/46748-new-hdplex-200w-lps/?do=findComment&comment=968377

 

Pareto Audio AMD 7700 Server --> Berkeley Alpha USB --> Jeff Rowland Aeris --> Jeff Rowland 625 S2 --> Focal Utopia 3 Diablos with 2 x Focal Electra SW 1000 BE subs

 

i7-6700K/Windows 10  --> EVGA Nu Audio Card --> Focal CMS50's 

Link to comment
8 hours ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

If you buy a Farad3 for your NUC, I recommend getting the 19v version.

I've bought a Farad 12V for my NUC ( 7i5dkne). I run euphony From USB or AL in RAMroot with no disks attached. 

I've  chosen the 12V so I could be able to use it to power a CPU in a future build. I also think the 12V version is more widely used in switches and converters etc so it might be more future proof. Just my thinking. 

Can you tell me why you'd recommend the 19V instead of the 12V? Better dynamics maybe? 

Link to comment
5 hours ago, robertodiwolvo said:

I've bought a Farad 12V for my NUC ( 7i5dkne). I run euphony From USB or AL in RAMroot with no disks attached. 

I've  chosen the 12V so I could be able to use it to power a CPU in a future build. I also think the 12V version is more widely used in switches and converters etc so it might be more future proof. Just my thinking. 

Can you tell me why you'd recommend the 19V instead of the 12V? Better dynamics maybe? 

 

The dynamics are certainly better.  It's been awhile since I made the switch from 12v to 19v, but I also seem to recall the bass was more palpable and the image was more three dimensional.

 

 

 

Link to comment
On 9/4/2019 at 2:46 AM, FredM said:

 

 

hmXkLLS.jpg

 

hjifhEy.jpg

 

https://www.audiostream.com/content/rocky-mountain-audio-fest-2019-innuos-and-auralic

Quote

 

The subject of today’s scrutiny was not actually another music server debut however. As a step up for the popular Zenith Mk3 server ($2,600 USD), Innous was announcing a bit of signal polish in the form of a USB reclocker called the Phoenix ($3,150 USD). Intended to push sound quality levels even further, the inclusion of the Phoenix (B) did in fact add some crisp focus and smoother, organic delivery to the Zenith (A) during the initial A/B comparisons in the room.

 

Glancing up at the rack, it was beyond the control of my curiosity to not ask for yet another option with the resting reference Statement server (C) that I had been very impressed with at other showings. While perhaps not the direction the demonstration was intended for, the resulting equation did make it clear that A+B did not equal C. Comforting news for those have already purchased the flagship at $13,000 USD. While resolution delivery improved along the upward path, in this YG Acoustics-fronted demo the staging appeared to deepen at A+B, then widen at C for a satisfying sonic illusion as things moved forward.

 

 

Link to comment
On 10/28/2018 at 3:32 PM, hols said:

My Audio Clock Journey

 

Hi CTU

I am not so slow this time. I got my Cybershaft OP20 Limited 2(same as Ultimate but with 3 outputs instead of 1 output ) a month ago and has been burning it continuously for a month now.

 

FYI - here's a comparison among Cybershaft OP14 / Titans Horae / Cybershaft OP20

 

http://www.headphoneclub.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=731313&page=1#pid5016742

YUmMaVO.png

45xr59m.png

 

Titans Horae

 

http://www.titansaudiolab.com/en/products/Horae/Horae.html

Link to comment
On 9/9/2019 at 8:20 PM, Chopin75 said:

I was told that the HDPlex 400 DC-ATX needs 10 A to run properly 

I tried a 7 A brick with the HDPlex DC-ATX and could not boot a modest mb with 25w CPU with the HDD powered separately.  A10A Teradak LPS booted this computer successfully. Just another data point in case someone encounters problems.

Link to comment

£2250 a pop for Phoenix so let's crunch some numbers

 

https://www.audiofest.net/innuos-launches-the-new-phoenixusb-reclocker-at-rmaf-

Quote

All 3 independent voltages to the chip originate from an independent linear power supply with further regulation provided by 3 sets of LT3045 regulators.

 

Two independent Statement-level linear power supplies, one dedicated to the OCXO clock and the other used for powering the USB chip/5V USB line.

 

So we're talking about two separate transformers inside the same chassis, correct? And then we'll have to add some Mundorf caps as well

 

http://www.custom-hifi-cables.co.uk/home/power-supplies/dc3-power-supply

£700.00

 

Upgrade to Mundorf capacitor arrays:
add £200

 

Extra separately-regulated outputs:
add £200

 

Hard to get hardwired power cables / clock cables anywhere else.

Link to comment
26 minutes ago, seeteeyou said:

£2250 a pop for Phoenix

At current exchange rates, that's about $2775 in USD.  The USA price is $3150.  I guess that's a nice uplift for the US distributor.

Pareto Audio AMD 7700 Server --> Berkeley Alpha USB --> Jeff Rowland Aeris --> Jeff Rowland 625 S2 --> Focal Utopia 3 Diablos with 2 x Focal Electra SW 1000 BE subs

 

i7-6700K/Windows 10  --> EVGA Nu Audio Card --> Focal CMS50's 

Link to comment

At least that kinda difference seemed to be relatively "moderate" when compared to stuff like this

 

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/axpona-2019-digital-sources/

Quote

Esoteric introduced the new P1X transport ($50,000) and D1X Monoblock DACs ($50,000 pr.) in an all-Esoteric system.

 

https://www.cdrinfo.com/d7/content/esoteric-grandioso-p1x-and-d1x-models-launch-march

Quote

Grandioso P1X - Suggested retail price 3,500,000 yen ($31, 670)

 

Grandioso D1X - Suggested retail price 3,500,000 yen / pair ($31, 670)

 

And then take a look at their royal treatment if something were sent all the way back to Japan

 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/problem-with-esoteric-service

 

Not exactly sure about the difference between list / street, though.

Link to comment
19 hours ago, Aberrant-Decoder said:

Does anyone rate any of the nucs with optical out? Or is it a case, if you go NUC then you go usb?

 

This one was HDMI to Toslink

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/420/?tab=comments#comment-894580

 

Another one was Mini Toslink to Toslink

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/507/?tab=comments#comment-915141

 

However, both of them were owners of Chord DAVE (with M Scaler added) and supposedly they're known as jitter-agnostic DACs to begin with. Maybe take a quick look as follows?

 

https://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Intro/SQ/Toslink_Coax.htm

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/37122-optical-cable-jitter-measurements.html

 

BTW, there will be something called "ElectroTos" available soon and IMHO that's quite interesting

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/24966-ec-design/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-988691

https://www.forum-hifi.fr/thread-12116-post-275663.html#pid275663

Quote

"ElectroTos cleans up the S/PDIF stream (by avoiding reflections and jitter induced by Toslink interlink). When a cleaner S/PDIF signal is sent to a DAC it is likely that the clock recovery inside that DAC is better and so it usually performs better regardless of the overall quality of that DAC."

 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

£2250 a pop for Phoenix so let's crunch some numbers

 

https://www.audiofest.net/innuos-launches-the-new-phoenixusb-reclocker-at-rmaf-

 

So we're talking about two separate transformers inside the same chassis, correct? And then we'll have to add some Mundorf caps as well

 

http://www.custom-hifi-cables.co.uk/home/power-supplies/dc3-power-supply

£700.00

 

Upgrade to Mundorf capacitor arrays:
add £200

 

Extra separately-regulated outputs:
add £200

 

Hard to get hardwired power cables / clock cables anywhere else.

Hmmm, seems like there might still be a few things missing (i.e. USB reclocker, case, etc) plus the standard DC3 is not built to Statement specs. Of course you will have to build and test it yourself, so please don‘t forget labor ...

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Chopin75 said:

Is the price without VAT? 

Good question.  If the UK price includes VAT, then the US price (which never includes sales tax) looks even worse.

Pareto Audio AMD 7700 Server --> Berkeley Alpha USB --> Jeff Rowland Aeris --> Jeff Rowland 625 S2 --> Focal Utopia 3 Diablos with 2 x Focal Electra SW 1000 BE subs

 

i7-6700K/Windows 10  --> EVGA Nu Audio Card --> Focal CMS50's 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...