Audiolinux Server configurations, Software, Hardware, and Listening Impressions

[ferenc]

I purchased and installed AL few days ago in my Asus P10-WS, 4 core 25W TDP Xeon audio pC. Sounds really nice with JPlay Femto USB card and Holo Spring 2 DAC and Singxer SU-1. I got an Audio Note/EVGA Nu Audio PCIe sound card as well. Officially it is Windows only. However it uses an Xmos USB chip internally as a "virtual" USB device. I am using the audio PC as Roon Bridge, Roon running in my iMac Pro. Roon sees the Nu Audio board as 2 different cards. One way it sounds distorted and the other way it is few decibel quite than the level actually is, and this way DSD converted automatically to PCM which is strange as I do not use Roon to convert DSD to PCM. So my question is there any way to get the Nu Audio board working properly in AL? Any suggestion what to check, change? Thanks in advance. 

[ferenc]

6 hours ago, lmitche said:

Hi Ferenc,

 

It's been a week since your post and no one has responded. I for one have never heard of the Nu Audio board. Did you ever get this resolved?

 

Does the virtual USB port show up when you type lsusb into the command line?

 

Larry

 

Yes, with some help from Piero, I got it work in PCM. The two cards Al sees is the Playback and Capture part of the card, obviously I do not need its capture part at the moment. So it words well with Roon as a Bridge an with HQP as NAA endpoint. 

 

The DSD playback does not work, not with DoP, not natively, only if I convert the DSD files to PCM in Roon or in HQP.

 

So for the proper DSD playback there is a need a Kernel upgrade it seems. Using Win 2019 server or Win 10 the Nu Audio card plays my 2X HD DSD256 files really well. 

 

The Nu Audio Note / EVGA Nu Audio card sounds really nice, I just did not find any fault in its sounds, very balanced, smooth and the music nicely flows. It is a steal for the price. The PC needs a good power supply and somehow the card a bit sensitive on the interconnect cables. But this is it. If one wants a simple, straightforward very high quality audio PC, with no fault, Audiolinux works perfectly well in PCM with this card and you will not need any magic with USB cards, cables, any USB gadgets.

 

My audio PC is a completely passive PC, with ASUS P10-WS workstation motherboard, with 4 core low power (25W TDP) Xeon, 16 (4x4) GB ECC RAM an external 20V, 10A linear power supply with HDplex 400W DC-ATX converter. Sounds perfectly fine for me. Roon and HQP is running on an 18 core iMac Pro. All switches, router, set top boxes are powered with LPS. Cabling is mostly Wireworld Platinum, including power cables.