Euphony OS w/Stylus player setup and issues thread

[KATARRAZZI]

Hello friends! Once again I would like to introduce myself, I am an audiophile from Vietnam! I haven't been back to the forum for a long time due to busy work! This is a free time so I'm planning to upgrade my system a little bit! Can you guys give me some advice? Or if you have any questions about my system, I would be happy to talk to you!

The question here is in case I only listen to music online from Qobuz and Tidal, which of the following options should I prioritize investing in first:
1/ Add isolation transformer or power filter for total power of the whole system?
2/ Replace the ram apacer for Stylus and StylusEP machines?
3/ Replace more powerful cpu for Stylus and StylusEP machines?
4/ Any other direction you think is better?

I'm so grateful to you guys here so much!

[flkin]

1 hour ago, KATARRAZZI said:

Hello friends! Once again I would like to introduce myself, I am an audiophile from Vietnam! I haven't been back to the forum for a long time due to busy work! This is a free time so I'm planning to upgrade my system a little bit! Can you guys give me some advice? Or if you have any questions about my system, I would be happy to talk to you!

The question here is in case I only listen to music online from Qobuz and Tidal, which of the following options should I prioritize investing in first:
1/ Add isolation transformer or power filter for total power of the whole system?
2/ Replace the ram apacer for Stylus and StylusEP machines?
3/ Replace more powerful cpu for Stylus and StylusEP machines?
4/ Any other direction you think is better?

I'm so grateful to you guys here so much!

 

Not familiar with much of the equipment you use but I've had very good results with the following:

 

1. Apacer RAM replacement on the end point and then tweaks the voltage and RAM speed in BIOS

2. Best you can afford power supply to the USB card before DAC

3. The DC cable to USB card can affect the sound, try various  

4. Adding an isolation transformer to this USB card supply makes a good difference

 

[KATARRAZZI]

30 minutes ago, flkin said:

 

Không quen thuộc với nhiều thiết bị bạn sử dụng nhưng tôi đã có kết quả rất tốt với những điều sau:

 

1. Thay thế RAM Apacer ở điểm cuối rồi tinh chỉnh điện áp và tốc độ RAM trong BIOS

2. Tốt nhất bạn có khả năng cấp nguồn cho card USB trước khi DAC

3. Cáp DC vào thẻ USB có thể ảnh hưởng đến âm thanh, hãy thử nhiều cách khác nhau  

4. Thêm một biến áp cách ly vào nguồn cung cấp thẻ USB này sẽ tạo ra sự khác biệt tốt

 

Thank you very much!  It's very specific and useful information

[sakso136]

2 hours ago, flkin said:

 

Not familiar with much of the equipment you use but I've had very good results with the following:

 

1. Apacer RAM replacement on the end point and then tweaks the voltage and RAM speed in BIOS

2. Best you can afford power supply to the USB card before DAC

3. The DC cable to USB card can affect the sound, try various  

4. Adding an isolation transformer to this USB card supply makes a good difference

 

Can you explain more in details how we change the ram apacer? Hiw much it cost? I m interested ! Thks

[flkin]

It's been a while since I bought mine from Fully Silent PC.  They don't seem to sell them anymore. At the time I bought them the good sounding RAM was the industrial high temp, unregistered, unbuffered, EEC Apacer RAM with Samsung chips. It was a step up from my G.Skill.

 

More about this RAM and my speed and voltage findings here: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/43629-pink-faun-216/page/15/#elControls_1073511_menu

 

[di-fi]

"Just saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Very much appreciated! "

 

Apacer for cheap at SOS

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/58164-building-a-diy-music-server/?do=findComment&comment=1228012

 

"Can you explain more in details how we change the ram apacer?"

 

Before you order: make sure you know what type of ram is compatible with your motherboard.

[sakso136]

On 3/31/2023 at 12:39 PM, flkin said:

It's been a while since I bought mine from Fully Silent PC.  They don't seem to sell them anymore. At the time I bought them the good sounding RAM was the industrial high temp, unregistered, unbuffered, EEC Apacer RAM with Samsung chips. It was a step up from my G.Skill.

 

More about this RAM and my speed and voltage findings here: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/43629-pink-faun-216/page/15/#elControls_1073511_menu

 

guys i m not sure we are on the same page!

nenon when he built my server , initially he used 16gb memory, then he suggested i switch to 2 , 8gb apacer memory sticks, are we talking here about them?

if not my server specs are below.

 

[flkin]

If Nenon built your server then he probably selected good ram for you. Just ask him. Using 2 slots to get double data rate speed instead of a single slot at half the speed. 16G is enough for most systems but I find it too low for my own use when playing large playlists or high res albums preloaded into RAM. 

[prinz]

few questions to you Gents,

 

1. Which APACER RAM is recommended for Intel Z390 motherboard? AFAIK this MB does not support ECC ram.

 

2. When using Qobuz or Tidal on Euphony, is it possible to fix that Euphony will play only 24/96 tracks from these services? I dont want  Euphony to play 16/44 or very high res from streaming services. I would like it to be fixed on 24/96 is it doable?

 

3. E-PCM upsampling - there is a field "quality" and range from 0 to 3.  This range means higher = better, or just different taste?

[Evo-No-Revo]

I am setting up a dual Euphony system with my Windows 10 audio server as Euphony Server and my N2800 Dual Core CPU/JCAT XE USB card as Euphony endpoint.  I have a myriad of immediate questions.  So to the point.  I am trying to set up the Server and the Endpoint via a direct ethernet cable as mentioned in the manual.

 

Directions on Euphony support page.  

 

How to enable Network Bridge:
To enable Bridging in Euphony OS you need to have two Ethernet cards installed on your computer.  Both shall be correctly recognized by OS (ie.Euphony OS needs to support this specific hardware!). .

Bridge is activated in Settings->System settings-Network Interfaces. 

"Network Interfaces" - dialog appears only if you have two network cards in system. Notice: Dialog will not be appear if system does not recognize two Network cards present.

 

Does two cards mean two lan ports on each machine?

 

I have four on Euphony Server as JCAT has two Lan ports and my Asus Rog Maximus X Apex has two separate Lan ports.  On the Euphony Server Stylus page I see under system setting the Network Interface is available as an option and is unbridged.  So that seems all good.

 

My N2800 Dual Core CPU/JCAT XE USB box has one Lan port.  On the Setting page there is no Network Interface option seen.  

 

Does the Euphony Endpoint machine need two Lan ports?  I do have a little Startech USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet NIC if needed to add one.

 

 

 

 

[di-fi]

4 hours ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

Does two cards mean two lan ports on each machine?

It depends. To « bridge » you need any two ports (like the JCAT net card has two- on one card) or for example a single port network card and one onboard lan port. Any combination of two lan ports can be bridged.

In your setup you only bridge the server meaning the two Jcat ports for best sound quality (you could disable the onboard lan ports in the bios if you think that will improve sound quality). One Jcat lan port connected upstream to a switch and the second lan port downstream to the endpoint.

 

If the endpoint is connected over usb to a DAC you do not need two lan ports here and neither do you need to bridge the endpoint. The only exception would be if your endpoint plays to a DAC over Ethernet.

Good luck and let us know if it sounds better.

PS Euphony versions can be mixed. I am using v4 server with v3 endpoint. 

[Evo-No-Revo]

Thank you for clarifying.  I am USB into DAC.

 

I am having problems getting an ip address on the end point.  It worked and then all the sudden it doesn't.  I was misreading that the ethernet cable could be attached directly between endpoint/server and that would be the network connection.  Then USB to dac..

 

So my real issue is figuring out why the endpoint keeps giving me an ip address that I can't connect to.  I now have to run an ethernet cable directly from my router to the endpoint...bypassing the Cisco Catalyst 2960 Switch.  I keep getting the ip address 192.168.1.1 that won't connect.  It was working. 

 

I have a ticket into support.  

[Yiakubou]

That's not exactly correct. The network bridge allows you to connect dual PC configurations directly, meaning server and endpoint with a LAN cable without having any switch or anything in between. Both machines need to have two LAN ports and you use one of the ports to connect server/endpoint between each other and the other port on both machines is used for normal networking stuff.

 

 

[Evo-No-Revo]

4 hours ago, Yiakubou said:

That's not exactly correct. The network bridge allows you to connect dual PC configurations directly, meaning server and endpoint with a LAN cable without having any switch or anything in between. Both machines need to have two LAN ports and you use one of the ports to connect server/endpoint between each other and the other port on both machines is used for normal networking stuff.

 

 

 

Thank you. What he said...

 

The N2800 Dual Core Endpoint machine only has one Lan port.  Would the USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet NIC be how I would want to provide the second Lan port with?  

 

I have been dealing with Optane integration, Euphony on two machines that are both dual boot, network issues and a myriad of challenges to get this far for literally three days.  Just having to go deeper than I have been before in computer audio world.  Very rewarding sound wise!  

I now have the Lan cable running through two rooms on the floor to have an working ip address.  Having the two Euphony machines connected via a single direct ethernet cable is the final challenge....I hope.

[Yiakubou]

Yes, you need at least two LAN ports on both machines, so if you have only one port on one of the machines, you need to add it somehow. Please be aware that Euphony may not work with all USB to ethernet adapters. I used UGreen adapter and that worked fine. Also please note that changing LAN configuration will change your HW fingerprint, so if you already have a running subscription, you will need to request licence transfer to the new HW fingerprint (should be ok if it's not too frequent).

 

Also, but I'm not sure about this - maybe you need a crossover cable for the connection between the two machines, not the standard patch cable?

[davide256]

1 hour ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

Thank you. What he said...

 

The N2800 Dual Core Endpoint machine only has one Lan port.  Would the USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet NIC be how I would want to provide the second Lan port with?  

 

I have been dealing with Optane integration, Euphony on two machines that are both dual boot, network issues and a myriad of challenges to get this far for literally three days.  Just having to go deeper than I have been before in computer audio world.  Very rewarding sound wise!  

I now have the Lan cable running through two rooms on the floor to have an working ip address.  Having the two Euphony machines connected via a single direct ethernet cable is the final challenge....I hope.

 I've run an Atom endpoint at FE speed for quite a while, only ran into issue with DSD256 or 768/32 files. Never a problem at GigE speeds except that Stylus endpoint wants to cache full file so you need more than 4 GB RAM if running Stylus endpoint. Everything else chunks files for playback at endpoint, minimal RAM requirements.

Bridging means doubling throughput speed, not a benefit to playback, only to file caching speed. Good thing at the server end where you would probably cache entire queue.

 

On the Cisco switch, have you bought the management cable and checked the configuration to make sure VPN options are turned off? When you buy a refurbished switch

its necessary to make sure its configured purely as layer 2 switch.

 

[davide256]

1 hour ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

Thank you. What he said...

 

The N2800 Dual Core Endpoint machine only has one Lan port.  Would the USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet NIC be how I would want to provide the second Lan port with?  

 

I have been dealing with Optane integration, Euphony on two machines that are both dual boot, network issues and a myriad of challenges to get this far for literally three days.  Just having to go deeper than I have been before in computer audio world.  Very rewarding sound wise!  

I now have the Lan cable running through two rooms on the floor to have an working ip address.  Having the two Euphony machines connected via a single direct ethernet cable is the final challenge....I hope.

If you want to use a direct connect between two devices, you need to figure out how to set up a static IP address for the Ethernet  port at each end in Euphony.

Its far easier to connect your switch to the router, and let DHCP take over for assigning IP addresses to any device connected to the switch. After DHCP happens,

traffic between connected devices won't need to traverse the router

[di-fi]

9 hours ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

Having the two Euphony machines connected via a single direct ethernet cable is the final challenge....I hope.

Sorry you are having a hard time. As I said above I bridge the server and do not bridge the endpoint (my endpoint has two onboard lan ports). I had Stylus server with either Jcat 2x usb card bridged or with single Fibre net card + onboard lan port bridged direct single Ethernet cable to endpoint not bridged (and usb out  to DAC).

 

I also had Stylus server bridged direct single Ethernet cable to Antipodes server/player that only has a single lan port (and usb out to DAC). The Antipodes had full networking and internet connection through the bridged port on the Euphony Stylus server.
 

All machines get a unique ip from the dhcp server (on router).

 

I vaguely remember some people either having problems connecting machines over Ethernet or needing a second lan port with Euphony and they added an usb to Ethernet adapter to solve it.(like a TP Link ue300).

 

As an alternative and to avoid a long cable run you could also try connect server and endpoint with each a short Ethernet cable direct to a switch close by if both machines are close together ( ideally with something like a Etherregen but a Netgear GS105NA or -108 with decent lps would do the job). 
 

Once it works you should verify if a single Ethernet cable with shield detached, or UTP cat5 or -6,  sounds better. 

[Evo-No-Revo]

Thanks for the comments.  I stepped away for the computers all day long today.

 

I did get Euphony Support response.  I was over the target.. I will finish this up tomorrow.

 

"Bridging is done only on server machine. Endpoint doesn't have to have 2 ports but if it has, they shouldn't be bridged (nor connected to both: server and switch).
If your endpoint doesn't get IP address consider changing the cable. Sometimes Cisco switch can be an issue, even for single machine.
Bridge interfaces on server. Then connect server and endpoint via cable (don't connect endpoint to switch too). Power up endpoint.
Verify that endpoint machine is fully started (EUPHONY in big ASCII letters on terminal).
If endpoint is fully started and you cannot connect via the IP address as reported on endpoint terminal please turn on RC on server so I can take a look.

Also, make sure server and endpoint have different hostnames."

Regards,
Željko

[di-fi]

8 minutes ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

Thanks for the comments.  I stepped away for the computers all day long today.

 

I did get Euphony Support response.  I was over the target.. I will finish this up tomorrow.

 

"Bridging is done only on server machine. Endpoint doesn't have to have 2 ports but if it has, they shouldn't be bridged (nor connected to both: server and switch).
If your endpoint doesn't get IP address consider changing the cable. Sometimes Cisco switch can be an issue, even for single machine.
Bridge interfaces on server. Then connect server and endpoint via cable (don't connect endpoint to switch too). Power up endpoint.
Verify that endpoint machine is fully started (EUPHONY in big ASCII letters on terminal).
If endpoint is fully started and you cannot connect via the IP address as reported on endpoint terminal please turn on RC on server so I can take a look.

Also, make sure server and endpoint have different hostnames."

Regards,
Željko

Thanks. Take a break, have a good night rest and try again when ready. You are very close and Endpoint is rewarding

 

 (only read this tomorrow: specially with good lps and good usb port - lps powered).

[Yiakubou]

So I was wrong all the time 😁 Sorry for the confusion!

[Evo-No-Revo]

Success!!   😅

 

Endpoint connected via ethernet cable to server and working excellent.   I certainly know my way better around Euphony and my home network now.  

 

I am sold on Euphony Server/Endpoint setup.  I am going to play around more with Roon and HQP in the mix.  I haven't been able to get them to sound as good as straight Euphony even on single server.  

 

Now time for less tinkering and more listening...

 

 

 

 

[Evo-No-Revo]

Had a couple more issues after rebooting server and endpoint.  Drove 5 minutes to BestBuy and got a cheapo Netgear GS108 unmanaged switch and everything connected immediately.  

 

I have never had a single issue with the managed Cisco switch for over 4 years until Euphony.

 

I will need to find a better SQ switch when I address the network...but not tonight.  Or this week.  

 

Cheers

 

 

[aangen]

I favor Cisco Switches. Especially at the prices you can get them for used. I have always found it a good idea to do a factory reset on them so I am not tempted to go buy a cheap switch. It helps situations like yours.

[di-fi]

9 hours ago, Evo-No-Revo said:

Had a couple more issues after rebooting server and endpoint.  Drove 5 minutes to BestBuy and got a cheapo Netgear GS108 unmanaged switch and everything connected immediately.  

 

I have never had a single issue with the managed Cisco switch for over 4 years until Euphony.

 

I will need to find a better SQ switch when I address the network...but not tonight.  Or this week.  

 

Cheers

 

 

I have been trying multiple connections between server and endpoint and I know it’s not always easy. But when it works it works and you don’t change it. I think Zeljko mentioned the startup order can play a role in connection reliability.
If you have two V4 licenses I would keep insisting on a solution (my v3 has no official support but Zeljko helped my anyways). When I connect direct or through Etherregen (with FaradSuper3) with two 1 meter Ethernet cables it is hard to hear a difference. But direct to endpoint is just how it should work. Plus it saves you a switch and an Ethernet cable.