PORCOOLPINE

[TheAttorney]

After a few months of Porcoolpine ownership, I thought I'd add some comments on this no-fuss fanless server:

 

1. I had previously posted on the Euphony setup thread that my only Porcoolpine reservation was that its DC power socket seemed to be larger than the normal 2.5mm ID. After some email correspondence with SimplyNUC, it transpires that the DC socket (as are all the sockets) is exactly what comes with the NUC board - in my case the top-of-the-range 7i7DN board, and this does indeed have a 2.5mm ID socket. My issue had been with the el cheapo converter plug that I had temporarily used. I subsequently confirmed that both Switchcraft and Oyaide 2.5mm plugs work fine with Porcoolpine. So now I have no reservations at all.

 

2. The Porcoolpine comes bundled with a walwart 19V power supply, which is adequate to get started, but a better power supply is vital for best SQ (Paul Hynes SR7 is my case).

 

3. I ordered mine with the 32Gb Optane drive (and no other SSD). By default, SimplyNUC assume that the Optane is to be used in Cache mode (as that is what it was designed for). After some email correspondence, I managed to get them to pre-configure the Optane as SSD drive (pre-installed with free Ubuntu to get me started, plus an Ubuntu recovery USB stick in case I get into trouble with my Euphony install - I didn't as it happened). I got the impression that the SimplyNUC techies were a bit bemused that I was using Optane in that manner (those crazy audiophiles), but they did it anyway and everything worked as expected.

 

4. To access the DN board, you only need to unscrew the bottom plate to get to the sockets should you need to change memory, or SSD, or replace the WIFI/Bluetooth card. 

 

5. The WIFI/Bluetooth card is included by default. It takes up the smaller of the two M.2. sockets, and has two wires connected to the end panel,where there are screw terminals for two external antennae. I chose to keep this option and found it very convenient for my KISS objective. To minimise RFI, I only used only one of the external antennae. This still probably isn't the best configuration for SQ, but I haven't noticed any obvious SQ issues, at least not when using Euphony Stylus.

 

6. In the flesh, Porcoolpine (Porky) looks really cute - more so than I had imagined from the photos. It's wider than the standard NUC, but still very compact. I have no hesitation in recommending it as a compact, no-fuss fanless NUC. I was also impressed with the service from SimplyNUC - my correspondence was with the UK branch, but they included the techies in the US for my various Optane questions. They can supply other configurations, if possible and practical, that are not included in the online drop-downs.

 

7. My biggest surprise was that SQ significantly improved when I placed Porky onto 3 modestly priced Clearlight RDC audiophile cones. These were whatever I had in my spares box, but I'm sure other footers will provide benefit too - worth experimenting, and I expect the same will apply to standard NUC enclosures as well.