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The ultimate Power Supply Units for music servers (and other devices for cleaner power source)


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56 minutes ago, BigAlMc said:

I'd personally go the audiolinux NUC route


Are there any difference between what NUC you use ?

The Novel tread is so huge I lost track of what’s best practice.

I have a NUC available and I bought Audiolinux, but that’s as far as I got.

 

Next step is probably a NUC with SFP port 😀

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John's research doesn't suggest that you need to use multiple $1000 switches in series. On the contrary, it more likely than not suggests that there is significant decay in the importance of the downstream devices.

 

Each Sonore Rendu with USB output has a dual-core 1GHz processor which I would not necessarily categorize as low power. These processors are quite capable. In fact, I have a microRendu here upsampling audio in real time just for kicks. We don't use them for upsampling, but it can't be helped that converting an Ethernet stream to USB Audio is not a CPU intensive process. Each Sonore Rendu with SPDIF / i2s output had a MHz processor which I would categorize as low power and it was capable of high fidelity as well.   

 

If you want to know the difference or similarities between the various Sonore Rendu you can review this Google Doc.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kJyxckdlLroD6fHiDaqyN4SE6OJ6UB-zWoyhps7dZ9o/edit?usp=sharing 

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4 hours ago, vortecjr said:

John's research doesn't suggest that you need to use multiple $1000 switches in series.

 

It does not directly suggest that. But it does suggest that multiple better clocks after a bad clock can reduce the negative fingerprints of the bad clock. And adding two SOTM switches does exactly that. So until someone comes up with a product on the market that somehow reproduces the positive impact of multiple good clocks, we are stuck with multiple SOTM switches as one of the best solutions.

The EtherREGEN supposedly does that, but that product does not exist on the market yet. I would be one of the first people to get one when it is released, and.... I am not that crazy to stack multiple SOTM switches... while I do believe in the sound benefits of doing that, I have better things to spend my money on.  

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

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1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

It does not directly suggest that. But it does suggest that multiple better clocks after a bad clock can reduce the negative fingerprints of the bad clock. And adding two SOTM switches does exactly that. So until someone comes up with a product on the market that somehow reproduces the positive impact of multiple good clocks, we are stuck with multiple SOTM switches as one of the best solutions.

The EtherREGEN supposedly does that, but that product does not exist on the market yet. I would be one of the first people to get one when it is released, and.... I am not that crazy to stack multiple SOTM switches... while I do believe in the sound benefits of doing that, I have better things to spend my money on.  

Again the product (etherregen) already turn legendary before the first ones are actually sold. I quit well remember the first usb regen, which would clean up a usb signal so good, that everything upstream would not matter anymore.....

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9 hours ago, BigAlMc said:

 

I think an LPS-1.2 or JS-2 would offer a nice bump in SQ quality as certainly the improvement of the LPS-1.2 compared to the LPS-1 is well documented.

 

But at some point the MicroRendu 1.4 is going to be the limiting factor. I'd therefore place equal emphasis (and budget) on upgrading the renderer. The ultrarendu if you want to stick with Sonore or an Audiolinux NUC should both outperform the microrendu.

 

Cheers,

Alan

 

Thanks for the suggestions - and spending my money for me! Went with a Sonore Ultrasupply, using the 10% off this weekend (pretty much free shipping is what it amounts to). At this point, with 2 opticalModules, the power supply, and some assorted cabling, I'm well over my allotted $1k for hifi this year, so a better renderer will have to wait. Not to mention better speakers, amp, pre-amp, DAC, speaker cables, etc etc. One has to ask oneself where it ends? What is 'better?' What the hell is 'best?' I'm really not after ultimate sound quality - it would be wasted on me and my associated gear and my family situation. 

 

In my photography career I got off the continual upgrade bandwagon a long time ago. I pick what works best for me and drive it into the ground. By that time there's usually a big jump in tech and value. Same with other hifi - I figure by the time the megaopticalRendu2.5SE comes out in four years time, the value of my microRendu 1.4 will have been amortized and I can either get something used at good cost or the latest greatest without losing $ on in-betweens. Plus I like the form factor of the mR as it currently just fits behind my DAC. As it is all of the other pieces of the chain I'm finding make a big difference (i.e. switch, oM's, power supplies, and cabling), possibly even doubling the quality of the downstream gear, and those will be in place no matter what comes after. 

SERVER CLOSET (in office directly below living room stereo):NUC 7i5BNH with Roon ROCK (ZeroZone 12V on the NUC)>Cisco 2690L-16PS switch>Sonore opticalModule (Uptone LPS 1.2)>

LIVING ROOM: Sonore opticalRendu Roon version (Sonore Power Supply)> Shunyata Venom USB>Naim DAC V1>Witchhat DIN>Naim NAP 160 Bolt Down>Chord Rumor 2>Audio Physic Compact Classics. OFFICE: opticalModule> Sonore microRendu 1.4> Matrix Mini-i Pro 3> Naim NAP 110>NACA5>KEF Ls50's. BJC 6a and Ghent Catsnake 6a JSSG ethernet; AC cables: Shunyata Venom NR V-10; Audience Forte F3; Ice Age copper/copper; Sean Jacobs CHC PowerBlack, Moon Audio DIN>RCA, USB A>C. Isolation: Herbie's Audio Lab. 

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9 hours ago, R1200CL said:


The MicroRendu 1.4 is quite similar to the UltraRendu. He needs to go opticalRendu.

He could experiment with an LPS-1.2 adding Vbus power to the MicroRendu. 

There is of cause a reason why the MicroRendu 1.4 isn’t available anymore. Everyone would do that upgrade instead of buying an UltraRendu (if they knew it was equal), and that isn’t good for Sonore business. 
And the only difference between 1.3 and 1.4 is the clock. 

John has just posted the difference between UltraRendu and opticalRendu. 

 

 

My DAC needs no bus power and has very good async USB input. My LPS 1.1 (as I call it with the Lt3045 cable) will now be able to shuffle over to the oM, the HDPLEX to the oM and external HD downstairs, etc. Fun times ahead shuffling power supplies and building cables. 

SERVER CLOSET (in office directly below living room stereo):NUC 7i5BNH with Roon ROCK (ZeroZone 12V on the NUC)>Cisco 2690L-16PS switch>Sonore opticalModule (Uptone LPS 1.2)>

LIVING ROOM: Sonore opticalRendu Roon version (Sonore Power Supply)> Shunyata Venom USB>Naim DAC V1>Witchhat DIN>Naim NAP 160 Bolt Down>Chord Rumor 2>Audio Physic Compact Classics. OFFICE: opticalModule> Sonore microRendu 1.4> Matrix Mini-i Pro 3> Naim NAP 110>NACA5>KEF Ls50's. BJC 6a and Ghent Catsnake 6a JSSG ethernet; AC cables: Shunyata Venom NR V-10; Audience Forte F3; Ice Age copper/copper; Sean Jacobs CHC PowerBlack, Moon Audio DIN>RCA, USB A>C. Isolation: Herbie's Audio Lab. 

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51 minutes ago, misterspense said:

Again the product (etherregen) already turn legendary before the first ones are actually sold. 

 

Because of some bold claims. But nobody knows if they are true. I am looking forward to get my hands on one and find out. And I really hope it turns out to be as good as advertised.

 

53 minutes ago, misterspense said:

I quit well remember the first usb regen, which would clean up a usb signal so good, that everything upstream would not matter anymore.....

 

Did it? Not in my experience.

 

1 hour ago, vortecjr said:

you are just mis-informed.  

 

Quite possibly. I don’t know a lot of things for sure. Perhaps you can elaborate? 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

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17 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

 

My DAC needs no bus power and has very good async USB input. My LPS 1.1 (as I call it with the Lt3045 cable) will now be able to shuffle over to the oM, the HDPLEX to the oM and external HD downstairs, etc. Fun times ahead shuffling power supplies and building cables. 


I think an opticalModule in front of your MicroRendu 1.4 is an extremely nice and best value for money solution you can get. (And you have very, if not the best power available as well). 

To beat that you would need both the EtherRegen and the opticalRendu, and you wouldn’t be sure if that close to 2K investment really is worth the difference in SQ. 

But where are you going to use the newly purchased Sonore power supply ?

You’re not downgrading your UltraCaps? 😀

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2 hours ago, Nenon said:

Not a NUC. A server I built. And no, I don't use HQPlayer and don't upsample. I use Euphony / Stylus. The resolution does not matter in my system. The recording does. Some 44.1k files sound better than 192k and vice versa. It's all about the recording process and how much care was taken to preserve the original recording quality.

It just turns out that in my system the faster the CPU is, the better it sounds. 

 

A dual-core 1GHz iMX6 in my book is exactly what I mean by slow and low powered CPU. I went from a quad core 2.5Ghz CPU to an Intel i9-9900K and the difference was stunning. It's not about whether the CPU has enough power to do the job. It's something else, which I don't understand. 

My CPU barely has to do anything at all. This is how much it is utilized while playing. But it sounds amazing!

CPU.jpg.f42a1d01e62b9387a3651b98d3ae9874.jpg

 

Obviously you need a really good power supply with this CPU. It can sound bright and harsh as hell if you don't have clean DC power for it. A lot of that is discussed in the novel thread. 


I hope you have the chance one day to try the opticalRendu. With one of the supplies listed at Sonore’s site.

Good DC cables is also essential, and maybe try the USPCB as well.  

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9 hours ago, Summit said:

The digital to analogue conversion always takes place in the DAC and it is always the local oscillators that is involved in the D -> A conversion clocking. So no matter if we are talking SPDIF, AES or async USB the final conversion is always done by the D/A conversion clock in the DAC. Besides the D/A conversion oscillators that is placed very near the dac chip in the DAC, we also have other oscillators that are clocking the digital interfaces: SPDIF, LAN, AES and USB.

 

The difference between SPDIF/AES and async USB is not which clock that does the final conversion, it’s about there the master clock is located - in the DAC or in the source upstream of the DAC.

 

The master clock dictate the clock and sample rate and the timing for sending/receiving the digital stream, which are sent to the D/A conversion clock. I repeat the master clock dictate how to send the digital signal to the DAC and at what speed/rate. With no type of digital interface the conversion clocks in the DAC is bypassed, never.

 

Both USB, LAN and SPDIF/AES are clocked with other oscillators which operate on totally different clock frequencies than the final conversion clocks: 44.1, 88.2, 96 Khz, 192, DSD 1, DSD 2 and so on sample rates.  

 

Then consider this result with Schitt Eitr USB converter, same USB cable setup (USPCB into ISO Regen, Lush 2 out from ISO Regen

 

microRendu 1.3 used with ISO Regen reclocker as Roon endpoint, audio performance enhanced vs no ISO Regen

NUC7PJYH used with AL and ISO Regen as Roon endpoint, audio performance degraded vs no ISO Regen

 

your thoughts on why this resulted?

 

Mine so far is that the ISO Regen has been tailored to bandaid timing defect characteristics, vs improving actual timing

Regards,

Dave

 

Audio system

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14 hours ago, Nenon said:

 

However, when you not only pass signal from one stage to another but also do software processing, clean power and clocking are not the only things that matter. And this I believe is where we'd disagree. As it turns out more powerful processors are much better than slow processors. To me that means that processing latency is crucial, 

 

I don't understand how you get to latency being crucial when describing a streaming system where buffers tens of millions or billions of clock periods are being used. Can you describe for me what you are thinking here?

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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37 minutes ago, R1200CL said:


I think an opticalModule in front of your MicroRendu 1.4 is an extremely nice and best value for money solution you can get. (And you have very, if not the best power available as well). 

To beat that you would need both the EtherRegen and the opticalRendu, and you wouldn’t be sure if that close to 2K investment really is worth the difference in SQ. 

But where are you going to use the newly purchased Sonore power supply ?

You’re not downgrading your UltraCaps? 😀

 

I'm planning on using the new UltraSupply for the microRendu. The LPS-1 will go to the opticalModule. I would think the Ultra  should be better than the LPS-1; LPS 1.2 it would probably be a matter of taste. Who knows - I'm pretty sure with all of these new power supplies one is getting varying degrees of goodness vs one being 'best.' 

SERVER CLOSET (in office directly below living room stereo):NUC 7i5BNH with Roon ROCK (ZeroZone 12V on the NUC)>Cisco 2690L-16PS switch>Sonore opticalModule (Uptone LPS 1.2)>

LIVING ROOM: Sonore opticalRendu Roon version (Sonore Power Supply)> Shunyata Venom USB>Naim DAC V1>Witchhat DIN>Naim NAP 160 Bolt Down>Chord Rumor 2>Audio Physic Compact Classics. OFFICE: opticalModule> Sonore microRendu 1.4> Matrix Mini-i Pro 3> Naim NAP 110>NACA5>KEF Ls50's. BJC 6a and Ghent Catsnake 6a JSSG ethernet; AC cables: Shunyata Venom NR V-10; Audience Forte F3; Ice Age copper/copper; Sean Jacobs CHC PowerBlack, Moon Audio DIN>RCA, USB A>C. Isolation: Herbie's Audio Lab. 

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11 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

I would think the Ultra  should be better than the LPS-1; LPS 1.2 


How did you get that idea ?

 

If there is anything written that an LPS is better than the UltraCaps somewhere, I like to know, cause then I order the JS-2 right away 😀

(or the Sonore Ultra). 

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3 hours ago, Nenon said:

Not a NUC. A server I built. And no, I don't use HQPlayer and don't upsample. I use Euphony / Stylus. The resolution does not matter in my system. The recording does. Some 44.1k files sound better than 192k and vice versa. It's all about the recording process and how much care was taken to preserve the original recording quality.

It just turns out that in my system the faster the CPU is, the better it sounds. 

 

A dual-core 1GHz iMX6 in my book is exactly what I mean by slow and low powered CPU. I went from a quad core 2.5Ghz CPU to an Intel i9-9900K and the difference was stunning. It's not about whether the CPU has enough power to do the job. It's something else, which I don't understand. 

My CPU barely has to do anything at all. This is how much it is utilized while playing. But it sounds amazing!

CPU.jpg.f42a1d01e62b9387a3651b98d3ae9874.jpg

 

Obviously you need a really good power supply with this CPU. It can sound bright and harsh as hell if you don't have clean DC power for it. A lot of that is discussed in the novel thread. 

We should try to stay focused on the topic of Power supply or at least methods to clean up power, even though the other stuff that we ramble on (including myself) are all very important. Yes (off topic) I also use Euphony/stylus and my CPU is like 2% using 1-3 CPU the most. And somehow the minimal work on CPU create best results, probably as a result of less work needed,  and this has been discussed in there original "novel" thread. It was also emphasized before that a great power supply is needed to drive these high power CPU and to only run at low capacity to get best sound. 

Hence I wonder what would be minimal power needed to run a PC with these powerful CPU, which seems to range from 12-19V. I use 19V/10A HDPLEX 200  but apparently I need this high power to drive the the DC-ATX. Now most LPS are rated about 12-15V and 5-7A for music server. Would a more powerful PS in general be beneficial, too ? 

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Supposedly the highest current output available should be 12V/15A for feeding 8-pin EPS connectors

 

https://www.teradak.com/products/70.html

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=21782263161

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32699867689.html

 

Regarding a more powerful PS, that could very well be taken into consideration

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/403/?tab=comments#comment-890918

On 10/30/2018 at 4:16 AM, romaz said:

As the voltage goes up, current requirement should be less and I could probably get by with a 24V/3A rail but my experience has been that an over-provisioned rail sounds better.  Even if a tX-USBultra never fully draws a full amp at 12V, a 12V power supply with a 5A rating sounds better than a power supply with a 1A rating.  Having discussed this with Paul Hynes, he agrees and so with all of my SR7s, they are over-provisioned.

 

Some gaming motherboards are actually providing two 8-pin EPS connectors in order to feed an extremely powerful CPU with way more than 100W TDP, though either water cooling or a cooling fan should be required for something like that.

 

Usually a fanless chassis could only accommodate something with 95W TDP or below, even though CPU utilization of Euphony / Stylus should remain in the single digit as long as we're sticking with native sampling rates.

 

Basically we really don't wanna stress the regulators inside the (expensive or not) PS itself, potentially we could risk frying our gears once the voltage of an output has become unregulated. Even the "legendary" (aptly named due to current situation) SR7 might not escape unscathed

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/37373-the-paul-hynes-sr7/page/20/?tab=comments#comment-932702

On 2/26/2019 at 11:40 PM, paulhynes said:

There have been several regulator module failures on the Multirail power supplies this last year, usually the 3A modules. The failure mode has been a short between the input and output terminals of the regulator output device. The cause appears to be over dissipation (too much heat generation) in the output device.

 

So far double regulated outputs that are over-provisioned might seem to be our best bet, though feeding that 24-pin ATX connector should remain fairly tricky / pricey since multiple voltages are involved.

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1 hour ago, R1200CL said:


How did you get that idea ?

 

If there is anything written that an LPS is better than the UltraCaps somewhere, I like to know, cause then I order the JS-2 right away 😀

(or the Sonore Ultra). 

 

Just a hunch (keep in mind I'm talking LPS-1, not 1.2). Well, I suppose I'll find out. I could use the Ultra on the opticalModule in place of the HDPLEX100 and keep the LPS-1 on the mR. 

SERVER CLOSET (in office directly below living room stereo):NUC 7i5BNH with Roon ROCK (ZeroZone 12V on the NUC)>Cisco 2690L-16PS switch>Sonore opticalModule (Uptone LPS 1.2)>

LIVING ROOM: Sonore opticalRendu Roon version (Sonore Power Supply)> Shunyata Venom USB>Naim DAC V1>Witchhat DIN>Naim NAP 160 Bolt Down>Chord Rumor 2>Audio Physic Compact Classics. OFFICE: opticalModule> Sonore microRendu 1.4> Matrix Mini-i Pro 3> Naim NAP 110>NACA5>KEF Ls50's. BJC 6a and Ghent Catsnake 6a JSSG ethernet; AC cables: Shunyata Venom NR V-10; Audience Forte F3; Ice Age copper/copper; Sean Jacobs CHC PowerBlack, Moon Audio DIN>RCA, USB A>C. Isolation: Herbie's Audio Lab. 

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5 hours ago, misterspense said:

Again the product (etherregen) already turn legendary before the first ones are actually sold. I quit well remember the first usb regen, which would clean up a usb signal so good, that everything upstream would not matter anymore.....

 

 As good as it is, the original Uptone USB Regen further improves the quality of USB output when powered by a separate low noise external PSU or battery , and is directly plugged into a front panel USB port via a USB-A to USB-B adaptor which doesn't have shield and the PC/Servers noisy SMPS +5V connected through.

 This modification may not work with all USB devices though, and is best made switchable.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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6 hours ago, Nenon said:

And I really hope it turns out to be as good as advertised.

 

Well we have not advertised EtherREGEN or made bold claims. We have simply explained its technology and how none of the core of what we are doing has ever been done in any other switch. 

 

6 hours ago, R1200CL said:

Yes we do. The opticalModule is released with very nice feedback. 😀

 

Very different products and techniques.  The active digital isolation and dual-clock/power/data domain circuits are not present in the opticalModule. 

Still, the fact that people report nice audible results with products such as the oM and some upgraded or premium Ethernet switches certainly bodes well for the next-level tech incorporated into EtherREGEN. 

 

5 hours ago, davide256 said:

Mine so far is that the ISO Regen has been tailored to bandaid timing defect characteristics, vs improving actual timing.

 

Sorry, but that’s not how it works nor how it was designed.  

Highly improved signal integrity, impedance match, and reduced noise and jitter (all as seen on an eye-pattern) results in the USB input of your DAC generating less of its own internal ground plane and packet data noise—such that phase-noise at the clock input pin of the DAC chip is reduced. 

ISO REGEN simply reveals more of the true character of the DAC.  I suppose in some cases that is not what someone wants to hear. 

I run the same model NUC as you, also under AudioLinux (quite nicely tuned by @lmitche), and its USB ports do very much benefit from SI improvement.  

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7 hours ago, Chopin75 said:

Hence I wonder what would be minimal power needed to run a PC with these powerful CPU, which seems to range from 12-19V. I use 19V/10A HDPLEX 200  but apparently I need this high power to drive the the DC-ATX. Now most LPS are rated about 12-15V and 5-7A for music server. Would a more powerful PS in general be beneficial, too ? 

 

I use 4-rails.

 

--ATX connector--

3.3V - 1.5A

5V - 5A

12V - 1.5A

--EPS connector--

12V - 5A

 

More power typically helps if it is of the same quality. Typically a 1A and a 7A power supplies would not have an absolutely identical design. Typically... 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

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26 minutes ago, Nenon said:

I might have offended some Sonore fanboys. Sorry if that is the case. I've had two Sonore products. A microRendu and an ultraRendu. I owned the ultraRendu for quite some time and sold it just recently. I've tried it with several different power supplies - LPS1.2, JS-2, sBooster, and Sean Jacobs DC3. The DC3 is not even on the list of recommended power supplies from Sonore and it sounded better than the rest. I think I gave over a year to the ultraRendu to shine in my system. But it never did. At that point the difference between my vinyl rig and digital was so big, that I was not even taking my digital rig that seriously (it was playing a lot but mainly as background music). I did all kinds of network tweaks - filters, transformers, modded fiber media convertors, enterprise class Cisco switches (since I have access to a lot of them), SOTM switch, nice LPS on everything network related, vibration isolation, expensive ethernet cables, etc. etc. Some of those things definitely helped, but again I was never excited about my digital rig.

Then I got an Innuos Zenith MK3. I would like to be careful with the words I am using but to say that the Innuos trashed the ultraRendu would be an understatement.  This opened my eyes and got me excited about digital again. I wanted to build my own server. I tried different motherboards and different CPUs. In the beginning I was a big fan of the Innuos philosophy - low powered CPUs and motherboard, clean power, minimalistic approach, etc. This approach did not get me passed the quality of the Innuos Zenith MK3 server. Maybe I got close, maybe I exceeded the Innuos quality in some areas but not others.

Then, a new trend was started by a couple companies and some people here wrote about the positive impact of a more powerful CPU. A little sceptical but completely open minded, I decided to give it a try. Got one of the gaming motherboards that was recommended and a i9-9900K CPU. Powered it up with a distributed linear power supply from Sean Jacobs the same way Innuos did on their $14K Statement. But I actually did more than that...two 400VA transformers in different chassis, upgraded parts on the power supply, super short 15.5AWG Mundorf silver/gold wires (2'' average length) from the regulators to the ATX and EPS connectors shielded in JSSG360 were some of the little things I did. Some sparse EMI treatment, Furutech Nano Liquid on some parts and wires, good vibrations isolation, multiple chassis, etc. etc. When I say attention to every detail was paid, I really meant it. When that computer was ready and I plugged it in, I was not very impressed... but it needed some time. A month later (running non-stop) it exceeded every expectation I have ever had. It's on a completely different level than the Innuos Zenith MK3 (the thing that completely trashed my ultraRendu if you still follow). No comparison at all. For the first time I really enjoy digital and on some recording it exceeds my vinyl (never thought I would have said that). My vinyl rig is not cheap and was very carefully built after about 5 years of carefully listening and testing - $10K cartridge, $7K tonearm, $15K phono stage, I don't even know how much my turntable costs days, but it is not cheap. In other words it is hard to beat. 

How does the faster CPU, more cores, and more cache impact the sound quality? I don't know. But it does, and I am not going back to the Innuos philosophy.

My current digital source is light years ahead of the Sonore ultraRendu at the moment. I have no desire to try the opticalRendu - I've read reviews and appreciate that people like it, but I did not get the impression that is light years ahead of an ultraRendu with a bunch of network tweaks I've briefly mentioned above. My common sense tells me it's a step backwards from where I am now. If I see that people massively start replacing their Innuos Zenith MK3 or Innuos Statement servers for opticalRendus, I would buy one right away. 

What I find interesting is that I share my experience with the only intention to help people improve their digital source, and I feel like I am getting attacked from different angles. I don't have time for that. I am not an audio equipment manufacturer. I don't offer consulting services. I am sharing my experience for free using my spare time during those nice summer months. I have an open minded attitude and switched tracks multiple times. But those Sonore fanboys don't seem to want to try anything else. Well, in a way I am glad for them that they are happy with the sound they are getting. I was not. And again, the Sonore products I have tried are good for what they do and have a great value for their price. They are just not the best of the best. Not even close. And I am always looking for the best :). And while looking for the best, the Sonore opticalModules are part of my attempt for best network design (posted a diagram in the novel thread about that), so I am definitely getting a couple of them (if they are willing to sell them to me after my posts :)

I can share every detail of my digital source if you want to try it. Try it and then post your findings. But don't ask me to explain why a faster CPU sounds so much better. I don't know. I have some speculations in my head, but they are too controversial to post here.

Actually, the only reason I have not shared every detail of my digital source yet is because it has been under constant development, and I still have a few things left to try. Once it's fully settled, if I am still an active member of this forum, I will post it under my profile. 

Okay, now that this is all out of the way, let's focus on power supplies. Ping me in a PM for any offtopic questions related to my posts. 

Thanks for your great summary, (even if a bit off topic) but I think it is quite important to understand the close relationship between the music player/server and LPS or other PS.  I use a very similar system to yours, also a gaming motherboard (x370) + Ryzen 2700x CPU 8 core., high cache. This setup was recommended by Pinkfaun, and I also got their USB bridge.  The main reason to get this high power is to make sure I can do DSD and resampling/upsampling even though I rarely use them, and it turns out the high CPU may be the way to go  to play nicely on all types of files. I have no issue with DSD256 (the most demanding format) and may want to do DSD512 in future and also M-ch DSD256. SO Pinkfaun recommended high CPU. They also recommended Farad PS but of course they share the same developers hence has business ties. Pinkfaun also thinks the higher cores are best for audio so less multithread is required. 

Like you, I find my vinyl gig not as spectacular (feeling sad actually...) though I have not been optimizing the vinyl setup for a while. I find myself looking forward to listening to pure digital sound from PC for the first time!  I am no longer missing vinyl, or CD or SACD anymore. Now each format has a special character that from time to time I like to get back to and the vinyl's natural analogue sound is something very special. But the digital sound on the super PC with euphony OS is really something. I use the HDPLEX 200W which supposedly is only mediocre but still there is really not much digital glare/harshness anymore and sound stage is amazing, that it is really getting close to analogue sound, with the added detail and clean sound.  Now provided you have decent recordings as crappy recordings will still show its digital flaws. 

 

Right now Farad which I think uses some ultra-cap like design can only do 3A but up to 24 V which I suppose would work for these gaming motherboards/CPUs.

Obviously with high CPU, a nice quiet efficient PS is very important, to make the whole setup works. 

I think the Sean Jacobs PS are really quite promising. I may try one for my USB bridge in future at least.

 

 

I guess we should PM each other if we want to discuss more about CPU etc (as this is off topic)

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7 hours ago, Chopin75 said:

We should try to stay focused on the topic of Power supply or at least methods to clean up power, even though the other stuff that we ramble on (including myself) are all very important. Yes (off topic) I also use Euphony/stylus and my CPU is like 2% using 1-3 CPU the most. And somehow the minimal work on CPU create best results, probably as a result of less work needed,  and this has been discussed in there original "novel" thread. It was also emphasized before that a great power supply is needed to drive these high power CPU and to only run at low capacity to get best sound. 

Hence I wonder what would be minimal power needed to run a PC with these powerful CPU, which seems to range from 12-19V. I use 19V/10A HDPLEX 200  but apparently I need this high power to drive the the DC-ATX. Now most LPS are rated about 12-15V and 5-7A for music server. Would a more powerful PS in general be beneficial, too ? 

I think it all depends if are up sampling or not. You are not so even with a fast cpu not very likely you will stress it to TDP limits. @Nenongot himself a custom DC3 with custom transformers or so it seems by what I understand from his post, but he is not up sampling either so his rig can power the 9900k with no issues. Now if you are using all cores turbo etc his 9900k needs 210 Watts for which your EPS connector should be fed with 20 Amps at least? Maybe someone can confirm my post. 

 

I'm currently in the process of getting a new Ryzen cpu and very very likely will power this initially with a fanless ATX PS (my js2 can't do it) and eventually will use an LPS or LPS to caps solution, not sure yet. 

 

@Nenonare you feeding the board directly from the rails or you are using caps in between?

 

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