Audiophile grade computer?

[joes1234]

I want to eliminate as much noise that could be added during playback.

 

I intend to play my files (WAV. ripped directly from my CD's)  from my Laptop.

DELL Inspirion 15 7000 gaming, 

It has no fans just thermal cooling, so hopefully no extraneous noise.

and directly connect it to my Oppo UDP-205 as a DAC and then to my stereo.

I am including a pic of the 205's rear sockets.

I intend to use the USB DAC input.

Cardas clear serial bus wires.

 

 

My question is;

1) What is considered an audiophile grade computer?

2) Will the dac clean out any added noise if there is any from the computer?

3) Is the connecting USB wire a consideration?

     

 

[billg]

It's the old story, "everything matters" and these questions are big topics across many forums. But you don't have to try for the end game right from the start.

 

1. There's a lot of info on this site and on www.jplay.eu on how to build a great server/player pc based system. Some reading will be good for you. For software, use Audiophile Optimizer to tune the operating system and get a quality player such as Jriver, or my favourite Jplay Femto (this is astoundingly good). Windows Server 2019 sounds very good and much better than Windows 10.

2. The dac won't clean up noise or jitter from the pc. An optical connection (toslink) will isolate it from electrical noise and may be a good place to start. You'll need a usb-spdif converter - there are many at any price level. 

 

3. The usb cable matters, but to a lesser extent. You can start with a good quality commercial one and try others out when you're up and running.

 

A good tweak is to unplug the notebook from the wall while listening to audio, just running from the battery. Having no fans is great as they also inject electrical noise. You'll need to decide where to keep your music: internal or external drive or a nas.

I remember my first steps well, have fun.

[sandyk]

49 minutes ago, rando said:

1. Any computer used as a base upon which to effect the requisite number of changes you implement for your own listening pleasure.  Whether that is choosing to use what you have, trying everything on the market, or conducting a mad science project without end.
2. Partial answer is all that is possible.  Adding a second device with considerably larger and better implemented handling of power will have an effect.  Not necessarily fitting the loosely structured question as presented.  The amount of noise present from your home's electrical source is certainly a consideration.  We live in an age where there are countless solutions to problems you may not have or have any need to solve.  Half the fun is figuring out if the addition of them fixes a problem you actually have or do anything at all.  Common sense and experimenting will offer much in the way of wisdom.
3. Cable construction makes a bigger difference at either end of the spectrum where atypical methods are most likely to be encountered.  Using a good quality $10 USB cable will take you quite far in price and SQ.  You may have to step up to a custom made one if your needs expand beyond straight connectors in standard lengths etc.  Cable debates are anathema, though I'd say most would take this in the context offered.  

 It may be very worthwhile using an IsoRegen as well.

[CheapSpeaker]

Stating what is not an audio grade computer might be helpful.
Take the TRX40 chipset for example.

A couple sources of information on the subject:

The AMD TRX40 Motherboard Overview: 12 New Motherboards Analyzed 
"AMD did not include any onboard passthough audio in the chipet. That means that all the motherboard vendors that are using a Realtek HD audio codec for the rear audio have had to include the ALC4050H audio codec to bridge the USB to the I2S. The Realtek ALC4050H is used to integrate a bridge between the chipset and USB 2.0 to give the Realtek ALC1220 all the necessary connectivity to the onboard audio."
 

TRX40 AORUS Master Vs. ASRock TRX40 Creator - Bigger is NOT Always Better. 

Of course a serious person wouldn't use integrated audio anyway.  Still, I'm dismayed and dumbfounded by what AMD did with their supposed "creator" chipset.  When did audio become the PC industry's undesired step child?

I don't do high fidelity playback but rather content creation and audio editing.  For my needs, I might consider an AM4 socket chipset instead of the TRX40 because of AMD's I2Sgate (think Watergate or Ukraine-gate).

[audiobomber]

I have a Dell Inspiron 7000 17" laptop. It sounds fine in my headphone system, as long as I don't use the laptop's USB bus (I use a iFi Audio iDefender and 5V iPower).

 

I tried the Dell in my main system and found it too compromised. An iPurifier2 made it tolerable, but not something I would want to live with for long. An IsoRegen or something might make it better but maybe not the best solution.

 

I suggest you connect a streamer/renderer to your DAC, and use the Dell as a remote controller and server. There are plenty of small board computers geared specifically to audio, from Allo, Sonore, SOtM, etc. They will all sound significantly better than the laptop.

 

I use an SOtM sMs-200 Neo with Oyaide neo d+ Class A USB cable and I am very happy with that combo.

[davide256]

23 hours ago, joes1234 said:

I want to eliminate as much noise that could be added during playback.

 

I intend to play my files (WAV. ripped directly from my CD's)  from my Laptop.

DELL Inspirion 15 7000 gaming, 

It has no fans just thermal cooling, so hopefully no extraneous noise.

and directly connect it to my Oppo UDP-205 as a DAC and then to my stereo.

I am including a pic of the 205's rear sockets.

I intend to use the USB DAC input.

Cardas clear serial bus wires.

 

 

My question is;

1) What is considered an audiophile grade computer?

2) Will the dac clean out any added noise if there is any from the computer?

3) Is the connecting USB wire a consideration?

     

 

 

answers as follows

 

1) there is no exact answer only directionally correct principles. A laptop is rarely a good choice as server to DAC because its hardware architecture is hobbled. But you can use it as a control point for a server. For an off the shelf server solution the sonic Transporters are a good starting server choice, offering great flexibility for music OS/player preference. WAV will make your life harder, some media players will ignore

them because of lack of meta tags.

 

https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/products/sonictransporter-i5?variant=20893269700

 

2) the answer is no. Electrical contaminants in signal and 5v USB are a major problem for good asynch  USB DAC playback. A good power supply is essential as well as an electrically quiet computer. Assuming you have a DC powered server between 5-19v, HDPlex200W is quite good

 

3) yes. Lush 2 USB cable  is a favorite on this site.

[Middy]

For a hundred dollars you can have a purpose pc like a cheap nuc, second hand are cheap. The current thinking is a linux based os but windows with the right software can sound really good.

You can buy a cheap windows key on ebay. You can try  Linux music os  on your laptop if you feel you want a challenge. You could then use your phone  as  a remote. Take your time and read through the threads here we mostly spend more cash but some good advice without big spending. But this is where it always ends up.... second hand market here is reliable...

 

I bought an oppo ha1 5 years ago...i am now down £5600 spent on dacs amps cables 

Fuses headphones power supplies filters decrapifiers deoxit transformers.

 

A good power supply helps but costs a lot, cables stick to a  known spec quality brand low price. Ifi helps a little but are cheap relatively. Isoregen....nice

A headphone amp like the magni3 can really boost sq for low cost of you use headphones...and maybe invest in better headphones if thats your thing. Hifi man mr speakers audeze second hand. Or entry level models....

You can do everything you want now just dont spend a fortune on a usb cable.. that low gain if any for a high price.

Read around, think what the weak link is, a look at alternatives for that budget and look again later...its a steep learning curve that never ends but people are mostly nice and give real hard learned advice here on AS. No silly questions when you dont know, just keep asking and good luck..

 

If you can a local club to try and have people explain thing first hand...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[StephenJK]

On 12/2/2019 at 5:29 PM, sandyk said:

 It may be very worthwhile using an IsoRegen as well.

In my limited experience, those types of devices can only have an effect in systems where the hardware doesn’t include that type of basic filtering or conditioning. 
 

I tried a Regen with the JitterBugs and it did not make one bit of difference. I think that’s better suited for budget systems. 

[improvedsound]

In my opinion, an audiophile grade computer, must designed thinking to the no compromise audio quality. No fan, no switching power supplies, CPU with low TDP but at the same time  powerful. It's very important to choose high quality motherboards

[robocop]

Answers

1) What is considered an audiophile grade computer?

 

This is one example of a very high end audiophile grade computer: http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=4013.0

I don't own any of these but certainly if I could I would. Forget the laptop mind you I started with one and its ok.

But upgrading to a stand alone PC was large sound wise. I now make my own up. Check Music Server topics in this Forum site. I'm following this thread and planning to make a similar version:

 

audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/58514-diy-project-high-performance-audio-pc-with-high-quality-wiring/

 

2) Will the dac clean out any added noise if there is any from the computer? No but the Oppo 205 is a good Dac. Be wary of adding devices in the chain they do change the sound but I'm never convinced its right. Buy a Dac with good design always a better option.

 

3) Is the connecting USB wire a consideration? Yes but don't go mad with large sums of money, I do run the Lush II spoken about in these forums about as far money wise I would go it was a big improvement over the stock standard USB wire that came with the Oppo.

 

Robert

[rando]

1. Any computer used as a base upon which to effect the requisite number of changes you implement for your own listening pleasure.  Whether that is choosing to use what you have, trying everything on the market, or conducting a mad science project without end.
2. Partial answer is all that is possible.  Adding a second device with considerably larger and better implemented handling of power will have an effect.  Not necessarily fitting the loosely structured question as presented.  The amount of noise present from your home's electrical source is certainly a consideration.  We live in an age where there are countless solutions to problems you may not have or have any need to solve.  Half the fun is figuring out if the addition of them fixes a problem you actually have or do anything at all.  Common sense and experimenting will offer much in the way of wisdom.
3. Cable construction makes a bigger difference at either end of the spectrum where atypical methods are most likely to be encountered.  Using a good quality $10 USB cable will take you quite far in price and SQ.  You may have to step up to a custom made one if your needs expand beyond straight connectors in standard lengths etc.  Cable debates are anathema, though I'd say most would take this in the context offered.