Building a DIY Music Server

[seeteeyou]

On 2/19/2020 at 12:32 PM, Nenon said:

I have been testing the JCAT Signature LAN Cable GOLD. It's really good.

 

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/jcat-signature-gold-lan-cable.29888/#post-634557

Quote

Then comes the top performers, the SR Galileo SX and the JCat Signature Gold. To me, they were pretty much on the same level despite slightly different sound signature.

 

$2,995

https://www.synergisticresearch.com/cables/galileo-sx/galileo-sx-digital/galileo-sx-ethernet/

 

€1,100
https://jcat.eu/product/signature-lan-cable/

[seeteeyou]

IMHO a comparison between USB cables and Ethernet cables would be quite a challenge.

[seeteeyou]

15 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Did you manage to find a price for the DFI GH171?

 

$479
http://www.nextwarehouse.com/item/?2949068

 

$513
https://www.dfi-itox.com/estore/gh171-v1202b-bundle.html

 

$536
https://www.dfi-itox.com/estore/gh171-v1605b-bundle.html

 

$641
https://www.dfi-itox.com/estore/gh171-v1756b-bundle.html

 

$766
https://www.dfi-itox.com/estore/gh171-v1807b-bundle.html

 

$769.99
https://www.amazon.com/DFI-ITOX-GH171-V1807-Industrial-Mini-ITX-Motherboard/dp/B0831RFH85

[seeteeyou]

Bingo, with that kinda money I'd rather get EPYC Embedded that's quite a bit closer to a server-class CPU

 

https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/amd/epyc_embedded/3101

https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/M11SDV-4CT-LN4F

https://www.servethehome.com/supermicro-m11sdv-4ct-ln4f-review-low-cost-amd-epyc-3101/

 

$418.59
https://www.provantage.com/supermicro-mbdm11sdv4ctln4fb~7SUPM661.htm

 

$450.00
https://www.gamepc.com/shop/products?sku=M11SDV-4CT-LN4F

 

$453.99
https://www.amazon.com/SuperMicro-M11SDV-4CT-LN4F-Mini-ITX-Motherboard-Processor/dp/B07QS5Q8RP

[seeteeyou]

5 hours ago, hols said:

Hopefully when the Coronavirus situation got more stabilised we can arrange more audiophiles to listen. And I must thank SeeTeeYou for his posts on the Buffalo switch.

 

Many thanks for your kind words.

 

Something new will be available from JCAT in the future, maybe their NET CARD XE could be yet another potential candidate for further improvements?

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/3543-tidal-playback-with-bubbleupnpjplay-femto/#entry52208

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In my system TIDAL outperforms local files now. Not by a small margin. Sth that not that far ago I thought would not happen.

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/3543-tidal-playback-with-bubbleupnpjplay-femto/#entry52209

Quote

Thanks to this guy over here:

 

Regarding that 25MHz OCXO clock, @romaz already talked about the following SiTIME SiT5711A several months ago

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/644/?tab=comments#comment-1039516  

On 3/31/2020 at 6:40 AM, romaz said:

According to Marcin, it uses a new OCXO rated at 5ppb but what he found to be the more important characteristic is that this clock is somehow immune to vibrations.  Apparently but not surprisingly, Marcin and his OEM (Adnaco) found that a high performance clock in a vibratory environment has the potential to perform more poorly than a lower performance clock in a vibration-free environment and so while others may be touting OCXOs with better lab measurements under ideal conditions, this card was designed to function optimally under real world conditions.

 

Minimum quantities from Digi-Key turned out to be 100 per order, though other links seemed to have specify 1 instead

 

https://www.digikey.com/products/en?FV=-5|73188

 

Tape & Reel (TR) Packaging

https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-mw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

Cut Tape (CT) Packaging

https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-qw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

Digi-Reel Packaging

https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-tw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

1-220MHz恒温晶振OCXO 高精度±5ppb 9x7mm尺寸 SIT5711 SIT5712

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=585481394277

 

If that particular $108.38 pricing from Element Search (located @ California) were true and no counterfeit products were involved, then it wouldn't cost THAT much more when compared to this Connor-Winfield OH4610LF inside either Buffalo BS-GS2016 or SOtM sNH-10G modified by Ediscreation

 

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/connor-winfield/OH4610LF-025.0M/CW899-ND/5641634

 

---

 

Once we've got access to more than one network card on each machine, then we could consider something similar to this IPv4 / IPv6 segmentation

 

https://asoyaji.blogspot.com/2020/01/hqplayer.html

 

I believe that Matthew could figure out how to bind that JCAT NET CARD XE to HQPlayer / NAA processes exclusively while everything else would go through LOB (LAN on Board) accordingly

 

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/210982/bind-unix-program-to-specific-network-interface

https://superuser.com/questions/241178/how-to-use-different-network-interfaces-for-different-processes

 

Users of Windows 10 should be able to take advantage of something like that as well

 

https://r1ch.net/projects/forcebindip

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/bind-windows-application-to-specific-network-adapter-with-forcebindip

 

---

 

If you're having enough ViaBlue EP-7S and Telegärtner MFP8 CAT.8.1 connectors, maybe I'll bring 4 boxes to visit you after the pandemic and let's have some fun with this DC PoE (passive PoE for 5V / 12V etc.)

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/666/?tab=comments#comment-1059624

[seeteeyou]

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/sotm-snh-10g-network-switches-x2-the-new-king-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-17#post-620191

Quote

I do have the Duelund cap modded in the Sotm, which i feel imparts a strong sonic flavour of what such a quality cap brings.

 

You will void your warranty doing that, but am more than certain the improvements are above a Evox cap mod.

 

Speaking of caps, these guys turned out to cost £195 + VAT a pop these days

 

https://www.facebook.com/duelundcoherentaudio/videos/1161271837561490

https://www.facebook.com/duelundcoherentaudio/posts/3707228172640409

https://www.facebook.com/duelundcoherentaudio/posts/3752379124791980

 

Could they perform (MUCH?) better when compared to MLytic AG by any chance?

 

https://hfc-fs.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/duelund_pure_silver_cast_capacitors_-_review_by_j_audio_research.pdf

http://www.jimmyauw.com/2010/03/23/the-most-awaited-duelund-cast-silver-capacitor/

http://www.jimmyauw.com/2010/03/28/my-aikido-with-duelund-cast-silver-installed/

http://www.jimmyauw.com/2010/04/03/duelund-cast-ag-cast-silver-early-hours-impression/

http://www.jimmyauw.com/2010/08/16/battle-of-three-capacitors/

http://www.jimmyauw.com/2013/06/06/duelund-vsf-cast-silver-lead-out-upgrade/

http://www.aca.gr/index/hiend/hiendArticles?row=2253

http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Cap.html

 

And then let's imagine how that would sound with Mundorf Silver Gold Foil

 

http://www.hifi168.com/bbs/showtopic.aspx?topicid=237526&postid=3502892#3502892

[seeteeyou]

AFAIK the only (affordable) game in town for EPYC should be TureMetal UP10 (5,298 RMB / $775) from China plus an additional 600 RMB for their own custom-made heat sink

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=590791895684

Quote

2.特殊的CPU，例如AMD 霄龙EPYC服务器CPU，或者AMD 第三代线程撕裂者、或者LGA3647铂金至强处理器。测绘建模设计制造，一条龙服务，仅600元。

 

A Super Fanless Chassis from TureMetal: For DIY & 0 db Workstations

https://www.anandtech.com/show/14562/turemetal-fanless-chassis-for-diy-highend-pcs

Quote

By contrast, the UP10 can house an ATX mainboard. Furthermore, the UP10 can remove 120 ~ 180 W of heat from a CPU as well as 170 ~ 250 W of heat from a GPU, enough for HEDT processors and top-of-the-range graphics cards.

 

TureMetal Builds a Fanless 32-Core EPYC PC with an RTX 2070

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15261/turemetal-fanless-pc-epyc-rtx-2080

Quote

The fanless system built by Turemetal is powered by AMD’s 32-core EPYC 7551 processor, listed as having a 180 W TDP, and GIGABYTE’s NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 video card with a 175 W TDP (355W total). These are both equipped into a Supermicro ATX motherboard, and then built inside a commercially available Turemetal UP10 chassis.

 

Dimensions of the motherboard must be under 30.5x32.5cm and therefore UP10 won't work for Asus WS C621E SAGE with 30.5x33.0cm at all.

[seeteeyou]

Hi @ASRMichael, maybe wait for this one instead since the TDP of i9-9900K ain't that high to begin with

 

Noctua's Monster Fanless High-TDP Cooler Delayed to 2021: Roadmap

https://www.techpowerup.com/270423/noctuas-monster-fanless-high-tdp-cooler-delayed-to-2021-roadmap

 

Noctua Readies High-Performance Fanless Heatsink Building on 2019 Prototype

https://www.techpowerup.com/267437/noctua-readies-high-performance-fanless-heatsink-building-on-2019-prototype

Quote

For starters, last year's prototype was capable of handling 120 W TDP in PC cases with good natural ventilation, and up to 180 W in cases with quiet fans.

 

And then here's a little something

 

http://www.turemetal.com/about_en.html

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Turmetal found by Chinese Overclocking Player&Professional hardware Reporter&Player Huang Chunhui.(Mical.Wong) in Shanghai.

 

https://fortune.com/2020/08/08/china-2020-floods-economy-gdp/

Quote

Fed by torrential rains, the flooding threatened to unleash humanitarian and economic catastrophe on the 480 million residents and sprawling metropolises—Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing—that sit in the Yangtze's 700,000-square mile basin, an area that accounts for one-third of China’s annual economic output.

 

[seeteeyou]

@ASRMichael I saw 4.7GHz @ 96 °C / 150.212W here

 

https://twitter.com/LinusTech/status/1134436003639283712

 

Maybe 5.0GHz could get away with stuff like this but most likely they don't sell the chassis separately

 

https://fit-iot.com/web/products/mintbox3/mintbox3-pro-specifications/

 

Or CUDA offloading could help quite a bit?

 

https://www.palit.com/palit/vgapro.php?id=3494

[seeteeyou]

FYI - it's interesting to read what Marcin posted about his storage options with this pseudo-SLC drive

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/3543-tidal-playback-with-bubbleupnpjplay-femto/#entry52374

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Apacer SLC SSD for OS (industrial extended temp. range)  64GB
APRO pSLC SSD for music (industrial extended temp. range)

 

And then I also found a way to get some affordable SLC SSDs (Samsung 983 ZET) that used to be bloody expensive

 

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13951/the-samsung-983-zet-znand-ssd-review

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-983-zet-z-nand-optane-ssd,6036.html

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8911/samsung-983-zet-nand-ssd-review/index.html

https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/global.semi.static/Data_Center_SSD.Product_Brief.pdf#page=3

 

Insanely fast random 4K read

 

https://www.chiphell.com/thread-2181968-1-1.html

 

Fairly decent prices for *REAL* SLC (not like others with only SLC cache, actually 983 ZET is powered by 1.5GB LPDDR4 DRAM buffer) drives, 480GB / 960GB = 1500 RMB / 3000 RMB (i.e. about $220 / $440) respectively and obviously 5-year warranty should be only valid in China

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=611290937826

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=611504434170

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=611541110671

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=611604755453

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=615556705541

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=617470212661

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=620358612099

 

Here's what I found on fleBay

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-983-ZET-Series-960GB-NVMe-HHHL-SSD-MZ-PZA960BW-/133440891393

https://www.ebay.com/itm/480GB-Samsung-SSD-PCIE-983zet-MZ-PZA480BW-SLC-10DWPD-Solid-State-Dirve-SLC-/313070600674

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-960GB-PCIe-x4-3-1-NVMe-HHHL-983-ZET-Z-SSD-Z-NAND-SLC-Solid-State-Drive-/283741438197

 

IMHO they should be awesome storage options for WS C621E SAGE etc. since all on-board USB / LAN / SATA / M.2 ports are connected to the chipset, therefore *ALL* PCIe slots and U.2 ports are connected to both CPUs directly

 

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/Socket3647/WS_C621E_SAGE/Manual/E16279_WS_C621E_SAGE_UM_V7_WEB.pdf#page=119

 

To power Samsung 983 ZET externally, not sure if stuff like this with Mini SAS HD cable were able to do the trick?

 

http://www.linkreal.com.cn/en/products/LRFC6911.html

And then here's another adapter with USB type-C

 

http://www.linkreal.com.cn/en/products/LRNVC362.html

[seeteeyou]

 

 

 

FYI - another owner of Telegärtner M12 Gold Switch in Japan compared that to JS PC Audio HFS1155, both switches turned out to perform on the same level and then he also bought the latter one right away

 

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/sotm-snh-10g-network-switches-x2-the-new-king-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-21#post-625621

 

Industrial version of Telegärtner M12 here

 

https://www.goyou.jp/shop/g/g41338100/

https://telegaertner.co.jp/product/network_device/industrial_swiching_hub/ip67_gigabit_eathernet_switch.html

 

Here's an Ethernet card with M12 X-coded connectors

 

https://www.facebook.com/Neousystech/posts/2343731309065648

https://www.neousys-tech.com/en/product/application/mobile-surveillance-system/pcie-poe312m-m12-x-coded-gbe-card

[seeteeyou]

FYI - here's a little something for the fans of stripped-down Windows 10 LTSC 2019

 

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/3063-pink-hq-minorityclean/page-31

 

So far the latest MinorityClean Rev. 56 seemed to be the champion

 

http://www.mics.ne.jp/~coolverse/MinorityClean/MinorityClean_2020_Rev56_x64.zip

http://jplay.eu/forum/index.php?/topic/3063-pink-hq-minorityclean/page-31#entry52623

Quote

MC52: Lacks the clarity and purity of MC51, emphasised presence. Exciter effect is back. Reminds me of MC47, but harsher, with worse stereo imaging.

 

MC53: More exciting than 51, with more presence, but in a good way, and with MUCH better bass and sub bass. The kicks are hitting me like I'm standing in front of a perfectly tuned DW kick drum. No other version of MC has done that so far. Also better stereo imaging. All this is done with just a very small reduction of clarity and purity of 51. Damn, MC51 actually sounds boring after listening to MC53.

 

MC54: This one have more presence and bass than MC53, but is is also clearer and more pure! Wow! The highs and lows might me increased too much, I'm not sure. My speakers have naturally plenty of bass and air so it might be that. Also, there is an increase in loudness, but I think this is actually just an increase of perceived volume due to more bass and presence, not an actual compression.

 

MC55: Even more presence than MC54, but also such an incredible increase in clarity and purity I don't mind. It still doesn't feel excessive for some reason. It doesn't soudn harsher, but more open instead.

 

MC56: Even more clarity and purity than MC55, and finally also bit less presence / less emphasis on highs. Better bass also, MC56 feels more extended / deeper in lows than any other version of MC. The stereo imaging is almost holographic. Perfect! I'm keeping MC56. 

 

When evaluating different versions of MC, make sure you always properly kill the old instance, sometimes the MC will stay running, and is not visible in Task Manager, and running two instances of MC at once does some really weird things to the sound.

 

[seeteeyou]

12 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Interesting yet again - I really enjoyed the sound of LTSC, but I couldn't get JPLAY to work.  Any other upnp windows playback software alternatives?

 

Audiophile UPnP Renderer w/ Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/38949-audiophile-upnp-renderer-for-windows/

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

 

---

 

12 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Would be good to see an install / config process of Minority Clean.

 

There's no need to install anything, simply extract the executable and that's all

 

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/my-digital-audio-journey-so-far.8841/page-2#post-287068

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FYI: Minorityclean runs as a background service. Double click it and you'll see it in the task manager. Once it's up and running it'll do its job. Just restart your music player and enjoy.

 

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/my-digital-audio-journey-so-far.8841/page-2#post-287068

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To disable Minorityclean, just remove the task from windows task manager and restart your music player.

 

@StreamFidelity also started another German thread here

 

https://www.aktives-hoeren.de/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=11148

 

---

 

FYI - Rev. 57 of MinorityClean just came out (mirror)

 

http://www.mics.ne.jp/~coolverse/MinorityClean/MinorityClean_2020_Rev57_x64.zip

[seeteeyou]

 

 

Well, maybe there's a way to demonstrate the differences among switches by using an objectivist's tool?

 

https://deltaw.org/DeltaWaveSetup.zip

 

So far significant differences were found between 2 Linux distros

 

https://www.symphonic-mpd.com/forum/topic/126/deltawave

https://www.symphonic-mpd.com/release/files/deltawave_comparison_20200918.zip

 

And then we've got more comparisons here

 

http://mimizukobo.sakura.ne.jp/articles/articles029.html#001

 

---

 

Easy Ways to Record Windows Audio (Loopback)

https://forum.reasontalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=305913

https://jackaudio.org/faq/jack_on_windows.html

 

We could use ALSA loopback driver for recording audio files under Linux

 

https://superuser.com/questions/597227/linux-arecord-capture-sound-card-output-rather-than-microphone-input/597230#597230

[seeteeyou]

Not exactly easy to acquire BS-GS2016 these days unless we're willing to import them from their country of origin.

 

Regarding the motherboard, maybe it kinda depends on the cost of motherboard itself since it's a bit too risky to fry an expensive one?

 

And then we also have to figure out where the on-board Ethernet is connected to, perhaps its original 25 MHz clock ain't worth the replacement if that were connected to the PCH? Sometimes we're lucky to find something that's connected the CPU directly but it might not be that common to begin with.

 

Ultimately we still have to take this into consideration if local files were all we need for a motherboard with BMC (baseboard management controller)

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/656/?tab=comments#comment-1053701

On 5/22/2020 at 3:11 PM, darkfrank said:

I must say that even I'm already using the Telegartner M12 switch, by using ROON to play local file only, unplug the network cable still improve the SQ for about ~20%.

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/699/?tab=comments#comment-1077821

On 9/4/2020 at 12:56 AM, austinpop said:

Disconnected is best: My preferred mode of listening is local playback (from local SSD) using HQPlayer, with the network disconnected. Not only does this sound sublime, but it forms a reference for what the network chain needs to achieve.

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/58164-building-a-diy-music-server/page/32/?tab=comments#comment-1082113

On 9/29/2020 at 1:55 PM, Nenon said:

But do we really need to spend that much money to buy both? I am not really sure. Even with both of these switches connected to my system, playing local files completely disconnected from the network sounded best. 

 

---

 

OTOH, we could also put our switches between the music server and the USB DAC instead

 

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/sotm-snh-10g-network-switches-x2-the-new-king-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-19#post-621571

[seeteeyou]

Wise words from Emile

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/616/?tab=comments#comment-1014096

On 12/16/2019 at 7:37 AM, romaz said:

You really want the least possible variation in load, and higher cpu power / bandwidth systems are better at that with very low load music playback processes."

 

https://www.nas.nasa.gov/assets/pdf/papers/NAS_Technical_Report_NAS-2014-01.pdf

Quote

One of the desirable features associated with InfiniBand, another network fabric technology, is its Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) capability. RDMA allows for communication between systems but can bypass the overhead associated with the operating system kernel, so applications have reduced latency and much lower CPU utilization. This results in much faster network performance rates than traditional TCP/IP.

 

At some point maybe we've gotta leave TCP/IP behind since they aren't any good for our CPU(s) in terms of the least variation in load. Hopefully RDMA / RoCE / iWARP could get us one step closer to the "ideal" conditions of being unplugged / disco.

 

---

 

On the software side, there's a way to bypass the TCP/IP stack altogether

 

https://www.symphonic-mpd.com/forum/topic/97/rpi4版-v1-0系のサポートはこちら/300

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一つは「カーネルのTCP/IPスタックをバイパス」すること。

 

Even both IP header and UDP header could be omitted

 

https://www.symphonic-mpd.com/forum/topic/97/rpi4版-v1-0系のサポートはこちら/302

Quote

直結に限定すれば、IPヘッダ・UDPヘッダを省くことも技術的には可能です。

 

Speaking of the least variation in load, IMHO most Linux distros and even stripped-down Windows 10 LTSC 2019 couldn't get anywhere close to this guy

 

https://audiodigitale.eu/?p=228

Quote

I built SqueezeCore because I needed a lightweight, minimal, plug&play OS to use it as a squeezelite player. The whole OS is 17MB and when running it occupies around 60MB of RAM; SqueezeCore must be installed on a USB drive and will run completely in RAM.

 

[seeteeyou]

That's Juniper SRX300 with the same BCM53343 (Broadcom Hurricane 2 SoC)

 

https://www.juniper.net/us/en/products-services/security/srx-series/srx300/

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/665/?tab=comments#comment-1058809

 

Last year used ones were like about 100 bucks each but now it's much more than that

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Juniper-SRX300-Networks-Services-Gateway-Security-Appliance/224174905635

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/a-bunch-of-juniper-srx300-firewalls-dumped-cheap.23928/

Quote

Last week there were ~30 auctioned, and another ~30 this week. They all start at $95 and end between $120-140.

 

Though Buffalo did make their own wired router (with a different SoC?)

 

https://product.rakuten.co.jp/product/-/16f909880dac0a27ce97a24c59719b3c/

https://www.amazon.co.jp/バッファロー-VR-S1000-BUFFALO-IPsec対応-VPNルーター/dp/B00H2E882E

 

---

 

At the end of the day we just want something with relatively low power consumption while all on-board regulators could be replaced easily, stuff like RPi could be an interesting option

 

https://www.runeaudio.com/forum/3x-powersupply-for-rpi-t4141-10.html#p18674

https://www.runeaudio.com/forum/3x-powersupply-for-rpi-t4141-50.html#p22497

https://www.runeaudio.com/forum/3x-powersupply-for-rpi-t4141-70.html#p25808

http://www.easyaudiokit.com/bekkan/Raspberry/Raspberry2.html

http://www.headphoneclub.com/thread-694573-1-1.html

http://www.headphoneclub.com/thread-698551-1-1.html

http://www.headphoneclub.com/thread-736184-1-1.html

 

EtherBerry (with separate rails for 5V / 3.3V and its 25 MHz clock could be removed with ease)

http://www.industrialberry.com/etherberry-v1-6/

http://www.industrialberry.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Etherberry_sch.pdf

http://www.industrialberry.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/EtherBerry_Code_v1.6.zip

 

OpenWrt

https://github.com/coolsnowwolf/lede

https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/bcm27xx/bcm2711/

https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/scheduled_for_removal/brcm2708/bcm2711/

 

Running OpenWrt in a Docker container

https://forum.openwrt.org/t/running-openwrt-in-a-docker-container/56049

https://github.com/oofnikj/docker-openwrt/blob/gitlab-rpi/docs/rpi.md

https://hub.docker.com/r/minirailgun/openwrt-aarch64

 

Shield for Optane SSD

http://www.suptronics.com/miniPCkits/x872.html

 

Finally the kernel should be patched in order to improve the latency, and then the kernel frequency could also be changed accordingly

 

https://github.com/sam0402/pcp-8820hz/tree/master/xenomai3

[seeteeyou]

It really means that OCXO / LVCMOS options are limited then, most likely only SiTime @ ±5ppb could have the potential to beat Connor-Winfield @ ±10ppb but the lead time could be unpredictable

 

Quote

±5ppb
10-SMD, No Lead
0.354" L x 0.276" W (9.00mm x 7.00mm)
https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-kw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

±5ppb
6-SMD, No Lead
0.551" L x 0.354" W (14.00mm x 9.00mm)
https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-mw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

±5ppb
4-SMD, No Lead
0.787" L x 0.512" W (20.00mm x 13.00mm)
https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-qw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

±5ppb
7-SMD, No Lead
0.984" L x 0.866" W (25.00mm x 22.00mm)
https://www.elementsearch.com/sitime-sit5711ai-tw-33n-25-000000f-oscillators

 

±10ppb
14-DIP Module, 4 Leads
0.800" L x 0.500" W (20.32mm x 12.70mm)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/connor-winfield/OH4610LF-025-0M/5641634

 

±10ppb
6-SMD, No Lead
0.555" L x 0.358" W (14.10mm x 9.10mm)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/connor-winfield/DOCSC012F-025-0M/7100177

 

±10ppb
14-SMD, No Lead, 4 Leads
0.800" L x 0.500" W (20.32mm x 12.70mm)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/abracon-llc/AOC2012XAJC-25-0000C/9998279

 

±10ppb
5-SMD, No Lead
1.000" L x 0.866" W (25.40mm x 22.00mm)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/raltron-electronics/OX4150A-LZ-1-25-000-3-3-7/10272351

 

±20ppb
6-SMD, No Lead
0.555" L x 0.358" W (14.10mm x 9.10mm)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/connor-winfield/DOCSC022F-025-0M/5399016

 

±20ppb
6-SMD, No Lead
0.555" L x 0.358" W (14.10mm x 9.10mm)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/connor-winfield/DOC020F-025.0M/5322238

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/58899-usb-card-xe-xtreme-edition-usb-audio-output-with-ground-breaking-performance/?tab=comments#comment-1055309

On 5/27/2020 at 6:30 PM, Marcin_gps said:

I've just received an email from Digi-key regarding availability of the OCXO oscillator we use on the USB Card XE. The original shipping date when we placed the order was June, 6th. Now the date is June 30, 2020, with an additional, approximate 6 business days transit from the manufacturer to Digi-Key.

 

The SiT5711 is popular and SiTime has not been able to get ahead of the demand. Regardless, we are pushing to get the oscillators sooner, but it seems that the USB Cards XE will not ship sooner than in July.

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/58899-usb-card-xe-xtreme-edition-usb-audio-output-with-ground-breaking-performance/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-1069548

On 7/22/2020 at 7:46 PM, Marcin_gps said:

The manufacturer of the OCXO (SiTime) delayed the delivery again from July 8 to July 30, but after a conference call with them we managed to expedite the delivery to this week. Once we receive the oscillators, we will start the assembly. Hopefully we will be ship the orders by the end of July. 

 

https://www.eenewsanalog.com/news/apples-role-revealed-lossy-sitime-files-ipo

Quote

However, the filing also reveals that SiTime has been making losses. It reports that SiTime's annual revenue went from $101.1 million in 2017 to $85.2 million in 2018, a drop of 15.7 percent. Sales in the first nine months of 2018 were $62.4 million but fell to $56.0 million in the same period this year. That is a fall of 10.2 percent.

 

For 2017 SiTime declared a net profit of $4.7 milion but that turned into a net loss of $9.3 million in 2018 and for the first nine months of 2019 the net loss is $7.2 million.

 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/08/05/2073654/0/en/SiTime-Reports-Second-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results.html

Quote

In the second quarter of 2020 gross margins were $10.0 million, or 46.5% of revenue, operating expenses were $15.3 million, or 71.0% of revenue, GAAP loss from operations was $5.3 million, or 24.5% of revenue and net loss was $5.6 million, or $0.36 per diluted share.

 

[seeteeyou]

Let's just borrow this from NASA since it's easy to find on Google, the original SGM Extreme was closer to the following setup

 

https://www.nas.nasa.gov/hecc/support/kb/skylake-processors_550.html

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/taiko-audio-sgm-extreme-the-crème-de-la-crème.27433/page-7#post-557810

Quote

It’s the Asus WS C621E Sage with 2X Silver 4114.

 

---

 

And then here's another one that could be compared to the revised version of SGM Extreme

 

https://www.nas.nasa.gov/hecc/support/kb/cascade-lake-processors_579.html

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/taiko-audio-sgm-extreme-the-crème-de-la-crème.27433/page-165#post-640513

Quote

We switched to the 4210 when it was released which "sounds" identical to the 4114. The 4214 does not have the same midrange contrast levels.

 

---

 

Notice the numbers between those pairs of UltraPath Interconnects as shown above. And then here's what we're getting from Ethernet with its PCIe x1 interface

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/59632-optical-networking-sfps/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-1061654

On 6/19/2020 at 7:33 AM, ray-dude said:

The  StarTech PEX1000SFP2 PCIe optical Network card in my Taiko Audio Extreme

 

Basically Ethernet couldn't even hold a candle, ain't it kinda silly to put HQP and NAA on 2 different boxes while they're connected to each other via Ethernet? Of course we've gotta have the right power supplies for a single box, especially 2 excellent 12V rails (i.e. high current ones) for powering both Xeon Scalable processors with 85W TDP. Obviously it's limited to either PCM upsampling or NOS in this case.

 

---

 

BTW, here's an affordable day to compare the differences between single Xeon versus dual Xeon

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/57525-server-and-endpoint-or-dual-cpu-server/?tab=comments#comment-1080109

[seeteeyou]

On 9/9/2020 at 4:40 AM, ASRMichael said:

@seeteeyou the base clock TDP is only 95w, but I run at 5.0ghz with HQ player. So probably around 140w. 

 

https://www.monsterlabo.com/the-beast

https://www.monsterlabo.com/compatibility-the-beast

https://www.monsterlabo.com/page-d-articles/the-beast-batch-2

Quote

The ATX PC case with a dual passive cooling solution able to cool down 600W

 

Certainly NOT the cheapest by any means, though we don't have THAT many choices to begin with IMHO.

[seeteeyou]

I don't know these guys personally, though both owners of UP10 seemed to be running HQP themselves

 

https://post.smzdm.com/p/a99v8zxo/

http://www.headphoneclub.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=735399&page=1#pid5094007

[seeteeyou]

Neutron Star 3 reference clock incl. 230V Low Noise Power Supply (Class 2) and Cables 25.000000 MHz
Neutron Star 3 reference clock incl. Cables 25.000000 MHz
https://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=200

 

Neutrino 2 Reference Clock incl. cables 25.000000 MHz

https://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=168&hv=1

 

Network Switch Upgrade

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/network-switch-upgrade-4616-p.asp

 

Clocks - Precision Low Jitter

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/clocks---precision-low-jitter-143-c.asp

 

Definitely check with them and make sure that's compatible with BS-GS2016 first, the key word here should be LVCMOS.

 

---

 

Neutron Star seemed to be a viable replacement according to several members here, though that would be 24 MHz for USB instead of 25 MHz for Ethernet

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/22187-uptone-audio-regen/page/85/?tab=comments#comment-442146

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/24749-uptone-audio-regen-clock-mod/

 

[seeteeyou]

There were some posts on another thread where the Schröder Method was mentioned

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/665/?tab=comments#comment-1058990

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/702/?tab=comments#comment-1084944

 

Now that we've got dual switches (or more) in series, dual regulators in series, as well as dual Xeon to dedicate a specific (physical) processor for HQP and NAA respectively, what if we're able to get dual DACs to synchronize? NOT talking about a dual-mono design with a pair of DAC chips here, I really do mean playing two "Schröderized" lossless files (will be explained below) on the same dual-Xeon music server followed by two separate units of DAC.

 

We're starting with a single lossless (i.e. in stereo / 2.0) first, and then ending up two separate mono / 1.0 lossless files

 

https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/AudioChannelManipulation

 

After that, each mono file will be "Schröderized" separately. 1st DAC will receive 2X the left-channel and then both RCA / XLR outputs will be connected to left-channel input of the amplifier. Similarly, 2nd DAC will receive 2X the right-channel and then both RCA / XLR outputs will be connected to right-channel input of the amplifier. I guess that maybe monoblocks could reap even more benefits?

 

For 1st DAC →  

 

 ← For 2nd DAC

 

Of course the $64,000 question is whether the ASIO driver could handle 2 identical units of DAC on the same instance of Windows 10 or otherwise. This particular one could even handle 3 units

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/14657-first-multi-channel-dsd-playback-solution-with-mytek/

 

With the right cables maybe we could even go for double-stacking a pair of identical amplifiers?

 

 

A similar but fairly different concept

 

 

Essentially we should be aiming for stuff like a "dual-stereo" setup of some sort, though here's a genuine dual-mono DAC (Esoteric Grandioso D1X) just for reference

[seeteeyou]

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/702/?tab=comments#comment-1084936  

3 hours ago, Nenon said:

But I have also heard from tens of people who have built DC cables, and the feedback has been nothing but excellent. I haven't tried the wire in any other applications as I don't think it's a magic wand that improves everything. I may try multiple runs of it in a power cable one day (with some vibration damping and Bocchino or Furutech NCF connectors).

 

Looking forward to your impressions after you've experimented with this Helix geometry, even 12AWG Copper Neotech SOCT sounded pretty darn good and just imagine what Mundorf's Silver Gold could achieve

 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/duelund-conversion-to-diy-helix-geometry-cabling/post?postid=1999995#1999995

Quote

I have made a few pairs of the DIY Helix IC’s with VH Airlok Copper and its far superior to a Double run of Duelund IC’s I once owned. Its like comparing a Honda to a Ferrari. The DIY Helix also surpassed a pair of $2800 HFC IC’s that I proclaimed as the best cable I had heard under $3k. The people that don’t try these are missing out big time.

 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/duelund-conversion-to-diy-helix-geometry-cabling/post?postid=2000413#2000413

Quote

Not too long ago I had the pricey ($6500) Stealth Indra, Audience SX, HFC CT2 and Schroeder Duelund IC in for a showdown. To my surprise the Duelunds high frequencies were harsher in comparison to all the others and more forward. That might not be the popular results for some, but I know what I was hearing. The smoothest was the HFC CT2 and overall best sounding. Then came along the MIGHTY Helix DIY. Never in a millions years did I think these cables were going to do what they do. Just unbelievable. I can’t thank Steve and Wig enough.

 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/duelund-conversion-to-diy-helix-geometry-cabling/post?postid=2020649#2020649

Quote

 

These Helix cables sound amazingly real and quiet, never heard this level of performance in 30+ years of listening.

 

Myself and five friends replaced our multi-buck cables with these, they worked the same every time in all systems.

 

 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/duelund-conversion-to-diy-helix-geometry-cabling/post?postid=2035467#2035467

Quote

The immediate results were quite noticeable
- improved clarity and dynamics
- improved control and a little deeper bottom end.

 

DIY Power Cables - The "HELIX IMAGE" Power Cable

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/be8de0c383c5434907610d6b55049e69-75.html

 

Assembly of the “HELIX IMAGE DOUBLE/DOUBLE” interconnect...
http://www.image99.net/blog/files/4127b5fe2694586e383104364360373b-74.html

[seeteeyou]

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/page/702/?tab=comments#comment-1085485  

1 hour ago, cool_chris said:

Remember there are few hyper expensive Delund capacitors and Mundorf capacitors in the gigantic power section of the Extreme already so you might want to balance it a little for more transparent effects. 

 

FYI - they really aren't THAT expensive IMHO and there's only one £195 Duelund CAST Silver inside each Extreme

 

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/castdcag010-01uf-630v-duelund-cast-silver-stock-p-9417.html

 

13 pieces of Mundorf MLytic AG were placed next to Duelund and obviously they're quite affordable, and then we could find 2 more nearby but they're still inexpensive

 

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/-c-61_68_182.html

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/-c-61_68_393.html

 

There's a much larger one on the other side that might look more like Mundorf MLytic HC, once again it wouldn't cost too much in the first place

 

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/-c-61_68_236.html

https://www.hificollective.co.uk/catalog/-c-61_68_412.html

https://www.monoandstereo.com/2020/02/taiko-audio-sgm-extreme-experience.html

 

Duelund CAST Silver seemed to be a solid performer, it's just almost nobody was interested other than Taiko Audio 

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/58164-building-a-diy-music-server/page/28/?tab=comments#comment-1078052