Building a DIY Music Server

[Tubeman66]

On 5/27/2022 at 5:15 PM, elan120 said:

I use Neotech copper to connect between my ULPS and server.  Not sure if there are better choice, but it is working nicely for this application.

 

Here is what that cable looks like:

Why not use Neutrik Speakon 4 pole connectors,
only <2 mΩ contact resistor,
and can handle up to 10AWG

[Tubeman66]

28 minutes ago, Nenon said:

I've had some conversations with Emile recently, and he is nearly convinced to sell his custom Mundorf HC caps (220,000 uF) and his Taiko mosfet rectifier to the DIY crowd.

 

The Taiko rectifier was a part of the original recipe for the DIY ULPS and that is what I used in mine. The Saligny was an alternative replacement since Taiko did not want to sell their custom parts. But now that they are focussing on a battery based power supply, those parts are sitting unused, and we can put them to good use. 

 

The custom Mundorf capacitor sounds amazing (after a very very long burn-in time) and it is a space saver. ULPS v3 will look like this: Noratel transformer --> Taiko rectifier --> capacitor --> choke --> capacitor --> choke --> capacitor (220,000 uF). I haven't seen one of the DIY chassis yet (ordered one just before they ran out) but it's very likely that it will all fit nicely in the chassis. 

And a quick note to those using the Noratel transformer - you can remove the softstart and will hear an improvement. But don't do that with other transformers. 

 

It makes no sense to post about stuff that is not obtainable (i.e. custom Paul Hynes LPS comes to mind), and so I avoided talking much about the custom Mundorf capacitor that I got from Taiko, because there were no plans to make this available. But now that Emile is planning to make those available, I can share. That cap brings the v3 ULPS to the next level. It is a lot better than using multiple 22,000uF or 47,000uF Mundorf HC caps. Everything gets better. You just need to have patience for about 4-6 months as that's how long it takes to complete the burn-in process. 

In fact, someone just compared my ULPS (Taiko rectifier and custom Mundorf cap) to a custom Paul Hynes DR7 and reported that everything was better with my ULPS feeding the Taiko ATX. If I can quote one of the several excited messages: "everything is better. Better bass, quieter background, bigger soundstage, more holographic." and "Now I understand. Clear difference between the previous supply and this one.".

I don't know how much of that is due to the Taiko rectifier and the custom Mundorf capacitor, but I know that the custom Mundorf capacitor was a quite significant improvement in my system. 

 

Emile and I also chatted about some other development at Taiko. I know very little (most of the stuff in their R&D lab is kept a secret, and I don't have access to that level of info). And the very little I know I can't share. But if I try to connect some dots, my prediction is that the Taiko USB card might be available to non-Taiko users next year. This is not an official news from Taiko but rather my own guess.  

very interesting !!

 

"Noratel transformer --> Taiko rectifier --> X uF ?--> choke --> X uF ? --> choke --> capacitor (220,000 uF)"

[Tubeman66]

any time schedule when / if the rectifier will be available

[Tubeman66]

1 minute ago, Exocer said:

Exciting!

Can I get in queue for 1 of each item shown above? Interested in why there is a lone 22,000uf 40v Mundorf AG there besides the rectifier board.

 

7 minutes ago, Nenon said:

Received a nicely packed packed from Oldenzaal:

very nice

any price yet ?

[Tubeman66]

 

[Tubeman66]

23 minutes ago, Toymanmark said:

Thank you bit01. I did do a few things in the build that you can’t really see! The caps and coils are mounted on a carbon fiber plate and I used some Trex decking  material ( poor man’s Panzerholtz) to mount 22,000mf cap, coils and also did the same for the Taiko transformer and rectifier. The carbon fiber plate with the caps and coils sit on 3 Synergistic Mig isolation cones. The Mundorf CAW cables are not cut and go directly from rectifier board to Taiko ATX with no break in the cable.(just crimped and soldered to make contact with the caps)

Hopefully we can inspire a few more to build and share, much like I have been inspired from all contributors here!

 

"Mundorf CAW cables are not cut and go directly from rectifier board to Taiko ATX with no break in the cable.(just crimped and soldered to make contact with the caps)"

The right way, Nice done !

 

and if you open the chokes textile tape,
you can unsolder the multi-wire cables and make a direct connection on the core wire of the choke to  CAW cables

[Tubeman66]

On 12/16/2022 at 11:05 PM, Toymanmark said:

And up goes the water bill!

@NenonCongratulations on the new audio room. Sure would love a new audio room myself, so I can get my speakers further away from the wall. The new server build is sounding extremely well. Thanks again Nenon and all other main contributors.

It had been a very long time since I had done any changes to my system. So to say the least this server is so much better than my last DIY server! After 2 weeks of 24|7 play was a huge turning point in its presentation and is getting better every day. This was all before adding Jcat Ethernet & USB XE cards and Sablon Evo USB cable. Motherboard USB and Jcat Femto Ethernet card was what I started with. I still have a lot to do and looking for some guidance! I am running Euphony V4 and just wanted to double check on CPU isolation for the dual Xeon 4210 CPU’s. They are 10 core each. So would this be what I put in under CPU isolation: 1-3 stylus 4-9 gstp 10-19

I ask because under CPU temperature settings within Euphony it says CPU % 0-39

So should I put it in as something like this: 0-8 stylus 9-19 gstp 20-39

Any insight for this new Euphony user would be greatly appreciated. 
 

The other next step for me is separate power supply for Jcat cards 1. Ethernet XE 2. Jcat USB XE card 3. Jcat Nvme m.2 OS drive. Sean Jacobs power supply would be ideal but at $7500! I was thinking of getting a couple of DC4 regulator modules and feeding them each with the Lifepo4 20a/h batteries I already have. I also have several Mundorf caps and Vcap bypass caps. Nenon do you know what the input voltage range is on the Sean Jacobs voltage regulator’s. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

Recommend to try some different fixed CPU frequency settings in Euphony , A while ago I tried V4 and found a nice sweet spot of 1700/1800 Mhz for Dual 4210/ASUS Sage

[Tubeman66]

To consider when feeding the Jcat USB board from the Molex or 2.1 DC socket,
Remember that there are two different circuits with different capacitors,
Differences may be due to the capacitors not being stabilized/burned in

 

There is also better metal in the DC connector,
Homogeneous brass
Molex pins are made of thin sheet metal

[Tubeman66]

This DC plug is recommended for DIY Cables made of billet copper/brass
in my opinion better than Oyaide,

 

VIBORG DC21G Jack DC 5.5/2.1mm Connector Gold Plated Ø9mm - Audiophonics

[Tubeman66]

Thought I would give a slightly advanced and valuable tip to those who have ASUS SAGE and Dual 4210, this only applies to this combination.
BIOS/AI Tweaker
Try fixed value instead of auto for VDDQ_A-M memory voltage and VCORE1/VCORE2  CPU Core voltage.
You can see these values under Monitor in the bios
Most memory is 1.2-1,5V and VCORE1,2 is 1.7 fore Xeon Silver 4210

[Tubeman66]

A Small tip
Buy an SFP NIC that is based on the intel i210 chip
Download the installation script for Takio SFP NIC
Then you have a really good solution for a fraction of what the Taiko NIC costs

And it sounds wonderful

 

Have compared it with Startech SFP NIC
and the Intel card sounds much better

 

 

 

Digitus 10160 SFP Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express Card Network Interface Controller : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

 

[Tubeman66]

(4) Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème | What's Best Audio and Video Forum. The Best High End Audio Forum on the planet! (whatsbestforum.com)

[Tubeman66]

22 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

and on another note, these appear fairly generic network settings...pretty sure I came across some of these when adjusting the firmware settings of the Solarflare card....lemme check... 

There is no such thing as general settings for a network card, all are purposeful and specific for each area of use,
And all values can both improve and degrade the sound

[Tubeman66]

14 hours ago, baconbrain said:

Good one! Any heat issues with the Digitus Card and which SFP module are you using?

No heat problems,

I have never had any heat problems with Nic in either server or CAPS computers,
But I have exclusively used Intel Nic all these years
everything from 350, 520,540, 720 series both SFP and RJ45

[Tubeman66]

14 hours ago, baconbrain said:

Good one! Any heat issues with the Digitus Card and which SFP module are you using?

"which SFP module are you using?"

Only Genuine Cisco SFP:s
GLC-LH-SMD with FNS s/n,,,(made by Finisar)
and Startech SFP1000ZXST

[Tubeman66]

23 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

another question, did you compare the intel card before and after the Taiko script?

Hard to say
as I have quite a lot of my own settings for my network card

[Tubeman66]

5 hours ago, Nenon said:

1GbE

 

The Taiko NIC and switch combo sounds amazing, at least with the Taiko Extreme. IMO, this is the best product Taiko has released so far. But it's not just the NIC as a standalone product, but the whole package. I would not buy the NIC without the switch. The switch consumes less power than an OCXO clock when using a DAC cable. The combo significantly brings down the noise floor. It sounds more dynamic, more realistic, bass gets a lot better, etc.  

 

I have also suggested to a few people to look at the installation script and try some of those settings. There are equivalent settings for Linux as well. Surprised no one has posted about that yet :).

All settings from Takio NIC Script are applicable to almost all Intel Nic,

[Tubeman66]

If you get too many red warnings when you run the Powershell script, remember that you must disconnect the Fiber/RJ45 connector from the network card, otherwise not all values will be changed,
And the easiest way to run the script is to change the file extension of the ps script to txt and open it with a text editor, then start cmd promt and then type powershell,
copy the script in script.txt and paste in the powershell cmd

[Tubeman66]

13 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

most NIC cards are designed for server rooms...so they tend to run hot at ambient temp since server rooms are freezing cold...

I'm having to adapt the Solarflare x2522 with heatsink and heatpipes or it'll cut out in 5 minutes flat due to temp issues.

 

 

Would say so
Because there are lots of NICs that are meant for workstations and desktops that sit in the common office environment
And it's not that cold in a server hall
it is usually between 16-22 degrees C

 

I have never experienced such problems more than once when I bought a fake Intel card from China / Ebay,

Most often such problems are due to incorrect implementation and mismatch of PCIe Gen1/2/3/4 card slots and card and power management settings in Bios

[Tubeman66]

I used exclusively cisco switches. 
Can recommend ws3560C modified for LPS

[Tubeman66]

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

It doesn't really make a lot of sense to use a DAC cable unless you are using the Taiko switch. The Taiko switch is optimized for ultra low power consumption and lower latency and the DAC cable is part of it. 

 

The DAC cable does not have any isolation, and noise easily passes between the switch and the server. It's better to use a RJ45 ethernet cable as the signal on the RJ45 ethernet cable typically goes through small isolation devices (mini transformers). They probably can't do miracles but are usually better than using a straight wire (like the DAC cable does). 

Fiber vs DAC vs Ethernet, what to choose in a data center? | Blogs La Salle | Campus Barcelona (salleurl.edu)

 

dac cables vs fiber - Sök på Google

 

Some good info

[Tubeman66]

3 hours ago, SK8 said:

Thanks for the good tip. Have you considered connecting your i210 NIC card to a switch with SFP ports using a DAC cable, just like the Taiko switch? 

 

This is one of the SFP switches I can find, anyone knows any other high quality ones in the market?

 

https://mikrotik.com/product/crs305_1g_4s_in

 

 

Buy a DAC cable and try it!

 

if you like the sound then keep it