Building a DIY Music Server

[MarcelNL]

So finally my chokes should arrive this week....did anyone experiment crimping AND soldering Molex pins to find out if there is any sonic benefit? In car electronics soldering is frowned upon due to the risk of cable breakage due to vibration, here not an issue.

 

Crimping should be good enough but I have never compared crimping then soldering to just crimping (with decent crimping pliers that is)

[MarcelNL]

the hypex module comes with some info; https://www.audiophonics.fr/fr/softstart-et-protection/hypex-module-softstart-pour-amplificateurs-p-1616.html

[MarcelNL]

11 minutes ago, RDOK said:

 

En op de Hypex website vind je een volledige beschrijving om te downloaden:

 

https://www.hypex.nl/product/softstart-module/38

 

de link naar de beschrijving zelf:

 

Softstart_02xx_R3.pdf

 

Indeed, the manual can also be downloaded at the audiophonics site I linked

[MarcelNL]

Are you referring to the first capacitor after the rectifier? That is where the ripple current always is going to be highest, it's the ripple current after the last capacitor that counts.

 

 

[MarcelNL]

high current caps should be able to cope, or you can try  an LCLC config?

 

[MarcelNL]

so, I finally got the PSU components in house, I'm just a bit puzzled by the power in Molex plug for the Taiko ATX....does anyone know what type that is? 

[MarcelNL]

forget it , it's a PCI-E cable connector, I sprang one loose of an old PSU harness :-)

[MarcelNL]

Does nobody wonder how that Saligny active rectifier can be fotted with the tiny connectors it has? I do, and even more when pondering how I shall connect it to the transformer secondary winding....soldering 2mm in diameter to something like 5mm diameter??

 

 

[MarcelNL]

I am so used to hardwiring due to building tube amps that I cannot bring myself to use a PCB for this purpose....I'm mostly puzzled by the size of the Saligny's legs when considering it can do 20A continuous....those legs must be glowing at that current...

[MarcelNL]

so the prototype PSU build is done, steady 36.1 V DC (without load)

500VA Toroidy, Saligny rectifier, Neotech UP OCC in 14AWG (single stretch for now)

Two Rifa 169  in 47.00uF , two Lundahl LL2773 in CMR and finally a Mundorf HC 47.000uF, no bypasses just yet.

 

[MarcelNL]

NOt there yet, but the ATX module is now connected to my 36V, no magic smoke or anything else to show for....I tried to see if the 12V rails are powered but these only show 0.5V but that SATA connector has 5V....

For lack of any description is that JMPR 01 needed for anything or is connecting the EPS and ATX cables enough to allow me to use the MB pushbutton to power on and off?

 

(still working on the EPS and ATX cables.. or I'd simply try)

[MarcelNL]

15 minutes ago, Tatomek7 said:

I will repeat what @Nenon already said, wiring matters a lot, so consider to do that once and good. I know it's difficult to not check immediately, how it will sound, but if you will change wiring after, you will go through burn in process twice. BTW DC connection to Taiko ATX also impacts on sound ( a lot ). I just changed that few days ago and I was surprised, how big impact it has. 

 

 

I already had Vcaps ( x 3 ), KBG ( x 4 or 5 ) Mundorf Supreme SGO ( x 2 ) and Miflex KPCU ( x2 ). Each of them impacts on the final sound signature. VCaps gives lot of space, details, micro information, Miflex gives more bottom and reduces micro information. So, rolling them you can voice the ULPS to your liking. At the moment I have 1Vcap, 1 KBG, 1 Mundorf and 2 x Miflex. Still no 100% my cup of tea.

 

Duly noted! And I agree with what you say, it is just that I want to save myself the trouble of doing yet another full wire harness once I make the final case for the beast...the last Cap has three wires (6 actually)into the  Taiko ATX.

 

Bypassing will be a task for after burn in and I know what that can do from previous experience building and using a Le Monstre amp...I've got a pretty wide range of potentials available and testing will be extensive. (if only a computer would be less sensitive so I could swap caps while listening (using some alligator clips), powering down, listening, burn-in, listening, power down, next iteration....time consuming!

[MarcelNL]

BTW; did you try a Jupiter beeswax cap for bypass?

[MarcelNL]

I was not aware of that fact, thanks!

 

 

[MarcelNL]

I have lift off, not listened to the system yet but Daphile works and is playing music...first listening will be done during an audio gathering with some friends, which is good as I'm deaf in one ear with a constant high pitched tone due to a cold and won't hear any difference anyway. Listening to music last night gave me the impression things might be sounding good (standard PSU) but that was all....

[MarcelNL]

First impression is : WOW....one good ear and all taken in to account...

[MarcelNL]

10 hours ago, oneguy said:

About how much thermal paste do you guys estimate I’ll need for the CPU and the heatpipes?

I used one full syringe of 10g for my build, you may need a bit more

[MarcelNL]

So the feedback was that it sounded ridiculously good, not as digital was supposed to sound at all ;-)  (3 Vinyl enthusiasts can be a difficult crowd). Today we learned that the neighbours also thought it sounded good.

Hope to regain my hearing this week as I'm very curious, the bright side is that burn-in can happen during my bench penalty.

 

The few fragments when I was able to hear a bit sounded promising with loads of overtones and great tonal separation, one remark was "I can hear much deeper into the music, with many details I never knew were there but they now stand out"

I heard effortless dynamics without hints of glare that were still present with the previous PSU(Corsair AX1200i)

 

Listening was done on two open baffles with KL405 fullrange units, an Audio Note 300B amp that is a nice amp but nothing special, we briefly rolled some tubes to quickly revert to the original mercury vapor rectifier after testing a Russian 'komrad' of the original.

[MarcelNL]

Looks great!

 

Why Aluminium? My experience is that gear sounds better in a non Metal case...I plan on using Panzerholz with EMI treatment on the inside to build a case, PSU in the bottom and MB on top.

[MarcelNL]

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

Be careful with that EMI absorbing stuff. It sucks the life out of the music when too much is used. And too much was not much at all in my experience. 

We auditioned a ton of different EMI blockers, and found one that works well and keeps the sound alive! Agree that it can take the life out of the music easily

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

 

[MarcelNL]

@oneguy Does the MB only have 3 PCIe slots but 5 (!) NVME slots?

 

[MarcelNL]

Hmm, that is not great...one for the external network, one I2S out and a graphics card....and the I2S card is quite thick.

[MarcelNL]

7 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Your list is not the same as the original list by @oneguy

 

See the original list here

sure, I was referring to my own build thinking about an eventual upgrade (where I need the AMD socket version anyway) ..and not likely before M5 is released

[MarcelNL]

I looked at various comparisons and decided the 1 'C is not worth bothering TOO MUCH about, I'm currently using Noctua NT-H2 

[MarcelNL]

I'm still deaf in one ear, but can clear it for some minutes at a time now; what I'm hearing is VERY good! 

Dynamics, as well as inky black backgrounds, overtones in spades, it will surprise me if this does not sound ridiculously good once my hearing is re-instated!

 

I now want to do a comparison against a really good TT and cartridge (think highest echelons), as I reckon both have their strong points but neither will win hands down

 

Up to ordering Panzerholz for the case, the rest of the parts is in house already.