Building a DIY Music Server

[matthias]

On 12/13/2022 at 9:48 PM, Superdad said:

The PowerCON connectors are only ever 2-pole and rated to 16A.

 

I modified all my devices with PowerCON 32A. Highly recommended 😀

 

Matt

[lwr]

1 hour ago, matthias said:

 

I modified all my devices with PowerCON 32A. Highly recommended 😀

 

Matt

[Gavin1977]

10 hours ago, Nenon said:

I have other plans for next year but can't share those just yet.

Good stuff - Keep us posted. The  TUBADOUR IV SE looks like a very good DAC for the money.  You must compare your new work in progress DAC against the Aqua La Voce S3 or La Scala - both amazing.

[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

[matthias]

10 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Good stuff - Keep us posted. The  TUBADOUR IV SE looks like a very good DAC for the money.  You must compare your new work in progress DAC against the Aqua La Voce S3 or La Scala - both amazing.

 

Yes, the TUBADOUR IV SE looks very nice. The AQUA La Voce S3 has been launched more than 4 years ago, so I am wondering if a new version is upcoming.

 

There are rumors that Taiko Audio will launch next year a DAC board for the Extreme.

 

Matt

[Nenon]

I was sorting out my garage today and found a box that had some brand new Buffalo BS-GS2016 switches I did not know I had. I think someone asked me to hold 4 switches for him but never followed up on that. 

 

Well, if someone can put them to good use, let me know. I can sell them new or modify them with DC input, good wire, capacitor board, chassis damping, footers, etc. 

 

Also, last call on the Optane 900p cards, before they go on eBay. 

 

Sorry about the shameless plug! 

[Markus87]

Talking about sorting out...

 

I have something really interesting for all DIY Taiko Audio Extreme builders! 🤩

 

I have a full set (12pcs) of 4GB 2666MHz Apacer custom ECC WT RDIMMs still sitting with me that I was able to acquire from @Nenon some time ago. It's the exact same set as he was using in his DIY build and is as close as it get's to Taiko's original custom spec'ed RAM.

 

P/N is D51.23184S.001 which is officially not available for retail sale!

 

The RDIMMs are new and never used as I also went for an original Extreme at the end.

 

I will sell them for the same price that I originally paid.

 

Shipping from Switzerland or Germany, so NO CUSTOMS within the EU or CH!

For EU, payment can be done in EUR, for CH in CHF.

 

Please see the linked advert below and contact me via PM for an inquiry on shipping cost.

 

Markus

 

Quote

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12 x Apacer 4gb 2666MHz ECC WT RDIMMs (D51.23184S.001) for DIY Taiko Audio Extreme

 

 

[Cazzesman]

In a previous music server build I am using the following power supply to power a JCat XE card.

 

Kraftwerk II Fixed Output | gieseler    5V/2Amp

 

My recent purchase of an i9 music sever that has a Taiko DC-ATX powering the JCat XE.    I haven't tried the Kraftwerk on the new i9 as yet.

 

I was wondering on the pros and cons of one vs the other.   I will do comparisons, but can anyone tell me in technical terms, what the Taiko should bring to the SQ over an external LPS. 

 

Regards Cazzesman

 

 

 

 

[Cazzesman]

I have run some 'non blind test' testing today and....

 

The Taiko DC-ATX powering the JCat XE usb card internally adds more SQ weight and gravitas than the Gieseler Audio

Kraftwerk II 5v/2amp LPS powering it externally.   

 

I'm guessing this is a simple situation of 'You get what you pay for' i.e the GA LPS is solid but has nowhere near the research and quality parts and architecture the Taiko has.

 

Regards Cazzesman 

[Gavin1977]

4 hours ago, Cazzesman said:

I have run some 'non blind test' testing today and....

 

The Taiko DC-ATX powering the JCat XE usb card internally adds more SQ weight and gravitas than the Gieseler Audio

Kraftwerk II 5v/2amp LPS powering it externally.   

 

I'm guessing this is a simple situation of 'You get what you pay for' i.e the GA LPS is solid but has nowhere near the research and quality parts and architecture the Taiko has.

 

Regards Cazzesman 

About to try something similar - useful feedback.

[JackJohnson316]

13 hours ago, Cazzesman said:

I have run some 'non blind test' testing today and....

 

The Taiko DC-ATX powering the JCat XE usb card internally adds more SQ weight and gravitas than the Gieseler Audio

Kraftwerk II 5v/2amp LPS powering it externally.   

 

I'm guessing this is a simple situation of 'You get what you pay for' i.e the GA LPS is solid but has nowhere near the research and quality parts and architecture the Taiko has.

 

Regards Cazzesman 

I had a similar master plan to power my two pcie cards with an external Sean Jacobs linear power supply, and then power my chipset ocxo clock with the Taiko atx 5v Sata always on connector. Last week I connected my chipset ocxo clock to the Taiko atx and powered on the Taiko atx and immediately got a loud high pitch humming noise. I turned off everything and tried again with the same results. I contacted Taiko who told me there's likely significant 20/24/25MHz frequencies present on the powerlines which are typically not a problem for a linear regulator as they don't have that bandwidth and it just passes through, but those frequencies can cause  a problem for the GaN fets and/or controller regulation and cause it to oscillate. So it sounds like the GAN atx is not able to power a 20/24/25MHz clock. I did hook up one of my pcie cards to the Taiko atx Sata 5v and it works great. Not sure if it’s as good as powering it by an external Sean Jacobs Linear power supply, but it sounds good. I’ll try to compare when I have time to change out the dc barrel connectors. 

[VaG]

Hello, I would like to ask you . I have USB J cat card Femto and I Use power from Ifi phono preamp Ipower2 which should cancel some noise.

For Audio computer I use HDPLEX NanoATX combo (HDPLEX 400W AC-DC with HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX). Do you think that Hdplex PSU is better than Ifi psu? HD PLEX has place for powering the usb card.

 

 

 

[mikicasellas]

16 hours ago, Cazzesman said:

I have run some 'non blind test' testing today and....

 

The Taiko DC-ATX powering the JCat XE usb card internally adds more SQ weight and gravitas than the Gieseler Audio

Kraftwerk II 5v/2amp LPS powering it externally.   

 

I'm guessing this is a simple situation of 'You get what you pay for' i.e the GA LPS is solid but has nowhere near the research and quality parts and architecture the Taiko has.

 

Regards Cazzesman 

Silly question for must of you, but how can i power my JCAT XE from the TAIKO ? what kind of connector do i need , does it has to be an audiophile one or just normal, where on the TAIKO is connected and what should i need to "turn on " on BIOS cause i have almost turn off everything i don't need ?

 

I want to try this as well ?

 

thank you

[bit01]

@mikicasellasI assume that you have the Taiko powering the motherboard and an external PS for the JCAT (hopefully the one we discussed) . With the computer turned off, turn the external PS to the JCAT USB off as well and remove its connector. Power the computer back on. The JCAT will now use the power from the motherboard (supplied by the Taiko), via the PCIe connector.

[Nenon]

2 hours ago, mikicasellas said:

Silly question for must of you, but how can i power my JCAT XE from the TAIKO ? what kind of connector do i need , does it has to be an audiophile one or just normal, where on the TAIKO is connected and what should i need to "turn on " on BIOS cause i have almost turn off everything i don't need ?

 

I want to try this as well ?

 

thank you

 

You will take 5V from the SATA connector highlighted in the photo below:

 

From my notes from several years ago, here are the parts numbers for the 4-PIN MOLEX connector (labeled SATA):

 

4-PIN MOLEX Housing (any of these should work, you need just one):
Part number: 39012040 (white)
Part number: 39012045 (white)
Part number: 39013042 (white)
Part number: 39013045 (black)

 

PINs (you need 2 PINs, one for the +5V and one for GND):

18 AWG Gold plated: 457501212

16 AWG Gold plated: 457503212

[bit01]

That looks like a better way to do it, avoiding some of the MB noise pickup hopefully.

 

PS - I prefer the SQ when powering the JCAT USB XE externally, rather than via the TAIKO-->MB (PCIe). I have better instrument definition, timbre and 'color' (think of more sunny than grey weather). PRaT is about equal.

 

ULPS (Nenon V3 style) -->TAIKO-->MB

SOLAHD 5V/3A (p/n A272-022 rev7)-->JCAT XE USB.

 

The 0V ULPS and SOLAHD are earthed at the same AC outlet.

[bit01]

For anyone interested, the generic p/n (used by multiple vendors) of the SolaHD mentioned above would be SLS-05-030-1T and was initially mentioned here:

 

 

 

[mikicasellas]

5 hours ago, Nenon said:

 

You will take 5V from the SATA connector highlighted in the photo below:

 

From my notes from several years ago, here are the parts numbers for the 4-PIN MOLEX connector (labeled SATA):

 

4-PIN MOLEX Housing (any of these should work, you need just one):
Part number: 39012040 (white)
Part number: 39012045 (white)
Part number: 39013042 (white)
Part number: 39013045 (black)

 

PINs (you need 2 PINs, one for the +5V and one for GND):

18 AWG Gold plated: 457501212

16 AWG Gold plated: 457503212

Hello Nenon,

 

Thanks a lot for the feedback

 

Where can these parts be found and a SATA conector to the XE card ?

 

Miguel

[mikicasellas]

 

 

5 hours ago, bit01 said:

@mikicasellasI assume that you have the Taiko powering the motherboard and an external PS for the JCAT (hopefully the one we discussed) . With the computer turned off, turn the external PS to the JCAT USB off as well and remove its connector. Power the computer back on. The JCAT will now use the power from the motherboard (supplied by the Taiko), via the PCIe connector.

I just tried this, i did not know this could be done and once done i feel it losses some dynamics

 

Thank you bit01

[Nenon]

Probably worth highlighting that the 5V on the SATA connector on the Taiko ATX has its own rail with better ripple rejection... 10 times better per the specs. 

 

Powering up the XE card from there is much better than taking power from the PCIe slot. 

That 5V from the Taiko SATA port is probably better than many power supplies. But in my experiments, my high end LPS sounded better than the 5V from the Taiko ATX on the JCAT XE card. 

 

There is also a downside to using an external LPS - you are mixing up multiple grounds, and that may have some side effects. 

 

2 hours ago, mikicasellas said:

Where can these parts be found and a SATA conector to the XE card ?

mouser.com, digikey.com, newark.com, arrow.com, etc. 

 

[Nenon]

11 hours ago, VaG said:

Do you think that Hdplex PSU is better than Ifi psu?

Yes.

[bit01]

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

Probably worth highlighting that the 5V on the SATA connector on the Taiko ATX has its own rail with better ripple rejection... 10 times better per the specs. 

 

Powering up the XE card from there is much better than taking power from the PCIe slot. 

That 5V from the Taiko SATA port is probably better than many power supplies. But in my experiments, my high end LPS sounded better than the 5V from the Taiko ATX on the JCAT XE card. 

 

There is also a downside to using an external LPS - you are mixing up multiple grounds, and that may have some side effects. 

 

mouser.com, digikey.com, newark.com, arrow.com, etc. 

 

Thank you for pointing that spec out! I will make up a cable and try it.

[mikicasellas]

9 hours ago, Nenon said:

Probably worth highlighting that the 5V on the SATA connector on the Taiko ATX has its own rail with better ripple rejection... 10 times better per the specs. 

 

Powering up the XE card from there is much better than taking power from the PCIe slot. 

That 5V from the Taiko SATA port is probably better than many power supplies. But in my experiments, my high end LPS sounded better than the 5V from the Taiko ATX on the JCAT XE card. 

 

There is also a downside to using an external LPS - you are mixing up multiple grounds, and that may have some side effects. 

 

mouser.com, digikey.com, newark.com, arrow.com, etc. 

 

Thank you Nenon

 

On more doubt if I can kindly ask you about how am I going to connect from the TAIKO SATA to the JCAT XE,  is this where it will be connected on the XE and if its there how I achieve that with 4 pins on the XE input ?

 

Thank you !

 

 

[Nenon]

2 hours ago, mikicasellas said:

is this where it will be connected on the XE and if its there how I achieve that with 4 pins on the XE input ?

Yes, that's where you will connect it if the Taiko ATX is inside the chassis. This is a LP4 molex as listed in the JCAT documentation. I don't have the exact part numbers handy at the moment, but you should be able to find them with a quick google search. 

 

If the Taiko ATX is outside the chassis (unlikely), you can use the external 2.1/5.5mm center-positive DC jack connector.

[bit01]

I used the 2.1/5mm jack to keep the same cable for a quick comparison.  I soldered another jack to leads/pins inserted in the  SATA on the other end. It has been running for a few hours.

My current DAC(Naim DAC-V1)  seems to be especially sensitive to the USB input. It can sound excellent but careful matching is necessary. With the TAIKO 5VSB supplying the JCAT XE I certainly like it better than with the PCIe slot power.  It sounds clear, 'quieter', with rather good bass definition.

The feeling I get however when switching out the external power supply is that the frequency balance has tilted (rolled off and thinned out the top end)! Cable swapping might help here, or perhaps even more hours of play, I don't know. @mikicasellas's comment about reduced dynamics seems more evident to me now. However not bad overall, but I prefer the external PS by a margin- that seems to be the right match in my setup!

 

Happy Holidays to all!

ATB.

b.