Jump to content
IGNORED

Building a DIY Music Server


Recommended Posts

25 minutes ago, ASRMichael said:

Nenon

 

Can I ask what is the gstp for? Something new for me, all I’ve been doing is 0-1, stylus 2-3, 4-7 hqplayer? 
 

thanks in advance

 

gstp handles pretty much all the audio processes in my case (no Roon, no hqplayer, just Stylus player). 

stylus handles the web interface functions. I did not find isolating stylus to have an advantage on sound quality, but I did find isolating gstp to have a significant benefit. It's a little confusing, because one may think that using the Stylus player may mean that you need to isolate the stylus process. But the actual audio-related functions are performed by the gstp process. Obviously, since you use hqplayer, that's probably the most important process to isolate and assign more cores to. 

You may have a slight benefit by assigning 2-3 to gstp rather than stylus.

Try something like this: 0-1 gstp 2-3 hqplayer 4-7 

 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment

@Doug Bowerman If it's way over your head, I highly recommend you don't mess around with trying to design your power supply. This could be very dangerous. Leave that part to the experts in the field (like I did too). 

However, if you feel very adventurous there are many different modules you can aquire. A lot of them have been discussed in various threads here. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
12 hours ago, bobfa said:

@Nenon

 

Thank you very much for this thread.  I love how you detailed out the power supply setup and more.  

 

I still have this niggle in the back of my head that a Xeon and ECC RAM might, just might be interesting.  (I have built one).   I think I want to go further with it.  I should have some JCAT cards on the way this week.  I am wondering if there is a full ATX motherboard that might be "magic" also.???    So many ideas to test!

 

Thanks again for sharing the project with everyone.

 

Bob

 

 

@bobfa

I see that @Marcin_gps liked your comment. He was the person who came in mind when I read your message. I believe he was using the Supermicro X11SC L-F motherboard. That might be a safe bet. 

 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
4 minutes ago, RickyV said:

This weekend I made a coping mistake and lost the core isolation code I used. I have a notepad with possible codes but didn’t mark the code in use. So I put in the code I thought it was but while listening something was off. It sounded muddy, not accurate (0 gstp 1-2 stylus 3),most cores to gstp . I remembered the temperature pattern the cores give so it was not to difficult to get the original code back  and liked it much better, 0 gstp 1 stylus 2-3. So giving the most cores to stylus.

Maybe it is all different when you have 6 or 8 cores to play with I do not know. But if you have the bare minimum cores for the core isolation function to play with I prefer giving the most cores to stylus.

 

I guess the results vary in different systems. 

As I have mentioned earlier, stylus is doing the web ui processing, not the audio-related functions. gstp is doing all the caching and playing. But maybe stylus needs at least a couple of cores for better load distribution.

Have you tried "0 stylus 1 gstp 2-3" instead? Just curious of splitting gstp between cores 1-2 sounds worse than keeping it on 2-3.

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment

Perhaps that's the winning formula for a quad core CPU then. 0 gstp 1 stylus 2-3

I would have to think hard to understand that one. BTW, have you tried 0-1 gstp 2-3? That would give stylus two cores shared with the rest but would isolate gstp. It would be interesting to report on that one.

In my system it is really easy to hear the benefits of isolating and assigning more cores to gstp. But that only proves again that what works best in my system does not work best in others. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment

I also settled on 0-3 stylus 4-5 gstp 6-15 for now. That might be a good formula for an 8 core / 16 threads CPUs.

 

Also, the server shipped to its owner. Both chassis combined together were 45 pounds. I am now impatiently awaiting feedback from the owner :). That is the most important thing after all! 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
On 1/25/2020 at 8:05 AM, dminches said:

Are you using external power for the Pink Faun USB card?  Do it benefit from it or is that only to pass power to the DAC?  I can't tell from their website.

 

 

I think it requires external power. But even if it didn't, I would always use external power supply. This is one of the most critical places for a good quality power supply. It's also very sensitive on DC cables and everything else. 

 

On 1/25/2020 at 10:25 AM, dminches said:


My DAC doesn’t need power but I would suspect that the Pink Faun USB would benefit from a separate power rail. 
 

 

Absolutely!

 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
11 minutes ago, adamaley said:

I'm curious to know what level of off-the-shelf all in one server/streamer do the current state of the art builds such as this one compete with?

 

I felt like that was an important question to answer, so I commented on this in the last paragraph of my very first post.

On 1/10/2020 at 12:01 AM, Nenon said:

This server will look a little like the Innuos Statement. But to be honest, I am aiming higher than that.

One can buy a Statement instead, but there are a few things I don’t like about the Statement - the low powered CPU does not sound as good as this configuration; the SSD drives are too noisy, and I don’t want to have any in my servers; Apacer RAM is a must; the wiring (silver/gold wires used for everything) cost $1,500 alone… if the Statement had the same wires and cables, it would probably cost $5K more just for that… that’s not including the amount of time, it takes to do all the JSSG360 shielding and every small detail. And those cables make a big difference.  I’ve heard the Statement in a few occasions and liked what I heard. But I’ve never had one in my system to compare with a DIY server like this. 

 

It's hard to do such comparisons without having both servers running side by side. But I think we have went quite a long way in the DIY computer world. I don't think we can compete with Taiko Extreme, which is at a completely different engineering level than anything we've done here. I have not heard the Antipodes CX/EX, and I can't comment on that. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
23 minutes ago, rickca said:

According to the manual, the first two slots are connected directly to the CPU if you are using a Ryzen 2nd gen processor.  The 3rd slot (which is PCIe 2.0) comes from the X470 chipset.  The two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots also come from the X470 chipset.

 

The first two slots are designated PCIEX16/X8_1 and PCIEX8/X4_2.  These are the ones connected directly to the CPU.

 

Note also the PCIEX8/X4_2 slot shares bandwidth with the M.2_2 slot and will run in x4 mode if M.2_2 is enabled in PCIe mode.

 

 

Thank you. That makes sense, because these are also the two steel enforced PCIe slots.

In that case, the plan is:

- PinkFaun Bridge in PCIEX16/X8_1

- JCAT Net Femto in PCIEX8/X4_2

- Optane in M.2_1.

- Leave M.2_2 unused.

 

Actually I need to check how M.2_1 connects. Hopefully not through the chipset. I may end up using M.2_2 instead. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
10 hours ago, adamaley said:

Another question, and please feel free to send me packing to a different thread if you feel my line of questioning is distracting to the purpose of your thread, are there builds that accomodate Roon core and roon as a player, or is it best to go with the likes of Euphony for playback?

 

For some reason, squeezing the last bits of sound quality performance is not and has not been Roon's top priority. They have their own agenda and don't like to listen to audiophiles (which is probably most of their customers). For example, we have been asking Roon for years to buffer the track in memory before playing. And they kept ignoring those requests. I've had a few interactions with Roon, and I gave up. They like to operate in a closed/secretive manner and don't even want to share their roadmap. I have a lifetime subscription but don't use Roon. 

 

You will find that most of the people here use Euphony, AudioLinux, or a highly optimized Windows OS. Our findings are that Roon sounds better running on those operating systems. I use Euphony. And if you can sacrifice the Roon interface for something that sounds better, the Stylus player in Euphony is your best friend. Also, you can easily switch between Roon and Stylus. I still find Roon great for discovering new music and don't mind switching to it and enabling Roon Radio for background listening, so I can discover some new music. 

 

Also, unlike Roon, I've had multiple interactions with the developers of Euphony and AudioLinux, and all my concerns were addressed, and everything I have asked for eventually popped up in one of the new releases.

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, adamaley said:

If I may ask, are Euphony, AudioLinux and the like able to incorporate streaming from Tiday or Qobuz?

 

Yes, Stylus can stream Tidal / Qobuz.

 

AudioLinux is an operating system but can work with several players. From their website: "Tidal music streaming is already integrated in Roon, BubbleUPnP, LMS and Mconnect. Qobuz is available on BubbleUPnP, LMS and Mconnect. Spotify direct streaming possible if spotifyd service enabled."

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
47 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Having just completed a build in a Hdplex H3V3 case, the ability to remove the backplate is a unique and a much appreciated aspect of this new Hdplex case. Compared to a Streacom F9, the Hdplex was much more flexible enabling use of all the pcie slots of a MicroAtx motherboard in a smaller case than the H5. While I understand that one could consider the aluminum materials used in Streacom to be of higher quality, the Hdplex uses a mix of steel and aluminum in a practical, highly evolved design. Hdplex cases will be my first choice going forward.

 

Better overall design with what seems like cheaper materials. I like how the passive cooling is done. More copper pipes with rounded grooves in the heatsink for more contact surface. Pretty nice. I haven't done a comparison between the heat dissipation on the Streacom FC9 and the HdPlex H5, but my money would be on the H5. 

 

I also like that the HdPlex is the first passive cooling chassis that gives you the option to use all PCIe slots without extenders. It makes me wonder what the hell those manufacturers have been thinking all these years!

 

As for the removing plate - I am glad you like it, but I find that part of the design the worst thing about this chassis. In order to add or remove a single PCIe card, you have to detach all of them from the plate, and you have to remove the entire plate. This is horrible, especially when you have a bunch of power connectors installed on that plate with nicely routed short thick wires like I do in my builds. I guess I will have to make those wires longer now (increased output impedance) to make it possible to add / remove PCIe cards. I would not call that genius design. 

 

Emile has done it right (again!) on the Taiko Extreme.

73203143_TaikoAudio_TOP-1024x768-2(2).jpg.53d5e559477a9f5ee2fa1ce8c9c49c6a.jpg

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment

Just a small OCXO teaser.

IMG_2675.thumb.jpg.a3fcfe20bf5befbc94c696c838d4a0e9.jpg

 

Also, please note the paper sticker on the motherboard that says 1201. This is the BIOS version. And this is the fourth AMD motherboard I get that is running an old BIOS, which does not work with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU. With such BIOS the server would not post. 

With the previous mini-ITX AMD motherboards, I had to go back to the store, buy an old CPU like the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G and install it just so the server can start and I can update the BIOS. This motherboard has BIOS flashback function. You can update the BIOS from a USB drive without CPU or memory installed. So much easier!

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...