Jump to content
IGNORED

Building a DIY Music Server


Recommended Posts

30 minutes ago, lmitche said:

 

 

30 minutes ago, lmitche said:

 

 

SQ from of all of these drives benefits from NVME coolers and EFI absorption materials.

I struggle with combining these two, EFI ( I assume you refer to EMI shielding) and cooling. I have some nice EMI stuff, tricky as it's conductive but it probably insulates heat...

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I wonder if that SSD noise through the SATA cable is EMI due to the high speed data or is it electrical noise creeping into the MB (or both), do you know Nenon?

 

My best SQ is when I simply unplug the external PSU for the SSD, I could live with an 'OCD switch' for serious listening of a few tracks/albums from Optane...that is how big the difference is for me. No way I am coughing up the dough for 2TB or so local storage in Obscene, eeerr Optane.

 

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment
7 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

cleaner sound, blacker background, more 'precision' and lower level detail, SWEET!

 

 

this remark was avout the Apacer RAM BTW, now with extended listening, cleaner power grid etc, the differences are even larger and clearer. Especially now I added a decent power cord to the computer..incredible how that affected the low end. bits are bits, yeah sure...love this hobby!

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

Haha, there is always more to tinker with....did you start making your own resistors, capacitors, chokes etc yet? 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

Optane RAM??

 

I have seen it in M.2 NVME and in PCIe format, not in DIMM, can you show me an example?

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

thanks, never knew it existed!...cool, it's coming to DIMM apparently, at some point

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I will make that comparison again, I have an external HDD with ly library and an internal SSD with PSU outside of the computer with the same files. I know that playing from memory sounded better for both options, yet that is bested by Optane. I am most interested in learning if copying from the external HDD sounds different than copying from external SSD and then how it sounds if I connect via f.e. ethernet. 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, flkin said:

Please do your experiment with all devices, external HDD, external SSD and Ethernet, connected even if they are not being used at that time.

 

Would be quite interesting to see if there is a difference then, especially if cached in RAM memory.

that is indeed what I am planning to do, there will be some lead time as for a reasonable comparison I need to find a way to connect the disks via ethernet in a somewhat better than makeshift way. Essentially I expect that the sonic profile of each device SHOULD remain, and ethernet SHOULD theoretically be transparant..but reality is different.

 

If I just think back to comparing ethernet cables, comparing 100 vs 1000 Mbit speed, adding a switch, shielding already shielded Cat 8.1 cable ( 2Ghz bandwidth), adding LPSU to the switch, modding the switch modestly, shielding the internet router etc etc....plenty of places where the mantra 'bits are bits' is woring and real life is clearly showing that we are not yet full control of SQ here.

 

Assuming that bits are bits, I do believe in that theoretical assumption yet am quite sure there are all sorts of effects in various layers that change final SQ. I (we?) likely know far too little about what affects final SQ, which IMO is no reason to dismiss those effects like the 'engineering brigade' usually does.

 

My gut feeling is there are a few categories of effects on final sound quality in a network (that is until delivered in the computer system where another set of variables takes over same for the next step into the DAC, then in the DAC then to and in the AMp,to and in speakers to and in room).

 

1- Data transport; packets, timing, missing data, this SHOULD all be taken care of by ethernet protocols, buffers CRC etc, probably there are some parameters that should be optimized for audio data and most of this is handled by OS /Software.

2-data conversion, also handled in the digital domain  but now in the computer

3-Energy to power all fo the above; PSU,speed, max current, noise, bandwidth, PSRR, voltage, precision of regulation, EMI

 

 

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I only have an external 'no name" PCIe USb card left, my JCat USB died....

 

I will likely only test what HDD/SDD I have lying around, I don't plan to test across HDD types and brands simply because I don't have more than perhaps 2 lying around. (not even sure if I have 2,5 and 3.5", the external 1.5Tb external HDD is likley old enough to be 3,5")

 

It's either going to be NAS/server, or USB SDD /HDD  for me, with a small chance for PCIe IF I can get past POST when removing the graphics card from the MB. That Pink Faun I2S card is FAT...

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

Daphile automatically shuts down graphics after booting and enabling the network, it is designed to run headless.

The problem is rather that the MB likely thinks it needs a GPU anddoes not let me past POST...

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

yeah I was going to check but need to look for the MB manual again...my browser shut inadvertedly earlier today.

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

THAT is great news indeed!!

 

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

no windows, no dual xeon, no extreme....still a good point to look at the block diagram of the MB!

BTW is the M.2 slot npn PCIe on that MB?

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I wonder if anyone here has experimented with power supplies?

I am quite sure that any switching supply with lower ripple and igher power rating is cosmetic dabbling, I'm not yet so concinced that ultra low ripple is more important than a stable voltage.

 

Making a whopping 12V C-L-C PSU should prove doable, def more doable than a high current lineair well regulated low noise PSU. Ideas, pointers, links are welcome?

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

thanks all!

I once upon a time built a Le Monstre 7W class A amp by Jean Hiraga, I have something akin to that PSU in mind as the general idea is the same, having enough headroom with large current swings at low voltages requires plenty capacitors to store enough Joules in the PSU. 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

thanks!  I am looking for the combination that makes it 'work', I get that low ripple is sortof important (and becomes a challenge the larger the current draw is), stable voltage is another, max current/headroom is likley another. I was hoping someone had played around with the variables enough to know what the main players are. Same for power to the Mb versus power to the CPU, I imagine that both have impact, it would be nice to know which has more impact (or what impact which PSU has).

 

I plan on starting with a PSU for the CPU, just found a 3000VA transformer that could be a promising start...

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I'd say you should never make the mistake to compare TIDAL to an HQ CD, apples and oranges IMO.

Rip that HQ CD with EAC at highest settings, play it from your computer rig at the optimal settings and then see what gives.  

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

BTW: while you are at it, check absolute phase for both your computer rig and the CD player! PLaying an inverted signal can make music sound like mushy peas.

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

My network connection was so crappy that I investigated and found out the wire was not connected properly, for now I have a free running cable, sound quality is better. So I sourced two Finisar 1321, and two used Zyxel switches and a bit of fiberoptics to tinker around with that for a bit. Anyone here who has experience DIying putting a new connector on fiber? it comes terminated but I'd like to try put in a the duct the old network cable was using.

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

looks great, though I would advise against stacking transformers and you may want to consider rotating some so the magnetic fields do not overlap as much as in this configuration.

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment
7 hours ago, GUTB said:

Well, I'm happy to report that after finally ripping the HQCD it does appear that the lack of soundstage was caused b a difference in mastering. The CD transport disaplays a little better quality, but that may be because it's on the balanced isolation transformer while the audio PC's linear power supply isn't. Or something else that needs to be upgraded / fixed. Maybe the TeraDak unit isn't the greatest? In any case, I'm happy to discover that my system isn't actually broken. Not so happy to find out just how bad streaming can be.

that sounds more likely, though I'm not sure your conclusion about mastering is correct. A comparison between a file that is streamed and one locally stored is hard to make, there are many factors that contribute.  

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

great, just listen to the effect of turning one tranny  90 degrees before moiunting them like this permanently!

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

 

Toroid on steroids, 13 Kg... my hypothesis is that low ripple and high peak current matter for the CPU, regulating high peaks is going to be difficult so I may do without given that the transformer is capable of 100A, a CLC filter laid out for 10A cont or so should likely do the trick for short bursts and a steady supply of 12V @ 8 A or so steady state.

Anyone caring to share some insights there, I haven't found any in depth detail on what makes a good PSU for a CPU. 

For the rest of the MB I assume a well regulated low noise PSU with good PSSR is important.

 

20201231_132256.thumb.jpg.a1330bdd6d4dee3003c6e6ba889ac3bd.jpg

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I did read it, what seems to be missing or I did not read it properly, is results from investigating what matters most.
The fact that everything matters is clear, I am very aware of that, my point is that there usually are some key factors that matter MOST and I am looking for those first tweaking comes later. Nobody designs a PSU with exxact lengths of wire specified, those parameters are a result of tweaking and finetuning done well after initial design.

 

I am aware what a LPS is, and to make one in various ways. What I do not know is if low noise, low ripple or high headroom (ability to deliver massive peaks) are all equally important. As always every PSU is a compromise, it helps to know upfront where the wiggle room is (if there is any)/

 

f.e. my tube amp sounds best with a low value very high grade capacitor, and whopping choke (400H @80mA) 

 

I somehow imagine that PSU requirements for the CPU are different from the rest of the MB.

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment

I did ogle active rectifiers, but read up some more and decided to go for some decent Schottky's....which exactly is not clear yet, there are plenty to choose from.

 

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

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...