Building a DIY Music Server

[MarcelNL]

meanwhile I suspect my Optane died, I was unable to boot in one go and booting became wonkier and wonkier. UNinstalling the Optane seems to work, booting succeeds in 1 go as it ought to. INitialy I suspected a Daphile update to a beta version (needed to make Tidal work again as they switched to only allowing HTTPS traffic) , a few weeks ago but since the release of the final version spotty booting stayed.

I think I'll go look for a NMVMW > USb adapter or similar to check if it's the MB or the Optane

 

[MarcelNL]

@seeteeyou When you say many Linux distro's are boring when compared to other stuff do you mean pace of development or sound quality?

 

[MarcelNL]

taiko audio is likely coming with a DIY solution for a fanless case fairly soon from what I read here.

[MarcelNL]

My glassfiber is up, switches warming up and not having the Finisar SFPs. Sound of streamed Tidal files is almost as good as local FLACs which have a tad more energy/dynamics and seemingly better microresolution/air.

All in all a very nice improvement over CAT8.1 I was using (with the same switches). 

[MarcelNL]

installing a Khozmo stepped shunt attenuator using a Vishay Zfoil in series is also having a NICE impact :-)

edit; that Khozmo is stupid good, most transparent attenuator I ever heard and least hindering dynamics,

 

and all of this with some Mundorf wire breaking in as interlink to audition it in a week or two.

[MarcelNL]

4 Xeon CPU-s w each 140W TDP? I;d be highly surprised if ANY chassis can handle that with just passive cooling. 

[MarcelNL]

I assume the 10K is a grand total, which still is probably too rich for some. It would be great to offer alternatives for each major component, as in; 1st choice CPU, 2nd choice CPU 3rd choice CPU, same for PSU etc...

 

That way folks buying all 1st choice stuff spread out over a reasonable amount of time might be able to sell off gear when upgrading to the next level.

[MarcelNL]

Having TAS available would be great , especially if they could add the undressed W version they use (hard to get for a DIYer, assuming they could sort the licenses a bit easier buying bulk. I fear it's written for Xeon, and a specific version at that, not sure if all DIYers go the dual Xeon Silver route...

[MarcelNL]

@Dev: I could not agree more, if this is an all out attempt to build an 'extreme class' DIY server; cost no object but for labor cost, VAT and profit margin we are likely missing the point of DIY for most folks. As much as I'm able to buy an Extreme today if I wanted I won't do that for the very reason I love tinkering and discovering what makes audio tick, especially when this is done together with others.

Much of the high End customer scene for me is too close to the Little Britain character Andy 'I want that one'  Pipkin, if you know what I mean.

 

 

[MarcelNL]

@Nenon; Thanks for clarifying, the way I see it we should not underestimate the power of DIY....as example, and not talking down what Taiko is doing, capacitors in Panzerholz is nice but in a whole the effect is not even close to 'undressing' a capacitor and sealing it in non metal case. Folks are trying exotic things, there are more means to an end etc... 

 

This is not bragging or trying to diminish anyones work in any way, just trying to clarify there is a wealth of knowledge out there that, when combined,  could work wonders and would make up for an interesting journey (also for Taiko). 

 

If this is a  'Mahlen nach Zahlen'  (paint by numbers) exercise it's more like building a kit, do some soldering, stick in some parts and screw a few things together, count me out.

 

[MarcelNL]

I just want to clarify that I DO appreciate the initiative of both you Nenon, and Taiko! 

[MarcelNL]

So adding all up am I correct in thinking that this route will be leading to a dual Xeon based server in a seriously nice case, operating under some Windows OS ? And potentially having TAS available.

 

I see the potential advantage of a dual CPU setup, and even when I'm using Daphile I have nothing against some other OS if it sounds as good or better. Daphile does not (or I am wrong mainly due to a lack of documentation) allow for simple task control at the core level. I am reading the Daphile thread on this board and see some have been tinkering with assiging IRQ's to a core, yet how the current Daphile version handles this is not very clear.

 

With an abundance of cheap used Xeon MB's and CPU's it might be a feasible build even when on a budget, the big question is; is the TDP of older CPUs too large for the case?

 

[MarcelNL]

To me it's great to have some of the experience from Taiko available as loose map of the scenery but I'd like to avoid tunnel vision of focussing too much on their route, their solution apparently works great yet there likely are some other solutions that work too.

 

We will not likely build a DIY Extreme, as mentioned; if I wanted one and thought the 25k or so are justified I'd buy one and not bother with tinkering.

 

Whatever dual (or single CPU) TDP is IMO something to take into account from scratch when deciding on a cabinet as sufficient cooling is important. I acknowledge that a CPU likely dissipates way less than the advertized TDP (which is usually underestimated)during normal use (sans heavy DSD upsampling or active filtering etc).

If it were for me and if it would be possible I'd hardwire the whole thing from CPU to output without a MB or a circuiiot board in between, stick a couple of whopping cooling profiles to the CUP and put it all in a dampened and EMI treated wooden box rather than any metal. Alas, if it was that simple (or feasible)... I'll keep that for my tube amp(s).

 

in the extreme thread I read that having more than 10 cores total is of sonic benefit, I have little reason to doubt that. Do we know if it matters and how much it matters WHAT makes the total of 10 cores? dual CPU over a single, which CPU?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MarcelNL]

53 minutes ago, Nenon said:

You probably know this is not possible... But not because it's hard to solder tiny wires - that part, as difficult as it is, is actually possible. It's the high speed circuit and the interference there. We are talking about Gigahertz frequencies. Take a working motherboard and just move some of the PCB traces by a couple millimeters without changing anything to the circuit. Chances are it would stop working or become so unstable that it would be unusable. The interference in those circuits is HUGE. Hardwiring it is simply IMPOSSIBLE! This is not a tube amplifier that only needs to handle frequencies less than 100,000 KHz. 

absolutely clear that hard wiring is no option....

[MarcelNL]

just my 2 cts; this is a DIY thread...Surely it should be possible to come up with something really good for like at least a third or less of the prices mentioned. I just ordered a couple custom 400H chokes@60mA in HiB cut core for my tube amp project, there are folks out there who make stellar stuff.

 

"All" we need is a tranny maker who knows what he is doing (not being sexist but I have yet to encounter a female transformer maker ;-) ), someone savvy in PSU design, a couple of decent Schottky's, a choke or two, some great capacitors and plenty of 'em, some power wire and most of all decent connectors (I'd prefer solid pure copper rather than crazy coatings that all have a sound to them) and a case (my pref is no metal). The beauty is, all can select most components to their liking and spec to needs.

 

 

[MarcelNL]

I am acutely aware this is not a tube amp, no need to repeat that. Regulation may well be needed, it can be done in a few ways; ranging from good old LM317AT/78XX like devices to much fancier newer stuff, OR if current consumption is more stable in a much simpler manner. For me that part is under the jurisdiction of the 'someone savvy in PSU design', and likely knowing what a MB does and needs. Do most MB regulate voltage as well, if so within what limits? I think many do but I lack the detailed information. 

[MarcelNL]

Please don't feel the need to start to moderate, I'll moderate myself given the fact that questions seeking more fundamental answers don't seem to resonate.

[MarcelNL]

I believe I should have used a smily when I wrote that.

[MarcelNL]

Just now, sandyk said:

 Let's not take this further off topic, but many may have forgotten about this series of high current Voltage Regulators which could make life easier in some DIY PSUs and is quite cheap as well.

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=Lt1083&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-155026-118992-7&mkcid=2&keyword=lt1083&crlp=433530097562_&MT_ID=584886&geo_id=32586&rlsatarget=kwd-1429439472&adpos=&device=c&mktype=&loc=9072206&poi=&abcId=1140676&cmpgn=1746483731&sitelnk=&adgroupid=67873361989&network=g&matchtype=p&gclid=CjwKCAiAxeX_BRASEiwAc1QdkZ9nGrpEI7qDmvmBKO_GEWdyFQxUP3gOF7BRqYQWblwTJ4G7FXMYdRoCDP0QAvD_BwE

LT1083,4,5fg.pdf 194.82 kB · 0 downloads

that is indeed the sort of device I had in mind when I wrote what you quoted, it's just that it's max rating at 7.5 Amp may not be enough to cope with high currents (unless these reported peaks are really very brief transients), the reason I referred to a PSU design specialist.

[MarcelNL]

@Exocer, what you posted was pretty much what I have/had in mind, the more steady the current draw is the better 'regulation' you'll see using an unregulated PSU design. It is doable to get rid of ripple current the diagram shows by using good enough filtering (CLC for example) a regulated PSU does not do much for ripple filtering anyhow.

 

Not using upsampling and FIR etc in my system the load might be steady enough for the CPU as smaller power peaks can easily be handled by fast enough capacitors of which enough are needed anyway to keep the PSU hum down due to the high-ish current (not so sure about the rest of the board). 

 

All developments sound interesting yet committing to any which one without even seeing a more detailed description or specs (I'm not a great believer in specs) I'll wait a bit for now.

 

[MarcelNL]

does anyone have a link to CPU desig specs? They must exist, f.e. for MB designers, so far I haven't found any.

[MarcelNL]

BTW; a (what I consider a solid with good information for folks new to PSU designs) response from Emile (Taiko) on a question around PSU over at WBF on page 276 and 277 somehow I cannot paste the link: 

[MarcelNL]

I also toyed with the idea of installing an SFP based network card, but I'm dreading the fight with Linux...it would make one conversion and one switch redundant so it should be better...I'll order one

[MarcelNL]

1 minute ago, guiltyboxswapper said:

 

 

For the Solarflare cards, recent kernels already have a (slim, non-onload) network driver installed ready to go.  

 

FWIW I find HQPlayer embedded to be absolutely rock solid under Linux, dont have to tweak it for weeks at a time, but yes can understand there's a bit of a learning curve.

I'm using Daphile, for the very reason I don't have to tweak a lot....but I will order one and try!

 

[MarcelNL]

what is the anticpated delivery date?