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Building a DIY Music Server


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On 2/5/2020 at 5:55 PM, Nenon said:

What I don't like about the case is that this plate needs to come out completely every time you want to add or remove a PCIe card. But I haven't assembled it yet, so maybe there is a workaround this. It also feels a little cheaper quality than the Streacom, and I wish the top and bottom plates were thicker. 

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.

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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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

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On 2/9/2020 at 4:52 PM, Nenon said:

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.

Funny, in my mind the removable back plate is the best feature of this case. The Streacom has a similar challenge with it's 2, not 4, usable pcie slots with the back plate riveted in place.

 

We will need to agree to disagree on this point.👍

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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11 hours ago, Nenon said:

 

 

BTW, since this a "Building a DIY Music Server" feel free to post some pictures of your build. 

 

Will do when I open up again to fit the Apacer ram, hopefully quite soon!

Yes I decided to take the lower power route, I do have a PH SR7 19v + 12v on order. Also I am using the EtherRegen so it makes a bit more sense to run a server client set up.

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According to Emile, one of the significant contributors to the quality of the Extreme sound is that the music is stored locally.  He ranked the sound quality based on music location as:

 

Local > streaming (Qobuz/tidal) > NAS.

 

I have never had my music on local drives due to the size of my library and the type of motherboard needed if one wants to use Optane drives.  And then there is also the expense.

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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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

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On 2/12/2020 at 7:31 PM, Nenon said:

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!

Ultra clock?

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11 hours ago, vhs said:

 

 

Great Post, Nenon!

 

Sharing my build with you as shown in the pic below. 🙂

1138029732_RoonServerHDD.thumb.jpeg.319695593106bb08c99fe7114ffcf1a1.jpeg

 

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. Can you share more details?

What clock are you using? I see some external grounding (an external grounding box?)? What is the red board? A relay? 

Thank you. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

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

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31 minutes ago, Nenon said:

 

Yes, PinkFaun ultraOCXO. That's the best clock I could find on the market. If anyone knows anything better I can use, please let me know. 

 

What about this one?

 

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/c4-reference-low-jitter-clock-1548-p.asp

 

Their signature model should be available in the next month or so.

 

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/c5-signature-low-jitter-clock-4461-p.asp

 

This is out of my realm, so apologies in advance if they won't work for your application.

 

 

 

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36 minutes ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

What about this one?

 

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/c4-reference-low-jitter-clock-1548-p.asp

 

Their signature model should be available in the next month or so.

 

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/c5-signature-low-jitter-clock-4461-p.asp

 

This is out of my realm, so apologies in advance if they won't work for your application.

 

Thank you. Never tried them, but I have been following the development of the C5 and waiting to be released. Those don't look like OCXO clocks, but that does not mean they are bad. A well implemented TCXO clock could be a lot better than a bad implemented OCXO clock. My guess is their clock has worse specs than the PinkFaun ultraOCXO, but that does not mean much. 

The reality is how I will implement the clock would make a bigger impact than how good the clock is. I may get the best clock available, and if I feed it with bad power and use long wires, it may be even inferior to the crappy oscillator my motherboard uses, with overall worse result regardless of how much I have spent. 

But I am aiming to use the best clock I can and implement it to the best of my abilities. Unless the clock is on the PCB right next to the chip, it's always a compromise. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

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

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1 hour ago, Nenon said:

 

Yes, PinkFaun ultraOCXO. That's the best clock I could find on the market. If anyone knows anything better I can use, please let me know. 

Even if someone told their was a better clock, not sure I would want it! Why? Pinkfaun clock usb bridge with ultra clock sounds so good, I don’t see the point! Simple as! 

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30 minutes ago, adamaley said:

Which Pink Faun unltraOCXO clockspeed are folks selecting?

 

It depends on the application. The main clock on my AMD motherboard is 25MHz. It's 24MHz on my Intel motherboard. My I2S bridge uses the 24.576 MHz. The USB bridge uses a 20 MHz clock.

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

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

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General question about Samsung M.2 drives for those who might have information about the difference between the 970 EVO (MLC NAND) and 970 EVO+ (V-NAND). Is it the speed, reliability, lifetime, or...?  Thanks!

 

I have an i9-9900KS arriving early next week.  I’ll be using the ROG RTX2080 that’s in my current build.  I’ll be hitting the closest Micro Center to fill out my parts list soon.

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48 minutes ago, Solstice380 said:

General question about Samsung M.2 drives for those who might have information about the difference between the 970 EVO (MLC NAND) and 970 EVO+ (V-NAND). Is it the speed, reliability, lifetime, or...?  Thanks!

 

I have an i9-9900KS arriving early next week.  I’ll be using the ROG RTX2080 that’s in my current build.  I’ll be hitting the closest Micro Center to fill out my parts list soon.

970 Evo:

https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/Samsung_NVMe_SSD_970_EVO_Data_Sheet_Rev.1.0.pdf

 

970 Evo Plus:

https://s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/global.semi.static/Samsung_NVMe_SSD_970_EVO_Plus_Data_Sheet_Rev-2-0.pdf

 

 

Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-spec.jpg.3ac17420bcac4414d7b270cad0bafa21.jpg

 

 

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13761/the-samsung-970-evo-plus-ssd-review

 

Quote:

 

"The new generation of 3D NAND upgrades the interface between the controller and NAND to Toggle-mode DDR 4.0, increasing the interface speed from 800Mbps to 1400Mbps while reducing the voltage from 1.8V to 1.2V."

 

End Quote

dCS Vivaldi Upsampler - Siltech Double Crown PC, Tara Labs Zero Evo AES; dCS Vivaldi DAC - Siltech Double Crown PC - Tara Labs Zero Evo XLR; dCS Vivaldi Clock - Siltech Double Crown PC - Viard Platinum BNC; Mutec Ref10 SE-120 - Shunyata Sigma Digital PC - AR Cox Triple C BNC; Music Server - La Sound Olympia PC; Spectral DMC-30SS MKii - Crystal Ultimate Dream PC; Spectral DMC-400RS - Tiglon 2000A PC - AR RTP6 Abs. - Transparent Reference G5 spk cable; Rockport Atria MKi, Shunyata Triton V2 + Typhon - Sigma HC PC, Thixar SMD Ultimate Rack + CMS Platinum MKiii / Tripoint Troy Signature BLK

 

https://www.hiendy.com/hififorum/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=124319&extra=page=1

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