Building a DIY Music Server

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Hi All,

I have V3 up and running again with the Saligny rectifier. My system has never sounded so good. I have also inserted my very first audiophile fuse, the QSA Light Blue ($71, thanks for the tip @BCRich) and I am happy to report that this was an eye opening experience, in a good way. For those building out these designs, I would highly recommend going the extra mile and using a good fuse.

 

At this moment, its fair to say V3 has exceeded my expectations and is worth switching to, even with a single CPU rig. 

 

Cheers!

-Rob

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29 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Any difference you recall compare to Taiko rectifier?

Good question.

 

I waited about 1.5 months for the Saligny so it would be difficult to notice the differences if all else were equal. I don't think the comparison is all that fair though because I never got to use the Taiko rectifier in the chassis with vibration control. The transformer and caps were literally sitting on the floor then. Now, everything is mounted in a chassis with Herbie's tenderfeet. The transformer is also on wood blocks ( nothing fancy but likely effective) as well. TBH, what I have now sounds quite a bit better than what I remember back then. This is prior to upgrading to a better fuse too.

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Hi All,

Several people inquired about the CAD draft I put together for the unregulated LPS rear panel. Please find it attached. This will fit V3 (and V2 of course), with ALL Mundorf HC 22,000uF caps. A narrower chassis may work if one chooses to go with 2x47,000uF+1x22,000uF Mundorf HC(for the last bank of caps in V3). I did not test this. If there is interest in a narrower version I can post that as well.

 

One other member on this forum has a different version I created for a connector he preferred over the Amphenol I chose. I will let him determine if he would like to share that with the masses.

 

This attached file will fit the largest Slimline 3U chassis:

• The Furutech FI-09 IEC inlet of your choice (It will sit behind the rear panel).
• Standard Bussman Fuse holder for 6x30 sized large fuse (I went with this one though: https://www.revolutionpower.com/acme-audio-labs-cj-15a-silver-cryo-agc-fuse-holder)
• This two-pin Amphenol connector (I have not tried it yet but I plan to in the coming weeks): https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/amphenol/ms3106a20-23p/?qs=NQA6WNcZJ%2bcmvKLa33%2bSZA%3D%3D&countrycode=US&currencycode=USD - don't be alarmed, the photo on mouser is wrong.
• Vibration control: I like what the Herbies Tenderfeet are doing here. It'll be worth investing in vibration control here.

 

Instructions

1. Add your Slimline 3U to the cart and pick the largest size.

2. Add this to your cart as well: https://diyaudiostore.com/products/cnc-cutting-of-2mm-3mm-and-4mm-aluminum-panels with the .dwg file i've attached here.

3. Wait a bit to receive your chassis with CNC work completed.

 

Happy DIYing all!

 

PS - I have had zero issues lining up the screws, the drafting is actually 100% accurate. I MAY make some modifications if the community agrees upon another DC output/IEC Inlet etc.

 

NOTE: This chassis is massive. I do not have rackspace for it..

 

Cheers,

-Rob

 

Rear panel customizations - Taiko DC-ATXv3.dwg

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Also, dont forget the bottom plate!

 

Cheers,

-Rob

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10 minutes ago, dminches said:

What fuse value are you using for v3?

 

Large 5A slow blow.

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10 minutes ago, dminches said:

 

250V I assume?

 

Correct!

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Also forgot the chassis mount side! https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/amphenol/ms3102a20-23s/?qs=n%2bNaOaZylkb%2FCMpWoezKLw%3D%3D&countrycode=US&currencycode=USD

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1 hour ago, Nenon said:

On my short list is also to try the Gryphon Essence amplifier. And there is a lot of excellent feedback from people I trust about the QSA fuses. Claims are made that their higher-end (read: more expensive) fuses make a bigger difference than power cords and power conditioners. Hard to wrap my head around this but I trust the people who said that and need to try it myself. If that is true, then these QSA fuses must be a lot better than bypassing the fuse - again, hard to imagine, but I try to stay open minded. 

 

Thanks Nenon!

 

My first two QSA fuses were ordered back in August and arrived about 6 weeks later. I later ordered an additional 1A Fast Blow 5 x 20mm fuse for the DAC. I have to thank @BCRich for introducing me to these fuses. These fuses unlocked more potential in my system than I could have ever imagined... some details below.

QSA Light Blue in my Yggdrasil LIM was astonishingly good. So good that I now want to try higher-end QSA fuse here. YMMV depending on the rest of your system. 

 

I switched one fuse at a time in three components:

 

In this order:

1.  ULPS V3 - Replaced ordinary ceramic fuse

2. Rogue ST-100 amp - Replaced Acme Sylver Cryo fuse

3. Yggdrasil LIM dac - Replaced standard glass body fuse

 

My impressions at each stage.

 

1. Wow, much more information retrieval immediately but a bit harsh. Do I have this installed correctly? Nope. After switching the direction of the fuses, wow. Much better stereo imaging, vocals, instrument separation, zero harshness. An improvement across that board that continued onward for a few weeks.

 

2. Hmm, fuse is facing the right way but not an immediate eye opening improvement. This one took time (and switching back to the old fuse to appreciate). I can say that the channels seem a bit more "even" now than they were before. More openness. Slightly more musicality and power. Could be that I already had a decent Acme fuse in the amp and there are individual ordinary fuses for each tube to protect the circuitry that I have not upgraded yet. I suspect the tube fuses are holding me back a bit here. Still a worthwhile uplift I would recommend!

 

3. Did I just buy a new DAC? Astonishing improvement across the board. Yeah, this will probably be downvoted or reported but experiencing how much the standard fuse in my DAC was holding me back was a game changer. The QSA Light Blue fuse at its modest price is a no-brainer for those with a decent source/network and a Yggdrasil DAC. There is simply no going back here. The "choke" point in my system was the fuse in this DAC.

 

I had been skeptical of fuse upgrades for a very long time and I'm glad I've changed my tune. 

 

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

But Taiko made it clear that this USB card will not be available for DIY.

That's too bad but we have some solid options. The JCAT USB XE is really good, so is the CoreAudio P24 OCXO.

 

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

But I really enjoyed my DAVE DAC journey and would like to explore the DAC-arena and if I can do something similar with other DACs (i.e. build a new power supply, tweak, modify, etc.). I have already earmarked some potential projects I've wanted to do for a while. I have an Auralic ARIES G2.1 here and working on a 3-rail ARC6 DC4 for it. It's a product a lot of people like and I would like to push its limits and see where it takes me. Not a fan of the G2.1 in its stock version, but I did not like the DAVE DAC either. And the G2.1 is not a DAC either. But I have some other DAC projects in mind, which I would rather not mention at this early stage. The parts and supply shortage does not help much, but I will do whatever I can. 

 

A lot of people like the Schiit Yggdrasil as well wink wink nudge nudge. 😁

 

Cheers,

-Rob

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6 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Rob you’re spot on - Yggdrasil is still the one I want, but it’s power supply really isn’t up to scratch, grey and course sound that otherwise ruins an excellent experience for me.  There was rumour of a twin box Yggy MK2 (like holo May) but not sure if that was anything other than rumour.

 

Nenons DC4 Dave will be the nuts, I heard four legs version and it’s amazing.

I could only imagine! The fuse + LIM boards both improved grayness a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if my stock fuse was installed incorrectly. There is nothing coarse about my Yggy at this point 😎. Have you heard LIM?

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1 hour ago, gererick said:

Did the QSA fuses replace stock fuses?

 

1 hour ago, gererick said:

In this order:

1.  ULPS V3 - Replaced ordinary ceramic fuse

2. Rogue ST-100 amp - Replaced Acme Sylver Cryo fuse

3. Yggdrasil LIM dac - Replaced standard glass body fuse

 

In 2 of three cases, yes.

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On 11/13/2021 at 9:08 AM, CJH said:

I have put together a high power desktop to play my music files (via USB direct to a Holo DAC)  with HQPlayer Desktop powered by a 850W be quiet ATX supply. I am going to see if I can get some sonic improvement switching to a HDPlex 800. Since HDPlex is out of stock (next year?) on their 400W AC-DC (2 needed) to power the HDPlex 800, I am going to first try powering it with either two Mean Well 450-Watt 24Vdc, one Mean Well 750-Watt 24Vdc, or an 800-Watt 24Vdc unregulated analog supply. Any thoughts or suggestions on this. Thanks.

CJH

I'd like to help but i'm not sure i'm following what you plan to try. Are you saying you plan to switch from an ordinary ATX PS to the HDPlex 800W DC-ATX fed by a pair of meanwell SMPS's? 

 

If so, I do not know how much of an improvement to expect. What I do know is I have a single HDPlex 400W AC-DC I can sell. Two are not needed. You can start with one and add another later on. This sounded pretty good early on in my DIY Music server journey.

 

As far as what performance improvement to expect, I would recommend not going with the HDPlex AC-DC or meanwell SMPSs and going straight to something like a Keces P8 to feed the HDPlex 800W DC-ATX. I'm not sure it will be able to keep up with your HQPlayer demands though. Perhaps @StreamFidelity can help there. You may need a pair to handle your build + HQPlayer filters.

 

Cheers,

-Rob

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1 hour ago, MarcelNL said:

using single leads from each cap to one point for the negative leads 

I will have to try this! Interested in learning why you suggest single leads vs lowering resistance with multiple leads for the negative leads.

 

31 minutes ago, RDOK said:

They are Neotech OCC by the way.

Was just going to ask you if this was Neotech UP-OCC. 16AWG?

 

Planning a full re-wire for scientific reasons with Neotech...

 

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17 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

I was not implying single leads are better than multiple! I probably expressed what i was trying to say unclear!

 

I was trying to point at using one single reference point (ground) by using return leads from the negatove of the rectifier and each negative of each cap to a common ground point and keep the lead between the positive of the rectifier and each choke to the positive side of the cap as short as possible. All of this rather than using the wires as sort of bus bars.

 

 

 

 

Understood, yea, that I do. Star ground.

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4 minutes ago, Mags said:

After taking some measurement it appears that Hypex softstart board would fit. The only problem is that shipping from the Netherlands to the US is more than the cost of the module itself!

Is there a US source to get these modules??

Had to get my last one from SoundImports. Interested in a US source as well.

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7 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

so, I finally got the PSU components in house, I'm just a bit puzzled by the power in Molex plug for the Taiko ATX....does anyone know what type that is? 

 

In case anyone else is wondering: Molex 0039039062

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1 hour ago, MarcelNL said:

First impression is : WOW....one good ear and all taken in to account...

Wait till you have two fully functional ears again! I'm long overdue for an ear cleaning methinks. Wondering how much of an SQ improvement to expect with all the wax buildup gone 😂.

 

In other news, things have been a bit stagnant on my end with regards to the server. I've had the good fortune of being able to sit back and enjoy the tunes. Every once in a while the desire to tweek comes back, but, I usually come to my senses once listening resumes. For those on the fence building this design, just do it. You're in for a treat. The power to your server is of utmost importance when striving for the best SQ you can extract from your system.

 

Worth mentioning, I am probably going to build up a separate LPS using the unused 19V rail of my SR7T and put it up for sale in the coming months. I no longer need that rail to power my server so some lucky AS'er will be able to pick that up at a reasonable price.

 

In recent news, I built myself a new DC input cable using solid core Neotech UP-OCC of 16awg, gold plated molex pins (as usual), gold plated pure copper lugs. I braided it for "neatness" and do not know if there are any sonic benefits in braiding this way but i've done this with my EPS cables as well just to keep a neat look:

 

This is my first experience with this wire in this function, but what I will say is it sounded a bit thick at first compared to the stranded 16awg wire it replaced. It eventually sounded more refined, with improved imaging/separation. Is it a night and day difference over the Oyaide 16awg wire it replaced? No. Am I glad I tried it? Yeah, it satisfied my curiosity.

 

Next up will be Mundorf SG but with expenses adding up I do not expect to have that completed until next year.

 

Happy holidays all, and most importantly...happy listening!

 

Cheers,

-Rob

 

 

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10 hours ago, Rovo said:

Just to show you my version of Nenon ULPS v3. A prototype in Multiplex. Now that it all fits I can start making it from aluminium. The PC is used as a HQPlayer NAA endpoint. 

 

Most definitely striving for this level of excellent! Well done. 

 

Yours and other more recent builds have convinced me that going with 2x47,000uF + 1x22,000uF caps is the way to go for V3 from a space savings POV. That being said I would like to understand more about your efforts with the chassis. Wonderful job! 

 

Note: I will be comparing SQ differences between 5x22,000uF and 2x47,000uF+1x22,000uF for those interested. It will take a while though as these caps take forever to break in.

 

Having one less massive chassis, shorter cabling between LPS/Taiko/Motherboard are beneficial from a space savings AND SQ perspective.

 

Well done!

-Rob

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21 minutes ago, Tatomek7 said:

Grizzly Hydronaut :)

I second this.

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1 hour ago, TheAttorney said:

Others say it is natural and effortless

This is how I would describe my experience with QSA Yellow. I have two currently installed.

 

1 hour ago, TheAttorney said:

And that the violet and above are more natural than the yellow

I also have the Light Violet (in my dac) and cannot compare it directly to Yellow but this fuse had a very positive impact on my listening experience. My system didn’t drip with new flavoring. It sounded very familiar with QSA fuses, but better. Just more of everything I like about it and some really cool surprises.
 

1 hour ago, TheAttorney said:

I'm also interested in the QSA wall sockets, which seem to be better VFM than the fuses for the same colour.

Agreed. I have my eye on these as well. I’ve read some really good reviews of these on another forum.

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Hey all,

I got bored one day and decided to try risking the life of my fiber NIC to install some AudioNote Kaisei caps. 
 

Why? Mostly for experimentation. Some would consider such experiments silly but after hearing what a single ODAM cap can do in an LPS I figured I’d try my hand at swapping out the standard caps.

Will it:

 

1. Sound the same?

2. Sound worse?

3. Will it even work at all?

4. Will I start a fire?

5. Was it worth it?

 

I try to keep “DIY” bias out of the equation as much as possible. There is great joy in completing an experiment successfully and not breaking anything. I try not to let that have an impact on what I’m hearing (to the best of my ability). That being said, the answers are:

 

1. No, better

2. Heck no

3. Yes

4. I didn’t screw up enough to find out.

5. In my opinion, yes. 

 

So here it is (I bought two spares just in case):

Is this now in the same class as audiophile options? I don’t know. Probably not due to the fact that it does not take external power. It is the card I’ve decided to stick with after experimenting with other popular options.

 

Hoping to bring some life back to this thread!

 

Cheers,

-Rob

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31 minutes ago, TimF said:

Couple of questions for you. Background on my set up first…
 

I have an Intel Gigabyte Auros Pro Z690 motherboard. I am up sampling to DSD256 in Euphony Stylus via the HQplayer plug in and seeing very little heat. 

1) For BIOS settings I’ve disabled network, SATA and audio. Set memory to the increased speed it can do. Any other settings recommended? 

2) I have a high pitched noise intermittently being made near the processor / hard disk. Makes a noise several times a second. Any ideas? Sounds a bit like morse code. 

Thanks, Tim
 

 

2) Do you have any peripherals installed? Perhaps a keyboard or monitor? I’ve heard such sounds a very long time ago (dead silent now) with a keyboard plugged into the Ps/2 port. Also with monitor plugged in. I run headless now that I’ve got everything dialed in.

 

It has been a very long time since I entered the bios. But if there are features that adjust speed or adjust voltage I tend to disable those features in an effort to reduce the changing of “states”. I disable all power saving features, I try to lock in at one frequency for cpu. Disable unused onboard USB ports if you aren’t using them. 

Edit: Worth noting that I do not upsample so some of this philosophy may not apply to your circumstances.

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1 hour ago, Nenon said:

Well, my Extreme is still in the Netherlands, and I have not received it.

That being said, what have you been listening with these days? 😎

 

1 hour ago, Nenon said:

As far as I know these improvements were done on my Extreme, so I am glad I was able to help. Now if I could only hear them myself too :)

Very cool.

 

There have been huge strides in what can be done with a single CPU rig, with the advent of the Taiko DC-ATX adapter and unregulated LPS. Switching from an SMPS to an LPS (PH SR7T) with the HDPlex 800W Dc-ATX solution was eye opening. Replacing the HDPlex 800W with the Taiko resulted in a major unexpected improvement. Switcing to the unregulated LPS brought about another monumental improvement. There have been several reports from others who have gone from single to dual CPU builds who seem very happy. That is a question I hope to answer myself at some point.

 

One caveat.. the motherboard and CPU utilized by the SGM Extreme isn't exactly new tech and one would wonder if investing funds on older hardware makes economical sense in 22'. So i'm keeping my hopes up that there will be a refresh of sorts in the next year (or two?) while I cling to my amazing sounding single CPU build and focus my funds elsewhere in the chain...

 

Ramble over! I wonder if others share my sentiments...

 

In other news:

1. For those with the unregulated LPS, with the Toroidy Supreme V2, the Noratel does sound better but I can't confirm how much better.

2. I would like to reiterate a previous observation about the power cable feeding this LPS. I've found that the shielded power cable had a way of closing in the soundstage and in my particular setup I recommend going with an unshielded cable of good quality with the ULPS. This rule may not apply in all cases but should be explored.

 

Cheers,

-Rob

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Dev said:

I share the same thoughts but sometimes new tech doesn't translate to good sound. I read somewhere that Taiko had evaluated many many motherboards (I think they even designed one ?) at the time and choose the Asus sage. Moreover, the server grade CPU/motherboard doesn't see that often refresh as the consumer grades does and especially with EP series.

So true, and this is why i'm struggling to plop down the funds. You may have just helped lift my mental block. I've been building PCs (and servers) for too long and have never purchased such expensive, older hardware. But, for the sake of SQ it may just be a requirement.

 

That being said, there have only been bits and pieces of how to deal with process lasso, Windows LTSC licensing, etc. The chassis is another topic as well but I am confident the new HDPlex may fit the bill here, with its newer cooling compatibility with the longer Xeon CPU we want to use.

 

So yeah, not a lot out there to work with at this point. As the picture becomes clearer it may be more worthwhile to move in the direction of the proven dual CPU build..

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9 minutes ago, Dev said:

What do you mean HDplex may fit the bill ? You mean DIY the Sage inside the H5 case and plop the Taiko on the outside (as Nenon did) ?

Yes and this may work out well for some. For example, I do not think my iteration of V3 will fit in the new Taiko chassis. So I’d have two chassis either way.

 

" I am looking for the dual Xeon as a base platform and then go from there and without having the platform ready, its very difficult to experiment."

 

On the same page as you here.

 

 

 

 

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30 minutes ago, Dev said:

I do not think I have posted about this before but a while back I added couple more heatpipes to the older H5 case and it lowered the temps by 8-10deg C. My temps hoovers in the high 30degs now with the CPU un-throttled to its full potential. I used to run couple of external USB fans before but I later found that it somehow deteriorated the sound. With the addition of the heatpipes, I no longer need the fans with the added advantage of the server sounding better.

 

 

 

 

First of all, awesome accomplishment. Second of all, our builds are freakishly similar. I use the same Nic, USB card and Revelation SSD AND M2. adapter. The motherboard is different though.

 

Can you link us to the pipes you ordered? Interested in emulating this.

 

Also,

Yeah having a 2nd chassis is ugly but i've gotten used to it it. I now have:

 

PH SR7T

SJ DC3

ALS-HPULN

SJ DC4

ULPS V3

Keces P3 

LPS 1.2

 

All in my rather small listening space (my living room). How I manage to pull this off is beyond me but is is far from optimal!