Building a DIY Music Server

[MarcelNL]

heck why use Tidal, an MP3 gets you the same words

[MarcelNL]

My current favorite is nano tape, somehow it does dampen vibrations AND it does not stick like crazy and leaves no residue!

[MarcelNL]

@Dev Nice tube amp, 211 SET? 

[MarcelNL]

6 minutes ago, Dev said:

 

this one is 805. The 211 is the one I have been lurking around and would probably be my next SET :-)

 

 

aha, the top cap fell of the picture ;-)

 

Nice Graphite anodes! I'm into mesh tubes lately, with a monster build around a PL519 in G2 Triode ongoing for quite a while now.. 400H chokes etc...should be finished when the other monster project is done, my Trionor front loaded open baffle speakers,

 

 

[MarcelNL]

good old sic-safco used to make some great capacitors, I used quite a few in my Le Monstre amp build decades ago (1.5F capacitor bank at 12V-0-12V). Generally it's recommendable to parallel more small caps than a few whopping large ones. Low ESR and noise current at your target voltage and high current capability are key, there probably are a few members here who can compare with other current caps.

 

[MarcelNL]

54 minutes ago, Gavin1977 said:

Potential new solution around the corner:  

https://www.fudzilla.com/news/pc-hardware/52893-noctua-confirms-its-passive-cpu-cooler-is-coming-soon

 

great, if they only would make it in copper....then it could be a truly premium cooler...the Nofan passive coolers suddenly disappeared leaving very little (or none) passive options. The chines manufacturer let me know they don's have passive solutions for AM4. 

I still think it'll come down to making my own from some copper busbar, and copper rods and a file or two.

 

[MarcelNL]

I was also wondering how a 5mH choke would do anything serious, my tube amp has a custom 400H (@100mA) HiB core choke weighing a ton , of course that PSU uses far less capacitance than this PSU due to the mercury filled tube rectifiers but still.

[MarcelNL]

6 minutes ago, atxkyle said:

 

Hadn't considered that, but I bet it makes a big difference. Does anyone know if most of the top-shelf servers are providing dedicated LPS rails for internal storage?

they do, using a separate SSD power supply did miracles for SQ in my NUC. In my current build the same applied to going from a so so external PSU to a proper LPS for the SSD, major improvement!

[MarcelNL]

what is that gunk that is applied? (the computer I'm using right now has no sound)

[MarcelNL]

thought it was flux, but was unable to listen to any explanation there might be

 

[MarcelNL]

43 minutes ago, ASRMichael said:

Response from Jord

 

About the cards, I think where the confusion comes from, not the full conversation is posted. It is like follows:

 

The USB card working fine on any system both Intel and AMD running either Linux or Windows.

The SPDIF- and I2S bridge working fine on both Intel and AMD on Windows systems.

The SPDIF- and I2S bridge working only on Linux on AMD based systems.

Something is going wrong between the Intel CPU and the PCI Express audio processor we use on both the SPDIF- and I2S bridge. What is odd is that the issue between the audio processor and Intel is random, it will play fine in some Intel/Linux systems, but most Intel/Linux systems produce issues with the SPDIF- and I2S bridge.

I learned the hard way, it would be nice if they put something like a heads up in their product description or at least to their distributors...

It was Pietro (AudioLinux) who told me there is an issue that could not be sorted, not a word from the distributor or PF, once I changed gear to AMD it worked instantly.

[MarcelNL]

Jupiter is a great wire, neutral sounding. I mostly use Jupiter as go-to wire and Neotech Up OCC for the upgrades.

 

Currently my EPS 8 pin is Neotech (PVC) UP-OCC 18AWG and the ATX is a mix of Neotech (PVC) UP-OCC 18AWG and some thinner leftover neotech up-occ

[MarcelNL]

I finally found an AM4 socket heatpipe adapter in copper and it arrived

 

Now only to find a suitable heat sink to connect it to and build a case to fit everything in....and likely something to replace the heatsink on the Xilinx card as that thing gets incredibly hot with the current weather.

 

[MarcelNL]

@genvirt What did you use before the HDPLEX 800? And what did you feed it with? 

[MarcelNL]

40 minutes ago, genvirt said:

Try this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000107291369.html

I ordered this and modded , a bit ugly - but working:)

 

For the Xilinx card or the CPU? think that I have the CPU covered.

[MarcelNL]

14 hours ago, genvirt said:

I thought You need it for adding to pipe holder (like I did). sorry for misunderstanding .

.

No sweat, it's just that I do not fully understand what you meant to say...I have a set of heatpipes and clamps for the CPU and am thinking about a larger heatsink for the Xilinx card but am not sure if there is a real risk of damaging anything when removing the stock heatsink...

 

BTW: I removed some stuff from the bottom of the (open) case and the airflow to the xilinx card is def. better, temp dropped by 5-7 'C

[MarcelNL]

2 hours ago, hols said:

Recently I have ordered a Taiko DC DC-ATX to replace my HDplex 800W DC-ATX to power my i9 9900K and Asus Rog Strix z490 E mobo with 8Tb Samsung 970 EVO nvme on a PCIe card requiring SATA power supply. And I am having problem to power up the 8Tb nvme with the SATA power from the Taiko DC DC ATX.  I can power the system up if I use a separate Teradak linear power supply to provide 12v and 5v SATA power supply to the nvme PCIe card. If I use the SATA from Taiko DC DC ATX then it cannot power up. Is it possible that the SATA power supply from the Taiko DC DC ATX is not powerful enough to power 8Tb nvme? Or is my Taiko DC DCATX having problem?

 

I used 16AWG hook up wires to make the SATA cable for the Taiko DC DCATX and I have checked three times that the pins out are correct.

I used a local deigned and made LPS with 1000VA transformer with 2 x 19V to power the HDplex 800W and now using one 19v to power the Taiko DC DCATX.

That makes 25 amps or so for each 19V winding, does it work if you switch on the NMVME a tad later than the MOBO?

 

What is the power draw of that * Tb monster? I see a Sabrent Rocket uses like 6Watt for a 50Gb copy, and is drawing 400mA when idle...hardly earth shattering amounts of power.

[MarcelNL]

the issue may be that the power left in one 19V section is not enough to start up your MOBO?

[MarcelNL]

I just added a linear PSU to my network switch...something that was low on the list of 'to do' stuff...but should have been higher up!

 

[MarcelNL]

Pink Faun may not work well with Intel, do check before buying....other than that and without having auditioned both options: I am in favor of less is more so so would be inclined to go with the second option IF you have a good linear PSU for the PF card!

 

 

[MarcelNL]

DIY-ing is easy enough, you need a good (!) crimping tool for the molex pins and play a bit around to make the crimping work as needed.

I ended up making mine as the Ghent cable I ordered did not fit the PSU I'm using (all cables are connected straight but my PSU has 180"rotated connectors), takes about an hour to make both cables if it's a straight connection.)

[MarcelNL]

Nice idea !

 

What power do you need to feed the Solarflare? I happen to have a nice 5V linear PSU lying around.....

[MarcelNL]

the only issue I can think of is when the SFP is incompatible with the router, or that you are crossfeeding the fiber channel. I struggled a bit when connecting my Zyxel router, swapping the fiber channels at one end and firing up the switch again did the trick.

 

12V..hmmm that voltage I do not have lying around...

[MarcelNL]

I am about to tackle the passive cooling for my build, I was wondering how you guys handle that chassis, does it sit flush on a closed shelve, stacked on other stuff or do you allow for decent air circulation around it, or whatever? (with passive heat transfer is subject to all the quirks nature throws at us)

 

I think I may end up using two 300W (something like 0.4K/W) heatsinks back to back with the heat pipes sandwiched between them, both sticking up in the air over the case, long ago I used a similar setup for a power amp and it was the best way to keep stable temperature (well, that is unless there is a heat wave or something)

 

[MarcelNL]

I bought my heatpipes and everything here, they have loads different ones available not sure what the max length is: 

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32831982529.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.c6374c4di3DGB4