DIY Project High Performance Audio PC with high quality wiring

[StreamFidelity]

19 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

Loooking forward to hear your experience with actual TDP of that HDplex

 

TDP stands for thermal design power in watts and relates to the energy consumption under the maximum theoretical load. The power consumption is less than TDP at lower loads. The TDP is the maximum performance a system should be designed for.

 

The trick is to achieve high performance and low energy consumption with the clock frequency and the voltage limitation. It takes a lot of attempts. If the equilibrium has been found, the system is very stable at low temperatures.

 

13 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

I just finally reinstated (read repair) my RJ45 I2S link, and am again convinced that wire matters also in the digital domain.

 

I have had good experiences with network isolators. fis Audio offers a network isolator integrated in the cable: fis Audio Ultraclean Linear Ethernet Cable.

 

 

8 hours ago, Topk said:

I would suggest you raise the voltage just as a test and listen, just to make sure you did not dip too low into that threshold…. 

 

You have to be careful that the CPU doesn't starve to death. But I would always prefer this solution to fans. You can also use the fans well in summer. But your solution is not mine. 😉

[MarcelNL]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I know that the TDP is not the constant power consumption or even equaling the heat dissipated by the CPU, problem is that I see that most folks have trouble keeping the temperature of the PC chassis stable in combination with the fact that I do not want to use metal for a chassis. Therefore I bought two heat sinks that each can handle 300W and I'll see where that gets me with the CPU and Xilinx card running full pull.

 

I2S should be clean in itself, it's not an ethernet but is only using RJ45 connectors. In my ears it's the best link for NOS DAC designs, it was designed as comm protocol for audio between the IC's of the CD player back in the days when Philips designed the CD player. Normally is struggles when cables get longer than 20 cm, in this implementation the designer states it works flawlessly for long stretches up to a meter. The Pink Faun output card is tailored to work with the Metrum DAC, I compared I2S with USB and SPDIF and found I2S to sound more natural less stressed and cleaner.

 

 

[sitQ]

@StreamFidelitywhen will the new chassis from hdplex be available? Do you know any further information? I have been following the website of hdplex, but the 2nd generation “out of stock” for s while..

[MarcelNL]

best email Larry @hdplex, he is quite responsive.

[StreamFidelity]

19 hours ago, sitQ said:

when will the new chassis from hdplex be available?

 

According to my information, the end of September at the earliest. But I'm afraid it will take longer. 😆

[jabbr]

On 9/5/2021 at 4:47 AM, StreamFidelity said:

I have had good experiences with network isolators. fis Audio offers a network isolator integrated in the cable: fis Audio Ultraclean Linear Ethernet Cable.

 

Interesting ... a cable that actually does something! Is it a common mode choke? The ethernet PHY transformers aren't great at filtering common mode noise and adding common mode chokes has been discussed.

[Zauurx]

Yes, interesting but I couldn't find a commercial link and price ?

[StreamFidelity]

44 minutes ago, jabbr said:

Interesting ... a cable that actually does something! Is it a common mode choke? The ethernet PHY transformers aren't great at filtering common mode noise and adding common mode chokes has been discussed.

 

I tried Delock and EMOSAFE EN-70HD The disadvantage of these boxes is that additional plugs and sockets are required. I always try to take the direct route to avoid contact resistance and other malfunctions.

 

Bernd from fis Audio sees it that way and has therefore integrated the network isolator into the cable. He never told me from which manufacturer. It is not one of the above. In addition, the shielding can be switched on and off.

 

Further informations in German are available here: fis Audio Ultraclean Linear Ethernet Cable.

 

33 minutes ago, Zauurx said:

Yes, interesting but I couldn't find a commercial link and price ?

 

The best thing is to ask Bernd by email: [email protected]

 

[StreamFidelity]

I reported here from the Afterdark Buffalo Switch:

 

This switch has the "entry-level clock" grade PRINCE.

 

I suspected that there was still something more possible. So I bought the Afterdark Switch with the Grade Emporer Giesmann EVA, the top model. Here are the different measurements:

 

Prince: -100 dBc / Hz at 1Hz, -131dBc / Hz at 10 Hz
Emporer Giesemann EVA: -121dBc / Hz at 1Hz, -145dBc / Hz at 10Hz

 

The sticker on the side shows the clock grade Emperor Giesemann EVA. There was also a measurement record that confirmed the good values.

 

 

 

After I downloaded the latest firmware and listened to the switch for the first time, I was really amazed. An even better localization of musical instruments. Drums are played very precisely. Very good transients.

[seeteeyou]

On 6/29/2021 at 4:36 PM, StreamFidelity said:

Tips for refining music files on the hard drive with resampling

 

FYI - Bug head Resampler 1.01 is included in the latest package

 

http://www.mics.ne.jp/~cdorya/#download

 

Bug head Resampler 1.01 正式リリース&終了バグ修正

https://archive.md/HBjQm

https://community.phileweb.com/mypage/entry/229/20211021/68665/

[StreamFidelity]

Assembling Audio PC with i9-12900K CPU

 

With the 12th generation of processors, Intel has finally developed interesting processors again, see my report:

In this post you can now follow how such a high performance audio PC is built.

 

My Previous Orders

 

HDPLEX H5 Fanles Chassis

 

The basis of the new fis Audio PC is of course a fanless chassis. This supports a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 125W with a sophisticated heat pipe system. TDP is the maximum thermal power loss on the basis of which a cooling solution is designed. The turbo power of an Intel i9-12900K CPU is even 241W! The aim of the fis Audio PC is to undercut the 125W despite overclocking. We'll see if that succeeds.

 

 

Intel® Core ™ i9-12900K Processor

 

This hybrid CPU has 8 E-Cores (Efficient) and 8 P-Cores (Performance). The cores can be virtually doubled with hyperthreading and enable a total of 24 threads. It is the new flagship from Intel, which even enabled overclocking to 8GHz.

 

 

This overclocking is not our goal, but when there are high performance reserves that is very good.

 

Motherboard MSI MPG-Z690-EDGE-WIFI-DDR4

 

MSI (Micro-Star International Co. Ltd.) is based in Taiwan. With the new motherboards you have to decide whether the RAM should be used according to the new DDR5 or the old DDR4 standard. I chose DDR4 because of its low latency. The passive cooling with heatsinks is very good, see picture below. The power design also impresses with a direct 16-phase 75A supply. An M.2 memory and a PCIe slot are directly connected to the CPU, which supports low latencies.

 

 

G.Skill DIMM 16 GB DDR4-4000 kit memory

 

DDR5 RAM currently still have very high latencies (at least 14.62ns according to my research). This DDR4 memory, also from Taiwan, has a sensationally low 7ns (nanosecond) CL latency. However, this is bought at the cost of a high power supply of 1.55V. Whether I let it run like this or lower it to 1.20V will depend on the temperature development. In any case, the heat spreaders have a importand task.

 

Stay tuned, I'll report on when I get the chance.

[Listener7]

On 9/7/2021 at 2:19 PM, StreamFidelity said:

 

I tried Delock and EMOSAFE EN-70HD The disadvantage of these boxes is that additional plugs and sockets are required. I always try to take the direct route to avoid contact resistance and other malfunctions.

 

Bernd from fis Audio sees it that way and has therefore integrated the network isolator into the cable. He never told me from which manufacturer. It is not one of the above. In addition, the shielding can be switched on and off.

 

Further informations in German are available here: fis Audio Ultraclean Linear Ethernet Cable.

 

 

The best thing is to ask Bernd by email: [email protected]

 

EMO recommended to me the EN-85e for audio.  It had the added advantage of a male and female connectors which eliminated an extra connection.  They said they now recommend this model over their others because it has the lowest insertion losses.  They also gave me a checkout code for $10 off and free shipping.  'audio85e'

[StreamFidelity]

11 hours ago, Listener7 said:

EMO recommended to me the EN-85e for audio.

 

I've tried that and I can recommend it.

[StreamFidelity]

New Keces P28

 

It is difficult and usually expensive to find suitable linear power supplies (LPS) for a high-performance audio PC. Most of the time, the very low-noise LPS do not have the required performance. Higher performance LPSs quickly become expensive and heavy and large.

 

The new offspring from Keces Audio is entering this niche in the market: Keces P28. This LPS is finally available.

 

Six zones are available with different voltages and currents.

 

Zone I: 5V / 7V / 9V / 12V, 4A.
Zone II: 12V / 15V / 19V / 24V, 4A.
Zone III: 12V / 15V / 19V / 24V, 6A.
Zone IV: 12V / 15, 10A.
Zone V: 5V / 9V, 2A.
Zone VI: USB 5V, 2A.

 

Zones III with 6A and IV with 10A are particularly interesting for a high performance audio PC. The motherboard could be supplied with Zone III (19V or 24V) and the CPU with Zone IV (12V). So far I needed 2 Keces P8 for this. The P28 direct voltage connections (DC) have the same dimensions as before: 2.5 / 5.5mm barrel and so old cables can continue to be used.

 

I particularly like the very low ripple values:
<100uV at full load
<10uV at 60 watts

 

Source: https://kecesaudio.com/P28.html

 

The width of the aluminum chassis is the same like Keces P8. Everything else is bigger: 300x279x133mm, 14KG.

 

I will use Keces P28 for this project Audio PC with i9-12900K CPU: 😉

 

[Nenon]

2 hours ago, StreamFidelity said:

New Keces P28

 

It is difficult and usually expensive to find suitable linear power supplies (LPS) for a high-performance audio PC. Most of the time, the very low-noise LPS do not have the required performance. Higher performance LPSs quickly become expensive and heavy and large.

 

The new offspring from Keces Audio is entering this niche in the market: Keces P28. This LPS is finally available.

 

Six zones are available with different voltages and currents.

 

Zone I: 5V / 7V / 9V / 12V, 4A.
Zone II: 12V / 15V / 19V / 24V, 4A.
Zone III: 12V / 15V / 19V / 24V, 6A.
Zone IV: 12V / 15, 10A.
Zone V: 5V / 9V, 2A.
Zone VI: USB 5V, 2A.

 

Zones III with 6A and IV with 10A are particularly interesting for a high performance audio PC. The motherboard could be supplied with Zone III (19V or 24V) and the CPU with Zone IV (12V). So far I needed 2 Keces P8 for this. The P28 direct voltage connections (DC) have the same dimensions as before: 2.5 / 5.5mm barrel and so old cables can continue to be used.

 

I particularly like the very low ripple values:
<100uV at full load
<10uV at 60 watts

 

Source: https://kecesaudio.com/P28.html

 

The width of the aluminum chassis is the same like Keces P8. Everything else is bigger: 300x279x133mm, 14KG.

 

I will use Keces P28 for this project Audio PC with i9-12900K CPU: 😉

 

 

5uV ripple on the V3 of the unregulated LPS I suggested for DIY. 

 

@StreamFidelity - were you planning to try that at some point? That unregulated LPS + Taiko ATX is really my golden standard to power up servers these days. Put it next to any regulated linear power supply, and it's an eye opener to the type of noise (and how much of it) that exists in pretty much any linear regulator when you draw high current. And you haven't really heard the potential of the Taiko ATX until you feed it with one of these unregulated LPS at high voltage. 

 

It's good to see another product from Keces, so not trying to shut it down. I am sure it's a great product from Keces, and it will be a really good fit for many people.

 

But for those who can afford to try the unregulated LPS + Taiko ATX, it gets my top recommendation. And while I am affiliated with Sean Jacobs, I have no affiliation with Taiko and the unregulated LPS design is freely available for anyone who wants to build it. 

 

EDIT: I do like the look and the versatility of the Keces P28.

[StreamFidelity]

18 minutes ago, Nenon said:

But for those who can afford to try the unregulated LPS + Taiko ATX, it gets my top recommendation.

 

Yes, I also think that there is still a lot to discover. You are a role model for many in your insatiable thirst for research. For me too.

👍

 

I don't doubt the combination sounds better. Because that's what it was designed for. Unfortunately, I am not an electrician. I feel uncomfortable using an unregulated power supply. 

 

Keces power supplies are operationally reliable. A few days ago I accidentally triggered an overload because I thought I wanted to use DSD256 for 32 channels. I confused the channel input field with the bit input field. 😂

 

The Keces P8 tolerated my stupidity for a few seconds and then cut the current offended. Not without pointing out the overload in the display. Turned off and turned on again. Everything is going as it was before. I didn't even have to change the fuse.

 

How does an unregulated power supply behave in this situation? I don't want to try it out. You are much braver than me.

[Nenon]

23 minutes ago, StreamFidelity said:

 

Yes, I also think that there is still a lot to discover. You are a role model for many in your insatiable thirst for research. For me too.

👍

 

I don't doubt the combination sounds better. Because that's what it was designed for. Unfortunately, I am not an electrician. I feel uncomfortable using an unregulated power supply. 

 

Keces power supplies are operationally reliable. A few days ago I accidentally triggered an overload because I thought I wanted to use DSD256 for 32 channels. I confused the channel input field with the bit input field. 😂

 

The Keces P8 tolerated my stupidity for a few seconds and then cut the current offended. Not without pointing out the overload in the display. Turned off and turned on again. Everything is going as it was before. I didn't even have to change the fuse.

 

How does an unregulated power supply behave in this situation? I don't want to try it out. You are much braver than me.

 

Fair point. I've risked my house to go on fire more often than I should have... :) 

[StreamFidelity]

The Keces P28 has arrived. 😃

 

There is a main switch at the front and a power switch at the rear, which completely disconnects the device from the power. In addition, each of the 4 zones can be switched on or off individually. The P28 can be triggered with a 12V line.

 

 

The cable connections are on the back. The DC plug sockets give a really good hold. Otherwise it's sometimes a shaky affair. Here you have to use some force to insert the barrel connector (2.5 / 5.5mm).

 

 

As is typical for Keces, the inside is well sorted. I am generally enthusiastic about the quality of workmanship. If you look at the circuit board at the top left, you will discover Schumann PCB. A Schumann frequency generator is actually installed.

 

 

When it is lit it looks like this. The ammeters can be dimmed. The displays are actually quite accurate.

 

 

Coincidentally, the green goes well with the T + A SDV 3100 HV. There is a green "disco lighting" on the housing cover, which is a function of the Schumann generator.

 

 

The Keces P28 is getting hot. You could say a typical Keces characteristic. 😉 The device must therefore stand free in order to be well ventilated.

 

I have connected the following devices:

Zone I: 12V, 4A for the afterdark switch
Zone II: 24V, 4A for the fis Audio PC - Taiko DC-ATX
Zone III: 12V, 6A for the fis Audio PC - CPU-EPS2
Zone IV: 12V, 10A for the fis Audio PC - CPU-EPS1

 

Powerful mainboards often have two CPU-EPS connections. I can now fully use them. The increase in sound is immediately audible to me with more body and slightly improved transients. 🍻

[Zauurx]

You have a Schumann generator ??  😉

[StreamFidelity]

1 hour ago, Zauurx said:

You have a Schumann generator ??  

 

The frequency was named after the discoverer Winfried Otto Schumann and is 7.83 Hz (main frequency). Attention, now comes snake oil. 😄

 

It is claimed that the bandwidths correspond to our brain waves. No idea if that's right. The idea is to increase well-being in the living room with an artificially generated frequency of 7.83 Hz. Keces calls it "Quantum".

 

These Schumann frequency generators are often offered. I tried a cheap part once. It had no effect. I don't know how it is with the Keces P28. To do this, I would have to do a series of tests. But I don't feel like doing it because everything is fine. 👍

[RickyV]

7 minutes ago, StreamFidelity said:

It is claimed that the bandwidths correspond to our brain waves. No idea if that's right. The idea is to increase well-being in the living room with an artificially generated frequency of 7.83 Hz. Keces calls it "Quantum".

If you smoke a joint it will increase your sense of well-being for sure, no snake oil. It even enhances you hearing or so they say.

 

But I must say that Keces P28 looks freaking fantastic. 

 

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...it does look freaking fantastic, which corresponds to good brain waves. Looks very steam-punky cool. Like you're doin' the hifi business in style. Bonus points for style. 

[drjimwillie]

This is totally off-topic, other than speaking about frequencies that alter your brain waves.

A friend of mine had a business called synchro energize. She had a studio on Broadway in New York. You put on headphones, there were tones in each ear. They would offset the tones and your brain would synthesize the tone in between the two tones. These tones correlated with Alpha, beta or Theta brain waves states. You could meditate like a Monk, or fall asleep or get invigorated.  In front of your eyes there was a circle of white lights that would basically randomly flash. Your eyes were closed so with the tones you would see hey hypnotic kaleidoscopic light show. It was also really good for helping you fall asleep.
I would help my friend, when she brought the apparatus out to shows or events.

I gave it to Timothy Leary at the limelight in New York. He did not close his eyes, when he put on the apparatus. I wasn’t sure what he did take seriously.

I digress

you could feed this technology right into your headphones. 🤔

[MarkusBarkus]

I had a device like this in the early 90s. Seeing different colors from the LEDs was mindblowingly interesting. How the heck did that happen! It used binaural tones in the programs, as I recall. Combining the LED perception effects with music must be cool. OK--back on topic!

[MarcelNL]

There is plenty of you tube footage for doing just that if I'm not mistaken. It does do something!