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USB CARD XE - Xtreme edition USB Audio output with ground-breaking performance


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There was a noise about this being priced at $600. But that was full of jitter, which the new card seems to cleaned up and a new clearer, cleaner, (Chinese) luck number Euro 800 is now available to us.

Is this a fair price. I would love to hear your views. 

Qnap NAS (LPS) >UA ETHER REGEN (BG7TBL Master Clock) > Grimm MU1 > Mola Mola Tambaqui /Meridian 808.3> Wavac EC300B >Tannoy Canterbury SE

 

HP Rig ++ >Woo WES/ > Stax SR-009, Audeze LCD2

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The first batch of USB Card XE is on the way.

 

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. Please give the card up to 200 hours burn-in before forming your final opinion - the LT3045 LDOs on the card need time to open up. 

 

Please share your feedback here on the forum or leave a review and star rating on the Polestar platform: https://audiophilestyle.com/polestar/computers-networking/jcat-usb-card-xe-reviews-r293/
 

The card has an external PSU option which eliminates computer as the source of power. The OPTIMO 3 DUO power supply is highly recommended for absolute best sound quality: https://jcat.eu/featured/optimo-3-duo-linear-power-supply/

 

Looking forward to your impressions!  :)

 

Yours sincerely,

Marcin Ostapowicz

JPLAY & JCAT Founder

JPLAY & JCAT Founder

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@Marcin_gps

Hi Marcin,

 

would like to use your new USB CARD XE with a new MacBook Pro with TB3 output to this device:

 

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/echo-express-sel-tb3/overview.html

 

Does the XE work with this device and can you recommend such a configuration when using a HQPS for the XE?

Do exist devices which are superior to the Sonnet, maybe passive cooled without fan?

 

Thank you

 

Matt

"I want to know why the musicians are on stage, not where". (John Farlowe)

 

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@Marcin_gps When powering USB XE with a really high quality linear power supply, do you still find that the host computer power supply is as important? 

 

For example, some people here are spending large amounts of money on linear power supplies for their server builds (7700k, 8700k, AMS 3900x - all 95 watts)... high core count, large cache all sound better.  With JCAT USB XE would using a standard high quality ATX SMPS for the motherboard and CPU no longer be a compromise?

 

I ask because >8A of 12v linear power supply is very expensive and rare.

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On 4/26/2020 at 5:58 PM, matthias said:

@Marcin_gps

Hi Marcin,

 

would like to use your new USB CARD XE with a new MacBook Pro with TB3 output to this device:

 

https://www.sonnettech.com/product/echo-express-sel-tb3/overview.html

 

Does the XE work with this device and can you recommend such a configuration when using a HQPS for the XE?

Do exist devices which are superior to the Sonnet, maybe passive cooled without fan?

 

Thank you

 

Matt

Hi Matt, 

 

In theory this should work, but I haven't tried this device, so can't be sure. 

 

The USB Card XE works under Mac OS. (This  is new, because USB Card FEMTO is not compatible with Mac OS)

 

On 4/26/2020 at 9:23 PM, Gavin1977 said:

@Marcin_gps When powering USB XE with a really high quality linear power supply, do you still find that the host computer power supply is as important? 

 

For example, some people here are spending large amounts of money on linear power supplies for their server builds (7700k, 8700k, AMS 3900x - all 95 watts)... high core count, large cache all sound better.  With JCAT USB XE would using a standard high quality ATX SMPS for the motherboard and CPU no longer be a compromise?

 

I ask because >8A of 12v linear power supply is very expensive and rare.

 

Yes, host computer PSU will always be important IMHO

 

We're designing our own no compromise ATX iinear PSU, but, as you already noticed, it will be very expensive. 

 

Best regards,
Marcin Ostapowicz
JPLAY & JCAT Founder

JPLAY & JCAT Founder

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have preordered mine now! What’s the present ETA for June, early/mid/late?

 

Also, I will be powering my motherboard with a linear power supply (Sean Jacobs)... I would imagine that this would largely remove the need for using an external dedicated linear power supply... any feedback on this?

 

 

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NEXT BATCH UPDATE

 

I'm afraid I have unfortunate news. 

 

I've just received an email from Digi-key regarding availability of the OCXO oscillator we use on the USB Card XE. The original shipping date when we placed the order was June, 6th. Now the date is June 30, 2020, with an additional, approximate 6 business days transit from the manufacturer to Digi-Key.

 

The SiT5711 is popular and SiTime has not been able to get ahead of the demand. Regardless, we are pushing to get the oscillators sooner, but it seems that the USB Cards XE will not ship sooner than in July.  

 

I know this is disappointing, but there is very little we can do. 

 

I will keep you updated. 

 

On the bright side:

 

 

Sorry I ordered already and canceled 3 days ago cause of my already great sounding server but I heard it at a friends server and it’s a musthave….

 

 

Best regards,

Marcin

JPLAY & JCAT Founder

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On 5/23/2020 at 8:13 AM, Gavin1977 said:

I have preordered mine now! What’s the present ETA for June, early/mid/late?

 

Also, I will be powering my motherboard with a linear power supply (Sean Jacobs)... I would imagine that this would largely remove the need for using an external dedicated linear power supply... any feedback on this?

 

 

 

linear PSU for the motherboard  is certainly good, but a separate LPS for the card is a different story. 

 

I'd strongly  recommend a LPS just for the USB Card XE

 

Regards, 
Marcin

JPLAY & JCAT Founder

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Have you ever thought about undertaking J-Test measurements and publishing them?  Seems like a worthwhile objective measurement of performance.

 

For example:

 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/innuos-statement-music-server-measurements

 and

https://www.stereophile.com/content/roon-labs-nucleus-music-server-measurements

 

I'm just thinking that a test such as this might also show what can be achieved using USB XE used in different server configurations.

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40 minutes ago, Marcin_gps said:

Thanks for the suggestion. 

 

It's interesting, but a USB Card is only one piece of the music server puzzle. I think the results may vary quite drastically depending on motherboard, power supplies etc. 

 

Regards, 
Marcin

Very true - I would paint it in a very positive light as it could give the DIY community more information on how to maximise the performance of USB XE if different senarios where tested.  That way (a bit like what I am trying to do) people can make their own judgements on where to prioritise spend on the other aspects of their server.  It's pretty safe to say that without USB XE being available I would not be building a custom music server, I'm building the server around what USB XE offers. 

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Appologies, more questions along the same theme of optimising my approach.. 

  1. If using bus power only (no dedicated linear) then what voltages is the card using through the PCI express connection... 12v (stepped down internally by LT3045?), 3.3v or both?
  2. JCAT Website states "State-of-the-art LT3045 linear regulators and filters eliminate noise interferences from a PC" Would you be able to explain a little more about what filtering and noise reduction actually occurs at the PCI Express connection?
  3. If powering USB XE using an internal/external linear power supply, then is it true that the only source of electrically transmitted noise through to the USB XE will therefore be just the SMDAT/SMBus data collection pins?  Do you know which voltage rail the SMDAT/SMBUS data tranmision pins are powered off?

Thanks

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