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

[Marcin_gps]

On 12/14/2021 at 2:34 PM, baconbrain said:

@Marcin_gpsCurious as to when the XE USB will be back in stock for Europe, any idea?

I'm pleased to inform you that the cards are back in stock now!

 

Regards,

Marcin

[tubewin]

Hello, I just purchased the Jcat USB XE card and I'm really liking it so far except for the random distortion I've been getting. While listening to audirvana or on discord, the sound becomes really digital and screechy and than goes silent. It normally doesn't happen until 10-15 minutes has passed from turning on the computer and lps. I'm using a uptone audio lps 1.2. Is it because I'm stressing the linear power supply? Is it breaking/burning in? Or the worst case scenario, do I have a faulty card?

[Gavin1977]

3 hours ago, tubewin said:

Hello, I just purchased the Jcat USB XE card and I'm really liking it so far except for the random distortion I've been getting. While listening to audirvana or on discord, the sound becomes really digital and screechy and than goes silent. It normally doesn't happen until 10-15 minutes has passed from turning on the computer and lps. I'm using a uptone audio lps 1.2. Is it because I'm stressing the linear power supply? Is it breaking/burning in? Or the worst case scenario, do I have a faulty card?

Only gives you 1.1A - you should choose a power supply that can do at lease 2A.  I bet that would solve your problem.

[tubewin]

28 minutes ago, Gavin1977 said:

Only gives you 1.1A - you should choose a power supply that can do at lease 2A.  I bet that would solve your problem.

Hmm, alright. I'll look into different power supplies. Any recommendations for the best sound quality?

[Gavin1977]

There are many good ones - send me a PM once you’ve narrowed your choices down.

[Marcin_gps]

I have 2 updates:

 

1) Apparently some of the latest motherboards with new intel chipsets are unable to detect the USB Card XE. We verified the issue and confirmed that the new firmware for the card solves the issue on new chipsets. 

 

Here is the guide how to upgrade the firmware: https://www.inateck.com/blogs/news/asm3142-firmware-upgrade-operation-steps

 

This is only for users who experience this issue. 

 

2) The USB Cards XE are back in stock in large quantity. 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Marcin

 

[One and a half]

Dual PC Setup with (original) Net Femto and XE cards

 

At the moment, am using a dual PC setup, one machine contains the library and Minim Server -NAS-21. The other PC is just a junction box with the original Net Femto card driven by Linear 5V PSU. Listening for a few weeks now, this is resulting in very different soundstage, with vocals clear as can be, great height and the broad presentation, it's the best I've had from my system.

Audio-Jbox is an i7 with a Gigabyte Ultra durable 32GB Ram, the left over from a bought PC 2nd hand placed in a new box with passive heatsink.

 

What I wish to do is to transfer the original Net Femto card to the NAS-21 and buy a new Net XE card for the Audio-JBox machine.

 

My question is the bridging of the Net Femto cards. To the network, they appear as one device with a unique MAC Address, is easy for the NAS-21, since ETH2 is connected to the network where the router assigns IP address. On the Audio-Jbox machine Eth0 and Eth1 bridge IP can be assigned as well, however NAS-21 would need to be on first, otherwise Audio-Jbox is first it will not see the network but assign a 169 IP and stop working. Would Eth0 and Eth1 be DHCP?

 

Thought about ETH2 to bridge with ETH0,1 but this would compromise the network path and add more noise. Since the question will involve a Lumin, it may be relevant in the Lumin thread, but is more concerned with networking. Learning the hard way around bridges, I can figure them out, but have not experienced the two in tandem.

 

 

[baconbrain]

Could someone tell me what the pinout is for the molex connector on the USB XE Card?

[Marcin_gps]

1 hour ago, baconbrain said:

Could someone tell me what the pinout is for the molex connector on the USB XE Card?

 

4 is +5V

3 is GND

 

1 & 2 are not used

[Marcin_gps]

On 1/25/2022 at 5:45 AM, One and a half said:

Dual PC Setup with (original) Net Femto and XE cards

 

At the moment, am using a dual PC setup, one machine contains the library and Minim Server -NAS-21. The other PC is just a junction box with the original Net Femto card driven by Linear 5V PSU. Listening for a few weeks now, this is resulting in very different soundstage, with vocals clear as can be, great height and the broad presentation, it's the best I've had from my system.

Audio-Jbox is an i7 with a Gigabyte Ultra durable 32GB Ram, the left over from a bought PC 2nd hand placed in a new box with passive heatsink.

 

What I wish to do is to transfer the original Net Femto card to the NAS-21 and buy a new Net XE card for the Audio-JBox machine.

 

My question is the bridging of the Net Femto cards. To the network, they appear as one device with a unique MAC Address, is easy for the NAS-21, since ETH2 is connected to the network where the router assigns IP address. On the Audio-Jbox machine Eth0 and Eth1 bridge IP can be assigned as well, however NAS-21 would need to be on first, otherwise Audio-Jbox is first it will not see the network but assign a 169 IP and stop working. Would Eth0 and Eth1 be DHCP?

 

Thought about ETH2 to bridge with ETH0,1 but this would compromise the network path and add more noise. Since the question will involve a Lumin, it may be relevant in the Lumin thread, but is more concerned with networking. Learning the hard way around bridges, I can figure them out, but have not experienced the two in tandem.

 

 

1. Set static IP for NET card (ETH 0) on Audio JBOX. <e.g>:IP 192.168.0.22

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - 192.168.0.11

 

Set static IP for NET card (ETH 1) on Audio JBOX. <e.g>:IP 192.168.0.23

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - 192.168.0.22 (must be the same as IP address on ETH 0)

 

 

2. Set static IP for for NET card (ETH 3) on NAS-21 to <e.g>: IP - 192.168.0.11 (must be the same as gateway in 1, ETH 0.)

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - IP address of ETH 2

 

 

3.  Set static IP for Lumin U1 to e.g.: 192.168.0.33

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - IP address of ETH 1 on Audio JBOX

 

Hope it helps.

 

Bridge on Audio JBOX and NAS-21 may also work, but this is sometimes problematic, especially on Windows.

 

 

[One and a half]

On 1/27/2022 at 6:42 PM, Marcin_gps said:

1. Set static IP for NET card (ETH 0) on Audio JBOX. <e.g>:IP 192.168.0.22

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - 192.168.0.11

 

Set static IP for NET card (ETH 1) on Audio JBOX. <e.g>:IP 192.168.0.23

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - 192.168.0.22 (must be the same as IP address on ETH 0)

 

 

2. Set static IP for for NET card (ETH 3) on NAS-21 to <e.g>: IP - 192.168.0.11 (must be the same as gateway in 1, ETH 0.)

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - IP address of ETH 2

 

 

3.  Set static IP for Lumin U1 to e.g.: 192.168.0.33

subnet - 255.255.255.0

gateway - IP address of ETH 1 on Audio JBOX

 

Hope it helps.

 

Bridge on Audio JBOX and NAS-21 may also work, but this is sometimes problematic, especially on Windows.

 

 

Thanks @Marcin_gps for the tips on the config. One small problem is the Lumin is always DHCP and cannot be setup with a permanent IP address (unless assigned by a router).  This means the bridge is necessary on Audio-JBox PC. That's not too bad since the feeder is always on and exposed to the network. Th Lumin is powered on demand only.

[1laraz]

On 4/26/2020 at 6:58 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

A very sly proposal. There are actively cooled expansion boxes from AWC Digital. Given that Jcat USB XE works in passively cooled PCs, it might be acceptable to power off the fan.

 

The main question however, will the path "motherboard->thunderbolt->expansion box-->Jcat USB XE" be inferior to the "motherboard->Jcat USB XE" in terms of sound quality?

[Gavin1977]

44 minutes ago, 1laraz said:

A very sly proposal. There are actively cooled expansion boxes from AWC Digital. Given that Jcat USB XE works in passively cooled PCs, it might be acceptable to power off the fan.

 

The main question however, will the path "motherboard->thunderbolt->expansion box-->Jcat USB XE" be inferior to the "motherboard->Jcat USB XE" in terms of sound quality?

I think you will be unlikely to hear any difference as Thunderbolt is CPU direct… even if you go on a PCIe channel that isn’t CPU direct and goes through a PCI bridge all it does is slightly soften the presentation.

 

What you are going to hear however if what you MacBook Pro sounds like… laptops aren’t generally the best for music playback compared to a dedicated music server.

[1laraz]

42 minutes ago, Gavin1977 said:

What you are going to hear however if what you MacBook Pro sounds like… laptops aren’t generally the best for music playback compared to a dedicated music server.

Are you saying that dedicated music server processes data sonically better? By using Jcat USB XE with external LPS most of the negatively affecting parameters shall be eliminated: power noise from PC, mediocre data clocking. What is left is data processing and I am not quite getting why computer+Jcat USB XE + LPS should sound worse🤔

[tubewin]

I'm still getting random distortion. I upgraded my power supply from a LPS1.2 to a JS-2 and it still does it. Could the card be overheating?

[Gavin1977]

59 minutes ago, 1laraz said:

Are you saying that dedicated music server processes data sonically better? By using Jcat USB XE with external LPS most of the negatively affecting parameters shall be eliminated: power noise from PC, mediocre data clocking. What is left is data processing and I am not quite getting why computer+Jcat USB XE + LPS should sound worse🤔

Everything matters, all the way down from where internet enters your home and which router you use… if you have a sufficiently transparent system you will hear this.  However, the last part of the chain is the most important - JCAT USB XE and a great power supply will give you a noteworthy boost.

[Elberoth]

On 1/1/2021 at 8:48 PM, andru26 said:

Anyone upgraded from JCAT USB Femto to JCAT USB XE? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

I have both cards at home now. I have just finished 3 days of testing.

If you were running the Jcat Femto USB card without a quality external PSU, switching to JCAT USB XE will be a true game changer.

Much better resolution, more transparency, deeper soundstage, much more palpability and more vivid colors. Jcat Femto USB card sounds almost gray in comparison.

It seems to me that the voltage regulation on the Jcat Femto USB card is the Achilles heel of this card. Throw in a quality ultra low noise PSU and it really picks up the pace. I have tried (discontinued) Jcat / Bacoon 02 battery PSU, Teddy Pardo ULN PSU and the excellent Jcat Optimo Nano inline voltege regulator. All of them sound a bit different - with battery PSU and Teddy Pardo giving more mellow but less finely resolved details and Jcat Optimo Nano offering more transparency - but they all move the Jcat Femto USB card to a completely different league.

That said, even with the excellent Jcat Optimo Nano - which is LT3045 based inline voltege regulator  - Jcat Femto USB card is not as good as JCAT USB XE powered straight from the MoBo. And when you throw in Jcat Optimo Nano on JCAT USB XE, it sounds even better, although the change is not as pronounced, so you get only maybe 5-10% extra (which just shows, that local voltage regulation on the card itself is much more important than the voltage regulation before the card).

If I was to give a score to all of those card combinations (just to give you an idea of the magnitude of differencies), it would look like this:

MotherBoard USB port - 1
Jcat Femto USB (no PSU) - 2
Jcat Femto USB (powered by Jcat battery / Teddy Pardo PSU) - 6
Jcat Femto USB (powered by Jcat Optimo Nano inline voltage regulator) - 7
Jcat XE USB (no PSU) - 9
Jcat XE USB (powered by Jcat Optimo Nano inline voltage regulator) - 10

All tests made on Intel DN2800MT MoBo (CAPS V2) powered with linear UpTone Audio JS-2 PSU, running as Roon end point on Roon ROCK software (with Roon Core on a different computer).

[andru26]

@ElberothThat's a great comparison. Thanks for the feedback!

[baconbrain]

@Marcin_gps When using a DAC which requires 5V from the USB Port, will the XE USB card provide this when powered through the molex connector? Also, what is the maximum number of PCI Lanes which the card can use?

[Marcin_gps]

10 hours ago, baconbrain said:

@Marcin_gps When using a DAC which requires 5V from the USB Port, will the XE USB card provide this when powered through the molex connector? Also, what is the maximum number of PCI Lanes which the card can use?

 

Absolutely. 

 

x1 which covers maximum USB 3.0 bandwidth of 5 Gbps.

 

Regards, 

Marcin

[baconbrain]

@Marcin_gps Thanks for the response.

 

Unfortunately I cannot maintain a stable connection currently with my T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier/DAC and the XE Card under a fresh Windows 10 installation. Regardless if I use the DAC Manufacturer’s ASIO Driver, or WASPI, sooner or later the signal drops. I currently have the card installed on an Intel 590 board and am powering it thru the molex connector with a Taiko Audio ATX SATA 5V Port. I just had my Headphone Amp tested by the Manufacturer and they found no issues with its functionality. I have tried 3 different USB cables with the same result.

 

Realize that the troubleshooting possibilities are quite broad but was hoping that you might have a couple of good suggestions for me.

[StreamFidelity]

1 hour ago, baconbrain said:

a fresh Windows 10 installation

 

Analyze your system with LatencyMon. Maybe you have outdated drivers or other problems.

[baconbrain]

10 hours ago, StreamFidelity said:

 

Analyze your system with LatencyMon. Maybe you have outdated drivers or other problems.

 

Thanks for the link and great application. Really gives an incredible amount of information. Unfortunately, the overall conclusion of the app was that "my systems appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts."

 

[Marcin_gps]

4 hours ago, baconbrain said:

 

Thanks for the link and great application. Really gives an incredible amount of information. Unfortunately, the overall conclusion of the app was that "my systems appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts."

 

 

I'd try reinstalling USB DAC drivers and make sure that the playback settings are stable. 

 

Also, please check if you're getting the same issues when the DAC is connected to a USB port on the motherboard. 

 

Regards, 

Marcin

[baconbrain]

5 hours ago, Marcin_gps said:

 

I'd try reinstalling USB DAC drivers and make sure that the playback settings are stable. 

 

Also, please check if you're getting the same issues when the DAC is connected to a USB port on the motherboard. 

 

Regards, 

Marcin

 

Marcin,

 

The good news is that I experience signal drops also when using a 3.1 USB Port on the MB, so the problem is not an XE specific one.

 

The bad news is that I cannot for the life of me figure out what exactly is causing my issues. Even with a basic WASAPI connection it drops. Sometimes after an hour of playing time and sometimes within 10 minutes. I have disabled just about every possible thing in BIOS attempting to find the culprit, but to no avail.

 

Realize this is not really related to your product thread so I will discontinue the discussion here. If someone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them, so please send me a PM.

 

Bacon