Article: CAPS Twenty | Part One

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, barrows said:

I am assuming you will be running an I9-9900K in the Twenty...

One should never assume. 😁

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, barrows said:

Agreed, I should have said, "guessing"!

Intel sent me two options :~)

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 hours ago, 20hertz said:

I hope Smallgreen computer can build some for us uneducated ones!

Hi 20hertz, I agree with you and I'm reminded of something I discussed with another member of this community via email yesterday. 

 

CAPS designs have always been about a starting point and a guaranteed result. If people have a CAPS server identical to this one, I guarantee it will work as I say. However, I love when people use CAPS as a starting point and jump off on their own to make something better or cooler etc...

 

Yesterday I discussed the gauges with someone and he asked why I didn't make them visible through the front of the chassis. I would've loved to do that, or even made a wireless module to house the gauges that could sit next to the listening chair. I decided that perfection can be the enemy of progress, so I released CAPS Twenty.One as a first shot at something really cool and different. Bringing this back to a third party like SGC and the community making things better, I'm sure someone will come up with a better design and better way to make the gauges, or any other part, more user friendly. 

 

I have a notebook full of ideas to take things to unseen levels, but at some point I would compete with the great companies in this industry and that isn't my business. Perhaps I can spark some creativity in those companies and we'll see something even better that we can all purchase and get great support with warranty etc... 

[The Computer Audiophile]

P.S. I always encourage people to hire their local neighbor kid or PC company to build the CAPS servers. Those guys can do it with their eyes closed because they have the complete design and build of materials above. If there are eve any questions, just post them here and either me, or the community will help. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, 57gold said:

what does the HQ Player up conversion with the new filters/modulators at high rates like DSD256+?

 

The other PC that I mentioned in the article and video will do the heavy lifting. All components are here and assembly has begun.

 

 

1 minute ago, 57gold said:

why does the JCAT USB unit have such a big heatsink?  What does it do?

 

I can only guess it dissipates heat :~)

[The Computer Audiophile]

7 minutes ago, 57gold said:

So, what is the high powered computer you would use to send this guy music from if this guy is just a player like a Rendu?

Same one that I will use in CAPS Twenty

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, gionaz said:

great things! in the end it is like an intel NUC but with the possibility of providing a better USB and Ethernet connection?
one question, is there the possibility to use an AESEBU card instead of the usb card ?.
my dac supports usb but i prefer a digital XLR connection, if yes, for example which audiophile AESEBU card could be used?

You can absolutely use a PCIe AES card like those from RME or Lynx.

[The Computer Audiophile]

33 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

Chris you said, "In fact, if there was more Linux support for native DSD playback with HiFi DACs, I would've never gone down this path. I would use my Sonore Signature Rendu SE optical for one half of this CAPS design. Unfortunately manufacturers like Sonore can only do so much in their efforts to support native DSD. Because of these efforts there is support for many DACs, but if hardware manufacturers are unwilling to work with the Sonore team, there is little they can do."

 

The term "support" can mean different things. We support almost all DACs on the market without the customer having to do anything and new devices are being added all the time. The work we do is mostly trivial taking place after the fact because DAC companies don't reaching out to us in advance. Recent changes to the Linux Kernel have added automatic discovery for some devices simplifying things further. To say, "Sonore can only do so much in their efforts to support native DSD" in light of all that we have done without their support is very misleading.   

It was a compliment to you Guys @vortecjr  and all your team does behind the scenes to make it happen. 

 

If you don’t get support from some manufacturers, there is nothing you can do. Thus, you can only do so much. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

Chris, you preface it with, “In fact, if there was more Linux support for native DSD playback with HiFi DACs, I would've never gone down this path” How many devices are not supported on Linux....2 or 3. It’s misleading and a poor excuse for having to make this device. 

I don’t see it as “how many devices” but rather how many people could use a device like this and how many may be interested in it. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

I'd suggest that you add prices to the parts list, and a  total price for the build.

Yes, people can click the links and poke around, but I think the prices should be displayed in the article as a service to readers. 

I think many people will see a go/no go just from the price, and they should have that information in the article.

Great point. Done. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

12 minutes ago, jrobbins50 said:

Chris, you should have a separate price shown for the HDPlex supply, as it is an option that is considerably less expensive than the JCAT. JCR 

Major oversight on my part. Fixed and thank you :~)

[The Computer Audiophile]

13 minutes ago, botrytis said:

 

I would still use a Ryzen over Intel, because except for gaming and single-threaded use, Ryzen's are better and use less power. My main desktop at home is a Ryzen 5 2600 which runs with simple cooling, at 35C even under stress. It is  mt video card that is the temperature monster. 

On paper Ryzen is great but not in reality for stuff like HQPlayer. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, botrytis said:

 

Have you tried? I actually tried a R5-2600 to a i5-10500, at work, for some 3D modeling from some mass spec data (OK Science GEEK here  ). The Ryzen was a tad faster (same amount of memory and speed as well as HD space). For computations, unless it is specifically designed for an Intel CPU, either would work.

 

Also the security issues with Intel processors, that gives me a huge pause. Most computers at work are Intel CPU's. 

I completely get what you're saying, but tons of apps just don't work as well on AMD processors. There are strange issues that pop up even though both "should" work great. 

 

There is evidence of this in the AS forum for people running HQPlayer. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

18 minutes ago, Le Concombre Masqué said:

Analog gauges are a gorgeous marketing concept ! Although some would say that CPU load is too global and that per core load is desirable... There's a whole concept there: does a CPU load in the red right hand means anything in terms of SQ ?

My main concern, though, would be that such a server built with HQPlayer in mind could not play HQP at SOTA, that is ext2 or Sinc S filters, ASDM7EC modulator, SDM 256 output, not to mention full range convolution. Does it ?

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I described this as a two PC system and this is the audio endpoint that's the NAA? 

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, Le Concombre Masqué said:

what do the gorgeous gauges read then ? the CPU GPU etc load of the endpoint or of the horsepower PC ? 

The gauges in the endpoint display the resource utilization of the endpoint. The high power server just might have gauges that display its resources as well, but my lips are still sealed on this one. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, Le Concombre Masqué said:

Pardon me then for I was far far away of awareness that a GPU was required for a NAA endpoint and furthermore that its load (and CPU's and RAM's) monitoring was critical...

In typical fashion you've found a way to be abrasive. Nobody said any of this is required. In fact I said the only requirement is the LattePanda and a power supply. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I totally forgot to mention in the article that CAPS Twenty and CAPS Twenty.One were set to be used by EMM Labs at RMAF this year, but due to the show's cancelation the CAPS computers won't get a public debut this year. Perhaps they will make an appearance at a show in 2021 :~)

[The Computer Audiophile]

20 minutes ago, agillis said:

 

We have the sonicTransporer i9 now winch has an i9-9900 (8 core). The i9-10900 will be available and has 10 cores BUT the cores are slower! For upsampling most of the processing is done on one core per channel so you want really fast cores.

 

The sonicTransporter i9 is still the fastest upsamling machine available for Roon or HQplayer (or both together).

 

Chris as always has some amazing new tech here. That LattePanda Alpha 864s is super fast AND draws only 5w. Very good for a very small low power Roon box.

The i9-10900K looks to be faster. 
 

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i9-9900K-vs-Intel-Core-i9-10900K/4028vs4071

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/compare_cpu-intel_core_i9_10900k-1139-vs-intel_core_i9_9900k-890

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, 57gold said:

OK, amongst serious CA folks with tech savvy, so excuse the continued silliness one my part, but, if the 20.1 is just handling already upsampled data from a heavy duty computer (which is doing the serious lifting), why the big heavy, mostly empty box, with heat sinking and oversized or super duper power supplies, not in the big box, to run relatively light weight stuff?

 

Just an exercise of the possible...belts, suspenders and gaffers tape, because one can?

 

 

There are endless ways to explain what I did and why I did it, but it's likely already in the article. Perhaps CAPS just isn't your thing, just like D to D converters aren't your thing. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, jrobbins50 said:

Chris, rightly or wrongly, I use VNC Viewer / Server to remote into my CAPSZuma server and other home PCs being used as Roon multichannel endpoints. Any reason that VNC would not work on the 20.1?

 

I will also ask if the 20.1 is intended to support multichannel playback.  Thanks. JCR 

VNC will work just fine. 

 

Multi-channel will work just fine as well. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, 57gold said:

 

Will the CAPS connect to a DAC with a D to D, or will all the efforts to handle the signal received from the heavy duty computer make one of those unnecessary?

I believe you're joking but I'll answer for those who may have a serious interest in the question. CAPS can connect to anything and the use of a D to D is up to the listener or DAC manufacturer. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, bbosler said:

With all of the RF concerns you might want to look at Audiowise products as that is the focus of most of what he offers. In my dealings with Dan he has been very easy to engage and eager to address whatever concerns you have.

 https://audiowise-canada.myshopify.com/

 

Concerning the question about outputs other than USB and the recommendations of Lynx or RME PCI cards... does anybody have any experience with them or recommendations for a BNC SpDIF 2 channel output? I see a lot of options and varieties so hard to dig through them. Ideally one that accepts a word clock.

 

finally, regarding HDplex. His supplies seem to offer a lot for the $$ but there are numerous posts that complain about reliability, admittedly mostly older posts.  Hopefully that is either a thing of the past or was not really an issue in the first place, never the less it would be nice to hear from any of you who have recent experience with them

 

thanks

 

 

 

 

 

I have experience using Lynx AES16 / AES16e cards sending AES on XLR and receiving word clock on BNC.  Seems like you need S/PDIF out and word clock in. Not sure if the Lynx can do that.

[The Computer Audiophile]

11 minutes ago, Cazzesman said:

Terrific Chris,

 

You and your original Site turned me on to Digital Music, so for that I am eternally great-full.    My Music System took off in 2010 as a result of your input and encouragement. 

 

As a 2010 CAPS Lagoon builder it is wonderful to see the 10 year update.   6 months ago I gave my Lagoon a Makeover with the WS2019 install and a new 2tb ssd internal storage for the tunes, but the MB, Ram and Sotm USB card are all still working well from day 1.

 

I love the look of the new case.

 

Appreciate all the time you spend and the professionalism of this site.

 

Kudos.

 

Regards Cazzesman

Thanks for the kind words and the story. Love to read this stuff. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

46 minutes ago, gionaz said:

yes but they are multi channel products with integrated dsp, solutions born for other purposes! I would need a card with direct XLR cannon connection for a single stereo connection, I use an AesEbu Nordost Valhalla 2 cable and I wish there were no other cheap cables in the middle ... I think all this is only for USB connections!

Not sure what I did to deserve the multiple exclamation laden post, but I’ll assume you’re just excited :~)

 

I think you’re looking for a card that doesn’t now and has never existed unfortunately.