Windows LTSC Install for Music Server

[One and a half]

Using Win2016 server type OS has its limitations, for playing and storing music is fine for Roon. Audirvana + doesn't install on Win2016, nor NVIDIA software for modest graphic cards. Every month there's an update to install.

After reading the Taiko Extreme uses Windows 10 LTSC, thought why not give this a try, could use a break from  updates and a stripped down OS is very useful.

To leave the existing Roon install intact, a new WD 256GB green SSD was used to install LTSC, which went reasonably quick, around 15 minutes from a USB Stick ISO image with help from Rufus.

Bit of faffing about to arrange the network bridge and the router to allocate a fixed IP address, once that was working OK, installed Roon and backed up from a network drive.

 

Nothing else had changed with the rest of the system, so fired up the first track. On the initial listen, something wasn't right, the image height had collapsed, sibilants were very common, and the spread across the speakers was very poor and mono-ish. Geez, does the OS make *that* much of a difference?? Compared Spohie Milman's In the Moonlight 48fs versus a CD analog out direct from CD player and the CD easily beat the digiital with the recording full of life.

 

Every now and again a check is made between CD/SACD playback and digital, and the results are usually very close, what lets digital down is the recordings.... anyway.

 

Thought about the similar effect when different USB cables were evaluated, and it dawned on the brain feeble, that noise had crept into the playback process rather than an OS change. Since changes were only in the Server, the grounding of different elements were examined and fortified. I had neglected to ground the new SSD and the newish 10TB WD Gold Drive.  The existing Samsung EVO SSD case was grounded before.

 

Further changes were made:

a) New ground wire from JCAT Net Femto RJ45 Jack frame

b) New Ground wire from JCAT USB frame. The card didn't provide a largish surface area for proper EMC grounding, but there was something to ground to.

c) New ground wire for the WD SSD

d) New Ground wire for the 10TB gold Drive

 

Due to the location, the drive's grounds were connected at one point, since the Supermicro's Server's mounting trays insulate the drives from the chassis, which is kind of handy for creating a star point. Needed to keep those cables short and ran a larger 10AWG wire from that point to another on the rear of the chassis that picked up the JCAT grounding wires, rather than use the chassis. The larger wire was to hand, should have used a larger braid, which I need to order plus to finish the job properly, star washers from M3, M4, M5 screws.

 

Buttoned up the Server and listened again. Well! What a difference, sound-stage spread was back, height everything was like how it was before. So the noise propagation was uncontrolled, now driven where it's supposed to be, back to the source within the Server and NOT on top of the Ethernet signal lead affecting playback.

 

Please have a think for those who build their own Music Servers, and bond the major components to gain a few more db of noise reduction

 

As for Windows 10 LTSC, go for it, so far so good!

 

Specs link in the signature for reference.

 

 

 

 

[One and a half]

4 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

It's all good until we're trying to figure out how to get a legitimate license for LTSC 2019

 

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2167558-explicit-instructions-for-purchasing-a-windows-10-ltsc-license

 

Different processors require different licenses

 

https://www.elbacom.com/windows-10-iot-enterprise-2019-ltsc-sac/

https://advdownload.advantech.com/productfile/PIS/Windows%2010%20IoT/Product%20-%20Datasheet/Windows%2010%20IoT_DS(03.06.19)20190307114148.pdf#page=2

 

According to the PDF file linked above, we're supposed to purchase "LTSC High-End" for Xeon Scalable unless we're considered an OEM

 

https://www.hiendy.com/hififorum/data/attachment/forum/202002/26/164751jkjcsiz87sislgih.jpg

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/taiko-audio-sgm-extreme-the-crème-de-la-crème.27433/page-206#post-654177

 

---

 

 

IMHO it might not be such a good idea to leave Windows unpatched these days, even Version 1809 (LTSC 2019) ain't safe until it's patched

 

https://www.tenable.com/blog/smbleed-cve-2020-1206-and-smblost-cve-2020-1301-vulnerabilities-affect-microsoft-smbv3-and

 

Windows patched itself while Roon was taking 24 hours to restore itself, on the reboot, the choices were update shutdown/restart.

[One and a half]

3 hours ago, MarcelNL said:

I recently read that a new LTSC version will only be released late 2021. Is it worth the wait?

Sometimes the new version is worse than the old, speculation doesn't work in deciding 🙂

[One and a half]

5 hours ago, Zauurx said:

I am using an LSTC 2019 version (1809).
With a little effort, a few tools (AO 3.0, ProcessLasso, ProcessHacker, etc.) and a few scripts, I get to 32 processes without audio software.
39 with Roon + HQP.
Management via TightVNC, file sharing function operational (LanServer), low latency (HPET off) and Time resolution to 5ms.
By disabling HPET, I lowered the QPC to 10Mhz (QueryPerfomanceCounter). It seems that with Win10 1809, 10Mhz is the minimum. You have to go back to a 1803 version to go lower (~ 3Mhz). 😋

Awesome work, highly appreciated; five stars !!