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Article: CAPS Twenty Update, My Music Storage Situation, and Why Audiophiles Need A New iPad Pro


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Just now, joelha said:

You just cost me $1,000, Chris. 

 

But I'm going to forgive you because you've written another great article. 

 

Thanks for that. 

 

Joel

Thanks Joel. It's totally worth it. I held out for the longest time, thinking it wasn't going to make that big of a difference. The evidence shows this is an amazing upgrade.

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Holy smokes, anything to reduce the time to update is welcome, but at these speeds, it's up there with Roon and Jriver on a local drive to catalogue new files, maybe even surpassing them.

 

Yup, my main gripe was with the Lumin app update time, fixed one part of the problem with the network speed , now the rest needs a faster processor, makes sense if you compare an M1 with a '386'.

 

Thanks @The Computer Audiophilefor the data measurements and like @joelha  to spend $$$, again. Anything to remove the 'please wait  technology' whoever invented that needs a swift kick in the rear 🤨

 

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Yes, but with the screen quality of the 12.9 inch and its 5G download speed, watching movies is competing with music...🤑 It has definitely become my do it all device.

Synology NAS>i7-6700/32GB/NVIDIA QUADRO P4000 Win10>Qobuz+Tidal>Roon>HQPlayer>DSD512> Fiber Switch>Ultrarendu (NAA)>Holo Audio May KTE DAC> Bryston SP3 pre>Levinson No. 432 amps>Magnepan (MG20.1x2, CCR and MMC2x6)

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Hi Chris.

 

I agree Samsung NVMe is the way to go. (Not that either you or Samsung need my agreement, but just thought I'd say it.)  Thanks for mentioning the Sabrent - nice to know if I ever need an adapter for an extra NVMe drive.

 

Wondering whether the extra transfers have to do with files or file characteristics that may have been changed without your manual intervention.  This can happen, as I'm sure you know, either when transferring between different OS filesystems (I feel that Windows in particular likes to throw "hidden" files into folders), or if something like a file timestamp is altered automatically.

 

Maybe check using rsync/rclone set to leave out some types of files, timestamp changes, or various other things, and see whether it makes any difference?

 

 

One never knows, do one? - Fats Waller

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. - Einstein

Computer, Audirvana -> optical Ethernet to Fitlet3 -> Fibbr Alpha Optical USB -> iFi NEO iDSD DAC -> Apollon Audio 1ET400A Mini (Purifi based) -> Vandersteen 3A Signature.

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If you're looking for an nvme with absolute speed and durability, then the 4TB Seagate Firecuda 530 has to be the one.

 

https://www.seagate.com/products/gaming-drives/pc-gaming/firecuda-530-ssd/

 

If you can find one for sale... the 2TB has the same specs for speed and durability as well, the 1TB and lower models are slower.

 

edit: And you can get it with an included EK heatsink if you need one.

No electron left behind.

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1 hour ago, Jud said:

Hi Chris.

 

I agree Samsung NVMe is the way to go. (Not that either you or Samsung need my agreement, but just thought I'd say it.)  Thanks for mentioning the Sabrent - nice to know if I ever need an adapter for an extra NVMe drive.

 

Wondering whether the extra transfers have to do with files or file characteristics that may have been changed without your manual intervention.  This can happen, as I'm sure you know, either when transferring between different OS filesystems (I feel that Windows in particular likes to throw "hidden" files into folders), or if something like a file timestamp is altered automatically.

 

Maybe check using rsync/rclone set to leave out some types of files, timestamp changes, or various other things, and see whether it makes any difference?

 

 


I think you’re on to something Jud. Booting into Windows is likely doing something to the files metadata. I will run some tests to see if I can figure it out because it would be really nice to get it working flawlessly. 

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Great article again, Chris.  Just ordered the 12.9" and it will become my perfect new audio room remote!!

 

Somewhat OT: how did the Win 10 to Win11 migration go?  Is it worth it?  My stalwart Win 10 Pro i7-6700k HQP server is running fine but wondered if "going to eleven" makes sense here, either admin-wise and audio-wise.

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39 minutes ago, ted_b said:

Great article again, Chris.  Just ordered the 12.9" and it will become my perfect new audio room remote!!

 

Somewhat OT: how did the Win 10 to Win11 migration go?  Is it worth it?  My stalwart Win 10 Pro i7-6700k HQP server is running fine but wondered if "going to eleven" makes sense here, either admin-wise and audio-wise.

 

Thanks Ted. 

 

I need to spend more time with 11 in order to render an options. It's certainly different.

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2 hours ago, ted_b said:

Great article again, Chris.  Just ordered the 12.9" and it will become my perfect new audio room remote!!

 

Somewhat OT: how did the Win 10 to Win11 migration go?  Is it worth it?  My stalwart Win 10 Pro i7-6700k HQP server is running fine but wondered if "going to eleven" makes sense here, either admin-wise and audio-wise.

Ted, I don't think a 6th Gen Intel CPU is Win 11 compatible. I seem to remember that it had to be 8th Gen or later. There is also the possibility that your MB may not be compatible either. There is a list somewhere where you can confirm this. I just can't remember where it is right now. It was several months ago when I checked. Win 11 requires a TPM 2.0 module and secure boot at a minimum.

 

That said I have been very happy with Win 11. It seems much more stable and quicker to me and I have noticed that I can run Roon and HQP together now without any problems where I used to get drops on Win 10 from time to time. I use my i5 8400/Win 11 fan-less machine mainly as a Roon server and my Mini M1 as the HQP SDM processor for my Spring 2 but I kept my Windows Desktop license for HQP so I would have a backup and for testing and I also use it to feed my ML 390s Processor PCM.

 

You probably need to wait for Win 11 until you get your next server machine.

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When I got my 3rd gen, 2018 iPad Pro 12.9", it was all about using it as the best control point for my music system. And since then, it's been the best control point for my music system and overall experience. It's so much better and more immersive and convenient for consuming media while listening to music. Better than a laptop and way more immersive than a TV. It's fantastic, and the 2021 device is similar all around. The gen 1 and gen 2 iPad Pros never really had the whole package together for me. 

 

What I was really intersted in about the 2021 iPad Pro 12.9" with the M1 chip was not the M1 chip, but the Liquid Retina XDR display. The verdict is still out for me on the display part, it's not a full upgrade over the 2018 and 2020 screen, but the the M1 chip was less attractive simply becasue the 2018 iPad Pro was already the hilariously fastest thing I've ever used. I wonder how the comparison would go versus the 2018/2020 iPad Pro, since there was a pretty decent CPU upgrade then, besides the total external overhaul.

 

Anyway, thanks for the update and news. Good to get the word out about the iPad Pro for music, hopefully it encourages more developers to do cool stuff for us. It's the best media consumption and experience device out there.  

 

 

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4 hours ago, ted_b said:

Has anyone found a cheaper alternative to the Magic keyboard?

Oh, the choice of wireless keyboards, many just sucked. But there's one that had stayed on the desktop for well over a year now.

 

Logitech MX keys. 

 

Can match with 3 devices, feels solid and heavy, battery lasts about 3 months of daily use before recharging via USB-C. Illuminated keyboard at the right time and no lags. The MX keys is wider than the iPad, it also sports a real number keypad.

 

I also have the magic keyboard, but it's very light, loses connection at the wrong times and replaceable battery life should be better.

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I have both the Logitech MX Master3 Master3 Mac wireless mice and I also have the MX Keys keyboard. They're some of the best peripherals I've used, and easily the best wireless ones. The multiple pairing thing is a cool feature, but it's the overall build quality and execution that sold me. 

 

However, I don't know how they compare price wise to the Apple wireless keyboard or mice options. 

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If someone is using Fibre Optic cable from the network switch (Ubiquiti) to a Lumin X1 DAC (or a Sonore OpticalRendu and a USB DAC).  Assuming that the computer running ROON Core is more than powerful enough but not optimized for audiophile silence. Does sound quality improve if one is running a customized music server, such as this CAPS 20 or Aurrentder et al, If it does improve what is the reason for that?

 

My understanding of the problems with network streaming was the analog noise seeping into the network and then getting into the DAC. This supposedly cannot happen when using Fibre Optic cable. What am I missing with regards to the need for a audiophile grade music server even when using Fibre?

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20 minutes ago, yyz said:

If someone is using Fibre Optic cable from the network switch (Ubiquiti) to a Lumin X1 DAC (or a Sonore OpticalRendu and a USB DAC).  Assuming that the computer running ROON Core is more than powerful enough but not optimized for audiophile silence. Does sound quality improve if one is running a customized music server, such as this CAPS 20 or Aurrentder et al, If it does improve what is the reason for that?

 

My understanding of the problems with network streaming was the analog noise seeping into the network and then getting into the DAC. This supposedly cannot happen when using Fibre Optic cable. What am I missing with regards to the need for a audiophile grade music server even when using Fibre?

This is a discussion for another topic for sure. It’s a good one. 

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Chris

Why don’t you run a raid 0+1 ?  (Spinning disks). Wouldn’t that give sufficient performance if the OS is on a stripe with 2TB NVMe, if your Qnap has this option? (My TS253D has with an extra PCI card added). 
 

How about using virtualization on that Caps ? It certainly has the HP, and you can run multiple OS and systems simultaneously. Hope you can test this out with two fast disks in a stripe. 
 

 

 

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8 hours ago, R1200CL said:

Why don’t you run a raid 0+1 ?  (Spinning disks). Wouldn’t that give sufficient performance if the OS is on a stripe with 2TB NVMe, if your Qnap has this option? (My TS253D has with an extra PCI card added). 

 

What's the advantage of doing this compared to what I have now?

 

 

 

8 hours ago, R1200CL said:

How about using virtualization on that Caps ? It certainly has the HP, and you can run multiple OS and systems simultaneously. Hope you can test this out with two fast disks in a stripe. 

 

HQPlayer needs direct access to the hardware. Virtualization won't work. 

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1 hour ago, bbosler said:

It looks like the iPad Pro same chip set as a Mac Mini. Sorry if this was mentioned as I didn't read all comments, but seems like it has the power to be a music server running Roon Core, Audvirana or whatever. I would gladly buy one if I could get rid of my server. Why limit it to just being the remote?

Yes, same chip. while the iOS apps can tun on the new Mac Mini (M1), the reverse isn't true because it isn't possible to install the software on the iPad. If I could run the install on the iPad, I'd try it. 

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