CuBox Project X

[Kunter]

Hi,

An update is in order...

I don't have a cat, but my dog seems to be enjoying cubox so far

Current configuration is Cubox with SATA SSD (Samsung 850 Pro and yes new SSD makes a considerable improvement). USB Cable is PPA dual head. Lovely. Also added is an iFi USB Purifier. Strong recommendation for all USB users.

One very interesting fact with my setup: I have added a PPA Black SATA cable (20cm version) between my SSD and Cubox (with an eSATA-SATA adapter on cubox side) and the difference is HUGE.

Currently waiting for PPA battery adapter as the final step for power on both Cubox and SSD. 

Will report back soon...

Cheers.

Kunter

[fabien44]

Hello Kunter,

i plan to build my own music server/streamer based on HummingBoard i4Pro (top of their products) and using SPDIF coax wich provides galvanic isolation (if i well understood).

I would like to use an internal mSata SDD to serve all my audio files (to avoid usb cable and powering external drive).
OS would be on SD card or on SSD small partition.

The board will be powered with a linear power supply.

I hope SQ is optimised in this way, am i wrong?

My goal is to beat or equal my Auralic Aries with USB key. Just the clock of the last would be a factor of nicer SQ but not verified.

[Kunter]

Hello Kunter,

i plan to build my own music server/streamer based on HummingBoard i4Pro (top of their products) and using SPDIF coax wich provides galvanic isolation (if i well understood).

I would like to use an internal mSata SDD to serve all my audio files (to avoid usb cable and powering external drive).
OS would be on SD card or on SSD small partition.

The board will be powered with a linear power supply.

I hope SQ is optimised in this way, am i wrong?

My goal is to beat or equal my Auralic Aries with USB key. Just the clock of the last would be a factor of nicer SQ but not verified.

Dear fabien44

I do not have experience with the HummingBoard series. Checked the specs, seems ok. I think mSATA is definitely a plus.

However:

1. The best board of the series is i2eX (i4Pro is Cubox, if I am not missing anything) and it has only 2 cores vs. the 4 cores of Cubox. Multiple cores help with the sound quality if you are wisely using them.
2. SPDIF Coax quality is very much dependent on its implementation. I cannot comment whether it will be good or bad... But it does  have proper USB connection so you will be able to compare.
3. mSATA is good, but the SSD sends a lot of power crap back to the line. mSATA means it will be powered by the board so it might be sensitive to the noise coming back. In my case, if I connect my external SATA SSD to the same power supply, I cannot get the best sound.
4. for the power supply, I am at luck with good battery converters. I currently have the PPA battery supply for the cubox and its just great. I could not compare with linear supply.
5. I am also playing around with a CubieTruck right now, and I really like what I hear. Not at the level of the cubox, hence my comment on the number of cores (cubietruck has 2 as well...)
6. I would run the system with a really fast sd card and not use the sata bus from SSD for continuous reads on system. residing data and system at the same physical place is a no no. a real strong one.

Best of luck with your project. Write back with your comments and experience.

Cheers

[fabien44]

Hello Kunter,

1) You can order MicroSOM i4Pro with HummingBoard Carrier to get SPDIF coax
http://www.solid-run.com/product/sr-usom...som-i4pro/

3)-6) You are right. I will use fast SD card instead of mSSD and plug my external HDD to my router. Will use SMB scan.

5) CubieTruck CC-A80 would be nice but more expensive, no spdif

Today, is your Cubox main source/streamer in your system?

I also read that the memory cache is very important to get the best SQ as possible (eg: Mac-Mini thread in computeraudiophile forum), Cubox does not have. What do you think about that?
Also a reclocker would give huge improvment i guess.

Regards,
Fabien

[Kunter]

Hi...

Some answers and more update.

Yes, Cubox is the main streamer/player in my system now. And with the final setup, I think it moved from "cute nice sounding box" to "high-end transport". Let me explain.

My current setup is:

Cubox
Samsung PRO 16G SD Card + Volumio 1.5
PPA Studio Dual USB cable
PPA Studio Black SATA Cable (with E-SATA adapter on Cubox side)
1TB Samsung 850 Pro SSD
PPA Studio Dual Rail Battery Power Supply + 4x 3200 mAh Panasonic unprotected batteries feeding Cubox and SSD

and a tune up to MPD running in Volumio
giving all related processes real time priority and assigning dedicated cpu's. (taskset and chrt commands on startup)
memory cache before playback. Every song is loaded to memory before playback.
(had to edit PHP files to enable 100% buffering)

Cubox and SSD in Aluminum and thick case
(http://www.altinkaya.com.tr/IP-65-Contal...ducts.html)

some drilling on the box to fix cubox and SSD in nicely, cables protruding from a hole in the back, and a ground post added to be grounded to Entreq Silver Minimus (it helps a lot)

Also used copper foiling on all innards, connected to the ground post.

Acoustic Revive Lan Isolator to isolate from network.

Sooo much detail, texture, image, etc. Incredible realism.

A reclocker should help. I tried the DCS Vivaldi Upsampler/reclocker over last weekend. Yes it helps a little. Not by a huge margin and definitely not worth 20K US.

Overall I am really happy with what I have. Beats my Mac setup and the Auralic Aries hands down.

Cheers.

Kunter

[fabien44]

Hello Kunter

thanks for your feedback, very excited to follow this story.

I am to buy the hummingboard (top one) and a SSD plugged via a sata-msata adapter for data only because i want to power each element independtly with a linear power supply in one box.

For that purpose, i will order the following for 2x5V DC outputs:
- Linear regulated power Double DC LT1083 20V 7.5A
http://www.audiophonics.fr/fr/alimentati...-8426.html

- Transformator 30VA 2x07V
http://www.audiophonics.fr/fr/electronic...-3631.html

I target this kind of box:


What do you think about this build?

I had planned to buy a reclocker remedy, but you believe it's not worth the extra cost.

Should i order the hummingboard with wifi or should i work only with Ethernet (for control purpose only, music is on sata)?
It is not dangerous for heat dissipation to use aluminium case ?
Could you post some pictures of your optimised cubox?

Thanks
Fabien

[Kunter]

Cubox needs very small power to run and does not heat up much. Hence I can keep it in the box.

Your solution seems neat. I would (did) consider the battery solution for power. These 18650 batteries and Paul's dual rail supply work wonders.

I wish I had taken a picture before I closed the box. and I am afraid to open it up now... If I do in the future I would post some pictures but now it is an ugly small box. Attached is how it looks like     right now.

I would not put wireless anywhere near the device. if you can just stay in Ethernet and isolate it.

Good luck with your project as it is a fun journey. It all adds up to proper software in the end...

Cheers

[fabien44]

Hello Kunter,

thank you for your picture, but what is this king of bags on top of your alu box and power supplier?

I hesitate between 2 models of hummingboard, either the top one or middle one:
- i2eX: 2 core 1Ghz per core - 1Go RAM, without Wifi/Bluetooth
- i4pro: 4 core 1Ghz per core - 2Go RAM, Wifi/Bluetooth included (in fact i will not use it wireless)

Pros for first one: less power consumption
Cons: less CPU power for decoding and less RAM for buffering

Which one would you select?

And i cannot understand what is your post point for ground, how it works and for what benefits?

Thanks again
Fabien

[Kunter]

Hi...

Those "bags" are crystal rocks for emi noise... silly, but helps. And looks good to me...

Definitely go for the 4 core version. You will disable wifi later... And you will need core "isolation" rather than power. My MPD works on dedicated cores and sound improves so much.

For grounding, I have Entreq boxes, which are really effective on both signal grounding and chassis grounding (I have seperate boxes for that).
There is quite a bit of discussion on this board on this topic and many fans like me... so have a look...

Cheers.

Kunter

[fabien44]

Hello Kunter,

your system is very powerful. I don't target yours because of lack of money but i will try to customise best as possible.

A friend will build specific power linear supply to deliver 2x5V/2A to feed SSD and hummingboard.
He is also working on specific box to welcome everything (SSD, Hummingboard, EMI shields, heat dissipation, ...). The hummingboard cpu temp can be very high, so the box should be designed to evacuate heat.

You compare to Aries but wich one, the LE or femto/LPSU one?

What do you mean about cores isolation? I read in your previous posts that you dedicated 2 cores for MPD and 2 cores for USB, why USB? I will not use USB, just mSata and SPDIF coax.
But i would like to install XBMC upon on Volumio to be able to watch movies. What do you think about? I read in solid-run forum, someone who did that.

Have a nice day
Fabien