Music Server to Aurender

[Bartype]

Hello guys.

I am on the streamer and Windows PC route for many years already. From our tests I have learned that no stock streamer sounds better than a nicely build up Windows / JPLAY setup.

Moreover did we learn in the years when we suffered under the LINN DS sources that an external NAS plus ethernet cables reduces the SQ very much.

Nowadays we know how much influence a good linear PSU has on digital sources. The SATA cabelling is important, as well as the digital signal cable (i.e. USB). Moreover you can hear differences between SSD brands (don't even consider HDDs) and finally we have learned a lot about reclocking and anti-jitter-devices.

18 month ago I have compard for example the AURENDER W20 with our PC source on the same day with the same Devialet 800, PS Audio P10, Wilson Audio Sasha, Analysis Plus, Artesania setup and even at that time the PC source was clearly better. Since that day we have improved a lot of small items and the level of SQ we have reched has passed our imagination.

And many small changes were only software tricks or cheap components which we use on "standard" mainboards. Now consider if you can do this on any stremer from the shelf?

I have been following the route of buy and sell for many decades now and never found the satisfaction I was hoping for. Today I rely on my Devialet and a moded Windows PC and the level of saisfaction is close to nirvana!

So don't give up the PC stuff to easily. Find yourself a specialist whom you can trust in the same way as you trust your prefered old-school hifi dealer and your source problem will be fixed soon.

In Dubio Pro Audio

Jan

That's all very interesting, do you have some more info and/or links to info which we can use in building this perfect PC?
And that being said, to my experience a self build PC can become very costly fast when you delve into special cables, clocks and that kind of things. Thus coming in the price range of the Aurenders and Melco's without the insurrance you get the same or better SQ from it.
I hope you are willing to share the info to avoid this road and surely getting something which sounds really great without costing the massive ammounts of money the top-end Aurenders, Melco's and the likes do.

[Confused]

That's a fair point Bartype. Consider that when I auditioned the W20 vs a CAD CAT, I did prefer the W20. Could I build a PC that would sound better than the CAD CAT? I doubt it, to be honest!

[Antoine]

Unless I am terribly mistaken, Gentleman offers a commercial solution. See also: http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=2205

[Confused]

Unless I am terribly mistaken, Gentleman offers a commercial solution. See also: http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=2205

Other than the trick PSU's, one big difference between the CAD CAT and Jan's (Gentleman's) PC is that the CAD CAT outputs via USB, whereas Jan's beast uses XLR.  I suspect with the Devialet this may well make the difference?

[Antoine]

I think his outputs over USB as well but he uses a Mutec MC-3+ USB for the USB -> AES/EBU conversion. I'm not sure if it's built in into one of the three chassis, only he can answer that.

[Gentleman]

In fact Antoine is right. I am offering my "products" to other "SQ-freaks", too. But my main intention is not to make money. Instead I am hoping to spread better SQ and less frustration among those who are seeking the route towards nirvana.

I have gathered my knowledge from several related forums, from my visits to manufactureres, try and error games and 30 years of wasting big money on buying and selling PNP-gear.

With the purchase of my first D-Premier the hunting started. An amp with a wireless PC connection! From now on everything was supposed to be easy.... But why did we notice that the two notebooks we used sounded so differently?

Soon we learned that it is not simply about the transport of 0's and 1's. ITunes sounded worse than JRiver, JRiver worse than JPlay, etc.
Windows sounds better than Apple, Server OS are better compared to Windows Home or Pro. As a next huge step we started using Audiophile Optimizer.
Additionally we took care of the hardware as well. Intel XEON E3-1200 processors sound better than I7/5/3's....
SSD sounds better than HDD...
Parallel we improvd the main power supply (PS Audio PP) and the power cables. Next was the connections and cabling within the PC (SATA and USB cables). JCAT/Bakoon showed us how important the power supply of the SSDs is. We ordered also dedicated hifi-grade PCI-E USB-cards from JCAT and hey, the sun starts to shine!
At that time the idea of using dual optimized JPlay servers came up and proved to be the right way, too.
But now we had to deal again (like before with LINN DS) with the connection of two PCs by ethernet cable again, which we learned the hard way is no good idea at all. So the solution is fibre connection in between the two PCs. But stop, how about the connection to the wifi router for remote control? Ah, wifi sounds better than ethernet....
Next huge step was the introduction of the fine MUTEC gear. MC-1.2 and MC-3 were introduced but needed two more of the mighty expensive FURUTECH mains cables...
So I decided to get some help from a professional company concerning the powersupply of all the seperate PC components. Soon I was told that we will need seperate PSU's for each component and that a linear PSU will work better than a switching or even a batterie operated PSU.
So I decided to place the order for the construction of my own LPSU. The required special transformers were ordered and the layout was programmed. After some month (and a hefty payment) the first prototype arrived. It needs only one of the expensive FURUTECH main cables and it supplies all the PC components plus a MUTEC MC-3+USB with clean power. The improvement was dramatic and passed our expectations.
Since that time we only changed some software and some settings (all free of charge) and the improvement of SQ goes on and on.

Yes, some of the parts are really expensive (especially the LPSU) but the result is worth it.

Compared to a D800, some nice speakers or even fancy cables the complete source is a bargain. Due to its very clean signal it improves the performance of any Devialet chain to such a high level that even acoustic room problems are massively reduced.

To me the developement of our source was the most impressive SQ improvement I have ever experienced in my life.
And as I mentioned before I am eager to do another comparison somewhere in Europe similar to our meeting in Malmö (Sweden) some time ago.

@Antoine: We plan to install the MUTEC in one of the cabinets but the MC-3+USB is a really difficult piece of gear. It requires good shielding and it reacts very much on placement. At the moment we put the board back into its original housing and back on its own "shelf" in the ARTESANIA rack....

In Dubio Pro Audio

Jan

[viriato0811]

Hi there, do you have a website where I can check your products?


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[viriato0811]

As regards my previous post I just wanted to make it clear that this refers to Gentleman's products.

Many thanks!


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[teddlesdee]

Hi there, do you have a website where I can check your products?


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Not sure what you mean? I am not a commercial seller. However you should be able to find my ebay listing by searching for item number 162064129475, and 162064029260

Hope that helps

Keith

[Gentleman]

Hi there, do you have a website where I can check your products?


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Hi.

No, I don't have any website as I don't run this as a real business. I am just an enthusiastic member of this forum who is willing to show the result to the folks who are really interested to find the very best SQ. If somebody should finally order one of my sources (or parts of it) because he is convinced, the sale would only help a little bit to minimize my expenses for the development and the investments already made.

Due to the high prices of some components the complete source can not be offered through dealers with their high demand on added profit. It would not be possible to keep the enduser prices on a reasonable level.

Moreover each unit might be equipped to meet individual demands.

If you want to know further details please send me a PM or follow the path into the light on the JPlay forum. Here you can find many good ideas and the support of a lot of very helpful people.

In Dubio Pro Audio

Jan