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Antoine's system
#51
Looks good.

I don't see a fan in the computer, is it correct?

Are you running a two PC setup?

Kind regards

Morten
Devialet 200, Graditech Voima 1 Power cable, MIT shotgun S1.3 Speaker cable, Neeper Acoustics Perfect One Speakers
Aurender N100H, MIT Shotgun AC1 Power Cable, Audioquest Forest RJ45, Transparent Premium USB Cable
 
Denmark
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#52
(03-Nov-2014, 18:31)brit Wrote: A work of (musical) art!

Glad that it has worked out so well - all a bit beyond my technical capabilities!!

David

Thank you David! Smile It's probably easy for me to say but building such a machine actually isn't hard at all. And if someone isn't up to it himself we can nowadays often easily find someone close to us who is. Also these kind of machines are built to order/come ready built by suppliers like 'Item Audio' in the UK or 'Small Green Computer' in the US. (these are international examples I know of but there are probably more. I also know of some suppliers in The Netherlands).


(03-Nov-2014, 20:49)Morten Wrote: Looks good.

I don't see a fan in the computer, is it correct?

Are you running a two PC setup?

Kind regards

Morten

Thanks Morten!

Correct, it's a fanless, fully passively cooled PC based on the Streacom FC5 EVO WS case (http://www.streacom.com/products/fc5ws-e...s-chassis/) (rest of the specs in first page of this topic). Fans are actually a source of noise, not only the noise of moving air but electrically as well because the fan controllers usually employ PWM switching to regulate the fan speed. It's often removed out of Mac Mini's for example as well.

Currently I'm running a single PC setup. I'm not sure if I'll ever change to a dual PC setup, I can't really hide any more boxes now in my current setup. Smile Perhaps someday when I can employ a very energy efficient PC that can be powered by a battery or small linear PSU or when the 'next best thing' comes around forcing me replace this current solution! Wink
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#53
Do you have the wiring diagram about the power of the harddisk and the star grounding?
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#54
(03-Nov-2014, 17:34)Antoine Wrote: In June I wrote:

(10-Jun-2014, 17:40)Antoine Wrote: Earlier I wrote I would test the different inputs myself as well but I haven't got to that yet. Also on computeraudiophile.com I've read way too much about tweaking the music server when using USB (while there seems to be no real need for that when using ethernet). I've read about special SATA cables, SATA filters, separate USB PCIe interface cards, 3 way/voltage linear PSU's, special motherboards, motherboard clock replacements etc. etc. etc. which isn't really a path I'd like to take. It's too much 'OCD' for me! Big Grin

And I was wrong I did take the path... Big Grin

Today the PPA Audio Red SATA cable came in so I could (almost) finish my PC music server. I'm VERY satisfied with the end result, it's easily the best sound I've ever heard in my home. The same goes for musical enjoyment.

I'd recommend this setup to anyone who's not "afraid" of PC's and it internals.

All the clichés below apply but I feel they're true and I now get both the "intellectual" view (ability to hear everything in the music) and rewarding musical qualities at the same time. This is something I (have) always search(ed) for. Before I'd missed out somewhat on the musical qualities. Each and every recording is enjoyable now, even the harsh/compressed bad ones but they can be differentiated even more also.

- Bigger soundstage/better staging, holographic imaging, larger 3D-effect
- Very well defined bass, deeper and more powerful
- Lifelike, fluid and very precise, transparant sound reproduction
- Natural air, timbre and image density
- No more harshness, digital sounding music -> analog sound quality
- Very low "noise floor" / black backgrounds
- Exceptional detail and both micro and macro dynamics
- Parts of the music can be easier heard separately but no particular aspects really draw attention to itself allowing to enjoy it as a whole as well.


For those not easily shocked at seeing the inside of a PC mutilated see the attached picture. And yes, it's very OCD and not very pretty!! Big Grin

What you can see is star grounding of some (partially or fully) shielded components like the JCat USB interface card and RAM, shielded DC cables and PCIe riser cable, case and mainboard. Below the aluminum plate at the front is the HDPlex DC ATX converter.

Still to do:
- install better DC power cable to SSD disk (parts are in house)
- experiment with EMI absorption material like 3M AB5100S

Impressive stuff Antoine! Smile

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#55
(04-Nov-2014, 11:55)kees1000 Wrote: Do you have the wiring diagram about the power of the harddisk and the star grounding?

I don't have a real wiring diagram drawed up and although I could make one, the connections are fairly straightforward.

The things below are separately connected to the central ground point:
- all metal shields (sandwich of aluminum plate and copper tape foil)
- shielded DC input (19V) cable (sandwich of aluminum and copper tape foil plus a drain wire)
- shielded RAM memory modules (sandwich of an isolating teflon and copper tape foil plus a drain wire)
- the PC case/chassis
- the mainboard (a bit over redundant this one as the mainboard is earthed to the case as well through the spacers it is screwed to)

The central ground is earthed through a copper cable directly to my PS Audio P3 powerplant. I simply used a schuko power plug with only the earth pole connected. I measured this connection and it indeed lowered the DC potential between the PC and safety ground.

The PC/HDPlex ATX DC converter is fed through the 19V supplying HDPlex linear PSU which is earthed to the P3 using a Belden 19364 power cable with Wattgate IEC+schuko plugs.

The SSD harddisk is powered directly by a Anker Astro E5 (1st generation, 2nd doesn't work as it powers down automatically because of the low current draw of the SSD) powerbank Li-ion battery. I've used a standard spare SATA power cable and cut the yellow (12V) and one black cable from it (SSD's only need +5V) and soldered the remaining red+black cable to the red+black wires of a spare USB cable as the Anker provides USB A plug outputs.

Search Google for both SATA and/or USB pinouts diagrams if you build yourself a cable from ground up. I mentioned I have the parts in home so I have to do this as well. I simply ordered a USB A plug kit from Mouser together with some other supplies and will use the current SATA connector and some power cable I have lying around to make a better DC cable. The USB cable I used has very thin wires and although it works perfectly I'd like it to become a bit more robust. I'll also make a better DC cable that feeds the JCat USB card externally through a selfmade USB-DC 5.5/2.1mm plug again with parts from Mouser. This card is fed by my Kingrex UPower 5V battery supply (with USB A plug output).

(04-Nov-2014, 12:03)GuillaumeB Wrote: Impressive stuff Antoine! Smile

Guillaume

Thanks Guillaume! Smile

All credits of course go to the very active community of computeraudiophile.com and JPlay.eu (and JPlay and Audiophil of highend-audiopc.com as suppliers) who have experimented so much over the years thinking up/trying out all the worthwhile optimizations. All it took me was a bit of DIY and a lot of reading. Smile

---
Oh, I forgot to mention that I've also bought a EMO Systems EN70-HD LAN isolator (http://www.emosystems.de/en/produkte/net...latoren-2/) to isolate the part of the network in my living room from the other parts of my home network. I use a separate switch for the network in my living that is powered though a linear PSU as well and the LAN isolator is used in the "uplink" to an other switch that connects all other network devices including my noisy DSL modem.

Also I've disabled the ethernet+WiFi ports of the Devialet.
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#56
(03-Nov-2014, 22:57)Antoine Wrote:
(03-Nov-2014, 18:31)brit Wrote: A work of (musical) art!

Glad that it has worked out so well - all a bit beyond my technical capabilities!!

David

Thank you David! Smile It's probably easy for me to say but building such a machine actually isn't hard at all. And if someone isn't up to it himself we can nowadays often easily find someone close to us who is. Also these kind of machines are built to order/come ready built by suppliers like 'Item Audio' in the UK or 'Small Green Computer' in the US. (these are international examples I know of but there are probably more. I also know of some suppliers in The Netherlands).

Hi Antoine,

Thanks for this. Yes I know Item Audio - I obtained my W4S Server from them.

Perhaps if I had understood more about computer based music earlier, I might have considered a more "bespoke" solution, but at the time I started getting interested, I wanted as simple a solution as possible. I was after something of good audio quality that had good storage, could rip CDs, and offered a simple interface to my Computer and would accept future Hi Res downloads. The W4S ticked all these boxes and was also getting very favourable reviewsSmile. I wanted as few boxes as possible and did not want too many complicated (to my mind) software interfaces - I subscribe to the KISS principle Smile! When fed, via USB, into my D400 it gives, to my ears, a terrific SQ.

David
1. NUC6i5SYH running ROON ROCK > ROON/AIR > Ethernet > Devialet 1000pro Core Infinity> Wilson-Benesch ACT Speakers,
or, as alternative, 
2. Wyred4Sound MS-2 Server, Devialet 1000pro Core Infinity, Theta Jade CD Transport, Pure 702ES Tuner, Wilson-Benesch ACT Speakers, misc cables

                                       UK
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#57
Hi David, I didn't know the W4S server and it sure looks nice and complete as well! As is often the case "there is more than one road to Rome"! Smile
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#58
(06-Nov-2014, 20:34)Antoine Wrote: Hi David, I didn't know the W4S server and it sure looks nice and complete as well! As is often the case "there is more than one road to Rome"! Smile

Hi Antoine,

A couple of links which might be of interest:

https://wyred4sound.com/products/music-servers
https://wyred4sound.com/products/music-s...ver-ms-2-0

David
1. NUC6i5SYH running ROON ROCK > ROON/AIR > Ethernet > Devialet 1000pro Core Infinity> Wilson-Benesch ACT Speakers,
or, as alternative, 
2. Wyred4Sound MS-2 Server, Devialet 1000pro Core Infinity, Theta Jade CD Transport, Pure 702ES Tuner, Wilson-Benesch ACT Speakers, misc cables

                                       UK
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#59
After listening to, and enjoying music all afternoon I have to decided to buy the TotalDAC D1 USB cable/filter so I have just paid for it. Smile

Earlier this week I contacted Vincent Brient of Totaldac and he has agreed to a trial. If I like the cable I keep it, if not I can return it. I don't really question the quality of the cable, it's reviews and user experiences are stellar but the D1 seems to have a different character than most high-end cables which seem to be more "analytical" in comparison. My current USB cable also is such a cable. So I am very curious about the match in my set. I won't mind getting a bit more tonal mass and smoothness (which seems to be traits of the Totaldac cable) but I wouldn't want to sacrifice much detail or separation.

To be continued! Smile

More info: http://www.totaldac.com/USB_cable-eng.htm
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#60
(15-Nov-2014, 17:52)Antoine Wrote: After listening to, and enjoying music all afternoon I have to decided to buy the TotalDAC D1 USB cable/filter so I have just paid for it. Smile

Earlier this week I contacted Vincent Brient of Totaldac and he has agreed to a trial. If I like the cable I keep it, if not I can return it. I don't really question the quality of the cable, it's reviews and user experiences are stellar but the D1 seems to have a different character than most high-end cables which seem to be more "analytical" in comparison. My current USB cable also is such a cable. So I am very curious about the match in my set. I won't mind getting a bit more tonal mass and smoothness (which seems to be traits of the Totaldac cable) but I wouldn't want to sacrifice much detail or separation.

To be continued! Smile

More info: http://www.totaldac.com/USB_cable-eng.htm

Excellent! This is also what I've read on the forums. His ethernet cable is seriously good too... and weighs a ton!

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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