Keith's new streamer

[Krisbee]

Keith,

I don't think the whole OS being in memory really matters. As I'd expect, it sounds great, and your happy. Job done.

[Tim]

I'd expect, it sounds great, and your happy. Job done.

absolutely, but 'audiophiles' do seem to like picking over the bones somewhat

[Krisbee]

Tim,

All is fair in love and war and the purist of audio nirvana.

It's a great combo you have in your main system. Can't we tempt you to make a cf between Linux and Windows on your streamer? Assuming the BIOS allows for booting from a USB stick, I'd would have thought VoyageMPD could be installed on and run from a pendrive.

[Tim]

It is something I have been intending to do for sometime now Chris, but I never seem to find the time. Thing is I can't bring myself to stop listening to music when I have spare time at home, as I spend my days working with computers so want to relax at home. I hope to retire soon and will throw myself at it a lot more then, especially Linux, I want to try and build the leanest, most energy efficient and obviously best sounding server I can, as I hope to sell them to top up my pension.

I'm due to update my current server imminently, so I'll have lots of spare components to tinker with, VoyageMPD is top of my list (I knew John (Welder) would get me in the end)

It will be similar in design principle to the Bryston with an on-board bespoke linear PSU and hopefully an app in the same league as Squeeze Commander to control it, which I think is very good

[Krisbee]

It is something I have been intending to do for sometime now Chris, but I never seem to find the time. Thing is I can't bring myself to stop listening to music when I have spare time at home, as I spend my days working with computers so want to relax at home. I hope to retire soon and will throw myself at it a lot more then, especially Linux, I want to try and build the leanest, most energy efficient and obviously best sounding server I can, as I hope to sell them to top up my pension.

Good luck with the project ... Some of this a moving target, I wonder what ValleyView/Haswell will throw up?

I'm due to update my current server imminently, so I'll have lots of spare components to tinker with, VoyageMPD is top of my list (I knew John (Welder) would get me in the end)

I've exchanged a fair number of posts with John (Welder) re: Linux. It will always be my OS of choice, but I acknowledge Linux users are minority. I'd be very tempted to use the Intel DN2800MT but curse the day that Intel decided to base the GPU core on PowerVR SGX 545 which is poorly supported in Linux.

It will be similar in design principle to the Bryston with an on-board bespoke linear PSU and hopefully an app in the same league as Squeeze Commander to control it, which I think is very good

I'm no electronics/audio engineer so it's hard to know just how crucial the PSU is to the quality of the Bryston player. The cynic might say they simply took the ALIX + VoyageMPD idea and turned into a high-end boutique device.

[Tim]

The cynic might say they simply took the ALIX + VoyageMPD idea and turned into a high-end boutique device.

that's exactly what they did, IMHO of course. But same as anything . . . they did it, did a good job, made some money out of it and made a lot of people happy in the process - they are a company after all, trying to make a profit whilst providing jobs and keeping their products in-line with current trends and it is a very good player, with I think a 5 year warranty.

Not many people in all honesty would ever think to build their own and its not until you pull this stuff apart, that you realise what its made off. Even when you do, there's still not that many people who tackle it, even with help.

[Krisbee]

Keith,

I'm hoping you're still monitoring this thread as I have a couple more questions.

1. You said your m/board is an Intel D525MW used with an external 120W power brick. The specs say this m/board has an ATX12V power header. So should there have been a picoPSU, or equivalent, on your parts list, or is it possible it's actually a different m/board?

2. Do you have the means to measure your streamer's power consumption?

3. Assuming frequency scaling (Intel Speedstep) is active on your system, what does the "cpufreq-info" command return when you're playing music?

4. Does the BIOS allow you to turn one core off? If so, can your system run just as well on a single core?

5. I wasn't clear, but are your audio files stored on a NAS?

6. Have you loaded lm-sensors on your streamer and monitored the operating temps, or at least checked them in the BIOS?

FYI, when using the "top", hitting "1" will show the load for each of your two CPU cores as opposed to a single aggregate line. An alternative program to try is "htop".

[keiths]

1. You said your m/board is an Intel D525MW used with an external 120W power brick. The specs say this m/board has an ATX12V power header. So should there have been a picoPSU, or equivalent, on your parts list, or is it possible it's actually a different m/board?

I'm using a dc-dc psu (ie. a picoPSU equivalent) that came with the case

2. Do you have the means to measure your streamer's power consumption?

No, not really. I guess it's around 35 watts or so.

3. Assuming frequency scaling (Intel Speedstep) is active on your system, what does the "cpufreq-info" command return when you're playing music?

I'd need to look more into this as cpufreq-info reports "no or unknown driver" for each core.

4. Does the BIOS allow you to turn one core off? If so, can your system run just as well on a single core?

I've not found an option to do that. Will look again next time I connect a keyboard and monitor

5. I wasn't clear, but are your audio files stored on a NAS?

Yes - actually on a linux box that I use as a fileserver, LAMP server etc. Audio files are accessed by a NFS share.

6. Have you loaded lm-sensors on your streamer and monitored the operating temps, or at least checked them in the BIOS?

No, I've not loaded lm-sensors nor checked the temp readings in the BIOS. The case only gets slightly warm after its been on for several hours.

FYI, when using the "top", hitting "1" will show the load for each of your two CPU cores as opposed to a single aggregate line.

Yes, I knew that.

[Krisbee]

A case with a a DC-DC psu for £40 (new or s/hand?) was a good deal.

I was wondering just how little CPU grunt you could get away with doing file transfer and audio playback, but actually I doubt whether there is any BIOS option to turn off a core.

You could try a "modprobe acpi-cpufreq". but perhaps "SpeedStep" is off in the BIOS if you have no frequency scaling. This would imply your CPU is operating at full tilt and max V core. So there's no potential to save energy. It would be interesting to know if you get the CPU working in a lower state and freq if it has any bearing on SQ.

[Tim]

A case with a a DC-DC psu for £40 (new or s/hand?) was a good deal.

I was wondering just how little CPU grunt you could get away with doing file transfer and audio playback, but actually I doubt whether there is any BIOS option to turn off a core.

I think Keith's case was a good deal as you say. I have yet to come across a BIOS that allows you to shut down a core, undervolt yes, but turn off a core is a new one on me. My current motherboard which includes 4GB RAM, 1 x SSD and an nVidea ION GPU (very power hungry) draws 43W at the wall. The new Intel board is going to draw around 10W - I would expect that a board of Keith's specs would draw around 20W or less, and the entire system around 25~30W without internal HDD's and only 2GB RAM.