My thought are that the water cooling pump and fans could add noise to the signal, especially if using PWM.
When I built my cheap audio PC, I did it with no moving parts in the build. It is air cooled, but has no fans.
My thought are that the water cooling pump and fans could add noise to the signal, especially if using PWM.
When I built my cheap audio PC, I did it with no moving parts in the build. It is air cooled, but has no fans.
kev i think i have that covered 2nd small pico 80w, (I had lying around) dc psu to power pump / fans no mechanical drives will be fitted .
Main psu will be a HDplex 400w Hifi Dc - powered by Linear power supply
Best
G
I tried a few different Linux builds for my Roon Core pc, including stripped back Server builds (no UI), and it came down to this one as the best sounding OS.
AP Linux.
https://www.ap-linux.com/
Bit trickier to set up than Ubuntu, but the website has a easy to follow install guide.
What is really good is that once it’s installed it just works with no issue, no faffing around.
Has a file manager and a browser too, and can access remotely from IPad or whatever.
Best solution I’ve found, had a play with a lot of the others.
I’d discount anything Windows right off the bat.
Hope this helps a bit, try it see what you think.
AC POWER
Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
AMPS
Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
SPEAKERS
Wharfedale Evo 4.4
DAC
PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
TURNTABLE
Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
PHONOSTAGE
Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
DIGITAL
OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
MUSIC PLAYBACK
Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
Ipad Roon Remote.
Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
SPEAKER CABLES
Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
INTERCONNECTS
All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables
Good shout on not using mechanical drives, unless your storing your music in the server SSD drive cost doesn’t need to be too great.
A 256GB for a Linux OS install is overkill.
I’d lose the fans if possible, found they were detrimental.
Passive cooling is the way to go, I always used Streamcom cases in my Server builds, and it’s what I would use if I was going down this route again.
https://www.quietpc.com/st-fc10-alpha?product=3756
AC POWER
Hardwired 10kVA balanced mains powering entire system
AMPS
Meridian 557 power Amp (Modded) / PS Audio BHK Preamp (Modded)
SPEAKERS
Wharfedale Evo 4.4
DAC
PS Audio Directstream (Modded)
TURNTABLE
Pro-Ject X8 balanced output via XLR / Ortofon Quintet Blue cartridge
PHONOSTAGE
Pro-Ject DS3 B balanced Input (TT and Phonostage powered by Pro-Ject Power box RS2 linear psu)
DIGITAL
OPPO 203 (Modded: Linear PSU, i2s output to Dac) - Roon Endpoint, HDMI input used for all things Streaming/ PS5 /AppleTV ... also good for movies apparently?
MUSIC PLAYBACK
Tweaked AP-Linux based Roon Server into Oppo 203 as Roon endpoint
Ipad Roon Remote.
Apple Music/ YouTube via AppleTV, fed to Dac via Oppo HDMI input/i2s output to Dac.
SPEAKER CABLES
Biwired: Duelund DCA10GA (Bass) Duelund DCA16GA (mid & treble) Duelund 12DCA used as jumpers (On "Blackcat Cable" Chris Sommivigo's advice - yup, even with biwire it sounds better - and it does)
INTERCONNECTS
All Balanced: Ghost+ recording studio XLR cables
Thanks for the suggestion - the fans noted i thought about streacom maybe next build ! I wanted to give this a whirl first
with parts i had lying around , minimal cost being the mantra for this build .
The two Dc PSu's route should hopefully isolate any issues.
Heard some good things about server 2019 datacore edition , may have to give that whirl aswell
Best
G
Location: Italy
Posts: 5
I'm Stefano.
I suggest you have a look at https://www.audio-linux.com/ as well.
As a non linux expert I find it unbeatable. Through a simple system menu you can easily control all system settings and parameters that can influence sound quality, even to the very extreme, such as IRQ priorities, assign single CPU threads to specific applications, etc.. It also has an headless version, and can be fully managed remotely.
It comes with a little cost (which sounds really strange in the open SW league) but that covers for support and maintenance; Piero, the developer, is constantly working on its finetuning and update, and always replies in minutes to any support request.
PS: just to make it clear, I have no personal connection and/or interest in the software above. I'm just a very happy user.
stefano thankyoi i have Audiolinux and euphony on the ' to check' out list
G
Location: Italy
Posts: 5
I'm Stefano.
Will you use a separate NAA for HQPlayer playback? I found it way better than directly connecting my DAC to the PC
NAA which is a ultrarendu + LPS , does sound particularly good in my system
I will keep this chain
G