Build a dedicated Audio PC

[tony]

Have to go looking on the d'internet to figure out what a star ground looks like. Do Jplay sell an expensive version?

[nige2000]

Jgnd.... :)

[internethandle]

Have any other fellow underclockers experimented with PCH voltage? I set its voltage to the lowest allowed in my particular BIOS, which was 0.950V, and I think I hear an improvement - it's not huge, but definitely a slight improvement in noise floor. PCH voltage is, supposedly, referring to the voltage supplied to the motherboard's particular chipset, so, perhaps, this is reducing noise produced from processing/controlling the traffic of the HDD/SDD?

My particular Intel chipset is P55 for my Gigabyte motherboard.

(edit: I just realized that "PCH" refers, specifically, to the P55 chipset and its followers, so the voltage settings for your motherboard's particular chipset may not be listed as "PCH")

[item_audio]

Things change all the time, but for us the big newsflash of 2014 is that there are finally switching supplies for ATX that are near-as-dammit as good as linears. From what I'm seeing/hearing, the only way to take much of a step forward is battery power - with all its attendant 'great when it's working' sidebands.

We're also getting great results from the new Gigabyte DAC UP boards which provide, out of the box, for £65, the best mobo USB I've heard.

Between them, they offer the truly scary possibility of just lashing together these two components in a box with a dual-core Celeron, or a quad-core if you're serious about DSD resampling, and getting a level of transparency that just wasn't available in 2013.

Anyone who knows me will hopefully sympathise with how hard it was to say that!

However, it's great to see all the new USB output cards coming online: I know there are more in the pipeline that haven't yet broken cover. Between us, do we have a consensus about how the SoTM v PPA v JCAT v Adnaco thing currently pans out? We've been doing a fair amount of testing and listening and have developed some theories, but how have you guys got on? We can speak freely here, I take it . . .

[nige2000]

Things change all the time, but for us the big newsflash of 2014 is that there are finally switching supplies for ATX that are near-as-dammit as good as linears. From what I'm seeing/hearing, the only way to take much of a step forward is battery power - with all its attendant 'great when it's working' sidebands.

battery system is reliable on a constant/floating charge just need to design a circuit to ensure the power at shutdown doesnt discharge the cells

We're also getting great results from the new Gigabyte DAC UP boards which provide, out of the box, for £65, the best mobo USB I've heard.

are they better than std usb 3 port with clean +5v power injection

However, it's great to see all the new USB output cards coming online: I know there are more in the pipeline that haven't yet broken cover. Between us, do we have a consensus about how the SoTM v PPA v JCAT v Adnaco thing currently pans out? We've been doing a fair amount of testing and listening and have developed some theories, but how have you guys got on? We can speak freely here, I take it . . .

dont think anyone has a sotm here, we have to do the jcat ppa shootout yet

[item_audio]

I'm as big a proponent of battery power as anyone I know. We're the sole UK importer for Red Wine Audio; our reference power amp is battery powered; we exhibit completely off-grid systems at shows; I have all the JK products . . . but even I'm a bit anxious about the long-term stability of powering motherboard clocks this way. You've had some trouble yourself there, haven't you?

A really good alternative would be the Trichord Never Connected ...

[nige2000]

I'm as big a proponent of battery power as anyone I know. We're the sole UK importer for Red Wine Audio; our reference power amp is battery powered; we exhibit completely off-grid systems at shows; I have all the JK products . . . but even I'm a bit anxious about the long-term stability of powering motherboard clocks this way. You've had some trouble yourself there, haven't you?

never have trouble with batteries there a very simple device
Found stability issues when replacing multiple clocks
One clock is simple two needed a little experimenting on gnd conections
I'm still trying to get the third stable
It's nothing to do with the batteries
Just the amount of clocks and their circuits

Had you no issues connecting your two or could you route the gnds anyway you liked?


What is the Trichord Never Connected powered by
Sounds like an external battery job

[tony]

Things change all the time, but for us the big newsflash of 2014 is that

However, it's great to see all the new USB output cards coming online: I know there are more in the pipeline that haven't yet broken cover. Between us, do we have a consensus about how the SoTM v PPA v JCAT v Adnaco thing currently pans out? We've been doing a fair amount of testing and listening and have developed some theories, but how have you guys got on? We can speak freely here, I take it . . .

dont think anyone has a sotm here, we have to do the jcat ppa shootout yet

We have a SOTM card Nigel you are forgetting the alternative Item audio shop in Bray(aka Pearse)
Don't tell him anything Nigel I have it on good authority from d'internet police he is fooster selling dodgy stuff
that nobody needs. Avoid at all cost!

[nige2000]

We have a SOTM card Nigel you are forgetting the alternative Item audio shop in Bray(aka Pearse)
Don't tell him anything Nigel I have it on good authority from d'internet police he is fooster selling dodgy stuff
that nobody needs. Avoid at all cost!

ah yes forgot about that
doesnt look good then i haven't seen it in a while

[tony]

We have a SOTM card Nigel you are forgetting the alternative Item audio shop in Bray(aka Pearse)
Don't tell him anything Nigel I have it on good authority from d'internet police he is fooster selling dodgy stuff
that nobody needs. Avoid at all cost!

ah yes forgot about that
doesnt look good then i haven't seen it in a while

Not sure if Pearse still uses it but he got it on the first caps zuma build. At the time when I tried out the PC I/We couldn't detect any noticeable difference using the SOTM. It was a bug bearer for us all when we were novices starting out as the cost was crippling on the auld budget.