Build a dedicated Audio PC

[nige2000]

Had a crack at making an audiophile usb card last night
Sounds good on my pc very very detailed and dynamic
But I'm worried it might be harsh on more std builds
Will see as it takes a while for these clocks to bed in

[tony]

Had a crack at making an audiophile usb card last night
Sounds good on my pc very very detailed and dynamic
But I'm worried it might be harsh on more std builds
Will see as it takes a while for these clocks to bed in

Ah sure send me one to test. You know I will be kind with my review!

[item_audio]

Go for it, nige!

I have all but the JCAT here, and we've put a lot of cards out for audition in different systems over the last year, with interesting but inconsistent results. If a pattern has emerged at all, it's that DACs with opto-isolation of USB respond better to clock upgrades, and DACs without them respond better to the Adanco.

Also, that it's pointless auditioning the Adanco unless it's running from a good battery. We're looking hard a clock-upgrading the Adnaco - a little bird told me that Marcin already tried that: is it true?

[nige2000]

Had a crack at making an audiophile usb card last night
Sounds good on my pc very very detailed and dynamic
But I'm worried it might be harsh on more std builds
Will see as it takes a while for these clocks to bed in

Ah sure send me one to test. You know I will be kind with my review!

Needs much more testing
It's a very rough and ready
And would have to be tony proof
he he he ;)

[tony]

Needs much more testing
It's a very rough and ready
And would have to be tony proof
he he he ;)

Mmph mister mobo man is clocking up a few jibs tonight!

[nige2000]

Go for it, nige!

I have all but the JCAT here, and we've put a lot of cards out for audition in different systems over the last year, with interesting but inconsistent results. If a pattern has emerged at all, it's that DACs with opto-isolation of USB respond better to clock upgrades, and DACs without them respond better to the Adanco.

The error that was made with the JCAT was to take the mobos 3.3v and use it to power the clock and usb well mostly the clock apparently
I'd imagine there would be vast improvement to use clean 3.3v on this card maybe via shunt or battery
Or maybe to use the external 5v with a 3.3v regards to supply the chip and clock

On the Adnaco I'd imagine most of the benefit is a cleaner supply Going into the dac
Dac ps is paramount

Also, that it's pointless auditioning the Adanco unless it's running from a good battery. We're looking hard a clock-upgrading the Adnaco - a little bird told me that Marcin already tried that: is it true?

dunno bout that haven't heard anything like that
What's the retail price on them atm
Think a cleanly supplied usb pcie card will do same or better job

[darkpink]

Has anyone tried the new APlinux 3.0? It supposed to be made from arch linux instead of mint. So I think it quite minimal. Somone said in the comments that it outplayed an optimized R2 install with jplay.

[item_audio]

The error that was made with the JCAT was to take the mobos 3.3v and use it to power the clock and usb well mostly the clock apparently. I'd imagine there would be vast improvement to use clean 3.3v on this card maybe via shunt or battery
Or maybe to use the external 5v with a 3.3v regards to supply the chip and clock

I agree. We're trialling NOT powering the JCAT with bus power, but (like the SoTM) injecting 3.3V from an external linear supply. The SoTM also (additionally) needs to be battery-powered.

What's the retail price on them atm
Think a cleanly supplied usb pcie card will do same or better job

The Adnaco is £360 with a linear PSU. We use the KingRex battery with it for an extra £160, or the KingRex PSU II for an extra £225. Battery usually best, but some customers prefer the linear for convenience and occasionally SQ.

The advantage of the Adnaco is that it solves 100%, with one stroke, mains-injected noise (by remotely locating the computer) and USB-borne noise (by fibre optic isolation). But the standard clock is way behind the other options - probably your DIY version, too. Combine them, though . . . !

Unrelated: someone at the top of the thread mentioned a South Korean high end computer audio forum - does anyone have a link?

[nige2000]

I agree. We're trialling NOT powering the JCAT with bus power, but (like the SoTM) injecting 3.3V from an external linear supply. The SoTM also (additionally) needs to be battery-powered.

personnally i think these cards come at quite the substantial premium, so not to have the possibility of using external 3.3v via jumpers or whatever is pretty much a deal breaker

The Adnaco is £360 with a linear PSU. We use the KingRex battery with it for an extra £160, or the KingRex PSU II for an extra £225. Battery usually best, but some customers prefer the linear for convenience and occasionally SQ.

expensive
still think theres better use for that sorta cash

The advantage of the Adnaco is that it solves 100%, with one stroke, mains-injected noise (by remotely locating the computer) and USB-borne noise (by fibre optic isolation). But the standard clock is way behind the other options - probably your DIY version, too. Combine them, though . . . !

yes sure its isolates, still think a prevention is better than a cure lengthening and complicating the signal path though

[jesuscheung]

have an interesting observation about mobo voltages:

e.g.
cpu=1.15v, 1.14, 1.13.... sounds ok
cpu=1.155, 1.145, 1.135.... not ok

ram=1.5, 1.4, 1.3... sounds ok
ram=1.505, 1.495.... not ok

igpu=0.83, 0.84, 0.85.... sounds ok
igpu=0.835, 0.845, 0.855... not ok

electronically difficult to handle fine-grained voltages? hehehe