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I'm pretty sure you were on th eright track with your computer, in the end it;s all about power enabling sound...so the CPU, motherbaird and PSU are crucial, so is the output path...like with everything it all matters.
I am now at a point where the sound is ridiculous, and having heard quite a few CD transports I dare say they cannot come close to a good music server/PC feeding a decent DAC.
 
MarcelNL said:
I'm pretty sure you were on th eright track with your computer, in the end it;s all about power enabling sound...so the CPU, motherbaird and PSU are crucial, so is the output path...like with everything it all matters.
I am now at a point where the sound is ridiculous, and having heard quite a few CD transports I dare say they cannot come close to a good music server/PC feeding a decent DAC.
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I use a macmini as a music server and it definitely sounds better than any transport I’ve put up against it. Part of that is that I’m using Audirvana software imbedded with iTunes and that has been the key to better sound. It bypasses all of the functions of iTunes except for the library and turns off everything else so nothing is running in the background.
 
this is the state of my current prototype loosely splattered across a slab of underlayment

20210912_002410.jpg
 
I would think you would want to run a motherboard with onboard video and not use a video card. But how it sounds is what is most important.
 
That motherboard , or rather CPU does not come with video, but Daphile (linux based OS including Logitec media Server) switches off the video card after like a minute or two, MB needs it to boot.

Daphile runs headless and I use a laptop to control it.

Running now for 48 hours straight, no hiccups and the sound improvement is something else.
 
The parts for the PSU are slowly trickling in, with the most important bits; two huge Lundahl chokes and a Toroidy transformer likely taking a while...the active rectifier arrived, and I have some very low ESR/ESL capacitors waiting, and the Taiko ATX board at the ready.

Meanwhile I am stunned how much of an effect getting rid of the fan is, the so important upper midrange and highs opened up further. Last night I was listening to one of my famous pieces; The Nocturnes by Chopin played by Brigitte Engerer, a recording that I'm pretty familiar with. Suddenly it became clear that the longish pauses between track actually have good reason, most of it is the piano soundboard and frame ringing out....ever so subtle and soft.
Bad part is that I now need to do a cool down after listening, and set a bed time or it gets seriously late every evening.
 
Great for hifi and submarine themed movies....
 
That’s fantastic, I’m glad that worked out for you. They are really good subs and Brian is great to work with if you should ever need his help.
 
I just ordered shorter heatpipes and a copper plate to serve as heat buffer and clasp, while still waiting for some hefty chokes and a toroid transformer to build the lineair unregulated PSU going into the Taiko ATX supply.

The whole build is still recovering from travelling to an audio gathering last week, to be travellig again next week to Berlin Audio Meet, takes like 3 weeks for whatever it is to settle down again and sound to 'sound right' again.
 
JayGee said:
Great for hifi and submarine themed movies....
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I thought you might be interested in the open baffle Rythmik servo
12D939FD-E85F-46FC-A747-F4D40523030D.jpeg
C4D5EDF0-31AC-4CFC-85D8-97F8FAE76F10.jpeg
subs that I have in my open baffle speakers. These are duel subs using the Rythmik A370PEQ servo amps.
 
Thanks, what servo amp did your sub come with? Just curious what they use for the sealed subs. It is sealed correct?
 
gregfisk said:
Thanks, what servo amp did your sub come with? Just curious what they use for the sealed subs. It is sealed correct?
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I chose the PEQ370 too because I'm not using a AV receiver and can use the built in high pass filter between my pre-amp and power amp. I'm not sure if they suggest different amps for sealed or ported, but I built a sealed box to go with the DS1200 kit - seemed easier and more appropriate for my applications.
 
they should, at least in respect to the damping factor, for a sealed box you want good damping factor in an amp where for a speaker chassis designed for open baffle you don't as those have a much stiffer suspension.
 
MarcelNL said:
they should, at least in respect to the damping factor, for a sealed box you want good damping factor in an amp where for a speaker chassis designed for open baffle you don't as those have a much stiffer suspension.
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The PEQ370 has every adjustment you can possibly imagine and is their most versatile amp. If you look at the picture I took you can see what it is capable of. They make another amp which is basically the little brother of this one which is more limited in what it can do. The PEQ370 can run up to 3 subs at the same time depending on the sub, which makes it even more economical if you want a multi sub system. Sealed subs and OB subs both have their place depending on your application.
 
so , the next step; added a copper plate to buffer heat bursts of the CPU and clamp the heat pipe adapter properly to the CPU.
IMG-20211005-WA0006.jpg
 
MarcelNL said:
so , the next step; added a copper plate to buffer heat bursts of the CPU and clamp the heat pipe adapter properly to the CPU.
View attachment 145929
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I truly hope all this work on your computer gives you better sound. I know this is a hobby and a passion for us audio guys. I’m extremely happy with my macmini and I’m just using the stock PS. I did buy a PS board for it that is supposed to be an improvement, but honestly I couldn’t be happier with the quality of sound I’m already getting, so I’ve never bothered to install it. PCs can be a lot dirtier electrically so maybe it’s worth the extra effort. Like I said though, it’s a hobby and a passion so it probably doesn’t matter.
 
You probably would not believe how much of a difference it makes, I started with an old recomissioned laptop. Tinkered with various music players, then Operating Systems and made the step to a NUC with a linear power supply, which was a huge improvement in sound quality.
And then came the Audio server project that blew me away, soundwise, and it still does. think I cracked the 'digital sound barrier' where upper mids almost always remain congested and glary. Now there is unlimited dynamics and no compression...remaining on the list is the PSU and finally making an I2S interlink that stays functional for more than a few days...grrr (struggling with build quality in an RJ45 connector)
 
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I remember when digital coax cable rolling made more of a difference than swapping out RCAs. funny thing the best sounding one was a thin silver wire one (think it was kimber) which would normally be awful for analog.
 
I was reading an article this morning from Lukanz Fikus who is the owner of Lampizator. He was talking about a board he made that fixed the problems that all transports have on their output stage. Basically that the square wave isn’t very square and that’s the reason that different cables actually do make a difference in the sound. The board he built makes the square wave perfect and therefore makes all transports sound the same. Subsequently the cable used no longer matters. Since he builds some of the finest dacs available I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about.
 
'all transports' sounds like bit of a bold statement although the Implementation of the digital signal carrier is certainly most important, I hear little difference in I2S cables, a little more in USB but most in analog cables. Another issue is the incoming side, if your DAC receiver is not implemented correctly the same thing happens. So far my vote is for the I2S data format, originally designed by Philips when they developed the CD player, if done right it outperforms most standard implementations of USB, llet alone SPDIF and the unspeakably muddy Toslink.

Some digital cables mangle the signal in such a way that it corrects other flaws, or it just makes the sound different for the wrong reasons. Still when you know what cable geometry does and stay within the boundaries of the chosen format it is certainly possible to make a nicer sounding cable. The law of diminishing returns does apply yet in the end digital is also affected by many of the more basic physics laws than most seem to think.
 
Of course you’re correct about “all transports” but he did say that all of the transports he tested which were a lot, had the same issues to one degree or another. I think the point he was trying to make is that he was able to even up the playing field by correcting the square wave. He also said that Sony and I believe Marantz had the best stock square wave. One other point he made was to keep your cables short.
 
MarcelNL said:
'all transports' sounds like bit of a bold statement although the Implementation of the digital signal carrier is certainly most important, I hear little difference in I2S cables, a little more in USB but most in analog cables. Another issue is the incoming side, if your DAC receiver is not implemented correctly the same thing happens. So far my vote is for the I2S data format, originally designed by Philips when they developed the CD player, if done right it outperforms most standard implementations of USB, llet alone SPDIF and the unspeakably muddy Toslink.

Some digital cables mangle the signal in such a way that it corrects other flaws, or it just makes the sound different for the wrong reasons. Still when you know what cable geometry does and stay within the boundaries of the chosen format it is certainly possible to make a nicer sounding cable. The law of diminishing returns does apply yet in the end digital is also affected by many of the more basic physics laws than most seem to think.
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What is I2S?
 
dafox said:
Is that what is commonly used in digital cables between a cd transport and DAC?
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It is mainly used internally as long cable runs present impedance problems. You can buffer I2S signals, but it's uncommon ime.
 
I2S can be used for longer stretches IF implemented properly, but is often only used internally in CD players. Most data output formats (cables) sorted for sound quality capability are:
I2S
USB
SPDIF
Toslink

Where I2S is not common but gaining ground, in the end USB likely will win as it is more universal and CD transports (have) become obsolete and streaming is gaining ground (but a good USB implementation takes as much effort as using I2S properly)
 
Klangfilm Euronor Junior (PAH) at Berlin Audio Meet.....playing with 1.5W Tube amp @ around 90db (limit where the room flooded, by far not the limit for the amp/speaker)



IMG-20211007-WA0002.jpeg
 
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MarcelNL said:
I2S can be used for longer stretches IF implemented properly, but is often only used internally in CD players. Most data output formats (cables) sorted for sound quality capability are:
I2S
USB
SPDIF
Toslink

Where I2S is not common but gaining ground, in the end USB likely will win as it is more universal and CD transports (have) become obsolete and streaming is gaining ground (but a good USB implementation takes as much effort as using I2S properly)
Click to expand...
I just bought a cd transport :)
 
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