Well... I hate to contradict part of this but I've been running Roon core on different platform upsampling everything to DSD 256 and some Pi as bridge. In this case, the Pi is just passing already rendered data to the DAC and using Roon's low latency protocol to communicate with the core. I've tried 12 cores processors, 48 cores dual Xeon server and a few others on the Roon Core side running different Linux distros, just for the DSD upsampling. From the 12 cores i7 Extreme CPU to the 48 cores dual Xeon, no difference in sound whatsoever... Just much faster upsampling to DSD. On the Bridge side, I've tried NUC and Pi and again, when using my linear PSU, there was no difference there. Only swapping out Linux distros I found some differences.
It's probably more the hardware design, layout, possibly the type of components, the OS, PSU, etc... More a combination of everything that in the end affects the chain, I don't think the CPU is the only factor here. As for Euphony, it is a good player but I can't justify its super high yearly price tag for the end result compared to Roon or Moode/Volumio. I gave it a full month test and while it is good, it just sound different, not better... Question of taste in the end, but I could not justify a 900$ early price tag for my home setup, not worth anywhere close to that in my book...
Anyways, this is all question of personal taste and experiences and no one is forced to agree with me, just my two cents...
That said, Ian's LifePO4 will definitely rock the house!
Do
It's probably more the hardware design, layout, possibly the type of components, the OS, PSU, etc... More a combination of everything that in the end affects the chain, I don't think the CPU is the only factor here. As for Euphony, it is a good player but I can't justify its super high yearly price tag for the end result compared to Roon or Moode/Volumio. I gave it a full month test and while it is good, it just sound different, not better... Question of taste in the end, but I could not justify a 900$ early price tag for my home setup, not worth anywhere close to that in my book...
Anyways, this is all question of personal taste and experiences and no one is forced to agree with me, just my two cents...
That said, Ian's LifePO4 will definitely rock the house!
Do
stretchneck,
Thank you for your very complete post. I will read these threads with great interest. I think the continued evolution of the art led by the DIY community is advancing the SOTA for digital. Certainly, if I get forced to listen to my older gear, the difference is pretty significant.
Thank you for your very complete post. I will read these threads with great interest. I think the continued evolution of the art led by the DIY community is advancing the SOTA for digital. Certainly, if I get forced to listen to my older gear, the difference is pretty significant.
Definately listening preferences and system synergy play a part... for example I couldn't get along with the sound of Roon running on a NUC with ROCK installed. Some people may love it.
Try Gentoo Player (it's free) running HQ Player embeded, or as a Roon server... it's marvelous!
Of course I prefer one box solutions - so this is how my comments should be taken. There is every reason to believe that server/renderer can also be very good and maybe technically better for some depending upon what you want to do.
Will the 'UcConditioner 5V' be suitable for direct power supply of DAC chip eg PCM1704?
PCM1704 requires two rails +5V and -5V DC. A pair of PCM1704 (for stereo) consume +5V: 10mA and -5V: 60mA. Will the voltage from 'UcConditioner 5V' fit within the required tolerance between 4.75 and 5.25V?
Will the charger power supply quality affect the sound quality or it completely irrelevant?
PCM1704 requires two rails +5V and -5V DC. A pair of PCM1704 (for stereo) consume +5V: 10mA and -5V: 60mA. Will the voltage from 'UcConditioner 5V' fit within the required tolerance between 4.75 and 5.25V?
Will the charger power supply quality affect the sound quality or it completely irrelevant?
Talking about best sound I became frustrated by harshness of computer/NUC players and came across this. Check out if you haven't seen. Very cheap simple, low powered chinese SD Card player outputting I2S. I have one powered by Ian's LifePO4 modded with Ultracaps. A bit hair shirt but simply the best SQ, without any hardness and a joy to listen to.
https://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4541
Attachments
Hardware is one part of the problem, software plays a crucial part, if not more than hardware. Modern hardware is fast more than enough to process audio streams. Software, in particular, an operating system's kernel, plays a significant part. Make sure any kernel you use is optimised for sound processing.stretchneck said:
I see a problem in one particular post. A poster wrote they are planning to use a NUC which, as far as I know, is intended for gaming. However, gaming focuses hugely on graphic processing which can be an issue. You need your kernel to focus on sound reproduction, not graphics.
A reply to my last paragraph just above, may be, GPUs are used instead of CPUs in the case of graphic processing. That is obvious, but the main CPU is what runs execution threads which in turn delegate work to a GPU.
I disable the embedded GPU in bios, some people do use Nvidia CUDA for offloading HQPlayer upsampling - but I don’t use this.
I have given links earlier - check them out. There is not a problem with my approach, it is based on what several other members at AudiophileStyle have undertaken. The approach is proven by evidence.
Upgrad my system with UcMateConditioner, UcHybrid and UcAdapter
I upgraded my system today, the power supply section is now:
1. LifePO4 MKII
2. UcAdapter PCB
3. UcMateConcitioner (5V)
4. UcHybrid (3.3V 4x)
The upgrading job was pretty easy and straight froward. Both MKII and MKIII are good to go. MKIII will have some dedicated connectors. The integration was seamless. When I turned it on, everything was OK. The blue conditioning LED started lit in a couple of second. No smoke, no fire
.
I have some new discovery and still feel the improvements.
The small board behind my PRi DAC stack is my HDMI receiver board. I use it to receive the true DSD signal the I hacked from my Oppo bluray/SACD player through ReceiverPi.
UcUpgradeKitIntegration by Ian, on Flickr
UcUpgradeKitIntegration1 by Ian, on Flickr
Ian
I upgraded my system today, the power supply section is now:
1. LifePO4 MKII
2. UcAdapter PCB
3. UcMateConcitioner (5V)
4. UcHybrid (3.3V 4x)
The upgrading job was pretty easy and straight froward. Both MKII and MKIII are good to go. MKIII will have some dedicated connectors. The integration was seamless. When I turned it on, everything was OK. The blue conditioning LED started lit in a couple of second. No smoke, no fire
.I have some new discovery and still feel the improvements.
The small board behind my PRi DAC stack is my HDMI receiver board. I use it to receive the true DSD signal the I hacked from my Oppo bluray/SACD player through ReceiverPi.
UcUpgradeKitIntegration by Ian, on Flickr
UcUpgradeKitIntegration1 by Ian, on Flickr
Ian
Last edited:
Just made this for mine, board is 25mm wide and will fix to relays with double sided tape. Fuse is 5 amp fast blow, fuse holders were in the spares box.
Fantastic work Ian!
Please lets us know when we can order and the order process and I will place my order.
Thanks
Simon
+1
Big interest, eh.
I upgraded my system today, the power supply section is now:
1. LifePO4 MKII
2. UcAdapter PCB
3. UcMateConcitioner (5V)
4. UcHybrid (3.3V 4x)
The upgrading job was pretty easy and straight froward. Both MKII and MKIII are good to go. MKIII will have some dedicated connectors. The integration was seamless. When I turned it on, everything was OK. The blue conditioning LED started lit in a couple of second. No smoke, no fire
I have some new discovery and still feel the improvements.
The small board behind my PRi DAC stack is my HDMI receiver board. I use it to receive the true DSD signal the I hacked from my Oppo bluray/SACD player through ReceiverPi.
Ian
new LEGO toys!
Hi,
In reply to your request concerning height of the Mk2 board; I assume same as Mk3, height from bottom of board to top of battery holder is 30mm. There are up to 2.5 mm high SMD components under the board.
Martin.
@ Stretchneck,
I too have been following Nenon's sever build. Powering a Z390 with high power CPU by batteries, depending on OS, may require many batteries or frequent recharging. As an example. I have used one board at 13V to power a Chord M Scaler. With attached UCs, I can achieve in excess of 2 hours between charges. The M Scaler power consumption is rated at 16W. Nenon powers the CPU using a 60W supply. Using two boards and utilising the last two 3.3V batteries of each board in series for another 13V, you would get 1 hour 10 minutes per charge. Nenon said he averaged 30W so if using Euphony, no upsampling, charge intervals may be extended. The 24 pin ATX and peripherals still also need a similar amount of power. The case I use to accomodate two boards, the charging power supply and one full set of UCs has dimensions 186 x 225 x 141mm. It should start to become apparent that this is going to be neither a cheap nor convenient way to power such a server. I'm currently investigating MP Audio's offerings.
Martin.
I too have been following Nenon's sever build. Powering a Z390 with high power CPU by batteries, depending on OS, may require many batteries or frequent recharging. As an example. I have used one board at 13V to power a Chord M Scaler. With attached UCs, I can achieve in excess of 2 hours between charges. The M Scaler power consumption is rated at 16W. Nenon powers the CPU using a 60W supply. Using two boards and utilising the last two 3.3V batteries of each board in series for another 13V, you would get 1 hour 10 minutes per charge. Nenon said he averaged 30W so if using Euphony, no upsampling, charge intervals may be extended. The 24 pin ATX and peripherals still also need a similar amount of power. The case I use to accomodate two boards, the charging power supply and one full set of UCs has dimensions 186 x 225 x 141mm. It should start to become apparent that this is going to be neither a cheap nor convenient way to power such a server. I'm currently investigating MP Audio's offerings.
Martin.