@nautibuoy, can you send me one too? Payment and all on my end, of course.
I have Cronus, and I'm veeeery curious!
Yes, I will have a few spare boards but you might want to wait to find out if it works first?
So, i3 4170 CPU and notebook with Centrino as HQP NAA Audiolinux, will work good enough?
I waiting DSC 2.6.2 to buy, when it will be available.
Till now i only get it to work i3 win10 with Jriver, xmos u208/ Amanero as NoDAC with RC filter and output capacitor.
With HQplayer i didnt manage to work. So i hoping for DSC, for nice natural sound
To handle conversion PCM to DSD512 with poly-sinc-xtr or closed-form filters in HQP (IMHO the best SQ) you need a very powerful processor.
Intel i7-8700 can do only DSD256 with poly-sinc-xtr.
My ThreadRipper 1950X with DDR4-3666 can do all HQP filters without Cuda offload.
ThreadRipper 1950X with DDR4-3200 - can't handle closed-form without Cuda offload.
The only way to go without powerful processor for PCM-DSD512 conversion is using -shrt or -2s filters.
Your i3-4170 benchmarks at around 4,500 and I suspect might find even DSD256 with with -shrt or -2s filters a struggle. For comparison, the i7-8700 mentioned by Vid benchmarks at over 15,000.
Centrino should be OK for NAA duty. The Intel Atom E3815 processor in my NUC is very low power and benchmarks at under 400. I use a NUC because it is passively cooled so totally silent.
For my HQPlayer machine I use an old Xeon processor (I can't remember the number) that benchmarks at close to 10,000 and it can just manage DSD512 with -2s filter but I mainly use DSD256 as it gives me more flexibility with filter selection. Once I get DSC2 established I'll look to upgrade the PC.
Of course PC performance will be sub-optimal if you're running lots of other stuff as well as HQP. And there is the possibility of CUDA offload to share the processing load with the CPU, which should work well with HQP type processing.
You can find CPU benchmark data here;
PassMark Software - CPU Benchmark Charts
Hi,
i already looking for more power CPU for start (till i get DSC2 and HQP).
At moment i have ASROCK Z97 OC Formula motherboard (Haswell LGA1150.
Maybe best choice will be i7 4790K with Bechmark rating 11190, with overclock higher score.
I guess then memory must also highspeed. Temperaly 12GB DDR3, PC3-12800 (800MHz). I am looking to CPU-Z info.
How much memory is needed?
I hope informations will be useful for other too.
Hi,
thanks for info.
then 8GB 1866 DDR3 Kingston
SSD i using M2 type Samsung MZVPV256, which is 2- 4 times faster then most of SSD. Boot time is also faster.
PSU is 650W Enermax infinity EIN650AWT. It is quite enough.
Hi,
i already looking for more power CPU for start (till i get DSC2 and HQP).
At moment i have ASROCK Z97 OC Formula motherboard (Haswell LGA1150.
Maybe best choice will be i7 4790K with Bechmark rating 11190, with overclock higher score.
I guess then memory must also highspeed. Temperaly 12GB DDR3, PC3-12800 (800MHz). I am looking to CPU-Z info.
How much memory is needed?
I hope informations will be useful for other too.
I'd recommend to try different HQP filters to decide what you like most.
IMHO poly-sinc-xtr or closed-form in DSD256 is better than poly-sinx-xtr-2s and closed-form-fast in DSD512.
If you are unlucky like me and you will fall in love with closed-form or poly-sinc-xtr
:1. for closed-form you will need high-speed DDR4. Even i7-8700 with DDD4-2133 can't handle it (without CUDA offload). I succeed only with DDR4-3666 at AMD platform (Intel is faster with RAM, perhaps for Intel DDR4-3400 or even less is enough).
2. for poly-sinc-xtr you will need a lot of L2 CPU cash. This is the main reason why I can't get poly-sinc-xtr DSD512 at i7-8700. DSD256 worked quite well.
Don't be in a hurry. Try money-back with local shop, if possible.
I know you meant "cache" but you also definitely need a lot of cash, too.
Good looking boards in the GB thread!
I know you meant "cache" but you also definitely need a lot of cash, too.
Sorry for mistake.And yes "more L2 cache needs more cash"
The reason I use an HQP NAA is so that the main HQP computer, doing all the heavy-duty processing, can be placed in a location remote from the audio system - mine is at the other end of the house.
The NUC 3815 I use for the NAA is passively cooled and with a small SSD, just big enough to run the operating system and the required application, so is completely silent.
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Hi Pavel, Vit, Others, I have a question about the output stage of the DSC V2. I understand the DSC V2 is a current output dac which requires an I/V stage to convert the output current into voltage, and you need a low pass filter to get rid of the ultrasonic noise. Pavel, you made the 2.5.2 version with output transformers for that purpose, right?
So my question is whether you also tried discrete / non-transformer output stages ? If so, can you refer to more information on internet for the other output stages that you tried?
Can I ask you to elaborate on the specifications one needs to take into account when looking for alternative output stages?
For example, I have looked at the Alpha 24 dac output stage of amb audio https://www.amb.org/audio/alpha24/
It is a I/V converter with opamps and configurable gain (standard 2 for balanced and 1 for unbalanced) and an active LPF (bessel corner freq. 100khz). Amb has used this A24 for his (PCM) dac. Does PCM require the same type of LPF filter as your DSC V2 DSD dac? Or is a output stage for a DSD dac different from a PCM dac?
So my question is whether you also tried discrete / non-transformer output stages ? If so, can you refer to more information on internet for the other output stages that you tried?
Can I ask you to elaborate on the specifications one needs to take into account when looking for alternative output stages?
For example, I have looked at the Alpha 24 dac output stage of amb audio https://www.amb.org/audio/alpha24/
It is a I/V converter with opamps and configurable gain (standard 2 for balanced and 1 for unbalanced) and an active LPF (bessel corner freq. 100khz). Amb has used this A24 for his (PCM) dac. Does PCM require the same type of LPF filter as your DSC V2 DSD dac? Or is a output stage for a DSD dac different from a PCM dac?
And, somewhat related to Pieter's question: what would be the output voltage and impedance of this version of DSC-2 with transformers? This is good information to know for those who want to go amp direct. Would it be, perhaps, better to add an active buffer stage for good current drive to an amp, or is such not of any advantage?