Build a dedicated Audio PC

[tony]

not sure i understood about the chip and jkdac was it that
the jkdac is well able to compete with extreme high end dacs at a lower cost and these cheaper chips may work in the same manner[/quote]

Is my sense of humour that bad? Yes that is what I was getting at. Re the settings clip I cant see it.When i copy it and enlarge it becomes too blurred to read.

Is the jkdac32 gone to you?

[nige2000]

not sure i understood about the chip and jkdac was it that
the jkdac is well able to compete with extreme high end dacs at a lower cost and these cheaper chips may work in the same manner

Is my sense of humor that bad? Yes that is what I was getting at. Re the settings clip I cant see it.When i copy it and enlarge it becomes too blurred to read.

Is the jkdac32 gone to you?[/quote]

bugger i reduced it too much
cant upload another says : Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached.
all i changed was packetsize to 0(1 works good too)
ultra size to 30 (gets poorer after 28)

no someone else got the jkdac32
ill be looking for one soon or maybe the Ciunas especially if i get my zuma type build working good with some s/h parts i have lying around as it would save some cash

only other factor on the i3 2105 and the h67n usb3 with picu psu build is the cpu fan and the case fan influence, ill try that when my streacom arrives and report back

[nige2000]

Tony,Nige, I am using an ancient Meath Co Council Pentium 4 2.99Ghz as Streamer and I'm getting 2% CPU time running UltraStream. I'm getting a lowest UltraSize value of 160 streaming via cable to and from modem to JK's Ciunas Dac. Wireless to modem was exactly the same value. I see Aleg on Jplay forum is getting 169ms as his lowest value with JKDAC32 again streaming. Below 160 for me =no sound.
BTW the JKDAC32 has gone to a good home.
KM

i remember it was up to the task alright, no glitches
i should have mentioned it earlier that i had a web browser open while i as monitoring the task manager its probably using more resources than jplay
aleg has the same motherboard as me with a better processor, ill copy his settings see if its better

and ill see how far i can push the ultrasize on the i7

how would you compare the Ciunas to the jkdac32, must be a good improvement

ill try to call down next week

[jkeny]

Before everyone jumps into Zuma style cases it may be worth considering (for the cheapskates among us):
- if the fan is powered independently & it is suitable slow then it may not be an issue on the audioPC as this will be a distance from the listener
- the fan noise of the ControlPC will be more important as it is right next to the listener i.e is this not where we need very low fan speeds or fanless (but a Zuma style case is not practical here)? As I type this on my lowly netbook, the fan noise is pretty unintrusive. So if it could be kept at this low level while running as ControlPC, I would be happy

I have some samples coming of very thin flat heatpipes which are said to be very efficient & may allow a more efficient cooling solution& therefore low fan speeds & noise?

[jkeny]

Nige,
I'm doing some more Ciunas builds & you are welcome to have one to audition in your home system. I know you are not a JKDAC32 owner & can't compare it to that but it may be something you would be interested in trying? PM me with your details if you are?

[nige2000]

direct comparison between ultrasize 30 vs 160/169
160/169 is superior
too busy pushing the i3 i guess
unable to tell difference between 160 and 169

[nige2000]

Before everyone jumps into Zuma style cases it may be worth considering (for the cheapskates among us):
- if the fan is powered independently & it is suitable slow then it may not be an issue on the audioPC as this will be a distance from the listener
- the fan noise of the ControlPC will be more important as it is right next to the listener i.e is this not where we need very low fan speeds or fanless (but a Zuma style case is not practical here)? As I type this on my lowly netbook, the fan noise is pretty unintrusive. So if it could be kept at this low level while running as ControlPC, I would be happy

I have some samples coming of very thin flat heatpipes which are said to be very efficient & may allow a more efficient cooling solution& therefore low fan speeds & noise?

very fair statement
the only problem maybe that the more silent cpu coolers tend to be quite large and may not fit in some of these cases we have been talking about. sites like quietpc will give examples of silent cpu coolers.
i know you've mentioned before that noise wont be carried through your dac and if you cant hear the pc running, it wont effect the sound quality right?

still think control and audio pc streaming seems to be coming out on top (even with ultrastream)
was hoping that one pc would suffice been remote controlled by a tablet and leave it to its duty and update software it every so often, but this doesn't look like this is going to happen

[Ken Moreland]

direct comparison between ultrasize 30 vs 160/169
160/169 is superior
too busy pushing the i3 i guess
unable to tell difference between 160 and 169

Nige, are you getting 30 on SinglePC? What's the lowest you can go on 2PC streaming? (same question for other readers)

You're welcome to call anytime to hear the Ciunas, personally I think it's excellent , really atmospheric and 3-dimensional. I would recommend you give it a listen and bet you don't return it.
KM

[jkeny]

very fair statement
the only problem maybe that the more silent cpu coolers tend to be quite large and may not fit in some of these cases we have been talking about. sites like quietpc will give examples of silent cpu coolers.

Yea, it's worth investigating - how quiet can a normal PC fan run & still provide adequate cooling for ControlPC?

i know you've mentioned before that noise wont be carried through your dac and if you cant hear the pc running, it wont effect the sound quality right?

Well, yes & no. The normal issues of ground noise & common mode noise that bedeck many audio PC systems are addressed in my devices but Jplay itself still seems to work better with no fan or separately powered fan, SSD (maybe even separately powered) - these issues are internal to the operation of the PC/Jplay interface & not really to do with ground noise or CM noise being carried on the USB signal cable to my devices (I believe)

still think control and audio pc streaming seems to be coming out on top (even with ultrastream)

Yea, it may we be - I was just reporting on some posts (maybe just one) that hinted at this new phenomenon

was hoping that one pc would suffice been remote controlled by a tablet and leave it to its duty and update software it every so often, but this doesn't look like this is going to happen

Yep, that to me would solve a lot of usability issues

[Fran]

i7 3770 now at 264 on german site, but 18.99 postage brings it back to same price as komplett.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/articlede ... &agid=1617


I picked up some ram today off adverts. 50 for 2x4gb DDR3 1600 ram. Corsair vengeance model, low profile

Costs so far:

intel board: 96
picoPSU: 55
ram: 50
heatsink: 18
chip.... TBC, but looking like 285

I already have case, SSD, W8, jplay, linear supply. Cost is about 500.

I might wait another few days and see if the chip price falls another bit. It has gone down by 20 or more in the last few weeks.

I know it may well be overkill, but it future proofs a bit.


Fran