Build a dedicated Audio PC

Anything to do with computer audio, hardware, software etc.
tony
Posts: 3144
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:36 pm

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by tony »

Noticed this on the hdplex site when checking out of curiosity if the H5S fanless case was in stock.I am very glad that I bought the streacom case as frustration would have set in by now.

Anyway link is for a linear PS 19V. Pricey well more expensive then a maplin but looks the part.

http://www.hd-plex.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1040



Image
Last edited by tony on Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
GroupBuySD DAC/First Watt AlephJ/NigeAmp/Audio PC's/Lampi L4.5 Dac/ Groupbuy AD1862 DHT Dac /Quad ESL63's.Tannoy Legacy Cheviots.
nige2000
Posts: 4253
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:47 am
Location: meath

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by nige2000 »

tony wrote:Noticed this on the hdplex site when checking out of curiosity if the H5S fanless case was in stock.It aint very glad that I bought the streacom case as frustration would have set in by now.

Anyway link is for a linear PS 19V. Pricey well more expensive then a maplin but looks the part.

http://www.hd-plex.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1040



Image

Claus your this type of thing is what yould be looking for
sd card player, modded soekris dac, class a lifepo4 amp or gb class a/b amp, diy open baffle speakers based on project audio mundorf trio 10's
Claus
Posts: 773
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:48 pm

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by Claus »

Cool guys! Will look into it! Thanks!
tony
Posts: 3144
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:36 pm

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by tony »

Thats great Claus you buy we try!

Had a brief listen this morning to core server gui streaming to core server zuma using audiophil's beta script V12. The depth,detail and warmth in the few tracks I played was astounding.Maybe just tired after a long week in work but will sit down tonight and give it a good listen. The improvements from tweaking core server are nothing short of remarkable and all done by one guy.The amount of hours put into the project seems incredible.
GroupBuySD DAC/First Watt AlephJ/NigeAmp/Audio PC's/Lampi L4.5 Dac/ Groupbuy AD1862 DHT Dac /Quad ESL63's.Tannoy Legacy Cheviots.
nige2000
Posts: 4253
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:47 am
Location: meath

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by nige2000 »

claus i was thinking of you the last day i had a hood off a maplin i screwed it up as far as it would go which was 16v and hums at that so thats a no go

i wonder if fran could do some circuitry to get 19v out of this 7 amp maplin which is my preferred linear supply atm
sd card player, modded soekris dac, class a lifepo4 amp or gb class a/b amp, diy open baffle speakers based on project audio mundorf trio 10's
mick
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:33 am

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by mick »

Hi,
I ,like many others have been reading this thread with great interest. I have come to the conclusion that computer based music reproduction is the way to go. I have been holding off on getting a system until some sort of consensus has emerged as to what to buy. My question is has that consensus been reached... Are there recommendations as to what to get. Is something like this http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers ... e-mini-pc/ worth considering. I ave a jkdac32 and would use jplay to play music. Would the core server be the os to use. How would it be set up. I am not well versed in computers and find a lot of it daunting.

Mick
tony
Posts: 3144
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:36 pm

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by tony »

Fran had suggested a sticky awhile back and it is probably about time it was set up. There is no simple answer Mick you have to decide a budget and a rough idea what you want. Best SQ comes from streaming from one pc (control pc) to the music(audio Pc) Fanless case is the way to go from appearance point of view and primarily SQ. Streacom or HDPLEX fanlessCases some like NUC's. You need to buy a motherboard,processor chip,ram,pico power supply,SSD or USB3.0 and a power supply(linear is best) and an operating system(windows8, Enterprise or Windows Server 2012(core).

Budget will decide what processor,case etc you are going to get. You can get a ready made built one but best value is achieved by getting a list of what is required and trying some of the shops. Elara,computerpartsireland,Dabs, Komplett or amazon.

Hard to get out of it for less than €600-700 and the sky is the limit. You can if you build yourself get i7 processor 16gb ram,fanless case,linear supply,pico and ssd for somewhere between €900-1500. I think I am at circa €1000-1100 but it takes ducking and diving to keep the costs under control. BTW that is for the audiopc. You can use your existing pc/laptop as the control pc initially.

You then need to connect the two and easiest I think is to use a modem.They can be bought for less than €50. Wireless to the modem from the control pc and wired (ethernet cable) to the audio pc. You can go direct which means running a ethernet cable from one pc to the other. This requires configuring ip address in network sharing.

Think about what you want and ask questions. You will get a huge amount of help here and guys will help you sort any issue. The software/driver configuration stuff can be painful and take time but when you know there is help at hand it is not so daunting.It just eats up a lot of listening time especially the more specialized or single minded your set up becomes.
GroupBuySD DAC/First Watt AlephJ/NigeAmp/Audio PC's/Lampi L4.5 Dac/ Groupbuy AD1862 DHT Dac /Quad ESL63's.Tannoy Legacy Cheviots.
User avatar
Ken Moreland
Posts: 814
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 7:47 pm

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by Ken Moreland »

Got my Acoustic Revive LAN isolator from this guy http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Acoustic-Revive- ... 43bd9356c0 and it arrived in about a week. I have it installed between router and AudioPC and it installs without a problem and plays all material including 24/192.
The sound quality is improved especially in terms of delicacy and detail and is most noticeable in vocals and acoustic music. Here's a small review in 6moons http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/acou ... ve3/4.html
Hope to compare it later to the GISO . Overall it's a very worthwhile addition.
i5 QuietPC , JplayFemto , Singxer SU-6 , Holo Audio Spring DAC ,LAB12 Preamp, Roundtree Mono Amps, Rosso Fiorentino Elba 2 Speakers
.
User avatar
Fran
Site Admin
Posts: 4139
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:03 pm

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by Fran »

Mick: just a suggestion, but feel free to call into me if you'd like to see my setup, and have a listen?

Fran
Do or do not, there is no try
mick
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:33 am

Re: Build a dedicated Audio PC

Post by mick »

Thanks Tony for your suggestions. It is great the the posters on this site are really helpfull unlike a lot of other sites.
Fran I would like to take up your kind offer in the near future. I am sort of in the same boat as Derek whom I think you know.
Post Reply