Build a dedicated Audio PC

[tony]

Ok back to this thread now that the 2 usb stick fad is hopefully over. Pearse kindly gave me a loan of his zuma to compare to the 2 laptop setup.
Unfortunately the damn thing sounds much nicer than the 2 laptops. Simple description would be lower noise floor the ability to listen at lower levels and hear all the detail but it just has a really nice rich tone. Voices including David Byrne have depth to them. Ok will have to have a tutorial and try and hone my pc building skills which are nonexistent. The zuma is just not affordable for me.
John pointed out that the sotm usb card wasnt necessary with his dac. I would concur. When setting it up last night I had the usual struggles getting it fired up and running I inadvertently used the standard usb card slot when listening to it. I was in too much of a rush to get to hear it.
Pearse also gave me a very good usb cable but I can't detect any difference between it and the direct connectors.

I had a quick look on the itemaudio site but it is all goobly gook. Found the case but there was no photo. If not getting the sotm card what kind of price is a zuma box server thing coming in at. I know the list is probably already on this thread but could one of our resident PC manufacturers give me some pointers? At the moment just want to start getting my head around what I actually need and what I can ditch without impacting sound quality. I wish Pearse was a bit meaner with his toys!

[nige2000]

double posted sorry

[nige2000]

Ok back to this thread now that the 2 usb stick fad is hopefully over. Pearse kindly gave me a loan of his zuma to compare to the 2 laptop setup.
Unfortunately the damn thing sounds much nicer than the 2 laptops. Simple description would be lower noise floor the ability to listen at lower levels and hear all the detail but it just has a really nice rich tone. Voices including David Byrne have depth to them. Ok will have to have a tutorial and try and hone my pc building skills which are nonexistent. The zuma is just not affordable for me.
John pointed out that the sotm usb card wasnt necessary with his dac. I would concur. When setting it up last night I had the usual struggles getting it fired up and running I inadvertently used the standard usb card slot when listening to it. I was in too much of a rush to get to hear it.
Pearse also gave me a very good usb cable but I can't detect any difference between it and the direct connectors.

I had a quick look on the itemaudio site but it is all goobly gook. Found the case but there was no photo. If not getting the sotm card what kind of price is a zuma box server thing coming in at. I know the list is probably already on this thread but could one of our resident PC manufacturers give me some pointers? At the moment just want to start getting my head around what I actually need and what I can ditch without impacting sound quality. I wish Pearse was a bit meaner with his toys!

fantastic a comparison between zuma and jplay 2pc streaming
are you saying that?
zuma in jplay standalone mode is much better than your 2 laptops jplay streaming
the sotm usb card is of no benefit with the jkdac
expensive usb cable is of no benefit

it would be nice if someone could take the sotm sata noise filter out of one of these zumas to see what the difference is.

the streacom cases are expensive but they have built in passive cpu cooling
for example my passive cpu cooler cost the most of €100 and its massive you need a bigish tower case to hold it. most good tower cases are €70 upward so thats €170 and its big

other than passive cpu cooling your heading for either water cooling or a quiet cpu cooler which have a motorised fan and are large and may not fit in a home theater pc case
i dont know what the implication would be on sound but i would assume anything with moving parts create noise and would have a negative effect on sound.
i wont be going down this route

id recommend the intel ivybrige processors as they have a lower power consumption resulting in less heat therefore easier cooled. the integrated graphics are perfect for this duty.

other than that get reputable brands

if you post what you are thinking of buying ill check and make sure its all compatible with each other
ill help out any way i can

nige

[jkeny]

I was wondering if there might be an interest in doing a group buy of ItemAudio's silent PC kit that I mentioned earlier on the thread. I priced it off his webpage as about 700stg (with Streacom case) but this includes Win8 +Jplay bundle. Most of us have Jplay already so this could be dropped. I have a query with him about the 2GB memory mentioned on the webpage & if this is a maximum?

If there are 3 or 5 being bought, maybe we can get a reduced price - certainly would save on transport costs by bundling them together. I know this guy & have dealt with him before so I trust him. What say you - worth starting a new thread to see who is interested?

That price was for:
- 2.2GHz motherboard
- 2Gb RAM
- 64GB SSD
- 12V Linear Supply
- Win 8 + Jplay (this can be dispensed with)
- Streacom case

[nige2000]

just a couple of pics of my main pc

i dont intend to use it as a audio pc but it should be good for testing until i realise what im looking to build and buy or not buy

[nige2000]

I was wondering if there might be an interest in doing a group buy of ItemAudio's silent PC kit that I mentioned earlier on the thread. I priced it off his webpage as about 700stg (with Streacom case) but this includes Win8 +Jplay bundle. Most of us have Jplay already so this could be dropped. I have a query with him about the 2GB memory mentioned on the webpage & if this is a maximum?

If there are 3 or 5 being bought, maybe we can get a reduced price - certainly would save on transport costs by bundling them together. I know this guy & have dealt with him before so I trust him. What say you - worth starting a new thread to see who is interested?

That price was for:
- 2.2GHz motherboard
- 2Gb RAM
- 64GB SSD
- 12V Linear Supply
- Win 8 + Jplay (this can be dispensed with)
- Streacom case

the 2 gb ram would worry me a bit, i was thinking about 6gb as my pc in standalone jplay was using about 4gb and give it a room to breathe
ill look it up on the website now i wouldn't rule it out
whats so special about the linear power supplies

[jkeny]

the 2 gb ram would worry me a bit, i was thinking about 6gb as my pc in standalone jplay was using about 4gb and give it a room to breathe
ill look it up on the website now i wouldn't rule it out
whats so special about the linear power supplies

You mean about this particular PS or in general, about linear PS powering a PC?
To the more general question, SMPS PS normally found in PCs have an amount of ripple on the power line which may pollute the ground & 5V of any USB device connected to it. It may also throw back crud into the mains power that can pollute other audio devices connected to mains. A linear PS may help to address both of these issues depending on its build quality. My devices may be more immune to these effects than others but I still find it worth addressing any potential issues if it is easily & inexpensively achievable.

[nige2000]

the 2 gb ram would worry me a bit, i was thinking about 6gb as my pc in standalone jplay was using about 4gb and give it a room to breathe
ill look it up on the website now i wouldn't rule it out
whats so special about the linear power supplies

You mean about this particular PS or in general, about linear PS powering a PC?
To the more general question, SMPS PS normally found in PCs have an amount of ripple on the power line which may pollute the ground & 5V of any USB device connected to it. It may also throw back crud into the mains power that can pollute other audio devices connected to mains. A linear PS may help to address both of these issues depending on its build quality. My devices may be more immune to these effects than others but I still find it worth addressing any potential issues if it is easily & inexpensively achievable.

i was more thinking about linear PS powering a PC but think is sufficiently explained

these item audio pcs still have to be assembled when u get em ?
would come in around €800 asking price without shipping
the build i proposed earlier in this thread came to about €700 euro shipped if you changed the ps for a linear. added a copy of win 8 (about €60) and the sata sotm filter, were in the same ball park with a faster processor twice the hard drive capacity (120gb) and eight times the ram (16gb) yould be able to store a decent amount of your favorite music on the ssd.

nige

[jkeny]

Can you itemise the configuration again, Nige, please - I can't find it?

[Fran]

Well, I would have the SSD, and W8, and jplay. Case would be unimportant to me as it will be hidden. This leaves only MBadn processor and linear power supply....


What kind of money would that come in at?

Fran