this is a copy I send to another lover
of good music :)
but there is some overlap with my original post, but in another thread
If you are interested I have the following tips for you to make a true MAJOR jump from the laptop in SQ for relative little money
Leave the laptop. The difference between a laptop and a dedicated PC betters the difference between playing with or without JPLay. It is that big.
But to build the PC you have to follow strict rules.
The consensus build up in JPlay forums and my experience to assemble it is:
The smaller, the simpler the better.
1) motherboard Intel CPU based: Gigabyte H61M-USB3-B3. I opted for its more modern cousin H61MA-D3V, Both are pretty looking microATX boards with build in graphics. So no computer to play games, just listening. MSI and ASUS offer alternatives.
2) Intel 2500T. CPU. It is a quad cpu (hibernation in JPlay utilizes all 4 cores) 2,3-3,2 Gig. Its advantage is is the low 95 watts which enables passive cooling. Fans induce noise into the power of the PC. I do use fans for the cooling of the CPU and PWS but by apart powering them with run of the mill 'cheapy' stand alone 5V psu's. The 5V against the 12V that they need, makes then silent and they still cool for the very hot summer days. They are independent of the PC power. They will induce "digital" noise into the power grid, but I have a dedicated line conditioner to block their presence into my music system.
The new line of INTEL cpu is out. a newer alternative with 30 watts less power is the : Intel Core i5-2405S Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz (3.3GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 65W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52405S
3) High quality memory >1333 Mhz the higher the better. Also 8 gig is more than enough. Then clock them down. Mostly their CLS is between 9-11. The higher the freq is the more you can lower down CLS at lower frequency at 1333 or even 800 (underclocking). At the moment I listen to CLS 7 but the consensus is CLS 5. Also the other values: the lower the better.
4) A low ripple and noise PC PWS. The lowest in praxis is the ANTEC CP 850. It is pure overkill in watts, but it has extreme low ripple and noise, massively better than run of the mill PWS.
5) NO graphics card.
6) No hdd or ssd, unless connected to the mobo with a USB audiophile cable**. The ssd is then in its own SATA/USB converter enclosure. which accepts 5V in so you can tape pin 4 to block the dirty 5V from the PC. VERY important is to have each SSD have its own good linear 5V power.
Accept only aluminum enclosures, they reflect much less than iron ones, EMI within the enclosure itself. Do not use 3,5"HDD. They need 12V to spin, but also 5V for its circuitry. So the SATA/USB converter digitally convert 12->5V. This introduce switching noise. 2,5" SSD or HDD accepts 5V. Still the HDD introduces noise with its motor, whicg the SSD does not have. So the SSD is always better sounding. Windows and music files should be on separate disks.
**If you power the SSD with alinear power also a good maybe better alternative (much less electronics, so simpler and more direct) is to use silver sata cables. there is one man on earth who will make them for you for only 60€ See
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pc-based ... e-cat.html
1)-6) together are a big improvement over (any) laptop, but
7) Now how much hassle or money do you want to spend to make another jump?
HASSLE: OLIMEX galavanic USB isolator.. On its own it adds another JPlay effect, Completely on its own. But is is tricky. It "sits" between PC and music SSD. It is USB1.1 so a long playslist will take a long time to load into memory. It sounds gorgeous. It removes another big layer of the in essence electronic nature of recordings. More transparency, more 3D, spooky micro details, absence of glare and so on. 1or 2 out of ten times it does not connect to the PC. A bit of mechanically wriggling carefully restores the connection. I have two, both have it.
NO HASSLE: The same effect with no hassle and blazing velocity of USB 3.0 is of ADNACO S3B. the replacement of the same looking S3A
I do not have it yet. Marcin (partner of Josef the programmer behind JPlay) swears by it It is 8x more expensive but still 395$. It is perfect galvanic isolatior based on fiber cable (glass). It will be bettered when you replace its switching power supply with a good 5V linear one. Very low jitter
8) Buy 3 sheets of 1mm thickness 3M EMI or EMI/RFI absorbers (You can use these links: Products for 3M
http://uk.mouser.com/3m/ and
http://uk.mouser.com/contact/ for contact details. ) , cover the inside (or outside) of Antec, ,the sides of the memory sticks, on the inside of the DAC enclosure and of the USB/SATA enclosures. eery silence is the effect. I have them against the sides of the 3 big transformers of both my Jadis power amps (DA-5) blocking their magnetic effects to the end tubes
9) Install windows 8 consumer edition ( actually a beta) it is free and sounds more musical than 7
You will be amazed.
The tricky thing is to find a good USB/SATA converter. I use AKASA NOIR 2,5" and have an OWC mini
OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini 2.5" Portable
FW800&400+ USB2+eSATA Portable SATA 2.5" Drive
Enclosure Kit owc.com
The mini needs a very simple internal solder mod.the 5V (hot) coming in via the USB min input must be connected with wire to the 5V (hot) dc input
I have a hot rod mobo, so no enclosure, it is screwed to a thick spruce board which is placed in my stereo stand. As the cooler looks like a big V8 motor with a lot of shining copper. the "naked" PC looks attractive on its own account.
