Colin Barron
pfm Member
This is an interesting site if you are interested in computer streaming.
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/forum/
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/forum/
Computer Streaming
- Thread starter Colin Barron
- Start date
Julf
Facts are our friends
I would say http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/ is much better for factual information, and http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/ for discussion/questions - but mind the Terms of Service!
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
Computer audiophile seemed to start off with good intentions but it rapidly began a downwards spiral into supporting the most leftfield ideas of what makes an audible difference in computer audio. Several years on still no manufacture has provided proof that their software player sounds different to any other bit perfect player. Same for USb cables et al.
Julf
Facts are our friends
I guess what happened with CA was that the fact that it is a commercial enterprise financed by vendor advertising gave it the same conflict of interest that has dragged most hifi magazines down the drain...
Well, I have to agree. Apart from some occasional useful info on setting up certain combos of hardware and software ( MPD and squeezelite on a Beagebone,for example), too much of it reads as if the contributors have been on the wacky backy. A prime example being stuff like this:
"Phil's Audiophile Optimizer, a most comprehensive Windows Server 2012 optimization program, is one of the most underrated and highly valuable tools for any computer audiophile. In a hobby where we think nothing of spending $1000s on cables and isolation tweaks, this Optimizer makes a HUGE difference when setting up a Windows 2012-based music sever. It has double the effect when run in a dual pc environment, as is found in dual pc Jplay setups."
I.e. dump windows 7 or 8 for windows 2012 server buy an optimizer, jplay and the small thing of buying a second PC and second set of software. But then this comes from someone who thinks "nothing of spending $1000s on cables and isolation tweaks".
If men are from Mars, post on CA are from God knows where. I comfort myself that my ears are too old and my pockets too empty to live in constant anxiety that my simple approach to computer audio is fatally compromised.
Colin Barron
pfm Member
Boys and their toys, life is good.
Colin Barron
pfm Member
Most posts on sites say that an improvement is achieved by a separate power supply on each section with the greatest improvement being made on the ssd drive power supply. The cost of making these changes by diy is fairly cheap so its worth doing, unless of course its the emperors new clothing again.
I saw an article in a hifi mag in the 1980s where they compared twin core and earth mains cable with a posh speaker cable and there was not a clear winner.
john.luckins
pfm Member
Improvement to what? I suspect that the improvement is not to the functioning of the Computer, but as a result of the reduction in computer switched mode PSU noise on the mains supply and earth and thereby a reduction in its interaction with other connected equipment.
Colin Barron
pfm Member
They were saying an improvement in sound quality.
john.luckins
pfm Member
Sound quality of what, the system or just the computer?
Colin Barron
pfm Member
One of the computer audiophile comments
T
Cheap music server power tweak that is VERY good.
I've had a CAPS v2, v3 Lagoon, and now a custom build with an Intel server board and XEON low TDP processor (think specialized CAPS v3 Zuma). I've been tweaking on PC based music servers for a while now. I've never wanted to go crazy on linear power upgrades (I've tested a few with mixed results), but I tried something recently that is one of the best bang for the buck improvements I've heard.
I purchased an Anker E4 rechargeable USB battery pack. My intensional was to test it powering both the OS SSD, and my Paul Pang USB 3 PCIe card. When powering the SSD with the 1A output, and the USB card with the 2A output, the sound was terrible. I lost bass articulation and output, I lost clarity in the midrange, and the treble had rounded edges. It was terrible in every way. However, powering just the SSD with the 1A output is revolutionary.
Powering just the SSD, the bass maintained great articulation, the midrange and treble clarity changed significantly. I'm now certain I understand what noise sounds like. This is not a blacker background thing, because every time I get a blacker background, it is at the expense of some detail and realism. This change is clarity actually causes the sound of instruments to change to something even more realistic. Low level details are much easier to hear, and none of this comes with any increase in brightness or elevated timbre. This is one of those improvements that makes any track I play sound better; MUCH better.
i read a few posts on other forums where others have found these same results. I can't explain why the OS SSD is this sensitive to power, but it certainly is!
To to be clear, I power my PC with a wide-input picoPSU powered by a FSP SMPS (19V, 6A). Obviously YMMV, but I think this is worth a try. My total cost was less than $60 shipped for the battery pack and USB power cable that I modified to work with SATA power.
he system.
Hmmm. Could be because the improved PSU noise rejection rounds off the corners of the binary square waves when reading data from FLAC files on the SSD, leading to a smoother, less fatiguing musical presentation.
Colin - you can't come around here with your crazy ideas all busting out over the place like that . . . this is a forum for old people with turntables, and a few smug software guys with their heads in the sand. You'll just get them agitated if you start talking about power supplies for computers: they take ages to calm down again once you set them off.
Just remember: it's only noughts and ones, it's only noughts and ones, it's only noughts and ones, there's no place like home, no place like home . . .
But seriously, though, have you tried building the machine the CAPS is a bad copy of? Interesting timeline here:
http://www.itemaudio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2101
Just remember: it's only noughts and ones, it's only noughts and ones, it's only noughts and ones, there's no place like home, no place like home . . .
But seriously, though, have you tried building the machine the CAPS is a bad copy of? Interesting timeline here:
http://www.itemaudio.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2101
orangeart
KJF Audio Ltd.
In the diy room, you'll not set us off like in the audio room, we're quite freindly in here. But we do work in a scientific way for the most part. Making measurable improvement to our kit. We understand that improving digital steams improves the music. But only really in areas like clocking, jitter, and associated power. All these things are measureable and quantifiable.
I can't see any reason why changing the power for one of the devices withing a pc would help, unless the previous psu was interacting with the other devices, like John said above.
A binary steam isn't really affected much by external influences as it moves from HDD to bus to RAM, back to bus, and then onto out put device. This is normally pretty lossless unless things are pretty bad. Once things leave as a USB stream things can get out of shape unless adequate care of isolation, clocking etc is taken care of, bit those things are as I said above well documented and us DIYers have a good arsenal of methods to deal with them.
I'd be interested to learn more on this subject though. If there are things I can do to my PC setup that give quantifiable resultsthat can be achieved on a DIY budget, we all need to hear about it.
Stefan
I can't see any reason why changing the power for one of the devices withing a pc would help, unless the previous psu was interacting with the other devices, like John said above.
A binary steam isn't really affected much by external influences as it moves from HDD to bus to RAM, back to bus, and then onto out put device. This is normally pretty lossless unless things are pretty bad. Once things leave as a USB stream things can get out of shape unless adequate care of isolation, clocking etc is taken care of, bit those things are as I said above well documented and us DIYers have a good arsenal of methods to deal with them.
I'd be interested to learn more on this subject though. If there are things I can do to my PC setup that give quantifiable resultsthat can be achieved on a DIY budget, we all need to hear about it.
Stefan
Apart from our site, the best places for reading about doing interesting things to computers are Audio Asylum, DIY Audio and JPlay. Audiostream is also coming on leaps and bounds. There used to be some good people on CA, but it's gone downhill a bit recently, and the 'recipes' are plain bonkers.
Colin Barron
pfm Member
I am impressed with how user friendly JRiver and JRemote are to use. Switch on the computer which automatically goes into the JRiver program then turn on the IPad click on the JRemote icon then press connect and thats it. Less than a minute and you are up and running. To turn off press the on button on the computer and it hibernates.
Sound quality is much better than my Sonos with no signal drop outs.
I am using usb at the moment for computer/ dac connection but i have a coax sound card from a couple of years ago when i gave up with foobar.
Sound quality is much better than my Sonos with no signal drop outs.
I am using usb at the moment for computer/ dac connection but i have a coax sound card from a couple of years ago when i gave up with foobar.
tonerei
pfm Member
Out of morbid curiosity could you point me to the cd/turntable and speaker manufacturers etc etc that have provided proof that their devices sound different to any other devices in the same field. I don't think it is the done thing.