[Ghoostknight]

Hello,

I was using a raspberry pi with moode for quite a while (probably the biggest reason to use it was sound quality compared to my pc)
but since i nearly exclusively use this pc setup its way more convenient to connect directly to the pc (to watch movies/games without sync issues for example)

and i found recently out while testing Linux again that fedora 37 actually 1. sounds better than windows and 2. actually better than my raspberry pi, so since then i have my dac connected to my pc and easyeffects is a welcomed EQ, for me its better than EqualierAPO or CamillaDSP not just in audio quality...

Soo... now im wondering how i should go on from here... Can i improve my PC to get sonic benefits? im openminded to any tweaks (Usb filter, filter inside the pc, aditional usb cards, ferrite chokes, linear power supply and so on) i wanted to upgrade soon anyway and will probably get a intel system

So did someone else tried to tweak his pc setup? or should i take a look at x86 music servers?

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Depends on the budget.
- Get a DDC and hook your DAC to the DDC. If you listen only upto 24/192, hook it thru SPDIF or AES/EBU. Higher than that, preferably I2S if your DDC ro DAC support it.
- OR get a nice HIFI USB card (Jcat or SoTM) or an external USB reclocker (Innuous, Uptone, Ideon), and hook it to a nice LPS.

On my case, I abandoned the idea of building an x86 music server. Instead invested on a good quality streamer + DDC when I upgraded to a NAS. Now have a sort of AIO (streamer, DDC, format converter, Upsampler, reclocker).

 

[Ghoostknight]

- Get a DDC and hook your DAC to the DDC. If you listen only upto 24/192, hook it thru SPDIF or AES/EBU. Higher than that, preferably I2S if your DDC ro DAC support it.
- OR get a nice HIFI USB card (Jcat or SoTM) or an external USB reclocker (Innuous, Uptone, Ideon), and hook it to a nice LPS.

what route you think gets you further?
i have a topping d10 as ddc here, it might be a good idea to compare it to usb (i also already have a topping hs01 isolator)

On my case, I abandoned the idea of building an x86 music server. Instead invested on a good quality streamer + DDC when I upgraded to a NAS. Now have a sort of AIO (streamer, DDC, format converter, Upsampler, reclocker).

hmm benefits are if i see it right, you can play files directly from your nas without pc while still being able to easly hook up your pc via ddc for movies etc right?

one thing im wondering about is if fedora 37 made such a drastic difference the raspberry pi might be too (and would be a viable streamer again) with a better OS but using just the pc seems less hassle for now

i actually planned to build (and tweak) a cm4 streamer since i think the minimal hardware is perfect for the least noise compared to a x86 pc but that fedora 37 on x86 sounds better made me abort the idea for now
also many people report hearing differences between volumio and moode for example, i actually think the os plays a bigger role than the hardware but i might be wrong

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

hmm benefits are if i see it right, you can play files directly from your nas without pc while still being able to easly hook up your pc via ddc for movies etc right?

That's the idea...

Tried Rasberry Pi -> HS01 -> D10 ??

Before suggesting, D10 is your DAC? Or another?

 

[smallcaps]

Honestly my best computer tweak for my listening station was ditching the computer and replacing it with a streamer. Removing all superfluous distractions made me focus more on music listening and less on tweaking my system.

 

[Ghoostknight]

Before suggesting, D10 is your DAC? Or another?

No, my dac is a Aune X8 XVIII

Tried Rasberry Pi -> HS01 -> D10 ??

yup used it for a while like that, also a few months with the X8 but then i recently found out that fedora on a x86 sounds better, my guess is OS plays a big role here,
and i used Ubuntu/Manjaro/Linux Mint before and they were worse than the raspberry pi setup

Honestly my best computer tweak for my listening station was ditching the computer and replacing it with a streamer. Removing all superfluous distractions made me focus more on music listening and less on tweaking my system.

well that was my plan too with the raspberry pi, i believe it introduces less issue than a whole pc, but switching to fedora surprised me so much SQ wise, im not sure if the hassle with the raspberry pi is worth it anymore, i can manage stuff way more comfortably at my own pc

---

so im kinda at a point where i dont know what do, going the pc route seems the most logical tho
fedora sounds so good, and i like to use it as "station for everything" (for example, playing games with having background music, which is possible in good quality with pipewire under linux) that im really question if its worth going still the rpi route
specially because its a whole pc setup with nearfield monitors, it seems kinda silly to use a extra box for listening to music

i might retry the rpi in the future, i kinda wanted to try roon

i also thought about getting ian canada`s transportpi digi as DDC (there is a adapter board which you can hook up in between a usb receiver pcb and the transportpi) which would leave the option open to later use the transportpi on an actual pi

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Asynchronous USB DAC with good galvanic isolation and master clock fed via exclusive WASAPI or ASIO.

 

[Ghoostknight]

Asynchronous USB DAC with good galvanic isolation and master clock fed via exclusive WASAPI or ASIO.

what really bothers me with usb is this: you can change cable, isolator, reclocker or other devies like the ifi isilencer which i have too and each change changes the sound signature a little bit, so right now i tend to go the ddc a little more, i specially like the fact that toslink is out of the box galvanicly isolated

i like to go about things as logical as possible and spdif/toslink has imo these benefits:
1. ootb isolated (most manfucaturs also isolate the spdif/rca signal these days) i still need to try rca spdif and compare it too toslink
2. im not sure if galvanicly isolated is yet perfect, so it might be beneficial to go PC -> usb isolator -> ddc -> isolated spdif/toslink -> dac
3. some DDC`s like the ian canada transport digi or douk audio U2 allow you to change clocks to better ones, which might be a beneficial upgrade that isnt easly done in the dac itself

atleast these are probably the 3 big benefits i see with a ddc,

raspberry pi hats are said to be beneficial too since they avoid usb completely and go from i2s to spdif directly
my plan was initially to use the raspberry pi with a hat as usb device on the pc but this doesnt avoid the usb connection to the pc, so i might as well go from pc directly, since adding a device with its own (maybe even inferior) os is just another point of failure (and linux most of the times never "just works")

also: a full x86 gives you more horsepower for DSP/EQ (and less os jitter) which might be beneficial...

the question is tho: beside the dac/ddc to isolate the pc the "furthest" from your music setup, did you guys still notice any improvements with running the pc from a linear power supply for example? or using a seperate usb pcie card? well im not sure if wanna go the whole a few thousand euro music server rabbithole down but im still kinda curious...

one thing i will definitely try is making a modified usb cables, where just the data lines are connected (and ground trough a resistor) which is basicly what the ifi ground defender does

 

[kingoftown1]

just to throw out a general list of things worth looking into:

software:
ASIO
Fidelizer
Audiophile Optimizer
Majiorityclean
Lemonade Elitest
Exercise Stabilizer
Process Lasso
Hqplayer
Bughead emperor

Hardware optimization (this could really turn into a huge list):
USB/Network cards (Jcat, Pink Faun, etc)
OS/Storage drive selection (revelation SSD, Optane, Samsung PM893)
Elfidelity filters
Power supply upgrades
Passive cooling
EMI absorbing products (AB5100HF, 7050, etc)
Network switches

Have fun!

 

[Ghoostknight]

software:
ASIO
Fidelizer
Audiophile Optimizer
Majiorityclean
Lemonade Elitest
Exercise Stabilizer
Process Lasso
Hqplayer
Bughead emperor

Hardware optimization (this could really turn into a huge list):
USB/Network cards (Jcat, Pink Faun, etc)
OS/Storage drive selection (revelation SSD, Optane, Samsung PM893)
Elfidelity filters
Power supply upgrades
Passive cooling
EMI absorbing products (AB5100HF, 7050, etc)
Network switches

thanks for the list

well im already looking for a good (closed) case, tho everything newer seems to have windows... the Lain Li V351/352 seems to be looking solid from a isolating/emi shielding perspective

i will probably upgrade my pc to reasonable off the shelf parts (kinda curious how intel compares to my current ryzen setup too) and maybe throw in some upgrades later
but for example a hdplex power supply doesnt seem to be that much more expensive than a normal power supply, and i also might look for used parts

unfortunaly i want to be still able to have a beefy gpu, which could potentially make this all a whole lot more challenging but i kinda hope for the best

im really sceptical about the elfidelity modules since i saw LinusTechTips videos about it, they had more noise on the analogue output of the dac with these filters installed...

 

[kingoftown1]

linus makes videos for entertainment, and just makes elfidelity-bashing videos every two years when his team runs out of content ideas. There are more credible reviews & impression of the products in question out there. Or...they're cheap enough to try yourself. The PCIE filter is like $40? If that one doesn't make an impact for you, then don't bother with any of the others.

 

[Ghoostknight]

linus makes videos for entertainment, and just makes elfidelity-bashing videos every two years when his team runs out of content ideas. There are more credible reviews & impression of the products in question out there. Or...they're cheap enough to try yourself. The PCIE filter is like $40? If that one doesn't make an impact for you, then don't bother with any of the others.

Ah well, i kinda agree but i wouldnt expect linustechtips to "lie" or manipulate the results and there was clearly more audible noise on the analogue output with these filters
but you are kinda right, it might be worth a shot to try one of these modules myself

 

[hakunamakaka]

If it’s stationary computer I would simply get decent PCIe USB card. Sotm comes to my mind, but you can find better bang for $

 

[Ghoostknight]

Sotm comes to my mind, but you can find better bang for $

which one? i just know the sotm and pink faun i think

 

[hakunamakaka]

which one? i just know the sotm and pink faun i think

Can’t remember the name of the card, but one of head-fier’s cheesbert if not mistaken had great success with budget PCIe USB dedicated for audio. Try to query this forum, it should pop up.

I personally use DDC as USB from my mac significantly degrades SQ with Qutest. There is way by just upgrading DAC which is not as much impacted by source, but that’s a huge investment for me