[Golfnutz]

So how big is your s/w load on your boot drive?
And which OS are you running?

Musicboy has a NµC running winblows that runs his standalone and dedicated music system feeding into his AOIP that feeds his Theta DAC.
The single biggest component is the display with his NµC stuck on the back.

Very tidy and even transportable enough to bring to meets.

JJ

There's 20gb left (actual usage is 58gb, so I've used 40gb on Windows 10/HQPlayer/Rednet Control/Dante/Audinate). I had Audio Optimizer (AO) loaded, and even though the number of processes was reduced, the CPU usage jumped from about 20% to over 40%. Sound wise, there's no difference with or without AO.

I'm doing the same as Musicboy, except I run mine using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) from my 13" laptop. Physical size is very small as well.

Latency averages around 1.1 msec @1.6GHz

I'd also like to comment on how well the D16 response to it's input source. There doesn't seem to be any bottleneck from the D16 at all. I'm not sure if this is because replacing the internal SMPS with an external LPS is just that much better.

 

[Marcin_gps]

Anyone considering this?

http://jplay.eu/ml_post_slider/jcat-net-card-femto

There are some folks who ordered it for Rednet, so you may expect feedback later this month.
If the card didn't improve sound, we wouldn't offer it. It's the same as with all USB gizmos, just nobody else figured out yet that ethernet has to be treated in a similar manner - with a proper low-noise & low-jitter design

Best regards,
Marcin

 

[yates7592]

Is anybody here using the Rednet PCIe card, as opposed to just Dante Virtual Soundcard software? The former is much lower latency I understand, but I'm not clear whether that is advantageous for simple 2-channel playback rather than multi-track recording. Then there is also the JCAT Femto Card above. So you could only use either: (1) Rednet PCI card; or (2) JCAT Femto Card - which would be the best SQ option for 2-channel playback?

 

[Golfnutz]

Is anybody here using the Rednet PCIe card, as opposed to just Dante Virtual Soundcard software? The former is much lower latency I understand, but I'm not clear whether that is advantageous for simple 2-channel playback rather than multi-track recording. Then there is also the JCAT Femto Card above. So you could only use either: (1) Rednet PCI card; or (2) JCAT Femto Card - which would be the best SQ option for 2-channel playback?

Rednet PCI card offers nothing for home audio use with Rednet 3 or D16 - DVS is absolutely fine. If you're PC is having problems with latency, than get a new PC, don't invest in the Rednet PCI card. An embedded solution running DVS with external LPS will be cheaper and sound better. Lowering latency by a few msec isn't going to improve your system at all.

From what I'm reading, and based on my one time experience, it seems that powering internal devices externally is really the way to go. I have no proof, but it appears that devices powered internally are adding some amount of noise back into the computer system.

I think this is why the JCAT NET card could be an improvement over the integrated LAN ports on the motherboard (or other pcie LAN cards that are powered by the PC).

As Marcin said, wait until the end of the month to hopefully get some feedback from these Rednet users.

 

[mourip]

There are some folks who ordered it for Rednet, so you may expect feedback later this month.
If the card didn't improve sound, we wouldn't offer it. It's the same as with all USB gizmos, just nobody else figured out yet that ethernet has to be treated in a similar manner - with a proper low-noise & low-jitter design

Best regards,
Marcin

Looking forward to reports. I especially like the dual ports and the option to power it separately. One port to the LAN and the other to the D16 or RN3

Did you test it with Rednet? Would you consider sending one out for evaluation?

At a bit over $900 it could be a winner but I would definitely wait for early adopter feedback!

Best,

Paul

 

[Golfnutz]

Looking forward to reports. I especially like the dual ports and the option to power it separately. One port to the LAN and the other to the D16 or RN3

Did you test it with Rednet? Would you consider sending one out for evaluation?

At a bit over $900 it could be a winner but I would definitely wait for early adopter feedback!

Best,

Paul

Isn't $420 Euros about $500 USD ?

 

[mourip]

I bet that I misread the web page. I think that was for two cards. Thanks. Seems more reasonable!

Who is going first?

 

[johnjen]

I have to wonder if using a pair of FMC's will accomplish the same SQ step up as a dedicated NIC.
I mean complete isolation from the source (computer) to the DDC (RN3/16, uD0 etc) should accomplish much the same end result, I would think.

JJ

 

[Golfnutz]

I have to wonder if using a pair of FMC's will accomplish the same SQ step up as a dedicated NIC.
I mean complete isolation from the source (computer) to the DDC (RN3/16, uD0 etc) should accomplish much the same end result, I would think.

JJ

Except the JCAT is a dedicated NIC that can be powered externally, and has low noise regulators, with a femto clock. I'm not so sure it would be the same as you've described above. We'll have to wait until the end of the month to find out.

 

[johnjen]

My FMC's are externally powered by LPS's using low noise regulators. Even so we are dealing with digital circuits here, which contribute much more noise than what the LPS's add.
As for the femto clock, we are talking about the ethernet data stream which does get reclocked by the FMC's AND then again in the AOIP data stream and then also by the DAC itself as well.

In my experiments just reducing/eliminating the number of SMPS's was a far greater improvement just behind adopting AOIP in the 1st place.

So it will be interesting to hear what the reports are from yet another $$$ digital device, not to mention what the Schiit Eiter brings to this party.

Interesting Times In Audio Indeed.

JJ

 

[mourip]

My FMC's are externally powered by LPS's using low noise regulators. Even so we are dealing with digital circuits here, which contribute much more noise than what the LPS's add.
As for the femto clock, we are talking about the ethernet data stream which does get reclocked by the FMC's AND then again in the AOIP data stream and then also by the DAC itself as well.

In my experiments just reducing/eliminating the number of SMPS's was a far greater improvement just behind adopting AOIP in the 1st place

Question. Has anyone had issues with FMC's not syncing up when connected? Yesterday I tried replacing my fiber cable with a longer one(just 3 meters) and it would never get sync. I ended up going back to my old one which was from a different manufacturer and will be returning the new cable today,

 

[jabbr]

Question. Has anyone had issues with FMC's not syncing up when connected? Yesterday I tried replacing my fiber cable with a longer one(just 3 meters) and it would never get sync. I ended up going back to my old one which was from a different manufacturer and will be returning the new cable today,

You did use the proper type of fibre cable, single mode vs multi mode, and suitable for the wave lenth of your transeivers?

 

[mourip]

You did use the proper type of fibre cable, single mode vs multi mode, and suitable for the wave lenth of your transeivers?

Good question. I am using MC200CM's and I chose multi-mode SC cables as previously.

I got these before and they worked: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000067SCD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This time I got these slightly longer ones: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B1FHS2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jabbr]

Good question. I am using MC200CM's and I chose multi-mode SC cables as previously.

I got these before and they worked: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000067SCD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This time I got these slightly longer ones: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B1FHS2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They look to be technically the same.
I would go for a 10ft length of your original brand that did work.

I'm running a 60 ft cable without issues, but than multi mode fibre optics should be able to run 1000s of feet without issues.

 

[mourip]

They look to be technically the same.
I would go for a 10ft length of your original brand that did work.

I'm running a 60 ft cable without issues, but than multi mode fibre optics should be able to run 1000s of feet without issues.

Thanks! I got a return label from Amazon last night having come to the same conclusion.