Assembling my first DAC/headphone amp system. Need advice

[It Hz]

I'm in the process of gathering the components for my DAC driven headphone set-up for my computer rig. First, I want to state I am not an audiophile. I'm a guy who loves listening to music who wants great sound from my computer rig for gaming and other computer activities as well. I posted earlier today introducing myself and what is going into my computer rig which has pretty much "top-of-the-line" components. On the Audo side, it's easy to go overboard with spending way more than the computer itself so my budget is hovering around $2000 USD which is where I'm at just about now. I've done my homework and selected the major components even before I joined Head-Fi forums. From reading post here and getting reviews I think I've selected "decent" components but it's often the little things that matter that often get overlooked so I thought I would start a thread to get advice from people who have a lot more experience and knowledge on this than I do.

Here is the rundown of the components I have and planning on ordering:

DAC: Burson Playmate 2 The reason for this choice is the price is reasonable, it has gotten very good reviews for its price range and it will fit in my computer chassis

Headphone: HiFiman Arya V3's Back in my stereo days the one rule I was always told was to spend the money on speakers with these eating up over 1/2 my budget. I have no problem with open headphone as the noise will not bother anyone where I plan to use them. My understand is the Arya's are an excellent choice for headphones for the money

Op Amps: Sparko SS2590's I've read nothing but praise about Sparko products and my understanding is the Burson Playmate 2 reacts very well to them. Michael Bruce's You Tube video on updating the Playmate 2 with Sparko Op Amps was a big influence for me which was backed-up in the comment section, so the single 2590's are going into both LP sockets on the board. As far as changing the dual Op Amps for the IV sockets I'm not sure about those. My understanding is swapping out the stock IC's does not off as much bang-for-the-buck but one commentor stated that a pair of dual SS2590 there will take it to the next level. The problem is the lack of real estate fitting (4) Pro Series Sparkos in the PM2 as I don't want to hack-up the chassis to get them to fit. Another option is installing a set of Sparko SS3602's which I think will fit under the 2590 but I'm going to hold off on that for now until I get some advice whether that will improve the sound quality of the PM2

Burson 3A Supercharger: This is a rather expensive item and I was questioning the value of its ability to enhance the overall sound quality. What I've read is "maybe" while others stated it provides a cleaner power source that will make a noticeable difference. With what I have read it sounds like it's worth the $225 USD over the stock brick. It appears the worst thing that can happen is I spent the money for little gain, but on the positive side it will make an improvement

I may have questions on a good set of computer speakers which seems to be harder to come by plus I can't really listen to them very loud where I live so those are a bit lower on my list of priorities

I have other questions on cabling, shielding and other aspects on the audio side. I'll post pics on the computer chassis on this thread which I think you will find interesting. It's been a lot of fun fabrication and builing this system. To call it "overkill" would be an understatement but is something I've never regretted. My current rig is still running strong after 12 years.

My main questions right now have to do with whether I swap out the IV side of the Op Amps and just run with what came with the PL2. Once this system is done, I really don't want to rip into it and keep changing things as I want to keep the "tinkering" to a minimum and sit back and enjoy the system once it's finished

Also, if there is anything I may have overlooked let me know. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated

 

[msing539]

Burson Playmate 2 The reason for this choice is the price is reasonable, it has gotten very good reviews for its price range and it will fit in my computer chassis

Good choice on headphones and well worth the $1200 open box USD, IMHO. What do you mean by the Playmate will fit IN your computer chassis? Like physically inside?

I would skip the supercharger for now and get it only if you want that extra marginal improvement. It's not a night and day difference in my experience.

 

[dunring]

I've had the Arya v1 and they're good, but not a good value for the money (as in 4 times better than something like the HE5xx, which they aren't). I'd keep it simple for your first setup. I use the Topping D30/A30 stack on optical, and with 11 filters to choose from, it's simplicity itself. Also you get full power on all plugs so literally any headphones can be used. I have the HE6SE and like them more than the Arya, regardless of price. Maybe the new version has a different profile, but at $1,300 the V1 had forward upper mids which sounded bad on some female vocals. A $1,300 anything shouldn't need major eq and it did. I use the He5xx as a daily driver, and have the He6se, Beyerdynamic DT770 250 ohm, and HE560 all for the same price as the Arya. I would really find a dealer to try them in person before spending that much, you can have a room full of variety and fun for the same money.
BTW I have two Topping A90's but still use the A30Pro/D30Pro as a daily driver, just use optical to connect to the PC for a silent noise floor, and Amazon Basics quad star balanced XLR cables and you're good. Simplicity is priceless.

 

[It Hz]

I've had the Arya v1 and they're good, but not a good value for the money (as in 4 times better than something like the HE5xx, which they aren't). I'd keep it simple for your first setup. I use the Topping D30/A30 stack on optical, and with 11 filters to choose from, it's simplicity itself. Also you get full power on all plugs so literally any headphones can be used. I have the HE6SE and like them more than the Arya, regardless of price. Maybe the new version has a different profile, but at $1,300 the V1 had forward upper mids which sounded bad on some female vocals. A $1,300 anything shouldn't need major eq and it did. I use the He5xx as a daily driver, and have the He6se, Beyerdynamic DT770 250 ohm, and HE560 all for the same price as the Arya. I would really find a dealer to try them in person before spending that much, you can have a room full of variety and fun for the same money.
BTW I have two Topping A90's but still use the A30Pro/D30Pro as a daily driver, just use optical to connect to the PC for a silent noise floor, and Amazon Basics quad star balanced XLR cables and you're good. Simplicity is priceless.

With regard to the Arya's. With the number of headphones available and the particular amp set-up I think it would be very difficult to determine what sounds best to the user without trying a myriad of different models as it's all subjective which is something I don't the luxury of doing. There are so many models available it will make your head spin. With that in mind, I just have to rely on other people's opinion including what you have stated here. I've watched a number of reviews on You Tube which is a great source for information. What I'm using now are a set of well-worn Audio Technica M50X which is a $150 headphone driven off the DAC on my computer which I've been using so long has set my current standards pretty low compared to what's available. After absorbing so many reviews I needed to narrow my choices down or I would be jumping off a rooftop. During my search I kept seeing the Hifiman headphones among the mix. They generally get good reviews but are certainly not the "end all" as they seem to have their flaws like everything else that's available but most of the flaws I noted has nothing to do with the sound reproduction and more to do with external features. I'm not crazy about the cross strap on the headband which gets stretch taught when pulling them apart which I fear may break over time and the cables supplied appear to be a bit janky which can be replaced. Overall, I haven't seen a bad review on them

I haven't purchased them yet and waiting to see if I can get them on sale after Christmas, so I am open to alternatives. I will take a closer look at the HE5xx and the HE6SE which are less expensive but should not be dismissed but you usually get what you pay for but not always. It's interesting you prefer the HE5XX and HE6SE over the more expensive Arya's but it's not like that never happens. I can't count on my hand where someone laid out big cash for something that was truly awful

Thanks for your input

 

[It Hz]

Good choice on headphones and well worth the $1200 open box USD, IMHO. What do you mean by the Playmate will fit IN your computer chassis? Like physically inside?

I would skip the supercharger for now and get it only if you want that extra marginal improvement. It's not a night and day difference in my experience.

"Literally"

I only have 7 5/8" (194mm) span inside my computer chassis which narrowed down my choices with regard to the DAC. There are other DAC's that will fit, I was also looking at the Topping but I liked the construction and layout of the Burson a little better. As stated, I want to keep everything internal to the computer rig to minimize any clutter on my desk plus being co-located in the chassis will protect it. It looks pretty bitched mounted flush on the front panel.

I agree on holding off on the Supercharger which is something I can easily add later on. The only issue is I have no idea on whether it's worth the investment until I actually buy one and see if it improves the sound quality but by that time the choice has already been made. When I was on Sparko's web site I noted they offer discrete voltage regulators stating they are a drastic improvement over any other power input mod you can buy with lot of graphs to support that claim. From what I have learned Sparko Labs is highly regard in the community, yet I've seen virtually nothing from a 3rd party to back this up. They are not cheap either, the Playmate 2 will require (4) of them at $200. I would think someone has tried them and had an opinion. I actually enjoy modding stuff but there has to be a good reason for it and right now I have no evidence that would be the case here. Perhaps someone could "chime in" on this I'd be interested in if where was any improvement.

Yea, the Arya's at this time are the headphones of choice for me. I did see an open box set for $1100

BTW: is there any way I can post images of my build from my computer? All I've seen are web links perhaps I'm not seeing it. My computer build really belongs in the section dedicated to that but there is probably not a lot of traffic there and I think people will be interested in what I'm doing. It's a "work in progress", as stated on my intro post I package electronics for a living so this rig a quite a set-up from what people normally do which usually involves and off-the-shelf chassis with various parts installed. This thing "goes to 11!"

 

[msing539]

"Literally"

I only have 7 5/8" (194mm) span inside my computer chassis which narrowed down my choices with regard to the DAC. There are other DAC's that will fit, I was also looking at the Topping but I liked the construction and layout of the Burson a little better. As stated, I want to keep everything internal to the computer rig to minimize any clutter on my desk plus being co-located in the chassis will protect it. It looks pretty bitched mounted flush on the front panel.

I agree on holding off on the Supercharger which is something I can easily add later on. The only issue is I have no idea on whether it's worth the investment until I actually buy one and see if it improves the sound quality but by that time the choice has already been made. When I was on Sparko's web site I noted they offer discrete voltage regulators stating they are a drastic improvement over any other power input mod you can buy with lot of graphs to support that claim. From what I have learned Sparko Labs is highly regard in the community, yet I've seen virtually nothing from a 3rd party to back this up. They are not cheap either, the Playmate 2 will require (4) of them at $200. I would think someone has tried them and had an opinion. I actually enjoy modding stuff but there has to be a good reason for it and right now I have no evidence that would be the case here. Perhaps someone could "chime in" on this I'd be interested in if where was any improvement.

Yea, the Arya's at this time are the headphones of choice for me. I did see an open box set for $1100

BTW: is there any way I can post images of my build from my computer? All I've seen are web links perhaps I'm not seeing it. My computer build really belongs in the section dedicated to that but there is probably not a lot of traffic there and I think people will be interested in what I'm doing. It's a "work in progress", as stated on my intro post I package electronics for a living so this rig a quite a set-up from what people normally do which usually involves and off-the-shelf chassis with various parts installed. This thing "goes to 11!"

I saw the details on your build and it sounds awesome! IF you don't see a little picture icon above the post area, it might just be because your account is new and you haven't reached a certain number of comments?

Regarding putting it inside the case... two things that immediately come to mind.

1. Every Burson I've heard runs hot, really hot. Do you want the extra heat inside your computer?
2. The inside of a computer--even right next to it--isn't a good place for audio gear. I'd be surprised if it didn't pick up noise from your fans, psu, etc.

 

[DenverW]

Not to throw any curveballs to you, but have you considered a sennheiser hd800 or 800S instead of the Arya?

A very, very good headphone for gaming in particular. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to think of a better gaming headphone for the price, and comfortable for long sessions. Just a thought!

 

[It Hz]

I saw the details on your build and it sounds awesome! IF you don't see a little picture icon above the post area, it might just be because your account is new and you haven't reached a certain number of comments?

Regarding putting it inside the case... two things that immediately come to mind.

1. Every Burson I've heard runs hot, really hot. Do you want the extra heat inside your computer?
2. The inside of a computer--even right next to it--isn't a good place for audio gear. I'd be surprised if it didn't pick up noise from your fans, psu, etc.

Where the Burson will be located it will get plenty of cooling air, much more than if it was on a desktop. There are (7) Delta server fans exhausting out the chassis. The voltage regulators on the PM2 are mounted directly to the bottom of the chassis over a hex shaped intake grill located low in the rig. Once I can post the pics you will see how well it will cool. Probably not much higher than ambient. In my business "heat" is the mortal enemy.

Since the Burson power source will be isolated from the PSU I don't think there will be a problem with conducted emissions. The rig is powered by a 1600 watt Corsair power supply which has very low noise characteristics and very expensive. Typically, it should only draw about 300W when the CPU is only running on the E cores and the GPU is whistling Dixy. In a situation where I'm stepping on the gas gaming at 120 FPS running something like Cyberpunk things will start to heat-up. The 13900 CPU maxes out at just under 300W and the Nvidia 4090 close to 500W. Add all the support equipment like fans, water pumps and HD activity + the Burson, the system will be pushing about 1000W. Good thing it's got (2) fat radiators to keep the temps in check.

The only area there may be noise is on the USB connection to the motherboard. That is one of those funny looking USB 3.1 Type E connections which requires a type E to USB C adapter cable. I found one on AliExpress but I'm not sure if its shielded. I can add a cooper braid over it if needed (and may have to include the Burson power cable as well). I'll post a pic of this cable and see if anyone knows where I can source a high-quality cable but I'm not optimistic about fining that. The type E is a weird one

The Burson is pretty well sealed for EMI. The whole computer chassis is made from aluminum with bulkheads separating the MB, fans/pumps and the front-end stuff including the Burson from one another so there is a good amount of shielding within the enclosure. Maybe I'll drag it into an anechoic chamber and get some measurements LOL

Looks like I got a file attachment icon on the lower LH side of my screen

 

[It Hz]

Not to throw any curveballs to you, but have you considered a sennheiser hd800 or 800S instead of the Arya?

A very, very good headphone for gaming in particular. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to think of a better gaming headphone for the price, and comfortable for long sessions. Just a thought!

Something to consider. Sennheiser has always made very good headphones. As stated, it can get pretty overwhelming choosing headphones. I've noted there are a lot of people where this is a pretty serious hobby for them. I don't have a "trained ear" like they do which I image is an acquired skill especially when having numerous amps and headphones to compare. They seem more like the wine coinsures of headphones and that's a good thing especially for a noob like me where I can draw on their experience. I'm expecting to be blown away with this upgrade I've never had a real good set of headphones

For me the priority is music with the gaming coming in 2nd. To be honest I'm not a huge gamer. You can waste hours, days, weeks getting absorbed in gaming and it's not entirely healthy especially when you have fast food delivery available. One game I really enjoyed was Crysis. There is a saying in the industry "will it run Crysis" which was used as a benchmark. Rumor has it they are suppose to come out with Crysis 4 late in 2023. If you're not familiar with it you can check out some of the gameplay on You Tube. There is a good story behind it and the characters are pretty entertaining. The graphics even back then were pretty amazing. With this new rig I want it to knock my socks off and cant wait to hear what this audio set-up will do

 

[msing539]

Something to consider. Sennheiser has always made very good headphones. As stated, it can get pretty overwhelming choosing headphones. I've noted there are a lot of people where this is a pretty serious hobby for them. I don't have a "trained ear" like they do which I image is an acquired skill especially when having numerous amps and headphones to compare. They seem more like the wine coinsures of headphones and that's a good thing especially for a noob like me where I can draw on their experience. I'm expecting to be blown away with this upgrade I've never had a real good set of headphones

For me the priority is music with the gaming coming in 2nd. To be honest I'm not a huge gamer. You can waste hours, days, weeks getting absorbed in gaming and it's not entirely healthy especially when you have fast food delivery available. One game I really enjoyed was Crysis. There is a saying in the industry "will it run Crysis" which was used as a benchmark. Rumor has it they are suppose to come out with Crysis 4 late in 2023. If you're not familiar with it you can check out some of the gameplay on You Tube. There is a good story behind it and the characters are pretty entertaining. The graphics even back then were pretty amazing. With this new rig I want it to knock my socks off and cant wait to hear what this audio set-up will do

I think you'll be happy with the Arya Stealth. The soundstage is almost as wide as the 800S and the low end is better. If your head is on the smaller side though, the 800S might be better, as the teardrop pads on the Arya extend fairly low.

I'd be interested in seeing pics of the build, and more curious to know if the Burson actually sounds clean and runs cool inside the case.

 

[It Hz]

Hey guys, just thought I would post an update

The fabrication part of the rig is almost complete (sorry no pictures yet). I've been working like a dawg on the chassis and am quite pleased with the outcome. Working out in a cold garage sometimes until 11 pm but the more I get completed just motivates me to get even more accomplished. The problem is (which really isn't a problem) is as I'm progressing and looking at the overall build I come-up with even more refinements and what I'm coming-up with is pretty cool

I think the end results will be pretty impressive. There is no "bling" in this system, no tacky RGB lighting, no fancy hard tube coolant routing with colored fitting, it's "all business"!

The chassis is BIG (30" x 30" x 10") which at first looked like way overkill where the EATX motherboard was just dwarfed sitting inside the enclosure. I was like "well, at least I won't be pressed for real estate in this chassis" .......... or so I thought

Originally, I had an Alphacool 560 x 90 "Monsta" radiator mounted at the top of the chassis and thought that would be enough, but after thinking about it with the amount of heat the system is capable of producing (1000 watts) I decided to add a 2nd Alphacool 360 x 60 rad at the bottom of the chassis. This altered my coolant line routing and forced me to abandon my custom-made low restriction check valve to ensure coolant wouldn't backflow into the adjacent dual pump set-up in the event of a failure which is not likely due to the reliability of the D5 pumps (my current pump has been running for 12 years so far). Both pumps and the whole system is running a parallel loop to minimize flow restrictions. It even has a dual sided coolant distribution manifold for cooling the MB, GPU and the memory and all the lines are routed for minimal flow restrictions. I figure the system will weigh close to 150 lbs (68 Kg) when finished which rolls on stainless steel casters. Don't be shocked by the weight, Water cooled computer rigs are not light by no means. My current LC Corsair D800 full size tower which looks like a midget next to this rig weighs 80 lbs and also rolls on casters. All that copper, fitting and water makes for a very heavy assembly.

Here are some pics of the hardware

Gigabyte Z690 Waterforce Extreme (they only made 200 of these MB, I have serial # 004). With the full coverage water block this thing weighs about 4 pounds

Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU (when I can get my hands on one ) Scalpers are scoffing them up and selling them on Ebay for $2500 (retail is $1600) and Nvidia has been limiting the number available, but I suspect that will change after the New Year. AMD just released their 7000 series GPU's but the 4000 series Nvidia cards are trouncing them in benchmarks.

Here is the EK 4090 water block. I got the version with the active backplate (water cooled) but the designers at Gigabyte (actually Bitspower designed it) who laid out the water block for the MB didn't factor-in that someone might want an active back plate and didn't leave enough room for it so I can only use the front plate. The version I got is made from black delrin plastic. The acrylic version is shown here so you can see the cooling circuit. This thing weighs about 2 lbs. (1 Kg)

Here is the Hynix A-dia DDR5 memory stick. This is the fastest ram you can currently get but is not available in the US. It's data rate is 5600 Mz but has been overclocked to 8600 with liquid nitrogen. I've got (2) 16 gig sticks for dual rate memory which is the fastest (4 sticks tends to over tax the memory controller on the CPU) for a total of 32 gigs. I'm going to do some mild overclocking on the system but nothing that crazy

Here is a Bartx DDR5 memory copper heat spreaders. The copper water block screws to the top of these

Here is the SSD 2.0 hard drive. The Samsung 990 Pro which was just released and is the fastest SSD's you can currently buy. They dole out 7500 Mb per second I have a 2 Tb and 1 Tb cards. These are cooled by the MB water block

Here is the Corsair AX1600i PSU. It's a platinum rated power supply >92% efficiency and has a very clean output (this also weighs a ton). Worst case scenario is the system will consume about 1000 watts under max load but it's always good to have more capacity than the system needs to handle transient spikes. During low demand my system should draw about 300 watts. BTW: 1600 watts is the most power you can legally plug into an outlet here in the US. I will hate to see what this system is going do to my electric bill

That's all I have for now. Don't forget the Burson Playmate 2 and the Hifiman Arya are in the mix as well. Just thought you would be interested in seeing the major hardware going into the rig. Once you see the chassis your eyeballs will pop out of their sockets

 

[It Hz]

Mo money spent

Computer chassis build progressing very well Should have pics soon, I just want to finish a few more details before I do you won't be disappointed

I've settled on the Hifiman Arya's which should pair nicely with the Burson Playmate 2 and Sparko SS2590 Op Amp's

I want to replace the powered PC speakers I currently have which are Klipsch Pro Media which for $125 were not bad speakers. They plugged directly into the MB DAC output, are very compact not taking-up a lot of space on my desk, has a volume control right in the front of the control speaker, the AC plug is on the subwoofer under the desk and have minimal wiring. They sound "decent" considering the price and I would recommend them for anyone who is on a tight budget

What I didn't like about them was after a while the volume control got very erratic jumping between "can barely hear them" to "blaring sound' with lots of static in between which seemed like dirty contacts on the rheostat. The other problem was the sub blew out on me and I don't even listen to them very loud but admit I've cranked-up Mozart pretty hard a few times which may have taken them out

With the Sparko equipped Burson I need a replacement for the bottom dollar Klipsch's which served me well. I was kinda agonizing on what would be the best choice. At first, I was considering replacing them with another set of Klipsch perhaps a better model. The requirements were 1) can't take-up a lot of desk space 2) Can't be overly expensive due to the fact I can't play them loud where I live not wanting to piss the neighbours off 3) had to have RCA inputs from the Burson, 4) didn't want to have an array speaker inputs and don't want Bluetooth connectivity which adds costs or downgrades the rest of the speaker and 5) having a front power button and volume control not having to reach behind the speakers and 6) having an output for subs was a big plus which I can place under my desk was a big plus. Finding something the meets all those requirements for powered PC speakers was going to be a but challenging.

After doing some homework I found a few PC speakers that more or less met those requirements, but part of the problem was as I was doing my research the speakers started to get bigger and more expensive. I was really considering the Adam Audio T7V but was looking at a $500 bill and they are BIG! (Kali Audio LP6v2 was also a consideration) and would be too big on either side of a 32" monitor.

Then I stumbled upon which I think would be the ideal powered PC speakers which are the Kanto YU speakers coupled with the Kanto Sub8 woofers which pretty much checked all the boxes and got pretty good reviews (the Sub8 is acoustic suspension/non-ported)

Kanto YU (4" main driver)

The real panel layout is perfect with nothing I don't need

Kanto Sub8

Something tells me the sub will have to be turned-off from the back independent of the main drivers. It also comes with a remote which for me is something to keep track of and not really required for my purposes. I got the whole ball of wax off Amazon for a little over $500. For a mid-range PC speaker system I think this was a good choice.

Kinda funny when you consider the Arya's are going to cost me almost 3X as much but for my needs that's where the money should be spent.

Now if I can only get my hands on an Nvidia 4090 GPU

 

[ProtegeManiac]

@It Hz I must have just missed it in there but what case did you get? The HAF700 Evo?

 

[It Hz]

@It Hz I must have just missed it in there but what case did you get? The HAF700 Evo?

No, it's a custom made case made from aluminum T-slot framing, .090" (2.25mm) thick 5052 aluminum sheet metal and stainless-steel hardware. The motherboard is behind a 3/16" (5mm) thick sheet of tempered glass. Lots of time went into fabricating the chassis. I have a lot of experience in sheet metal fabrication and metal working and package electronics for a living plus I have a well supplied shop in my garage including a sheet metal bend break.

The cost has been ridiculous. Probably about $1500 for the material not including the hardware which is primarily countersunk stainless steel socket head cap screws. Lots of drilling and I don't mean just 1 hole. Lots of machinist bluing die, centers scribed then center punched, then using a small drill bit to establish an accurate center working my way up using a larger drill bits to maintain accuracy then a 90 degree countersink. One hole may require 3 or 4 drill operations before it's finished. For fasteners that don't engage the T-slot framing I used PEM threaded press fit inserts so I don't have to deal with nuts. Most of the hardware is M4 with some M5 and M6 respectively. For cutting the sheet metal I used a jig saw then finished the edge with a belt sander and files to get a smooth straight edge.

I find the cases you can buy are made from thin sheet steel, have lots of cutouts you don't need, dictate what equipment you have to use like radiators and where they are mounted. They are very difficult and messy to modify, and in the end, there are quite a few compromises needed to be made. I also enjoy doing this kind of work and in the end, you have a pretty cool rig. The design and component selection can be a lot of fun but for the vast majority of people this is not a practical approach to building something that you can get much cheaper and complete it in a fraction of the time. The good thing is you can always upgrade the motherboard, graphics card and hard drives but I tend to use high-end components so the system if fairly "futureproof" so I will get years of use out of this system where the time and money spent will be well worth the effort.

Here is my current water-cooled rig a Corsair D800 which they still sell that I built in 2010 which has never leaked a drop of water and have been stone cold reliable but it's time for an upgrade

It was a real "pain" modifying this chassis and was very tight. I fabricated the caster base, had it welded and powder coated. It weighs about 80 lbs (36 Kg) so I added that so I can move it around easily. The new rig will probably be closer to 150 lbs but all water-cooled computers are very heavy with all the copper and water. I only use distilled water (no additives or dyes) and include a silver "kill coil" in the loop to prevent algae growth. I always plumb the loop in "parallel" so it doesn't pick-up heat from the first component and carries it to the next and so on. In 12 years I've only replaced the water twice. The tubes are a little cloudy now and there is a little algae growth on the reservoir window

Keep in mind I understand this is a forum dedicated to stereo headphones and not computer rigs, but the audio section is a big part of this build and thought people would be interested in this project and am confining the details to this thread. Currently I'm using the DAC in the Asus motherboard but wanted to take it to the next level with this new build. I posted the rig pictured above during the build process on Overclockers forums, there was a lot of interest and lots of threads and inquiries. A few individuals started to resent all the attention and started nitpicking some of the details like the fans sticking out the sides which I was forced to do not having any space for the additional rads any even the decision to employ a parallel cooling loop where most of those guys plumbed everything in series and it got "personal"! Even the moderator tried to tamp them down but at that point the thread had been poisoned to the point where I bailed on the thread and let it "die on the vine" as they say.

Anyhow, hopefully I can start to post pics of the new build maybe next week after I finish a couple more details.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

No, it's a custom made case made from aluminum T-slot framing, .090" (2.25mm) thick 5052 aluminum sheet metal and stainless-steel hardware. The motherboard is behind a 3/16" (5mm) thick sheet of tempered glass. Lots of time went into fabricating the chassis. I have a lot of experience in sheet metal fabrication and metal working and package electronics for a living plus I have a well supplied shop in my garage including a sheet metal bend break.

Nice. Post it here when it's done.

The cost has been ridiculous. Probably about $1500 for the material not including the hardware which is primarily countersunk stainless steel socket head cap screws. Lots of drilling and I don't mean just 1 hole. Lots of machinist bluing die, centers scribed then center punched, then using a small drill bit to establish an accurate center working my way up using a larger drill bits to maintain accuracy then a 90 degree countersink. One hole may require 3 or 4 drill operations before it's finished. For fasteners that don't engage the T-slot framing I used PEM threaded press fit inserts so I don't have to deal with nuts. Most of the hardware is M4 with some M5 and M6 respectively. For cutting the sheet metal I used a jig saw then finished the edge with a belt sander and files to get a smooth straight edge.

I find the cases you can buy are made from thin sheet steel, have lots of cutouts you don't need, dictate what equipment you have to use like radiators and where they are mounted. They are very difficult and messy to modify, and in the end, there are quite a few compromises needed to be made. I also enjoy doing this kind of work and in the end, you have a pretty cool rig. The design and component selection can be a lot of fun but for the vast majority of people this is not a practical approach to building something that you can get much cheaper and complete it in a fraction of the time. The good thing is you can always upgrade the motherboard, graphics card and hard drives but I tend to use high-end components so the system if fairly "futureproof" so I will get years of use out of this system where the time and money spent will be well worth the effort.

I've been toying with the idea too, but for a high reliability/low maintenance air cooling rig. But like...really massive air cooling (just not as massive as today's graphics cards) plus tunnel airflow.

9-slot XL ATX size chassis with regular slot config (in case I might use it normally later on) but it has to be very wide so I can use a "vertical" mount GPU converter pushed down towards the 9th slot and I'll mount a large CPU air cooler on the GPU; chassis will be vertically oriented with Fractal 180mm x 38mm fans blowing upward. PSU will be on the bottom compartment almost completely sealed off save for some cable routing at the front of the case, then have a 2in gap between that bottom chamber and the upper chamber with the computer. SSDs mounted just above teh intake fans getting the cool air first, then the CPU cooler and the CPU cooler on the GPU are oriented so all the air goes from the bottom intake straight up without the need to have any fan cranked to change the airflow direction or cram air below conventional GPU cooler intakes. There will effectively be two air tunnels so the CPU and GPU cores don't share hot air to the other. If the room exhaust intake was directly above it I'll build some sort of cabinet around it that's essentially a chimney going up to the exhaust so not only does it not recycle air, it also don't pump hot air into the room.

Then the Monsterlabo The Beast happened and I'm wondering if I should just go with that one but like, add fans.