[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gevorg Did anybody notice any difference when using computer only for digital out? I'm currently using an Antec Truepower330 (decent), and I wonder if Seasonic will make a audible difference in jitter.

I have heard a difference going Antec Silencer to Seasonic. Another upgrade you can try is getting a better powercord for your computer.

 

[Tachikoma]

Even when you're only using the digital out? o.0

 

[Glod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan I have heard a difference going Antec Silencer to Seasonic. Another upgrade you can try is getting a better powercord for your computer.

Indeed. A better power cord can actually yield audible improvements.

I was first very sceptical. I thought a PC case is probably already so polluted by EMI that a cable hardly could make a difference.

Then I sat there with a Van den Hul power cable on my lap and I just tried it. First, I didn't hear much else than a more powerful bass, but after a day of playing my favourite CDs, a very clear improvement in the bass impact and definition throughout the presentation was very noticeable. I still can't believe I have a $400 power cable to my PC, but I just can't make my self switch back to the stock.

 

[Tachikoma]

Heh, if people can invest $5k on a CDP-only transport, I don't see anything wrong with investing less than a tenth of that sum for PC-power conditioning =P

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tachikoma Even when you're only using the digital out? o.0

Yep.

But just so you know where I stand, differences in digital out are amongst the smallest of differences IMO. Interconnects and power cords make more of a difference to me.

Glod, that's quite an investment you made for the PC. For most people that doesn't make sense since the money is better spent actually on other parts first. I think the improvement is not in noise reduction but if the cord is bigger since the computer eats more power than other parts and it's switching PSU.

 

[Glod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan ..."Glod, that's quite an investment you made for the PC. For most people that doesn't make sense since the money is better spent actually on other parts first. I think the improvement is not in noise reduction but if the cord is bigger since the computer eats more power than other parts and it's switching PSU."

Yes, it is quite overkill, but the cable is actually not meant for the PC. I just thought I should try it, which I shouldn't have done in hindsight.

Nevertheless, it was a noticeable improvement. Especially in the bass department the difference was bigger than when I connected the same type of cable to a HeadAmp GS-1, which I use with a RME card.

The general improvements in definition and separation for both the RME card and the amp lead me to believe the filtering properties the manufacturer claims for these Mainstream cables. These cords are not sold in lengths under 1,5m, and the manufacturer also says that is the minimum length in order to achieve the effect.

 

[Chri5peed]

I will be ordering my new PC very soon, the basic specs are:

AMD 64 3700
Western Digital 250GB SATA2
Crucial PC3200 dual-channel 2048MB

One of its main jobs will be to play music, I could easily get the Seasonic S12-600 PSU. Would this be worth it over perhaps a 450-500W PSU?

 

[uzziah]

external dac is gooooooooood

this thead just emphasisis the main pitfall of pc-audio; that being the non audio-friendly components in your average pc. your pc is a jumbled mess of electrical interference and nasty switching power supply

i'm a tad paranoid about this, i must admit; to the point where i don't think i'll use anything less than an external dac ever again; that being said, you may never notice the lack of power conditioning, but if you're like me it will be there in the back of your mind bugging you

and THAT being said, my emu0404 with a few cheap personal mods sounded like pure bliss.

that being said, i have a seasonic super silencer 300w. beautifully silent, cool, and reliable.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed I will be ordering my new PC very soon, the basic specs are: AMD 64 3700 Western Digital 250GB SATA2 Crucial PC3200 dual-channel 2048MB One of its main jobs will be to play music, I could easily get the Seasonic S12-600 PSU. Would this be worth it over perhaps a 450-500W PSU?

video card? are you gaming? overclocking? if you're not doing the high-end video thing you can deal with much less watts.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah video card? are you gaming? overclocking? if you're not doing the high-end video thing you can deal with much less watts.

Nope, no gaming or overclocking for me. I'm going with the 480Watt Tagan, the few extra £s are going on a superior motherboard.
I've run it by a few people and everyone agrees they're hi-quality components.
I didn't realise the speed increase of RAM by running it in dual-channel?

To the guy who asked me why I didn't build it completely myself, I am disabled and even the simplest operations would be hard. It is the dearer route but still cheaper than a shop bought thing...and I doubt many components let alone full systems have a 3year warranty.

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed I didn't realise the speed increase of RAM by running it in dual-channel?

All socket 939 Athlon64s can do that. The 3700+ seems to be socket 754 though, a budget platform I'd rather couple with a lowly Sempron. Socket 939 and a 3500+ would make more sense. Oh, and look up whether the chipset of the board selected is in any way troublesome when it comes to low-latency audio. Some of this newfangled PCIe stuff seems to be problematic, and I've seen pretty weird PCI INT routing tables that had all PCI components share an INT line with a bunch of other stuff and such nonsense (if you can download the motherboard manual, check these). You don't want to be fighting with nasty crackling, and not every chipset is as well-behaved on PCI as ye olde i440BX.

As for the power supply, a good 350 or 400 watter would do fine if you're not planning on a fat graphics card. Just make sure it comforms to the ATX12V 2.0 spec (dual +12V rails). Then the usual stuff... clean power, high efficiency, low noise. (While we're at noise, case ventilation that actually works would be useful. Not *that* difficult, but apparently too much to ask from many a preassembled consumer box à la electronics discounter. Fried harddrive, delicious...)

 

[pburke]

semi related question - I am looking for a way to pretty much brute force filter my USB power output. Anyone have some links and info on that? My USB DAC, for some unavoidable reason, cannot be galvanically isolated from the computer. There has to be a connection to +/- voltage in the USB bus for the unit to go into self-powered mode, but the ground loop and switching PSU noise coming in from the computer is polluting everything, even after the DAC powers up from a battery. I'm considering to put some sort of CLC CRC filter, maybe even a 1:1 transformer, a few beads, etc on that 5V USB power line. Has anyone ever done that? I am considering to build a little box with a self-powered hub and place the filters between the incoming USB cable end from the computer and the hub input. The hub itself is dead silent.

I figure this would be more effective than trying to filter the entire computer's PSU, needing only parts for low voltage and low current.

Anyone here ever do anything like that?

Peter

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass All socket 939 Athlon64s can do that. The 3700+ seems to be socket 754 though, a budget platform I'd rather couple with a lowly Sempron. Socket 939 and a 3500+ would make more sense. Oh, and look up whether the chipset of the board selected is in any way troublesome when it comes to low-latency audio. Some of this newfangled PCIe stuff seems to be problematic, and I've seen pretty weird PCI INT routing tables that had all PCI components share an INT line with a bunch of other stuff and such nonsense (if you can download the motherboard manual, check these). You don't want to be fighting with nasty crackling, and not every chipset is as well-behaved on PCI as ye olde i440BX.

Here is the mainboard and processor which I'm getting, the marked circles, the yellow ones are what you get if you buy the system stock. Both Socket-939.

I changed the board because this one has 8 USB2 ports and hasn't got the crappy AC97 until I can afford a proper soundcard.

Thats the Tagan PSU at the top too.


I'm getting this from Komplett, who are well respected in the UK. They wouldn't risk their reputation by selling poorly matched components.

 

[Peter_D]

crazy i come across this post. i just upgraded my power supply. from my OEM Gateway 160w powersupply to an Antec Truepower II 430w PSU... not sure i hear much difference in my audio quality but it shure is alot more quite.

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilPeart In my experience and opinion, there will be no audible differences between the 2 power supplies. One reason is that the Antec True330 is already good enough where any improvements demonstrated by the Seasonic will not be audible. Now there may be a measurable improvement in the analog output, but this will probably not manifest itself in the digital output, nor would even the analog improvements be heard (if so such improvements would be placebic, IMO). Perhaps one could measure such improvements but even then the differences would be insignificant, if at all present. However, the Seasonic does have several advantages over the Antec True330: It uses higher-quality components (system stability, overclockabilty) It is more efficient (less power waste) It is much quieter, which indirectly impacts one's PC audio experience. There are other areas where the Seasonic improves upon the Antec (which is already a nice PSU) but the most important factors have been discussed. My advice is to find the PSU that fits your system needs and generates little noise. Below is my near-future work system (silentpcreview is a great resource):

Thanks for the explaination NeilPeart! I thought that it won't make a difference too, but wanted to confirm with someone who actually tried it.

Does the RME card makes any audible difference over EMU for digital out? Assume it is used in a sensitive high end equipment. Or I can just downgrade to another soundcard, like AV710, which won't make any audible difference?

Thanks again!