Yes that’s it
I have built 5 already three for me.
The name is correct but as much as I have read all there threads
this is Edison and tesla.
He gave it it’s name but audio Phil gave it it’s purpose
the names they give them are cute but the real importance is almost not there.
Al
Thanks wings. I am not claiming to know better or not being grateful for what is posted . It all helped me tremendously but what does frustrate me is kinda what I posted here there is direct corolation of sound as related to dacs and CPU , used. Very few articles actually put any actual science to it. But many make claims of cables with foil and different brands of SSD drives. I am not claiming it’s not true but the simpler stuff I posted makes for a very notible difference . Anyway thanks to all for taking any interest in this.
Al
C,A,P.A Servers --> click
All of these CAPS utilize Windows OS and in particular Windows Server 2012 R2 in core mode w/Audio Optimizer for the ‘best’ results.
Has anyone gotten similar sound quality on a Mac OSX system? Or is Windows 2012 Server necessary to achieve this level of SQ?
Some feel Mac mini rules. Until I got my caps I had two desk top setups that were good both I7 CPU . One was win 7 striped down an antivirus or other programs and j river 19. SSD drives. The other is an iMac with I 7 CPU and SSD drive. They both are on oar with each other and audivarna plus on the Mac. But the caps is way above both. I think it’s possible but the support for win is bigger .
al
Thanks Al. Maybe I missed it, but can you provide the exact builds/parts for CAPS you built that work great with the DS Dac? I think that would be extremely helpful.
Over coffee in the am.
Al
alrainbow said First off congrats I am glad your have it working.May I ask you a few questions
what cpu are you using
is it a desk top or laptop
are you using a audio USB card
do you have any hirez PCM ?
lastly I am glad it sounds better but am I understanding you correctly that it sounds close to the PWT. ???
For me my surface pro is much better than the PWT. So Much so I just do not use it ever.
Al
The PC is a Lenovo M92P “Tiny PC”. It’s basically the guts of a laptop crammed into a tiny metal box, and runs off 19v 3.5A laptop power brick. It has one processor fan and the rest is heat pipes. Two slots for memory, but only one slot for hard drive. ZERO EXPANSION options. I can not add any cards to it. . The CD ROM is removable which makes it even smaller and would probalby lower the the power consumption, but left it on for now. (some photos I grabbed off the internet)
Crummy Camera Phone photo of the Lenovo PC on the DirectStream, being controlled by an Android tablet. This was when I was running JRiver, which I’ve given up for Foobar
The processor is a 2.9Ghz i5
4GB RAM
40GB SSD
I can’t add a USB card, there are no slots to this PC. So I did what I could with 40GB SSD, Server 2012, AO, and especially the Linear PSU. I could move to a battery assuming I can have one configured for 19v @3.5A, but I’m happy with how this sounds now. I still need to tweak AO and see if I can get more out of it.
I don’t currently own a PWT, but if you’d loan me your unused one I could give it a proper A/B with my regular listening group (we all compare notes to “keep us honest” when we A/B gear). I’d gladly cover shipping. In fact, I’ve got people asking me to compare using the Oppo to the PWT with the DS, I just don’t know anyone local with a PWT. Since I don’t have one handy, I can’t flat out say this server sounds better. From memory, I know it’s at least in the same league.
Sounds fine to me. It is just sitting here.
Ill pm you my email and phone number.
I will give it a quick listen again and compare to caps
but I never liked it
that is the truth
it’s clear but dioes not have the presentation as with a USB
and now with caps there is just no reason at all to try it.
I do like putting disks in though. Then the music starts and I wonder why I did it. Lmao.
Al
Al…I would very much appreciate your feedback on the PWT vs. CAPS. It has been a while since I have built a PC, but I think I might be up for it. I currently don’t have any Windows based systems in the house at the moment, so the activation energy is a bit higher.
I have been trying to optimize a Mac laptop, but I haven’t had success in getting it to sound the way I want. I also have an iMac laying around I could try to modify, but in general it seems there are less modifications you can make to a Mac. A build from scratch would be fun, but I know of others who have spent a lot of money on the approach only to end up disappointed. That is why I am interested in your exact builds.
In theory, the PWT should be a great transport. It is seemingly much simpler than a typical computer, but it is reading from a spinning disc (which is a fundamental difference). Are you using the I2S connection from PWT to DS with a good HDMI cable? Anyway, not here to beat a dead horse, but looking forward to your thoughts and the details on your builds.
Cheers,
David
Sorry I owe some a post. I have been working crazy hours. Some time tomorrow I’ll do a post of oarts and links to where they can be purchased. Regarding the sound the iMac and win 7 both SSD drives 16 gig ram both best the PWT easy. I love the look and simplicity of the transport. But the sound is not what can be had from the dacs I connect to it. Even the pwdmkii sounded much better with the offramp to me. The Improvmemts over the PWT are staging , clarity of instruments. And this. is with the two above as a transport the caps is much better . It stabilizes the imaging so much it’s Erie to hear it this way. Even my msb transport does not give me this. Now this is all,out and batteris too still much cheaper than a UMT plus and PSU. Most buy a caps already made and this is fine as long as it’s win server and AO ON IT. you do not need to be fan less to achive a high level of quality sound.
Al
That’s very kind of you, Al. I appreciate it. My local listening group would sure be interested to see if your guidance on my media server surpasses a real PWT.
No offence to Paul and Team, but I kind of hope it does, because I have only a few hundred invested in this Mini-PC plus software, when compared to a PWT. Plus the mini-PC has saved me from purchasing a Bridge, or Bridge II.
It’s worth the effort list coming shortly.
I have a few views in didhutal audio as well. All around transport. It is the last frontier in this digital hobby
i can say this when using g a hi end transport as the one you are proposing all dacs benifit and get a lot closer in sound quality
making the choice a worthy one in making the server and or buying someone’s.
My UMT plus and psu is about 12K. And only does DSD 64
and dsd 128 is better. But even with it my 6k server beats it . So where does this leave the PWT on a shelf not used.
Al
Al…do you know which, if any, of the Computer Audiophile C.A.P.S. are compatible with Windows Server 2012?
Looking forward to your builds, whenever you get around to it…
Just compare the CAPS server specs of interest with the minimum Windows Server requires:
A x64 processor, 1.4 GHz minimum. At least 512MB memory, 32GB disk space.
Hi folks, I’m taking the plunge to try win 2012 and AO on my CAPS3 Zuma.
I’ve installed Win 2012 server R2 on my caps3 zuma but cant find a Lan driver (motherboard DH77EB). This is a well known issue.
I tried to download win8 lan drivers to do the “simple fix” but all I get are the exe files that wont install and dont give access to the files I need to edit.
Im getting a bit desperate (Im obviously not a techie). Can someone please email a driver to me at billg@clear.net.nz
USB model TL-WDN3200. It’s a USB that works fine with basic drivers on win 2012.
I know I still owe you guys a detail of products , sorry.
This is why I built my own. Why would a comany reccomend a product that does not work on server 2012. Anything that dies will work with win7 or 8.xxx. The board I posted about works fine MSI seems to be one of the better boards but it is a little more . So Zumba and the likes do not use them. Anyway this works fine. And I tried about 8 to get one to work. Micro center sells them.
Ps. Also if you install it on a lets say win7 or better win8. You can then copy the files it load as not an exe but drivers. Just a thogjht
al
billg said Hi folks, I'm taking the plunge to try win 2012 and AO on my CAPS3 Zuma.I’ve installed Win 2012 server R2 on my caps3 zuma but cant find a Lan driver (motherboard DH77EB). This is a well known issue.
I tried to download win8 lan drivers to do the “simple fix” but all I get are the exe files that wont install and dont give access to the files I need to edit.
Im getting a bit desperate (Im obviously not a techie). Can someone please email a driver to me at billg@clear.net.nz
OK, Bill. I don’t have this motherboard, but I found the Intel LAN driver on Intels web page and tried to install it.
It unpacks it to a temp file (in fact it popped up telling me exactly where that temp file is) then it pops up saying it’s not compatible with this version of windows. So what I did was look on the hard drive for that temp file it unpacked before clicking OK to cancel the install. If you click OK, it deletes the temp file before you can grab the files it’s unpacking.
In there I believe you would find what you need to get this to work on Windows Server 2012
Thanks LR. I asked my local pc guy to get it going. He says he edited 2 files (but I’ll have to get clarity on which ones) and it’s installed now YAY.
I’ve tried playback via Jriver, over the bridge and usb, with and without Jplay (ultrastream) and Fidelizer.
I was amazed at the extra clarity and timbre and the blackness in silent moments just by moving to win 2012 server r2. I did not really think it would be much better than Win8 but am now really converted.
I’m not so convinced about the differences between inputs or about Jplay or Fidelizer though. There seem to be minor differences but more listening is needed to be sure about what I think I’m hearing. And I’m not that interested in the itty bitty changes, there are bigger fish to fry.
I’ll get around to Audiophile Optimizer soon.
Does anyone have an explanation for what Windows Server 2012 does differently than Windows to sound better?
