59 replies to this topic

[minute]

I will be building a few PCs purely for audio/htpc use for a few friends and I

This is a one time offer and I will not be building these after this batch.

The more people that are interested, the cheaper the parts work out to be.

Important: This setup is NOT a caps 2.0. Same concept but different choice of parts for theoretical improved sound quality.

Quick rundown.

stable 3.3v, 5v and 12v lines on motherboard. digitally controlled (normal motherboard rails fluctuate and don't ever hit their stated voltage for each line)
External low noise high quality switching power supply -
with or without Sotm-usb pci card.
No fans, no moving parts, no noise
EMI/RFI absorption material lined in case.
pci-e ssd drive (changed to standard ssd with sotm filter)
2 seperate usb interfaces - usb 2 and 3
4gb-32gb ram
Intel CPU
Good in built graphics for HTPC use. HDMI, SPDIF/toslink out also but would be most ideal to be used with a USB dac.
Lan connection/wifi available
BIOS optimised.
Windows 7 can be preinstalled, configured and optimised for audio playback, or you can do this yourself. My preferred playback software is Jriver and can be controlled using an android phone/tablet.
Brushed 3.5mm thick aluminium case. 3 sizes available: 6cm, 7cm and 9cm heights. 20cm wide, 20cm deep

Edited by minute, 01 April 2012 - 12:45 AM.

[minute]

I'll also note that this will cost less than a CAPS 2.0 (of course depending on configuration)

[Lil Caesar]

Hiya Minute,

I'm interested...

Can you give us a rough idea of price for the hardware only,

say a config with 8 gb of RAM and 500 gb storage ?

[minute]

500gb ssd is too costly, the cost above the 220gb point grows excessively

With 230gb ssd and 8gb ram I'd say $1330 without sotm pci card. This will depend on the enclosure requested and how much power will be required (more power = more cost for PSU etc)

Final cost will vary depending on how many people are interested. Shipping from the states, UK etc are a big part of project cost too.

An example enclosure is http://www.lian-li.c...=25&ss_index=64

Edited by minute, 29 March 2012 - 08:13 PM.

[Lil Caesar]

Ahhh nice enclosure !

...About time Lian-Li brought out something like this.

I must admit I have not looked into this stuff too closely, and was lazy when I settled for a Shuttle all-in-one.
Not bad but the fan is annoying me

Silence would be golden

[minute]

There are quite a few great cases out now, and silence is the reason I started this project =)

That and the potential that new technology has brought to the audio PC world. This is all state of the art hardware and it doesn't cost even a fraction of some extremely overpriced audio products out there

[LogicprObe]

128GB is the most cost effective price point for SSD's at the moment.

I'll tell you what though, these things are blindingly fast.
SATA III and all that jazz........... http://ijk.com.au/br...ducts_id=138041
Two of these is still cheaper than a 240GB single drive.

[minute]

Hi Logic,

That is a great drive but the pci-e ones I'm using in this project are http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=18188

the main reason is that it connects via the PCI-e hence no sata requirement, NAND flash for reliability and speeds are ~800-900mb/sec

[Lucky Carl]

Hi Alex,

PM sent, I am interested subject to specs and price.

Carl

[datafone]

Ahhh nice enclosure !

...About time Lian-Li brought out something like this.

I must admit I have not looked into this stuff too closely, and was lazy when I settled for a Shuttle all-in-one.
Not bad but the fan is annoying me

Silence would be golden

If that fan is audible, swap it for one of these http://noctua.at/mai...cts_id=5&lng=en

Edit:I put two of these in a build recently and couldn't hear them.

Edited by datafone, 29 March 2012 - 09:51 PM.

[minute]

For interested parties that have PMed me.

Let me know how much you want to spend exactly and I will return with the best specs for that price.

[minute]

If that fan is audible, swap it for one of these http://noctua.at/mai...cts_id=5&lng=en

Edit:I put two of these in a build recently and couldn't hear them.

These are great fans! But striving to run fanless has it's rewards

[datafone]

These are great fans! But striving to run fanless has it's rewards

Agreed, just hard in the summer in QLD sometimes, but not impossible

Edit:Thinking about the weather here, I wouldn't like to run in a little case like the Lian-Li without a fan, unless the room was air conditioned. But that's just my view...

But I do understand where you are coming from when you are looking at totally fanless, and with that case the perforated area in the top is a great help! and the fan would be the 80mm one that runs at 800rpm http://noctua.at/mai...cts_id=9&lng=en, although i would look at possibly mounting the larger slower fan to exhaust from that top area instead, if i were to use a fan.

Edited by datafone, 30 March 2012 - 03:32 AM.

[minute]

That's the thing, there isnt need for cooling at all since there arent many parts that will be giving off heat. No heat from the pci-e ssd, no heat from psu, no heat from video card, minimal heat from cpu, little bit of heat possibly from the ram and north/south bridge but they all have dedicated heatsinks attached. This thing will run cooler than a PS3.

If say I was building a gaming machine with a dedicated graphics card and core i7 cpu/hard drives burning lots of power and creating lots of heat, there'd definitely be more than 3 fans optimised for airflow (that or watercooling)

Edited by minute, 30 March 2012 - 07:09 AM.

[Chickenism]

Two questions, if I may (and please pardon the general noob-ness of the questions )

1. sotm usb-pci card - er...is that like a card reader thingy type thing?

2. Is it do-able/feasible to have something like this hooked up to an ipad or similar (either wirelessly or using a usb) so that it doesn't need to be hooked up to a monitor or TV screen, and so that said ipad can then be used as a remote for it? I think they call it 'headless' ?

3. Can one use whichever media player they prefer or is it optimised or set up for one particular one?

Cheers, Dave

[minute]

Hi Dave,

Sotm usb pci card is just a fancy filtered pci card that provides a filtered usb output. Not required but can be added

2. Control via an android tablet is possible with the J river media centre.

3. You can use whichever media player you'll like (just keep in mind that controlling media player using an android or ipad device will depend on media player)

[minute]

Update: Have been able to source great looking brushed 3.5mm thick aluminium cases. Available in silver/black.

Looks similar to an audio-gd brushed aluminium case

[datafone]

I must admit I haven't had a chance to see temps in summer, in a media PC like is being proposed, so I'm sure you have a better idea than I.

Hmm...now I'm keen to play with something like this, but I won't be getting one myself.

Good thread, minute

[statman]

Put me down for a unit, will use JRiver and Ipad with Jremote ,usb only, other than that, your call on details.

[Vortexjah]

Minute, will you be putting up a list of parts/ process used to build the htpc/music server? So people like me that can't afford a build at the moment, can build one themselves at a later date.

Cheers

[katattack74]

Update: Have been able to source great looking brushed 3.5mm thick aluminium cases. Available in silver/black.

Looks similar to an audio-gd brushed aluminium case

Now you've got my attention. I run an all Audio-GD setup so something that matches the black brushed look of the A-GD gear will suit me.

[minute]

Have ordered 2 variants of the case to test fitting etc

Case would look like this - there are a few variants:

Edited by minute, 30 March 2012 - 05:01 PM.

[Lil Caesar]

OK NOW we are talking

This is EXACTLY the sorta thing I have wanted all along - a Wintel version of the apple MAC Mini Chassis.

....which is knida ironic really since all apple machines are Intel now anyway
- But you know what I mean.

Hopefully it all fits, cos I'd be sold on a silver version myself.

[minute]

Minute, will you be putting up a list of parts/ process used to build the htpc/music server? So people like me that can't afford a build at the moment, can build one themselves at a later date.

Cheers

I may or may not depending on demand. There is a great guide (the caps 2.0). If you are familiar with building a PC, the rest really is just modifying it to what you believe will increase the sound quality/stability, choosing a suitable case and power supplies.
Some of the parts I'll be using are sourced from my friend in Taiwan so I am unsure if they are readily available online (cases, custom mounting hardware etc.)

[Vortexjah]

Thanks Minute, i am quite interested. It will be much easier if you could give a list of parts and processes, instead of me hunting it all down. Mind you, i do not expect it one bit, its up to you if you let people know.

I can build computers, but building a computer for the best audio quality, i am unsure on.

Once you have it all together, ill send you off a PM.

Cheers

[Vortexjah]

Have ordered 2 variants of the case to test fitting etc

Case would look like this - there are a few variants:

Wow! That is a stunning looking case!

[minute]

Thanks Minute, i am quite interested. It will be much easier if you could give a list of parts and processes, instead of me hunting it all down. Mind you, i do not expect it one bit, its up to you if you let people know.

I can build computers, but building a computer for the best audio quality, i am unsure on.

Once you have it all together, ill send you off a PM.

Cheers

Vortex once I'm all done I don't mind sharing the process with you.

[O.Sydney]

Can you explain in simple terms why no SATA connections ?

[minute]

On the Jplay forums they have found that having a hard drive connected via a usb to fibre optic connection improved SQ. The usb to fibre optic cable is too costly though, about $1k. Then there's a need to power the external usb using a linear power supply.

SoTM also found that plugging a filter on a sata connected ssd resulted in less noise. The pci-e ssd would theoretically overcome this.

After doing further research though, I think it'd be safer and cheaper to just stick with a standard ssd as the OCZ pci-e ssd have not been released for that long yet and may prove problematic

Edited by minute, 01 April 2012 - 12:21 AM.

[O.Sydney]

On the Jplay forums they have found that having a hard drive connected via a usb to fibre optic connection improved SQ. The usb to fibre optic cable is too costly though, about $1k. Then there's a need to power the external usb using a linear power supply.

SoTM also found that plugging a filter on a sata connected ssd resulted in less noise. The pci-e ssd would theoretically overcome this.

After doing further research though, I think it'd be safer and cheaper to just stick with a standard ssd as the OCZ pci-e ssd have not been released for that long yet and may prove problematic

thanks for the info. standard SSD is that with a SATA filter ? are they expensive (the filters)?
The reason I ask is for retrofitting to existing PCs

[minute]

The filters are about 50-60$ + delivery per. There is no Australian distributor that I know of

Will be using the filter yes

[minute]

Here is a link you may find useful in regards to noise and ground loop within PCs.

http://www.computera...l-clock-and-DAC

The addition of 3m RFI absorbers and EMI absorbing lining will also help

[A J]

OK NOW we are talking

This is EXACTLY the sorta thing I have wanted all along - a Wintel version of the apple MAC Mini Chassis.

....which is knida ironic really since all apple machines are Intel now anyway
- But you know what I mean.

Hopefully it all fits, cos I'd be sold on a silver version myself.

well we run a wintel apple mini - I just swapped out the HDD with an SSD drive & loaded windoze - easy small slick & quiet - not sure how it would fare as an audio optomised one though like the OP's one

Edited by ajst2duk, 01 April 2012 - 04:42 AM.

[bensl]

i have just been looking at upgrading my htpc. below is a couple of cases i have been looking at that might be of interest.

[Chickenism]

Great looking case there minute, and you've tweaked my interest Can just picture one running it's 0's and 1's into some mega-Schiit

My current PC is starting to die and it's really only used for music (and internet) anyway. Plus, yesterday I gave JRiver another go after unfairly disparaging it in another thread and can now see why it's respected as a good player.

I'll be out today but will send a PM either tonight or tomorrow.

Cheers, Dave

[minute]

No worries Dave. That's about enough interest required now to minimise shipping costs for each build.

Mods can you please close thread.

[Lazz]

Hello Minute. I am interested in one of these htpc. I assume that it will be able to connect to say a NAD M51.

[minute]

Hi Lazz,

Yes it will be able to connect to a NAD M51 with no issues - wasapi, wasapi event style and asio.

PM sent. If there is further interest after the parts have been ordered, apologies for being unable to fulfill.

Parts ordering will start as soon as I've received all payment.

[davewantsmoore]

Please PM details about this build. I am very likely up for 1 or 2.

[minute]

PM sent

[automated]

i have just been looking at upgrading my htpc. below is a couple of cases i have been looking at that might be of interest.

Got a link to this one?

Edited by automated, 02 April 2012 - 04:04 PM.

[tisb0b]

Got a link to this one?

Not sure about that one but the other one is from here: http://habeyusa.com/...ucts.php?id=130

[minute]

Due to the amount of interest I will be starting to factor in assembly/tests costs..

Initially assembly and testing was going to be free for 2-3 interested (I do enjoy putting together a nice kit) but alas, there are now almost 10.

Have requested to close thread.

Edited by minute, 02 April 2012 - 07:05 PM.

[bensl]

Got a link to this one?

its the wesena itx7.
https://www.wesena.c...section.php/2/1

there are 3 different options by the look of it. i dont know anything about them other than u think they look good.

Edited by bensl, 02 April 2012 - 10:15 PM.

[minute]

Another great case! Good find