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In Reply to: RE: Cost/price of a "generic" Audiostream Syrah-like server posted by cfraser on June 20, 2016 at 13:14:15
Yes, this is exactly the point. You can build your own very similar setup for a fraction of the cost. You can take a generic department store PC or a small inexpensive Intel NUC (it's just a smaller lower powered PC) and get excellent results with a little effort.- Load your own Windows 10 OS, or whatever flavor of Windows you prefer.
- Install JRiver Media Center, Roon, HQPlayer, or whatever flavor of player software or combination that you prefer.
- Manually tweak the OS to eliminate unnecessary processes, or run one of the automated optimizers.
- Play around with better power supplies but don't go crazy with overpriced units.You can setup an excellent PC based system for well under a thousand dollars, leaving you $5500 for a really pretty case if you like. If you decide that your DIY PC audio setup isn't for you, you can always repurpose it as a general purpose PC instead of a $6500 boat anchor or doorstop.
Edits: 06/20/16Follow Ups:
Do I need Win10 *Pro*? It sure seems proportionally expensive compared to the rest of what's needed. And considering what we want to do with the completed device. [speaking of the USB version]
Edits: 06/21/16
Do I need Win10 *Pro*?
I'm thinking more generic and not so specific to duplicating the Syrah Server.
You can use whatever Windows you like, whatever flavor of Linux you like, and even Mac OS on a Mac if you like. There are some folks reporting stellar results with Windows Server 2012r2, others claiming Windows 8.1 to their liking, and others preferring Linux.
It's up to you and your personal preference with a DIY setup. No vendor 'lock-in' as with a a dedicated 'ready made' or 'audio appliance'.
Thanks Abe. I think this thread got part way Syrah clone and part way general-purpose server. Completely different aspects for the PC part. I got confused because the two aspects were intertwined in the threads, least the way I read them. Thanks for bearing with me.
Edits: 06/22/16
Yes, the microRendu seems like a good value. However, you still need a computer of some sort (or NAS) to store and 'serve' your music files if you wish to play your own music rather than stream from a service like Tidal, etc.
I see you caught the original version of my post... :)I decided to remove all that microRendu etc. stuff since I truly want to separate the "local" interface from the file source. I see no reason why combining them (like Syrah) should be *superior* to the way I prefer. IMO keep the majority of the computer "crap" far away from the audio gear and have a minimal (computer) interface at the DAC point.*
That way the hardware format of the file server barely matters, you would probably have a hard time buying anything new these days that couldn't do that job. I'd rather put real $$$ into something where computing cost/power actually gets used and is noticeable, like a gaming PC, rather than a dumb remote file server.
OTOH I did say I was looking for a "project". If all the Pi stuff (microRendu thread...) had been in stock at the dealer I selected (to minimize shipping), I would already be on that. There must be lots of popular Pi stuff going on in forums I don't know about, or people just changing to the latest version (newish I understand).
*Edit: I did have a (loaned) Bryston BDP-1 here for a while, and it is kind of like a Syrah in function, and it *was* better than any of my stuff. I put this down mostly to the DAC interface, definitely better than my own stuff.
Edits: 06/22/16 06/22/16
That way the hardware format of the file server barely matters .Exactly, but others will still insist on linear power supplies, solid-state disks, audiophile approved ethernet cables, Marigo tuning dots on various chips, isolation feet, built inside a Faraday cage, all buried under 10 feet of concrete and rebar for best possible performance. ;-)
Edits: 06/22/16
I will acknowledge that serving music files from a "clean"/minimal-install/etc. PC *seems* better, here. But only to a point, again here. Don't need to go to a whole lot of trouble before I reach the point of no difference.*IOW for others with better systems it may be worth going farther with cleaning up the file server as far as software goes. I don't see how the hardware will matter that much as long as it's "adequate". Poor SW choices can really degrade HW performance though. And assuming your server is not directly connected to your DAC, otherwise HW matters.
That Faraday cage sounds pretty enticing. Also a dedicated line from the power plant.
*Edit: in my case, just rebooting the (non-dedicated) PC before starting the music server SW gave me almost all the improvement I was going to get. I do not start any processes intentionally after Win startup besides anti-virus stuff.
Rebooting in a "safe" mode with minimal regular stuff running didn't make any diff that I could tell, it was slightly more awkward to get everything running for the server SW, and I deemed it not worth it though it is theoretically preferable.
Edits: 06/23/16
Thanks, that's what I pulled from the talk.Re the PSs: why would using a "great" PS for this appliance make any diff if it's not directly connected to the audio gear? I sure couldn't give a crap what my PC servers use now, to me the whole point of using the network from the very beginning was to isolate the PC from the music.
If anything, it would be the PS for the last network device connected to the music device I'd want to make nice with, in my case a switch (the only "computer" gear in the room, besides the pad). And even that I can't be hugely bothered with really, except to make sure it doesn't put out a lot of RF, nor noise back into the line.
Edits: 06/20/16
The whole power supply thing for the PC is debatable and like anything in engineering it is a game of compromises and where to invest in order to get the best bang for the buck. Notice that I didn't say the power supply isn't important. But if I had limited funds, I would choose carefully where to invest those funds. I wouldn't put a huge chunk of it in the PC power supply.
That's the way I took what you said.I am *slightly* anal about power, where I think it counts. e.g. I make sure my audio gear is on a different AC phase than my "random" appliances, like fridges/freezers/furnace. And that my server computer (the only one on when listening) is on that same phase, with the audio gear being on the "other" phase. Likewise the plasma goes on the phase that sucks during HT use.
I am screwed now, during A/C season here, when everything sucks phase-wise, but it would be too uncomfortable to listen otherwise.
Edits: 06/20/16
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