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JohnVulcan

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  1. No Ian I haven't seen any other supplier in the UK. You could always try sourcing it from abroad, but in all honesty I doubt you'd get it much cheaper (I have looked) and returns could be a serious issue.
  2. hi Nick, Interesting to hear the result of your experiment, an improvement for free too! I haven't tried the S/PDIF header yet as my entire system is all disconnected and in piles around the room as I have have my stand in bits while I modify it to accomodate the Audio Note DAC. Hopefully all back together before Christmas! I'll admit I hadn't considered the noise affecting the power side of the USB connection and this is important for me as the USB card in my DAC is actually powered by the USB not the DAC, hence while I can't repeat your experiment but it does show this is a shortcoming of my setup and one I need to overcome when I make my move on the digital IC. Again regarding ethernet noise, I've not considered that either, but then I've not had the need to make any connection so far. Instead I've been disconnecting my MS and taking it into my home office to download my FLAC files onto the mSATA drive and then reconnecting back to my hifi system, with the idea of threading an ethernet cable through in the future, however I'll give that a miss for now! Let us know how you get on.
  3. Hi Ian, just to say I sourced my M/B from ITX Warehouse, the memory and mSATA drive direct from Crucial UK and the case (Streacom F7C EVO) from QuietPC. All vendors provided excellent and prompt service. Best of luck with your build.
  4. I have an Oppo BDP-95 and was using the S/PDIF output to feed my DAC (Audio Note Kits 4.1) and I then built a CAPS 2+ (see Ted_b’s thread ‘My new CAPS V2+ build; best digital I've heard’). I’m very pleased with the results as to my ear on my system there has been a small but noticeable improvement just using a USB connection straight off the M/B and using a cheap switch mode PS. The sound has filled out a couple of notches and sounds more musical. I’m now looking forward to further improvements from upgrading to a linear PS and using either a SotM PCIe card or a USB converter (or even both). However before leaping to any conclusions though I don’t know how much of this improvement is down to using the USB input on my DAC as opposed to the S/PDIF input and the same will hold true for you. In my case I know the DAC was designed primarily for S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs while the USB card (a good but very old design) was very much an after thought, so I'm expecting it is all down to the CAPS 2+. How does this apply to you though? Is your DAC primarily designed for USB or S/PDIF or are they both much the same? This could worth considering.
  5. No, I'm using USB now, but straight from the M/B for now while I save up for either a SOtM PCIe card or a D-D converter, such as the Halide Bridge. So I expect to be using the USB connection from the CAPS MS for my 'final' solution, though I did think of trying the S/PDIF header on the M/B sometime, just out as an experiment, nothing more. PS: My DAC (Audio Note Kits 4.1) is really geared up for a S/PDIF or AES/EBU connection hence my interest in S/PDIF.
  6. Most interesting, thanks for publishing your results. I too have built the CAPS 2.0+ and have been wondering if doubling the cost by adding the SOtM PCIe card was really worth it, so it is good to see a first hand account like this.
  7. On the contrary I think HDMI video output is a very sensible request and I agree it would be a good feature to have on CAPS 3.0. I am not proposing this as part of a HTPC set up just simply to operate the CAPS 3.0 as a MS after all you do need a screen to use the JRiver MC. After all many of us have limited space in our listen room and end up with the TV in close proximity to the MS and until I can afford a tablet as a remote I do need a screen to use my MS. I have recently built a CAPS 2.0+ which does have an HDMI output and that is the one I use - it makes good sense. We would need real evidence that simply including an HDMI output in CAPS 3.0 degraded the sound more than other video outputs to exclude it, but either way we will need a video output.
  8. Thanks again! Yes you are right Paul Hynes LPS is expensive, which is a pity as he is based over here in the UK which would make resolving any issues much simpler. However I'm very taken with Peter Daniels offering but I'm going to cost it out first using good quality components. Thanks again for pointing his thread out to me.
  9. Many thanks, yes that is very interesting, especially as I'm a real DIY nut when it comes to audio, that's at least half the interest to me. I'll investigate more, cheers.
  10. Hi Mike, right now I don't know as I've not even identified a suitable but affordable LPS yet. The Paul Hynes unit Ted uses is too expensive for me at the moment, hence I bought a cheap switching PSU for now. In fact I was expecting that to find a suitable affordable LPS was going to be quite a challenge and I was going to rely heavily on this forum for inspiration! Have you found a suitable affordable LPS?
  11. Ted I've successfully downloaded now Before I must have clicked onto what I thought was the download, but clearly wasn't. On second thoughts I suppose it is only right that it needs reloading after each reboot, because that means that a reboot will clear all its settings, which is reassuring. Furthermore my MS is not connected to the web when connected to my hifi system so it isn't going to find its home page! I'll give it a try tomorrow as it's getting late here now (UK) and see what I make of it. Thanks, John.
  12. Thanks for the warning Ted! Yes I did try and download it earlier, but it kept diverting me to other websites instead, so I backed out. I'll try again later and see what happens, a pity but I am starting to get a bit wary now.
  13. Thanks HV, yes mine will be a non upgrade purchase too so I'll try your coupon code and see what happens. Thanks.
  14. Thanks Ted, I've just checked the Fidelizer optimizing program out, not heard of it before, looks good, thanks for the tip.
  15. All my bits arrived yesterday, so another DN2800MT based CAPS 2.0+ burst into life in the early hours of this morning! I had a legitimate copy of Windows 7 to hand, so I installed that (64 bit) together with JRiver MC 1.7 and I am very pleased with the results! Very pleased in fact! And what is more I’ve yet to upgrade to a linear power supply and I’m still just using the standard USB output on the M/B so there are still more improvements to come - once I can fund them that is. Before I was using the S/PDIF O/P from my Oppo 95 EU which was playing FLAC files off an external HDD and I’d hoped the CAPS MS was going to produce some improvement over this setup, but I didn’t have the have the highest of hopes. But no, the sound has now definitely been lifted a couple of notches, it is a fuller more enjoyable, but most important it is more musical. Now I’m an old crusty audiophile and I’ve been at this game along time, so I’m not easily carried away by the latest and greatest (so it must be better) euphoria so my assessment is a measured and genuine one based on the one and only real test – listening! And what was the result of this listening test.. I found myself captivated by tracks I’d never really noticed before. I sat there entranced and couldn’t move on to listen to my usual test tracks. Now that is a result! So many thanks to Ted, Chris and the others that have contributed to this excellent forum.
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