Jon L

Congrats. Hopefully you can provide some first-hand comparison of Plus vs. Supreme with SS output with discrete op-amps all around.

Is the Win Server 2012 r2 license limited to "per machine" as usual, meaning if the particular TS140 breaks, the Win Server cannot be resintalled on another machine?

Having looked around for Server 2012 purchase, the high cost of Server 2012 over Win 8.1 would be one big reason for many people not to seek that route.

For those of us not interested in NAS functionality and using asynch USB DAC's straight into CAPS v3, I don't foresee sound quality improvement for CAPS v4. In my case, I am running local eSATA drive for music into CAPS v3 Micro Zuma powered by battery and Linear power supply only, which I will stay with.

I run the EE DAC Plus with tube removed and DEXA's all around. I would love to hear some comparisons of similarly configured DAC plus with Supreme, hopefully with DEXA's?

For me, the biggest reason I have stuck with computer audio is the instantaneous and easy access to ALL my music at my fingertips, largely due to numerous Foobar 0.8.3. playlists I have made over MANY years. I cannot give this up, which is the reason I abandoned the whole CPlay thing. Win 2012 server with AO in core mode destroys the very reason I am in computer audio; I might as well break out my old CD jewel cases and pop them in one at a time. I will make do with Foobar 0.8.3 with Jplay on Win 8.1 for now with all the easy access intact via playlists. I also stopped adding up my computer front-end costs (software, hardware, linear power supply, battery PS, etc) because it has gotten huge, probably rivalling the ultra high-end transport/DAC combinations of yesteryear (Spectral, Levinson, Krell, etc).

Things are so much more complicated due to different servers and DAC's implementing wide-ranging quality of USB and spdif modes. As maligned as traditional CD audiophile transports are, IMO it is still very difficult to beat a good CD transport, especially if some sort of I2S implementation is used. The way this intro article is set up, with the dual-CAPS/Win Server 2012/JCAT listed last, I am afraid it might be the winner overall, which would be unfortunate because the total costs (hardware, software-darn Win Server 2012) and man-hour needed is out of reach for most normal human beings

Has anyone actually tried using one of these Lithium laptop recharger/ car jumper type batteries to power SOtM/PPA/JCAT cards? I realize it's not going to be LiFePO4 and will have switching regulators, etc, but wondering if anyone actually tried them in real life to see. This one for example is pretty large at 12 Ah and can supply 5/12/16/19 V. The 12 or 19V could probably power a CAPS server Mobo as well. 12000mAh 12 16 19V Pink Black Power Bank Battery Jump Start Phone Laptop Charger | eBay

Thanks for the link. Interesting; you learn something new every day in this hobby. So to clarify: "The JCAT board has a linear regulator which can provide additional filtering to the NEC chip. However without 5V connected, the 3.3V from computer will be applied directly to the NEC chip without much filtering. Even without a linear 5V power supply it might be better to connect 5V from computer. To sum up: even for self-powered USB devices, the JCAT USB card will benefit from high quality 5V PSU.3.3 is not used to power the NEC chip if 5v is applied. The 3.3V is still used for 1.05V regulator for the NEC digital core. We wanted to use only 5V but it was not possible due to power dissipation." I guess the perfectionist would still frown upon the need for 3.3V off mobo for some functions of the JCAT, but such is life. BTW, does anyone know if the SOtM USB card uses any power from the Mobo for any function if the external power jack is powered?

I thought the 5V input on JCAT only powers the USB device (DAC) and not the card operations itself. 3.3 V power is required to actually power the JCAT card operations from PCI-E unless one hacks into PCI-E (via riser cable, etc). Are you sure if you connect the 5V to JCAT (front jack or rear molex), it powers BOTH the card operations and USB device down the line?

Hello. I thought JCAT USB card takes 3.3V, but is 5V safe to feed the 3.3V line then? Since there is no power input jack on front of JCAT, I presume you hacked into the PCE-E 3.3 V power lines to feed JCAT with Kaia, but do you leave the Kaia outside the PC case still somehow? Curious to see some photo's of how this is done. Thanks.