boneman

Try this one. I built one for my RPI3 with AlloDigione hihat on the right and on the left, another for Intel NUC end point. I used Avel toroidal transformers for both and ordered direct from them in Connecticut. https://www.amb.org/audio/sigma11/ The build is easy as is ordering the parts, both from Mouser, Avel and AMB. For me the metal work was the hardest part. Subjective results were very good.

Again, this is with JRMedia and Win10, CPU utilization is generally under 3% except when the album to be played is selected at which time it goes up to 20% before subsiding back. Fan was on low setting via the BIOS. It did come on, not sure there is a totally passive mode in the default settings.

Thanks for the kind words. I actually never thought about adding LDOs to the output. I had built a 5V version of the o11 LPS for my RPi3 and it seemed to be tightly regulated although I never tested the consistency of the outputs.

As a W10/JRM for Win users, I'll keep my comments to my NUC experience. I do have a RPi3 with an Allodigione but that making it sound good is this winter's project. I bought a used NUC5PPYH with a 120 SSD and 4GB in ram plus the W10 Pro 64 OS. It is a low powered Pentium offering and for my 192/24 flac files played without upsampling, it has more than enough horsepower. My music files are on a Synology DS412 NAS which has two LAN ports, one which is hooked into my router/home network and the other which is connected directly to the NUC via CAT6 cable. The NUC is connected to the DAC via USB. I've considered trying a SPDIF output but to date have not gone that route. I used it unchanged for a month and then I went with a Akasa fanless case. Surprisingly the sonic change was negligible with the case change. A couple of months later I built a DIY o11 LPS, outputting 18.75vdc. This single change, about $100 for parts, made a big difference in lowering the sound floor and cleaning up the sound.

Coda was in the mix due to specs and price but unable to audition one in my area.

Intel Braswell NUC w/Pentium 3710 CPU/120 gb Crucial SSD/4gb ram and W10Pro, Akasa Newton fanless case and DIY o11 LPS. NUC was $150 on ebay, case about $90 on Amazon and LPS was about $120 for all parts so total of $360. I run JRM 20, files are on a NAS feeding via Synology bridge and ethernet connection. DAC fed by USB.

If you want to use your existing laptop or laptops, what make and model are they, to they have an existing HDD or SSD from which Win is currently installed, what is the CPU and how much space do your media files take? I currently use a NUC in a fanless case with a DIY linear power supply. Before that a dedicated Haswell CPU desktop and before that a Core Duo CPU desktop. What I found is that the fewer active components and the fewer mechanical components, the better. So the thinking would be to put your OS and JRM on the SSD you have, have your media files on what I assume is a HDD, and have it mounted separately and externally with its own power supply. Can you pull the graphic card altogether on your laptop or better yet, are the graphics built in so you can just ignore that part. The CPU likely has a cooler, is there a way to cool the CPU passively which may require a bit of DIY surgery on the laptop case and a solution to mate the cpu with a passive heatsink. Last one is going to involve some outlay but it is to replace the existing power pack supply with a linear power supply or the correct voltage and sufficient wattage for power what's left, CPU, RAM and SSD. If found that the NUC that the biggest difference was not the CPU fan but going to a LPS.

Since coming back to the States five years ago I've switched from separates and tube amps to SS integrateds. The first one I bought was a Hegel H200. I do like their sound although for your purposes it might not produce enough power. Newer models are said to sound better although I do not find the addition of built in DACs to be a plus. I replaced the Hegel about three months ago with a Balanced Audio Technology VK3000SE. I bought a store demo for about 60% of list price. Previously I was considering the Pass Labs Int250 having owned Threshold and Pass Labs equipment in the past as well as the Coda and Classe. I listen to records and ripped media, vinyl ripped into flac and cd's ripped to aif/flac. I also recently received a load of hi res download files. Speakers are Sonus Faber Cremona original floor standers which are a bit more efficient than your speakers. Room is large at 12'x25' and average ceiling of 12'. Power is more than sufficient and quality of sound is excellent. It has sufficient inputs and the ergonomics are quite good. Worth an audition.

Wow! I can certainly appreciate the beauty and effort in your build.

The Pentium CPU in my NUC5PPYH is fairly low powered. Even with the old case I just set the BIOS fan setting to low and it rarely came on. I read all 300+ pages of the "A Novel Way to......" thread and it was clear that power supply, electronic noise and clock were big items so the fanless case just eliminates one more potential source of noise. As ElviaCaprice noted, I may have to work on the clocking aspect next. Summer's here so probably not until it starts snowing again here in the Northeast.

Perhaps at some point I will get into the clocking board but I'm still coming up the curve on that aspect. I got 50 years working on my analog chops so still in diapers on the digital/computer side. My NUC is similar to the Jetway in the link. Pentium but not i series chip. Low power requirement and as you know, running JRiver does not require much CPU. I'm still ripping. Just got the alternate Van Morrison Moondance takes in lp form and it's exceptional music and sound. Will be down at Jazz Fest in a few days and there's always something new I hear and then want to have in the collection.

I rip a lot of rock, blues and jazz lps out of my collection. About 2,800 lps at last count. These go back to the mid 60s when I first started buying. I will admit to being a big analog advocate but two things happened. I worked offshore for 15 years without my records allowing time for digital horsepower and costs to improve. Then upon returning a few years ago I heard a system that played only red book CDs that schooled my ears with good sound. My LP ripper is a W10 desktop. It works fine but it's big, makes some fan noise and generally not an elegant solution. I ripped all files at 192/24 FLAC and they are on a Synology DS412 NAS. Playback software is JR Media. I happen to like the interface. The NUC feeds via USB into a W4S Recovery with a small LPS and then into a W4SDAC2 V2. I tried an RPI3 with Allo Digione hihat and while nice, it was not good with big libraries and the sound was okay but not great. I then bought a used Intel Braswell Pentium NUC and things were looking up. It has a 120GB SSD. I got an Akasa Newton fanless case which was about a 1 hour install and then recently built an 011 LPS, putting out 18.75vdc and given the trannie, about 60 watts. The fanless case made a small difference but the LPS was a noticeable improvement. I feed the NUC directly from the NAS (it has two R45 outputs) via R45. Next improvements will be CAT6a cable.

Thanks. I buy from Blue Jean's and at .95 x 12 feet it's a pretty easy and cheap upgrade.

At this time using CAT 5E generic bulk cable that I terminated as the NAS is in a room next to the listening room. Have you found an audible improvement using 6A vs 5* cable? I see myself going down another rabbit hole! As a side note, a friend bought an Aurrender N10 recently and had someone covert all his CDs into FLAC and AIFF files, duplicate libraries with one for each format, a bit under 1TB in total and he was kind enough to lend it to me. All loaded onto my NAS now. Hopefully will be able to compare AIFF and FLAC from CDs to my own FLAC from vinyl. Will no doubt be interesting.

So far the sound is pretty good. Just finished burning in the DigiOne with 200 hours of playing time so will line up some serious listening this weekend. As for the LPS, it puts out 5.2v 2.7A and runs quiet and cool. Sourced the Avel toroidal trannie locally as they're located a couple of towns away in Connecticut. The board assembly, wiring of the trannie, switches, led and fuse are all easy. Hardest part for me was and remembering that sharp drill bits for 1/4" and larger are a must. I've attached the pics so you can see how simplicity of the build.