-
Quote
I run a NUC10i7 with 32gb RAM, 500gb NME SSD (system and Roon db), and 4tb SSD internal storage (music). I have it in my office away from my listening room. One advantage of running a standard NUC is you can set the BIOS to use the CPU's maximal speed - it will result in the fan running at times. This is useful if you're using DSP (eg I upsample and do DSD>PCM in Roon when sending to my Schiit headphone DAC/amp). Setting the NUC to high speed makes it run hotter which will make it throttle down in a fanless case. I believe the Nucleus BIOS is not set to run at max speed.
Hi, miguelito,
I'm setting up Roon-NUC 11 i7 with ROCK with the 32GB RAM & M.2 SSD (but the music library will be on an USB 20TB HD.
In addition to tweaking the fan setting, did you disable any BIOS options in order to throttle back CPU needs? But more importantly, did you disable any BIOS options that seemed to improve the sound? If so, what were they?
Cheers, -Mike (mrmb)
-
Just saw this...
I in fact made sure the BIOS settings are for max performance. My NUC is in my office so there's no electrical noise anywhere close to the audio system. The fan runs when it wants and that's alright.
I have tried to hear differences from servers running over the network over RAAT, and I have never heard a sound difference.
This is different if your NUC is close to your stereo and you're using USB to play - in this case there are a lot more subtleties.
As for networking, I have a dCS Rossini Apex+clock. It is connected to the network via an Ethernet-SFP (ie optical) bridge, with the bridge powered by a linear power supply (and Ultracap LPS-1).
-
Hi miguelito,
I just noticed that I failed to reply to your kind response.
I did get my NUC up and running quite nicely.
I've enjoyed reading you posts and threads on the dCS forum. I too owned a Rossini. However, I went in the opposite direction that you did. Specifically, I moved from dCS to EMM Labs and a DV2 DAC.
While auditioning a Rossini master clock, I learned of the new Apex upgrade to the Rossini. The clock added sonically. But it wasn’t what I would term a huge step-up -- i.e., one that I just couldn’t live without. At that point, pricing became paramount!
In round numbers, the Rossini master clock was a $10K upgrade and the Apex was similar in price. For me, adding $20K to a $20+K DAC was at best, questionable. I coupled this pricing, with the fact that the Rossini was beneath the Vivaldi stack both price wise and apparently sonic wise. This fact left me wondering what I would be missing by not owning the dCS flagship!?! I did however know that I wasn’t missing the the cost of doubling a $46.5 K Vivaldi DAC, by adding the Vivaldi master clock and its upsampler & cabling!
With those facts in mind, I learned of the EMM DV2 DAC and the EMM NS1 streamer. I contacted the dCS distributor and borrowed a NS1 and DV2. After the A/B audition with my Rossini & clock, I kept the EMM combo and jettisoned the Rossini.
Whether my EMM combo would have beat the newer Rossini Apex upgrade, I don’t know. More importantly however, I didn’t care.
Not dumping another ~$20K on a $20+K DAC, let alone contemplating more than doubling that amount on the flagship Vivaldi stack, left me and my wallet happy.
Additionally, I am really enjoying the EMM combo. It provides what I would describe as a very listenable and muscial middle of the road between my previous Lampizator DAC's (the Big7 and Golden Gate) and dCS. Whether my EMM combo can be beat by MSB, dCS, Lampi, Wadax, Linn et al., I don’t care. Because, I’m happy to get away from the DAC add this (clock/upsampler/power supply) and doubling the price of the DAC itself et al. conveyor line; as well as the (Lampi) Tube DAC hassles of trialing and finding and rolling very costly new tubes, that I found to have premature failure rates.I'm pretty sure I read of your problems with EMM and the DAC you owned. Hopefully, I continue to have great luck with my DV2. I do however, miss the dCS forum and you and the other great, helpful folks on the site. EMM Labs has nothing like it and their attention to their customer base doesn't seem to equal dCS's. For me, time will tell however....
Thanks again for your assistance!
-