Tweaks for CAPSv3 Carbon?

[magister]

I own a Carbon, standard configuration, purchased several months ago from Small Green Computer. I've been using it to rip vinyl. Playback has been through my NAS/MinimServer/ethernet setup to PS Audio DirectStream (previously, PSA PerfectWave DAC MkII) with a Network Bridge.

 

In the last few days I've experimented with playing music from the Carbon via foobar/USB. There's this big debate about whether computer/USB or NAS/ethernet/streamer is the better setup, so decided to try for myself.

 

Music is enjoyable through the USB, but the ethernet setup is still noticeably better: more details, more natural instrumental timbre. I will try Fidelizer in the next day or two and have ordered a better USB cable to replace the one I bought at the office supply store. Are there any other relatively simple upgrades folks would suggest? I have looked at the Red Wine power supply, which costs the same as what I paid for the computer so I'm not eager to go there--but I might if people have heard a really major improvement. Not sure where the limit is to my curiosity . . .

[Allan F]

I own a Carbon, standard configuration, purchased several months ago from Small Green Computer. I've been using it to rip vinyl. Playback has been through my NAS/MinimServer/ethernet setup to PS Audio DirectStream (previously, PSA PerfectWave DAC MkII) with a Network Bridge.

 

In the last few days I've experimented with playing music from the Carbon via foobar/USB. There's this big debate about whether computer/USB or NAS/ethernet/streamer is the better setup, so decided to try for myself.

 

Music is enjoyable through the USB, but the ethernet setup is still noticeably better: more details, more natural instrumental timbre. I will try Fidelizer in the next day or two and have ordered a better USB cable to replace the one I bought at the office supply store. Are there any other relatively simple upgrades folks would suggest? I have looked at the Red Wine power supply, which costs the same as what I paid for the computer so I'm not eager to go there--but I might if people have heard a really major improvement. Not sure where the limit is to my curiosity . . .

 

I also own a CAPS v3 Carbon from Small Green Computer. A Keces D-116 LPS is a far less expensive alternative to the Red Wine LPS. Many members, including me, are very satisfied with the the results produced by this upgraded power supply. Do a search to find related threads. An upgraded USB cable should provide significant benefits, depending on your choice. I run J River Media Center on my system but, having never tried Foobar, I can't offer any opinion regarding possible SQ differences between the two.

 

I don't know if the PS Audio DAC draws its USB power from the computer. If so, an iFi USB to replace the 'dirty' USB power from the computer can also provide cost effective improvements.

[magister]

Thank you Allan -- this is very helpful. I hoped that the USB card in the Carbon (SOtM, I think it is) would provide cleaner power than the generic USB ports. I guess not.

 

I can add, BTW, that Fidelizer did improve things, although the ethernet solution still has the edge.

[Allan F]

Thank you Allan -- this is very helpful. I hoped that the USB card in the Carbon (SOtM, I think it is) would provide cleaner power than the generic USB ports. I guess not.

 

I can add, BTW, that Fidelizer did improve things, although the ethernet solution still has the edge.

 

The SOtM USB card is superior to generic USB. It reduces both noise and jitter. However, in my experience the iFi USB can improve things further. Should you try one and not hear an improvement in SQ, you shouldn't have too much difficulty selling it, as they are in high demand.

[magister]

Thanks again!

[DMelby]

I own a Carbon, standard configuration, purchased several months ago from Small Green Computer. I've been using it to rip vinyl. Playback has been through my NAS/MinimServer/ethernet setup to PS Audio DirectStream (previously, PSA PerfectWave DAC MkII) with a Network Bridge.

 

In the last few days I've experimented with playing music from the Carbon via foobar/USB. There's this big debate about whether computer/USB or NAS/ethernet/streamer is the better setup, so decided to try for myself.

 

Music is enjoyable through the USB, but the ethernet setup is still noticeably better: more details, more natural instrumental timbre. I will try Fidelizer in the next day or two and have ordered a better USB cable to replace the one I bought at the office supply store. Are there any other relatively simple upgrades folks would suggest? I have looked at the Red Wine power supply, which costs the same as what I paid for the computer so I'm not eager to go there--but I might if people have heard a really major improvement. Not sure where the limit is to my curiosity . . .

 

I also have a Carbon server originally purchased and built from the parts list that Chris provided. To have a low power, dedicated server was certainly was a nice improvement over my fully loaded desktop PC. The improvement I would characterize as important but not highly dramatic. In my opinion, it is through a few tweaks that step by step transform the Carbon server to a truly spectacular monster audio component providing amazing results. Perhaps some you will find helpful,some not you will have to explore and find someone you trust to guide you.

Here's a list of some things to consider which I have tried that you could consider too:

 

-Red Wine Audio falls in the minor improvement category. In fact, I honestly hear only the smallest I mean tiny difference between battery power versus AC well filtered through my Shunyata Triton power filter. And at times the difference is in favor of AC power lol! Certainly though battery power is much more important if you arent using a good AC power filter.

-Stillpoints filter cloth on important parts of computer and case. This tweak is inexpensive, but very little improvement in my experience over nothing at all. Perhaps some of the other EMI filter papers work better I haven't tried them...

-Mapleshade vibration control. Vibration control is important under any audio component, and the carbon does improve to a small degree with these inexpensive conepoints and maple planks. The vibration control on top of the SDD, CPU, and carbon also provide a small incremental gain.

-Stillpoints ultra vibration control. Stillpoints are more much expensive but provide slightly more improvement than the mapleshade system

-Caig progold contact cleaner. Improves sound to a reasonable/noticeable but small degree. The price is very low and well worth it based on result/cost

-Server 2012 in core mode with AudioPhil's Optimizer versus windows 8. Now we are getting in the league of major improvement to the carbon. Everything improves top to bottom, detail, soundstage, black background, transients. Well worth the relatively small cost for the optimizer. Hard to find server 2012 though at a reasonable price. Well worth the improvement though and its available as a 6month trial so you can hear for yourself

-Improved USB cable. This makes a very important improvement, and your DAC cannot perform at its full potential without a good USB cable. The difference a great USB can make is major. My experience for three excellent cables at different price points: Light Harmonic Lightspeed - truly a spectacular achievement and the best cable by far of the ones I've tried. Second best for me was the Wireworld platinum starlight a very detailed and near reference cable. Third was the Nordost blue heaven. Even this cable was leagues better than a cheap USB cable. These are just the ones I tried, so others can be excellent too.

-Paul Pang red SATA cable. Don't listen to the naysayers about SATA this relatively inexpensive cable is truly a spectacular achievement and in my experience is a major league improvement for the Carbon.

-I use Jriver for playback, so not sure about if any others are better. When I've tried Jplay, it makes things sound worse so I haven't had much luck with that after trying it several times. Maybe I'm not configuring it correctly, Im not quite sure.

 

Any of these tweaks you can consider, and at least have some starting point for future research.

I'd suggest looking at a couple sites for more ideas: Try mapleshade records, and High End Audio PC which originates the audiophile optimizer for server 2012 and where I ordered the SATA cable as good starting points. Hope you have fun tweaking your carbon on the way to audio nirvana!

[magister]

DMelby,

 

Thank you for the very detailed reply! I already have Shunyata Hydra alpha power conditioners, and some isolation footers under the Carbon (Herbie's Audio Lab tall tenderfeet, which have worked well under many other components).

 

I have read about Server 2012. I am glad to hear that it made a big difference for you, as it has for others. Obviously price is a concern. Also, while I certainly have enough computer skills to set up a dual-boot system with Server 2012, I am not sure I want to spend the time. Maybe I will; I'll put that one in the "future" category. I have spent quite a bit of time recently getting the hang of foobar, which is now working well for me. JRiver, I get the sense, has many features to learn and offers things I would not use, like library management. I don't think I've ever seen a direct comparison of sound quality with foobar vs JRiver--that would be interesting.

 

I appreciate the USB cable recommendations. That is an easy place to start. Mapleshade actually has an inexpensive USB cable ($135 or so), and I am tempted to start there.

[DMelby]

DMelby,

 

Thank you for the very detailed reply! I already have Shunyata Hydra alpha power conditioners, and some isolation footers under the Carbon (Herbie's Audio Lab tall tenderfeet, which have worked well under many other components).

 

I have read about Server 2012. I am glad to hear that it made a big difference for you, as it has for others. Obviously price is a concern. Also, while I certainly have enough computer skills to set up a dual-boot system with Server 2012, I am not sure I want to spend the time. Maybe I will; I'll put that one in the "future" category. I have spent quite a bit of time recently getting the hang of foobar, which is now working well for me. JRiver, I get the sense, has many features to learn and offers things I would not use, like library management. I don't think I've ever seen a direct comparison of sound quality with foobar vs JRiver--that would be interesting.

 

I appreciate the USB cable recommendations. That is an easy place to start. Mapleshade actually has an inexpensive USB cable ($135 or so), and I am tempted to start there.

 

I've heard very good things about the mapleshade USB. I think my experience was a little atypical as there was a technical problem using that USB to my DAC at the time. As far as I understand, this problem has been rectified. And all mapleshade products are very good especially considering their reasonable cost compared to others. I've been a big fan of mapleshade for over 15 years. Their recordings are some of the highest fidelity around and beat many hi res recordings.

Server 2012 is a good future project for sure but I totally understand it requires a bit of time and money investment. It's a very easy switch if you are going all in and just installing Server 2012 over / instead of Windows 8. But dual boot can be a bit more involved. And Server 2012 sounds its best with Audiophile optimizer in Core mode so you have to be comfortable with DOS commands. I actually ended up liking it though more than windows 8 because it ends up being so simple once configured. I turn on my computer and all that boots up is Jriver with all my albums. Nothing else, which is just how I wanted an audio PC to be configured.

[magister]

Simplicity usually a good thing; sounds like you've got a good setup. When I get around to trying Server 2012, I can take advantage of my long-ago experience with DOS commands -- I used to be very adept with DOS . . . there are a few good things about having been around a while.

[DMelby]

Simplicity usually a good thing; sounds like you've got a good setup. When I get around to trying Server 2012, I can take advantage of my long-ago experience with DOS commands -- I used to be very adept with DOS . . . there are a few good things about having been around a while.

 

Yes, good old DOS! As simple as it gets...

[panhead]

I also have a Carbon server originally purchased and built from the parts list that Chris provided. To have a low power, dedicated server was certainly was a nice improvement over my fully loaded desktop PC. The improvement I would characterize as important but not highly dramatic. In my opinion, it is through a few tweaks that step by step transform the Carbon server to a truly spectacular monster audio component providing amazing results. Perhaps some you will find helpful,some not you will have to explore and find someone you trust to guide you.

Here's a list of some things to consider which I have tried that you could consider too:

 

-Red Wine Audio falls in the minor improvement category. In fact, I honestly hear only the smallest I mean tiny difference between battery power versus AC well filtered through my Shunyata Triton power filter. And at times the difference is in favor of AC power lol! Certainly though battery power is much more important if you arent using a good AC power filter.

-Stillpoints filter cloth on important parts of computer and case. This tweak is inexpensive, but very little improvement in my experience over nothing at all. Perhaps some of the other EMI filter papers work better I haven't tried them...

-Mapleshade vibration control. Vibration control is important under any audio component, and the carbon does improve to a small degree with these inexpensive conepoints and maple planks. The vibration control on top of the SDD, CPU, and carbon also provide a small incremental gain.

-Stillpoints ultra vibration control. Stillpoints are more much expensive but provide slightly more improvement than the mapleshade system

-Caig progold contact cleaner. Improves sound to a reasonable/noticeable but small degree. The price is very low and well worth it based on result/cost

-Server 2012 in core mode with AudioPhil's Optimizer versus windows 8. Now we are getting in the league of major improvement to the carbon. Everything improves top to bottom, detail, soundstage, black background, transients. Well worth the relatively small cost for the optimizer. Hard to find server 2012 though at a reasonable price. Well worth the improvement though and its available as a 6month trial so you can hear for yourself

-Improved USB cable. This makes a very important improvement, and your DAC cannot perform at its full potential without a good USB cable. The difference a great USB can make is major. My experience for three excellent cables at different price points: Light Harmonic Lightspeed - truly a spectacular achievement and the best cable by far of the ones I've tried. Second best for me was the Wireworld platinum starlight a very detailed and near reference cable. Third was the Nordost blue heaven. Even this cable was leagues better than a cheap USB cable. These are just the ones I tried, so others can be excellent too.

-Paul Pang red SATA cable. Don't listen to the naysayers about SATA this relatively inexpensive cable is truly a spectacular achievement and in my experience is a major league improvement for the Carbon.

-I use Jriver for playback, so not sure about if any others are better. When I've tried Jplay, it makes things sound worse so I haven't had much luck with that after trying it several times. Maybe I'm not configuring it correctly, Im not quite sure.

 

Any of these tweaks you can consider, and at least have some starting point for future research.

I'd suggest looking at a couple sites for more ideas: Try mapleshade records, and High End Audio PC which originates the audiophile optimizer for server 2012 and where I ordered the SATA cable as good starting points. Hope you have fun tweaking your carbon on the way to audio nirvana!

 

Excellent post!

[ecwl]

DMelby, thanks, very educational. I wonder what power cords DMelby used for CAPS and whether it makes a difference too.

As for Magister, if like me, Audiophile Optimizer seems a bit expensive and too big a leap, perhaps you can start with Computer Audio Design's optimization scripts first. At least it's free. And when I compared it way back to Fidelizer 3/4 (can't remember) I thought it was a bit better.

[DMelby]

DMelby, thanks, very educational. I wonder what power cords DMelby used for CAPS and whether it makes a difference too.

As for Magister, if like me, Audiophile Optimizer seems a bit expensive and too big a leap, perhaps you can start with Computer Audio Design's optimization scripts first. At least it's free. And when I compared it way back to Fidelizer 3/4 (can't remember) I thought it was a bit better.

 

I liked the Computer Audio Design optimization a lot too, and did think it improved the audio by a modest degree. Definitely worth a try! I also found that putting the power scheme to power saver and setting the Max CPU to 0%, and the Min CPU to 0% had a subtle but nice improvement. (The CPU still uses what ever percent it needs, just seems to more aggressively step down to the minimum CPU utilization as possible)

 

I did try a number of different AC-DC power adapters for my CAPS carbon (a total of 4 different inexpensive ones meaning less than $30, ordered from amazon). There was a difference for sure with a clear winner and 3 losers not at all related to price. All of them were then connected to different shunyata power cords I had on hand. I didn't do a detailed analysis, as it just didnt seem right to connect a $2000 power cord to a $25 ACDC adapter if you know what I mean. But as I observed, the power cords themselves didn't seem to make as much difference as the ACDC power converter itself but of course they were all connected to my Triton power filter. Maybe that leveled the playing field somewhat for the AC power cord itself.

The redwine audio Black lightning even in just AC DC mode not battery mode was best of all by a modest to medium degree compared to the inexpensive ACDC adapters. So the quality of the ACDC converter definitely makes a difference. In my specific set up not so much with the AC power cord.

But i'm kind of curious now, and think I'll go back and try all my Shunyata power cords in a systematic way connected to the Black lightning to see what happens. I'll report back the results when I can...