[raysracing]

I recently built and have been upgrading my music server. It is all from eBay and Microcenter which the later was been quite nice for the advice.  I'm here to let you all know that you do not need to use server 2012 or the top-of-the-line equipment to have a fantastic sounding music server. I'm not saying that to be argumentative at all. I just want people to know that on a budget you can build something that you and your friends will really really like to listen to. So don't put it off because you think you need to spend hundreds on Server 2012 and mega buck parts.

The highlights of mine are:

Asrock h61m DGS Mother Board.
Core i3
8gb PNY RAM (cheap).


Replaced processor fan: Cool master T4 without fan. Silent.
No chassis fan till summer then maybe a <20db fan.
Paul Pang USB v2 card (must have).
Acopian  linear power supply from eBay. 5v 1 amp powers the Paul Pang USB card.
Bag of mixed connectors from Microcenter to make custom pigtails.
Windows 7 home premium
Toshiba 128gb SSD
Jriver and Jremote on my iPhone to run from my seating position.
Random old mouse, keyboard and monitor.
Cut off power cord for Acopian.
Cheap case from Microcenter.
Old power supply from e-machine.

Toshiba 1TB USB 3.0 drive.

Next up is a 5v lithium polymer battery for the SSD. I have looked at 3 models at Microcenter for about $29. You will need to mod a connector and a USB cord with thicker wire as the power cord.

That is it for now. Sounds so good I cannot believe it most of the time. One warning the motherboard is usb2.0 so you might want to go to a model that accepts USB3.0 on the board, not with a adapter on the express slot.

[mcgsxr]

A interesting build, what is the total outlay so far?

I am still using a dedicated Netbook. 

Does yours run the playback software on board?

I use a server, and a client for playback. 

[Nick77]

I did a budget Win7 CAPS build about the same time as Ray and it also sounds fantastic.
Im using the Intel DN2800 fanless board on batteries with PPA card. It has surpassed my expectations and blows away my Touch/Linear suppy combo. Investment of roughly $500 having a few parts on hand and not including the USB cable or Jriver.

I agree it doesn't require an expensive i5 or i7 based board to produce great sound. I have a hard believing Win12 Server with Phils optimizer would be a significant upgrade, but if this computer audio thing gets any better then it makes vinyl a lot harder to enjoy.
Pretty sure Win12 can run on a Atom based board though. ??

[mcgsxr]

To clarify, you were using the analog outs of your Touch in the configuration you describe Nick77?

I still run LMS on my netbook.  I use a VAMP with HRT Music Streamer II as my DAC.

What DAC's are you boys using?

[Nick77]

To clarify, you were using the analog outs of your Touch in the configuration you describe Nick77?

I still run LMS on my netbook.  I use a VAMP with HRT Music Streamer II as my DAC.

What DAC's are you boys using?

No i was using Touch digital out to AudioGD NFB2 with upgraded USB32 receiver.

[mcgsxr]

Thanks Nick, I am always interested to learn of when folks improve the sound of the system when they replace a "client-server" setup with a combined unit like what you both are describing.

I will watch with interest - though I don't even need a physically quiet solution since all my gear lives in a dedicated media closet outside the listening room.

What I use today I have just pulled together cheap - though when I factor the cost of the netbook, the RAM upgrade, buying the Pogoplug plus shipping - I end up pretty close to the $400 mark. 

And if I chose to build one of what you both describe, I could still use my HRT DAC of course.

Cool, thanks to you both for sharing.

I wonder if Daphile would be a cheap alternative to buying an OS and using JRiver etc?

[raysracing]

A interesting build, what is the total outlay so far?

I am still using a dedicated Netbook. 

Does yours run the playback software on board?

I use a server, and a client for playback.

I've forgotten the detials and done it in pieces.  Let me find the receipts and I'll add them up.  I know the T4 I bought yesterday was only $29 and then got a rebate offof that. The Paul Pang http://ppaproduct.blogspot.tw/2013/07/audio-grade-usb-30-pcie-card.html is $129 shipped from Taiwan. The case I believe was $39 and the External HD was $69.00.

[raysracing]

I am running the OS on the board/SSD. I use a cheap printer USB cable right now, but I did use my server without a DAC for a few weeks just using the 3.5mm on the board and it still sounded  really good (better than a "normal"  CD player?).

Originally I used my DAC MAGIC, but now just started using an iFi DSD because i started to find some dsf files to listen to.Both were detailed, but my DAC MAGIC had to have everything downsampled to 16/48. I hope that is the correct terminology.

The iFi I would describe as surgically precise on everything so far (Hi rez, redbook, etc.).