Soundwise Posted January 26 Posted January 26 Obviously with the Oladra being at the pinnacle of server-streamer transports in terms of sound quality, I was curious to see how much it would cost to emulate similar performance to a $47.5k dedicated server-streamer with AES and I2s digital outputs. Here is my first attempt with component costs, specifications and links: Roon Optimised Core Kit – Free download linux based and headerless https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/roon-optimized-core-kit#So_what_is_Roon_Optimized_Core_Kit_ROCK_then Asus nuc 14 pro with Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 Processor 165H part no. RNUC14RVHU700004I - $949 2 x Crucial 16GB (1x16GB) CT16G56C46S5 5600MHz SODIMM DD5 ram - $130 Silicon Power Ace A55 512GB TLC 3D NAND 2.5in SATA III for Roon OS - $37.50 Crucial P3 Plus 4TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSD 4800 MB/s sequential read for Roon storage - $329 Penon audio pure silver usb cables x 2 - $32.90 USD each https://penonaudio.com/usb-2.0-a-b-dac-pure-silver-cable.html Intona USB 2.0 Hi-Speed galvanic isolation - $489 https://intona.eu/en/products/7054 Denafrips Gaia DDC - $3149 https://dacmanaudio.com.au/product/denafrips-gaia-ddc/ Possible future upgrades when funds become available include: Asus nuc 15 pro Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 Processor 285H 2x32GB DDR5-6400 8TB m.2 2280 PCI Gen 5 NVMe SSD sbooster BOTW P&P ECO 18-19V MKII linear power supply Even though everyone uses Roon servers across Ethernet, but for me I wanted to use the server-stream without expensive audiophile Ethernet switches and cabling. My build is based on server-streamer USB 2.0 output to DDC with AES or I2s outputs to my DAC. I’m quite pleased with the result and really happy with the sound sample conversion to DSD64 and 7th order (CLANS) sigma delta modulator. Even though Gaia can do DSD64 to DSD512, my older DAC is limited to DSD64. There are no dropouts, and everything runs smoothly and quickly with Roon. It’s definitely an improvement over the Windows 10 PC that I was using with the same Gaia DDC running 32-bit /384kHz upsampling. The main benefit is that Roon ROCK can interface to Gaia much better then MS Windows software. Via Roon I can pretty much light up any clock speed led on the Gaia that I want whereas Windows is limited to 384kHz. Note, you can cut costs by using a cheaper DDC or no DDC at all but there are numerous benefits to using the Gaia as explained here https://www.denafrips.com/gaia. Of course, I can’t verify how close in performance I have achieved compared to Oladra or even K50 but I did have fun in the process. Have you tried to build your own DIY high end server-streamer? What’s secret sauces and spices did you use?
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