Download Computer Audiophile Pocket Server

15/10/2010
Computer Audiophile Pocket Server - …
08. Easy to assemble / install
a.Assembly / installation by one's self or
b.Assembly / installation by local computer shop, son, daughter, neighbor, or friend.
09. Small size.
10. Low power consumption.
11. Low heat.
12. Accept an add-in card for audio or additional capabilities. Hardware & Software must accept
appropriate add-in cards.
13. Play 16/44.1, 24/44.1, 24/88.2, 24/96, 24/176.4, and 24/192 all bit perfect.
Operating System
The first step in the process was to test different operating systems. I rules out previous versions of
Windows, including the apparent audiophile standard XP, because they were not current. Copies of
Windows XP (OEM) are still floating around some of the online shops, but I was ready to retire XP
anyway. That left Windows 7 as the Microsoft based candidate. Building a Mac OS X based machine
(Hackintosh) is of no interest to me as it violates the Terms Of Service of OS X and is more of a tweaker's
system than most audiophiles are willing to accept. Beyond the mainstream consumer operating systems I
used used a variant of Berkeley Unix called FreeBSD in addition to a few distributions of Linux. I ruled out
FreeBSD fairly quickly. After using it for a few hours as a music server I concluded FreeBSD was better left
to host web servers and other business type applications. I am very fond of FreeBSD and I really wanted to
like it as a music server OS but squeezing a square peg in a round hole wasn't a goal of the CA Pocket
Server Project. I spent much more time researching and using Linux based operating systems than all the
others combined. As I said at RMAF 2009, and I still believe today, Linux is the future for music servers.
The only caveat is Linux requires quite a bit of knowledge to setup as a music server. The amount of
knowledge required is a show-stopper for 99% of the Earth's population let alone analog loving audiophiles.
However, if I could satisfy the C.A.P.S. requirements I was willing to attempt writing an extremely
thorough how-to Linux guide for CA readers to build this music server. The Linux based operating systems
I used are Debian Linux, Voyage Linux, Puppy Linux, Arch Linux, openSUSE, Ubuntu Studio, and
probably a couple more that I can't remember at this time. The final selection of an operating system for
the C.A.P.S. server came down to Windows 7 and Voyage Linux.
Voyage Linux is an incredibly small operating system. It can fit on a tiny USB memory stick, compact
flash drive, or any hard drive currently available. The initial installation requires about 128 Megabytes of
disk space, not to be confused with 128 Gigabytes. Voyage installs as a barebones operating system. The
user must add or update audio features such as Music Player Daemon (MPD), Advanced Linux Sound
Architecture (ALSA), and other tools like NCMPC and Minion. There are countless options when using
Linux. This is a great thing for most Linux users but can be overwhelming to those trying it for the first
time. I forced myself to use Voyage Linux for many weeks. Without the option to jump over to a Mac or
Windows based server one can become very well versed in Linux music servers. On the contrary one can
quit using a Linux music server due to frustration if one doesn't have the necessary time and skills to work
through problems. The Voyage based system I setup satisfied all but three of the stated C.A.P.S.
requirements. Requirements 7,12, and 13 were constant battles. I tried a few different audio cards and had
varying levels of success with each of them. I used an ESi MAY A44 and RME 9632 for much of the time. I
was unable to pass 24/176.4 digital audio out of the ESi MAY A44. The MAY A44 data sheets proclaim
support up to 24/192, but the user manual states clearly on page 34, "Sample rate supports : 32, 44.1, 48,
88.2, 96, (192)kHz *Coaxial Output only." Without 24/176.4 the MAY A44 card failed the requirement.
The RME 9632 audio card was a different story. About 100 hours into the configuration nightmare I was
able to pass bit perfect audio on all required sample rates. Configuring the RME 9632 in Linux was
extremely frustrating. There are bits and pieces of outdated user generated documentation all over the
Internet. If there is demand I will create my definitive guide to the RME 9632 on Linux. There are
software, firmware, and hardware incompatibilities to work through. I'm really happy I put in the time to
make it work on the C.A.P.S. server as I learned quite a bit in the process. Once I had the card working on
all the required sample rates I still had problems changing sample rates on the fly when I switched audio
tracks. I could not get this to work no matter what I tried. I did create scripts to change sample rates but
each one had to be called up via command line before playing a track that required a sample rate change.
This mix of problems is what lead me to exclude Linux from the list of possible operating systems.
Requirements 12 and 13 combined equate to a system that is not easy to use. Audio cards with Linux
support that also support the required sample rates are few and far between. The cards that do exist are not
user friendly enough for most people to use on a daily basis. Canned servers, that one can purchase off the
shelf, based on Linux and cards such as the RME 9632, RME HDSP AES-32, Lynx AES16 (with OSS
drivers), or even the ESi Juli@ card have a bright future. Creating this type of solution at home for one's
self is not for the average audiophile seeking to listen to music rather than fiddle with a computer. That
said, I continue to use Linux in my listening room next to my other servers.
Note: The ESi Juli@ card supports all the required sample rates but can be very hard to obtain. I was
unable to procure one during the several months of this project. Even with a Juli@ card a Linux based
solution still does not meet the C.A.P.S. requirements.
Windows 7 satisfies all of the software based requirements. It is capable of great sound, it's a current OS,
easy to operate and install, works with more hardware than any other OS, and is capable of bit perfect
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