Pioneer n50a or alternative

[Andrewjvt]

The innuous zenith uses 1 power supply with several rails by the looks of it. However the sound must come off that motherboard and unless that is a custom design which is unlikely it will have all the same problems as a standard motherboard in any pc.  Its a decent solution by all accounts but look at the space constraint - no space to work in to make it commercially viable.

Commercial constraints to limit performance imo only

Edit you can also see the pico psu powering the motherboard just behind to the right of the disk drive as I said before.  These cost pnuts 

Ja but they do review well.
I may be wrong but there are 2 versions one with linear supply and one with tripple supply. I may be wrong. Its what i read

 

[ellisdj]

I think it depends on how things are worded or categorised - if it has 3 linear regulators and voltage outputs off one transformer is that 3 power supplies or 1? I could have been wrong in how I see it - but if you look at the picture above thats whats in that box.

They also mention clean usb so maybe it is a custom motherboard they use - I would have thought that would be uber expensive and therefore the unit cost be much higher.

If you look at the latest Innuos 2 + or whatever it is - thats using a Streacom FC5 chassis which allows better cooling of the cpu - even to i7 level as thats exactly what I am using and done so last 3 years or so. The picture above is only a very basic cpu cooler so I doubt the chip in there would be a big one.

Not that you want high power but apparently larger cpu cache is better.

 

[ellisdj]

Ellis, thanks for the great tip. I've abandoned mini itx build a while back as wasn't happy with psu options I found. I also ideally at that point wanted to fit my Xonar Essence STX which was challenging to say the least. Now I'm looking at external dac route anyway, this PICO psu looks great. I'm sure I can put a decent mini itx build and get a second hand M-Dac for less than £500. That should just about be much more flexible solution long term and likely to give me superior sound quality to the Pioneer amd the likes.

I originally was using an Asus Xonar ST card for a sound card of my audio pc - still use it in my office pc.

If you buy the right chassis like a hd plex or streacom - these are fanless with integrated cpu cooling you can use a riser card and the stx off the pcie lane and still have a silent low profile solution, or better get a usb card like this, clean power for it, not mobo power and feed a usb dac like you said. BTW the stx will sound much better fed with a linear power supply but you need one with 12v and 5v more expensive

For a very well priced Linear Power Supply - see here - this came about as a result of me asking for Sean to build me a power supply to power a computer. I did all the testing and ideas, cost me a lot actually - other people can now get the benefit of that work. This works perfectly for an audio pc powering a pico supply, mine has been working perfectly for years now.

If you want to go straight atx and skip the pico see here but you will need the right chassis to accomodate this supply by the looks it

 

[Andrewjvt]

I think it depends on how things are worded or categorised - if it has 3 linear regulators and voltage outputs off one transformer is that 3 power supplies or 1? I could have been wrong in how I see it - but if you look at the picture above thats whats in that box.

They also mention clean usb so maybe it is a custom motherboard they use - I would have thought that would be uber expensive and therefore the unit cost be much higher.

If you look at the latest Innuos 2 + or whatever it is - thats using a Streacom FC5 chassis which allows better cooling of the cpu - even to i7 level as thats exactly what I am using and done so last 3 years or so.  The picture above is only a very basic cpu cooler so I doubt the chip in there would be a big one.

Not that you want high power but apparently larger cpu cache is better.

Youve done well on that project.

Im going to test the innous soon to see the sq compared to my laptop.

When you add up all the parts it get expensive.

 

[ellisdj]

Yes mate it does, I have spent about £5k on my audio pc, but its been bit by bit over time.

I personally like that aspect, want an upgrade can do it in bits. When you buy a complete solution and want an upgrade you have to upgrade the whole solution - also expensive so we cant win, unless we just live with what we have.

But when there is scope for better sound thats harder than jumping over everest wearing a rucksack full with concrete

Also leant a lot in the process which is good too.

 

[insider9]

Ellis, thanks for the great tip. I've abandoned mini itx build a while back as wasn't happy with psu options I found. I also ideally at that point wanted to fit my Xonar Essence STX which was challenging to say the least. Now I'm looking at external dac route anyway, this PICO psu looks great. I'm sure I can put a decent mini itx build and get a second hand M-Dac for less than £500. That should just about be much more flexible solution long term and likely to give me superior sound quality to the Pioneer amd the likes.

I originally was using an Asus Xonar ST card for a sound card of my audio pc - still use it in my office pc.

If you buy the right chassis like a hd plex or streacom - these are fanless with integrated cpu cooling you can use a riser card and the stx off the pcie lane and still have a silent low profile solution, or better get a usb card like this, clean power for it, not mobo power and feed a usb dac like you said. BTW the stx will sound much better fed with a linear power supply but you need one with 12v and 5v more expensive

For a very well priced Linear Power Supply - see here - this came about as a result of me asking for Sean to build me a power supply to power a computer. I did all the testing and ideas, cost me a lot actually - other people can now get the benefit of that work. This works perfectly for an audio pc powering a pico supply, mine has been working perfectly for years now.

If you want to go straight atx and skip the pico see here but you will need the right chassis to accomodate this supply by the looks it

Nice one, thanks again for even more amazing info

To my ears Essence STX sounds good powered by Corsair AX760 platinum rated psu it give a decent clean current. The balance between quality/price and size was what put me of making a dedicated mini itx build just for music playback but will revisit the idea having these pointers. My wife is always shocked to hear how much power supply cost compared to other components. I guess there's no way round it.

 

[ellisdj]

I think I have got a corsair platinum in my office pc, I also think my cousin uses one in his audio / general pc with an STX card as well. Sounds good so that is a wise selection, however you can take it a lot further.

Things to try for free then buy if you like.

Try JPLay - its free to demo, make sure you set it up correctly, I can help with this.

Try Fidelizer - free demo - bought version is much better.

I would say try Computer Audio Design Scripts - these are for dedicated units so when you build your dedicated computer try them on that.

There are other but not for free like process lasso or audiophile optimsier if you use win10 or win server 2012 (best sounding os)

 

[muljao]

To reallign,

So, anyone else got any recommendations on alternatives to the n50a.

thanks

 

[insider9]

To reallign,

So, anyone else got any recommendations on alternatives to the n50a.

thanks

Sorry, Muljao never meant to kidnap your thread.

I think the earlier mentioned Yamaha is great but so is the Pioneer. I actually briefly considered N50 myself.

The app is a major blow as many people complain about it and it may lead to way too much frustration imho

Alternatively I'd use a Chromecast Audio into Dac with a NAS. More flexible solution but more expensive if you were to upgrade your SMSL

 

[muljao]

No problem Insider9, I was only messing. I think I'll buy a Raumfeld connector. I like the Chromecast but spotify often drops when I'm listening. Pity really cos it sounds great.

All that computer talk went way above my head

 

[luckylion100]

No problem Insider9, I was only messing. I think I'll buy a Raumfeld connector. I like the Chromecast but spotify often drops when I'm listening. Pity really cos it sounds great.

All that computer talk went way above my head

+1

Sounds intriguing but I'm struggling with a Qnap Nas!

 

[insider9]

Yes, I've seen your other thread. For the money it looks really good. It's such a shame they've not put a headphone amp in.

Let us know how it sounds when you get it.

 

[ellisdj]

The computer solution is another option to the pioneer streamer so it was on topic really

 

[muljao]

*ok*

Yes, I've seen your other thread. For the money it looks really good. It's such a shame they've not put a headphone amp in.

Let us know how it sounds when you get it.