Mach II XXHighEnd PC with Linear Power Supply

[Scroobius]

Peter  -  I get that a Silverstone PCIe card is not provided but is the USB port on the mobo or is it a PCIe card?  Is it USB 3 or 2?  I thought that yonks ago it was found that USB 2/3 on the mobo sounds best switched off?

Paul

[music33]

Hi Peter,
Not sure if you saw my question on PSU dials in XXHighEnd for the Mach II.  I didn't mean to ask anything proprietary, I just wanted to understand if there are knobs that have been added to XXHighEnd as you indicated in an earlier post that allows you to some tuning.

Cheers,
Dave

[PeterSt]

Hi Dave,

Didn't miss it. But I thought that answering is a bit moot since you don't have a XXHighEnd 2.xx license in the first place (maybe not even 1.xx). So now ask me what al more "dials" are in 2.xx ?
haha
You can't have context to all of this - that is what I mean.
Anyway, you'll see (hopefully). And otherwise I don't elaborate on this stuff anyway.

Regards,
Peter

[PeterSt]

Peter  -  I get that a Silverstone PCIe card is not provided but is the USB port on the mobo or is it a PCIe card?  Is it USB 3 or 2?  I thought that yonks ago it was found that USB 2/3 on the mobo sounds best switched off?

Hey there Paul,

At this moment I myself use USB3 from the MoBo. Ground (black wire) in NOS1a still disconnected. But this with the explicit notice that I have the PE not connected in the Mach II (this goes by a nice switch now).
People, don't try this at home, I should add.

Anyway, when working at this level of "low consumption" it automatically becomes the idea that better nothing should be in there, which is already because hardly anything is in there now to begin with. The switching off of USB2 and USB3 (of which we don't even know what it means electrically) is such a step, but I figured that adding the Silverstone is also such a step but in the wrong direction. Main point of course is : It does not sound well with it, which - I'm sure - is now only because so (really) much more is audible. Maybe I put it back in tonight and switch off the MoBo USB('s) just to have it confirmed; if it goes as last time I won't last 1 minute with it (with that only saying how "audible" it is, which btw always has explicitly been the case (but I - and almost all liked it for the better, including me)).

Something else is that yesterday, for the first time, the video card being in there did not disturb me. This is a bit tricky because it's implied by different XXHighEnd settings I applied day before yesterday (some path I didn't travel before).

I'll let know the result, if I don't forget to put it in in the first place ...
Peter

[jhmvl]

Hi Dave,

Didn't miss it. But I thought that answering is a bit moot since you don't have a XXHighEnd 2.xx license in the first place (maybe not even 1.xx). So now ask me what al more "dials" are in 2.xx ?
haha
You can't have context to all of this - that is what I mean.
Anyway, you'll see (hopefully). And otherwise I don't elaborate on this stuff anyway.

Regards,
Peter

Hi Peter,

I do not understand your answer. Dave's question seems perfectly straightforward to me and it is actually something that would interest me (and perhaps others with the "correct" license as well). Anyway, if you really feel that it is top secret whether there are dials or not then that is fine of course. Personally I do not see how a simple yes or no with a short explanation can be so secret.

Hans

[PeterSt]

Hi Hans,

Did I ever explain how all in XXHighEnd works ? of course not.
No difference here.

Peter

[PeterSt]

Dear all,

I have some wonderful news :

First is that the 2630v4 somehow was registered at 2.0GHz; I am not even sure whether it has been speced like that elsewhere, or that I made the mistake in writing it down myself like that, but it practice is 2.2GHz.

With the 2640v4 rated at 2.4GHz there's now hardly a difference, except for 250 euros.
And you know what ? I tested it by now (yesterday) and I can't perceive SQ differences with the 2640. So it really is good to go.

I also made the lot 60 euros higher in price for I think good reasons. This is the text I just added to the first post :

Edit, May 26, 2016 : When the fan is running, a led now will show so. We also added a thermal safety switch, which switches on the fan+led when the cpu cooler becomes 60C (140F); the fan then runs for maybe 60 seconds (this is estimated) and will have cooled all to 45C (113F) and then switches off again.
Side note : The real conditions could not be tested because there is no way to get the lot so warm that the fan kicks in. Of course all was tested, but in an oven.
The (white) led is assembled in the side of the case and is fairly bright. It is the idea that it will be visible when the fan is running because you can't hear it by any means. Still it could influence SQ so for this reason it is good to see it. Keep in mind though that the fan will never kick in in the first place. But what would we think when for safety it could be running while there would be no means to check it; we'd be restless.
I thought that the extra 60 euros for this, is justified.

Peter

[fmanheck]

OK Peter I have read all I need to know

I want one.

I'll PM you.

Fred

[PeterSt]

I have some wonderful news :

First is that the 2630v4 somehow was registered at 2.0GHz; I am not even sure whether it has been speced like that elsewhere, or that I made the mistake in writing it down myself like that, but it practice is 2.2GHz.

With the 2640v4 rated at 2.4GHz there's now hardly a difference, except for 250 euros.
And you know what ? I tested it by now (yesterday) and I can't perceive SQ differences with the 2640. So it really is good to go.

But as aslways ... one day of listening is not enough ...

Day before yesterday was the 5th day and I decided that it for sure it had to be the processor which disallowed me to find sound "with comfort";
I have been struggeling all over the place and not that I had really bad sound, I heard flavours all over and whatever I tried I could not get back the WOWzzz from each single minute with the 2640. I just got homesick to that.
Add to that the responsibility I'm taking here for you (the count is at 12 for sold Mach II's) and that it is always better to make a small frisbie of that 2630 then sell it to even one of you (and I have back my $$$ euros for that one).

No.

So in went the 2640 again and only THEN I knew what an outrageous difference it makes.
Before you ask : I am clueless to what the cause can be, as the 2640 and 2630 really are the same except for a 200MHz of (max) speed difference (I just re-checked the specs). This with the notice that both are set (BIOS) to 1.8GHz anyway, and that the PC really is the physical same one.

I think that this is what lured me into the first day's judgement of the SQ being the same :

Maybe you recall me talking about the Linear Power Supply and how it can exhibit a too black sound. Say too quiet. Not uninteresting but maybe dead-ish; I was able to tune the power supply (this is capacitor stuff) so that this turned out to be OK, plus - and you may recall that as well - that I found another "route" of tuning in XXHighEnd. Together, this now was creating the crisp and fresh sound and together with the B'ASS a situation that makes drop your jaw continuously.
With the 2630 this now seems all unnecessary (the crisp is there anyway) and this is exactly how it does NOT allow you to tune more back to the blackness. Somehow all sounds just less and whatever dial is used, it remains within this boundary of "less". The margin of SQ difference seems squeezed largely (some would be happy about this, but then first all must be at 100% of course).

I also told about the 4th level of B'ASS "amp" I added and that this worked now, urging for even more as it seemed.
Lastly, I tried to tell about the "energy" of the current you can feel all over (this is really strange - more later about this).
This was with the 2640 ...

Well, starting at the end, this was the first I now had to remove with the 2630. I forgot whether this was in day 2 or day 3, but I had to switch off actually both additional levels and it improved. That already got me thinking, apart from being disappointed (I already saw the switches in the B'ASS going out again).

On a side note, envision that the number of parameters really is getting outrageous and that it actually becomes impossible to attempt improving on something which is now wrong, which *was* right (the 2640). There's just infinite time involved. And I know, it could save you 250 euros for the less expensive 2630, but ...
I just did not know where to go after day 5, and went back to the 2640 on day 6 instead.


Really, really within the second you know that this is the thang;
All is smooth and detailed and black again. But also : with headroom all over. Suddenly no XXHighEnd dial makes it wrong. Yes, it changes sound, but wrong seems impossible.

What went out unconsciously together with the 2630, was the "energy" feeling. About this :
This is really very strange; yesterday we had a thunderstorm, and I am sure that people recognize the "energy" awareness when such a storm is bound to begin (or is there). This is what's happening with the B'ASS as well and the more level of it added, the more "energy feeling" occurs (well, this is how it comes to me). Of course we know about the phenomenon of "energizing the room". Well, if this is not that ... but I think in some other dimension.
The 2630 does not do this (I know now). This felt energy translates to felt power and when that dimension in the music lacks, something really is missing (you will learn soon).

Peter

[PeterSt]

What you see below is what we have been brewing on the last couple of days (OK a full week ).

I wanted to have this ready prior to any first build for those who ordered the Mach II already.  Now they can choose to have this cool V4 case ...

High Resolution link XXHighEnd MachII LPS V4 Case 01

All the hard work has been done and all the internal positioning of elements is in there as well (AutoCAD). What's left at this moment is the finalizing of the logo, the possible opening of the front door (with some goodies behind it) and the physical construction of the mounting of the PCIe expansion cards (3x) - knowing where all is to be already.

High Resolution link XXHighEnd MachII LPS V4 Case 02

Looks longer than wide, but it really is square (43x43cm, ~16.5x16.5").

High Resolution link XXHighEnd MachII LPS V4 Case 03

So yes, you really saw that right. Cool or what ? a V4 only, but alas ...

Peter

[KnB]

Nice, please add it to my order  thank you!

[fmanheck]

That looks very cool. Put me down for that case

Fred

[Gerard]

Cool!!! 

[Gerard]

But uhm....

How does the NOS1a fit on top of this? Maybe this on top of the NOS1a then.

 

[arvind]

Hi Peter,

I'm for this one too, with 2640.

Best regards,

Arvind