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What makes One Music Server Sound Better than Another?

So this week my Mojo Audio DejaVu music server that I have used for the past 2-3 years crapped out. Benjamin at Mojo was more than helpful and the DejaVu is on its way to Mojo Audio where it will make a full recovery.

Thankfully, I still have my Antipodes DX2 Gen 3 (their former flagship) music server so I hooked it up. After wrestling with Roon protocols, transfers, and set-up menus, I was able to get it going so I have music. The DX and my Sonore Sig Rendu SE opt. are both connected to my network so the DX (like the DejaVu), is only being used as a Roon core and the Sig Rendu SE serves as the Roon endpoint for streaming Tidal and Qobuz, with a direct USB connection to my DAC.

The point of this thread is to ask, how come I perceive the the DejaVu server as sounding better than the Antipdes DX? In fairness, the differences I perceive are not great but it seems the DejaVu is fuller sounding, more tonally rich, and bolder. Is this why some here spend $10K+ on a Grimm, Taiko or something else?

If a server is basically a computer, sending digital information to a streamer/endpoint and, assuming that digital information is transmitted asynchronously and reclocked by the DAC’s master clock, and assuming noise is not the issue (i.e., both units are quiet and there is an optical break between the network and both the server and endpoint) then what are the technical reasons one should sound better than the other? It is not that I want to spend $10K+ on a music server with a lifespan of maybe 5 years before becoming obsolete, but I would like to understand what more you are getting for your money. So far, the best I can come up with is lower internal noise as the major factor.

As a side note to the above, when I thought things looked hopeless for getting set up, I scheduled a support session with Antipodes and, although I lucked into the solution before the meeting time, Mark Cole responded ready to help. Setting up the session was super easy and reminded me of the superior level of support I had come to enjoy from Antipodes during the time that the DX was my primary server, including multiple updates and 2 or 3 hardware upgrades, which prolonged the service life of the DX. Good products and good company.

 

mitch2
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jji666
450 posts
 

Well jji666, you have a contra point to every point.  That is called being pedantic.  

Or, maybe, just correct?  As above, ad hominem attacks really just affect the credibility of the attacker. 

I wish you happiness enjoying this hobby in your own way. 

And absolutely the same to you.  As I said above, I would very much prefer to focus on our shared passions rather than differences in belief.  

And to wrap it up (hopefully), compared to many of these debates, we've gone back to our corners relatively peacefully.  I think we should both be commended for nothing worse than a few swipes. 

tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
844 posts
 

Antipodes also sell the server and player as separate boxes. The K22/K41 is equivalent to the K50 in outputs and performance. I considered that option but it ends up costing more after buying an extra power cord and extra ethernet cable. I looked for some information about differences in performance between the combo and separates but couldn’t find anything. Their top of the line Server/Player comes as a single box only option.

I agree with keeping all those noisy digital boxes away from my analog gear. The K50 is 3ft from my preamp. I could probably move it a few inches more. I’m not really sure how much noise radiates from the server/player or the network switches. I added ferrite cores to my ethernet cables as a wild guess at reducing radiated noise but no idea how effective that is.

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jji666
450 posts
 

I added ferrite cores to my ethernet cables as a wild guess at reducing radiated noise but no idea how effective that is.

This is not my area of knowledge, so just passing on what I've read.  You may want to Google the efficacy of ferrite chokes on network cables. I have read that it can actually introduce errors.  Presumably the network components can correct for that as I and others have described above, but the ferrite core may actually be more of a concern than anything a fancy server can resolve.  

To be clear, I am not expressing an opinion or disagreeing with anyone. Just suggesting you do some reading and confirm you want to take this approach. 

tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
844 posts
 

I got the idea using the ferrite cores from reading that IT professionals add them to the ethernet cables going into their large banks of switches in network rooms.

mitch2 OP
3,711 posts
 

Tony, the point was not really about how it sounds in your system (I suspect it sounds fantastic) since both the K50 and the Aries-Cerat Helene are well-regarded, top notch digital components. 

The question is whether the extensive build properties of the K50 (and resulting price) would be necessary if it were used as a server-only, or whether the same sound quality could be achieved by using a (less expensive computer-type) server located in another room away from the system, performing server-only duties, and feeding a K50 used as a player-only into the Aries-Cerat Helene DAC, i.e., would you be able to tell the difference between the server-only K50 and a different server?

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