New to the forum: high end music server with Roon Core and 3 x dedicated linear power supplies

[Legolas]

I haven't seen much mention of this server on here yet, so I thought I could start a thread about my own findings.

I was looking around for a top performing music server early 2019. After much research I tried the usual suspects:

1. Innuos Zenith Mk2
2. Innuos Statement
3. Pink Faun 2.16x
4. Antipodes CX + DX
5. Heavily optimised PC with linear power supplies and high end USB card + Mutec clock
6. Mac Mini with stripped down system, 12V mod and Linear powers supply connected to Rednet ethernet DAW
7. Aurender N10

Some of the above solutions did some things well, but non to my ears were satisfactory and did EVERYHING well, a complete sonic solution.
I then found 432 EVO as Aries Cerat used one at the Munich show in 2017, and some of their dealers also distribute them.
I got hold of the second model down from the 432 EVO Master (12K euros) the 432 EVO AEON (5K euros). I set this up in our Aries Cerat demo system here.

Wow, from cold this server sounds superb. I was shocked how fast, clear and dynamic this server was. It had the best of the other servers I tested, but in this case non of the negatives. The amount of detail and depth I was hearing was outstanding, easily the best I have heard to date from any server. I was also getting higher level of sound quality from Qobuz than from a CDP for the first time. This was a very exciting development.

After a couple of weeks, I rang Frederik at 432 EVO and told him I would NOT be sending his server back. I also asked him if I could be a distributor for 432 EVO.

My reason for such a recommendation is simple, you are getting a really top of the range sound quality for an affordable price. 5K euros is not cheap, but for this level of performance, it is a breakthrough. It brings high end top level performance to many more clients, which is very appealing to me.

The OS on the 432 servers is also quite unique. Frederic is an expert at coding, and has creating a fully optimised sound system based on Linux, and with a radical 432Hz tuning option. 432Hz tuning has a remarkable effect on the quality of sound, timbre, and especially the treble regions. It removes the last vestiges of 'digital sound' and gives you pure music, master tape in it's purity. Quite incredible.

A quite summary of key technical features of the AEON unit:
1. 2 x completely separate linear power supplies, one for the mother board, one for the high quality USB output.
2. Separate USB card with high end clocking, and avoiding shared power and inherent noise from being combined on one PCB.
3. Passive cooling.
4. Fast CPU chosen for low noise and power to run Roon Core.
5. DSD > PCM conversion on the fly.
6. 432hz tuning (defeatable).
7. Upsampling or bit prefect replay to suit any DAC.
8. Stripped back Linux with custom OS specifically for high end audio replay.

I am super confident in this product line, and highly recommend looking the 432 EVO servers. Contact me for more details.

 

[matthias]

View attachment 65999

I was looking around for a top performing music server early 2019. After much research I tried the usual suspects:

1. Innuos Zenith Mk2
2. Innuos Statement
3. Pink Faun 2.16x
4. Antipodes CX + DX
5. Heavily optimised PC with linear power supplies and high end USB card + Mutec clock
6. Mac Mini with stripped down system, 12V mod and Linear powers supply connected to Rednet ethernet DAW
7. Aurender N10

Why did you not try a Taiko Extreme?
Thanks

Matt

 

[Legolas]

Why did you not try a Taiko Extreme?
Thanks

Matt

That was beyond my budgets. The servers I tried are up to 12K euros area, and IMO the AEON is better at 5K euros.

 

[matthias]

That was beyond my budgets.

What equipment do you have downstream your server?
Thanks

Matt

 

[Legolas]

Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref II MK2, Genus SET integrated, Zingali Client Name Evo 1.2 speakers. Audeze LCD4, Abyss TC headphones. PS Audio P10 powerplant. Final Touch audio cables.

 

[matthias]

Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref II MK2, Genus SET integrated, Zingali Client Name Evo 1.2 speakers. Audeze LCD4, Abyss TC headphones. PS Audio P10 powerplant. Final Touch audio cables.

IMHO, with these great devices it would make sense to have a source at least in the same price range as the DAC.

Matt

 

[Legolas]

IMHO, with these great devices it would make sense to have a source at least in the same price range as the DAC.

Matt

My point exactly, many of the servers I have heard are closer to the cost of the Kassandra, but don't give better performance. We also tried many of the servers with the Chord DAVE DAC as well, same result.
You must not assume performance of any server is based on specific price, that is my point here.

And do we then also look for 20K audio switches, and 20K power regenerators, 20K audio cables. I would rather real world test and then make my choice. A case in point on Aries Cerat, yes not a cheap product, but the performance is beyond anything else we have heard.

 

[sbnx]

Can i see some internal pics?
thanks,

 

[Legolas]

Matt, can you post your system please. thanks.

 

[matthias]

My point exactly, many of the servers I have heard are closer to the cost of the Kassandra, but don't give better performance.

So what about the SQ differences between 432 EVO Master (12K euros) the 432 EVO AEON (5K euros)?
Thanks

Matt

 

[Legolas]

The Master is more refined. But the sound is in the same family. I would be perfectly happy with both TBH.

 

[flyer]

Why did you not try a Taiko Extreme?
Thanks

Matt

Being a dealer for the brand I am going to be seen as biased though i can share the following: when i was still in doubt which brand i would be representing i was able to directly compare a beta-version of the Master (like 3 years ago) with the SGM at the time, costing double and offering less features.
The Master was at least as good so I went for the 432EVO brand. Of course since then both brands evolved a lot and took different roads to market their product.
Although it offers many possibilities in upsampling or resampling etc, I use it bitperfect. Every year or so updates are being installed (remotely).

 

[naim]

I was curious to see the inside of the 432EVO Master server, but there are only those of the power supply, on the net, also on the official website. Is there a reason for this?

How did you evaluate The Statement and N10 in relation to the 432 EVO?

Roberto

 

[matthias]

IMHO, there is a very fierce competition in this price range with the Antipodes CX/EX, Innuos Statement and the upcoming Taiko Mini Extreme.

I would postpone a decision for a new server in this price range until the new Taiko is launched and then compare the candidates.

Matt

 

[rbbert]

What is "432 Hz tuning"?

 

[FredericV]

What is "432 Hz tuning"?

Please follow this link to understand 432 Hz:

https://432evo.be/index.php/what-is-432hz-tuning/

Any 432 EVO model can play in bitperfect mode, or upsample-only mode (with tens of selectable filter options including the best in class Archimago minimum phase filter which we also tweaked further) or upsampling + 432 Hz processing.

 

[matthias]

Please follow this link to understand 432 Hz:

https://432evo.be/index.php/what-is-432hz-tuning/

Any 432 EVO model can play in bitperfect mode, or upsample-only mode (with tens of selectable filter options including the best in class Archimago minimum phase filter which we also tweaked further) or upsampling + 432 Hz processing.

Even after reading it is not clear to me what technically is happening.
Do you make the music somewhat slower according the quotient 432/440, that means 1,81818181% slower?
Thanks

Matt

 

[spiritofmusic]

I did read a review where the listener commented on the 432Hz thing mainly positively, but it was just too noticeable on a variety of material to make it 100% practical and desirable across the board.

 

[FredericV]

I did read a review where the listener commented on the 432Hz thing mainly positively, but it was just too noticeable on a variety of material to make it 100% practical and desirable across the board.

The same review from Hifi Choice also concluded the 432 EVO AEON was the best sounding USB source the reviewer had tested:

Used in the manner that 432 EVO intends, it’s also the best USB source I’ve tested to now

432 Hz depends from person to person. According to a study from Maria Renold, 90% prefers 432 Hz over the 440 Hz original. So there's a much smaller percentage which prefers the original.

If you are a trained musician, have absolute hearing, or know your source material very well, you may notice the rate change, and you may need some time to adapt to 432 Hz. 432 EVO does not use the flawed pitch shift method (which changes the pitch, but keeps the duration of the track identical). We use a custom rate change algorithm which we programmed in house (having a 20 year background in Linux for large enterprises, helps a lot), which combines 432 Hz and upsampling in one very efficient step, and does also apply the correct speed correction.

We leave it up to the listener to decide if they go for bitperfect, upsample-only mode, or 432 Hz mode. In our own demo's and on hifi shows, we always leave 432 Hz active. But the bitperfect mode has been compared to very expensive redbook CD transports, and it can easily match them, and even surpass them. This was tested by our resellers by ripping a CD via the bitperfect Teac ripfacility inside the EVO, and comparing the CD via the CD transport. We used a very expensive CEC for this purpose.

Here's a demo from Munich 2019, with 432 Hz active, at the Hifi Deluxe show:

 

[FredericV]

I was curious to see the inside of the 432EVO Master server, but there are only those of the power supply, on the net, also on the official website. Is there a reason for this?

In the early days in our development, 432 EVO has had several copycats, which is the reason for no longer publishing the internals of our server. One of them tried to copy our spring suspension system, the other copying several other design choices. After Munich 2017, another vendor came out with a dual chassis after we won best of show from AVShowrooms & Hifi Pig, so we must be doing something right.

This is why we only publish pictures of the internals of our power supply.

https://flic.kr/p/2hxRvhV

Our 432 EVO MASTER PSU has several key features missing in similar priced servers (and even missing in some much more expensive servers):

- the PSU is truly triple rail design: triple AC filtering, triple transformers, triple DC buffering, triple DC cables - no sharing between these parts, no cost cut
- the PSU has a custom front panel on/off circuit where it toggles all of the DC sections ON/OFF at the same time, and a hard physical ON/OFF switch at the rear
- we do not use a single "big & slow" shared transformer, or use a fancy looking single rail PSU with a DC converter hidden in the chassis, but rather three smaller & faster transformers
- one output rail at the back of the PSU chassis is feeding the IT parts of the server, for this part we use a custom DC converter which is inside the server chassis, and made to our own specifications, and it operates at a fraction (~ 1/16th) of the max supported Wattage
- the power draw of the IT parts is usually less then 1 Amp at 12V
- another rail is feeding the separate clock board in the server chassis
- a third rail is feeding the dedicated USB output board in the server chassis
- the PSU has per country custom shielded transformers!
- therefore we can keep the voltage drop very low during the regulation, so that both PSU and Server chassis always stay cool, and can be left on 24/7 even at full load
- the MASTER PSU is therefore not a universal 100-240V PSU, but it has several versions for different countries and their voltages (we don't know any other vendor who goes this far)

https://flic.kr/p/2h9CDiS