Innuos Zenith Mk3 Ultra-low Noise USB Audio Output, Really?

A follow up.

I build a pc using HDPlex faneless and a Matrik Audio USB card with an external LSPU. Running Linux roon core

@martin-andersen This sounds very close to my planned diy music server. I'm mostly waiting to determine how much processing engine I'll need. If I decide on using HQPlayer with high levels of dsp will need much, if not this not much concern.

I don't like Roon dsp. Tried pcm to dsd 256  again last night, smoother than pcm, but that smoothing sounds artificial to me. Even worse that smoothing is in fact loss of resolution, the smoothing is loss of transients, also lose sense of recording venue. If HQPlayer anything like this, won't be for me. Reportedly, it plays at much higher level than Roon dsp, we shall see.

@sns
@martin-andersen
I went a different path, instead of higher processing power, I went lower wattage.
My thinking is that by lowering the power needed the lessening of the electrical jitter, and I also went commercial grade low power fanless CPU.
ASRock N3150DC-ITX - up to 2.08 GHz dual core.
There’s probably better out there to lessen the electrical noise, but I went lower wattage not higher processing speeds. 2GHz is already enough to unpack music at high res DSD.

Fidelizer Pro assigns a CPU and RAM for expressly computing the music, the other is for the operating system, well that’s how I understand it.

I am very much open to experimenting with Linux as my OS, I use AO to turn off a lot of superfluous Windows threads, which is another way. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an AMD or Intel music player that is the OS, the core of the machine language not simply layered on top of it?

HQPlayer is great, there’s also another player from Japan Bug head emperor player, which is fantastic.

I would like to know what is best? better? a way to move forward?
Do I just buy a very expensive server, or find ways to improve mine?

I had a bump in performance when I went to the HDPlex linear power supply, but not as much as when the DAC and the HDPlex were fed power from my Puritan PSM-156 power conditioner.

I don’t know where you guys are, if it’s feasible or not, last year I went from Texas to Washington state to listen to some gear with an invitation. I’d really like to know what works, that isn’t just insanely priced? Can audiophiles willing to do the leg work, build devices as servers that actually compete with the big names?
I really do think that clean power, better software controlling the hardware and good use of current or forward moving technologies are an answer.

I had the Innuos PhoenixUSB reclocker with the Zen MKIII and judging from memory my home build server is as good or better.

And the cost is only half. Also no SSD only M.2

https://www.matrix-digi.com/en/products/333.html

400W NanoATX Combo

@rixthetrick Audiophilestyle forum is my go to for all things in streaming realm. Guys there have much experience in everything from beginning to sota streaming. I'm using them as resource for upcoming diy server build, one of the builds over there trying to mimic Taiko Extreme.

Yes, two courses on processing front, lowest would theoretically inject less noise into motherboard, but negate ability to use dsp. High level processing more noise,  but dsp capable. I'm not sure which way to go at this point, depends if I care for dsp. I'll soon experience high level HQPlayer processing on a diy high end server build on another guy's system, hopefully, I'll be able to try in my system. This will inform as to which direction I go on my own build. Thus far I don't like Roon dsp,

I don't doubt you can improve on your setup, but how and at what cost? I'd say in general terms we can't diy servers at Taiko Extreme or Wadax level, but we can do better than vast majority of off the shelf servers. The better diy servers I see over on Audiophilestyle, which may cost in vicinity of $5k-$7k should compete with much higher cost off the shelf. Austinpop over at that forum has been mentor to me, started at my level of server, now owns Taiko Extreme. He made incremental moves with diy, finally went all out with Taiko Extreme, too rich for me! '

My plan, depending on processing power is diy in realm of $5k max. Per your statement above, forward moving technology may make any present server at least somewhat obsolete in future, just depends how long in future.