Upgrading my trusty Silenzio
 

After almost 6 years of solid service I have added a few upgrades to my Silenzio. I have been reading for a few years about the improvements available from linear power suppliers, SFP breaks/connections in an Ethernet chain, switches etc.

Since I am a dedicated digital only guy, the reports of such improvements fascinated me like a moth to a candle. I have been in a good place with my Ethernet connections with an Edge router, solid cables and a GigaFoil v4.

I started reading about JCat in the computer focused audio forum and always wondered what one of their cards would do for me. All my outputs from the Silenzio came directly off the built in devices on the AS Rock motherboard and that reading caused me to grow worried about that and seek improvements.

Initially, I looked to add a USB board but with the total overhaul of my McIntosh/Esoteric based system last year, I am not using USB. I am however, using the network exclusively to pass all my digital audio.

First I was intrigued by the JCat Femto Network card but procrastinated enough to be able to see the JCat NET Card XE. The timing was right so I bought one.

Install was fairly simple plug and play. The tight quarters of the Streacom FC5Evo chassis required me to remove the optical drive to access the horizontal PCI-e slot but since I haven’t used the drive in years, that wasn’t a sacrifice. A simple move of the Streacom Zenith power supply and in went the NET Card XE. Connection is via a short riser cable which is not ideal but functional. I made NO BIOS or software changes. Rebooted the computer and ROON started and my controller saw it instantly.

5 volt Power is supplied by an HD Plex 300 linear power supply.

Sound:

EVERYTHING is improved. Right out of their boxes, the NET Card XE with the HD Plex LPSU are yielding a sharp attack at all frequencies. Paraphrasing what I have read elsewhere, the noise I didn’t know was there is now gone. Not a cheap upgrade but so far I would say, in audiophile dollars it’s a huge value for my money.
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https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...6&d=1617489424

https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...7&d=1617489435

Craig... very nice! thanks for the tip; I have 10 SilenZio’s. :lmao:

Nicely done Craig. I’m not familiar with the inner workings of the Silenzio, but those components should definitely kick things up a notch.

That might be expensive! ;)

Upgrading my trusty Silenzio
 

I absolutely love my HDPlex linear I bought over 5 years ago. Repurposed for my music server and it’s still working great!

Nicely done, Craig.

The Silenzio is a well thought out PC. Motherboard, RAM, CPU, SSD and configuration done by Emile -E-.

I have only added a card and slightly rearranged the inside of the PC. The card is special.

Craig... what was your total upgrade cost?

- The JCat NET Card XE is 800 Euro.
- The HD Plex 300 LPSU is $585

You would want one card for each Silenzio. Then a high quality 5V 2Amp LPSU for each card.

I bought the HD Plex 300 because it will also be able to power my Edge Router X-SFP and my NAS. Something I have wanted to do for sometime now.

It is easy in the standard Silenzio Streacom FC5 Evo chassis IF you don’t need the optical drive. If you need the drive, then it would be complicated as there is no easy way to mount the Net card inside the case.

A future direction would be to remove and reinstall everything of the Silenzio in a larger chassis such as an HD Plex case so that the Net card could be mounted directly into the motherboard avoiding the riser cable. If I did that, I would likely also update the CPU to an i7 at the same time taking advantage of the added cooling capabilities of the HD case.

For anyone who installs the XE, don’t forget to go to the Intel site and get the latest drivers for your operating system.

Good to hear some reports about JCAT products over here. I had one of their Signature USB cable and it’s by far the best USB cable I have ever heard. I foolishly sold it to try something else but I am still considering re-buying another one. It’s very special.