General discussion about HAKAI

[David Neel]

Not sure I understand what you are trying to say? Is the 3150N-D3V much better then the N3050N-D2P..?

I wanted a second board so that I have the option to build a NAS. The 3050N-D2P has only two SATA ports, which is fine for a HAKAI streamer, but the 3150N-D3V has four SATA ports, so for a NAS it can support 1 software drive plus 3 data drives - three times the space. I've no idea if there is any difference in how they sound.

[David Neel]

I believe that the GSM Plus board you're looking at is not powered by an ATX power supply... So skip it and remember that ATX power is required for this DIY project.

Thanks Fredrik. That was my take on it given what you said about the 3160TN... Will wait for a recommended m'board to become available... (and watch for a review of the J3455-D3V ;)

The Gigabyte website has full specs for all the boards. You need to check it has both 24v and 12v ATX connectors.

[Azazello]

Not sure I understand what you are trying to say? Is the 3150N-D3V much better then the N3050N-D2P..?

I wanted a second board so that I have the option to build a NAS. The 3050N-D2P has only two SATA ports, which is fine for a HAKAI streamer, but the 3150N-D3V has four SATA ports, so for a NAS it can support 1 software drive plus 3 data drives - three times the space. I've no idea if there is any difference in how they sound.

But why did you order a J3455-D3V ..?

Anyway it would be great if you could install Volymio on all three cards and compare them:)

[Azazello]

I believe that the GSM Plus board you're looking at is not powered by an ATX power supply... So skip it and remember that ATX power is required for this DIY project.

Thanks Fredrik. That was my take on it given what you said about the 3160TN... Will wait for a recommended m'board to become available... (and watch for a review of the J3455-D3V ;)

Don’t wait! Get one and tell us how it sounds!

[tokenbrit]

I believe that the GSM Plus board you're looking at is not powered by an ATX power supply... So skip it and remember that ATX power is required for this DIY project.

Thanks Fredrik. That was my take on it given what you said about the 3160TN... Will wait for a recommended m'board to become available... (and watch for a review of the J3455-D3V ;)

Don’t wait! Get one and tell us how it sounds!

Fredrik already said to avoid the non-ATX powered boards, so I won't be getting a GSM Plus... With limited funds I'd prefer to wait for news on the J3455 before going to the CFO with a(nother) hifi spend request ;)

[ThomasOK]

Don’t wait! Get one and tell us how it sounds!

Fredrik already said to avoid the non-ATX powered boards, so I won't be getting a GSM Plus... With limited funds I'd prefer to wait for news on the J3455 before going to the CFO with a(nother) hifi spend request ;)

Because, gee, you haven't spent any Hi-Fi money recently! ;-)

[ThomasOK]

Well, this HAKAI thing isn't the simplest I have run into, mainly because of the motherboard. I haven't been able to find the Gigabyte GA-N3050N-D3H anywhere. The Gigabyte GA-N3150N-D3V appeared to be available refurbished from two places at about the same price so I ordered from the one with free shipping. A few days later it showed order completed but no shipping information. A few days after that it still showed completed with no shipping info. Yesterday it showed order cancelled! The email of the cancellation went into my spam folder so I didn't see it. It says they are out of stock and can't obtain it from the distributor. For this reason I would avoid ordering from PriceBlaze.com who still shows up on web searches as selling this item.

So I ordered one from the second place and will hope they do a better job. I'm hoping that a lot as I have also ordered the case, PSU, RAM, ENET and USB cables and DAC. Since I already have spare Intel 320 600GB SSD and DelTaco cables from my LS-NAS build I should be ready to go when it all comes in. Looking forward to a little destruction!

[tokenbrit]

Don’t wait! Get one and tell us how it sounds!

Fredrik already said to avoid the non-ATX powered boards, so I won't be getting a GSM Plus... With limited funds I'd prefer to wait for news on the J3455 before going to the CFO with a(nother) hifi spend request ;)

Because, gee, you haven't spent any Hi-Fi money recently! ;-)

Shush! :-D

[tokenbrit]

So I ordered one from the second place and will hope they do a better job...

If all else fails, the J3455 board that 'David Neel' ordered appears to be available in the US. Promising specs; unknown musicality as yet. Time to make some popcorn ;)

[Azazello]

Don't count on it! I got my board sometime in May, and at that time it seemed to be available everywhere. Turns out it was the the very last second.

[ThomasOK]

Good news, bad news. The good news is that my parts are starting to show up. I have the Gigaport HD+, the Supra USB cable and the Blue Jeans Ethernet cables. Bad news, my hope that the second place I ordered the Gigabyte GA-N3150N-D3V from would be more reliable was hopelessly optimistic. They also just informed me that they don't have one and can't get one. I found a third place online that claimed to have it in stock, again refurbished and at a bit higher price, but I am tired of playing this game so I called them to confirm stock status. Guess what? No such luck, they don't have it either and can't get it. It seems that the online retailers in the US need an education as to what In Stock means! So my search goes on for a motherboard I can stuff in the Streamcom case that is on the way. Hopefully it will also take the version of the 4GB SODIMMs I ordered. What a pain!

[lejonklou]

The motherboard issue is a pain indeed. I would like to start a new thread called 'Motherboards' but currently don't have any news to contribute with. What we need is to test new boards against the two ones that are already tested with great results, but now unavailable.

The motherboard is really crucial to the performance of HAKAI and there appears to be no other way than buying other models and compare them with the current top performers.

[Tendaberry]

It's proved impossible to source either of the motherboards in Germany as well. I found one company claiming to have 5 in stock. But my e-mail bounced and their phone number has been disconnected :-(

[vicdiaz]

Hi Fred,

Have you tried this software on the Hakai?

https://www.daphile.com/

[lejonklou]

Hi Fred,

Have you tried this software on the Hakai?

https://www.daphile.com/

No.

"High-end asynchronous USB digital-to-analog converters" followed by praise of isolation between digital source and DAC. This is the opposite of what makes HAKAI perform so well.

But the software may still be good of course!

[matthias]

Fredrik,
can you share some insights how you came to Volumio as it is primarily software made for small SBC like the Raspberry Pi?
I am just curious.
Thanks

Matt

[lejonklou]

Fredrik,
can you share some insights how you came to Volumio as it is primarily software made for small SBC like the Raspberry Pi?
I am just curious.
Thanks

Matt

My programmer found it, I tested it and was surprised by how good it sounded. In most ways better than our own software.

[matthias]

Is there a hierarchy for the components of HAKAI to observe?

Matt

[lejonklou]

Is there a hierarchy for the components of HAKAI to observe?

Matt

Yes, but I'm not fully confident in defining it.

As have been mentioned, the motherboard sets the standard and might be number one. Perhaps the SSD is number two and power supply is number three. DAC number four? RAM and cabling number five.

I am guessing now!

[Lego]

Is there a hierarchy for the components of HAKAI to observe?

Matt

Yes, but I'm not fully confident in defining it.

As have been mentioned, the motherboard sets the standard and might be number one. Perhaps the SSD is number two and power supply is number three. DAC number four? RAM and cabling number five.

I am guessing now!

Wasn't the only difference in initial Magik ds Akurate and Klimax the power supply?

[matthias]

As have been mentioned, the motherboard sets the standard and might be number one. Perhaps the SSD is number two and power supply is number three. DAC number four? RAM and cabling number five.

What about the ranking of Volumio?

[lejonklou]

As have been mentioned, the motherboard sets the standard and might be number one. Perhaps the SSD is number two and power supply is number three. DAC number four? RAM and cabling number five.

What about the ranking of Volumio?

I don't know how to rank software together with hardware. The program matters, but how much depends on which ones we're comparing.

[ThomasOK]

Is there a hierarchy for the components of HAKAI to observe?

Matt

Yes, but I'm not fully confident in defining it.

As have been mentioned, the motherboard sets the standard and might be number one. Perhaps the SSD is number two and power supply is number three. DAC number four? RAM and cabling number five.

I am guessing now!

Wasn't the only difference in initial Magik ds Akurate and Klimax the power supply?

No, actually the power supply is basically the same in those three units. (I'd have to pop them open to be sure but I think it is the same part.) In the original Klimax and Akurate DS the difference was in the casework and the analog stages - my understanding is that the digital part was the same. I expect it is likely the case as well with the latest Katalyst versions. The Majik series has always used a lesser DAC. When Linn were using Wolfsons they started with the WM 8471 in the Klimax and Akurate units and the WM 8470 in the Majik. They now are using an AKM chip in the Katalyst units, with a lot of different circuitry around it but still use the WM 8470 in the Majik and Sekrit.

[matthias]

Thomas,
AFAIK Klimax Katalyst use two of the AKM chips and Akurate only one.
I do not think that Akurate have Lundahl output transformers.

Matt

[cortina]

Yes, but I'm not fully confident in defining it.

As have been mentioned, the motherboard sets the standard and might be number one. Perhaps the SSD is number two and power supply is number three. DAC number four? RAM and cabling number five.

I am guessing now!

To what extent do you think the rating is dependent on the number of different types of each component that has been tested? (For some component perhaps no really bad types has been selected and tested (yet) and it may appear less critical?)
But I got the feeling you have been very thorough in the evaluations so that you have covered many principally different types?