NewAlkyogre
Active member
a consumer pc is a bad source and the fractal design cases are beautiful, but a poor choice for audio, because of the open design.I built a custom computer for music. I have 9 TB's of music stored on it and I stream from it. I remote in using a laptop and Windows Remote desk top. If you go this route, make sure you get Windows 11 pro. You cannot remote into a computer using Windows Remote desk top using Windows 11 home edition. The computer you are using to remote into the music computer can be Windows 11 home edition or windows 10.
I hand picked my parts for music. The power supply is a Corsair RMX low ripple PS. I bought a good MOBO with upgraded caps. No GPU is necessary as that will introduce noise. I used shielded cables in the computer case. I also use a Fractal Design quiet case and Noctua Quiet fans. 16GB ram will suffice. I also added an aftermarket JCat usb card which further improved the sound.
For an audio player, I use Audirvana. I just upgraded to the Studio version and it sounds great and it has streaming integration. Audirvana also has a cell phone app that you can control the program from. For $69 a year it is a no brainer.
For the sound and the interference with your speakers it is much better to go for a roon nucleus, or a fanless build nuc feeded with a good LPS, even when it does not have a jcat usb card.