Dear Folks,

I have this very old, 2016, CoolerMaster case, purchased in 2015, for about USD100.

It was expensive at the time, but not so hot, by today's standards.

So here is the challenge:

How can I create a JS-BACH machine dedicated to playing all of Bach's great music, and make it sound Hi-Fi, as if I were using Harman Kardon., or better, with plenty of vacuum tubes.

As we know, Linux can do almost anything, and for free.

I have only one CoolerMaster case, and one very old PSU.

I can buy old MB, old CPU, old anything.

But, what might be the best solution to this common problem?

So, I asked Gemini:

And, after the prompt, here is what it coughed up:

Well, I will not need a PSU, nor any older SSDs, since I have them lying around the house.

In my view, one should not live in this world, even at this late date, without plenty of JS-BACH, playing 24-7.

And, if done right, any Linux solution can outshine the Apple for far less money....as you can see in this image, attached:

Any thoughts how to improve on the first suggestions of Gemini?

When I was young, a great audio system might have cost BILLIONS, in today's dollars.

Best regards,

Gamma

NOTE: Here is why I no longer really need my old CoolerMaster case....

And so now, it is time to repurpose it for JS-BACH.

But then, how to test if such a LINUX BACH MACHINE meets minimum requirements?

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Concerning this DAC for the Linux BACH Box, .... finally, I found a decent review from someone with white hair:

And, most old guys are smarter.

He said DAC, and not DICK....

Note: One also must wonder if this old geezer even has enough sensitivity in his ears to say much about audio quality, given that he has probably destroyed the basic machinery of his COCKlea, over the years. Sorry, I meant his chochlea.

Here is something:

So, maybe worth reading, thus far, just to consider this trinket?

I think I should be able to buy it now for less than 2k

By the Way: Are you, ALSO, from the UK?

Because, I am having difficulty placing David Mellor's accent, and it's driving me NUTZO....

This guy Mellor, from the little I can glean, is also a LINUX Lover, like me, and like you.

But, what about his crazy way of talking?

I enjoy it, but I want to know more.

How do people get to talk this way, anyway?

Any answers?

By the way, LINUX is also about audio, audio production, and for audiophiles.

I am all of these.

This is just one more reason why I love the Lizard.

Note: NATURALLY, Great Music need not be entirety JS-BACH related. Once in a while, we might find respite from GREAT MUSIC, and then listen to a slightly lessor, yet still OK, class of great music, like this, which Linux is also built for:

Even Mop-Heads sound great on Linux.

And, by the way, Folks, you know that the technical superiority of a purpose-built Linux architecture, such as the openSUSE environment which I have been describing here, becomes increasingly evident when contrasted with the inherent structural limitations of commercial operating systems. For the discerning audiophile, and I am one of this small minority, and the specialized audio engineer, the choice of platform is not merely a matter of user interface preference, but a critical decision regarding the integrity of the digital signal path.

While the Apple ecosystem is often praised for its CoreAudio framework, it remains a closed-circuit environment. Apple’s architecture utilizes a system-wide hardware abstraction layer that maintains a high level of background telemetry and proprietary processing that the user cannot fully audit or disable. For the audio engineer, this lack of transparency is a significant hurdle when absolute signal purity is the objective. In contrast, the Linux kernel offers a modularity that allows for the removal of every non-essential sub-process, ensuring that the CPU cycles are dedicated almost exclusively to the audio demon.

The comparison with Windows reveals even more substantial architectural discrepancies. The Windows audio stack typically relies on the Direct X Mixer or the Windows Audio Session API. Even when configured for exclusive mode, Windows often subjects the audio stream to hidden resampling or volume attenuation algorithms that can introduce digital artifacts. Furthermore, the mandatory update cycles and persistent background services in Windows create a fluctuating interrupt environment. This variability is the primary source of digital jitter, which compromises the temporal precision required for high-fidelity reproduction. An audio engineer working in a Linux environment can achieve a level of determinism that is simply not possible on a platform designed for general-purpose office tasks.

For the advanced user, of which there might be few on TV, the transition to a Linux-based high-fidelity system offers the unique advantage of complete ownership over the hardware-software interface. In a professional studio or a high-end home listening room, the ability to utilize ALSA for direct hardware communication bypasses the software-mixing bottlenecks that define the user experience on Apple and Windows platforms. This results in a measurably lower noise floor and a more transparent soundstage. By utilizing open-source tools, the engineer is empowered to verify the bit-perfect nature of the stream at every stage, from the source file to the final output to the SMSL SU-1.

The JS-BACH Machine, therefore, IMHO, serves as a proof of concept for a more ethical and technically rigorous approach to digital audio. It demonstrates that by rejecting the convenience of consumer-grade operating systems in favor of a lean, optimized Linux build, one can achieve a level of fidelity that commercial alternatives struggle to replicate. The result is a system that does not just play music, but preserves the mathematical and emotional intent of the original composition with absolute fidelity, a pinnacle which, by the way, I have been striving toward most all of my life.  And, finally, I am nearly there.