The JCAT XACT S1 music server and digital transport music server is another interesting high-end audio product from Poland that uniquely combines Marcin Ostapowicz’s expertise in both software and hardware into a product that encompasses performance, emotional impact and seamless operation.
XACT S1
Ostapowicz R & D started with the critical observation that there is no true audiophile computer motherboard on the market.
He remarked that most of the streaming products available are populated with generic PC motherboards designed for office work and gaming and that such motherboards with noisy switching converters should not be used in a high-end audio system as they pollute other hi-fi components and contribute to a distracting ‘digital’ sound.
Some companies try to improve their PC-based music servers by using better power supplies, which is a good practice, but ultimately, Ostapowicz feels the result is compromised by a generic motherboard that is not suitable for high-end audio playback.
The XACT S1’s proprietary audiophile-grade motherboard offers 100% linear regulation alongside an ultra-low jitter OCXO clock with ±5 ppb frequency stability – the same used in JCAT’s XE cards. The extensive power supply section, based on JCAT’s renowned OPTIMO linear power supply, offers 140,000 uF of capacitance provided by Nichicon’s flagship Muse and Fine Gold series capacitors, ideal for premium audio equipment.
The internal SSD, chosen for its sound characteristics, provides 4TB of storage and is connected to the motherboard via a reference SATA cable to ensure the absolute best sound quality.
Operational
The handling of the JCAT XACT S1 is as simple as its minimalist, contemporary design promises at first glance. Straightforward!
Setting up is a three-step process that requires connecting the Ethernet cable to the local network, the USB cable to the DAC, and launching the JPLAY app along with pressing the power button, which boots the software from the included SD card.
S1 is built around a powerful quad-core CPU designed for network applications, with rigorously hand-picked components for the best sound quality, and has been designed from the outset for uncompromising and unaltered streaming or playback of music files.
Most audiophile digital users are familiar with the JPLAY. It is one of the oldest dedicated software audio players and has been significantly refined and honed over the years and many have wholeheartedly embraced it for its functionality and playback quality.
JCAT XACT S1 comes with a lifetime JPLAY license. The app seamlessly combines Qobuz, Tidal, and local music files in one of the most refined and easy-to-use interfaces available for iOS and (what I like a lot) Apple Silicon Macs.
JPLAY is the result of more than a decade of code refinement, evaluation, and optimization that gave Ostapowicz hands-on experience and actualization of the importance of not only operating system and code optimization but also about utmost significance of the symbiotic nature and synergy between hardware and software.
The Music
The JCAT XACT S1 music server decipher zeros and ones far beyond what can be expected in this price range, flourishing bits in close harmony with the music and in tune with the music flow.
As always, here are some reference tracks/albums that demonstrate the virtues of the S1 Digital Front End.
Donald Fagen – The Nightfly
What is perhaps not so well known is the fact that Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly was not recorded in analog, but digitally via 12-bit Burr-Brown converters, adding the needed 4 bits of gain to achieve 16 bits.
This is a spellbinding record with a variety of uncommon sonic metamorphoses, elevated chord progression, myriad idiosyncrasies, and peculiarities that can often sound chaotic with the less-than-finely balanced digital front end.
The JCAT XACT S1 music server begged to differ by reproducing The Nightfly with vital subtlety, decoding zeros and ones with a palpability that seamlessly marries stand-out dynamism and natural transparency with radiant vibrancy. A highly unique, highly potent combination that is more than worth highlighting.
Night Migrations – Oliver Caplan
The majestic and lyrical composition by Caplan and the soulful poetry by Hannah Fries make my senses tremble in many ways.
A reflection of bird migration, Night Migrations is the epitome of subtlety and variety. JCAT XACT S1 briskly followed the gentle tension that slowly revealed itself, effortlessly unveiling a sublime, multi-layered narrative with an underlying, powerful emotional charge.
With some digital front-ends, reproducing the complexity of micro and macro changes can be overwhelming, but XACT S1 kept its pace spot on without causing the phenomenon of backlash, where a false richness is far from the intended envisioned thing, but rather becomes a major distraction. As with everything to do with audio, this is also a balancing act.
The S1 highlighted the delightful majesty of Night Migrations in a pleasing, natural-sounding, and involving way, revealing a dynamic juxtaposition of almost whispery, feathery tones and powerful sweeps that were always ingrained with an effusive core.
Kuijken Kwartet – Mozart Requiem
The Kuijken Kwartet offers an interesting rendition of the Mozart Requiem and the JCAT music server has proven once again that it is capable of delivering a continuous stream of music, with a vivid sort of Technicolor resplendence that never distracts (nor abstract) from the unity of the music.
The XACT S1 shaped the flow of the music with ease, allowing nuances to emerge from the very epicenter of the music. Positively surprising, the JCAT S1 music server does not tamper with transparency, timbre, tone, and color, nor does it alternate the pliant core of the Requiem.
I also noticed far better detail reproduction in the lower registers normally associated with or around this price. This also concurs with the energy in the mid-bass and treble that is essential for believable and inviting music.
Antal Doráti / Minnesota Orchestra – Schuller: 7 Studies on Themes of Paul Klee; Fetler: Contrasts for Orchestra (Mercury Masters: Stereo, Vol. 25)
Schuller: 7 Studies on Themes of Paul Klee; Fetler: Contrasts for Orchestra Superficial gentleness can be covered up too quickly if the digital front end does not furnish a much-needed sense of atmospheric space and drama.
The unyielding potency of the JCAT XACT S1 made these complex compositions present and lively, but never as effervescent as some digital ends can be. Once again, the JCAT XACT proved that music played through the S1 music server cannot be a dull experience.
On the contrary, the XACT S1 has velvety mittens and a natural acuity that can be instantly transformed with a melange of dynamic shifts, creating a spellbinding odyssey through Schuller’s surreal musical wonderland.
Conclusion
There is little doubt that the JCAT XACT S1 Music Server was extensively tinkered with, sonically researched, and thoroughly tested by Marcin Ostapowicz, the founder of JPLAY, JCAT, and XACT, before it was jettisoned on the market.
JCAT XACT S1 was depicted as a purposeful upper-level music server, where the software counterpart is fused with the potent, propriety inner core. What surprised me was how the seamless integration with the software and hardware.
Many manufacturers try to rehash things rather than push things forward, but the XACT S1 digital front end is no stranger to making music sound organic and alive, ready to engage the listener in above ordinary and immersive 3D audio spectacle.
JCAT music server does not sound like a combination of countless quark-like aural particles, but rather like a well-designed, refined digital playback that delights the listener with a captivating fusion of software and hardware. The result is more than the sum of its parts. S1 looks, feels, sounds, and plays the part.
There is an enormous glut of music servers out there. What sets the JCAT music server apart is its ability to contrast an impressive variety of sounds with a sheer smoothness that lurks boldly in the analog domain.
Its format, lack of features on the front panel, as well price could easily make the XACT S1 overlooked, but the XACT S1 demonstrates its raison d’être within the first few notes of the music replay.
Music is a time-dependent phenomenon, and the JCAT music server, stable in performance, and especially operating aptly within realms of decays, delays, and phase consistency where the time domain magic happens, the S1 delivers freshness and excitement through the powerful blend of low-resolution and higher grade density (undoubtedly traced back to the core), where occasional goosebumps are not uncommon.
Quite a few music servers have an insentient cauldron. On the contrary, with the JCAT S1, you can zap through all genres of music without feeling disenchanted from the irreducibility of the music.
S1 draws you into the endless domain of the digital vortex with an at-forte mojo, evidently showing what distinguishes the meh server fraught with unwanted occurrences from the captivating, well-matured one.
The spiffy JCAT XACT S1 music server with future/retro design elements does not fall into the semantics of just any music server but comes with a certain je ne sais quoi unnameable quality in which the music simply floats more freely.
In the absence of proper resolution and the right balance of timbre, tone, and color, one can quickly become disconnected from the music, but the S1 comes with a different dynamic, delivering both accuracy and the necessary dose of sonic frenzy with a unique, highly balanced overseeing of the entire audio spectrum. This allows a richer sense of music reproduction, enhanced tonal diversity, and extremely fast attacks that authorize far greater micro and microdynamics than expected.
The JCAT XACT S1 music server can dive deep into music without drifting off, acting as a beacon, a music-centric digital hub.
With such an abundance of new streaming products, it is hardly surprising that there is casual sentiment towards new products, but there is a paucity of sonically well-balanced music servers and this is where the JCAT XACT S1 music server/digital end comes in.
When I began my digital journey in the 1980s, you could say I willingly programmed myself neurolinguistically to decipher the potent and sonically and musically pleasing digital front end, and I liked the visceral experience of the JCAT XACT S1.
For what it represents, I am happy to grant JCAT XACT S1 the 2024 Mono & Stereo Upper Echelon Class Award.❖
Price
- 12.000 €
Specifications
- Proprietary ZeNA (Zero-Noise-Architecture) motherboard (world’s first 100% linear powered motherboard)
- OPTIMO linear power supply section delivering 140 000 uF
- State-of-the-art ±0.005 (±5 ppb) stability Emerald OCXO (oven controlled oscillator) delivers the most stable timing in the presence of environmental stressors such as airflow, temperature perturbation, vibration, shock, and electromagnetic interference (EMI)
- Digital outputs: 2x USB Audio 2.0 (main and without 5V power bus) via gold plated high durability EMI shielded USB connectors
- 4TB of internal storage from an industrial grade SSD connected via Reference SATA cable
- LAN inputs: 6x Gigabit Ethernet (for future network switch & router capabilities; available later in 2023)
- Gold plated high durability EMI shielded RJ-45 connectors with built-in 12-core transformers for improved isolation
- LED-off feature for LAN ports to counteract noise
- Chassis made of aluminum; fanless design
- Custom made JPLAY realtime OS loaded from a SLC SD card
- JPLAY playback software supporting TIDAL & Qobuz streaming services and local files (from internal SSD and using UPnP/DLNA servers in local network)
- Native bit-perfect playback for DSD up to DSD512 & PCM up to 768 kHz, 16-32 bits
- Supported file types: DSD: DSF, DFF, PCM: FLAC, Apple Lossless (ALAC), WAV, AIFF; Lossy: MP3, AAC (M4A); MQA (pass-through)
- Remote control: JPLAY iOS app (lifetime license included)
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 439 x 315 x 86 mm
- Weight: 9 kg
Contact
JPLAY
Rymarska 45/1
53-206 Wroclaw
Poland
Email: support@jcat.eu
Web: Email: www,cat.eu