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Thread: The ALLO Audio music steamer - Pic heavy review

  1. #281
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

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    I'm Josie.

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    Hey Andre.

    Not a problem. Can't wait to hear the updated version.
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  2. #282
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

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    Quote Originally Posted by LC1979 View Post
    Thanks for the review, Josie, I was getting very eager to hear it and have just signed up to comment (long time lurker).

    Prior to hearing of the forthcoming “The Boss” release (great name!), I was all set to buy either a Mamboberry LS or one of the Piano DACs from Allo, plus a Kali. As soon as I heard about this DAC I held off until some reviews came out, hoping to make my choice easier. But if anything it has made it harder, because now I am wondering if any of these alternatives offer anything ‘better’ than my current IQaudio DAC+?!
    The ALLO kit is different... I'm not sure if 'better' is simply too subjective for my liking as they are half the same beast in regards to both use the RPI. I personally like the ALLO stuff for my music tastes.

    It depends on what you are wanting from your music. For example, lots have said that the bass on the ALLO kit is much deeper, this is true but it's only one aspect in case. So, if you are after more weight then that one thing might be all you need to give one a go but the same goes to that old saying... if it ain't broke... etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by LC1979 View Post
    Sure, they likely have subtly different sound signatures, but there seems to be little agreement among reviewers, which makes me think that it just comes down to subjective preferences for these ever so slightly different flavours.
    Well, if you want a wholesome, big fat bottom end (ooer!) with focus then the ALLO stuff is most certainly a different flavour to the IQDAC+

    Quote Originally Posted by LC1979 View Post
    A few people who own the IQaudio and Piano + Kali on the Rune Audio forum had suggested to me that the Allo combination was an improvement over the IQaudio. This made sense to me as I had naturally assumed that the reclocking done by the Kali (and now “The Boss”) would automatically elevate these options above the IQaudio that relies on the jittery clock of the Pi. But in your review you seem to imply that you prefer The Boss over the Piano/Kali, but that for some music you still prefer the presentation of the IQaudio?
    In some music I think. I do still like the IQAudio. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the IQDAC+ it's just not as beefy or as open as the KALI/PIANO or BOSS for my liking. But you can bet your pants that on some systems the choice could be very much the pole opposite.

    I listen to a lot of electronica, rock, dance and lots of 60's psychedelic stuff and with that extra weight it fits me and my system to which 15" drivers in cabinets the size of wardrobes seem to love.

    Quote Originally Posted by LC1979 View Post
    So I am left wondering whether we can think of the differences in terms of better/best, or whether in fact the quality of these DACs has reached a kind of plateau where the best examples are all basically equally good, with only very subtle differences in audible output?
    I've no idea about the DAC's unfortunately, anything technical goes over my head (although always willing to learn). There are plenty on here who could answer that

    Quote Originally Posted by LC1979 View Post
    (I also suspect that psychoacoustics comes into play whenever we add a new component into the system, especially if we expect it to perform better, making it very difficult to accurately judge the subtle differences!)?

    I was wondering, do you agree at all with that conclusion? Could you possibly elaborate on the differences between The Boss and the IQaudio? I know this is probably very difficult without a means to do quick A-B switching. Would you be prepared to show the courage of your conviction and say that The Boss is definitively better than the IQAudio, or is it just far too comfortable on that fence?
    There is always an element of psychoacoustics, we are only human but I always allow kit to get warmed up or (burned-in) before I make a judgement. I think initial impressions can be misleading for sure so I like to live with stuff for a good while first. Sometimes it's not too long before I can either flick the 'YES' or 'NO' buttons but then I always like to understand the reasons behind why (if it's the latter mostly) before I throw it to the dogs. WOOF!
    Last edited by The Black Adder; 15-02-2017 at 17:47.
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


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  3. #283
    Join Date: Sep 2012

    Location: East Anglia UK

    Posts: 1,219
    I'm Marc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Black Adder View Post
    Andre very kindly sent it to me to use and review.

    Hope that's okay.
    Thanks for clarifying Josie.

  4. #284
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Manchester, UK

    Posts: 159
    I'm Luke.

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    Thanks for that, Josie. A very thorough reply, I appreciate that it's very tricky to make definitive statements on audio gear where there is so much that is subjective.

    I do like the sound of a big fat bottom end, though I am slightly concerned that it might be too much for me. My equipment is much smaller than 15 inches.

    Anyway, best to wait and see what people think about this DAC once the wrinkles are all ironed out!


  5. #285
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Singapore

    Posts: 3
    I'm Fai.

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    Hi everyone. I'm new here so please bear with me.

    I have both the iqa dac+ and now the allo kali piano 2.1 combo. Both are on rpi3.

    To be honest I liked both from an SQ point of view. Psycho-acoustically, I think the Kali relocker makes me think it sounds better. Unless I do an AB comparison to the iqa within a short time frame for switching between units, (auditory memory is extremely short lived) it would be almost impossible for me to tell the difference.

    However in terms of aesthetics, fit and finish from a product standpoint, the iqa takes the cake. It comes across as a polished product when purchased in a bundle with the beautifully articulated smoked case. This is where allo could improve as the available casings are just too utilitarian.

    That being said, my mind (not necessarily my ears) thinks the Kali piano combo sounds better so it's here to stay. Jazz sounds absolutely amazing.

    I do have one concern about the Kali reclocker. It adds a 0.7s buffer delay to the music. This is all fine until I use kodi to watch streaming videos. Fixing audio lag by offsetting by 0.7s doesn't seem to help as the audio offset actually varies through the course of a streaming video content. Based on experience the buffer seems to vary between 0.025s and 0.07s range.

    Has anyone else experienced this or would have suggestions on how to mitigate this while still retaining the Kali reclocker?



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  6. #286
    Join Date: Oct 2016

    Location: Hampshire

    Posts: 306
    I'm Mel.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fai View Post
    Hi everyone. I'm new here so please bear with me.

    I have both the iqa dac+ and now the allo kali piano 2.1 combo. Both are on rpi3.

    To be honest I liked both from an SQ point of view. Psycho-acoustically, I think the Kali relocker makes me think it sounds better. Unless I do an AB comparison to the iqa within a short time frame for switching between units, (auditory memory is extremely short lived) it would be almost impossible for me to tell the difference.

    However in terms of aesthetics, fit and finish from a product standpoint, the iqa takes the cake. It comes across as a polished product when purchased in a bundle with the beautifully articulated smoked case. This is where allo could improve as the available casings are just too utilitarian.

    That being said, my mind (not necessarily my ears) thinks the Kali piano combo sounds better so it's here to stay. Jazz sounds absolutely amazing.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I would agree with you on the difficulty between telling the TI based DACs sound quality apart unless in an AB comparison.

    I have not noticed the delay with the Kali but strongly agree that it makes a (positive) big difference to the Piano combo. Ironically their new DAC should sound worse than the Kali combo as the whole idea of re-clocking is to improve the sound. A dedicated re-clocker board should really improve on an on board integrated clock chip as on the new DAC.

    My main concern with the Allo range is similar to your comment on design. They seem to have paid little attention to erganomics and functionality with cables coming out all sides. It would be far better if cable in/out sockets were kept in line with the Pi. Their boards are generally a smaller footprint to the Pi board so there is space for a better design. Better/stronger RCA sockets would also greatly help as the current ones do seem to twist a bit.

    My other concern over Allo generally is their support site is quite poor compared to other popular suppliers. Responses seem to indicate little knowledge of good customer support via provision of quick useful responses. It all seems totally dependent on Andre - who does an excellent job of promotion.

    I am not being negative to Allo - I like their products but so far comments in this post have been almost totally on SQ and build, support and usability are also high on my list of measures on product quality.

    Mel
    Last edited by Cycleallday; 26-02-2017 at 15:40.

  7. #287
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

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    Hi to all and welcome to the forum Fai,

    Kali has a buffer to store the DATA of about 0.7s . There is no way around it. As you both observed (Fai and Cycleallday) . Allo hardware is very utilitarian , our main focus is sound quality . Regarding our new DAC, yes the integrated clocks are better (or equal) to Kali. In fact on the BOSS page you can see measurement of jitter is about 0.5ps vs 3-4ps of Kali. So it is possible that Boss is better than Kali + Piano combo.
    But yes we do understand the need for a nice casing . This is why we have been working on for the past month and we will announce it very soon...

    regard
    Andre

  8. #288
    Join Date: Oct 2016

    Location: Hampshire

    Posts: 306
    I'm Mel.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Audiohdwr View Post
    This is why we have been working on for the past month and we will announce it very soon...

    regard
    Andre
    Andre, in designing your case it would be nice to give some attention to how cables enter and exit it and how the RCA sockets can be supported.

    If the case is fully closed then internal fly cables could be used to solve both the above by routing them internally to a single side and providing additional RCA sockets which are fixed to the case side.

    If the case is an open dog bone type then additional strength can be given to the on board RCA sockets by making sure the top rests on the sockets or some top packing is provided to reduce flexing in at least one plane.

    The sound quality of the Pianos with the Kali is really good and I use the Vana player as my main streamer in my office at present.

    For all I've said about leads being on different sides I love the 'quirky' look of the Vana with its separate cap multiplier - it looks really good on my computer desk but not sure it would last long if I moved it to my lounge as my wife prefers nice closed in boxes with as few leads as possible.

    Your new board sounds like it should be really nice and I look forward to Black Adders review.

    Mel
    Last edited by Cycleallday; 28-02-2017 at 16:09.

  9. #289
    Join Date: Jan 2015

    Location: Leeds

    Posts: 164
    I'm Dave.

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    Must admit I've gone back to my IQAudio DAC+. I think I wil put my Kali + Piano 2.1 up for sale.
    I never got the DSP crossover functionality working. Bit disappointing really, but hey ho.

  10. #290
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

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    hello
    Latest Volumio image works bug free with Piano 2.1 or similar

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