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Correction: in stereo 2.0 mode, only one chip is used.Quote:
Originally Posted by r100
Currently, the other is only active when driving a sub... but, it could be that in a near future a possibility will become available to use one for each channel (dual mono). I'm not sure though if it will be a software update or if it will need a new board to do this. Maybe Andre can elucidate on this ?
Interesting times ;-)
I've asked this question before too. It would be very interesting to have the 2.1 run in dual mono mode.
Andre, could you ask your tech team this?
on it!Quote:
Originally Posted by The Black Adder
First off practicalities: I bought the Kali + Piano DAC (Stereo only not 2.1) which arrived with 4 male/female standoffs and 4 female/female standoffs all 12mm spacing and M3 thread. I am using a Pi 2 and for the moment they are all mounted on wooden coaster which I drilled and recessed the holes using a template from here http://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/wp-...e-Template.pdf (make sure you measure the calibration square – my first print from a browser was way out I had to print from Acrobat and turn off any auto scaling). I am not sure what I am going to do longer term I still have the issue of cables coming out 3 sides but this will do for now. My power supply is something that I turned up a Kings KSS15-050-3000 which is a 5V 3A SMPS nothing special I believe they can be picked up for around a tenner (£10).
Using the latest Volumio image I booted it up and all looked good, went to the Playback Options and switched on I2S DAC, selected Allo Piano from the drop down and saved and then restarted Volumio as prompted.
Right now we are ready to go with headphones as I share my listening room with my wife and daughter who are addicted to ‘Strictly’ and here comes my first and so far only problem! I can’t plug my headphones (AKG K550) as it clashes with the power jack so just to check everything is coming through as expected I plug in my earbuds with a smaller jack.
‘Strictly’ done I have the chance for a short audition which consists of:
• Frank Sinatra - Come Fly with me – Live at The Sands 24/192
• Joni Mitchell – River – Blue 16/44.1 CD Rip (Well it is nearly Christmas!)
• Cara Dillon – Black is the Colour – Cara Dillon 16/44.1 CD Rip
• Oscar Peterson - Hymn of Freedom – Night Train 24/96
• Buddy Holly – True Love Ways – From The Original Master Tapes 16/44.1 CD Rip
First impressions are more detail, clearer bass and more space.
With the Sinatra there was definitely a clearer impression of being in a big night club type auditorium.
On River the piano sounded far more natural as does Joni’s voice
On Black Is The Colour there are a couple of very noticeable things the first is a sound at the beginning that on my old Hifi Berry and in the car sounded like the ‘Ulla!‘ from Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds turns out to be an organ and Seth Lakeman’s backing vocal which previously had blended into the background and disappeared are now clearly those of a man contrasting with Cara’s glorious voice (sorry I saw her live last week and fell in love with her voice and now just about have the full back catalogue :)).
The Oscar Peterson Trio sound more vinyl like, I haven’t got this album on vinyl but the sound is less harsh and has the feel of ‘We Get Requests’ that I do have on vinyl – need to listen to this more.
Finally to Buddy, this is probably the best mastered CD I possess and this is the best track on it all of the instrumentation is clearer particularly the strings and what I think is a bass sax sounds wonderful.
So 1st Impressions are “Wow”. This usually means that in a couple of weeks I will like it even more. Sorry if the description of the sound is a bit lacking but I have never been that great at putting it into words.
For info I am using a UPNP set up with Asset UPnP running on a Pi 3 with a drive mounted to my NAS and controlling the set up with Bubble UPnP on Android phone and/or tablet.
Now I am thinking if it sounds that good with a cr*p power supply what would it sound like with a LPS? I have been looking at the Sbooster, Long Dog (MCRU), Russ Andrews and Teddy Pardo but they will all have to wait a while.
BTW - M3 Thread wouldn't go through holes in Pi so I used 3mm drill, twisted between my fingers, to enlarge holes slightly.
Hi Mel, any update on your impressions with the Allo kit ? Greets.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cycleallday
ru
ps. I have gone back to Moode 3.1 and I cannot make out any major SQ differences to Volumio.. just saying !
Hi Richard. Superb review! Thanks for sharing. :)
Regarding the PSU. I currently use the latest SBooster from Mark Grant and there is a difference over the wall wart, not surprising. But I can recommend the SBooster.
Keep groovin'
:)
My offer to Andre was to review the Vana player rather than the DAC and this is still my aim.Quote:
Originally Posted by r100
I tend to be a technical person and SQ to me is viewed more of a different sound rather than a better or worse sound. At present I have a number of DACs ranging from Meridian, Naim, Cyrus through to a few PI dedicated ones and I like to listen to all for different reasons. Personally there is not one I dislike amongst any I have. Unless I actually compare any 2 in a controlled way then quite frankly I would honestly find it hard to name any in a blind test (with one possible exception).
The Allo reviews to date have been a bit confusing in that there are 2 DAC boards, one of which has the default TI configuration and one which has the Allo custom configuration (and no documentation says what the later is). The reviews in this link tend to give a reader a view they all relate to the same product when this is not strictly true.
I currently have the 2.1 Piano and really like the apparent wide clear soundstage BUT I currently view this as possibly the 'tweaking' a supplier can do to make a product stand out from the crowd - however a longer term listen can result in a different view.
That's where I am at present. I am sure the 2.1 is missing some lower register bass compared to equivalent TI based DACs I have. What is there is very sharp and clear however. I just want to compare the 2.1 to a 2 and then look into the effect of the Kali, Volt and Capacitance Multiplier on the sound. I guess that's when I give my personal review.
On the point of player effect - I also have tried 3 different players and not heard any significant difference on the Pi DACS.
Mel
Which mode are you using your 2.1 in? 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cycleallday
Edit: OK, I see from a previous post that you're running Moode and no sub. I'm comparing Moode and Volumio and I have a suspicion that there's more bass with the latter.
No lack of bass in my Pi/MoOde/Piano 2.1/Kali setup in fact I'd say it was better/deeper/cleaner than with the IQAudio DAC previously.
Forgot to say I'm using Raspy4 DAC setting within MoOde as it was the first one I found that worked with the Piano DAC, but sure if that makes any difference :shrug:
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Black Adder
>>> hi all, we will take this up as soon as all is stabilized with Volumio. Will keep you posted its on the to do list.
thank you all for your feedback and comments.
We read them and implement all we can.
regards
Andre
Jonners your post indicates you may know how to switch modes on the Piano - at present the only option (aside from the TI software) is the Max2Play software which Allo promotes as the default option for the Vana player. I have not yet tried it (it seems there is a short free license for it) but I plan to look into it as soon as time permits. Is there another option you are aware of?Quote:
Originally Posted by jonners
Mel
Mike in a previous post you said:Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeyb
"My bass was a little light and recessed as well, but I SSH'd into the Pi and set the alsamixer to -4.50db which was I think must be near 100 on the scale as next notch up was into the red, as it was originally way down at the bottom of the scale, as soon as I did that, oh boy bass was back big time, made me jump lol"
Maybe I am hearing that same "light bass" as I have not changed any defaults in Moode 3.1
Its the actual settings used for the 2.1 setup I am trying to investigate as I do not fully understand why there would be a need to apply a cut over level to the main DAC (or even the sub DAC?). I don't have a sub but would have thought the sub speakers onboard filtering would take care of selecting the bass level it needs so in theory the sub DAC could run as a normal config? Just thinking out loud here as no experience of subs.
Mel
I have been running a sub in my Hi-fi system for a few weeks just to help the little standmounts that I have, I'm pretty sure the standard cut off is 80-100mhz so that's maybe why the Piano 2.1 is set at 80.
I've since removed the sub as it's not really needed now that my phono stage is much better than my built in stage in my amp. I didn't really need it with the Pi anyway.
There are settings in Volumio for the Piano 2.1 which give a choice of 2.0, 2.1 or 2.2 operation. If using one or two subs there's an option that is supposed to set the crossover point, between 60Hz and 200Hz. I say 'supposed to' because I couldn't get it to work in 2.2 mode as intended. I posted my findings on the Volumio forum and Allo replied that there are bugs in the DSP which they are trying to fix.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cycleallday
Hi , yes we are working on this and will let you know as soon as possible.
Andre, do the setting changes in Volumio and Max2Play actually write to the DAC to make the changes persistent (i.e. until the next change) or do they only apply software filters which control the DACS during the actual playing of music?Quote:
Originally Posted by Audiohdwr
Jonners, thanks for the info on Volumio I will check out the discussion there.
Mel
as said, i switched back to moode 3.1 with the iqdac pro setting .. i find it much more natural than the setting in Volumio ... think what u like .. moode is less overdriven (less sweet) in the bass department
hi to all.
the latest volumio image for RPI is out
https://volumio.org/get-started/
please dont change DSP filter settings for now.
regards and please share comments.
regards
Andre
I've used it but went back to Moode 3.1 which sounds as good to me. Thank's for all the work !:)
Not sure if this is the place for it but I have noticed that since Volumio 2 if using a upnp controller the play list no longer comes up on the web interface and if you open the web interface face it changes the volume setting from that set with upnp controller? 🤔 The volume thing might have been happening before but I didn't have hw volume control before so got up off my butt to change volume on my vintage Naim amp.
From what are we supposed to be not changing the settings? What are the recommended settings?Quote:
Originally Posted by Audiohdwr
Is an update OK or is it necessary to do a fresh install?
hello Jonners,Quote:
Originally Posted by jonners
the new volumio image for the sparky and rpi are in final testing changes... so they will be released in the next few days.
i recommend you wait for that to be released on the volumio site and then do an upgrade.
regards
Andre
OK, thanks Andre.
I have just noticed that in Volumio I have a list of DSP options such as
"Low latency IIR with de-emphasis"
Can anyone point me in the way of guide to the meaning this strange new language? Or is it just a case if trying it out and deciding with my ears?
There are four different digital filters that can be selected for some of the PCM 5xxx chips. I can't hear much difference between them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lunicycle
Some of the other settings are a mystery to me too.
I have been running the Kali reclocker / Piano 2.1 combination on RPi 2 for some time.
This represents a fantastic value and great sound quality at very little money.
Running Moode 2.6.
Been doing lots of A/B testing RPi2 / Kali/Piano 2.1 against Desktop PC / Windows7 / JRiver / Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card.
Started the same song on both devices at equal sound level. Using large Genelec monitors.
I am addicted to 96K resampling. Resampling brings out the digital effects and soundscapes
on modern music. So both palyers were running resampling at highest quality.
Some friends could not tell the difference between PC / RPi. They could not believe
that the small, inexpensive RPi could sound this good.
After many tests, I can hear only one difference. The Kali/Piano/RPi/Moode combination
introduces a small amount of soft compression on the sound. This is a matter of
opinion, but I would like it without compression. The PC/Xonar Essence is a bit
more lush and open. The RPi slightly compressed.
I have plans to test Volumio. Also the Volt amplifier with Sparky SBC.
http://hoone.com/piano.jpg
Hi Juha,
great feedback!
please try the volumio and let us know if you feel anything changed.
the volt should also add to the sound quality improvement.
did you also get the CM board for the Volt?
regards
Andre
ALLO
I recommend trying the latest Moode release (using the IQAudio PiDac Pro setting) as well as Volumio.Quote:
Originally Posted by Juha
1+ for Moode 3.1
I (think) I noticed that the sound actually "opens up" after a week or so. My boards have been running almost non-stop for the past days and I'm very surprised at the robustness of the Moode 3.1 software which hasn't dropped a frame since I started the run-in.. I also used the max. up-sampling rate for a day or two to find out how the Pi3 would handle the beating and it barely got over 40°C @ around 8-11% of cpu usage according to the "Audio Info" window in Moode :carrot:
Upsampling to 384kHz in Moode 3.1 using the Advanced Kernel setting will bypass the Piano DAC chip's internal digital filters (which some reckon to be a weak point). Sounds good to me. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by r100
With the caveat that I don't really understand how these things work I just put them together and follow the instructions! Wouldn't putting it up to 384kHz mean the Kali wouldn't work as that maxes out at 192 according to the spec? If that's not the case 24 or 32 bit?
could well be ... i just did it to test the Pi3 .. the 192k LED (if I remember) on the
kali was blinking, so you're probably right.
If that is the case, is there a way of defeating the filters without maxing out the up sampling i.e. an off switch? It strikes me they might be a bit like tone controls that I said goodbye to in nineteen eighty something!Quote:
Originally Posted by r100
The blue light only flashes for a short time then it stops.Quote:
Originally Posted by r100
Buffering?
According to the sales page on Volumio, the 44/48MHz version (which is the only one sold now) will go up to 384kHz. The Moode 'Audio Info' certainly shows that's happening.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lunicycle
There's no other way of defeating the filters, and they only work way up in the ultrasonic region to keep those frequencies out of amps that don't like them.
Thanks for that. Does that mean that if I upsample to 384kHz that it will keep teenagers and animals out of the room? :)
:D. Maybe thats why i get fewer visits :lol: Here was me thinking i had bo
Hi, this is what my board is doing when fed 32bit / 352.8 kHz or 32 bit / 384 kHz respectively. The LED's are continuously blinking either blue or green.
The postman just came with a packet between his legs and his fingers in his ears, I wonder why ??
;)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6j734w879b...52-x.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dh2whbok33...4k-x.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/12jc5cyqoo...nual.png?raw=1
https://www.allo.com/documents/spark...ech-Manual.pdf
According to the TI datasheet, there's an upsampling bypass at 384kHz, but no mention of 352.8kHz.Quote:
Originally Posted by r100
Never mind the postman, are bats flocking to have a listen? That's the real test.
Does anybody else get clicking when starting tracks in this upsampling mode?
No clicks here. My music is in a USB hard drive attached to the RPi.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lunicycle
hi,Quote:
Originally Posted by Lunicycle
what is your set up ?
thanks
Andre
Hi Andre,
I have the Kali and Piano on a Pi2 which is connected to my network via ethernet via an unmanaged switch which also has my NAS and Pi 3 running Asset upnp and a drive from my NAS mounted. I am controlling the whole lot with Bubble upnp either my phone or tablet connected wirelessly to the same network (obviously!).
It was getting late last night so I didn't do exhaustive testing but the click only occurred when started a track from scratch or skipped not when it was mid playlist. It happened with 16/44.1 and 24/192 sources.
I will try to do some more testing tonight if my time doesn't get taken up with sticky tape and wrapping paper!
Cheers
Richard
I've had similar clicks when streaming via Bubble.
no clicks here either in a variety of configurations and situations (spotify, airplay, nas, etc.)
I can live with the clicks as I tend to listen to whole albums and it doesn't affect a playlist once started, however what I can‘t stand is skipping! Only a fraction of a second and no artefacts but there all the same. It's not the file because I can replay the same section again and it is fine. I tried maxing out the buffer but to no avail. I have now gone back to Volumio for the meantime. Perhaps the Pi2 isn't man enough for the upscaling although it wasn't too hot or anywhere near 100%CPU? any thoughts anyone?
Just seen something similar on the Moode thread so will investigate!
OK let me know what you guys find out and if you need any support from our side, but it doesn't seem to be hardware related.
I have been playing both the Kali/2.1 and Kali/1.1 combinations today and switching between sample tracks, mainly alac cd rips but some high res DSD and FLAC also, but have heard no clicks. I also run from a NAS via a switch (actually 2 switches are between source and player). I am using Pi3 and Moode3.1 and controlling it via the mode app.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lunicycle
Mel