Raspberry pi and the delights of invisible media!

[Bigman80]

Great to read you've enjoyed digital, it's not the same as vinyl, but the more you listen the more you begin to accept. Are you saying the loaned Sony cdp was the best digital you had heard up until the Pi.

Yes.

It is. Strange that a CDP from yesteryear has been the most enjoyable digital experience but it really is very good to my ears.

[Bigman80]

It's a Sony........

[jonners]

A linear PSU will set you back and extra £50ish and I suspect it may be worth going that extra step.*

I am now reading about isolator boards which galvanically isolates the DAC from the pi. This could be a major play in SQ and at £150 for the board (from Allo), it's starting to get into dedicated DAC territory.*

The Allo Isolator 1.2 is $57, but you may get more improvement initially by giving the Boss its own separate, linear power supply.

[Bourneendboy]

What about 2x PSU's rather than one with a splitter cable - is there any gains to be had?

[jonners]

What about 2x PSU's rather than one with a splitter cable - is there any gains to be had?

Yes, definitely better with two PSUs. That is, one 5V supply to the RPi and a separate 5V supply to the DAC.

[Jimbo]

Just for any folk who may not have seen it, here is the Darko video explaining Pi upgrade including dual power supply.


https://darko.audio/2018/11/a-short-...one-signature/

[Bourneendboy]

Yes, definitely better with two PSUs. That is, one 5V supply to the RPi and a separate 5V supply to the DAC.

Which PSU are you using John?

I have an Ifi and wondering about buying another or a couple of the Allo ones.

[Sherwood]

I am not surprised by your positive findings. The good news is that the RPi can sound even better. I would listen to the SEG and Dorado again and try some of the different filter options. There are huge improvements to be had by using Audivarna for software upscaling. I use an Allo Digione which has built in isolation and is good enough that I feel no pressure to upgade.

[jonners]

Which PSU are you using John?

I have an Ifi and wondering about buying another or a couple of the Allo ones.

I'm using a couple of the PSUs that can be found on eBay by searching for 'Studer 900 power supply'. I have a single 5V one in a case, and a dual supply on a board. Audiophonics also sell the latter version. A couple of guys posting on diyAudio had good results with them, but buying eBay stuff from China is not everybody's idea of a good idea. I'm happy with mine, but I did have to change a couple of resistors on the dual supply version because the current limiting was set too low.

[Jimbo]

Are you going to get a HAT for your Pi Oli?

https://www.allo.com/sparky/digione.html reviews look good and a no brainer to up the performance.