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Thread: ALLO SHANTI Linear Power Supply (LPS) Review

  1. #1
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

    Default ALLO SHANTI Linear Power Supply (LPS) Review

    This review and others including other Allo products are also available on my website:

    http://www.tannoyista.com


    Hi all.

    As you may all know I use the Allo KATANA + ISOLATOR + RPI3

    I've been using Allo kit now for some time and with each development they have not disappointed to deliver.

    One of the biggest and best developments to date is the KATANA DAC with the latest ISOLATOR. The KATANA DAC utilises the Ess9038q2m IC which has a customisable output stage. It also uses the NDK NZ2520SDA clock which is filtered by x2 LDOs in series achieving a very low jitter rate of 390fs.

    With the announcement of a suited Power supply for the KATANA, the whole Allo Dac package is now totally fulfilled. I had been waiting for this for quite some time. It's now time to see what this thing can really do.

    I really hate using standard plug-in supplies. They are noisy and cheap but they do the job. But with the Allo kit, using these cheap supplies the KATANA still blew me away. So what could a suited low noise linear PSU bring to the picture?

    The LPS is quite a hefty little thing with high quality components used. The transformer has a dual output galvanically isolated 5.2V 3A and 5.2V at 1.2A outputs so it can also power the RPI 4. It uses a huge capacitance bank to reduce 50/60Hz noise and filtered by an LDO and caps up to 15.000uf. The next stage are the super capacitors which is where the final power come from.

    Plugging in to both the ISOLATOR and KATANA units was a doddle. Lot's of extensions and plugs are provided which was good. No physical instructions though so this is something which would be good for the beginner. I'm one who likes to read 'real' instruction manuals

    The LPS comes with two hard wired output cables which are nice and long so placement can be set well away from other units. But, in my opinion I think it would have been better to have SHANTI have plug points on the face plate so you can use your own, or different length cables.

    Switching on the SHANTI lights up red inside. Seems to be quite a few LED's inside the case visible through the vents. There is no hum which is good, nice and silent.

    Once the KATANA was booted up the space and the timing was improved dramatically. The bass was more organic and voluptuous, the mid range is smoother and solid and the highs seemed more fluid, less harsh and constrained.

    Day 1 revealed the sound to have a very precise roll to it. Solid and smooth. Whereas day 2 after a good 24 hours burn-in seems to have brought everything more together and more focused, especially the bass which is now sounding more and more focused and tight.

    As I go on with listening to this it's clear that the SHANTI has been developed to suit the KATANA with painstaking research. It simply fits the kit a glove and it's yet another development from ALLO which works flawlessly and enhances the whole kit to another level.

    The sound is now more analogue sounding than ever, it's effortless and smooth with a vast and balanced amount of detail being exposed. The SHANTI doesn't over-cook the sound, it simply makes it more tasty.

    More to come... I will keep this review up to date so please check back.

    Jo
    Last edited by The Black Adder; 19-09-2020 at 04:19.
    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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  2. #2
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

    Default

    Dear Josie

    thx you very much for taking the time and reviewing our products .


    Shanti dual output LPS was developed for audiophiles. We wanted to bring one of the best supply with a reasonable price to the market.

    It can be used with Katana , Digione Sig , in fact it can be used with any DAC and USB source (RPI4 and Topping dacs for example ) , anything that needs 5V

    Also the output of Shanti is 5V at 3A and 5.2V at very low loads. Any time you have a load increase the voltage will slightly sag (if the voltage sags at 4.8V you will get undervoltage on RPI). Sshanti gets rid of any under voltages on RPI3/4

    At last , Shanti noise is an incredible 0.08uV in audio band. However , noise is not the only reason for the performance of our LPS . Shanti output has supercaps that directly supply any dynamic load demand with no delay

    We hope that you will enjoy .

  3. #3
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

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    Thanks for being on the case (as usual) Josie :-)

    Will be interested to see how the Shanti compares against a battery (Powerbank) powering on the clean side. If it's a significant improvement, the convenience of a single 'switch' will make it worthwhile for me.

    Tony
    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  4. #4
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

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    Hi Mightymonoped

    Batteries are one of the cleanest sources of electrons . Shanti is rather equal in noise.
    Batteries are galvanically isolated from mains. Shanti uses a R core transformer thats isolated as well. However any transformer has a very small "leakage current " that can bleed into DC (r

    Batteries have a low internal impedance but Shanti trumps it by using 50K uF capacitors + supercaps (supercaps have the lowest impedance of any device)


    At last Shanti has a "Earth plug" . Its not something that everyones knows but when earth connects to a digital ground (pcb) some HF currents will take that path leaving the output cleaner .

    In the end , its hard to say whats better . I can say , from a tech point of view , that they are equal .

  5. #5
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

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    Hi Ioan.

    Impressive stuff.

    I did wonder what the grounding post was for. How do I connect that and to what?

    Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk
    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


    Tannoyista.com

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  6. #6
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

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    We are making a few documents available in the next 2 weeks (some people will finally start vacation:-)


    For Katana , I would recommend connecting earth of Shanti to the hole closest to the power input of uController (its 2.5cm away at 60degree angle)

    Some HI frequency noise will be gone but effect is subtle . Still we can measure it easy and I can hear it.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ALLO.com View Post
    Hi Mightymonoped

    Batteries are one of the cleanest sources of electrons . Shanti is rather equal in noise.
    Batteries are galvanically isolated from mains. Shanti uses a R core transformer thats isolated as well. However any transformer has a very small "leakage current " that can bleed into DC (r

    Batteries have a low internal impedance but Shanti trumps it by using 50K uF capacitors + supercaps (supercaps have the lowest impedance of any device)

    At last Shanti has a "Earth plug" . Its not something that everyones knows but when earth connects to a digital ground (pcb) some HF currents will take that path leaving the output cleaner .

    In the end , its hard to say whats better . I can say , from a tech point of view , that they are equal .
    Thanks for getting back so quickly with this. It's good to have what I thought to be the case, confirmed. The Allo kit never disappoints so I'm pretty sure the Shanti will be making it's way into my setup. It will also free up my Powerbank for other uses (powering my portable Astro-imaging mount)

    Tony
    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  8. #8
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

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    Is your powerbank using any switching , or its a pure battery (serial and paralel cells) ? What chemistry ?

  9. #9
    Join Date: Apr 2017

    Location: Manningtree, Essex

    Posts: 1,722
    I'm Tony.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ALLO.com View Post
    Is your powerbank using any switching , or its a pure battery (serial and paralel cells) ? What chemistry ?
    Sorry but some of this will be over my head :-) It's a 20000 mAh lithium polymer battery with 2 outputs (combined output is 3.4A )

    It's just a pretty standard mobile phone charger. I only use the one output, to the clean side of my Katana/Isolator setup.
    A mainly digital setup with a musical amplifier and endearing 1970's speakers. A CD player that hardly ever gets used and a turntable that is good enough to remind my how enjoyable my old vinyl is. Some cables and things.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Aug 2016

    Location: France

    Posts: 198
    I'm allo.

    Default

    Your "battery" is not a real pure source of electrons

    In fact most manufacturer use a battery with a DC/DC convertor *switching 1 million times a second) to get a exact voltage (5V usually) on the output no matter at what voltage the actual batteries are .

    Problem is that all switchers (even your light switchers in the house) when turned on and off they make an "arc" rather a spark , that is very noisy (thats the reason most light bulbs will burn when you switch them on or off)

    A quick link thats shows noise of some powerbanks https://goughlui.com/2014/06/09/expo...vices-at-risk/

    Please note that minimum noise is at 50mV but bandwidth is 10Mhz . Using the same bandwith on Shanti you get 10uV (1mV = 1000uV)

    The noise on your powerbank is 50.000uV and noise of Shant is reduced 5000 time (compared with your present solution). Will the sound improve 5k times ? Absolutely not .

    However:

    Shanti will be a definite upgrade and you will hear improved sound quality since the second you plug it in .

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