ALLO SHANTI Linear Power Supply (LPS) Review

[PaulBarnett]

Hi Allo..

Talking about being on the case .. I have a digi sig, upgraded from the original digi - do you have any plans to offer a metal case for the sig? The metal case for the digione was way better than the plastic one, and I'd happily pay for a metal equivalent for the digi sig.

Please.

[ALLO.com]

The problem is that RPI just changed to version 4 so we need a whole new case

Meanwhile , we are lunching the USbridge Sig/Audiophile SBC , basically using RPI compute module we created a whole new PI. That device has a clean USB port and place for a Digione Sig (with alu case)

[jonners]

Meanwhile , we are lunching the USbridge Sig/Audiophile SBC , basically using RPI compute module we created a whole new PI. That device has a clean USB port and place for a Digione Sig (with alu case)

Is this just for USB devices, or will it also be of benefit to HAT DACs attached via I2S?

[ALLO.com]

Good question.

What is benefit ?

On Audio Precision testing , we see a change in harmonics (Rpi generate much more harmonics and of higher order compared with USbridge Sig) but THD+N is similar since its dominated by noise.

From a subjective point of view , we found a clear increase in SQ. Please understand that this is not a scientific test (double blind test)


After all this time designing audio devices , I know that THD+N is only one part of the equation of sound quality . Still, I struggle to understand why a better source is usually found to increase the SQ . Yes THD changes but it should be inaudible. And yet I hear the exact opposite .

[mightymonoped]

Just ordered a Shanti. Looking forward to hearing the Katana/Isolator through it’s designed Allo power source.

Tony


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mightymonoped]

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 .

You were not wrong. An immediate and noticable improvement in all aspects! An effortless 2 hour listening session followed what was only supposed to be a 10 minute quick listen. Looking forward to a proper session tonight. :-)

[The Black Adder]

Hey Tony.

Looks like you are hearing the same as myself.

Great stuff. Glad it's ticking the boxes.

The sound of mine is now really blooming. It does take time but it seems its improving all the time.

Very happy with the system and the SHANTI is a superb upgrade.



Sent from my BBC Microcomputer 32K

[ALLO.com]

Thx you we appreciate it.

[loonytunes]

I really will have to try this Pi streamer thing at some point in time - especially now you have this decent power supply.

Currently I'm enjoying the streamed sound from an Auralic Mini with Auralic Linear PSU (15v's needed here not 5v unfortunately) - and I am getting more than a decent sound.

I have various other good streamers too that I won't get into here.

What has me curious is - can a fully pimped out and Pi attached to an Allo Shanti be as good as 'anything' irrespective of price out there?

[Crom]

@loonytunes, in answer to your question...in my opinion, yes. But it depends upon your definition of fully-pimped-out. I had to desolder the regulators from my RPi2 board and replace them with individual feeds to get something approaching good. This was ok but it was only when I removed USB from the chain and used isolated I2S connections straight into the DAC that the RPi solution really wiped the floor with everything else I've tried. I now effectively have an ethernet-in DAC which completely does away with USB.

I've just ordered a shanti and a USBridge Sig board which I intend to use exclusively for its great power supply and will connect to my pi isolator (created by Ian Canada on DIYA).

@allo.com, will you be designing Shanti power supplies with different output voltages, or better still variable output? I could do with some 3.3v, 12v and even +/- 32v supplies. The gap that Paul Hynes has left in this market has yet to be filled (in my opinion) and I look forward to testing my Shanti when it arrives.

Cheers,
Crom