Computer audio and my closed mind

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montechristo358
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by montechristo358 »

my cunning plan at the moment is a pi with screen and HiFi Berry Digi+ with each of the 3 items powered by a seperate one of Docs reccomended chinese linear supplies
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terrybooth
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by terrybooth »

montechristo358 wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 1:48 pm my cunning plan at the moment is a pi with screen and HiFi Berry Digi+ with each of the 3 items powered by a seperate one of Docs reccomended chinese linear supplies
I'd be interested in progress on this since it is a thought that I had. However, as far as I know, getting the HiFiBerry to take a separate power input (even through it has the points marked for it) requires removing a tiny component from the board - maybe things have moved on since I looked at this (with a DAC board, not the digi plus or any later board.)
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Fretless
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by Fretless »

montechristo358 wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 1:48 pm my cunning plan at the moment is a pi with screen and HiFi Berry Digi+ with each of the 3 items powered by a seperate one of Docs reccomended chinese linear supplies
Take a look at the Digi+ PRO, Which is a distinct improvement over the normal Digi+ board.
Or (even better) go for an Allo DigiOne which is just plain awesome in terms of SQ.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
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Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

montechristo358
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by montechristo358 »

yeah I've hard good things about the allo, but have yet to research it properly
Bedroom Rig
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU

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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by Fretless »

I'm running all 3 boards here in different systems. The Allo DigiOne is by far the best soundwise.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by karatestu »

Fretless wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 2:05 pm
montechristo358 wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 1:48 pm my cunning plan at the moment is a pi with screen and HiFi Berry Digi+ with each of the 3 items powered by a seperate one of Docs reccomended chinese linear supplies
Take a look at the Digi+ PRO, Which is a distinct improvement over the normal Digi+ board.
Or (even better) go for an Allo DigiOne which is just plain awesome in terms of SQ.
I have seen the Allo digione on the web store linked to earlier. £99. From the pdf sheet it says there are two 5V supply pins. Does not mention negative voltage so i assume that is two +5v supplies. Room for a bit of diy psu faffing here.

A plan is coming together slowly. Raspberry Pi model 3b (plus is latest model), 7" touch screen, Allo DigiÒne plus enough linear power supplies for everything. On the end of this will be the £3.76 chinese dac (as long as it is compatible with digione) plus linear psu (s). TIS cable between Pi and dac. NAS still to be decided. There are probably other things i have not thought about yet.

Do you use the bnc output of the digione fretless ? Supposed to be superior.

Stu
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by Fretless »

I have an RCA adaptor on the BNC socket. Don't notice any difference in SQ between that and the RCA output.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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karatestu
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by karatestu »

Three years on and I have done very little as regards making much progress with this :oops: I received lots of good advice (thanks) and please don't think badly of me for taking no action :pray:

Things have not exactly stood still however. I started streaming Amazon music via the firestick in the back of my TV. Very much enjoyed it until they started charging and my wife cancelled it. Amazon music is crap when there are only 2 million songs to chose from. Went back to YouTube. Discovered YouTube music (not the video channel) and found I could cast it from my tablet to the firestick. Back in business :dance:

I seem to have broken my mental blockage with this tech. I have read many things over the last three years and much of it has actually sunk in :grin: I am nearly ready to take it to the next level. As I don't have a stand alone dac I thought maybe I should go with something plug and play which contains a player plus a dac.

My head says try the Volumio Primo. Darko did an informative video about it. He preferred it using its on-board dac so it can't be that bad ? Seems like the perfect product for me to dip my toe with. Contains an Asus tinkerboard I believe. Yeah, I know I could do it cheaper buying my own pi / tinker and add a dac hat but I can't be arsed with all that at the moment.

At the start of this thread I was in ultimate quality mode ie I wanted the best possible. Over the last three years (especially very recently) I have realised that quest leads to me never actually doing anything :lol: I need to jump in and make a start. My constant planning and procrastination only leads to precious time being lost and recent events in my life have really made me realise how short life can be. I might be dead next year so I need to push things along.

I may in the future as I become more experienced try the diy route with this but that will only lead to delay. Need to get on with thus now. The Primo looks good to me. Easy to add a dac if required and sold on if I decide to change things. Any experience or views on it from people here ?
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CycleCoach (Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:31 am) • savvypaul (Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:40 am)
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by CycleCoach »

I'll be re-reading this whole thread Stu (thanks for bringing it up, and the others like it,) because I'm in a similar boat. I have been just using my Apple Macbook with a long toslink cable for over three years. I tried a separate DAC, finally settling on the cheap one the Doc recommended with a beefy ebay power supply as this definitely gave me a big jump up in quality.
The trouble is, it's limited and I often need the Mac book for boring stuff like work. So although I'm not a DIYer, I definitely want to make some changes but it's difficult to know which way to jump. It would be easy to splurge the cash to try different things but the adult in me worries about wasting money these days.
I think I might be in the HiFi trade.
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Re: Computer audio and my closed mind

Unread post by Fretless »

Have a look at this:
Fretless wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:57 am For those not wanting the hassle of assembling and programming a Pi-based streamer, Allo have released an all-in-one Allo Boss DAC 2 player.

Image

Rapberry Pi4, DAC board with analogue RCA output and REMOTE CONTROL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bargain for under 200 pounds.

Allo products are designed in France and manufactured in India, SQ is sublime for such small units.
That should be very good and I suspect that it will give the Linn offering at 50x the price a good run for your money. Hmm how to explain that yes we need another streamer... :roll:

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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