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Allo Sparky USBridge


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Does anyone use this with Roon?  If so, has it been working well?  Have you compared it against anything?  Also, does the OS auto update?  This company actually seems like the real deal when it comes to engineering.  

 

https://allo.com/sparky/usbridge.html

 

I was going to try a Raspberry Pi then this was mentioned:

How about RPI? RPIs are great and very energy efficient, but on USB they have 2 major flaws. First is that bandwidth is shared between the 2 USB ports (so in fact there is only one USB), and second is that ethernet is also shared on same bus! Of course, you also have the noise on USB at about 60mV.

 

 

@The Computer Audiophile I'm sure they would love a review.  :D

W10 NUC i7 (Gen 10) > Roon (Audiolense FIR) > Motu UltraLite mk5 > (4) Hypex NCore NC502MP > JBL M2 Master Reference +4 subs

 

Watch my Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMw_bZWBMtRWNJQfTJ38kA/videos

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1 hour ago, hopkins said:

I had a chance to test the Allo DigiOne card, which has spdif output, and compared it to similar cards (hifiberry...)  I was thoroughly impressed. It seems Allo delivers on its claims. I look forward to hearing impressions of the USB Bridge. 

That's good to hear at least!  

W10 NUC i7 (Gen 10) > Roon (Audiolense FIR) > Motu UltraLite mk5 > (4) Hypex NCore NC502MP > JBL M2 Master Reference +4 subs

 

Watch my Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMw_bZWBMtRWNJQfTJ38kA/videos

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18 hours ago, hopkins said:

Here is my brief but enthusiastic review (Google translate required for non French speakers, sorry) : http://forum-hifi.fr/thread-4520.html

Thanks!  It will be interesting for sure.  

W10 NUC i7 (Gen 10) > Roon (Audiolense FIR) > Motu UltraLite mk5 > (4) Hypex NCore NC502MP > JBL M2 Master Reference +4 subs

 

Watch my Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMw_bZWBMtRWNJQfTJ38kA/videos

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I ordered the digiOne yesterday. I like the fact they publish their measurement data - if nothing else you can at least say they know how to engineer something.  The fact the the USB bridge runs on their own SMB means they're pretty competent engineers. 

 

Ive already been down the USB route once so ruled it out for this test and decided to go spdif for a change. I don't know the USB bridge numbers but their claimed (and measured) jitter on the digiOne, using their basic £15 PSU, is 0.588 picoseconds if i remember correctly. Noise of 50uV. Will be interesting to see how it sounds, having never tried spdif.

 

Juas as an aside their customer support was second to none.  

Roon lifetime > Mac Mini > ethernet > microRendu (RAAT) w/ Paul Hynes SR3 > Intona > Curious USB link > Devialet 250 Pro > PMC fact 8.

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18 hours ago, hifi_swlon said:

I ordered the digiOne yesterday. I like the fact they publish their measurement data - if nothing else you can at least say they know how to engineer something.  The fact the the USB bridge runs on their own SMB means they're pretty competent engineers. 

 

Ive already been down the USB route once so ruled it out for this test and decided to go spdif for a change. I don't know the USB bridge numbers but their claimed (and measured) jitter on the digiOne, using their basic £15 PSU, is 0.588 picoseconds if i remember correctly. Noise of 50uV. Will be interesting to see how it sounds, having never tried spdif.

 

Juas as an aside their customer support was second to none.  

My USBridge should arrive today but I won't be able to try it until tomorrow night.  I'm really looking forward to trying it though.  Should be interesting for sure!  

W10 NUC i7 (Gen 10) > Roon (Audiolense FIR) > Motu UltraLite mk5 > (4) Hypex NCore NC502MP > JBL M2 Master Reference +4 subs

 

Watch my Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMw_bZWBMtRWNJQfTJ38kA/videos

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I picked mine up from the USPS this morning.  I quickly opened the box but that's it until tonight. Not sure I'll have enough time to get through it but I'll take some pictures at least.  :D

W10 NUC i7 (Gen 10) > Roon (Audiolense FIR) > Motu UltraLite mk5 > (4) Hypex NCore NC502MP > JBL M2 Master Reference +4 subs

 

Watch my Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMw_bZWBMtRWNJQfTJ38kA/videos

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I received my unit, and it took me just over an hour to have it fully running as Roonbridge (half an hour assembly and other half configuring DietPi).

I had a few stop starts along the way, such as not realizing the EMMC module was just hanging loose from the microSD adaptor, and required clipping it back in. I also had to power the unit On and Off 2-3 times to get the Ethernet lights activated and for the router to recognise the device with IP address - anxious moments.

Once I went into the the DietPi configuration screen, it was relatively simple to just install Roonbridge and ALSA. The beauty of Roon is that everything falls into place once USBridge is connected to DAC, like it did with my previous microRendu and Beaglebone setups. I will explore Squeezelite with sox upsampling in future, since I have Roon DSP on by default.

 

Listening impressions will follow, with and without Iso Regen.

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Hi ,

 

 sorry I am pretty new to this forum and I dont want to break any rules.

 

I represent allo.com and I am here to answer any tech question.

 

We are working with dietpi and volumio to release new images that correct a few software bugs. Also we will start reshipping the USBridge in 48h already configured , basically plug and play, and with the  acrylic box already made. Yes we know about the alu one...please have patience.

 

We are also looking forward to any review.

 

 One important thing...make sure you are using 5v/3A adapters with the USBridge...anything else and you will get problems. Also the eMMC is connecting below Sparky not in the SD card (although is working in that position) . At last upgrade to latest dietpi , Dan (the great) has released today a new image.

 

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56 minutes ago, allo.com said:

Hi ,

 

 sorry I am pretty new to this forum and I dont want to break any rules.

 

I represent allo.com and I am here to answer any tech question.

 

We are working with dietpi and volumio to release new images that correct a few software bugs. Also we will start reshipping the USBridge in 48h already configured , basically plug and play, and with the  acrylic box already made. Yes we know about the alu one...please have patience.

 

We are also looking forward to any review.

 

 One important thing...make sure you are using 5v/3A adapters with the USBridge...anything else and you will get problems. Also the eMMC is connecting below Sparky not in the SD card (although is working in that position) . At last upgrade to latest dietpi , Dan (the great) has released today a new image.

 

 

what problems? I was planning to use USB power bank as power supply. No sure that you can find USB power bank with 5v3A specification...

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1 hour ago, mentt said:

No sure that you can find USB power bank with 5v3A specification..

I use the Poweradd battery bank that outputs 5v/2.1A. It's one of the the beefier ones that powers USBridge+Sparky alright.

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http://dietpi.com/downloads/images/DietPi_SparkySBC-armv7-(Jessie).7z

We've also identified an issue with the DietPi image:
Where eth*/wlan* adapter indexes would be reserved in udev rules. Although, DietPi does detect the active eth index during 1st run setup.

Either way this has now been resolved in our Sparky SBC image update (above link)

 

Also we are working with Dan for a custom image of our USBridge. I am not sure exactly how long it will take but I estimate 2-3 weeks.

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11 hours ago, k-man said:

I use the Poweradd battery bank that outputs 5v/2.1A. It's one of the the beefier ones that powers USBridge+Sparky alright.

 

We give the worst case scenario numbers...but yes without DAC drawing too much current  and after booting we can see steady 1.4A draw. *best case scenario*

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