Allo Sparky USBridge

[k-man]

Waiting for mine to arrive. Thanks for the DIET10 tip! I expect this to be my USB endgame in combination with an Iso Regen. 

[k-man]

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.

[k-man]

1 hour ago, mentt said:

Dan (the great) has released today a new image.

Any relevant changes with the new image? 

[k-man]

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.

[k-man]

Very true. In my scenario the DAC is not VBUS powered, but the Iso Regen is (itself drawing very low current).

[k-man]

5 hours ago, rikhav said:

Correct me if i am wrong but is USbridge and Uptone regen work in the same way ?

Yes, but USBridge is exclusively connected to Sparky, hence the bundle.

 

5 hours ago, rikhav said:

If I am right anyone compared USbridge vs Uptone regen (both connected to a USB out of a Sparky)

There's a lot more detail and clarity coming through the USBridge compared to Amber Regen+ Beaglebone Black, and microRendu. I'm having to re-write my listening impressions since I believe I have further unlocked USBridge's potential (posted by Allo in the Roon Community forum).

5 hours ago, rikhav said:

Why i am keen to hear if there is any comparison is that I am using a lpatop as my transport which connects via USB out to my dac with amber regen connected on the dac side

It depends on what software you are using on your laptop. If Roon or HQPlayer (and JRiver), then I recommend the laptop as server, and USBridge as endpoint. Any other software like Audirvana that doesn't involve network protocol then I recommend the upgrade from amber to Iso Regen.

 

6 hours ago, rikhav said:

It will help me decide if its worth shifting to Sparky+ Usbridge for transport

By the time you decide, the unit is claimed to be 'plug and play'. I had the privilege of building and installing the software myself, even peeling the double sided acrylic backing 

[k-man]

4 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

If you guys were planning to work on an update for Boss Player / Vana Player in the future with DSD audio support, please kindly consider adding a single 10 MHz master clock input for all components if that were feasible.

I'd like to see an Allo ZMan/Ravenna implemented DAC to see what all the fuss over AOIP is about  

[k-man]

2 hours ago, rikhav said:

Also how did you manage to install custom software or can you share more details on what exactly you did.

I don't understand programming much but just about good enough to follow instructions

I chose DietPi over Volume as distro. It seems the DietPi creator is quite keen to get images for Sparky run and continually updated. Its website offers decent tutorials and forum, so following instructions will make you good.

 

2 hours ago, rikhav said:

Is hqplayer NAA software compatible with sparky board ?

Yes.

 

You can also install squeezelite onto Sparky for it to work with your Logitech media server.

[k-man]

2 hours ago, allo.com said:

Please open jumper 28...and feed 2 PSUs

 

 One to Sparky ,,about 5v/2A. Second to Usbridge 100mA/5V very clean. You will get a jump in sound quality

This deserves its own thread: 'A novel way to massively improve the SQ of USBridge - at no extra cost'

[k-man]

Great to hear your views on USBridge @mentt! Were your listening impressions based on the board still having Jumper '28' still attached to the board? I really urge you to remove it, and it's far easier to do than you might think. Then power the USBridge board rather than Sparky and you will be beyond microRendu/LPS-1 territory. If you can make the connections, then if you power the boards individually (i.e Stock SMPS to Sparky, LPS-1 to USBridge) dare I say, highly suspect you will be in 'ultra' territory 

[k-man]

1 hour ago, volpone said:

But from your signature why are you using USBridge ? Isn't NADC388 BLUOS / RoonReady ?

You would have to purchase the BluOS module for £399. I think USBridge is nice to test the waters first .

[k-man]

A smaller investment would be HQPlayer Desktop, and USBridge to be configured as NAA/endpoint. No cost options would be either Logitech Media Server/Squeezelite, or Music Payer Daemon.

 

All these options can be easily installed/uninstalled in the DietPi configuration screen.

 

[k-man]

21 minutes ago, franz159 said:

I guess I can achieve that either with Volumio or LMS running on the Sparky.

Yes I believe so too, as LMS can be installed with DietPi, and the USB ports on Sparky are available to attach storage. @allo.com can confirm?

[k-man]

29 minutes ago, jppierme said:

I have one issue with usbridge. How to open the J28. I

Honestly it really is simple to pull the jumper (little square silicon block) from the J28 on the USBridge board- the letter J28 is printed in white on the board. I will advise to separate Sparky out first, since the jumper is quite stiff to remove the first time.

[k-man]

@jtwrace ended up sending USBridge back.

I purchased the unit around the same time, so I definitely can relate to some expectations that were not met (for him) but the difference for new buyers is more plug and play friendly. 

[k-man]

That is great to hear! Thanks for bringing the attention of Allo/USBridge to CA from Roon community. 

[k-man]

1 hour ago, jtwrace said:

 I'm curious to see how it performs subjectively and objectively.

Is it a third party who will carry out the measurements? Allo'a noise output of USBridge is less than 12 microvaults, but I haven't come across similar measurements of microRendu, UltraRendu, or SOtM.

[k-man]

The digi ONE is a great affordable (that I don't own) device, considering some have requested a SPDIF out Rendu, or have purchased USB to SPDIF converters.

 

[k-man]

ROON10

[k-man]

22 minutes ago, mikey8811 said:

Is a server side software like Minim server or LMS needed?

No such requirement. You just point the network IP and directory, and enable the network share protocol on your MacBook network settings. I have used NFS sharing with decent success.

 

Minim server and LMS can work if you like, based on DNLA/UPnP configuration. But that's another step in configurations.

[k-man]

Volumio is the Music Player Daemon server/player that locates your network music drive via network sharing, so no need to install any program like this on your Mac. So it's only needed on the Sparky end. I don't think the 32bit/64bit should be an issue, only how your USB drive is formatted i.e FAT32, MS-DOS-FAT etc).

[k-man]

It sounds more simple for the Mac Mini and USBridge to be connected to a new router (LAN connection) that can be joined to the existing internet router via Wifi (or bridged mode).

[k-man]

Good luck @Mark V. with getting things up and running. Network configurations is the least enjoyable aspect of streaming, as I get frustrated at times when the network isn't recongnised, or dropouts due to traffic elsewhere. While Roon handles recognition of devices quite well, the internet connection requirements means you need to make the extra step of configuring the settings of the 2nd router. 

[k-man]

If it all goes well, then it's a case of optimising the networks to ignore the devices for WLAN (done at the router or device settings).

 

[k-man]

Same message as the above 2 posts but louder....from your photo IT'S THE SINGLE OUTPUT ON THE TOP!!!!