Allo Digione Signature

[xrqp]

On 10/9/2018 at 8:07 AM, RX8R3ROD said:

I’m not familiar with the JS-2 power supply in detail, but with Uptone’s reputation one would think it very safe to assume that if they state ‘2 rails’ both would be very tightly regulated and highly filtered with top quality components (unlike some LPS’s, I believe), so you shouldn’t experience the potential issues of a Y cable feeding crud into the clean side of the Signature.

 

 

 

NO. The ground is common to both rails and noise can go from dirty side to clean side thru the ground. If you try it, see if this creates a sonic problem or not.

[nbpf]

18 hours ago, xrqp said:

 

NO. The ground is common to both rails and noise can go from dirty side to clean side thru the ground. If you try it, see if this creates a sonic problem or not.

Right, powering the clean side and the RPi side with the same PSU would defeat the galvanic isolation between the two sided. I am using a JS-2 to power the RPi side and the LPS-1.2 that powers the clean side of the Signature. This is most likely a great waste of resources but the JS-2 is very flexible unit and I think that I will be able to use it to power other devices in the future. It also looks very nice and the build quality is great.   

[Tintinabulum]

I'm using a  JS-2 for both sides and it sounds awesome. I've not compared though, I don't have any other nice PSs. I may try the Allo PS in the dirty side. Out of curiosity, what is producing the noise, RPi components?

[RX8R3ROD]

I think both approaches are absolutely spot on. The dirty side definitely responds well to cleaner power in my tests, and the sound IME becomes even better-times, cleaner, clearer (particularly on peaks) and more transparent and tuneful in the bass 👍

[n1kcha]

Hello all

 

I am interested building a Digione based player to feed my Naim Dac and i have a couple of questions:

1) clean and dirty side usb ports are type c or micro usb? If I buy a linear power supply, are there any adapter cables  in order to supply power to these ports?

2) I am reading about uptone LPS 1.2 considered a good option. Are there any recommended european alternatives at the same price level? I hesitate to buy LPS 1.2 because i will have to pay a bit at customs...

[kotlarix]

Ad1. Yup both USB type C (digione signature is delivered with two adapters 5.5mm Jack -> USB type C)

 

Ad2. In Europe you can buy SBOOSTER ( remember chose correct one,  SBOOSTER COMES comes in many different voltage variations) company finds it self in Netherlands

[TomWoB]

If you use a SBooster (5V) for the clean side (makes sense), you can improve it even more with the usage of a "SBooster Ultra 5V" (Ultra). I do this with "my self made Signature" (DigiOne Standard) 😉 ...

[nbpf]

20 hours ago, n1kcha said:

Hello all

 

I am interested building a Digione based player to feed my Naim Dac and i have a couple of questions:

1) clean and dirty side usb ports are type c or micro usb? If I buy a linear power supply, are there any adapter cables  in order to supply power to these ports?

2) I am reading about uptone LPS 1.2 considered a good option. Are there any recommended european alternatives at the same price level? I hesitate to buy LPS 1.2 because i will have to pay a bit at customs...

I have bought an LPS-1.2 directly from Uptone Audio. They have very reasonable FedEx shipping conditions and it took only 3 days for my unit to be delivered to Berlin. Alternatively you can buy from Audiostore in the UK. I have not compared the LPS-1.2 to the SBooster. What I can say is that the build quality and the packaging of the LPS-1.2 are excellent and that, in contrast to other PSUs that I have bought in the past, it is aesthetically appealing. I have put the LPS-1.2 and the JS-2 on a shelf just below the Naim DAC.

[nbpf]

On 3/18/2019 at 10:27 PM, Tintinabulum said:

I'm using a  JS-2 for both sides and it sounds awesome. I've not compared though, I don't have any other nice PSs. I may try the Allo PS in the dirty side. Out of curiosity, what is producing the noise, RPi components?

Interesting, thanks for reporting!

 

[steklo]

For those in Europe I'd once again throw in the Thel Black Pulsar shunt regulated PSU. I described that before here and I'm still very impressed:

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/49667-allo-digione-signature/page/17/?tab=comments#comment-903620

 

It is semi DIY: The board is ready for use you need to put it into a case and connect cables to it. If I can do it, anyone can.

One advantage of the Black Pulsar is it's got two separate rails, so you have a high quality power source for both clean and dirty side of Digione signature galvanically isolated from one PSU.

 

For those in the U.S. Twisted Pear Placid HD would probably be quite similar, though with the necessity of a full DIY approach.

 

[n1kcha]

Ok, thanks all for power supplies suggestions. I ordered a signature, a power supply and a battery pack to try it and later if  i like it i  will decide for power supply upgrade. I am currently thinking for an Uptone's JS-2 that seems to be versatile and of a higher quality, Sbooster is attractive too and has a local distributor...

[Nay]

Any UK buyers for my Digione Signature message me please.

 

This is the spec 

 

DigiOne Signature Player  - Acrylic Case : Black Acrylic With Black Rivets, Add-On Memory : SD Card 16GB, Add-Ons : 5V PSU + Battery Pack, OS : DietPi + ALLOGUI, RPi Version : B+

 

Thankyou.

[nbpf]

On 3/18/2019 at 10:27 PM, Tintinabulum said:

I'm using a  JS-2 for both sides and it sounds awesome. I've not compared though, I don't have any other nice PSs. I may try the Allo PS in the dirty side. Out of curiosity, what is producing the noise, RPi components?

I have tried powering both the RPi side and the clean side with the JS-2 and to me it sounds absolutely fine: slightly warmer and perhaps more natural than powering the RPi side with the JS-2 and the clean side with the LPS-1.2.

 

Then I have tried powering the RPi side with the LPS-1.2 and the clean side with the JS-2. That also sounds very fine. Reverting back to powering the clean side with the LPS-1.2 (and the RPi side with the JS-2) confirmed my impressions.

 

As wrap-up I would say that I prefer powering the clean side with the JS-2 (and the RPi side with either the JS-2 or with the LPS-1.2). Perhaps the LPS-1.2 is more transparent but to me the JS-2 sounds more natural. With the JS-2, the bass line is more articulated and vocals more natural. 

 

Please, take my observations with some skepticism: in a different setup my (temporary) conclusions might have been very different and others might prefer powering the clean side of the DigiOne Signature with the LPS-1.2 in my setup.

     

[xrqp]

nbpf, if you power the clean board, as you did, with JS-2 or LPS 1.2, BUT instead power Rpi with the SMPS that the signature player comes with, how much worse is it?   I am hoping it is only very slightly worse.

[nbpf]

4 minutes ago, xrqp said:

nbpf, if you power the clean board, as you did, with JS-2 or LPS 1.2, BUT instead power Rpi with the SMPS that the signature player comes with, how much worse is it?   I am hoping it is only very slightly worse.

I haven't tried that but before buying the JS-2 I have powered the RPi side with a grounded ifi 5V/2.5A PSU (clean side with LPS-1.2) and I thought it was fine. I guess it very much depends on the specific system and certainly also on the specific listening habits. Thus, as I wrote, all these observations have to be taken with care. I think that RX8R3ROD has done more systematic tests with different power supplies and concluded that the DigiOne Signature (again, in his system, to his ears) is also quite sensitive to the quality of the power supply used to power the RPi side. If you try different PSUs for the DigiOne Signature, please report your findings!    

[RX8R3ROD]

May I just say that IMHO and for what that’s worth, that was a great question and a brilliant answer 👍

 

Again, IMHO, so much more insightful and helpful than a ‘product x destroys product y which makes product y total rubbish’ type of answer, without any reference to context and listener preference, music style, etc 

[xrqp]

Good point.  I remember in real estate appraising, I had to learn to be careful about not overdoing it with the differences.  I ignore youtubes with "this destroys that" type of title.

 

RX, did you try to power Rpi (dirty board) with the SMPS that the signature player comes with, and compare to a clean power supply to the Rpi.?

 

If I can get my player to work, I will be checking this and report back.  

 

I sent Allo support the question they have not answered for 2 days now:

Quote

 

When I stream airplay from ipad to Diet-Pi, I get no sound out of Signature and I get:

ALSA OUTPUT STREAM INFORMATION

Status : access: MMAP_INTERLEAVED | format: S16_LE | subformat: STD | channels: 2 | rate: 44100 (44100/1) | period_size: 256 | buffer_size: 131072 

 

"Does ALSA OUTPUT STREAM INFORMATION mean there is no reason to re-image the flash drive?

 

 

 

[RX8R3ROD]

I did, as it happens, and it absolutely destroyed ... 🙄😄

 

Let me try that again ... And I found it sounded, to my ears and in my system, pretty darn good. I don’t think in any way you would think the Signature sounded like a pile of cr@p with the Allo SMPS on the dirty side, ... or the clean side for that matter.

 

It just sounds increasingly better and better with improved power supplies.

 

Arguably a bit like Naim amplifiers.

 

My main listening criteria is PRaT, and it had plenty of that with the Allo supply on the dirty side. 👍

 

On the downside it (to me) sounded a little bit rough (though very ready 😀), and to me the grounded IFi iPower, as an example, sounded smoother, a bit more detailed, with better differentiation of bass notes, and the timing was a little better.

 

But as nbpf said, this is absolutely all system and preference-dependent.

 

You might even find you prefer the sound with the Allo SMPS, depending on what you like, and what your system is like. 😁

 

Hope that’s of some help.

 

[xrqp]

Thanks for the reply.  As a born again audiophile, getting back into it 4 months ago, after 40 year lapse, I am amazed what I am learning about streamers and power supplies, from this web site (you all, and Austin Pops), and the Hans Beekhuyzen youtubes.  Everytime you think the power supply and sound quality has plateaued, they get a better (more expensive) power supply, and the sound quality goes up again.  Then that  repeats one or two times more, going better and better.  Darn that it has to cost so much to go to those lofty levels.

[RX8R3ROD]

It’s a great time to be an audio enthusiast isn’t it? And (in my case when I got the bug as a teenager pre-internet) there is just so much more helpful info available out there. 👍🏻

[kotlarix]

Here is mine,  not finished yet though playing music like a champ.

 

Power supply:

1st (RPI) TOMANEK mini

2nd (Digione signature) Sturder 900 chinese copy from Ebay (13$) - changed all caps to Nichicon FG Audio, extra polymer films, and audio grade transformer 15VAC

 

Sounds amazing, for now I played only spotify through airplay (I was sure that chromecast had ok quality but Allo DS it's a rocket)

 

I added delay module before TOMANEK PSU so it's switching it ON with 45sec delay (allo advice is to connect dirty side with approx 40sec later after powering DS)

 

Next step it's ATX POWER off button but I need to order pcb board first

[RX8R3ROD]

Looks great, and I can imagine sounds great too!

 

And that’s IMHO a veeeery imaginative way of building a power supply with excellent components, but not having to do it absolutely from scratch. 👍🏻

 

Thanks for sharing 😀

[kotlarix]

53 minutes ago, RX8R3ROD said:

Looks great, and I can imagine sounds great too!

 

And that’s IMHO a veeeery imaginative way of building a power supply with excellent components, but not having to do it absolutely from scratch. 👍🏻

 

Thanks for sharing 😀

 

Not exactly as I planned (I bought that audio grade transformer [it's two transformer in one galvanicly separated from each other) to feed two PSU boards and save place in.

 

Unfortunately when I was ordering soldiering kit from Ebay I didn't found info that this board need 9VAC min to drive the board (that's why two different psu (had to connect transformer in series to get max from it and be able to drive Sturder 900 circuit)

 

Those three empty holes are for NEUTRIK outputs adapters (USB, LAN, HDMI).

 

I've seen you're pictures and till some point I wanted copy your set up but those ifi purifiers are too expensive for me and you used few of them, my project is very cheap comparing to yours.

[InfinitelyBaffled]

13 hours ago, kotlarix said:

Here is mine,  not finished yet though playing music like a champ.

 

Power supply:

1st (RPI) TOMANEK mini

2nd (Digione signature) Sturder 900 chinese copy from Ebay (13$) - changed all caps to Nichicon FG Audio, extra polymer films, and audio grade transformer 15VAC

 

Sounds amazing, for now I played only spotify through airplay (I was sure that chromecast had ok quality but Allo DS it's a rocket)

 

I added delay module before TOMANEK PSU so it's switching it ON with 45sec delay (allo advice is to connect dirty side with approx 40sec later after powering DS)

 

Next step it's ATX POWER off button but I need to order pcb board first

 

 

Congratulations!  Looks great!  What's that breakout board on top the Pi?

[kotlarix]

2 hours ago, InfinitelyBaffled said:

 

 

Congratulations!  Looks great!  What's that breakout board on top the Pi?

It's an GPIO extender when connected to the Pi gives you three GPIO slots on top of a Pi.

 

I bought it because I needed to make some room under Digione signature (if you want to build in digione in casing and its connected directly to the Pi when assembling player to the casing with nut on the BNC output it's pressing on audio Jack and hdmi slot, that's one reason second is it gave me possibility to mount hdmi port in case and third one is I have free GPIOS pins and I'm planning to connect ATX power off button