Allo Digione Signature

[SparkSpark]

So what batteries/set up are you using for the clean side?

[Charente]

Has anyone used (or have views on) an UpTone UltraCap LPS 1 as the clean side PS ? I am currently using this with a Sonore microRendu 1.3 and thinking of giving the Allo DigiOne Sig a try.

[clipper]

I am using an LPS-1 to power the clean side of a DigiOne Signature.  Great combination!

 

El cheapo 5v LPS being used to power the RPI side...

 

The DigiOne Signature is currently my preferred streamer and believe me when I say I have tried a bunch of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RX8R3ROD]

1 hour ago, SparkSpark said:

So what batteries/set up are you using for the clean side?

I have used Samsung 18650 3000 mah batteries in both 2x and 4x combination (the latter using Allo’s battery power pack) for the clean side and it can give great results. The 4-battery setup seemed to me to sound better than the 2-battery setup.

[Charente]

4 hours ago, clipper said:

I am using an LPS-1 to power the clean side of a DigiOne Signature.  Great combination!

 

El cheapo 5v LPS being used to power the RPI side...

 

The DigiOne Signature is currently my preferred streamer and believe me when I say I have tried a bunch of them.

 

Thankyou @clipper

 

 

[SparkSpark]

Is there something like the Allo battery pack that I could get from Amazon? Don't want to wait for Allo - especially after getting the wrong charger the last time... 

 

I search for a battery pack and get a ton of irrelevant results

 

Thank you!

[RX8R3ROD]

This is the one I got from Amazon.

 

If you search for DSD TECH 18650 Battery Holder with built-in 2 slots for Arduino and DIY it’s on Prime, so you can get it nice and quick (basically why I bought it ... ?)

 

Hope that helps?

[burmar]

8 minutes ago, RX8R3ROD said:

This is the one I got from Amazon.

 

If you search for DSD TECH 18650 Battery Holder with built-in 2 slots for Arduino and DIY it’s on Prime, so you can get it nice and quick (basically why I bought it ... ?)

 

Hope that helps?

Me too... the same holder ????

Not audiophile materials... but it works

[RX8R3ROD]

???

[SparkSpark]

On 10/2/2018 at 1:53 PM, ALLOaudio said:

@SparkSpark

hi again.

By looking at your pictures, seems to me that the bottom plate is upside down.

You just need to flip it.

Then the side walls will fit in the indentations.

if you look at the bottom plate, the one with the 4 extra holes for the RPI, you will see that on one side there is 1 rectangular indentation (corresponds to the 2 x dual USB and ethernet wall) and on the other end there are 2 (corresponds to the SD card wall insert).

See image

Let me know how it goes by emailing me at [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, finally got it to 'build' properly. Thanks for the help,

The instruction can be clearer...

[SparkSpark]

One quick question, the Allo Battery holder, is it designed for 'flat positive' batteries or the more traditional 'extrusion positive'? I got the later and just realized they won't fit in the generic battery holder I got from Amazon  

 

Thank you!

[RX8R3ROD]

There seems to be 3 or 4 mm between the negative end of the battery and the case, and the spring can compress some more (I tried it) so it might fit with the  ‘extrusion positive’ battery, but it would be tight. Sorry I can’t be more definitive ...

[RX8R3ROD]

A bit more on power supplies for the fab Signature.

 

I am getting excellent results (IME, in my system, and with my electricity supply a significant improvement on batteries, which themselves are already excellent) with a 12v iFi iPower regulated to 5v.

 

Experience now suggests a couple of 9v supercapacitors in series work extremely well on the input to the regulator (better, anyway, than Oscons, either singular or in various parallel combinations), where the PRaT elements and non-modulation across instruments and voices really do rock.

 

Interestingly, though, an LT7805 is so far the best-sounding regulator, easily besting an LT3405; somewhat against my expectations and relative pricing of the products.

 

Just goes to to show the old adage that whilst measurements are important to learn from, it’s what it sounds like that ultimately matters. ?

 

If you want to get even more from your Signature than you may be getting now (hard to imagine, I know ?), I can very much recommend this route and IME it’s well worth a bit of experimentation.

 

I await the Allo supply for the Signature with some interest! ??

[nbpf]

@RX8R3ROD: thanks for reporting! I was about to order the DigiOne Signature last week but then I realized that I would need to get yet another adapter (USB-C to 5.5x2.1mm) and I just gave up. Why the hell have Allo decided to use USB-C connectors when virtually all PSU come with 5.5x2.1mm or with 5.5x2.5mm barrel connectors? Anyway: I understand that powering both the clean and the dirty side of a Signature from the same PSU via a Y-cable would defeat galvanic isolation. Do you know whether this also the case if the two sides are powered by the two rails of a JS-2?

[RX8R3ROD]

Hi nbpf,

 

All the chopping and changing around connectors is kind of frustrating, isn’t it? ?One hopes that USB C is the end of the changes (across many product lines) for a loooong time, but somehow one suspects it probably won’t be ...

 

Still, on the upside, it is at least always the right way round ? 

 

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.

 

 

[nbpf]

2 hours ago, RX8R3ROD said:

Hi nbpf,

 

All the chopping and changing around connectors is kind of frustrating, isn’t it? ?One hopes that USB C is the end of the changes (across many product lines) for a loooong time, but somehow one suspects it probably won’t be ...

 

Still, on the upside, it is at least always the right way round ? 

You are right! I do not actually mind USB C, I very much hope it will eventually replace the current mess. But if I had some of those fancy 75$ Oyaide DC cables (which I do not) I would like to be able to plug them directly into the Signature, not into yet another adapter. 

[nbpf]

2 hours ago, RX8R3ROD said:

Hi nbpf,

...

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.

Thanks! I do not have a JS-2 at the moment but if I'll keep on playing around with SBCs, I would like at a certain point to get rid of all the Allo, ifi, etc. wall wart PSUs and have just one device that supports different output voltages. The JS-2 seems a great value although it is rather expensive. 

[RX8R3ROD]

Have to say, it does look like a really fab bit of kit, doesn’t it? ??

[nbpf]

10 hours ago, RX8R3ROD said:

Have to say, it does look like a really fab bit of kit, doesn’t it? ??

Yes, well built and aesthetically appealing! The size of the JS-2 also suits my needs very well, many PSUs are just a little bit too deep for my shelves. 

[nbpf]

On 10/6/2018 at 4:45 PM, clipper said:

I am using an LPS-1 to power the clean side of a DigiOne Signature.  Great combination!

 

El cheapo 5v LPS being used to power the RPI side...

 

The DigiOne Signature is currently my preferred streamer and believe me when I say I have tried a bunch of them.

Thanks for the report! How do you connect the 5.5x2.1mm output of the LPS-1 to the USB-C input of the DigiOne Signature? Do you use adapters or the https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/dc29.html cable? I would like to upgrade my DigiOne to the Signature but I am a bit held back by the cable mess. Thanks, nbpf

[matthias]

On 10/6/2018 at 4:45 PM, clipper said:

The DigiOne Signature is currently my preferred streamer and believe me when I say I have tried a bunch of them.

 

Hi clipper,

which ones did you try?

Thanks

 

Matt

[Emcee]

On 10/9/2018 at 9:11 AM, RX8R3ROD said:

A bit more on power supplies for the fab Signature.

 

I am getting excellent results (IME, in my system, and with my electricity supply a significant improvement on batteries, which themselves are already excellent) with a 12v iFi iPower regulated to 5v.

 

Experience now suggests a couple of 9v supercapacitors in series work extremely well on the input to the regulator (better, anyway, than Oscons, either singular or in various parallel combinations), where the PRaT elements and non-modulation across instruments and voices really do rock.

 

Interestingly, though, an LT7805 is so far the best-sounding regulator, easily besting an LT3405; somewhat against my expectations and relative pricing of the products.

 

Just goes to to show the old adage that whilst measurements are important to learn from, it’s what it sounds like that ultimately matters. ?

 

If you want to get even more from your Signature than you may be getting now (hard to imagine, I know ?), I can very much recommend this route and IME it’s well worth a bit of experimentation.

 

I await the Allo supply for the Signature with some interest! ??

I have the DigiOne (not signature) being fed by a Paul Hynes SR-4 (clean side) and a CIAudio (RPI side). I'm thinking about ordering the Signature version. Anyhow my question is: where exactly did you install the LT7805, in the external power supply or on the DigiOne itself?

[RX8R3ROD]

16 hours ago, Emcee said:

I have the DigiOne (not signature) being fed by a Paul Hynes SR-4 (clean side) and a CIAudio (RPI side). I'm thinking about ordering the Signature version. Anyhow my question is: where exactly did you install the LT7805, in the external power supply or on the DigiOne itself?

Currently it’s installed on a breadboard between the external power supply (iPower) and the Signature, as in the attached photo (shows a couple of versions for the Signature, and th3 middle one is for the MiniDSP DIRAC room correction box, where it also makes a worthwhile, albeit smaller, difference)

 

The final versions will be in the ubiquitous aluminium-fronted box, though still in the same place in the system.

 

It would be v interesting to see if this is beneficial fronted by an LPS.

 

I tried it as in many ways the 5v iPower has always sounded pretty good and seemingly measured extremely well to me, but it has also to me (in my system, with my electricity supply, Yada, Yada ...) always sounded a bit gutless. ?

 

Using a 12v iPower with a good helping of capacitance and further regulating it to 5v has totally cured that. I can’t fully explain why (suspect in part it’s lack of spare energy storage in the iPower, but that’s a baseless theory just now) so am upgrading my rudimentary oscilloscope to try and find out a bit more about why.

 

If you try it it’d be very interesting to hear your experiences.

[RX8R3ROD]

PS, should also hav3 said, trials with double-regulation 12v to 9v and then 9v to 5v have all sounded worse than straight 5v regulation... again hoping the improved oscilloscope might give more insight on that ...

[rruffin]

2 hours ago, RX8R3ROD said:

I tried it as in many ways the 5v iPower has always sounded pretty good and seemingly measured extremely well to me, but it has also to me (in my system, with my electricity supply, Yada, Yada ...) always sounded a bit gutless. ?

 

Using a 12v iPower with a good helping of capacitance and further regulating it to 5v has totally cured that. I can’t fully explain why (suspect in part it’s lack of spare energy storage in the iPower, but that’s a baseless theory just now) so am upgrading my rudimentary oscilloscope to try and find out a bit more about why.

 

As my friend would say, "You crazy!"

 

Man, you are really making this "powering the clean side" into a real adventure. Thanks for posting the photo so I more fully understand that what you are doing is way, way beyond me. I will be happy with my "gutless" iFi 5v for now. Much improved sound over the original DigiOne and much better than using the supplied Allo wall wart to power the hat. Will try a simple battery pack and then patiently wait for Allo to develop their Signature power supply.

 

Again, thanks for sharing your experiences...