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ALLO USBridge Signature


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Thank you all for info about Ifi Ipower 5v. I already have LPS with two 5V output (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32901930319.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.d2494c4d3nIIKz). I use one for ProJect PreBox S2 digital Dac and another for USbridgeSig. I would buy Shanti later, but for now I want to know if Ifi would be better than my LPS..
P.S. About microSD for USBSig, what would be optimal speed. Will simple class 10 card be ok? Or I need faster card (U3)?

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54 minutes ago, naum said:

Thank you all for info about Ifi Ipower 5v. I already have LPS with two 5V output (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32901930319.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.d2494c4d3nIIKz). I use one for ProJect PreBox S2 digital Dac and another for USbridgeSig. I would buy Shanti later, but for now I want to know if Ifi would be better than my LPS..
P.S. About microSD for USBSig, what would be optimal speed. Will simple class 10 card be ok? Or I need faster card (U3)?

 

Regarding the LPS, I'm open to correction, but I think the super-capacitor supplies like the Shanti are better than a plain LPS.  Perhaps someone else can explain better.

 

I also would like to know the best card to use.  My eMMC got corrupted and I haven't been able to recover it but I need to spend a little time with it and see if I can get it working again.  I thought it sounded a bit better than an SD card.

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1 hour ago, zackthedog said:

 

Regarding the LPS, I'm open to correction, but I think the super-capacitor supplies like the Shanti are better than a plain LPS.  Perhaps someone else can explain better.

 

I also would like to know the best card to use.  My eMMC got corrupted and I haven't been able to recover it but I need to spend a little time with it and see if I can get it working again.  I thought it sounded a bit better than an SD card.

I have not heard enough about different LPS supplies on the Allo and how sensitive it is to different supplies.  I have seen a lot of references to the iFi as being noisy in other use cases, I think I would avoid it for long term use.

 

I have played a bit with SD cards.  I have been using the Sandisk V30 Speed class cards.  They perform better when the card is used a lot like when using MoOde player with a large database.  Just faster.   I do not know if the V60 or V90 cards make any difference.

 

For a while I have been thinking about card wear and that is one reason I am interested in the OS running as much in RAM as possible.  Minor worry with the price of cards these days.  

 

I have not been able to determine if different cards sound better.  I find that the differences in software have a large effect.  I am still finding the MoOde is doing very well by me.  I have done just a little listening lately with Gentoo Player, but I am not sure about where it fits to my ears yet.  A/B OS variants is hard and slow.

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On 12/22/2019 at 11:28 PM, clipper said:

For anyone who is interested - 

antonellocaroli, the developer of GentooPlayer, posted download links to versions of GentooPlayer that work well with Allo's great USBridge Signature.

 

 

There are also some installation/setup instructions later in the thread.  

 

My personal recommendation is to try the 32-bit version, because antonellocaroli is still working on adding features to the 64-bit version.  The 32-bit version is currently more full featured.  For instance, ramdisk mode is fully implemented in the 32-bit version.  When the 64-bit version is done, that could likely be the one to use. 

 

Thank you for suggesting GentooPlayer. I was struggling to get my USB Sig to play DSD files without clicks and pops. 

 

I just tried Gentoo and it's playing perfectly all the way to 512 without any clicks or pops. I tried most of the OSes suggested on this thread and the only other OS that worked glitch free was Ropiee, but I couldn't install HQP on it and it didn't sound as good with Roon bridge.

 

Thanks again Clipper for the suggestion.

 

PC (Roon +  HQ Player) | Allo US Bridge Sig + Shanti LPS | SOTM TX-USB Ultra + SPS500 PSU| T+A Dac 8 DSD | Luxman C-900u + M-900u | PMC MB2 Se

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I am trying to get my USBridge Sig to work with the wifi dongle that came with my old USBridge with Sparky, but Moode Audio won't see it. Anybody have any luck? Here is the output of lsusb

 

Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0bda:818b Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8192EU 802.11b/g/n WLAN Adapter

Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0b95:1790 ASIX Electronics Corp. AX88179 Gigabit Ethernet

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 21b4:0230

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0451:8142 Texas Instruments, Inc. TUSB8041 4-Port Hub

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Software: Roon [depricated: Moode Audio (http://moodeaudio.org), Audirvana Plus+]

Digital: Ayre Codex [upgrading to Ayre QX-5 Twenty]; Oppo UDP-205; [depricated: Raspberry Pi 2 with Hifiberry Digi+];  Synology Diskstation 412+ NAS;  Tidal

Preamplification: Ayre KX-5 Twenty;  Amplification: Ayre VX-5 Twenty; Speakers: Vandersteen 5A 

Analog: Clearaudio Performance DC, Concept tonearm, Artist v2 ebony cartridge, Ayre P-5xe, Nakamichi 630 (Tuner… just for fun)

Cables: Audioquest Aspen for speakers, otherwise Anti-cables throughout (except Audioquest running from P-5xe to K-5xeMP) 

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40 minutes ago, intermediatic said:

I am trying to get my USBridge Sig to work with the wifi dongle that came with my old USBridge with Sparky, but Moode Audio won't see it. Anybody have any luck? Here is the output of lsusb

 

Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0bda:818b Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8192EU 802.11b/g/n WLAN Adapter

Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0b95:1790 ASIX Electronics Corp. AX88179 Gigabit Ethernet

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 21b4:0230

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0451:8142 Texas Instruments, Inc. TUSB8041 4-Port Hub

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

These steps come from https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/67719/how-do-i-install-the-drivers-for-a-wifi-dongle-with-the-realtek-8812au-chipset-o.  The key is MrEngman's install script.

 

sudo wget http://www.fars-robotics.net/install-wifi -O /usr/bin/install-wifi

 

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/install-wifi

 

sudo install-wifi

 

sudo reboot

 

When it reboots you should be able to scan for networks (in Moode's web interface), find your SSID, and enter the password.

 

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5 hours ago, clipper said:

These steps come from https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/67719/how-do-i-install-the-drivers-for-a-wifi-dongle-with-the-realtek-8812au-chipset-o.  The key is MrEngman's install script.

 

sudo wget http://www.fars-robotics.net/install-wifi -O /usr/bin/install-wifi

 

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/install-wifi

 

sudo install-wifi

 

sudo reboot

 

When it reboots you should be able to scan for networks (in Moode's web interface), find your SSID, and enter the password.

 

 

That's helpful, thanks.  I was thinking of experimenting with WiFi.

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Very helpful, thanks. Although now I am coming to the realization that the Allo USB products will not work consistently with the Ayre Codex. They work just fine with my Schitt Multibit Modi, but man, what a difference in sound quality. I think it’s time for an ultrarendu. 

Software: Roon [depricated: Moode Audio (http://moodeaudio.org), Audirvana Plus+]

Digital: Ayre Codex [upgrading to Ayre QX-5 Twenty]; Oppo UDP-205; [depricated: Raspberry Pi 2 with Hifiberry Digi+];  Synology Diskstation 412+ NAS;  Tidal

Preamplification: Ayre KX-5 Twenty;  Amplification: Ayre VX-5 Twenty; Speakers: Vandersteen 5A 

Analog: Clearaudio Performance DC, Concept tonearm, Artist v2 ebony cartridge, Ayre P-5xe, Nakamichi 630 (Tuner… just for fun)

Cables: Audioquest Aspen for speakers, otherwise Anti-cables throughout (except Audioquest running from P-5xe to K-5xeMP) 

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16 minutes ago, intermediatic said:

Very helpful, thanks. Although now I am coming to the realization that the Allo USB products will not work consistently with the Ayre Codex. They work just fine with my Schitt Multibit Modi, but man, what a difference in sound quality. I think it’s time for an ultrarendu. 

What is happening with the Codex? Was it Roon to MoOde?      During my testing MoOde and Roon are unstable together.  Audirvana to MoOde UPnP is better. I swapped out to GentooPlayer with much better results on the stability front.

 

I have had trouble with Sonore products and some DACs too.  I do not think there is a panacea here.  

 

I have avoided WiFi with a passion!  Over the years when I was testing I found that WiFi transmitters caused issues with some of the gear I was running.  I think it it was the ARCAM rDAC at the time.  Of course running wires all over the house is not always practical, but it is an engineering challenge.

 

 

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2 hours ago, intermediatic said:

Very helpful, thanks. Although now I am coming to the realization that the Allo USB products will not work consistently with the Ayre Codex. They work just fine with my Schitt Multibit Modi, but man, what a difference in sound quality. I think it’s time for an ultrarendu. 

In my system, a Sonore ultraRendu (ppowered by UpTone Audio JS-2) into Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB into Naim DAC is neither better nor worse than an Allo DigiOne Signature (powered by JS-2 [RPi side] and LPS-1.2 [clear side]) straight into the Naim DAC. Just perhaps a little bit different. 

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8 minutes ago, nbpf said:

In my system, a Sonore ultraRendu (ppowered by UpTone Audio JS-2) into Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB into Naim DAC is neither better nor worse than an Allo DigiOne Signature (powered by JS-2 [RPi side] and LPS-1.2 [clear side]) straight into the Naim DAC. Just perhaps a little bit different. 

nbpf what is your software chain for the comparison?  I keep finding that the software is a HUGE part of the equation.

 

I love direct experience comparisons! 

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27 minutes ago, bobfa said:

nbpf what is your software chain for the comparison?  I keep finding that the software is a HUGE part of the equation.

 

I love direct experience comparisons! 

On the RPi 3B+ that hosts the DigiOne Signature, I run upmpdcli (https://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/) and MPD in a minimal Raspbian Lite installation: no X, no web servers, just ssh, rsync and mandatory packages. On that RPi I also turn off HDMI, bluetooth, the internal sound card, wired Ethernet and the USB bus. This brings the power consumption of the RPi + DigiOne Signature combination down to about 300mA. I have tried RT kernels as an alternative to the standard kernel (4.19.66-v7+) with no obvious effects on the sound quality. I have also tried Volumio and DietPi. Sound quality wise they were neither better nor worse than my setup but I did not like their web interfaces. The RPi that hosts the DigiOne Signature is connected via wireless to the LAN and receives music data from another RPI that is wired to the router. This second server-RPi runs MinimServer. also in a minimal Raspbian installation. Best, nbpf

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10 minutes ago, uniquesnowflake said:

 

Speaking of software, have you compared the Gentoo player to Picoreplayer? Thanks!

Nope I have not even heard of Picoreplayer.    Is there a thread on it here on the forum?  If not start one and we can look into it.

 

I am doing server testing right now so it would be a while till I can get to looking at it.

 

 

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7 hours ago, bobfa said:

Nope I have not even heard of Picoreplayer.    Is there a thread on it here on the forum?  If not start one and we can look into it.

 

I am doing server testing right now so it would be a while till I can get to looking at it.

 

 

Looks like an announcement thread

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/26343-picoreplayer-picore-linux-raspberry-pi-squeezelite/?tab=comments#comment-490994

 

I know there are long threads about it at other forums, diyaudio being one.

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26 minutes ago, randytsuch said:

Looks like an announcement thread

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/26343-picoreplayer-picore-linux-raspberry-pi-squeezelite/?tab=comments#comment-490994

 

I know there are long threads about it at other forums, diyaudio being one.

I dug around a little bit and it looks like there is a beta that will run on the USBridge Sig.  I will see when I have time to play with it.  Thanks.

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You might also want to check soundcheck's comprehensive advice for setting up pCP:

 

https://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.com/2018/01/raspberry-pi-audio-engine-1-introduction.html (part 1-6)

 

Especially part 2:

 

https://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.com/2018/01/raspberry-pi-audio-engine-part-2.html

 

 

 

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piCorePlayer - 

 

Ok, I just tried this (the latest AudioCore beta version) on the USBridge Signature.  See https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?110727-BETA-piCorePlayer6-0-0-PI4-support for download links.

 

Quick notes from a quick tryout:

1) It was pretty cool how the image burned to an SD card in about 10 seconds...

 

2) It didn't sound as good to me as GentooPlayer.

 

3) I heard minor click/pop sounds (like static or dirt on vinyl), which I wasn't getting with GentooPlayer.  When I changed the CPU Governor setting from ondemand (the default) to performance, the clicks/pops went away.  See below.  

 

4) I had to manually specify the Squeezelite output device.

 

 

 

image.thumb.png.1a531545e819e423c5aa04b479b1a6fd.png

 

 

 

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Dear Allo Team and others,

 

Allo Bridge Signature stutters every 15-20 seconds with the new RME Adi 2 FS DAC. 

 

1) My setup was / is Mac Mini I7 ( bridged) => Allo Bridge Signature => Uptone ISO Regen => Pro-Ject S2 Ultra dac.

This plays flawless since weeks now. Ps. Playing with HQ-player 4 and upsampling everything to DSD 256.

 

2) Since yesterday I installed a brand-new RME Adi 2 Fs Dac. It stutters from the first start when connected to the Allo Bridge Signature.  Ps. I have checked the RME Dac with direct USB and Direct USB  & Uptone Iso Regen.

Plays very well (indeed). 

 

Another observation // suspicion (but have to do another trial and error check.) 

The power-unit Shanti was connected in earlier set-up (1) with the Project and Allo Bridge Signature. As soon I use the RME without the Shanti  5.2V at 1.2A in use  can this causes the stuttering by only feeding the Allo Bridge. Can be the current of 5.2V 3A be too high?  

 

Ps.  I have also triedto change  in HQ-player the buffer time and dac bits.... but without success. 

 

Does the Allo USBridge  has a  own clock in terms of master <=> slave with the dac?

 

Please your help.

 

Best regards, Andreas 

 

Ps . Will also post this message in the Allo community

Quote

Ethernet::4x Bonn Silent Angel 8P, Afterdark Emperor Doublr  Crown Masterclock and Cybershaft 75 Ohm,Mini Circuits convertor,Uptone EtherRegen with 75Ohm. SOTM Cat CAT 7.

Audio: Auralic Vega G2.1, Cambridge Edge W, Kef Reference 3 speakers.  
Power: Farad super 3 (2x) , Keces P8 ( 2 Uptone LPS1.2 ) Afterdark 5V: 

Cables:Meicord Opal, SOTM Cat7 with filtering, Ghent Audio DC , Farad Level 2, Sharkwire speaker cable

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21 minutes ago, ambre said:

Dear Allo Team and others,

 

Allo Bridge Signature stutters every 15-20 seconds with the new RME Adi 2 FS DAC. 

 

1) My setup was / is Mac Mini I7 ( bridged) => Allo Bridge Signature => Uptone ISO Regen => Pro-Ject S2 Ultra dac.

This plays flawless since weeks now. Ps. Playing with HQ-player 4 and upsampling everything to DSD 256.

 

2) Since yesterday I installed a brand-new RME Adi 2 Fs Dac. It stutters from the first start when connected to the Allo Bridge Signature.  Ps. I have checked the RME Dac with direct USB and Direct USB  & Uptone Iso Regen.

Plays very well (indeed). 

 

Another observation // suspicion (but have to do another trial and error check.) 

The power-unit Shanti was connected in earlier set-up (1) with the Project and Allo Bridge Signature. As soon I use the RME without the Shanti  5.2V at 1.2A in use  can this causes the stuttering by only feeding the Allo Bridge. Can be the current of 5.2V 3A be too high?  

 

Ps.  I have also triedto change  in HQ-player the buffer time and dac bits.... but without success. 

 

Does the Allo USBridge  has a  own clock in terms of master <=> slave with the dac?

 

Please your help.

 

Best regards, Andreas 

 

Ps . Will also post this message in the Allo community

What operating system are you running on the USBridge Signature?

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