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ALLO USBridge Signature


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Been enjoying my Shanti/USBridge sig/Digione sig for a few months. It sounds fantastic as it is but I made a few tweaks that I found worthwhile in my system, YMMV etc.

 

- Ciunas super ps after Shanti feeding clean side (I already had the Ciunas)

- LMS on network PC, PiCorePlayer on USBridge (replaced standalone Moode/Roipeee XL, better sound but less convenient as now need PC switched on for everything except Airplay)

- vibration control (Musicworks P-cones or (better but expensive) Stillpoints minis) 

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1 hour ago, Cundis said:

As a result I love them both, sometimes the DigiOne Signature can be a little more dynamic, so on some music I can have a hard time choosing between the two. Most often I choose USbridge because it is a little bit cleaner and smoother in the treble. 

Thank you for the observations.  I have not done a proper comparison of the DigiOne to the USBridge.  I wonder what the differences in cabling or the differences in the inputs to a DAC do to these comparisons?

 

I have to get to this soon!

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2 hours ago, Cundis said:

Now when the USbridge is broken in I can write a little mini review about it. 

Compared to DigiOne Signature it is more refined I think. If I can draw a parallel to food it can be compared to a steak that is perfect cooked with just the right amount of seasoning vs a steak that is more raw and not given that much thought in the preparation. 

 

In sound terms it sounds big, refined, deep soundstage, very well balanced from top to bottom. You can definitely hear that noise is taken well care of. 

 

When it comes to the DigiOne Signature that sits on top of the USbridge it sounds better than it did as stand alone streamer. Blacker background I would say. Maybe a little more attack and fullness in the bass.

 

As a result I love them both, sometimes the DigiOne Signature can be a little more dynamic, so on some music I can have a hard time choosing between the two. Most often I choose USbridge because it is a little bit cleaner and smoother in the treble. 

 

BUT; I've ordered a Shanti, so things can change. Right now I use a SBooster on USbridge and the standard switch mode on the Digione Signature. So it will be exciting to see how the DigiOne Signature responds to a better power supply. 

 

Well done Allo! 

 

 

If there is something I would set on a whish list it is information about older DigiOne Signatures that needs to be modified to be able to power up from the USbridge. Thankfully I got help from a member here what to do! 

 

I think with the Shanti powering both the USBridge and the Digione you will find the Digione ultra-clean.  I prefer USB for it's slightly more analogue-like sound, but the Digione is very punchy and "accurate" and gives you a more "exact" sense of the original recording, if that's what you want.  

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3 hours ago, Heckyman said:

Been enjoying my Shanti/USBridge sig/Digione sig for a few months. It sounds fantastic as it is but I made a few tweaks that I found worthwhile in my system, YMMV etc.

 

- Ciunas super ps after Shanti feeding clean side (I already had the Ciunas)

Hi Hecky,

 

That’s an interesting arrangement. I’m assuming your Shanti’s DC outputs are +5V & +5V? Whereas the Cuinas charger outputs +12V DC, and I assume there’s a Vreg in the capacitor box (upstream of the capacitors) to drop the final Vout to 5V.

 

Time to get the multimeter out and investigate over the weekend. Although I’ve currently got the Cuinas powering one of my other RPi/IQAudio streamers (and doing a nice job).

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3 hours ago, bobfa said:

Thank you for the observations.  I have not done a proper comparison of the DigiOne to the USBridge.  I wonder what the differences in cabling or the differences in the inputs to a DAC do to these comparisons?

 

I have to get to this soon!

 

I'm actually wondering about this myself. The USB cable is the new Wireworld Starlight 8, while the SPDIF cable is Nordost Heimdall 2. I had the Heimdall USB a while back, but sold it as I was using the DigiOne Signature. I regret selling it as it was very good. The Wireworld is also good, but I have a feeling it is not as clear and dynamic as the Nordost. 

 

As for DAC I use a Wadia Di122 which does DSD 128 on the USB input. I'm very pleased with the Wadia. And I have a feeling that the USB input is a little bit better than the coax input, but I haven't investigated this a lot. 

 

So it's possible that the result would be different with other cables. And I definitely expect the Shanti to do some magic with the DigiOne Signature as @zackthedog writes about. I look forward to recieve the Shanti soon. 

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3 hours ago, zackthedog said:

 

I think with the Shanti powering both the USBridge and the Digione you will find the Digione ultra-clean.  I prefer USB for it's slightly more analogue-like sound, but the Digione is very punchy and "accurate" and gives you a more "exact" sense of the original recording, if that's what you want.  

 

I actually agree that the USbridge sounds a little bit more analogue. I guess that's why I mostly prefer it over the DigiOne Signature. But then again I mostly listen to DSD (DoP) with the USbridge so that should also come into the equation I guess. But on some recordings I prefer the dynamics and clarity of the DigiOne Signature. If Shanti will make the DigiOne sound alot better I guess I will have an even harder time choosing between them. 

 

Perhaps I should spend a little more time to evaluate Ropieee vs DietPi. There's differences there too. 

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1 hour ago, clipper said:

The Shanti is great powering the Digione Signature.  I have it powering both clean and RPI power ports on the Digione Signature.

 

That is nice to hear. Have you compared it to other power supplies, maybe the stock Allo switch mode supply? 

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Greetings All - about to 'christen' my new Allo USBridge Signature & Shanti LPS! I have a question that I am not 100% sure belongs here or on the DietPi or Squeezebox Forums? I am running Squeezelite on the Allo DietPi O/S, and

 

1. there are a couple of bit-depth settings for the USB output to a DAC for SqueezeLite - and the help pop-up suggests you should change these to match the source; which does not seem overly practical (e.g. I have large numbers of 16/44 FLAC, ALAC, AIFF; 24/44 to 24/192 FLAC; and DSD64 & DSD128 in my library) - so bit depth can change track from track... I'm assuming you should set this just to the highest bit depth the DAC supports? e.g. my Cirrus ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC (in Oppo 105D) only supports up to 24-bit (and I am wanting bit-perfect output to the DAC).

 

2. What's the difference between 24 and 24_3 in the bit depth options?

 

3. Also did a quick search but couldn't find a clear explanation of the difference in the DSD Native Output settings listed (that weren't 'Disabled' or 'DoP' which are obvious): u8; u16le; u16be; u32le; u32be?

  

TIA

  

usbridge-dietpi-output.jpg

Hi-Fi 1: QNAP HS-453DX NAS+QLMS; Allo USBridge Signature+Shanti LPS; Cirrus ESS Sabre 32-bit Reference DAC (Oppo 105D); Yamaha Aventage CX-A5000; Focal SM9 Monitors.
Hi-Fi 2: Squeezebox Touch+Shanti LPS; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 3: Squeezebox Transporter; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 4: PC+Squeezelite-X with Material Skin; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Head-Fi: Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 LE Headphones.
Accessories: iPeng (on iPhones & iPad); Tchernov Classic & Van den Hul ICs; Blue Jeans & Ruleconnect Cables (Power, HDMI, USB & Coaxial); Thor PS10 Power Station; Aurios & Vibrapods.

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36 minutes ago, Mycenius said:

1. there are a couple of bit-depth settings for the USB output to a DAC for SqueezeLite - and the help pop-up suggests you should change these to match the source; which does not seem overly practical (e.g. I have large numbers of 16/44 FLAC, ALAC, AIFF; 24/44 to 24/192 FLAC; and DSD64 & DSD128 in my library) - so bit depth can change track from track... I'm assuming you should set this just to the highest bit depth the DAC supports? e.g. my Cirrus ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC (in Oppo 105D) only supports up to 24-bit (and I am wanting bit-perfect output to the DAC).

 

2. What's the difference between 24 and 24_3 in the bit depth options?

 

usbridge-dietpi-output.jpg

  

Sorry - ignore the bit depth questions - irrelevant - I see my DAC requires the 32-bit setting regardless (via trial and error - no sound on any other setting). 🤨 🙄

 

So just wondering if someone can explain the DSD options: u8; u16le; u16be; u32le; u32be?

Hi-Fi 1: QNAP HS-453DX NAS+QLMS; Allo USBridge Signature+Shanti LPS; Cirrus ESS Sabre 32-bit Reference DAC (Oppo 105D); Yamaha Aventage CX-A5000; Focal SM9 Monitors.
Hi-Fi 2: Squeezebox Touch+Shanti LPS; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 3: Squeezebox Transporter; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 4: PC+Squeezelite-X with Material Skin; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Head-Fi: Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 LE Headphones.
Accessories: iPeng (on iPhones & iPad); Tchernov Classic & Van den Hul ICs; Blue Jeans & Ruleconnect Cables (Power, HDMI, USB & Coaxial); Thor PS10 Power Station; Aurios & Vibrapods.

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On a different note - I noted some people had issues previously doing updates to their DietPi O/S I think (for the USBridge Signature) - is it safe to do the update from v6.26.3 to newest version, has anyone successfully done this on their USBridge Signature?

 

And I have done about 2½ hours initial listening to the USBridge Signature + Shanti LPS, replacing the local player on my customised self-built Vortexbox server (with SOtM tX-USB card) - in both cases power (to the Shanti and the Vortexbox are/were via my Thor PS10 Power Station). First impressions are very good, definitley have the impression of subtle improvements to the sound of many tracks and in a few cases some notable differences (curiously enough increases in low bass and bass definition) to a few tracks; such as Steve Strauss tracks "Just Like Love" & "Old Crow" (Stockfisch Recordings) and a couple of tracks off the Cowboy Junkies' 'Lay It Down' album (these are all 16/44 FLACs in my collection BTW). Need to do a few A-B listens between my Vortexbox output and USBridge Signature to verify they are legitimate differences/improvements...

   

dietpi-update.png

Hi-Fi 1: QNAP HS-453DX NAS+QLMS; Allo USBridge Signature+Shanti LPS; Cirrus ESS Sabre 32-bit Reference DAC (Oppo 105D); Yamaha Aventage CX-A5000; Focal SM9 Monitors.
Hi-Fi 2: Squeezebox Touch+Shanti LPS; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 3: Squeezebox Transporter; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 4: PC+Squeezelite-X with Material Skin; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Head-Fi: Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 LE Headphones.
Accessories: iPeng (on iPhones & iPad); Tchernov Classic & Van den Hul ICs; Blue Jeans & Ruleconnect Cables (Power, HDMI, USB & Coaxial); Thor PS10 Power Station; Aurios & Vibrapods.

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Speaking of the shanti, I put a Synergistic research orange fuse inside and it became even better.

I know it's the price of the Shanti (I kind of get it free because there was a discount "buy two fuses and get one for free"), but if you want to get the best of the Shanti, you can consider this upgrade.

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2 hours ago, Jonjon77 said:

Speaking of the shanti, I put a Synergistic research orange fuse inside and it became even better.

I know it's the price of the Shanti (I kind of get it free because there was a discount "buy two fuses and get one for free"), but if you want to get the best of the Shanti, you can consider this upgrade.

 

You can even bypass the fuse in the Shanti (which is supposed to sound even better) and in the case the Shanti fails (it will most assuredly not happen) buy another one.

 

Matt

"I want to know why the musicians are on stage, not where". (John Farlowe)

 

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Thinking of buying the USBridge Signature Player. I will only use it with a USB-DAC so no need for a DigiOne Signature.

 

I had a DigiOne player (non signature) in the past and was happy with its audio performance (with ALLO:S SMPS). Would the USBridge Signature Player with the SMPS maybe be on a similar level? I would prefer to wait with the Shanti, if it's not a must have.

 

I would only use one of the two Shanti outputs with the USBridge Signature anyhow?

 

 

  

 

 

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On 1/7/2020 at 12:22 PM, clipper said:

Does DSD128 work ok?

 

The only thing I can think of to try in DietPi is to change the CPU Governor setting to Performance.  You can do that in DietPi's web interface.  

 

On 1/7/2020 at 9:48 PM, ambre said:

Hi Clipper, thanks for feedback.

 

Will change CPU the Governor settings in Web Gui.

 

Present DietPi   V6.18.14 is recommended by Allo due to several dropouts issues so far I am informed.

 

My first 2 days with USBridge Signature & Shanti (running DietPi with SqueezeLite enabled, and connected to my Oppo BDP-105D - it has an internal Cirrus ESS Sabre 32-bit Reference DAC for high quality audio output), I've found:

 

1. I get very occasional pops and crackles but they are rare, nearly always playing DSD files, otherwise on the occasional 24/176 or 24/192 FLAC file. It was commented above about version 6.18.14 of DietPi being recommended by Allo, however my player has arrived from Allo with v6.26.3 on it (and is showing an upgrade available). Could v6.26.3 be causing the pops/crackles, or is it the CPU Governor Setting? As posted yesterday alternately is it safe to upgrade to the 'latest' version?

 

2. When playing DSD I get pauses/stutters - there is no missing audio but instead a 1 second or so 'blank' (like someone has cut the audio stream with scissors and slightly pulled the two halves apart creating a gap). With DSD64 (the majority of my DSF tracks) it typically happens once during the track. However with DSD128 (I actually only have 3 such DSF tracks in my collection at present) it will do it 2-3 times during playback. My suspicion is this is purely a CPU Governor Setting issue as per previous posts (such as those quoted above) and I need to push the CPU to permanently be set to 'performance'?

 

@allo.com for #1 above is my O/S version okay? For #2 do I just set CPU to performance using the DietPi web GUI, or use a config file entry as per an earlier post here?

 

Many TIA

Hi-Fi 1: QNAP HS-453DX NAS+QLMS; Allo USBridge Signature+Shanti LPS; Cirrus ESS Sabre 32-bit Reference DAC (Oppo 105D); Yamaha Aventage CX-A5000; Focal SM9 Monitors.
Hi-Fi 2: Squeezebox Touch+Shanti LPS; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 3: Squeezebox Transporter; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 4: PC+Squeezelite-X with Material Skin; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Head-Fi: Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 LE Headphones.
Accessories: iPeng (on iPhones & iPad); Tchernov Classic & Van den Hul ICs; Blue Jeans & Ruleconnect Cables (Power, HDMI, USB & Coaxial); Thor PS10 Power Station; Aurios & Vibrapods.

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12 minutes ago, smith123 said:

I would only use one of the two Shanti outputs with the USBridge Signature anyhow?

 

I'm in the same boat - but bought two Shantis anyway! 😊

 

(one for my USBridge Signature; and one for my existing Squeezebox Touch as a simple upgrade for that.)

Hi-Fi 1: QNAP HS-453DX NAS+QLMS; Allo USBridge Signature+Shanti LPS; Cirrus ESS Sabre 32-bit Reference DAC (Oppo 105D); Yamaha Aventage CX-A5000; Focal SM9 Monitors.
Hi-Fi 2: Squeezebox Touch+Shanti LPS; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 3: Squeezebox Transporter; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Hi-Fi 4: PC+Squeezelite-X with Material Skin; Focal XS Book powered speakers.
Head-Fi: Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 LE Headphones.
Accessories: iPeng (on iPhones & iPad); Tchernov Classic & Van den Hul ICs; Blue Jeans & Ruleconnect Cables (Power, HDMI, USB & Coaxial); Thor PS10 Power Station; Aurios & Vibrapods.

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3 hours ago, smith123 said:

Thinking of buying the USBridge Signature Player. I will only use it with a USB-DAC so no need for a DigiOne Signature.

 

I had a DigiOne player (non signature) in the past and was happy with its audio performance (with ALLO:S SMPS). Would the USBridge Signature Player with the SMPS maybe be on a similar level? I would prefer to wait with the Shanti, if it's not a must have.

 

I would only use one of the two Shanti outputs with the USBridge Signature anyhow?

 

 

  

 

 

 

You can certainly buy the Shanti later, but I don't think you'll hear what the USBridge Sig can do without it.

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7 hours ago, zackthedog said:

 

You can certainly buy the Shanti later, but I don't think you'll hear what the USBridge Sig can do without it.


Thanks, I see. Has anyone compared the USBBridge Sign with the Allo SMPS and could try to estimate how much better it with the Shanti? Are we talking 5/15/30% better?😀

 

Just asking because I would be happy with the same performance as the digione with the SMPS to start with.

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1 hour ago, smith123 said:

I would be happy with the same performance as the digione with the SMPS to start with.

 

just replaced the DigiOne (non signature) in my secondary system with a USBridge Sig and... the latter is *much* better :)

both powered by an HD-Plex LPS, though. but I guess the very same applies when powering both from an SMPS

Qnap HS-264 NAS (powered by an HD-Plex 100w LPS) > Cirrus7 Nimbini v2.5 Media Edition i7-8559U/32/512 running Roon ROCK (powered by a Keces P8 LPS) > Lumin U2  > Metrum Acoustics Adagio NOS digital preamplifier > First Watt SIT 3  power amplifier (or Don Garber Fi "Y" 6922 tube preamplifier + Don Garber Fi "X" 2A3 SET power amplifier, both powered from an Alpha-Core BP-30 Isolated Symmetrical Power Transformer) > Klipsch Cornwall III

 

headphones system:

Cirrus 7 > Lumin U2 > Metrum Acoustics Adagio > Pathos Aurium amplifier (powered by an UpTone Audio JS-2 LPS) > Focal Clear headphones

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13 hours ago, smith123 said:

Thinking of buying the USBridge Signature Player. I will only use it with a USB-DAC so no need for a DigiOne Signature.

 

I had a DigiOne player (non signature) in the past and was happy with its audio performance (with ALLO:S SMPS). Would the USBridge Signature Player with the SMPS maybe be on a similar level? I would prefer to wait with the Shanti, if it's not a must have.

 

I would only use one of the two Shanti outputs with the USBridge Signature anyhow?

 

 

  

 

 

On my headphone system I use the second supply to power/charge the battery in the Chord DAC!

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