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Post by John on Apr 11, 2019 19:37:05 GMT
Cheers for the links I did not read them A good LPS can make a nice difference in SQ
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 12, 2019 14:31:49 GMT
One of us needs to see how good the Katana is!
I'd try one with battery power first, worked so well with my Digione.
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Post by wannarock2 on Apr 27, 2019 0:17:11 GMT
Well, I sprung for the Allo Katana + Isolator. Standard Allo 5V power running to the Micro Controller and another 5V to the Isolator. This happy journey began monitoring these forums and starting with the Raspberry Pi and the original HiFiBerry DAC. This coupled with Martins fine 'how-to' guide to get newbie's like me started (thanks again Martin!). Continued to read on these forums about the Allo products and dipped in again and purchased the Allo Boss. Big difference moving away from the Pi's internal clock for streaming. Still was a little restless as I thought my upper mid-range was unnecessarily thin with things like hi-hat cymbals. Anyway, been listening to the Katana now for a couple of days and I can say a couple of things about going from the Boss to the Katana. My upper mid-range is much improved and the bass has tightened even further making for a much smoother overall soundstage. Pretty happy now, but as we all know we think nirvana is just another new component away NAS > Katana + Isolator 1.2 streamer > Pioneer Elite C-91 Pre-Amp > NAD M22-V2 Masters Series Amplifier > B&W 702-S2 speakers
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Post by John on Apr 27, 2019 5:44:53 GMT
Thanks for sharing your story and really happy reading here helped This is one of our aims is to help people to get decent sounds and share the journey with us.
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Apr 27, 2019 9:24:35 GMT
Well, I sprung for the Allo Katana + Isolator. Wannarock, I am pleased to read this, when I started this thread back in July, it was only to highlight the product release. As I said at the time, my nomadic life currently means that I am not in a position to try out new kit. However, it's fair to say that were my circumstances to change, this could well be the route I would take at this time. My compact, transportable system here, is based around the initial version of the Allo Boss and Allo's volt amplifier grandaughter board. As far as I know, none of the regulars here have a Katana. It is an intriguing product, which output stage did you go for? ("Pure THD" or "Sound quality"). Martin and the majority of regulars have gone with the digital out route with offboard DACs. However, what is interesting is that the "Research" (that really is what it is) conducted by Martin, Stanley et al and Allo for these different approaches, are all centred around common themes : separation/quality of power supplies, reducing clock jitter, smoothing, isolation and using more recent DAC devices. The DAC daughterboard approach suits my current needs and is in keeping with the budget nature of the system here and even what remains in the UK. However, what is nice is were I to change and take Martin's approach it causes little upheaval to the overall topology of the system. The Pi and Volumio (or similar) remains the conduit at the heart of the system and isolates the hardware changes. Equally, should a new whizzy streaming or download service happen along, it only takes the availability of a suitable plugin for it to slot in to this set up. I love the open nature of this. Well done and good luck, please continue to comment on your findings. Cheers Sean
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Post by MartinT on Apr 27, 2019 10:18:15 GMT
Nice outcome. Glad we have a Katana user reporting on how it sounds.
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Post by Slinger on Apr 27, 2019 11:49:26 GMT
Well, I sprung for the Allo Katana + Isolator. Standard Allo 5V power running to the Micro Controller and another 5V to the Isolator. This happy journey began monitoring these forums and starting with the Raspberry Pi and the original HiFiBerry DAC. This coupled with Martins fine 'how-to' guide to get newbie's like me started (thanks again Martin!). Continued to read on these forums about the Allo products and dipped in again and purchased the Allo Boss. Big difference moving away from the Pi's internal clock for streaming. Still was a little restless as I thought my upper mid-range was unnecessarily thin with things like hi-hat cymbals. Anyway, been listening to the Katana now for a couple of days and I can say a couple of things about going from the Boss to the Katana. My upper mid-range is much improved and the bass has tightened even further making for a much smoother overall soundstage. Pretty happy now, but as we all know we think nirvana is just another new component away NAS > Katana + Isolator 1.2 streamer > Pioneer Elite C-91 Pre-Amp > NAD M22-V2 Masters Series Amplifier > B&W 702-S2 speakers It's great to hear about another successful solution. Any thoughts about using a linear PSU to replace the boggo Allo supply, or even a battery pack?
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Post by wannarock2 on Apr 27, 2019 15:35:49 GMT
Hi seanm, I went with the Pure THD+N output stage. As you know there has been back and forth on this option. Not knowing how the Sound Quality output stage low pass filter would affect the sound I did not want to fuss with it. Slinger, the LPS with dual 5V outputs would definitely be the way to go. I got restless and moved ahead with two of the standard Allo wall warts. According to johan (Allo Rep) over on the Audio Science Review forum the LPS is still about another ~6 weeks away. My guess it will be in the range of ~$30-50? Anyway, not a bank buster as a later add-on should one want to pursue. I wonder when may we expect a dual mono DAC setup from Allo? Multi-channel? Lastly, the Allo setups are now really 'plug-n-play'. I was up in running within 30 minutes from the box. This may have a bit of a disruptive effect on the main stream box DAC suppliers. Link below from Audio Science of DAC's tested and one can note the Katana sits in a spot $ less than it's close competitors. www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/okto-research-dac8-pro-usb-8-channel-dac-sinad-measurements-png.23785/
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 27, 2019 21:23:00 GMT
Good stuff. Definitely worth trying a Powerbank with it. Mine made such a huge difference powering my DigiOne player.
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Post by Firebottle on Apr 29, 2019 6:37:37 GMT
Having separate supplies is the way to go, both linear for the Pi and Dac supplies. Be careful of the 'dual output' supplies as the vast majority are only twin socket on a single regulator inside. Yo need true dual regulator to afford the supply isolation. I built my own, other users have bought two individual supplies.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 29, 2019 6:49:51 GMT
Yes indeed, my QP-1 is true dual and it's definitely best to have separate 'dirty' and 'clean' regulation.
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Post by wannarock2 on Apr 29, 2019 22:22:03 GMT
According to an Allo rep. their upcoming dual 5V output LPS can see THD+N getting better by 1.5db Did not say how it is being engineered, but Allo has done a number of things right. We shall see ..
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Post by MartinT on Apr 30, 2019 7:34:56 GMT
The clue here is that Allo, despite all their onboard regulation, says that sound quality can be bettered with a good power supply.
Something we've been saying for a good while.
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Post by bigman80 on May 3, 2019 8:32:06 GMT
Having separate supplies is the way to go, both linear for the Pi and Dac supplies. Be careful of the 'dual output' supplies as the vast majority are only twin socket on a single regulator inside. Yo need true dual regulator to afford the supply isolation. I built my own, other users have bought two individual supplies. That would be me! Two super cheap LPSU from China have proved to be an astute purchase.
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Post by wannarock2 on May 11, 2019 15:24:33 GMT
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Post by Slinger on May 11, 2019 15:38:35 GMT
It's hi-fi. I think it's a rule or something that every idea, component, whatever, must have two groups of people in complete disagreement both equally convinced they are right, and both equally certain that they have proven their case. I'm on the "I can hear the difference so sod your graphs," team when it comes to LPSU's in general.
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Post by julesd68 on May 11, 2019 15:44:20 GMT
I can say that when I first bought an LPS for my Topping D30 I was disappointed that I couldn’t hear any improvement over the stock PSU. However I have not done any further comparison since purchase and will revisit it at some point.
But generally speaking, I don’t believe there is a cast-iron rule either way - surely it depends on the design of the DAC and the LPS?
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Post by MartinT on May 11, 2019 16:23:02 GMT
There are good reasons to avoid switched mode power supplies in all audio equipment, but it's certainly not an overall rule as exceptions like Chord and Linn use switching power supplies in their equipment.
There are several things that SMPS do, not just inject noise into the DC power they are feeding the equipment. They can inject noise back into the mains, affecting your other hi-fi equipment. Your router, TV, set-top box and other equipment with SMPS will also do this. They also radiate RFI, using their cable as an aerial, which can impact some of your components, too.
However, Paul has got it covered. Your ears will decide. I personally have always found a linear PSU to be an improvement.
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Post by MartinT on May 11, 2019 16:23:42 GMT
By the way, Volumio have also announced a high grade 5V linear PSU going on sale soon.
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Post by John on May 11, 2019 20:36:28 GMT
No simple answers A friend uses a Chord Quintet in his systems with an SMPS that been specially built by Chord that sounds very good. I have a custom built super caped PSU that I think is outstanding and makes a difference to the Seg and SOtM I also used a Chinese based PSU that did not offer any improvements over battery power. If you get one just make sure you buy on sale or return
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