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Post by bourneendboy on Nov 9, 2018 12:02:50 GMT
Hello fellas,
I'm currently using an Iqaudio Pi Dac Pro and wondering about trying something else in a second system.
The original Allo Boss Dac is available discounted and looks interesting. Anyone got any views on this against the Iqaudio?
Is there anything else I should consider?
Cheers,
Bill
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Post by MartinT on Nov 9, 2018 12:06:35 GMT
I use an IQAudIO Pi-DAC in my 2nd Pi for headphone use and it's fine, although it doesn't give the intense insight that the current Allo products give.
I don't think the Boss DAC has the superclock timing of the later products, though, so may not be much of an upgrade. The Katana DAC looks to be the current dog's danglies.
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Post by bourneendboy on Nov 9, 2018 12:09:11 GMT
Interesting, have you tried the latest Boss Dac Martin?
Have read it is very bassy.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 9, 2018 12:11:12 GMT
No, I use the Allo DigiOne so that I can send S/PDIF to my Caiman SEG DAC.
Very bassy sounds like a description of those awful Beats headphones!
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162 
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Post by seanm on Nov 10, 2018 10:16:01 GMT
I have used an original version of the Allo Boss DAC since March 2017. At the time it looked to be the most promising "Normal" HAT DAC for the Pi. I initially used it in the UK in a "reasonable" budget system. I had no complaints about the sound which was an improvement from previous HiFiBerry DACs. In particular, I have not bass related complaints. I notice that the Boss board got reworked to v1.2, this has a few improvements and allows external power source more easily via a USB C connector.
My Boss is now in Northern Cyprus and since I am travelling light, it has an Allo class D amp granddaughter card on top. So all in all it is fair to say that many aspects of my setups were a limiting factor long before the DAC.
Fastforward 18 months and we now have some promising exotic/esoteric DACs on the market. For example, the Allo Katana, (although this is current not for sale).
If I was looking now... if price was not an issue I would use the Katana as my baseline and compare products against that. If funds were more limited, I would do the same with the Boss as the baseline. In both cases, if the pursuit of sound quality is important, I would look to spend additional funds on better power supplies or batteries etc.
This then brings me to external DACs... In terms of sound quality, several people on here are raving about using a Pi SP/DIFF transport such as the Allo DigiOne coupled with an external DAC such as one from Beresford etc.
At the time, this was not really what I wanted... I was looking for small/cheap/reasonable solutions which would drop into my existing systems. Once I settle in one place, I will revisit this decision.
Cheers
Sean
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Post by MartinT on Nov 10, 2018 13:39:58 GMT
Sean, if you pop back from Cyprus and have the time, you should come over and have a listen.
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Nov 10, 2018 14:21:22 GMT
Martin,
I would love to... should be back for Christmas (to see my ancestor), but time is always tight... However, I do drive past you each way
Cheers
Sean
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Post by bourneendboy on Nov 14, 2018 16:19:14 GMT
I ordered a Boss 2.1 which I think may be waiting for me when I get home from work 😁
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Post by MartinT on Nov 14, 2018 19:30:00 GMT
Great. Let us know how it works out for you.
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Post by bourneendboy on Nov 25, 2018 8:28:47 GMT
Only just got this up and running as I've been without a headphone amp until last week when my NJC Audio Reference headphone amp arrived.
Can't now try the Boss in isolation, but as a combo this sounds fantastic! Much more detail than the Iqaudio Pro Dac I was using.
Hopefully this will keep me off the upgrade path for a while!
Saying that, I managed to pick up a couple of Black Friday bargains with 30% off - a Forza Audio Works cable for my HD600s and an Allo aluminium case for the Boss.
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