Nope. I don't think so. He's a professional. And he's a reseller.
That's serious stuff.
It's similar to being an integrator (Paul, Tim, etc.). They have to be very careful what they say out here. Things can quickly turn against you or your own product!
If I'd be Allo I would have demanded to take away that review altogether.
Actually non of the resellers would have been allowed to write reviews - if I'd be in charge. I'm not.
Usually, if one of the hobbyists like Greg or DimDim writes such a review
you'll find better quality texts. I'm not saying that these texts won't be flawless or colored. Everybody has a different background and area of focus.
I'm wondering if 18 reviewers is what cdsgames really means?
I do see resellers/(community-)testers/integrators and there might be some real reviewers out there getting the pre-launch DACs. I wouldn't count on finding 18 reviews soon. But for sure there'll be plenty of feedback
Enjoy.
i notice that there is a red and black wire in the katana board. powering katana with external smps. is there an available adptor for such red and black wires?Nope. I don't think so. He's a professional. And he's a reseller.
That's serious stuff.
It's similar to being an integrator (Paul, Tim, etc.). They have to be very careful what they say out here. Things can quickly turn against you or your own product!
If I'd be Allo I would have demanded to take away that review altogether.
Actually non of the resellers would have been allowed to write reviews - if I'd be in charge. I'm not.
Usually, if one of the hobbyists like Greg or DimDim writes such a review
you'll find better quality texts. I'm not saying that these texts won't be flawless or colored. Everybody has a different background and area of focus.
I'm wondering if 18 reviewers is what cdsgames really means?
I do see resellers/(community-)testers/integrators and there might be some real reviewers out there getting the pre-launch DACs. I wouldn't count on finding 18 reviews soon. But for sure there'll be plenty of feedback
Enjoy.
Back to the real stuff.
Something is bugging me great time since quite some time. And with the Katana on the bench it hits me again.
Why 3 or more separate power supplies?
It's really expensive, requires a lot of space and makes integration much more complex.
OK. We all know that somehow multiple supplies will improve the sound.
Many of us running it this way, because we consider it worth the effort
and there a currently no alternative solutions - that I am aware of.
However. There must be a technical solution to get around this annoying
situation. It's all but a "scientific" approach hooking up more and
more power supplies.
The big base question is: What's actually the root cause of that difference many of us are experiencing by using different supplies!?!?
Groundloops? Shared DC supply lines? Shared buffers? Noise crosstalk?
I think it's time that people start to think about that. The sooner that's been
done the sooner we might see solutions to the problem.
Shoot - if anybody has an opinion about the subject. Or let us know if there are approaches or solutions already out there!?!?
Perhaps we should even open a new thread in the power supply forum.
Thx.
Something is bugging me great time since quite some time. And with the Katana on the bench it hits me again.
Why 3 or more separate power supplies?
It's really expensive, requires a lot of space and makes integration much more complex.
OK. We all know that somehow multiple supplies will improve the sound.
Many of us running it this way, because we consider it worth the effort
and there a currently no alternative solutions - that I am aware of.
However. There must be a technical solution to get around this annoying
situation. It's all but a "scientific" approach hooking up more and
more power supplies.
The big base question is: What's actually the root cause of that difference many of us are experiencing by using different supplies!?!?
Groundloops? Shared DC supply lines? Shared buffers? Noise crosstalk?
I think it's time that people start to think about that. The sooner that's been
done the sooner we might see solutions to the problem.
Shoot - if anybody has an opinion about the subject. Or let us know if there are approaches or solutions already out there!?!?
Perhaps we should even open a new thread in the power supply forum.
Thx.
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Hi Soundscheck
no, not at all. I think that from 20 review units there are hardly 2 resellers. (so 1 in 10)
Rest of reviewers are just enthusiasts , hobbyist or just people that give a lot back to the community ( Like you Soundcheck , Greg ,Mark, Josie , Dimdim, Tim , Pcp guys and more)
I hope that most of you got to know Allo in the past few years , we try not to use sleazy marketing or fake endorsements . (still we are not perfect , I know sometimes we rush to the market)
What we asked in return was the same for all . "Honest review , warts and all"
I have no doubt thats what we will get...
no, not at all. I think that from 20 review units there are hardly 2 resellers. (so 1 in 10)
Rest of reviewers are just enthusiasts , hobbyist or just people that give a lot back to the community ( Like you Soundcheck , Greg ,Mark, Josie , Dimdim, Tim , Pcp guys and more)
I hope that most of you got to know Allo in the past few years , we try not to use sleazy marketing or fake endorsements . (still we are not perfect , I know sometimes we rush to the market)
What we asked in return was the same for all . "Honest review , warts and all"
I have no doubt thats what we will get...
There is no adaptor for wires. That option is under " advanced" powering. Normally an ultra low noise PSU has an output with wires or "screw in"
Yep. Many of us are well aware of it and appreciate your fair and honest attitude and of course your great products!
hi cdgames,Isolator final revision. Power only for "dirty side" rated at 3A (instead of 1.8 for RPI uUSB)
(I know Soundcheck no wired point)
do you have impression on katana + isolator? any allo plans / leads on possible enclosure of katana + isolator?
To all reviewers :
We have designed a powerful DAC . If you want to understand the capabilities of Katana you must listen to it in a proper system (your main system)
Katana is able to output a lot of power in a very short amount of time , a good pair of speakers is a must . The amp itself has slightly less importance
While a lot of bookshelves have decent graphs and can sound good, I am not certain that most will keep up with Katana. My office speakers vs my main system , there is a substantial difference.
So I will say it one more time. Katana is a DAC that must have good big(ish) speakers if you want it to sing.
Marudo , we will release the isolator and casing in the same time.
We have designed a powerful DAC . If you want to understand the capabilities of Katana you must listen to it in a proper system (your main system)
Katana is able to output a lot of power in a very short amount of time , a good pair of speakers is a must . The amp itself has slightly less importance
While a lot of bookshelves have decent graphs and can sound good, I am not certain that most will keep up with Katana. My office speakers vs my main system , there is a substantial difference.
So I will say it one more time. Katana is a DAC that must have good big(ish) speakers if you want it to sing.
Marudo , we will release the isolator and casing in the same time.
+1
I have plans to power Katana with ONE ultra high quality 5Amp. LPS.
IMO, the quality of the PS is much more important than the number of PSs.
Matt
A few words about the new Katana over here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/314935-es9038q2m-board-212.html#post5504194
I am planning to get the Katana soon. I was thinking of waiting for the isolator before I buy, to save on postage. Any idea when the Nirvana might be available?
I currently run a RPi into the USB DAC sectioon of a Marantz HD-AMP1, together with Robson Acoustics Voltaire Zero speakers - the speakers are fantastic and I am not sure whether the Marantz is doing them justice. In terms of volume, I am only running at about 1/3, but the sound quality is simply not good enough for me - it could be the digital volume of the Marantz and/or DAC + RPi combination.
I am therefore really looking forward to try the Katana, and am hoping that I would not be disappointed. I am considering replacing the Marantz (I think it uses Hypex UCD modules) for either Hypex NCores or Icepower 300ASC - the XTZ Edge 300 looks very good value for money (XTZ EDGE A2-300 power amp - XTZ Sound in Balance). What do people think?
In addition, it will be fantastic if there is a repository of drawings of back panels and bottom plates for enclosures like the Galaxy etc. I can put things together (but not an expert
), but cannot design back panels to save my life...A couple of other questions...
1. Will I be able to use a GPIO breakout like this (GPIO Interceptor GPIO Breakout for 40-pin Raspberry Pi – 4tronix) to have access to the GPIO for a rotary encoder etc? It will of course increase the height of the stack. I was also considering adding a small OLED screen for status and volume - I am using my own linux compile with mpd, and realise that I will have to compile in the alsa support for my usage.
2. I don't think the manual mentions it, but doesn't the ES9038 support a SPDIF input? If so, is this available?
Thank you.
I am using Monitor Audio PL100 speakers with a Modwright KWI 200 integrated amp. Are you suggesting my setup is not up to the Katana?
I couldn't agree less.
You can't fix from the outside what gets messed up on the inside!
If it's so messed up on the inside that using a single good external supply results in poorer sound quality than using 3 or 4 separate supplies, then there's something wrong with Katana's design.
However I suspect this is really more about marketing hype given that it's not possible to do a blind A/B test on this, at least not with the same Katana.
I'm looking forward to Amir's tests at Audio Science Review. I don't know if he plans to measure that aspect but I'll suggest it.
Since some components are drawing varying currents through resistive traces and pin connectors, that modulates the voltage as power travels to more distant locations from where the power connector is. That does mean that the external voltage can be regulated perfectly, but it won't and can't stay regulated throughout all the boards in the stack. This is no different from any other precision dac, but is complicated by having separate boards with pin connectors to transfer power. If there were only one board and power planes were used along with ground plane then things could be very different. At it is with a stack, it probably does benefit from multiple supplies. If someone wants to know how much, start with three supplies, get used to how it sounds, then start removing one at a time. If you still find the sound good enough then for your purposes maybe one supply is enough.
By the way, I did try one power supply briefly. In that case the Katana manual says to apply power at the microcontroller board. The RPi almost didn't boot the voltage was so low by the time it got to that least board in the stack. Why? Resistance in the traces and connectors and lots of current being drawn. It's just Ohm's Law, E=IR. There is quite a bit of I and although R is fairly low, there is only 5v to start with. If we lose half a volt due to IR loss that could cause some things to start malfunctioning. Even if they work, the voltage could be pulsing up and down by 100mV or more due varying current draw and finite value filter and decoupling capacitors, and also filter capacitor ESR and ESL.
I guess since there are brass spacers holding the boards in place, some copper bus bars for power distribution could have been mounted externally vertically on one side of the stack and bolted to each of the boards as it passed by. Too late now though.
By the way, I did try one power supply briefly. In that case the Katana manual says to apply power at the microcontroller board. The RPi almost didn't boot the voltage was so low by the time it got to that least board in the stack. Why? Resistance in the traces and connectors and lots of current being drawn. It's just Ohm's Law, E=IR. There is quite a bit of I and although R is fairly low, there is only 5v to start with. If we lose half a volt due to IR loss that could cause some things to start malfunctioning. Even if they work, the voltage could be pulsing up and down by 100mV or more due varying current draw and finite value filter and decoupling capacitors, and also filter capacitor ESR and ESL.
I guess since there are brass spacers holding the boards in place, some copper bus bars for power distribution could have been mounted externally vertically on one side of the stack and bolted to each of the boards as it passed by. Too late now though.
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Isolator final revision. Power only for "dirty side" rated at 3A (instead of 1.8 for RPI uUSB)
(I know Soundcheck no wired point)
Thx for giving the world a 5th supply option.
And another USB-C cable option to enlarge the ever growing cable spaghetti-knot.
Joking aside.
You see that the whole power thing runs out of control, don't you!?!?
Why did you put that USB-C port at a different position than all other
ports on all the other boards again!?!?
Ok. I do understand that the front-right position wasn't taken yet on the tower.
But that's probably not been your intention!?!?
I pretty much gave up on consistent located soldering pads (or a common screw terminal).
I mentioned more then once - and I'm not alone with this - that a quality audio electronic should NOT
be powered through an USB port, which then also requires a low quality USB cable for powering the whole stuff. A NoNo.
I mean -- at this point we're not talking about $50 DACs and entry level setups anymore.
You guys put that much effort into of all this.
And then you keep ignoring that hot subject - we discussed it several times over the years - and you just give
away these easy wins.
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