Hi,
I took a short break from prepping the next bugfix release and managed to shoehorn a Kali + Piano 2.1 Dual-Mono into a spare moodeCase including a nice rotary encoder 🙂
Thankfully Allo included headers on the Piano for audio out and rotary encoder GPIO, and a 5V power header on the Kali. All that was needed was to de-solder the RCA jacks and bend the crimp-connector pins flat so that there was enough clearance for the top cover.
Kali and Pi get separate 5V feeds from an Anker LiON thats continuously charging.
I'm getting some errors when I try to upload images to diyAudio so here is a link to moOde Twitter feed which has the images.
moOde audio player (@MoodeAudio) | Twitter
-Tim
I took a short break from prepping the next bugfix release and managed to shoehorn a Kali + Piano 2.1 Dual-Mono into a spare moodeCase including a nice rotary encoder 🙂
Thankfully Allo included headers on the Piano for audio out and rotary encoder GPIO, and a 5V power header on the Kali. All that was needed was to de-solder the RCA jacks and bend the crimp-connector pins flat so that there was enough clearance for the top cover.
Kali and Pi get separate 5V feeds from an Anker LiON thats continuously charging.
I'm getting some errors when I try to upload images to diyAudio so here is a link to moOde Twitter feed which has the images.
moOde audio player (@MoodeAudio) | Twitter
-Tim
Tim, I emailed you about issues with my config. I guess you have seen my posts and realised all is good now under MoOde thanks to members of this forum. Great product supports all my DIY and commercial hardware. I'm sold.
Hi @mhouston,
Glad to hear that its working 🙂 You've got some really nice components btw.
-Tim
Glad to hear that its working 🙂 You've got some really nice components btw.
-Tim
Hi Tim,
Your setup looks very nice indeed.
I also wanted to report that the Transcend 25M3 (2TG 2.5" usb3.0 harddrive) works fine with pi3, Kali and piano which are feed by the allo Psu through Kali. I use the standard USB cable which comes with the harddrive.
I am very happy with this solution.
Tim is there a better audio when using piano 2.1 instead of piano in a normal stereo mode?
Regards
Heiner
Your setup looks very nice indeed.
I also wanted to report that the Transcend 25M3 (2TG 2.5" usb3.0 harddrive) works fine with pi3, Kali and piano which are feed by the allo Psu through Kali. I use the standard USB cable which comes with the harddrive.
I am very happy with this solution.
Tim is there a better audio when using piano 2.1 instead of piano in a normal stereo mode?
Regards
Heiner
Hi Heiner,
You are using moOde 3.8.3 correct?
Open Audio config
- SET Driver options to glb_mclk Enabled
- Reboot
Open Audio config
- EDIT SETTINGS for Chip/device options
- Select Dual-Mono for the Piano 2.1 Output mode
- APPLY
- Reboot
Open Audio config
- EDIT SETTINGS for MPD options
- Select Hardware for Volume control
- APPLY
- No need to reboot
Enjoy some music!
-Tim
You are using moOde 3.8.3 correct?
Open Audio config
- SET Driver options to glb_mclk Enabled
- Reboot
Open Audio config
- EDIT SETTINGS for Chip/device options
- Select Dual-Mono for the Piano 2.1 Output mode
- APPLY
- Reboot
Open Audio config
- EDIT SETTINGS for MPD options
- Select Hardware for Volume control
- APPLY
- No need to reboot
Enjoy some music!
-Tim
Kali + Piano
Folks,
Tim's post reminded me of a question I've had for some time.
For those of you who have also used popular products such as the HiFiBerry DAC+ (which I already have) or the IQaudIO Pi-DAC+ with your moOde Player, would you say switching to the Allo Kali + Piano combination has resulted in a dramatic change in sound or is it a subtle one that requires transcendental language to describe?
Some audiophile discussions about sound remind me of oenophile discussions about wine. My expectations for both are modest. The price of the Allo combo shipped to the USA is reasonable albeit at about the limit of what I'm prepared to spend. I just don't want to find I was gilding a lily.
And Tim, you do nice work with your hardware!
Regards,
Kent
Folks,
Tim's post reminded me of a question I've had for some time.
For those of you who have also used popular products such as the HiFiBerry DAC+ (which I already have) or the IQaudIO Pi-DAC+ with your moOde Player, would you say switching to the Allo Kali + Piano combination has resulted in a dramatic change in sound or is it a subtle one that requires transcendental language to describe?
Some audiophile discussions about sound remind me of oenophile discussions about wine. My expectations for both are modest. The price of the Allo combo shipped to the USA is reasonable albeit at about the limit of what I'm prepared to spend. I just don't want to find I was gilding a lily.
And Tim, you do nice work with your hardware!
Regards,
Kent
Hi Kent,
Thx!
Whether or not you experience an improvement in SQ depends on many factors including the quality of your playback system, room acoustics, hearing range and sensitivity, etc.
-Tim
Hi Kent,
I should also mention that things like Expectation Bias can play a role in whether we perceive an improvement in something.
As far as wine goes I thought the quality was directly proportional to the price ;-)
-Tim
Hi,
moOde release 3.8.4 is available at moodeaudio.org and via in-place Software update for any of the 3.8 series releases.
This release contains a new version of MPD that fixes the AIFF tag issue 🙂 There are also other important bug fixes and updates. Refer to the release notes below for details
=============================
3.8.4 Release 2017-08-28
=============================
Updates
- UPD: Bump to MPD version 0.20.10
- UPD: When MPD vol set to disabled display 0 dB in volume knob
Bug fixes
- FIX: Adv driver options not set correctly when std kernel
- FIX: AIFF tags not being parsed by MPD (mpd fix)
Enjoy!
-Tim
moOde release 3.8.4 is available at moodeaudio.org and via in-place Software update for any of the 3.8 series releases.
This release contains a new version of MPD that fixes the AIFF tag issue 🙂 There are also other important bug fixes and updates. Refer to the release notes below for details
=============================
3.8.4 Release 2017-08-28
=============================
Updates
- UPD: Bump to MPD version 0.20.10
- UPD: When MPD vol set to disabled display 0 dB in volume knob
Bug fixes
- FIX: Adv driver options not set correctly when std kernel
- FIX: AIFF tags not being parsed by MPD (mpd fix)
Enjoy!
-Tim
Attachments
It seems to me that for both wine and audio gear, the expectation bias of many is directly proportional to the price they paid🙄 My physical trainer has a listening room loaded with ca $10K worth of audio gear. One day at the gym, he tried to show me how good his system sounds by playing back a listening session on his iPhone😕 I said it sounded great but I think he missed the point.
Maybe I'm being too glib, but your first response suggests the change is real but subtle. Early in my life I worked in audio and radio and could discern differences my aging ears (or brain?) no longer care about. Who knows when my curiosity will get the best of me and I try the Allo?
Regards,
Kent
Changing from the IQ DAC to Kali+Piano was an immediately obvious improvement for me, no need for careful comparisons. On a subtle-to-dramatic scale of 1 to 10 I would give it 7.
Edit: This is with aging ears that don't hear a lot above 12kHz.
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The reason I mentioned the Allo MiniBoss is because it has a Pi Zero form factor.
Like Kent, I'm trying to figure if spending £40 for a MiniBoss is really worth it, especially when I can hardly tell the difference between my Marantz CD6004 and pHAT DAC on a Pi Zero W using MoOde.
Anyone out there using one with MoOde who'd care to comment?
Cheers,
Phil