Hi @cdsgames,
I am late to this thread.
I have a Katana quad powered with L adapter (pi3) and 3 ultrabibs powering the dac, mc and opamps.
I am very satisfied, mainly after the quad Psu upgrade!!
I use Katana with Roon/ropieee.
I am a little confused about the new Usbbridge sig!!
Will it be a single board with Rpi and bridge together?
Will the Katana stack above it?
Will my L adapter able to power the signature rpi and bridge combo? Or will need another L adapter? (great Psu btw)
Will it be Roon end point?
Please, elaborate!
Thanks for the great products!!
Antônio
I am late to this thread.
I have a Katana quad powered with L adapter (pi3) and 3 ultrabibs powering the dac, mc and opamps.
I am very satisfied, mainly after the quad Psu upgrade!!
I use Katana with Roon/ropieee.
I am a little confused about the new Usbbridge sig!!
Will it be a single board with Rpi and bridge together?
Will the Katana stack above it?
Will my L adapter able to power the signature rpi and bridge combo? Or will need another L adapter? (great Psu btw)
Will it be Roon end point?
Please, elaborate!
Thanks for the great products!!
Antônio
@cdsgames, see if I've got this right...
@altsouza, the USBBridge Signature is basically an RPi substitute. It is structured with almost the same architecture and uses an RPi compute module as its core, which is the brains of an RPi without the IO components. Those IO components have been moved to the new carrier board.
It is designed with the goal of being a very low-noise computing environment. Instead of noisy DC-DC converters, it has only quiet linear regulators and many more regulators than on a stock RPi to limit subsystem-to-subsystem interaction through the power supplies.
It has one significant HW configuration change (an added USB chip) to correct an issue present in all RPi's before the new RPi 4, which will require a new driver.
Being an RPi substitute, standard RPi cards (such as Allo's Boss 1.2 and Katana) can be plugged into it and they will operate ok. Also being an RPi substitute, standard RPi distributions and software can be used, but to use the added USB functionality an additional driver must be loaded for that.
ALSO being a ground-up no-compromise effort, the base carrier board is MUCH larger than the standard RPi footprint, which will require a different case if you use one (see attached pictures from earlier Allo posts). It's power requirements are very similar to that of a standard RPi, so your L-Adapter will power it ok as long as it can source about 2.5A.
One difference from the later RPi issues (RPi 3 and 4)... it won't have a built in WiFi adapter. Allo intends to offer a WiFi dongle for use with it. From the perspective a purist such as myself, that is the best solution as on-board WiFi ensures you will have RF pollution of your audio gear. IF one must use WiFi, best to locate the actual device some distance from the audio player and DAC... this is what I do in my setups.
@cdsgames, how did I do? Did I get a gold star?
Greg in Mississippi
@altsouza, the USBBridge Signature is basically an RPi substitute. It is structured with almost the same architecture and uses an RPi compute module as its core, which is the brains of an RPi without the IO components. Those IO components have been moved to the new carrier board.
It is designed with the goal of being a very low-noise computing environment. Instead of noisy DC-DC converters, it has only quiet linear regulators and many more regulators than on a stock RPi to limit subsystem-to-subsystem interaction through the power supplies.
It has one significant HW configuration change (an added USB chip) to correct an issue present in all RPi's before the new RPi 4, which will require a new driver.
Being an RPi substitute, standard RPi cards (such as Allo's Boss 1.2 and Katana) can be plugged into it and they will operate ok. Also being an RPi substitute, standard RPi distributions and software can be used, but to use the added USB functionality an additional driver must be loaded for that.
ALSO being a ground-up no-compromise effort, the base carrier board is MUCH larger than the standard RPi footprint, which will require a different case if you use one (see attached pictures from earlier Allo posts). It's power requirements are very similar to that of a standard RPi, so your L-Adapter will power it ok as long as it can source about 2.5A.
One difference from the later RPi issues (RPi 3 and 4)... it won't have a built in WiFi adapter. Allo intends to offer a WiFi dongle for use with it. From the perspective a purist such as myself, that is the best solution as on-board WiFi ensures you will have RF pollution of your audio gear. IF one must use WiFi, best to locate the actual device some distance from the audio player and DAC... this is what I do in my setups.
@cdsgames, how did I do? Did I get a gold star?
Greg in Mississippi
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@altsouza,
Welcome.
Sorry, I don't know Ropieee. IF it runs on an RPi, it should run on the USBBridge Sig.
AND I don't know on streaming to both at the same time. Can you do that now on your RPi?
IF you set up either an RPi or the USBBridge Signature to do that, my expectation is that SQ would be compromised somewhat on both outputs. BUT I could be wrong here.
Likely that is something you'll have to enlist appropriate experts to configure
Greg in Mississippi
I think $119 a year. I bought a lifetime subscription ($499) a few years ago and it’s the best money I have spent on audio.
Hi @cdsgames
I bought the Allo Shanti and it is the best linear power supply I even tested! I am powering my USBridge with two Xiaomi 2C Powerbanks. All linear supplies I tested so far were miles behind the powerbanks in terms of sound quality, but better than the stock switching mode power supply.
Allo Shanti is very close to the sound quality of the powerbanks, but not quite there yet. I want to replace the powerbanks for good, because charging the powerbanks is very inconvinient and it takes away some enjoyment of my audio system.
I am wondering if I can squeeze some more performance from Allo Shanti. I noticed it has a ground post on the back. I found a thread in the internet about attaching Katana to this ground post for even better sound quality. I am wondering if USBridge bridge can be attached as well. If yes, can you please provide instructions how to do that?
Thank you very much in advance!
Marcin
I bought the Allo Shanti and it is the best linear power supply I even tested! I am powering my USBridge with two Xiaomi 2C Powerbanks. All linear supplies I tested so far were miles behind the powerbanks in terms of sound quality, but better than the stock switching mode power supply.
Allo Shanti is very close to the sound quality of the powerbanks, but not quite there yet. I want to replace the powerbanks for good, because charging the powerbanks is very inconvinient and it takes away some enjoyment of my audio system.
I am wondering if I can squeeze some more performance from Allo Shanti. I noticed it has a ground post on the back. I found a thread in the internet about attaching Katana to this ground post for even better sound quality. I am wondering if USBridge bridge can be attached as well. If yes, can you please provide instructions how to do that?
Thank you very much in advance!
Marcin
I've done a few tweaks to 1 of the 2 I have here. I still need to compare them, but my subjective assessment of the changes have been positive.
What I did was:
1. Use hot-melt glue to glue the collections of caps on the board together and immobilize them.
2. Apply strips of damping material (I used Dynamat Superlite) on the tops of the caps.
3. Applied the same damping material to the inside top and sides of the case and to the outside bottom of the case.
4. Bypassed the switch (but not the fuse). Put in a not-to-crazy expensive AMR audiophile-ish fuse.
5. Shorter, heavier power cord (not audiophile-ish, but a good one that used to be shipped with Parasound with their higher-end gear).
6. Have it sitting on good footers (3 Herbie's Audio Lab Iso-Cups with lampblack balls pointing down, 2 flanking the transformer, the other at the output cable end) and topped it with good weights (4 Herbie's Audio Lab Supersonic Stabilizers).
7. Shortened the output wires to about 24" each and installed a connector on each that mates with those I use on the 5V inputs to my Katana (and most other DIY'd power leads).
8. This is the one I'm not sure I can recommend UNLESS you are a skilled modifier... I pulled the board out of the case (before applying the hot-melt glue to immobilize the caps). Then I reheated each cap's lead's solder joints and pressed first one side, then the other against the circuit board. This is my standard practice when assembling boards.
These all resulted in improved lower-mids through bass definition and solidity.
Of course the hot-melt glue, cap resoldering, switch bypassing, and wire shorting/adding connectors are invasive mods and will likely invalidate your warranty.
Also, one advantage of the powerbanks over the Shanti is no rectification noise and no AC-line-transmitted noise. I suspect Allo did a good job picking quiet rectifiers AND installing a good set of snubbers, so I expect they have the rectification noise handled. BUT if you don't do any AC line filtering, consider that. Allo did include a C-L-C AC line filter, but my experience is that you can't have too much good filtering (as long as it is parallel filtering that does not limit current peaks OR full AC regeneration... I have both in my setups).
I should add that I use similar or identical techniques in all of my DIY builds and mods, including the 3 DIY'd power supplies that I am comparing the Shanti against.
Greg in Mississippi
What I did was:
1. Use hot-melt glue to glue the collections of caps on the board together and immobilize them.
2. Apply strips of damping material (I used Dynamat Superlite) on the tops of the caps.
3. Applied the same damping material to the inside top and sides of the case and to the outside bottom of the case.
4. Bypassed the switch (but not the fuse). Put in a not-to-crazy expensive AMR audiophile-ish fuse.
5. Shorter, heavier power cord (not audiophile-ish, but a good one that used to be shipped with Parasound with their higher-end gear).
6. Have it sitting on good footers (3 Herbie's Audio Lab Iso-Cups with lampblack balls pointing down, 2 flanking the transformer, the other at the output cable end) and topped it with good weights (4 Herbie's Audio Lab Supersonic Stabilizers).
7. Shortened the output wires to about 24" each and installed a connector on each that mates with those I use on the 5V inputs to my Katana (and most other DIY'd power leads).
8. This is the one I'm not sure I can recommend UNLESS you are a skilled modifier... I pulled the board out of the case (before applying the hot-melt glue to immobilize the caps). Then I reheated each cap's lead's solder joints and pressed first one side, then the other against the circuit board. This is my standard practice when assembling boards.
These all resulted in improved lower-mids through bass definition and solidity.
Of course the hot-melt glue, cap resoldering, switch bypassing, and wire shorting/adding connectors are invasive mods and will likely invalidate your warranty.
Also, one advantage of the powerbanks over the Shanti is no rectification noise and no AC-line-transmitted noise. I suspect Allo did a good job picking quiet rectifiers AND installing a good set of snubbers, so I expect they have the rectification noise handled. BUT if you don't do any AC line filtering, consider that. Allo did include a C-L-C AC line filter, but my experience is that you can't have too much good filtering (as long as it is parallel filtering that does not limit current peaks OR full AC regeneration... I have both in my setups).
I should add that I use similar or identical techniques in all of my DIY builds and mods, including the 3 DIY'd power supplies that I am comparing the Shanti against.
Greg in Mississippi
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Thank's Greg for sharing those tips. Very much appreciated.
I love Herbie's products as well. Iso-cups under my tube amp, tender feet under the Shanti and my DAC. Baby booties under the Digione Sig. Weights on top as well.
I am waiting to listen to the Shanti as I moved and waiting to get things set-up.
I love Herbie's products as well. Iso-cups under my tube amp, tender feet under the Shanti and my DAC. Baby booties under the Digione Sig. Weights on top as well.
I am waiting to listen to the Shanti as I moved and waiting to get things set-up.
RE: Dropouts old USBridge
I have frequently dropouts meaning the USBridge not being accessible anymore and needing a reboot by dis- and reconnecting the power supply.
I have a wired connection, running Dietpi v6.25.3 used as Roon Endpoint.
The dropouts happen when not streaming (the device just waiting).
I do not seem to be the only one. See Allo USBridge board - Allo - Roon Labs Community
Any suggestion how to diagnose this further?
I have frequently dropouts meaning the USBridge not being accessible anymore and needing a reboot by dis- and reconnecting the power supply.
I have a wired connection, running Dietpi v6.25.3 used as Roon Endpoint.
The dropouts happen when not streaming (the device just waiting).
I do not seem to be the only one. See Allo USBridge board - Allo - Roon Labs Community
Any suggestion how to diagnose this further?
Not @cdsgames, but I have thoughts on this...
I do have a couple of RPi 2B I've modified to replace the onboard noisy DC-DC converters with linear regulators. This is like a baby step in the direction of Allo's USBBridge Signature.
Those are my best RPi sources and begin to get into the same sound quality realm as the very tweaky SDTrans384 SD Card Player (similar level as a stock one with good, but not the best power).
Still, when I use these, I get further improvements using a Isolator/Kali pair.
While I expect the USBBridge Sig to be a significant jump above my modified RPis, I still expect that an Isolator/Kali will provide further improvements. It should be a smaller level of improvement than with a well-powered stock RPi or even my modified ones, but still an improvement. The lower amount of gain would be due to the positive impact of Allo's improved power networks on the clocking process. BUT Allo did not AFAIK upgrade the clocks or alter the RPi clocking architecture (which has serious limitations for audio playback, but improving that clocking architecture would have made the USBBridge Sig incompatible with current RPi distros and player software, which would be a support nightmare Allo surely wanted to avoid).
So IMHO, yes. even with a USBBridge Signature, an Isolator/Kali pair should bring some benefits for audio, even though it will likely be less of an improvement because the USBBridge Sig will start out at a much higher level of SQ already.
As for USB XMOS or I2S, I'm an I2S fancier as long as you can do it right. IF you can't, then a USB setup might be better.
My 2 cents.
Greg in Mississippi
I do have a couple of RPi 2B I've modified to replace the onboard noisy DC-DC converters with linear regulators. This is like a baby step in the direction of Allo's USBBridge Signature.
Those are my best RPi sources and begin to get into the same sound quality realm as the very tweaky SDTrans384 SD Card Player (similar level as a stock one with good, but not the best power).
Still, when I use these, I get further improvements using a Isolator/Kali pair.
While I expect the USBBridge Sig to be a significant jump above my modified RPis, I still expect that an Isolator/Kali will provide further improvements. It should be a smaller level of improvement than with a well-powered stock RPi or even my modified ones, but still an improvement. The lower amount of gain would be due to the positive impact of Allo's improved power networks on the clocking process. BUT Allo did not AFAIK upgrade the clocks or alter the RPi clocking architecture (which has serious limitations for audio playback, but improving that clocking architecture would have made the USBBridge Sig incompatible with current RPi distros and player software, which would be a support nightmare Allo surely wanted to avoid).
So IMHO, yes. even with a USBBridge Signature, an Isolator/Kali pair should bring some benefits for audio, even though it will likely be less of an improvement because the USBBridge Sig will start out at a much higher level of SQ already.
As for USB XMOS or I2S, I'm an I2S fancier as long as you can do it right. IF you can't, then a USB setup might be better.
My 2 cents.
Greg in Mississippi
Hi Greg,
I think it's worth much more than 2 cents.
The reason I asked this is I'm thinking on the line of all in one dac, renderer, preamplifier.
Can you please explain i2s done right. The cable connections is a little iffy, poor quality cable and long traces that concern me.
A well design ethernet hubs can reap many benifits. I also agree with both of you. Everything does matter and through experiences, it might be better to Try to get a score of average 80% might have better benefits. Than one is 95 percent and some 60 percent. The lowest rating will become somewhat the bottle neck. Am I right to think that way?
On another hand USB xmos can be buggy.
Therefore I'm deciding which poison to drink
Anthony
I think it's worth much more than 2 cents.
The reason I asked this is I'm thinking on the line of all in one dac, renderer, preamplifier.
Can you please explain i2s done right. The cable connections is a little iffy, poor quality cable and long traces that concern me.
A well design ethernet hubs can reap many benifits. I also agree with both of you. Everything does matter and through experiences, it might be better to Try to get a score of average 80% might have better benefits. Than one is 95 percent and some 60 percent. The lowest rating will become somewhat the bottle neck. Am I right to think that way?
On another hand USB xmos can be buggy.
Therefore I'm deciding which poison to drink
Anthony