NAIM streamers all a bit rich for my blood, how much experience does the forum have of Bluesound? The 2 is on some good deals at the moment. I’m currently streaming Tidal to a Raspberry Pi3 running Volumio into a Cambridge DACMagic, then NAIT3/NAP90 into KEF XQ1 and I’m pleasantly surprised, but I suspect the Pi is the weakest link. Cheers.
Are you happy with the functionality of the Pi/Volumio for the streaming sources you want to use? If so, I would consider a DAC upgrade. Lots to choose from, depending on budget and what sort of unput you need.
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If you do go the DAC route I can throughly recommend the Chord Mojo, it punches well above its weight.
The Bluesound Node is an amp as well so it’s a bit like using a Naim Uniti atom into your DAC.
I would concur that you might be best to look at your DAC. The original Hugo TT can be got at good prices now that the TT2 is out and it has a pretty resilient USB input. I moved on my CD555 as the sound from a Pi -> Hugo TT was at least as good (admittedly to my less than stellar ears but they’re all I’ve got to work with!).
A Sonore microRendu would probably better a Pi but I don’t know whether your DAC would discern the difference.
.sjb
Try one or two other DACs in your system and, if you find that they make a difference, go for the best DAC that you can afford. You can then later test whether a NUC + AudioLinux transport brings improvement over the bare Pi3, see the NUC + AudioLinux threads in the CA forums.
Check out Lumin Music.
Check out Allo DigiOne a signature and a new dac.
The Allo DigiOne (and the DigiOne Signature) only make sense in the context of DACs with electrical S/PDIF inputs. For DACs with USB inputs, Allo has the USBridge.
They also have DAC hats, of course. But, although I have not tried them, I think that I would go for a Chord DAC or for a second hand Naim DAC if I could afford them.
I have both the DigiOne and the DigiOne Signature transports and I can recommend them in conjunction with a Naim DAC. However, as mentioned above, they only make sense for S/PDIF DACs.
If the OP goes for a USB DAC, I would recommend checking the CA threads on NUC + AudioLinux. Many users have found this combination to have made transports like the micro- and the ultraRendu obsolete.
It could well be that in the end, a low-price NUC + AudioLinux in conjunction with a good USB DAC sounds better than expensive transport chains and streamers.
thanks all (I thought I’d been ignored as Hotmail filtered all responses to Junk!) so is there a consensus a Pi per se isn’t necessarily the logjam? If so I looked at two other Options, I had an IQAudio PiDAC which was seen a clean pair of heels by the DACMagic, but there does seem to be some love for ALLO, also though I’m sure the manufacturers posted reviews are selective the feedback on the iFi Audio iPower adaptor is positive for the DACMagic and the Pi, anyone had a play?
Allo is cheap but I think you get what you pay for
The issue with an Spdif streamer is not only the jitter but also the power supply
I’ve tried a usb 5v battery with my own digione signature but was not impressed with the result.
I’m beginning to think maybe a Naim ND5xs 2 is a good front end for my Chord Dac…
I am not sure the Allo DigiOne Signature is cheap. The card itself is about 250 EUR but you will need a Raspberry Pi, a very good PSU for the clean side and a decent PSU for the RPi side for the Signature to shine.
Thus, one easily ends up with costs that range perhaps between 400 and 800 EUR. I am using a LPS-1.2 to power the clean side and a JS-2 to power the RPi side and thus I am above 1500 EUR without considering the cables.
On the other hand, one does not need a JS-2 for the RPi side and the Signature can take full advantage of the software system that runs on the host RPi: one can use it as an integrated server + renderer solution or as a network transport. Gapless streaming of Tidal, Qobuz, etc. works out of the box and shaiport-sync allows one to reliably stream Idagio contents to the Signature via Airplay.
It would be nice to see more comparisons between the Signature and the ND5 XS 2 or the NDX 2. Interesting to see that you were not impressed, thanks for reporting!
I gave my nDAC a USB Interface with the Audiophilleo 2 + PurePower (both Mk 2). It hangs off a BNC input with coupler they supply and I power the PurePower off the nDAC rear USB port. It only charges when not playing after 15 minutes, and I have had 12 hours plus playing. It’s USB side uses power off data USB. The galvanically isolated spdif output module draws from the PurePower. $999.
I use it with an Innuos Zenith, which itself has lots of SQ measures. I can’t praise the setup enough.
Phil
I think a usb power bank has addition circuitry adding noise hence need to try the batteries recommended by Allo or a linear PSU
Also, if you test the Signature as a pure renderer, you should probably switch off all the interfaces that are not actually used, included the usb bus, see https://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.com/2018/10/rpi-3b-on-air.html.
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