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Allo Boss v2 and other RPi HATs

Puggie

pfm Member
Anyone tried the new Allo Boss v2 DAC? Is it any good?

I have a Boss v1.0 and Digione in two separate systems. the Digione is feeding a MF X-DAC v3, which I feel is the better system.

I'm looking for another HAT, Hifiberry pro might be worth a look, the orchard audio is tempting but spendy.

Any thoughts from anyone?
 
I'd rather a DAC HAT than a transport HAT and seperate DAC if I'm honest. I just want a decent analogue out from this.

Software will most probably be Volumio and it may be a Pi3b of I might treat myself to a new Pi4. Power will be a DIY regulated dual supply.
 
Anyone tried the new Allo Boss v2 DAC? Is it any good?

I have a Boss v1.0 and Digione in two separate systems. the Digione is feeding a MF X-DAC v3, which I feel is the better system.

I'm looking for another HAT, Hifiberry pro might be worth a look, the orchard audio is tempting but spendy.

Any thoughts from anyone?
A plus one from me - I have one Allo Boss ( Picore/LMS) with a usb SSD drive attached ( for my music rips ) - connected to the Radio 2 input of a Quad vintage set up. Sounds great and very easy to playback and use various plug in for radio stations around the world :)
 
I have an Allo Boss v1 languishing in a drawer somewhere, bought to see if the hype was justified and it would outperform the IQAudio DAC Pro I was using.

Cost twice the price but didn't deliver a jot of improvement IMV ... to my ears I would even say the IQA hat edges it.
 
I'd rather a DAC HAT than a transport HAT and seperate DAC if I'm honest. I just want a decent analogue out from this.

Software will most probably be Volumio and it may be a Pi3b of I might treat myself to a new Pi4. Power will be a DIY regulated dual supply.

Understood. We each have different needs.

I use mine with a Qutest into a Luxman 505 and Roon (ROPIEE). Virgin box goes into Qutest too. From a quality perspective I want for nothing more.

Tried IQAudio DAC hat. Not even in the same league for me. Less detail, reduced dynamics flatter presentation.

Interesting thread. I don’t think DAC Hats can equal good quality external DAC’s … yet.

Interested to see what you decide in the end and what you think of it once it’s up and running. This is a case where I would prefer to be wrong ! :D
 
I use a Hifiberry DAC 2 HD on a RPi4. I'm feeding it into a vintage Naim setup (bolt down 32, NAXO, 2 off SNAPS and 3 off 250s driving Isobariks). Sounds pretty good to me, I've not had any chance to compare it against anything else other than my Yamaha WXAD 10. HiFi shops are pretty thin on the ground in North East Scotland and lockdowns etc have made things difficult anyway.

I am tempted next year to look into standalone DAC or a CD with a DAC that accepts external inputs. Meanwhile I enjoy the music on the Hifiberry so I'm not in a hurry.
 
IQ Audio DAC+ or DAC Pro for me.

Bought the Allo Piano 2.1 and reclocker quite a while back. Sounded poor. Tried various mods to the power supplies on the boards but was not able to get it performing much better than standard. Disappointed that the Piano was never able to do its DSP crossover function - which was part of the reason for buying it. Sort of put me off Allo products, along with constant design updates.

I bought a Hifiberry DAC2 HD when it came out. Very similar sound quality to the IQ DACs i.e. excellent. The DAC2 went back because it would not work with Moode. I was forced to use Volumio which was a bit of a bind. For the same or better sound the IQ DACs are much better value for money.
 
The Allo DigiOne is the best performing SPDIF transport I have used. Vanishingly low jitter, options of Volumio or Moode make it all easy to operate on iPhone or Android. It was an eye opener hearing how good it sounded vs. my CD transports.
 


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