Allo USBridge board

I have both the Bifrost Multibit and the iFi micro iDSD (silver) and have used both with the USBridge. I’m just now getting into DSD and find the iFi iDSD to work extremely well. I’ve had difficulties with any DSD music on the Bifrost and Roon. Works like a charm on the iFi. And, of course, the iFi is an excellent portable solution.

Of course, the iDSD is a DAC/Amp while the Bifrost is DAC only and still needs an amp. You mentioned the iFi Micro Black so I’m assuming you mean the latest version of the iDSD.

Thanks!

I will be using active monitors – so no need for an amp. I’m also not concerned about DSD music or portability.

If you set those differences aside, do you find either as being a better USBridge partner?

I’ve compared two USB streamers feeding a Singxer SU-1 > Holo Spring KTE 3 combo (one of the best DACs I’ve heard): 1) Sonore microRendu + UpTone LPS-1 vs 2) Allo USBridge + standard SMPS. You might think it’s not a fair fight as the 1) costs over 5x 2). Not so. There are very slight differences, but overall it’s a tie. I sold 1), kept 2). Given this, I doubt I’d hear much difference from a PSU improvement.

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Both my Bifrost Multibit and my iFi Micro iDSD seem to work fine with my Allo USBridge. The Bifrost likely has the edge in overall sound quality (I’ve only compared them via headphones and, honestly, not in a critical way so YMMV). If you don’t have use for portability and a headphone amp then the Bifrost Multi is excellent DAC in this price range. It has the added value of accepting optical or SPDIF input as well.

FYI - iFi does have a Micro iDAC2 (no headphone amp) that would save you a few bucks. I think the only “black” unit they make is the iDSD DAC/Amp.

Any way you cut it, Roon + USBridge + either of these DACs is a very nice package and an awesome price.

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Doesn’t the Singer take care of all bad stuff before it? You have to feed the DAC directly from the streamers to determine differences.

The Holo Spring works best with I2S, which the SU-1 provides. The SU-1 may help remove some USB electrical noise, but it does not totally mask differences between USB sources.

That’s what I wanted to know. A thousand thanks.

I hope you have this sorted by now, but I’m curious to know which DAC(s) you had connected to the USBridge. I hate to also ask the obvious, but which USB port were you using?

I’m using the Allo supplied power adapter as well with great results. Given its design, I doubt that a different power supply would impact the sound of the USBridge much.

If you have some spare change, inserting something like the nano or micro iUSB3.0 from iFi Audio between the USBridge and your DAC might offer a small but worthwhile improvement. They do some of the same things, but the noise floor may be a little lower than the USBridge by itself. They also give you the option of using a split USB cable like iFi’s own Gemini that uses separate cables for power and data. This seems to benefit DACs like the micro iDAC2. https://ifi-audio.com/

I’m using the new Dspeaker X-4 Optimization System with a built in DAC. Really a fantastic piece of gear. So you have three USB stacked on the USBridge. I’m using the bottom USB connection. I must say I couldn’t be happier with this setup using the Dspeaker X-4 and the USBridge.

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There is only one usb port on the usbridge.

Ordered one of these today, will be interesting to try it out when I get it.

I have tried the IFI iPower (5V) and that works very well. I found it to improve the sound over the standard Allo SMPS. I used it to power the USBridge and took the J28 jumper out, using the Allo SMPS for the Sparky microusb power port.

Lately, i have moved to using a battery pack (Xiaomi) for the Sparky microusb power port while IFI iPower for the USBridge. The Ifi iPower was moved from a power strip to a direct power socket. The bass seems a bit better with this combo. I think the bigger reason is the move of iPower to a direct power socket rather than sharing power with other devices on a strip. The differences are small, but i would suggest that you try them and see if it works in your system.

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I’m trying to decide between a Usbridge or a Digione to a Benchmark DAC3 HGC.

I saw the jitter plots for both but couldn’t understand them (available here https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/bgBjaPs2LVGrfNcBRQgbN2rjneLgqFaCmX2aG1N6tTo?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy and here https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/d9tQW6evXqxeRTAB9jxBb8XyndL2PF7nlcVZGNSMnTz?ref_=cd_ph_share_link_copy).

@allo.com themselves seem to be more proud of the DigiOne:

"DigiOne has 2 outputs: BNC and plain RCA (coaxial). On both, we have achieved jitter of 0.6ps (1 picosecond – time taken by light in a vacuum to travel approximately 0.30 mm).

Noise. 50uV (batteries have about 12uV of noise).

What we achieved, in our opinion and based on public measurements, is the best transport at any price point (yes, even when compared with 5k USD/EUR transports)."

For UsBridge, they only write: “The final noise of the USBridge is lower than the noise of a battery.”

The Benchmark’s coaxial and usb inputs should be indistinguishable (both go up to 192 kHz PCM sample rates at word lengths up to 24-bits and also accept DSD 64 in DoP 1.1. In addition, the coaxial digital inputs are DC isolated, current limited, and diode protected. The RCA body is bonded directly to the chassis to prevent currents in the internal ground system. This direct bonding also maximizes RF shielding. Upstream would be a battery-operated switch connected to an iMac Roon server and Synology NAS. I don’t know if the Benchmark’s USB port is galvanically isolated, but adding an Olimex isolator I did not (could not) detect a difference in a brief test. The Olimex made it necessary to use a cheap USB cable in addition to my Supra USB cable (source: Macbook Pro on Wi-Fi with Roon Bridge).

UsBridge works with a Sparky while DigiOne with RPI3. I wonder whether this has any implications for sound quality or practical considerations (e.g. PSU upgrades etc).

Many thanks for any experience or views you care to share.

Hi - my USBridge is working well but has not updated to the latest version. I believe this requires a manual update and flashing of the card. This is something that I would prefer not to do as everything is stable and I don’t like the sound of this!! I am happy with the unit and how it works - but will I HAVE to upgrade in the future if the Roon Dietpi software upgrades or can I stay where I am with this? Advice welcome.

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I was in the same boat. When I asked Allo if I needed to upgrade, the answer was no. That much of the upgrade was to handle a wider array of DACs. Since mine worked fine, there wasn’t a need to upgrade.

Of course, I did it anyway. It was relatively straightforward to do but it made me nervous since I did have to take the USBrdige apart to get to the eMMC card. But by following the directions, the upgrade went just fine. To be honest, I hear no difference between my upgraded USBridge and from before the upgrade so if you’re happy with it as is, just ignore the upgrade.

You should be able to upgrade the OS (DietPi) via the web interface of the Allo USBridge. On the main page, click “View” under System Settings, and you go to the detail page for the system. Down at the bottom is a section showing the current version of the DietPi installed. If it’s not the latest version, you’ll see an “Update” button that can be used to update the OS. No need to disassemble the USBridge.

Thanks Michael…yes, I am working on the basis if it’s not broken then leave it alone. I did contact Allo and Andre there has said they will send me a card so I just need to swap the cards - very helpful. I will do this as at some point I have a feeling the Roon Endpoint will ask for an upgrade!!

Hi Geoff, this was true until Version 1.6 which was a big change and would not Auto Update - hence this problem now. Allo have said they will send me a card with the latest image…I am more than happy with that and then, I believe auto updates should work again.

If I’m not mistaken, the difference would mainly be which clock is the master.
Because SPIDF, with the DigiOne, you’d be using the DigiOne’s clock.
Because USB, with the USBridge, you’d be using the Benchmark’s.

Another possible advantage, SQ-wise is that you can power the USBRidge board independently, which, AFAIK isn’t an option with the DigiOne (though might be if you’re comfortable soldering stuff).
In the not-necessarily-SQ advantages, the aluminum cases are available for the USBRidges (and they look pretty good), not for the DigiOnes, and if you decide to change DACs down the line, a USBRidge should give you higher sampling rates than what you can get off SPIDF, so there’s that, as well. One current advantage of the DigiOne is you can use Ropieee, but that will hopefully change soon (right, @spockfish ? :wink: ).

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