Roon to a USBridge and then to the Hugo2

Audio Gear Talk Raspberry Pi
1

@Ratbert,

I see you are using Roon to a USBridge and then to the Hugo2.

I have this setup also, and while I love the SQ, I find that the USBridge and Hugo2 link go down overnight (Hugo2 in desktop mode so it shouldn’t), requiring me to restart both USBridge power supplies every day.

This is only borderline usable for me, and unusable for anyone else trying to use the system. Have you had the same experience?

I am on my second USBridge btw, having returned the first one under warranty and am not getting a solution via Allo support. I am on the verge of giving up with these guys and going to SoTM or Sonore, but a great deal more ackers are involved so would love to find a solution…

2

Hi

I leave my USbridge on all the time but turn the Hugo2 off, occasionally I have to reboot the Allo to see the Hugo2 but certainly not daily.

3

Ratbert, thanks for the info. The Allo guys came back and got me to change the /DietPI/uEnv.txt file (which involved a level of tinkering that is pretty unusual for a £200 bit of hifi equipment) setting the parameter aotg.urb_fix=0. That seems to have enabled the USBridge to dynamically recognise the Hugo 2, and has solved the issue from the USBridge perspective. A second problem was that the Hugo 2 started shutting down prematurely while on desktop mode (magenta light), which created USBridge problems. I had used an IFI 5v supply on the Hugo 2 to improve the SQ. This seems to have been a mistake - unplugging and replacing with the stock Hugo supply seems to have fixed the shutdown problem and I find now that others have had this issue too. Hopefully the combo will start and run properly now - a bit of a palarver but probably worth it for the SQ.

4

I use mine to feed Stax SR-009 headphones and am very satisfied, glad you appear to be all sorted now, I like the Allo team and their willingness to get involved to resolve issues is refreshing.

Russ

5

You use the Hugo2 to feed Stax 009s?
I thought electrostatics needed special energizing devices and couldn’t be driven by a regular amp?
Am I behind the times?

6

Allo usbridge feeds the Hugo 2 which connects to the Stax energiser.

7

Aha — the Hugo2 does DAC service.
Of course.

The Stax is interesting.
I’m happy with my Audeze, but I haven’t bought anything in a year, I feel a responsibility to the nation’s economy…

8

Problem with the USBridge/Hugo completely fixed - main problem was replacing the Hugo2 power supply, a cautionary tale with a message of ‘listen to Rob Wattts’. I am using my Hugo to drive Focal Clear headphones and I am very pleased by the SQ. I am also using the Hugo as a preamp into a MiniDSP DDRC24 (Dirac live) for room correction and sub integration, and then into my Devialet system. I have just found to my amazement that Roon is able to drive the Devialet directly, bypassing the awful Devialet windows Air Driver, and even turning the amp on and setting the right input. I have no clue how they did this…one of the many truly magical elements of the Roon system. So now I have a another pure digital path into the Devialet to compare with the DSP route, which is: digital/analogue (Hugo) to analogue/digital/analogue (MiniDSP) to analogue/digital/analogue (Devialet). There is little SQ difference between the routes as far as I can tell except for the vastly better imaging of the Dirac route, despite the multiple digitising stages.