Hi there,
I Just received the USBridge! Wonderful setup. Only one thing… it won’t play hi def formats. It’s as if it’s recognized as a USB 1 device…
Setup is dietpi 154. I can’t select different audio USB modules. Just one. When I plug in the USB to the sparky, then there is no issue. It’s recognized as a USB 2 device and plays al high res files…
AFAIK the USBridge only works with Sparky, not RPi.
I know. I use it with the usbridge. What I meant was that when I connect the dac directly to the sparky I have no problem. When I connect it to the bridge I can only play max 96kHz files.
I contacted Allo. They are going to replace it. Great service again from @ALLO_audio_boards
We have seen this problem before in a few units. Apparently the problem its because of the USB hub IC and on initial testing it appeared as working but was not tested for USB2.0
We are retesting all units to make sure they are 2.0.
My first sound impressions with the USBRIDGE compared to the Digione:
My setup is:
Digione and USBRIDGE to the Gracedesign M920 DAC directly running a Hypex nCore amp and two Hypex UcD D4.0 sub-amps. Speakers I build myself too consisting of tweeter ScanSpeak Berylium, Mark Audio Alpair 10.3 mid bass and Dayton HF 265 subs with passive slave units. Subs are corrected by a miniDSP with Dirac live and fine tuned with REW. Silver speaker and interlink cabling is also build by myself. Digione’ coax is a KHARMA Supreme cable
Digione is connected to a raspberry with Allo switch mode power supply.
USBRIDGE is connected to Sparky with double linear power supplies.
Both boards run dietpi and Roonendpoint’s RAAT protocol.
If you want to further extend the SQ you should try a very decent Ethernet cable. I use the Audioquest Vodka. I also use a galvanic isolator between the cable and the Sparky made by Pink Faun. Switch between computer and Sparky is a TPlink 108 managed hub fed by an iFi switch mode power. This makes the sound fare more realistic.
I think the usbridge on the Gracedesign is a better combo then the spdif. Mainly due to the better power supply’s I suppose. the digione is a little more rough. S sounds are more pronounced. Stereo image is less wide and deep and more diffuse with the Digione. In coming weeks I will build a linear ps for the Digione and see if they match more closely together.
The USBRIDGE also sounds a little bit better with an Audioquest Jitterbug. Just slightly better air around instruments and voices. A little cleaner.
The USBRIDGE is far better then my old Cubietruck combo. Giving the little step with the jitterbug. The Cubietruck really needed the jitterbug to sound good. This is a big step forward. Timing, image whith and depth, details, black background etc. etc. is much better. I didn’t expect that. A raspberry sounds even worse then the Cubietruck so I didn’t compare it to the USBRIDGE.
One thing I like very much on the Digione combo is the natural warmth this setup displays. I heard this more with spdif sources but not as natural as with the Digione. The USBRIDGE sounds a little less involved, more analytical.
I hope the lps will clean up the other elements mentioned previously. I also hope the future Digione 2.0 will have a separate power input so I can feed sbc and hat separately.
The USBRIDGE eventually will find its place at my friends house together with a Devialet Pro 250 and KHARMA Elegance db9s speakers. I build it for him together with a very nice cabinet custom made by HIFI2000 in Italy.
I also want to mention the beyond great customer support from Allo. They put hard work in there products and Allo community. It seems they are working 24/7 on mail, fora etc. I can’t imagine this being healthy for the staff, but as a customer a really enjoy there responsiveness with technical support.
Shipping is quick and packaging sufficient.
Keep up the good work @allo.com @ALLO_audio_boards!
@allo.com I wish there was an option to buy the usbridge package minus the sparky as I have a spare sparky lying around twiddling its thumbs.
Thx you very much Jeffrey .
We stand behind our products and we try to be responsive and take care of of customers.
That can be arranged.
Can you email me details please johan?
