"Best" Audio Quality Hardware for running LMS - Opinions Wanted ....

[Cut-Throat]

Call me silly but I've been toying with trying a Metrum Ambre and replacing the Roon card with picoreplayer (Metrum are happy users to do that). The reasons: I already have a Metrum DAC so it will match (yes, silly), a variety of outputs including I2S, the Ambre seems to have had good reviews, no need to worry about various power supplies.

Drawbacks: price.

I briefly looked this unit up and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this unit have a Raspberry Pi inside of it ??

[JohnB]

Yes, it does have a Pi inside it (as does the even more expensive Bryston BDP-Pi box). On the other hand it includes good quality linear power supplies, 4 ouput options (RCA/AES/Optical/I2S), an attractive substantial case, a warranty, customer support, and the box will have a resale value.

I fancy testing out the various upsampling options advocated by John Swenson here and described by Archimago in his blog. As far as I can tell, the easiest way of doing this is via picoreplayer (which simplifies setting the Sox options) and Pi based boxes.

The options then boil down to:

Build my own Rasp Pi + HiFiBerry DigiPro + Case + Power supply. Then I start investigating power supplies. Do I really want to start modifying the DigiPro board to accept a good external power supply (which seemingly makes a noticeable different - whether it is worth doing that is another question).

Perhaps the Allo DigiOne Signature + their Shant power supply which would cost, in the UK, 577 USD or around £480.

Or perhaps the Metrum Ambre - which has got more expensive following the drop in the Pound. I already have a Metrum DAC and could use the I2S option.

I'm still vacillating between the options but will read up on things a bit more before (hopefully) making a decision.

[DomieMic65]

Very interesting post and links.
Upsampling is the next chapter in my reading and learning about LMS / squeezelite / piCore... hehe!!

Can upsampling be set to effect pcm signals only and leave DSD as is?
Thnx

[JohnB]

I'm not sure, but (from my little knowledge) upsampling DSD doesn't seem to make sense - so it might well only upsample PCM.

[JohnB]

There is an interesting article and (especially) video about Raspberry Pi being used for audio, examining the Raspberry Pi alone, the Pi with a HAT board, the Allo Digione and finally the Allo Digione Signature.

Very instructive indeed - well worth reading and, especially, watching the video.

https://darko.audio/2018/11/a-short-...one-signature/

[JohnB]

The options then boil down to:

Build my own Rasp Pi + HiFiBerry DigiPro + Case + Power supply. Then I start investigating power supplies. Do I really want to start modifying the DigiPro board to accept a good external power supply (which seemingly makes a noticeable different - whether it is worth doing that is another question).

Perhaps the Allo DigiOne Signature + their Shant power supply which would cost, in the UK, 577 USD or around £480.

Or perhaps the Metrum Ambre - which has got more expensive following the drop in the Pound. I already have a Metrum DAC and could use the I2S option.

I'm still vacillating between the options but will read up on things a bit more before (hopefully) making a decision.

Well, I have narrowed it down to:

Allo DigiOne Signature
Initially with their battery pack (approx £328 total) but preferably moving on to a Lithium Iron Phosphate 6V battery + charger.
Alternatively a SBooster BOTW linear power supply but that would add another £330, bringing to total to ~£660 - quite a substantial amount.
Pros:
Very good reviews and measurements (e.g. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/f...i-s-pdif.5418/ ), I could buy a backup 3B+ board in case of early failure of that board due to it running hot.

Cons:
Not very attractive visually (understatement), needs an additional ugly power brick or battery, 2 power supplies, no easy way of passively cooling the Pi board.

Metrum Ambre
Cost ~£1,000
Pros:
Attractive substantial case, RCA/Optical/AES/I2S outputs, very well reviewed, it's plug and go (apart from picoreplayer SD card), guarantee, resale value, single case.

Cons:
Cost, designed around Roon but Metrum approve of running other distributions such as PCP.
Normally I would expect a piece of good quality audio kit to last for a very minimum of 10 years but the Pi board runs pretty hot which might well limit its life and although the Ambre uses a 3B+ board I'm not sure whether it is a standard board (it might be modified).

[Julf]

There is an interesting article and (especially) video about Raspberry Pi being used for audio, examining the Raspberry Pi alone, the Pi with a HAT board, the Allo Digione and finally the Allo Digione Signature.

Very instructive indeed - well worth reading and, especially, watching the video.

https://darko.audio/2018/11/a-short-...one-signature/

Usually anything by Darko should carry a big woo warning.

[Julf]

On the other hand it includes good quality linear power supplies.

Linear supplies for high-speed digital circuits are usually a pretty bad idea. Not sure what the benefit is supposed to be.

[Apesbrain]

Here are some other nice boxes with RPi inside:
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/netwo...ch-c-6350.html
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/netwo...ac-c-6314.html

[JohnB]

I'm not sure that it could be called "the best audiophile hardware" (whatever that means) but I have finally plumped for the Allo Digione Signature, mainly because the options of how to set it up have been running round in my mind for a few days. Having said that, I suspect the Signature with a battery pack power supply might well give the Metrum Ambre a run for its money.

Initially I will use the (crappy) battery pack for the clean side but move to a LiFePo 6.6V (2S2P) battery pack with a XT60 termination (for the charger) -> a XT60 to 5.5/2.5 lead -> Allo's 5.5/2.5 to USB-C connector.

There is a German specialist supplier of Lithium batteries who makes custom battery packs to customer's specifications, for a price. (I had considered buying the "A123 Systems ANR26650M1B" LiFePo cells and making the pack myself.)

This is definitely not a cheap option once you add it various bits and bobs - even before the LiFePo battery pack and charger.