Streaming device to complement UnitiServe and NAIM DAC

I've just received my DigiOne Signature but am having trouble getting sound out of it.  It is set up as follows: dirty side powered by Allo power supply; clean side by iFi 5v power supply; ethernet connection; spdif into Naim DAC.  "DietPi" shows up on my iPhone and I'm able to select it, but I'm not getting any audio.  I've played with the Shairport settings using the Allo GUI (changed bit-rate from 16 to 24, 32), but without any luck.  Is there a configuration option I'm missing?  Any help appreciated!

Update: am able to stream through the RPI sound card (out via HDMI) .  Just can't seem to get the Allo card working.

Bill_nyc posted:

Update: am able to stream through the RPI sound card (out via HDMI) .  Just can't seem to get the Allo card working.

How are you trying to play to it?  What app are you trying to use with it?

I’m using Primephonic on my iPhone. Plays fine through the raspberry pi sound card. Got the same results using TIdal.

Well in my experience it 'just works' right out of the box.  Describe the entire set-up; all connections.

The Signature player is connected to the network via ethernet cable and to the Naim DAC via SPDIF BNC/BNC cable (using the Naim cable I was using to connect my UnitiServe to the DAC); the Signature's clean side is powered by an iFi power supply and the dirty side by Allo's 5v power supply.   The DAC is connected to a Musical Fidelity M5si integrated amplifier.  The speakers are B&W, fyi.

As mentioned, I'm using Primephonic and Tidal on my iPhone.  I'm connecting to the DietPi via Airplay/Shairplay.  Both stream fine through my Apple TV device via Airplay and through the RPI's own HDMI output.

Thanks and let me know if any other details would be helpful.

Bill_nyc posted:

I've just received my DigiOne Signature but am having trouble getting sound out of it.  It is set up as follows: dirty side powered by Allo power supply; clean side by iFi 5v power supply; ethernet connection; spdif into Naim DAC.  "DietPi" shows up on my iPhone and I'm able to select it, but I'm not getting any audio.  I've played with the Shairport settings using the Allo GUI (changed bit-rate from 16 to 24, 32), but without any luck.  Is there a configuration option I'm missing?  Any help appreciated!

Have you followed the setup instructions from the Allo webpage step-by-step?  I have never tried DietPi but Volumio worked out of the box as per Allo instructions. As I explained in a previous post, I do not like setting up a system via web interfaces and I am using my own minimal Raspbian distribution instead of Volumio or DietPi.

You say that you are using Primephonic and Tidal on your iPhone. These are, to the best of my understanding, apps of specific internet streaming services. What do you expect to do with them in conjunction with the DigiOne Signature?

nbpf posted:

Bill_nyc posted:

Have ordered a DigiOne Signature.  Will post impressions once I've had a chance to listen to it.  Will also compare to my UnitiServe when I get it back from service.

I am looking forward to read your findings. Right now I'm listening to Theodor Currentzis' Tchaikovsky 6th through the DigiOne Signature powered by UpTone Audio's JS-2 and LPS-1.2 and it sounds just fantastic! 

That recording sounds fantastic on any device.

Ardbeg10y posted:

nbpf posted:

Bill_nyc posted:

Have ordered a DigiOne Signature.  Will post impressions once I've had a chance to listen to it.  Will also compare to my UnitiServe when I get it back from service.

I am looking forward to read your findings. Right now I'm listening to Theodor Currentzis' Tchaikovsky 6th through the DigiOne Signature powered by UpTone Audio's JS-2 and LPS-1.2 and it sounds just fantastic! 

That recording sounds fantastic on any device.

Good point!

Yes, Tidal and Primephonic are streaming services.  My intention is to use the Airplay (Shairplay) functionality of the Signature player to transport the audio of one of these services from my iPhone or iPad  to my Naim DAC.  Shairplay appears to work: I can select it on my iPhone as an output (appears as “DIETPI”), and it is receiving a stream, which I have verified both by viewing the ALSA streaming monitor that is provided within the Allo GUI, and by changing the configuration of the rpi to output sound through its own HDMI port (to a TV).  

The device comes already set up.  While I checked the configuration options, nothing needed to be changed as far as I could tell, based on my reading of the info provided on Allo’s site.  This makes sense, as it is sold as plug & play.  It’s entirely possible I’m missing something in the configuration, but if so I have no idea what.

I don't use DietPi, like NBPF I use Raspbian bare bones and only run mpd and upmpdcli, so it's just a UPNP device on the network. No web gui and I have a DigiOne not Signature. They use the same Linux driver though (I believe).

Anyway, have you checked the system settings (Soundcard configuration) in Dietpi to make sure that the digione signature driver is enabled and selected as output?. Is there anything that mentions volume control? If so disable it or set volume to max? Is mpd enabled? Do a reboot.. Good Luck..

Bill_nyc posted:

...

The device comes already set up.  While I checked the configuration options, nothing needed to be changed as far as I could tell, based on my reading of the info provided on Allo’s site.  This makes sense, as it is sold as plug & play.  It’s entirely possible I’m missing something in the configuration, but if so I have no idea what.

The "DigiOne + DietPi Installation and Configuration Guide" on the Allo web page does suggest that DietPi supports two main configurations options: 1) Roon bridge + Roon Server and 2) Squeezebox server, Squeezelite. In both options configuration substep 5 (Configure Audio Hardware) entails selecting "allo-digione" as the soundcard. Are you sure that you have selected "allo-digione" as the soundcard for your device? Best, nbpf

Bill_nyc posted:

The device comes already set up.  While I checked the configuration options, nothing needed to be changed as far as I could tell, based on my reading of the info provided on Allo’s site.  This makes sense, as it is sold as plug & play.  It’s entirely possible I’m missing something in the configuration, but if so I have no idea what.

I'm of the opinion that they likely sent you an assembled unit with the Dietpi OS placed on it's SD card. I think that's as far as they go. You would have to do the initial setup including selecting and enabling the audio device and any other custom settings for it and other tweaks such as network, host name, turning on/off and customizing services, etc.

Inexplicably, it has started working.  Don't know how. Admittedly, I partially disassembled it, took out the micro SD and reinserted it, reconnected it, hooked a monitor and keyboard up to it and looked through the DietPi configuration options, changed a few then changed them back.  Also, the housekeeper inadvertently switched off the network switching device and I turned it back on.  Anyway, now it's producing audio from both Primephonic and my iPhone's music library.   

Too early to give a verdict on sound quality.  As long as it keeps working I'll aim to do that after it's broken in.

Bill_nyc posted:

Inexplicably, it has started working.  Don't know how. Admittedly, I partially disassembled it, took out the micro SD and reinserted it, reconnected it, hooked a monitor and keyboard up to it and looked through the DietPi configuration options, changed a few then changed them back.  Also, the housekeeper inadvertently switched off the network switching device and I turned it back on.  Anyway, now it's producing audio from both Primephonic and my iPhone's music library.   

Too early to give a verdict on sound quality.  As long as it keeps working I'll aim to do that after it's broken in.

Glad it worked out. I am not sure that streaming via shairplay is the best way of using the DigiOne Signature but at least it works. As a UPnP server + renderer I would expect the sound quality of the DS to match or exceed that of the Uniti Serve. This will also depend on the power supply of the DS and of the US, of course.

I bought my Naim DAC shortly after the model came onto the market and later added an XPS power supply. I used the M2Tech Hi-Face Evo with a Paul Hynes SR-1 power supply. The SR-1 supply transformed the sound of the Hi-Face Evo. In the early days of use, I had a single Windows laptop running JRiver Media Center and controlled the setup from JRemote on my iPad. The sound was good but the world of computer audio has moved on considerably since those times.

The next development was to run JPLAY in conjunction with JRiver Media Center and JRemote. This improved the sound considerably. JPLAY and JRiver somehow fell out with each other and JRiver blocked the use of JPLAY with their software. Back to the drawing board!

Since owning my Naim DAC, I have constantly tried to improved the sound. I'll spare you the details. I think that I have now reached the stage at which I am maximising performance from my computer front end. Any further improvements would be likely to required significant investment.

I now use JPLAY Femto on a dual PC setup (http://jplay.eu/manual/). To further enhance the sound, I used JPLAY Femto in conjunction with Audiophile Optimizer (https://www.highend-audiopc.com/audiophile-optimizer), Fidelizer Pro (http://www.fidelizer-audio.com/) and Process Lasso Server (https://bitsum.com/). For those who are interested in computer audio, the manual for Audiophile Optimizer provides an excellent guide to setup. It can be downloaded free of charge from https://pdf.highend-audiopc.co...izer-setup-guide.pdf.

I'm no computer expert so the support and advice available from the authors of this software, particularly JPLAY and Audiophile Optimizer, has been invaluable. JPLAY have an excellent user forum (http://jplay.eu/forum/) from which further support can be accessed. 

At present, I am trying out two different control point apps on my Samsung Galaxy tablet, namely BubbleUPnP and Hi-Fi Cast. BubbleUPnP seems to offer a slightly more dynamic sound although I prefer the GUI with Hi-Fi Cast and it also offers an Internet radio option, which works well. Wi-Fi performance in my home is poor but the addition of a Netgear Wi-Fi extender has improved the situation considerably. After much tinkering (And a lot more swearing!) I think I have optimised my computer front end.

So what does it sound like? Very good actually. My computer front end is able to significantly out-perform my CDS2. How does it compare with my LP12/Armageddon/ARO/Troika (Rebuilt by the Cartridge Company) on its two tier Mana support? It doesn't and I am yet to hear a digital source component that is able to improve upon its analogue counterpart.

Long live vinyl!

I was able to get the Digione Signature working with my music library, which is stored on a NAS. Here is my configuration:

Windows computer
-----------------------------
1) Minimserver (not compatible with my NAS, so installed on the desktop), 
2) Bubble upnp server, 
3) Foobar2000 + foo_upnp package. 

iPhone and iPad
------------------------
Lumin

Allo DigiOne Signature player (pre-installed; no configuration required)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) MPD/O!MPD
b) GMRENDER 

Sounds good so far to my ears.  

Regarding Shairplay: I'm not sure what limitations it imposes on audio quality, but it sounds pretty good -- better than Airplay via Apple TV as far as I can tell.  In any case, I don't see how else to get Primephonic to play through my setup.

Anders in småland posted:

nbpf posted:

Anders in småland posted:

Just go with a macmini and optical out. Buy Audirvana and enjoy. No jitterproblem.

// Anders

I have found electrical S/PDIF to sound better than optical into the Naim DAC. If you connect the macmini to the Naim DAC via something like a Schiit Eitr, you might be able to improve over a direct connection via optical. The disadvantage, of course, is that of an additional box. This is the reason why I prefer the Allo DigiOne transports. These have high quality electrical S/PDIF outputs and there is no need for additional boxes.  

Ok. I Will try an USB converter to se IF I can enjoy even more????.

Hi????

Did not try USB converter, but did a homedemo of a nd5xs and discovered some new insights???? . BIG difference in the contours and quiet parts of the music compated to macmini, so much that I returned it and nearly bought a NDX blind! Sitting hear now and rediscover my music!????????

Anders in småland posted:

Anders in småland posted:

nbpf posted:

Anders in småland posted:

Just go with a macmini and optical out. Buy Audirvana and enjoy. No jitterproblem.

// Anders

I have found electrical S/PDIF to sound better than optical into the Naim DAC. If you connect the macmini to the Naim DAC via something like a Schiit Eitr, you might be able to improve over a direct connection via optical. The disadvantage, of course, is that of an additional box. This is the reason why I prefer the Allo DigiOne transports. These have high quality electrical S/PDIF outputs and there is no need for additional boxes.  

Ok. I Will try an USB converter to se IF I can enjoy even more????.

Hi????

Did not try USB converter, but did a homedemo of a nd5xs and discovered some new insights???? . BIG difference in the contours and quiet parts of the music compated to macmini, so much that I returned it and nearly bought a NDX blind! Sitting hear now and rediscover my music!????????

Sure an nd5xs (or NDX) connected to a Naim DAC via electrical S/PDIF should sound significantly better than a mac mini connected to the same nDAC via optical. But a decent USB to S/PDIF converted would significantly improve the sound quality of the mac mini without requiring you to run a UPnP server (or a Roon server) on another device. I would expect a DigiOne Signature directly connected to the nDAC via BNC cable to be comparable or better than the nd5xs in terms of sound quality and much better in terms of flexibility and support for internet radio and streaming services. No matter what you'll do, have fun and enjoy the music season!