New here so apologies if not the best place to add this. Using Volumio for a couple years and been tweaking my listening system recently and this discussion of Allo Katana is interesting as I suspect my IQaudio DAC Pro is likely the weak point of my system. I am not sure how to judge the two versions of the Kanta. Optimized for least THD vs “analog sound” leaves me unsure of which version is better for my use. Is there some way to get more clarity on this difference?
Welcome, and I believe you’ve found the right place to post this question. Unfortunately it’s not an easy answer as I’ve been following the development of the Katana (still haven’t decided to buy one though, mostly due to total cost of DAC and PSU’s). As far as I can tell it’s just up to personal preference which is why Allo decided to sell both.
The forum topic below is many pages covering the development of the Katana DAC and the page linked is where they’ve first described the “analog sound” option.
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendor-s-bazaar/294940-fifo-buffer-rpi-sbcs-246.html
The only difference between the THD and analog sound boards is a single capacitor added to the output of the DAC - there is a whole discussion at the forum topic below.
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/the-lounge/249418-dac-filtering-rasmussen-effect.html
allo posts on the forums here so I’m sure they can add or correct anything above.
Thank you for these links Rees.
Any news on the LPS or Nirvana?
We are working every day on both , doing the alu casing right now so we can send for FCC testing
Katana is a very powerful DAC however the bottleneck in many of the same products is RPI. Asus tinkerboard S is much powerful than RPI and you need to make all of your products compatible with Asus tinkerboard S. I have Vana player and a separate RPI + Kali + Piano 2.1 DAC and I wish I could replace Sparky or RPI with Asus Tinkerboard S as it gives much more juice for the system.
In what way does this bottleneck manifest itself, when playing audio?
Better clock is one.
Which ‘clock’?
The better RPi DAC’s have their own ‘clocks’, and there is the Kali for those that don’t.
You’re right, this inadequacy of RPI is overcome by buying a reclocker. If you have ATB, you save money then.
Correct.
I seriously doubt that. It doesn’t seems logical or cost effective to fit an SBC like the ATB with multiple audio grade crystals unless the board is specific aimed at audio usage. And as far as I am aware, that isn’t the case. Sure, maybe the clock is better than the one on the Pi, but that doesn’t make it suitable for audio.
Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk
SMPS will never be as good as a properly designed LPS. Also the price point for the 2 PSUs is different . At last the LPS has 2x5V output while SMPS will only have one.
[/quote]
[/quote]
Any news on the LPS or Nirvana?
Glad to hear you are working on both power supplies. Do you have any impressions of how they perform on Boss or Katana players? I think there is a place for both types of psu, both need to be low noise and NOT pollute the AC mains supply. However, they need to be available so that we users can test them out with our various systems and feed our experiences back. It’s not clear what the value equation is for improved psu’s , it’s going to differ depending upon the setup. There is an argument that a cheap SMPS is fine for a well built DAC.
audiosciencereview.com/foru … dacs.7021/
Just picked up on a reply by Johan in the linear power supply for DAC’s thread…both supplies have been tested on their Katana dac, Looking forward to seeing real data and details!!
hello everyone, I put myself in testa che I want a katana dac. for now I’m just experimenting on car audio.in future I will light a home system. so what doesn’t work in the car I can always reuse it. I ask you I read the manual a little and it seems to me that the sq configuration requires three separate power supplies. in the car it does not need psu but simple dc dc converter.mi seems to have understood also that the only stage which foresees a +/- 15v and opamp.I come to the question .what happens if the opamp stage is powered by 2 A when it actually absorbs much less? the other two cards is okay to feed them at 5 volts 3 amps? I want to have clear ideas when it is here with me.
will the alternator make any noise according to you?
Is galvanic isolator necessary? what benefits from?
All quiet !!
@allo - do you have an ETA on support for Katana on ASUS Tinker board or Tinkerboard S? I got one and it doesn’t look like there’s support for very many DACs (only HiFiBerry ones). Thank in advance!
Perhaps it’s ASUS who has to do the tweaking.
I’m using a Katana.
Ive noticed that the cable supplying 5V to the RPi has an effect on the sound. The Amazon Basics fast charger cable was inferior to a thicker copper cable with a soldered mini- usb male plug.
Both the plugs brought 5V from the LPSU. Red light on RPi board was stable and not flashing, and there was no yellow Lightening symbol.
The sound became ’ thin’ with the amazon cable.
hello to everyone. I ask for your help. Today I pulled out of my katana from the box but unfortunately it does not sound anymore. I tried two feed options, with and without isolator. The dac no longer sounds. update? you know that without updating the firmware it might not sound?
hello guys i need your help katana doesn’t work anymore it turns on but it doesn’t sound even if i connect it to the rpi without isolator it doesn’t even connect volumio to the network is there a way to reset it or verify that it is not damaged? the scheme for feeding worked before. someone answer please