Volumio Flat Sound/Drop in gain?

Help and Support
1

Dear Volumio community,

Setup : Volumio on RPi 5 / USB DAC Topping E50 (RCA cables) / Ampli Rega Brio / FLAC 24/96kHz on a NAS

First of all, let me say that i’ve been using Volumio for a while now
Love the usability, the UI, the library, the settings, etc…
Everything basically, but… the Sound…
It feels a lot flat/muffled as is there was significant volume or gain losses

I have a second CD line (Rega Apollo) plugged directly to the amp and the sound from this line is exactly what i want/expect. I would have expect at least the same output from my Volumio line, but Volumio feels very flat in comparison

I saw, across this forum and the web, very good review about Volumio sound, so i started questionning my setup : maybe the DAC isn’t good enough, maybe i have losses along the line, maybe the RPI5 is not powerful enough, etc…
I wanted to have a comparison so i installed Moode on another SD Card (sorry for that) and swap it into the same setup
There, no doubts : crystal sound, good envelopp, good dynamic, very open, etc…
As good as my CD line, maybe even better

Both Volumio and Moode runs with default playback setting (no Software Mixer for Volumio and 0dbFixed for Moode) and no resampling.
I tried the Volume Normalization (ON) setting and curious enough the first 5-10 secondes of a song are perfect (crystal, open, etc…) but ultimately when more instruments comes into play, the volume drop and the sound muffled itself
If i put Volume Normalization to OFF, the sound is muffled from the start
Mixer Type Software do not change anything

I’d like to stay with Volumio (i even considered the subscription at some point) but the sound is a problem for now
Anyone else experienced a similar situation??
Have i missed a particular setting?

Sorry for the very long post
Apreciate the help

2

Anyone?
Am i the only one with this experience?

3

Seems not much response indeed.
Can you provide a log of your system and paste it here?

Just the obvious questions:

  • You have performed a factory reset on the E50?
    image

  • Your DAC is not in preamp mode?

  • There are no plugins installed that interfere with the audio chain?

4

I’m not sure if this advice applies to you. I’ll let you know anyway…
I also have the E50 and am very happy with it, including Volumio!
However, I use the Allo DigiOne Signature.
I’ve noticed that the DAC’s power supply plays a big role. The DigiOne Sign. requires two power supplies: one for the RPI and another, low-noise power supply for the clean side.
Currently, I have the clean side of the DigiOne Sign. and the E50 DAC each powered by a linear power supply, each galvanically isolated. This is definitely the best performance I’ve heard with my setup.
Power supply noise can cause significant damage!

0.56uV Ultralow noise DAC power supply regulator (LT3045)

I prefer the coaxial connection between the RPI and DAC to the USB connection. Unfortunately, the volume can only be adjusted with a software mixer. The sound is still very, very good.

5

Dear @Wheaten and @rost21A , thank you for your feedback

@Wheaten

  • I will extract the log file tonight and paste it there
  • DAC was reset but still the same experience
  • DAC is not in preamp mode (m-d mode)
  • DAC Filtering is set to Defaut : Fast Roll off linear filter (no change if i set another filter)
  • No specific plugins are installed

@rost21A
I had a look at the Allo DigiOne Signature
I guess this is a nice upgrade on any RPi system (not a cheap one though!), but even without it, i should already have a nice audio experience
I mean, it does not seem mandatory in order to have a nice audio experience with HiRes files.
But i’ll definetely consider it in the future

The thing is, it works perfect with Moode… so i don’t really question my setup for the moment.