VOLUMIO soundcheck invitation for Hamburg, Germany

Diy and Tweaks Diy Volumio Projects
141

Hello
I think it’s great that you organize these sound checks. I am always looking forward to the results.

I am not sure if Hypex nCore amplifiers have been already announced.
We have performed various tests with very expensive amplifiers (ASR Emmitter II, BAT VK-3Xi SE / BAT VK-200, Devialet Expert 120, Devialet Expert 200, Leben CS-600, …).
The amplifiers based on Hypex nCore (nCore 400, North Acustics One SE NC 500, …) were always massively better!

I strongly recommend to use an amplifier based on Hypex nCore.

Greetings and good luck
rost21A

142

My company is about to release an amplifier that will have THD+N < 0.0009%.

orchardaudio.com/bosc

I could send you a sample for the sound checks. But not for this one.

143

that is a really nice offer, orchadaudio!
I do not know if the amp will fit to the speakers, but I would like to try it, when amp is finished.

144

Thx you Judy for listening .

I am trying on my side to see f I can get a Hypex N core but our partners are out of stock .

Give me 1-2 days (will try my best)

145

orchadaudio, rost21A, allo
Thank you for your support to help my listeners making the most accurate rating.
i really appreciate it!

so let’s see what comes to us…

146

I wanted to mention that, I forgot it in my last post.

I strongly recommend not to use a preamp in which a volume control is installed.
I recommend connecting the streamer directly to the power amp and controlling the volume in Volumio.

regards
rost21A

147

Thanks rost21A
this is exactly what i want to do :wink:

And I will probably use a Hypex Ncore amplifier.
:slight_smile:
more soon.

148

the new amp would have only one line-in.

so, we have two rounds, first with:

01 Piano 2.1 with Kali reclocker
02 IQaudio DAC PRO
03 DACBerry PRO
04 DACBerry ONE+
05 Boss 1.2
06 Mamboberry HD DAC+ Crystek v2
07 AroioDac
08 X400 DAC extension module

taking the best 3 boards in the next round with:

01 Katana v1.2 with THD stage and Isolator 1.2
02 Orchard Audio’s PecanPi DAC streamer
03 Volumio ‘Primo’ (on Tinkerboard S)
04 Khadas generic tone board USB DAC
05 DACBerry pro+ with osa isolator board

My Playlist ist now 8 track long ( Playlist on TIDAL ) with different formats (mp3 320 | flac 44/16 | flac 96/24 ) on internal storage.

Soundcheck is an independent and non profit association of HI-FI enthusiasts, gathering together to evaluate with double-blind methodology several Audio equipments. (typically I2S hats for Raspberry PI)

we heard in the past:
DAC:TauDAC-DM101 with TauOUT-TP101, Dial-DAC, HIFI Shield & HIFI Shield2, SabreBerry Z, JustBoom DAC HAT, Terraberry Dac 2, ApplePi, Curryman DAC
PSU: Raspberry, allo 5V3A, allo Dual, ifi Ipower, SBooster, Thel NT-25HQ-09, MamboPower
Reclocker: Kali, ApplePi Reclocker, 3R USB Renaissance, iFi iPurifier2
USB-DAC: iFi nano ione, Elac EA101EQ-G

1 Like
149

Hi friends…
Yesterday we celebrated the soundcheck…
there were far too many boards, but with the new questionnaires and the tracks to the respective sounddiscipline the rating was easier.
allo kindly provided us with an Audiophonics PAS-125NC amp with a Hypex Ncore NC122MP.

from the first round we took the boss and the iqaudio dac pro as remarkable better.
in the second round all boards were better.
i added also the allo Katana SQ to the round.

so, the greatest pleasure has prepared us the new DacBerry pro+ board, followed by Katana SQ, Primo, Boss and Iq.
But wait. My local hi-fi dealer lent me Rotel RB1552MKII amp. So we were curious how these boards will shine on an analog amplifier …
The amp has immediately made the mood in the room more relaxed… thanks to the warm signature…
Here we decided to place primo, katana SQ,Boss first, followed by DacBerry pro+ and iq…
Conclusion. Your optimal DAC board may vary depending on the sound system…
I will publish more from the questionnaires later on.

Thank you for your interest. I will continue the journey. :slight_smile:
9_Soundcheck.jpg
addendum: this morning i heard the NAD C-268 with primo and the elac speaker. For me it sounds better than the other amps…

150

Was the PecanPi part of the test ?

I don’t see it anywhere .

151

A stiff program you have had. Chapeau!

Ever thought about Audiophonics TDA1387 hat dac or the Audiophonics Ess9038 dac?

Gesendet von meinem SM-A310F mit Tapatalk

152

Thanks, you are right :slight_smile:

14 devices were played… all prepared, for example with same sound level (±0,5db., pink noise used…)
This time we used a different amp, so I think the ranking has changed slightly.

we took from the first round with Piano 2.1 with Kali reclocker,IQaudio DAC PRO,DACBerry PRO, DACBerry ONE+, Boss 1.2, Mamboberry HD DAC+ Crystek v2,AroioDac,X400 DAC extension module the boss and the IqAudio.
Here the boards were good, with strengths and weaknesses and very different rated.

The second round was with
Katana v1.2 with THD stage and Isolator 1.2 (RPI3+)
Katana v1.2 with SQ stage and Isolator 1.2 (RPI3+)
Orchard Audio’s PecanPi DAC streamer (RPI3)
Volumio ‘Primo’ (on Tinkerboard S)
Khadas generic tone board USB DAC (from x86 lenovo thinkcentre tiny)
DACBerry pro+ (RPI3)
Boss 1.2 (RPI3)
IQAudio Dac pro (RPI3)

Here, in this round all boards were rated first class.
Compared to the previous Soundchecks, the Katana SQ was rated better than the THD Version of Katana .
PecanPi. The Pecan Pie was inconspicuous, which means he has mastered all disciplines well.
Khadas was inconspicuous too.
Remarkably positively noticed, however, was the new DacBerry Pro+, followed by Primo, Katana SQ, iQ and Boss.
We took the opportunity and listened to these five devices again at a Rotel RB-1552MKII amplifier.
We have reduced the selection due to the short time available.
However, I think now, we should have listened to all devices again, since the order has changed again.
At the Rotel analog amp we liked Katana SQ and primo best, followed by DacBerry pro+ and iq…

I had then examined the two amplifiers in more detail. The transparency of the digital amplifier was really good, but the sound wallpaper seemed somehow flat. The analog amplifier had a larger stage and the sound had deep, magic. However, the centers were less pronounced here. The NAD C 268 is a good middle ground here that combines both. He might make you a bit too euphoric …

see here a part of our questionnaire…

9Soundcheck_questionare.jpg
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3amp.jpg
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153

Hello Judy

I received several emails and forums request for more clarity .

I am copying and pasting the request :

“This experiment had so much promise. And I really looked forward to the results. But then undermined by what I struggle to even call a barely summarized list of findings. Let’s see the data! ( I know you’re not responsible for that. Just speaking generally.”"

154

I am not sure why but the ratings have changed between the first post and second .

First post on Hypex amp : Dac Berry pro+ board, followed by Katana SQ, Primo, Boss and Iq
Second post : DacBerry Pro+, followed by Primo, Katana SQ, iQ and Boss

First post of analog amp :primo, katana SQ,Boss first, followed by DacBerry pro+ and iq.
Second post :d Katana SQ and primo best, followed by DacBerry pro+ and iq…

Please clarify .

155

Hypex amp:

  1. DacBerry pro+
  2. Katana SQ AND Primo
  3. Boss AND iQAudio DAC pro

Rotel RB-1552mkII

  1. Katana SQ AND Primo
  2. Boss (not really shure about this placement)
  3. DacBerry pro+ AND iQaudio DAC pro

Sorry for the misunderstanding and not very clear placement. After all, it is not easy to re-enact as the whole group is.
It was slightly different for the individual. Our main point was the realization of the Dacberry at the analog amplifier, which was pushed behind the other two. hope that helps :slight_smile:

156

As per request on another forum:
“Several metrics for each device was collected. I see no reason why totals, average, median, and standard deviation, for each category can’t be shared for each device tested. What I read [again, ahem] ‘barely summarized’ is disappointing.”

157

leo , i know allo did it too, but this kind of conversation is crazy.
I do not like to comment on statements of unknown that somewhere in the net uttered.
Maybe you can see that I try to improve the soundcheck every time. It is as a journey as i said.
The main thing of the soundcheck is the come together of music lover, listening to some great volumio devices and share the thoughts what they hear. The publications here in the forum are an attempt to summarize our impressions.
I am glad if some here can benefit from it. best, judydudi

158

I understand but for those that do not attend the soundcheck it is not easy to decipher the end result.

For example you say:

But then in this list the PecanPi is not mentioned at all:

The two statements don’t seem to be in agreement.

159

i think it’s clear. We liked Pecan Pi, but we liked 5 boards better than PecanPi. we did second round on analog amp only with the 5 boards, because short of time (after 10pm), as i wrote before. PecanPi could have won round two, but we don’t know now. I understand this disappointing. leo, we had a weak chain with the amp this time. I’m optimistic that next time your board will be shine as it is. Stay tuned… :slight_smile:

160

When do you plan to do next sound check? I will see if I can get you the BOSC amp for it.