Disclaimer : No affiliation with the sellers.
It happened over a period of one year. I was tracking Raspberry Pi from the beginning. Became more interested when the Wolfson DAC board was announced for it. Then became busy in setting up my Turntable setup. Did not think about digital for a long time.
Later beginning of this year started RPi again. Purchased RPi 2 bundle from CrazyPi. Learnt that Wolfon DAC board is not compatible with RPi 2, then started hunting for new board. Hifiberry was one option. Then came across AudioPhonics ESS7023 DAC. I purchased the TCXO V2.
Ran different audio distros(Volumio, RuneAudio, Moode) and settled with RuneAudio for the great usablity. Then heard about Kali reclocker by Allo from Volumio website. I contacted them, surprisingly they had office in Bangalore and they were willing to test my Audiophonics DAC.
Visited their office and tested the DAC and came to know about their Vana+ amplifier. Had a demo of that as well. After few days of thinking, ordered Kali and Vana+. Paid in INR and items shipped from Bangalore.
Kali & Vana+ combination was a true surprise, inspite of the low price (compared to other reclockers
) the audio was smooth and mellowed, which I liked very much. Then added a cheap USB DVD drive along with a cheap USB powered hub. Unable to make it work with RuneAudio, Volumio. Then tried with Raspbian Lite as well, did not help. Then tried with VLC. With VLC, audio CDs played fine from the USB DVD. So, Raspbian Lite became my distro now.
My current setup for Digital audio, Streaming and Audio CDs is.,
- RPi 2
- AudioPhonics ESS7023 DAC TCXO V2
- Kali Reclocker
- Vana+ Amplifier
Raspbian Lite with MPD as the music player, ncmpc is the user interface. Audio CD playback through VLC. ConnectBot SSH client from my phone to control.
Only cons are Kali Reclocker is not HAT compatible meaning the board is slightly larger than RPi. So, need custom made casing. Vana+ comes with acrylic case, but the Volume controller & RCA input are side by side, making the setup uglier.
Given a choice now, I will go with Allo's Piano DAC instead of AudioPhonics.
Anyhow I feel this is best value for the money combination, I have heard so far.
Thanks,
Suresh.
It happened over a period of one year. I was tracking Raspberry Pi from the beginning. Became more interested when the Wolfson DAC board was announced for it. Then became busy in setting up my Turntable setup. Did not think about digital for a long time.
Later beginning of this year started RPi again. Purchased RPi 2 bundle from CrazyPi. Learnt that Wolfon DAC board is not compatible with RPi 2, then started hunting for new board. Hifiberry was one option. Then came across AudioPhonics ESS7023 DAC. I purchased the TCXO V2.
Ran different audio distros(Volumio, RuneAudio, Moode) and settled with RuneAudio for the great usablity. Then heard about Kali reclocker by Allo from Volumio website. I contacted them, surprisingly they had office in Bangalore and they were willing to test my Audiophonics DAC.
Visited their office and tested the DAC and came to know about their Vana+ amplifier. Had a demo of that as well. After few days of thinking, ordered Kali and Vana+. Paid in INR and items shipped from Bangalore.
Kali & Vana+ combination was a true surprise, inspite of the low price (compared to other reclockers
) the audio was smooth and mellowed, which I liked very much. Then added a cheap USB DVD drive along with a cheap USB powered hub. Unable to make it work with RuneAudio, Volumio. Then tried with Raspbian Lite as well, did not help. Then tried with VLC. With VLC, audio CDs played fine from the USB DVD. So, Raspbian Lite became my distro now.My current setup for Digital audio, Streaming and Audio CDs is.,
- RPi 2
- AudioPhonics ESS7023 DAC TCXO V2
- Kali Reclocker
- Vana+ Amplifier
Raspbian Lite with MPD as the music player, ncmpc is the user interface. Audio CD playback through VLC. ConnectBot SSH client from my phone to control.
Only cons are Kali Reclocker is not HAT compatible meaning the board is slightly larger than RPi. So, need custom made casing. Vana+ comes with acrylic case, but the Volume controller & RCA input are side by side, making the setup uglier.
Given a choice now, I will go with Allo's Piano DAC instead of AudioPhonics.
Anyhow I feel this is best value for the money combination, I have heard so far.
Thanks,
Suresh.
