Allo Boss2 Review (Stereo Streamer)

[johan]

Glad to hear it , our engineers did test and reported no issues.

 

[sm00thy]

Hello all, first proper post here. Good to be on board

Quick question: If you purchase the Boss2 Player with the cheapest "wall wart" PSU, how exactly do you ground it?

Cheers!

 

[johan]

A few ways. Under the Boss2 there is a earth lug. You can connect the lug to earth of your amp. Alternatively you can connect that lug to power earth (please pay attention with anything related to AC power!!)

 

[dajoe]

UPDATE: Boss2 received and installed with no problems. Was indeed Plug and Play as a Roon bridge and is functioning correctly. However, there are a few disappointing points:

1. Sound = very flat and non dynamic (as compared to a Squeezebox Classic on same exact system/parameters). Bass and lower-mids are perhaps too rounded and full while HF are VERY restrained. No bite or controlled sparkle on top. It works but sounds dull and disappointing.

2. Aluminum case feet are uneven and the unit is unstable on a flat surface. Not a major problem but the unit is so light along with unstable slippery feet it becomes a bit unwieldy once your RCA and ethernet cables are connected.

3. There are no instructions or indications on the functionality of the 4 filters which are accessible by remote control or by joystick. These filters can be disabled or enabled but there is no explanation on what they do.

Finally, I had to install an SSH client to immediately update the DietPi software and this was successful with no change in sound or functionality.

So quite frankly, what I thought was an inexpensive option for a qualitative Roon endpoint turns out to be clearly inferior to a lowly +10 year old Squeezebox in terms of sound and functionality. Yes, it does function as a wired streamer/DAC but there are no miracles, this is a very modest and very basic product with average or below-average SQ at best (IMHO, to my ears and on my system. YMMV of course).
Brgds.

Are you running DietPi? My installation came with the Deemphasis filter activated by default which severely depressed the highs.

 

[sm00thy]

A few ways. Under the Boss2 there is a earth lug. You can connect the lug to earth of your amp. Alternatively you can connect that lug to power earth (please pay attention with anything related to AC power!!)

Thank you johan. What exactly do you use as the earthing cable, and how exactly do you connect it to the "power earth"? I have zero experience with this sort of thing!

 

[johan]

You can use any wire to do earthing , preferably 18AWG or thicker gauge .

If you have no experience with AC , we recommend to earth the lug to your AMP chassis .

 

[johan]

I have requested that all Boss2 to be programed with deemphasis filter off . Of course you can control the filter from oled screen (on/off) at any time

 

[dajoe]

Considering the filters in general, could you share some documentation what these do, e.g. for high pass, phase compensation?

 

[johan]

We will include the filters response (from DAC ic datasheet) in the manual. (sorry for the delay but our indian office is still underlockdown) . Meanwhile I have shared a link to the DAC IC datasheet so you can see the response .

 

[clichequiche]

Hi, can anyone compare this streaming performance to an Apple AirPort Extreme? The Airport only has a 3.5mm output, so I’ve always had trouble trusting it to stream in high quality to a $500-$1000 DAC

 

[AdamG]

Hi, can anyone compare this streaming performance to an Apple AirPort Extreme? The Airport only has a 3.5mm output, so I’ve always had trouble trusting it to stream in high quality to a $500-$1000 DAC

Welcome Aboard @clichequiche.

 

[Raitsa]

Hey guys, please note that if you order the acrylic allo.com/sparky-eu/boss2-player.html the package does not contain Raspi4 at all.
That is quite misleading in the above webpage, not clear at all for possible customers.

Allo needs to fix this fast to avoid confusion and disappointed customers (like me now).

 

[johan]

Hi Raitsa

Please note from the webpage : Boss2 Acrylic Includes: Boss2, Acrylic Case with OLED screen and Remote control.
Boss2 Alu includes: Boss2, RPi4, Aluminum Case with OLED screen and Remote control

 

[muslhead]

IF you want your product quickly, either change your expectations or look somewhere else as shipping is slow if at all.
They do mention that shipping is delayed on the website banner. I placed my order 10 days ago and it has not shipped. I will report back if/when it ships.

 

[johan]

From Friday we are out of lock down and shipping . Expect all orders (from India) to be cleared Tuesday the latest . EU office is shipping on time.

 

[Wirrunna]

muslhead, India is having a hard time with Covid right now.
https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?114490-Allo-has-a-new-streamer-Boss2 thread mentions delays on page 2.

 

[muslhead]

From Friday we are out of lock down and shipping . Expect all orders (from India) to be cleared Tuesday the latest . EU office is shipping on time.

Thanks for the update would even be better if it were done on the website instead of having to troll audio forums for company specific information. I thought that is what websites are excellent at.
I cancelled and they quickly and politely refunded my money.
As soon as shipping is assured, i will place another order. I had to find another solution for an immediate need.

 

[muslhead]

muslhead, India is having a hard time with Covid right now.
https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?114490-Allo-has-a-new-streamer-Boss2 thread mentions delays on page 2.

Really? Did you read my post?
"They do mention that shipping is delayed on the website banner "
But, hey, thanks anyway

 

[contium]

I received my Boss2 yesterday. So product is shipping. I ordered May 4th But they got locked down before it shipped. So far, I am very pleased with it.

 

[johan]

We do ship everyday but we are short on manpower (guidelines ask for less people in office) . From Monday , most people will be back .