Allo Volt+ D Amplifier Review

[pixelgarden]

What dimension is Volt + D PCB or the entire case in general.? Deciding out on a custom enclosure.

 

[Poultrygeist]

The case is 9 3/4" W x 6 3/4" D x 2 1/2" H

 

[pixelgarden]

The case is 9 3/4" W x 6 3/4" D x 2 1/2" H

Thanks. I am constantly working on tuning my Dual chip Red board as well since last 6 months.
It (modified version) clearly sounds better than the Volt + I have. Will be disappointed if Volt + D
doesn't surpasses it's performance from a completely sound quality viewpoint.

 

[Poultrygeist]

I have both Volts and the +D is better.

 

[titive]

Just wondering why conversation around this thing fell off. I see the Volt+D is sold out and have seen mention of it being discontinued. Is the technology just old at this point? Will it be replaced with something new from Allo? It seems like the Fosi v3 is about as close as you can get to this nowadays?

 

[Theodore8]

Just wondering why conversation around this thing fell off. I see the Volt+D is sold out and have seen mention of it being discontinued. Is the technology just old at this point? Will it be replaced with something new from Allo? It seems like the Fosi v3 is about as close as you can get to this nowadays?

Allo Volt was something a few years back. Nowadays you can find equal or better performance for a lower price and in a metal case.

Don’t misunderstand me. Allo products have a very good reputation and are well engineered. The Volt remains a good product in its segment.

But in the market segment of the Volt, price is king. So the Volt’s commercial positioning is a tough place to be.

 

[Guddu]

Allo Volt was something a few years back. Nowadays you can find equal or better performance for a lower price and in a metal case.

Don’t misunderstand me. Allo products have a very good reputation and are well engineered. The Volt remains a good product in its segment.

But in the market segment of the Volt, price is king. So the Volt’s commercial positioning is a tough place to be.

There was news of Allo developing TPA325x based amps but then later the project died.
There are several better options available with the same chip or others.

 

[sychan]

Allo had a TPA3255 amp that they were hyping up, but that kind of got blown out of the water by Covid. In the meantime a lot of other companies (like Topping) have come out with really nice TPA325x amps either complete amps or modules (the latest 3eaudio with PFFB) , so the market is really crowded and I doubt it makes any sense for a tiny player like Allo to come out with theirs.

I was thinking the other day that updating the Volt to use the TPA3221 for mono amps in active crossovers would probably be a nice little niche, but there are already TPA3221 amps from places like Tinysine that seem to be better than the average AliExpress products, and it may not make sense to do anything with TPA3221 when TPA325x has become so cheap.

 

[Poultrygeist]

The funky transparent enclosure and lower power over time may have made it less popular. Still enjoy the +D with the 98db Lowthers or the 98db Lii Audio F-15's. The +D uses quality components ( all film caps and high level pot ) than what you often find in many of the cheaper TPA based amps.

An Allo rep posted a picture of the Volt TAP3255 on diyaudio probably 5 or more years ago but it never went into production. I emailed them about it but never heard back.

 

[titive]

@sychan @Poultrygeist Thanks so much for the context. Sounds like they're focusing more on the digital-analog side of things than the analog-analog. I like my digione, and look forward to what they come out with next.

 

[sychan]

I haven't seen anything from Johan, the Allo guy who was on the forums, in years and I don't know if they've released anything new recently. They seem kind of moribund.

 

[Theodore8]

I haven't seen anything from Johan, the Allo guy who was on the forums, in years and I don't know if they've released anything new recently. They seem kind of moribund.

Not sure about that. I recently reached out and customer service was prompt, friendly and efficient.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Not sure about that. I recently reached out and customer service was prompt, friendly and efficient.

I would think they want to sell what they produce and have less interest in things they don't. Hence the no response to my questions about the Volt TPA3255.

I find it somewhat unusual that my +D was made in India rather than China.

 

[sychan]

Not sure about that. I recently reached out and customer service was prompt, friendly and efficient.

I don't think they are out of business, but they don't seem to be producing any new products, which seems very different from their vigorous product development pre-covid. It seems to be in a holding pattern.

 

[Trikster.online]

I know this is an older post, but I have been looking for an answer for a while without any luck. I will post on AudioKarma as well…

I have the Volt+D and I lost the power brick for it. Since I have multiple other power bricks, and a set of the correct size plug, only thing I need to know is if the polarity of the Volt power plug is center positive. I assume it is, but I’d rather not let out the magic smoke.

 

[staticV3]

I know this is an older post, but I have been looking for an answer for a while without any luck. I will post on AudioKarma as well…

I have the Volt+D and I lost the power brick for it. Since I have multiple other power bricks, and a set of the correct size plug, only thing I need to know is if the polarity of the Volt power plug is center positive. I assume it is, but I’d rather not let out the magic smoke.

This listing shows the original Power supply with the center pin marked positive (2nd picture, if you squint real hard): https://reverb.com/uk/item/61306206...b-sound-musical-powerful-unique-quiet-a-clear

The 19v power supply that Allo sells on its own is also center positive:
https://www.allo.com/sparky/19v-power-supply.html#features

 

[Poultrygeist]

When using a linear regulated PSU with the +D I use this adaptor.

 

[Trikster.online]

This listing shows the original Power supply with the center pin marked positive (2nd picture, if you squint real hard): https://reverb.com/uk/item/61306206...b-sound-musical-powerful-unique-quiet-a-clear

The 19v power supply that Allo sells on its own is also center positive:
https://www.allo.com/sparky/19v-power-supply.html#features

Thank you for this info. I don’t know how I missed it on the power supply, but it did.

 

[Trikster.online]

When using a linear regulated PSU with the +D i use this adaptor.

View attachment 328994

I was looking for those, but couldn’t find the correct size. Everything I found was either too large or too small. I went with one that has a short lead on them and I’m going to modify an adapter that I have with the new plug.

 

[MCH]

I was looking for those, but couldn’t find the correct size. Everything I found was either too large or too small. I went with one that has a short lead on them and I’m going to modify an adapter that I have with the new plug.

I never had the original PSU and used a laptop PSU with one of this (type A):

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOMxgog

oh wow now they charge 4 euros for the shipping