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Review and Measurements of Allo Katana and ApplePi Raspberry Pi DACs

cheungtsw

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TBH, I would not spend too much money on a RPI solution probably like usd100 max.

I bought the iodata soundgenic with 2T built in which has better sound quality.
 

bunkbail

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So according to their product page, the new Katana 1.2 will be available in 2 flavors;

1) Pure SINAD figures (-113 dB THD+N 1 KHz A-weighted)
2) Better sound quality (more analog sounding) at the expense of 13 dB lower SINAD (-100 dB THD+N 1 KHz A-weighted)o_O

which contradicts from what I learned on this forum (higher SINAD is always better, right?). Can anyone shed some light on this matter?
 
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helloworld

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So according to their product page, the new Katana 1.2 will be available in 2 flavors;

1) Pure SINAD figures (-113 dB THD+N 1 KHz A-weighted)
2) Better sound quality (more analog sounding) in the expense of 13 dB lower SINAD (-100 dB THD+N 1 KHz A-weighted)o_O

which contradicts from what I learned on this forum (higher SINAD is always better, right?). Can anyone shed some light on this matter?
I am curious too
 
OP
amirm

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which contradicts from what I learned on this forum (higher SINAD is always better, right?). Can anyone shed some light on this matter?
Unless sound quality improvements are shown in controlled testing, it is not something that I would go by.
 

Zilfallion

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So according to their product page, the new Katana 1.2 will be available in 2 flavors;

1) Pure SINAD figures (-113 dB THD+N 1 KHz A-weighted)
2) Better sound quality (more analog sounding) at the expense of 13 dB lower SINAD (-100 dB THD+N 1 KHz A-weighted)o_O

which contradicts from what I learned on this forum (higher SINAD is always better, right?). Can anyone shed some light on this matter?

Some people like the sound of harmonic distortion. Though -100dB is still fairly low, when you compound it with recorded harmonics, amplifier harmonics and then transducer harmonics, then it might sound just the smallest bit more distorted, which for second harmonic can sometimes give the impression of warmth or fullness, something people often correlate to "analog" sound. Though at -100dB, any change from this are likely to be VERY difficult to hear.

I'd go for the lower distortion one myself.
 

orchardaudio

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@amirm,

When you get the ApplePi Volume-Cloker, please run the following tests on the XLR outputs, of ApplePi DAC:
  • Dynamic Range
  • SNR (A-Weighted)
  • SINAD
  • THD
  • Jitter
  • IMD
  • SW vs. HW volume control
Per my experience all measurements should improve by about 3dB on XLR vs RCA

Thanks;
Leo

Amir should now have everything that he needs to finish testing of the ApplePi DAC with the ApplePi Volume-Clocker. I send him some additional accessories with the GALA DAC this past week.
 

johan

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Katana 1.2 is shipping to everyone that pre ordered . We expect them to have stock very soon.
 

Grave

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You can't buy this as just a DAC correct? That makes the Khadas DAC more appealing to me
 

johan

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Katana is a streamer DAC based on RPI. So you can use the ethernet or wifi and Katana will apear on your netwwork and you can stream direct to it.
 

Archmage

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I was wondering if the Allo Katana, or at least the latest revision with apparent improvements, exhibits the ESS IMD / THD level-dependent hump.
 

johan

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from testing that I have seen , I belive it does not exhibit the "hump"
 

Veri

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I asked ALLO if they have a plain non-pi DAC in the pipeline with similar distortion profile to the katana,

They said they're working on it :)
 

Nango

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They also said one year ago were working on a dedicated PSU for Katana, still waiting for that, so don't give to much on what Allo says is working on.
 

johan

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Testing dual LPS 5Vx1.2A and 5Vx3A

We get noise under 500nV at full load
 
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