I have been browsing this forum from time to time and every time my interest has grown to buy a volumino based streamer, either with or without onboard DAC. You have a great atmosphere in here, there seem to be much less negativity around compared to other audio related forums!
I have promised my dad to cost efficiently upgrade his stereo system. He has some decent bookshelf speakers but the front end is hopelessly outdated and has never been on par with the speakers.
So, my plans go in two directions, either to get a digione player and connect that to a digital amplifier with coax input, or, to get a boss player and connect that to an analogue amplifier.
The latter is where I’m leaning now but I need help from you guys to make the decision. I will ask questions in another thread in the right forum category.
I have the Boss and must say, I’m quite impressed by it’s performance. You can hook it up to an Allo amp or SMSL SA-50/60 for example.
The digital approach will give you less Pi related distortion I guess (but I’m not a pro). You will need a decent DAC though, it’s up to you if you want that DAC integrated with the amp.
Or go all out and build your own amp (and if need be DAC).
I have indeed looked at hooking up a boss DAC to some of SMSL:s offerings. Recently the allo relay board has peaked my interest.
I’m currently thinking about RPI+BOSS+RELAY and hooking them up to a DIY power amp (without own volume control). I do have some concerns regarding “safe” use of the relay board though, the thought of my dad making some mistake while fiddling with Volumino and blowing his eardrums off worries me…
I’ve been playing with the same ideas, I already have the Boss DAC (and Sabre for that matter). I’m leaning towards the Allo amp with attentuator, don’t know how much the relay will add though.
This is my main concern too for the main setup, my girlfriend needs to be able to use it too (without having to worry about anything breaking; either ears or setup). On the other hand, I’m planning to build a whole new setup (self built) at some point…
Oh well, for now the Boss suffice, having loads of fun with it on my integrated Yamaha amp.
Which Sabre DAC do you have? How does it compare to the Boss?
If going for the Allo amp with attenuator my understanding is that the relay would not be needed as the attenuator itself is kind of a similar (although manually operated) device for controlling the volume.
