[PROBLEM] Allo USBridge Signature With Digione Signature Hat

[zjpd02]

Hello, I am new to this forum.  Having spent a couple weeks with Moode using Raspberry PI based hardware, I think it is a great streaming solution-- with a very bedeviling setup.

I just upgraded my Allo USBridge Signature by adding the Allo Digione Signature hat/board.  I am having trouble with the configuration.  First, I find no matching I2S named device for the combination of the two Allo boards.  Second,  when I select the "Allo Digione Signature" device, the coax outputs on the Digione work fine, but I get no output from the clean USB (i.e. no sound comes from the DAC).  How should I configure Moode to output to both SPDIF and the clean USB?

I am using the most current version of Moode, downloaded directly from the Moode website, configured by me.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Tim Curtis]

Just select "Allo DigiOne Signature" from the I2S Named device list in Audio Config. The USBridge Signature is a CM3+ based Raspberry Pi and so there won't be an entry for it in the I2S device list.

It's not possible to have both an I2S audio device and a USB Audio device configured and active at the same time.

[suzywong]

Tim, just curious, but is there any hardware reason that prevents the USB and coax outputs working simultaneously, or is it merely because Allo haven't produced a driver capable of running both together?

[Woodroww]

Have the same setup. In order to connect the USB to the DAC, you have to first switch on the DAC with the USB input, then switch on the Allo. It will connect fine.

If you want the SPDIF input on your DAC, switch over and it will work fine. But you will have lost the USB connection in the process, so you can not switch back to USB. That's the nature of things. You can't have both at the same time.

P.S. I know bits are bits, but I like the sound of the SPDIF better. Another thing, I had a track that was "damaged". On the SPDIF you heard the occasional high-pitched noise, that indicated the damage.
On the USB, it sounded much worse & almost constantly. Think damaged ears.

[Tim Curtis]

Tim, just curious, but is there any hardware reason that prevents the USB and coax outputs working simultaneously, or is it merely because Allo haven't produced a driver capable of running both together?

When you configure an I2S audio board whether it provides S/PDIF or analog output or etc Linux configures it as an exclusive audio output.

You could post your question in the Linux kernel repo and ask why I2S audio is exclusive and does not allow switch to other outputs like USB, S/PDIF or Headphone without reconfiguring to I2S audio off and rebooting etc etc
https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/issues

[Manni]

Have the same setup. In order to connect the USB to the DAC, you have to first switch on the DAC with the USB input, then switch on the Allo. It will connect fine.

If you want the SPDIF input on your DAC, switch over and it will work fine. But you will have lost the USB connection in the process, so you can not switch back to USB. That's the nature of things. You can't have both at the same time.

P.S. I know bits are bits, but I like the sound of the SPDIF better. Another thing, I had a track that was "damaged". On the SPDIF you heard the occasional high-pitched noise, that indicated the damage.
On the USB, it sounded much worse & almost constantly. Think damaged ears.

@Woodroww
I would be interested to hear which other gear you use with the Allo USBridge Sign with added Digione Signature board? Looking into this option, but not sure.
What DAC are you using?
What power supply do you use for USBridge and Digi-One Sign. ?
What cables do you use? 
BNC or RCA and which USB cable did you use in your comparison?
What do you think got better in terms of sound using the SPDIF over clean USB?

Would be nice to get some feedback from you or anyone who did this Digital-one-Sign. add-on.

Thx

[Woodroww]

Have the same setup. In order to connect the USB to the DAC, you have to first switch on the DAC with the USB input, then switch on the Allo. It will connect fine.

If you want the SPDIF input on your DAC, switch over and it will work fine. But you will have lost the USB connection in the process, so you can not switch back to USB. That's the nature of things. You can't have both at the same time.

P.S. I know bits are bits, but I like the sound of the SPDIF better. Another thing, I had a track that was "damaged". On the SPDIF you heard the occasional high-pitched noise, that indicated the damage.
On the USB, it sounded much worse & almost constantly. Think damaged ears.

@Woodroww
I would be interested to hear which other gear you use with the Allo USBridge Sign with added Digione Signature board? Looking into this option, but not sure.
What DAC are you using?
What power supply do you use for USBridge and Digi-One Sign. ?
What cables do you use? 
BNC or RCA and which USB cable did you use in your comparison?
What do you think got better in terms of sound using the SPDIF over clean USB?

Would be nice to get some feedback from you or anyone who did this Digital-one-Sign. add-on.

Thx

@Manni In all fairness to Allo I should have updated my comment. Not long after I wrote the above, the USBridge stopped recognising my DAC altogether. Or any other of the 2 USB DAC's I have... I have since received a new board and that works fine. So my observations are likely based on a dying board. Now I'm equally happy with both the SPDIF and the USB. A thing I learned along the way is to stay away from the 64-bit kernel (that introduces ticks in my setup).