Ooohhh you have found a trs to rca connector, may I know where? Those are not very common
Be aware though, the only one I could find in Amazon.de has an user review that complains that the tip was connected to the ring!
(see review from customer "minigun")
@tonycollinet might be interested in your find too even though he makes his own
It will be fine except you might not have quite enough volts on the output to drive the amp to full power. Will only be a couple of DB down though, if you can output two volts from the Allo Boss (I think you'll get about 60% power)Hi all, audio noob here. I'm considering buying this amp and combining it with the Allo Boss2 streamer/DAC (and a pair of Elac DBR62s). However, I see that it would mean a connection RCA out (unbalanced) to TRS in (balanced) if I'm not mistaken. Is this a problem? I heard on a YT video that it is generally not a good idea? Or is it not that big a deal as long as I keep my cable very short? Any expert advice much appreciated.
Thanks for your reply. Only 60% power? I would love to grasp the science behind that, but, more importantly, will that be enough for the Elacs?It will be fine except you might not have quite enough volts on the output to drive the amp to full power. Will only be a couple of DB down though, if you can output two volts from the Allo Boss (I think you'll get about 60% power)
The PA5 needs 2.6 volts input to deliver full power. If your Dac can only ouput 2V, that is 0.77x voltage. But power is proportional to the square of the volts - so square 0.77 and you get 0.59 = aprox 60%Thanks for your reply. Only 60% power? I would love to grasp the science behind that, but, more importantly, will that be enough for the Elacs?
Are there any good alternative streaming DACs which offer balanced output? The Topping E50 does, but obviously I would have to buy a separate streamer. I was looking at the Boss2 because it conveniently combines the two. This is not a dealbreaker, but separate units taken together would preferably be in the Boss2 price range (€230).
Your alternative to a streamer plus DAC would be a raspberry pi plus DAC. The ALLO BOSS is just a raspberry pi mini computer with built in DAC. If you get a PI4 kit with case and PSU, then you can run the same software as the Allo Boss, but just connect it to an external DAC via USB. The only thing you don't get then is the display.Thanks for your reply. Only 60% power? I would love to grasp the science behind that, but, more importantly, will that be enough for the Elacs?
Are there any good alternative streaming DACs which offer balanced output? The Topping E50 does, but obviously I would have to buy a separate streamer. I was looking at the Boss2 because it conveniently combines the two. This is not a dealbreaker, but separate units taken together would preferably be in the Boss2 price range (€230).
Thanks again, Tony. I intend to use it for a regular size living room (ca 22m2) and I hardly ever want my music at earbleeding levels. I suspect that that RCA-TRS power drop won't matter that much, but what I still need to learn is how to calculate/derive whether this setup can drive my 6 Ohm Elacs.The PA5 needs 2.6 volts input to deliver full power. If your Dac can only ouput 2V, that is 0.77x voltage. But power is proportional to the square of the volts - so square 0.77 and you get 0.59 = aprox 60%
But bear in mind 60% power is only -2.2dB which is very small as a volume change (you need around 10dB (or 10x power) for a percieved doubling of volume. So 2.2dB is audible, but probably not important.
At $650 that's upping the ante quite a bit.PecanPi (with Balanced Outs) is a great option too
It can drive them no problem. Your Elacs are (nominal) 6 ohm. The PA5 can easily drive 4 ohm speakers. You'd normally get around 65W max into 6 ohm speakers. With a limited 2V output from the Allo, you'll still get about 40WThanks again, Tony. I intend to use it for a regular size living room (ca 22m2) and I hardly ever want my music at earbleeding levels. I suspect that that RCA-TRS power drop won't matter that much, but what I still need to learn is how to calculate/derive whether this setup can drive my 6 Ohm Elacs.
Thanks for the math!It can drive them no problem. Your Elacs are (nominal) 6 ohm. The PA5 can easily drive 4 ohm speakers. You'd normally get around 65W max into 6 ohm speakers. With a limited 2V output from the Allo, you'll still get about 40W
Your ELACS will put out 86dB spl at 1.5W and 1 meter. 40W is about +14dB over 1.5W, so you can drive the speakers to about 100dB spl.
That is much higher than normal listening levels.
It might not be. But it is unlikely to be significantly different. Even if it is, the difference is still likely to be inaudible.Why are there still many people that want to drive this amp with an unballanced signal? It is not designed for it. We don't know what the SINAD is in that use (or I have missed that), it might be not that good.
Why is it unlikely that it is significantly different? The amp behaves strange when driven unbalanced.It might not be. But it is unlikely to be significantly different. Even if it is, the difference is still likely to be inaudible.
Many people are doing it. They all report it works fine and sounds great.
The reason they want to do it is their source has an unbalanced output.
Eh, ignorance? I'm new here and just sought out a few well reviewed pieces of hardware to combine. You probably misread my initial post, but pretty much my exact question was whether driving the PA5 with an unbalanced signal is a good idea or not. I was actually already proud that I got as far as thinking of asking the question.Why are there still many people that want to drive this amp with an unballanced signal? It is not designed for it. We don't know what the SINAD is in that use (or I have missed that), it might be not that good.
to me, this is not a good idea.You probably misread my initial post, but my exact question was whether this is a good idea or not. Yours is a strange way of answering a question.
I found out that topping EX5 provided most for the money. Hifigo had some rebate on it too.At $650 that's upping the ante quite a bit.
In what way do you think it behaves strange? How do you think that impacts Sinad?Why is it unlikely that it is significantly different? The amp behaves strange when driven unbalanced.