[prot]

The size & feature set are pretty much what I'm looking for atm ... a trasportable dac/amp that can play most formats and drive most cans (idsd micro is my current candidate). Not particularly happy with the price but surely curious.
Few checkboxes:
1. Is it fully balanced (2x Dac chips & all) or just the amp side is balanced?
2. Any chance to get dsd128 or 256? (for anyone serious about DSD, 64-only is just a me-too, afterthought feature...not particularly useful)
3. DSD native or converted to PCM?
4. The usual 24/192 or more?
5. Digital inputs other than USB?
6. Digital outputs?
7. Baterry life?

Should be enough for starters. Thx in advance amd good luck with the launch.

 

[cladane]

Owning different stuff (amps, headphones, cables) from ALO I appreciate work quality and service.
Comparing Hugo and CDM really interesting: FPGA vs Chip design.
Why Wolfson choice ?? Sounds more analogic ? Why not SABRE or Burr Brown ??
Why tubes and not SS (discrete pièces) ?
What about crossfeed or holographic circuitry ??
Possible buyer.

 

[jexby]

sub'd to read along, learn and see how this product plays out one day.
but the $1500 tag makes it a no-sale (for me) in the end.

 

[KB]

  Ken, I really enjoy your products. Former owner of PanAm and RxMk3B+ here. But wow...$1495. I gotta say it is much higher than I was expecting...

 
What is the estimated battery life when using as DAC+amp and also only as an amp?

HI Themad,
 
Thank you for being a pass customer, we really appreciate your business and support! $1495, yes I understand your concern. I can tell you we are not gouging in anyway, we feel the price is really fair for what we put into it. 1000s of hours of engineering and design, use of cutting edge technology some never been done before in a portable. Also given that the amp is a 100% collaboration effort by my team at ALO and the real mastermind behind the design is none other than a true hifi master Vinnie Rossi 

We think the price is very fair. Also it is made in the USA, most all here at my shop in Portland Oregon.
 
Again thank you and we hope to continue to earn your continued support!
 
Ken

 

[KB]

  Few questions:
 
Is pricing set or at least an estimated msrp?
 
What is the expected life of the internal tubes?
 
Will it support DSD256?
 
Will the amp have an optical input?

HI Gr8soundz,
 
The Wolfson 8741 supports up to DSD64, we could have went with another DAC that supports higher but we felt the more "analog" sound (better) of the 8741 was a bigger benefit.
Since DSD can not be done over optical we decided against this.
 
Thank you,
 
Ken

 

[KB]

  Is there an optical input?  The drawing shows a usb (then) toggle to ???

Compassionator,
 
Toggle witch is for digital / analog.
 
No optical.
 
Ken

 

[KB]

The size & feature set are pretty much what I'm looking for atm ... a trasportable dac/amp that can play most formats and drive most cans (idsd micro is my current candidate). Not particularly happy with the price but surely curious.
Few checkboxes:
1. Is it fully balanced (2x Dac chips & all) or just the amp side is balanced?
2. Any chance to get dsd128 or 256? (for anyone serious about DSD, 64-only is just a me-too, afterthought feature...not particularly useful)
3. DSD native or converted to PCM?
4. The usual 24/192 or more?
5. Digital inputs other than USB?
6. Digital outputs?
7. Baterry life?

Should be enough for starters. Thx in advance amd good luck with the launch.

 
HI Prot,
 
Just amp side so one DAC.
DSD64
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz
native DSD
Digital input is USB, no optical
Digital output? no. The DAC in it is awesome so we included a dedicated level line out jack so you can use it as a battery powered stand alone DAC.
Battery play time is 7 hours analog and about 6 when using the DAC. The power supply and charging circuit is very very quite so you can also play and charge at the same time. IE you can connect to power supply and run it as long as you want.
 
Thank you,
 
Ken

 

[money4me247]

is the battery replaceable by us or only by u guys?

 

[gr8soundz]

 
HI Gr8soundz,
 
The Wolfson 8741 supports up to DSD64, we could have went with another DAC that supports higher but we felt the more "analog" sound (better) of the 8741 was a bigger benefit.
Since DSD can not be done over optical we decided against this.
 
Thank you,
 
Ken

 
Thanks for taking the time to answer all the questions myself and others posted (imagine you guys are still very busy even after Canjam).
 
The price is steep but if it truly has that analog sound (hopefully without the hiss), I'd consider clearing away my other equipment to make financial room for it.
 
I'm ok with the DAC choice as there are tons of strictly digital designs today that "aim" for an analog sound. Think I'd be nice to start out more analog for a change.
 
Also, someone mentioned the tubes are solid-state. Is this true and, if so, does it mean less warm-up time needed plus longer life?

 

[KB]

   
Thanks for taking the time to answer all the questions myself and others posted (imagine you guys are still very busy even after Canjam).
 
The price is steep but if it truly has that analog sound (hopefully without the hiss), I'd consider clearing away my other equipment to make financial room for it.
 
I'm ok with the DAC choice as there are tons of strictly digital designs today that "aim" for an analog sound. Think I'd be nice to start out more analog for a change.
 
Also, someone mentioned the tubes are solid-state. Is this true and, if so, does it mean less warm-up time needed plus longer life?

HI Gr8sounds,
 
Tube is a tube so not solid state, yes indeed a 3-5 min warm up time is best to get it up to that sweet spot of sound.
 
Cheers
 
Ken

 

[KB]

  Owning different stuff (amps, headphones, cables) from ALO I appreciate work quality and service.
Comparing Hugo and CDM really interesting: FPGA vs Chip design.
Why Wolfson choice ?? Sounds more analogic ? Why not SABRE or Burr Brown ??
Why tubes and not SS (discrete pièces) ?
What about crossfeed or holographic circuitry ??
Possible buyer.

 
Hi Cladane,
 
 
We tried the SABRE and could not get the natural, organic midrange and top-end that we were looking for.  With the CDM, we really set the bar high in trying to get many of the sonic attributes of our Studio Six tube amp - into a portable amp.  For the digital input side of things, the Wolfson WM8741 (using it's minimal phase digital filter setting, so no pre-ringing), while fairly power hungry, offered the magic that we wanted with the CDM.
 
We did not want to add crossfeed or other circuitry (including bass boost) to the CDM.  
 
Also unique (compared to the original Continental) was Vinnie was able to implement the dual mono tube stage without the used of any dc/dc converters, step-up transformers, etc.  The only regulators used in the CDM are linear, and even with the most sensitive of IEMs, the background noise is very black and there are no microphonics to be heard.  This was a big achievement over the original Continental, which was not best suited with IEMs due to the high noise floor and microphonics.  With the CDM in low-gain, it works beautifully with IEMs and most headphones, and in high-gain, works great with the harder to drive planars, Senn's, etc.
 
One thing is for sure - the CDM delivers a rich tone (but not overly done and not syrupy), and throws out a bigger, more open sound than any other ALO portable amp/dac.  It will seduce you with its sound signature and great look and feel.  The pictures here do not do it justice.  You need to see it in person and hold it - and hopefully you will be as proud as we are of it!~
 
Ken

 

[audionewbi]

As some who has few good sources I love to see an amp alone version.

 

[Vinnie R.]

All,
 
I want to take the time to say hello to everyone here in the ALO Continental Dual Mono (CDM) thread.
 
I have been working with the ALO Team on this one for quite a long time, and we were excited to show a prototype of it last weekend at SoCal CanJam.
Thank you to everyone who visited our table, listened to the CDM, and to those who have posted their preliminary impressions already! 
 
We believe the CDM is a big achievement in the portable dac/amp category and is ALO's very best portable in many respects. 
 
Some of the CDM design goals:
 
- Very low noise (even when playing/charging at the same time)
- Very low microphonics
- A rich, seductive sound signature that has a strong resemblance to ALO Studio Six tube amplifier
- A premium look and feel that also resembles the solid-yet-classy aesthetic of the Studio Six
- SE and BAL inputs and outputs
- USB input (for PC and Mac) that also works with iOS and Android
- A built-in high-performance, high res (24/192 PCM, native DSD) dac that is a pleasure to listen to for hours (not just an "add in feature")
with LEDs to indicate the sampling rate of the music files
- A true line out, so one can enjoy the CDM as a dac into a desktop amp, or home audio preamp / integrated amplifier.
- High/Low gain to offer excellent results with IEMS as well as headphones
- Clean signal paths / high quality parts throughout
- User replaceable battery pack and tubes (although we believe that the new-in-box, NOS 6111 tubes should last you many years in the CDM design)
- Very high quality battery cells in the 3-cell pack (using the genuine Panasonic 18650's used in the Tesla electric car - not inferior and lower cost knock-offs)
 
ALO also wanted to keep the assembly / test of the CDM in their Portland, OR facility (as they do with the Studio Six).  Even the PCB is made in Portland.
 
Initial impressions were very positive at CanJam, and we are finalizing a few more tweaks to get the most out of this one-of-a-kind design.  ALO hopes to begin
manufacturing in May - so it's coming very soon!
 
I'm hear to help answer questions from a design point of view.  Ken / Team ALO will continue to post and provide their excellent customer service and support.
 
Thanks for all your interest and support !
 
Vinnie

 

[gr8soundz]

 
HI Gr8sounds,
 
Tube is a tube so not solid state, yes indeed a 3-5 min warm up time is best to get it up to that sweet spot of sound.
 
Cheers
 
Ken

 
My mistake; went back and saw the spec listing 6111 tubes. 

 
I was hoping for a newer, hybrid type tube:
http://www.comsol.com/blogs/vacuum-tube-plus-mosfet-equals-vacuum-transistor/

 

[Vinnie R.]

   
My mistake; went back and saw the spec listing 6111 tubes. 

 
I was hoping for a newer, hybrid type tube:
http://www.comsol.com/blogs/vacuum-tube-plus-mosfet-equals-vacuum-transistor/

 
Hi gr8soundz,
 
hehe - I don't think those are available yet.  Will be cool to see what happens in the future, and how it could possibly be used
in audio applications

 
Vinnie