Reclocker board v DAC HAT with decent clock?

[LC1]

I am intrigued by this new Kali reclocker board being sold by Allo and by-and-large the consensus does seem to suggest that this is a real upgrade for many with Pi-based music players that use slave DACs, because of the way in which it reclocks the data and so bypasses the jitter inherent in the i2S signal from the Pi to the DAC.

I suppose I am asking whether anybody on here has an opinion on whether it would be worth me trading my IQAudIO for another DAC (+ enclosure) that is compatible with the Kali – is the improvement really that noticeable?

More specifically, what about something like the new Audiophonics V3 Sabre DAC that has a high quality ‘biscuit tin’ oscillator built in? Does a high-end DAC like this remove the need for something like the Kali reclocker entirely, or are there additional things that the Kali is doing to reduce jitter? Would both together make sense, SQ-wise?

…Also rumours of another Kali board in production, but unclear about the differences – is it at all likely that this will work with IQAudIO DACs and/or be HAT compliant?! Probably I should just wait and see, but I’m not the most patient person…

So many questions! Any comments to help ease my confused state would be most welcome!

[Discovery]

Hi LC1,

I'd like to offer a constructive comment.

Can you identify one, two or maybe three specific questions that you would like answered? This will help potential respondents to focus their help.

Kind regards

[LC1]

Hi Discovery,

thanks, you're absolutely right, that was a bit of an essay!

The TL:DR version is:

1) Do these new high-end Pi DAC boards with on-board master clocks do a good job of reducing jitter from the Pi?

2) Does the Kali from Allo do basically the same job, just on a separate board? Or does it do more than that? Or do the same but much better?

3) Is there any point buying an expensive DAC with clock if also getting a Kali? Or get a cheaper version without clock?

To put it another way, would buying a high-end Pi DAC remove the need for the Kali? Or would you still see improvements if you used the Kali in addition?

Cheers,
Luke

[Audiohrdwr]

hi ,
so here is what we can answer...

1>> they do a mediocre job
2>> KALI does the same job, but with different technology... we take the clock, discard it, buffer and create our own clock.
3>> if the DAC is a master, then KALI will not work... if its a jitter clock like the Saber, then it will work... now, the next part is important... unless the xtals used are very high end , such as Crystek, then KALI will do a better job.

hope this helps

[LC1]