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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 152 Comments on Giveaway Week – Vana Player Linux Based HiFi Audio Player

Giveaway Week – Vana Player Linux Based HiFi Audio Player

After giving away a virtual reality headset on Monday, and a TV box on Tuesday, I’ll offer a very unique device for the third day of this giveawat week with Vana Player, an HiFi audio player based on Allo Sparky ARM Linux development board. Beside the development board the kit includes two audio DAC boards, a 30W amplifier, a reclocker board, a capacitance multiplier board, and accessories like an acrylic “case” and a power supply. The system is running Ubuntu 12.04 with Max2Play web interface to configure the system running a SqueezeBox server, Kodi and more. I found a few bugs during my review, but the company has now released a new firmware update that should fix many of the issues I encountered. All items shown above will be included in the package. Note that you’ll also need a 19.5V power supply, for example from an old laptop to power […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Review of Allo Vana Player Linux HiFi Audio System with Max2Play, SqueezeBox and Kodi

Review of Allo Vana Player Linux HiFi Audio System with Max2Play, SqueezeBox and Kodi

Last month I showcased what I called “Allo Sparky Audio Kit” with a DAC board (Piano), an amplifier board (Volt), and usually hard to find  reclocker and capacitance multiplier boards (Kali & CM), all connected to Allo Sparky ARM Linux development board powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, and running Ubuntu 12.04. In the first post, I just described the boards, and showed how to assemble the kit, but now that I have received the user’s manual, it turns out the kit is actually called “Vana Player” and the provided Ubuntu firmware image runs Max2Play Browser based system that’s also available for Raspberry Pi and ODROID boards. Before starting the kit, you’ll need to connect speakers to Piano DAC board and/or Kali board, as well as a 19.5V power source such as a laptop power supply to connect to the CM board. I connected some USB […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Allo Sparky Audio Kit Combines an ARM Linux Board with Amplifier, Audio DAC, Reclocker and Capacitance Multiplier Boards

Allo Sparky Audio Kit Combines an ARM Linux Board with Amplifier, Audio DAC, Reclocker and Capacitance Multiplier Boards

Last year I wrote about Allo Sparky SBC Linux and Android development powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, which mostly differentiates itself from the competition by the many add-on boards for audio, VoIP, and IoT (WiFi+Bluetooth+Zigbee ). While most of development boards are manufactured in China, Allo company is based in India, and all boards are manufactured there, which could be a benefit to Indian readers who want to avoid potential custom issues with other boards. The company has shipped me their complete audio development kit, and I’ll first check out the hardware, before taking time to experiment with the kit in a few weeks or months… I could find 6 different boards in the kit, which I detailed below, as well as a 5V/3A power supply with AU and EU adapter,  a micro USB adapter, a micro SD card apparently pre-loaded with Ubuntu 12.04, a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Allo SPARKY Board Supports Raspberry Pi HATs for Multimedia, IoT and VoIP Applications

Allo SPARKY Board Supports Raspberry Pi HATs for Multimedia, IoT and VoIP Applications

Allo is a company based in Bangalore, India specializing in VoIP hardware solutions, but they’ve recently developed a single board board powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core processor that supports various Raspberry Pi HATs and can be used for multimedia, IoT, and Telecom application such as Asterix or Freeswitch PBX. Allo SPARKY board specifications: SoC – Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU @ 500 MHz Memory – 1 or 2GB RAM Storage – Socket for 8, 16, 32 or 64GB pluggable eMMC modules,  micro SD slot up to 32GB, optional NAND flash Video Output – HDMI,  34-pin LCD connector Audio – HDMI, Headphone jack, built-in microphone Video Codec – H.265 (HEVC) and Ultra HD (4K*2K) video playback. Encoding up to 1080p@60fps. Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 (OTG) port Camera –  24-pin camera interface (Up […]