Review Volumio Rivo+ – plus up your music

The impact of power supply on the performance of the Volumio Rivo+

We test the following power supplies on the Rivo+:

• With supplied power supply
• With iFi iPower2
• With LHY 25VA
• With Lineo5
• With Pura Dodo

We use the AES/EBU output of the Volumio Rivo+, because then the streamer’s clock is leading. You hear the impact of a power supply right away.

The track we are comparing with is “Labyrinth” by Mammal Hands. The fast notes in piano and percussion require a lot of precision in rhythm, pacing and reproduction of transients. The saxophone’s lyrical solo says a lot about the reproduction of the instrument’s timbre and depth of sound.

Note that everything we describe is never night and day differences, but an explanation of what we hear because we listen intently. Unless we explicitly state that there is a big difference. Of course, the quality of the Pasithea DAC plays a big part in what we hear.

Supplied power supply

With its own power supply, the instruments sound a bit flat, with few harmonics from the instruments. Lacking is the glow you would hear if you were live in a room with the people playing the instruments.

iFi iPower2

With iFi, the step forward is immediately audible. Instruments get a more lifelike sound, there is more space in the soundstage, transients are less cluttered. Dynamics in music are more palpable, the melody comes more alive. Especially the lilting tone of the saxophone makes a big difference to the supplied power supply.

LHY 25VA

Playback becomes more rhythmic and gains depth in the soundstage. The focus is better, separation of instruments is better, more aftertone of the instruments is audible. This all adds up to more calmness in the playback.

It becomes more music, because small but important details emerge: how the saxophone is blown, the structure in the sound of the drum of the drum kit. Especially in the piano’s fast notes, it is evident that more character of the instrument can be heard, it is not just fast notes. The difference with the iFi power supply is quite significant.

SBooster

With the SBooster, the sound of the saxophone becomes more lilting, the attack on the drum is nicer. More depth is audible in the soundstage. Compared to the LHY, you lose some detail in the piano notes and the cymbals sound a bit colder in the attack. Overall, there is just a bit less calmness and authority, the pacing is different, less rhythmic and fast, but in timbre and melody line you win. With that, it is mainly a preference what you find a better result.

Lineo5

The Lineo5 gives much more authority and the sound becomes matter of fact. You feel that the power supply can deliver what is asked for with ease. A lot of subtlety is audible in the sound of the reed of the saxophone, the power in the bass is palpable.

Pura Dodo

With the Dodo power supply, it is ‘like putting nitroglycerine in the Rivo+’ (according to Jaap Veenstra). There is indeed much more detail in the sounds but it is ‘a bit much’. The Lineo5 makes for an easier listening for a longer time, unless you really want to hear what brand of skin is stretched on the snare drum.

The Lineo5’s match with the Volumio Rivo+ is just right and no doubt recommended when buying a Rivo+. Actually, the Lineo5 is needed to make the potential of the Volumio Rivo+ a reality.