Measurements
Contents
Measurements dScope III
Here we see some interesting things. The linearity of the Preciso is slightly better with the Lineo5. The channel equality also improves. The Presiso achieves about 19.5 bits (118dB) of dynamics. That’s not bad, but by now not groundbreaking either. By comparison, the Matrix TS-1 all-in-one achieves 21.5 bits (130dB).
At the noise floor, we see that the noise from the switching power supply carries over into the output. We have seen this before. The Lineo5 performs best here. The LHY is right on its heels. The standard power supply has a big bump between 10 KHz and 24 KHz. True, that one is still at -130dB, but still.
Measurements noise
As predicted, the noise from the power supply is much higher with the switching power supply than with the linear models. The LHY has fractionally higher noise than the Lineo5. So this noise also affects the analog output somewhat. In short: it really pays to pair a good power supply with this dac.
Conclusion
It is clear that Volumio is targeting Rivo or Rivo+ owners.
Volumio faces stiff competition in this price range from brands like Gustard, Topping, and SMSL, which dominate YouTube reviews and product offerings with a wide variety of models.
In terms of sound quality, the Volumio Preciso does not stand out from the many other ESS-based DACs under a thousand euros.
In our opinion, the combination with the original Rivo provides the most musical enjoyment, but frankly, the Preciso can't keep up with the level of streamers.