Aqua LinQ

[Confused]

On the cheap end that could be an Allo "DigiTen", featuring a clock input. RoPieeeXL has the NAA...

Quite hilarious!  To be completely honest, I actually double checked Allo's website, just to check if you made that up or if I had missed the release of this mighty new product.

Joking apart, there might be a serious point here.  Considering my past experiments, I have achieved very good results feeding my MC3+USB / REF10 via S/PDIF.  My best results were achieved using my aging Arcam Blu-ray player as a source, with music played from a USB thumb drive.  So if this gets very close to the sMS-200ultra / tx-USBultra, and maybe in some respects there is a nicer sound via the Arcam, how might an Allo DigiOne Signature compare?  

I am as sure as I can be that the Allo Signature would at least be a touch better than the Arcam.  For a start the Allo would have the advantage of running HQPlayer, and on top of that there are some very compelling subjective reports for the Allo.  Furthermore, it measures very well.  So as a simple way to get a decent quality S/PDIF feed to the MC3/REF10 combo, the Allo makes a lot of sense.  Considering the price of the thing, I am genuinely very tempted to try this.

The only thing that puts me off is the potential hassle actually getting one to work.  A case of a steep learning curve, I know nothing about Pi's, Ropieee or any of this stuff.  That said, owning the sMS-200 has taught me all I need to know about writing software images to SD cards and similar, so I am (fairly) sure I would get one up and running without too much grief.  

I shall do some further investigating, and as I said, i am genuinely tempted to give this a try.  If nothing else, it is £5k cheaper than the LinQ, and would serve as good experience and training for when the DigiTen is finally released.

EDIT: I see there are Pi options with the Allo DigOne Signature, I presume the RPi 4 Model B is the one to get? (although it is $2.50 more expensive than the RPi 3 Model B)