This year, the Volumio brand has emerged with an excellent sonic presence and that Italian style we all desire. The Motivo headphone amplifier was well received here at HF&MS with a good quality build, sonic presence and a positive review.

The RIVO is the streaming transport in a range that features a DAC, called the PRIMO, and an integrated amplifier, the INTEGRO.

Design

The Volumio RIVO streaming transport is a pure digital streamer, so you will need a DAC of some description to convert the music. It is designed with streaming in mind only, it does little else.  There is no screen or other fanciness that you are paying for.

Volumio RIVO – rear inputs and outputs

On the input side, there is WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, as well as Bluetooth 5.0. Two USB ports for connecting flash drives are available, and there is also a Micro SD slot at the rear.

Digital (only) output is thorough, with USB Audio Output (PCM 768 kHz/32 bit and DSD256 (USB DAC required)), S/PDIF (PCM 192 kHz/24 bit), and AES/EBU audio output (PCM 192 kHz/24 bit). There is an HDMI output to show the software’s status screen. There is no optical TOSLink; I would have also preferred to see this output.

The streamer is designed with a separate power supply for each section to achieve the cleanest signal path. Volumio sells a separate linear power supply to offer an even more stable power supply to the streaming circuit.

Quality

The unit is nicely presented in a thick aluminium chassis with a classy front board on the facia. There is no screen; there is just an ON button indicating status. The Volumio App manages the RIVO. If you like minimalist and cool retro styling, this is your bag.

Dimensions 27 x 15 x 5 (W x D x H) cm

Volumio RIVO front facia

Weight: 2.5 kg

Price; £849

A Lineo5 linear power supply for £349 for the RIVO can be purchased.

The Full specification is here.

Performance

Review Equipment

I’m streaming from the RIVO USB DAC OUT to a Hugo 2, a Mojo 2 or the new FiiO K11 R2R. Additionally, I have put the streamer in the place of my reference Melco Library also USB DAC OUT to my iFi Pro iDSD and Moor Amps setup.

Physically

As was the case with Motivo, the setting up of the RIVO was not quite as smooth as I would prefer. For example, the WiiM Pro Plus and WiiM Amp were both streaming in minutes, whereas I had a few network glitches and connectivity gremlins here. However, once up and running, it has all been very smooth indeed. My networked libraries eventually came on the Volumio App and have run very efficiently in the review process. Connectivity is excellent and stable in my experience.

Internal Library and external USB

I spotted an internal storage option in the RIVO, although the drive is just 16GB and an embedded SD card. I quickly copied some 24-bit downloads across the networked computer, and they appeared neatly, with artwork, on a Playback Sources Library refresh. The problem is that a 24-bit album recording is about 2GB, and even a 16-bit FLAC rip is about 400MB, so the library space is small. If it were, however, a 512GB card (1 TB is possible), things would be interesting. Of course, you can take matters into your own hands and use a USB drive or a Micro SD card. This is a good experience.

The external USB Drive sounds fine to me, sonically, but reading the file data is tedious if you have a larger external source, as I do. It is not good enough compared to the Eversolo 2TB M.2 internal storage option, which was warp speed and a bit of a game changer. Inserting a smaller flash drive is a much better experience; navigation is fast, which you would prefer.

Reference System

USB playback from the RIVO to the DAC is excellent…

Replacing the Melco library (from which I generally stream using the Melco Music HD App) with the RIVO as the streamer into the iFi Pro iDSD DAC offers the best opportunity to listen to the streamer. With the Ethernet connection coming from the Melco S100 network switch (itself served by a single-mode optical ADOT media converter), this is as clean and as quiet as a source can be (in my view).

Volumio RIVO – streaming the Melco library

DSD playback through the RIVO from the Melco library is fine enough, though the space I found in the Dave Brubeck Time Out (DSF 1-bit, 2.82MHz) album I raved about in the PlixiR review is less apparent (I’m attributing this in my mind to the profoundly low noise floor with the Melco library itself, the switch, the ADOT and PlixiR power supply). However, there is little to complain about in such a clean and tidy delivery from the iFi Pro iDSD. Remember, too, we are at a significantly reduced price point with the RIVO.

Once you’re comfortable with the Volumio App, which becomes navigable with prolonged use, USB playback from the RIVO to the DAC is excellent. Taking some detailed tracks from Ryan Adams, whom I am seeing in the next week or so, I need to catch up with his latest releases; I turn to his cover of Dylan’s Blood in the Tracks, which is a well-recorded and produced album in my view. It is heavily layered, and his version of Buckets of Rain (Qobuz 24-bit, 44.1kHz) has everything I need musically to remind me of his genius. Who Is Going to Love Me Now (from the album Wednesdays – Qobuz 24-bit, 48kHz) is just delicious, and the space in the soundstage between the guitars is very engaging. Moving onto To Be Without You (Qobuz 24-bit, 96kHz), from Prisoner offers the same musical engagement.

If I put the RIVO back-to-back with the Eversolo DMP-A6 into the iFi DAC (both USB DAC out and fixed output to the iFi Pro iDSD), I can hear little difference between these streamers. Both have tons of detail and offer the cleanest delivery, and I can discern little difference tonally, either way.

In summary, streaming performance is excellent. It is a shame the OS is not what we’re used to with the likes of BluOS, StreamMagic, and Lightning DS, but on sound and vision, all is very good

Volumio RIVO – desktop perfection

indeed.

Hugo 2

Streaming the RIVO … to the Hugo 2 … is as immersive and joyful as music can get.

The great thing about the Chord Hugo 2 is that you know what you put in, you’ll get out. I have historically preferred using the 2Go to stream to the Hugo 2. Streaming the RIVO USB DAC out to the Hugo 2 using a pair of Meze Audio 109 Pro is as immersive and joyful as music can get. Here, the RIVO is as good as it gets versus the 2Go, and there are no complaints.

Thoughts

With the RIVO competing easily with its competitors in sonic performance…

In broad terms, I like the transport source to be separate from the DAC, particularly as the pace of DAC technology is moving at such a pace. This equates to the streamer needing to be at least half decent sonically, to be well priced and easy to navigate to access the music.   The RIVO delivers these three points, though the weakest area is the OS useability, which is odd as this Volumio hardware range heralds from what was once a software company. If this RIVO were driven by BluOS, I would be all in for this classy-looking piece of equipment.

If we compare this RIVO to its main competitors, the Eversolo DMP-A6 (£799, currently) and the Bluesound Node X (£549) (we’ll talk about the WiiM Pro Plus (£219) later), there are clear wins that the RIVO delivers, most notably on styling and ‘minimalist cool’, often a critical factor in a family home. Coupled with an INTEGRA, this looks like a stylish setup.

With the RIVO competing easily with its competitors in sonic performance, it ultimately comes down to price point and useability. The WiiM Pro Plus is at a different price point, so it comes down to your personal needs and preferences.

What are the product USPs (unique selling points) at or around this price point? I think the RIVO’s USP is retro minimalist styling. The Eversolo’s USPs are the M.2 storage option and the screen, and the Node’s USP is the BluOS system.

Overall

The RIVO looks great and sounds better…

The RIVO looks great and sounds better, which could be enough for you. It is worth a good listen if you are after a streamer at this price point and already have a good DAC. There is a black limited edition, which looks very smart indeed; see below.

Specification

Full details are on the company’s site.

Volumio RIVO – Limited Edition in Black