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Sabaj A20d 2022 Version ES9038PRO Hi-Res Balanced Audio DAC XLR to 4.0 Vrms Headphone Amplifier XMOS XU216 Support LDAC apt-x HD DSD512 MQA USB/Optical/Coaxial/Bluetooth

£399.5£799.00Clearance
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Indulge in high-quality MQA music with MQA-CD support, allowing you to enjoy stunning audio when connected via optical or coaxial interfaces. Additionally, 2023 Sabaj A20d offers high-spec Bluetooth capabilities, supporting LDAC, apt-X HD, and AAC, enabling stable and high-speed wireless audio transmission over a distance of up to 20 meters. Intuitive Remote Control and High-Resolution Screen

I don't quite understand why this hasn't gotten more attention? Are people unsure of trying Sabaj? I don't think they are that new of a company. It's been awhile and I've been upgrading further. I bought a Topping A90 Discrete and use the A20d as a DAC/pre-amp. Funny enough the Topping A90d has a USB-C input for Firmware upgrade, which does not work USB-C to USB-C either. Shenzen hasn't gotten USB-C to USB-C to work properly and as intended in general apparently. As long as USB-C to USB-C doesn't work I would have much preferred USB-A or B on the DAC side as PC/MAC usually have USB-C these days (USB-C seems to be the future) Let’s go over the available settings for the device. The first menu we see is the input selection menu. You can toggle between the inputs here. After that, we see the HP/LINE-OUT mode menu. This is especially useful if you are planning to use the DAC stage of the A10d with your active monitors. We see the gain settings next, there are 2 options available: Low (+0dB) and High (+10dB) gain. As for filter options, there are 7 filters to choose from. Manufacturers tend to put the best (most neutral) filter as the default so I rarely feel the urge to meddle with this option. There is a DPLL option to reduce jitter and increase compatibility. Sabaj also included the option to select between UAC1 and 2, this too improves the compatibility of the unit with various devices, such as gaming consoles. Lastly, the screen brightness is adjustable.

Des composants haut de gamme

Kudos to Sabaj for a job well done across so many areas from design to performance. Yes, there is a bit of room left for products even higher in performance but that gap is incredibly small while cost savings are significant. I am so glad I am not in desktop audio business to compete with products like this! MQA is available...The 16-core XMOS will fully decode an MQA signal. We can see the standard impulse responses used in "rendering" to a higher resolution like 192kHz. So was the problem with my Mac? Or as for you the problem was only present on certain frequencies ? Now, I would ask for an important precision : in his review, Amir says the first setting shows much more distorsion and spurious tones. How is called this setting, is it the default one ?

Okay, we're in the final stretch of my measurements/review series on the Sabaj A20d 2022 DAC. This time, let's finish with some measurements around DSD performance, the headphone amp output quality, and let's talk about subjective listening impressions before the final summary on my impressions of the device. (See Part I and Part II for earlier instalments in this review.)The new Toppings of the 7 Pro Sabre series and the two brand new SMSL DO300EX DAC and DO400 DAC are much more to my taste as for styling, at approximately the same price level for the two last ones (the Topping 7 new series are separate DAC/Head amps combos and about 2 times more expensive, though reasonably priced considering their quality level). Looking at the 192kHz test above, this is an example of how asynchronous USB tends to be better than S/PDIF for jitter performance (even if absolutely audibly inconsequential!). Also, for the S/PDIF interfaces, coaxial tends to be a little better than TosLink in most devices I've tested even though TosLink provides galvanic isolation from electrical noise. The jitter performance of this DAC is exemplary. The DPLL setting might be helpful for compatibility if you connect an extremely jittery device to the DAC. Relaxing DPLL to >5 might help in those cases. As one who came of age in the '80s, it was a joy listening to Def Leppard's recent Diamond Star Halos (2022, DR6). Definitely a "feel-good" reminder of the old days of big hair and excess all those decades ago! The DAC is really solid and on the SP200 I love the sound and 5.14 volts I think it does. No driver issues, standard USB drivers and ASIO like every SMSL DAC.

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