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Sabaj A10d 2022 Version Review (DAC & Amp)

Rate this DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 3 1.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 2 0.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 28 12.6%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 189 85.1%

  • Total voters
    222

Garrincha

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Hi,

I'll wait for it.

As far as I am concerned, I must say that I love the looks of those devices.

Not sure I'll trade my actual devices (Aune x8 DAC + x7S HP amp) but would be nice to give those a look.

Regards.
I think out of all the chinese devices, Aune and this new Sabaj have he best looks, good choices! The Aune stuff just measures a bit inferior.
 
Last edited:

JensH

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WYDM? It starts exactly at "Headphone Amplifier Measurements"
Yes, I guess I overlooked that. I was looking for an FFT spectrum similar to the ones for the RCA and XLR outputs.
To me that reveals a lot of additional information.
 

PenguinMusic

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I think out of all the chinese devices, Aune and this new Sabaj have he best looks, good choices! The Aune stuff just measures s bit inferior.
Agreed.

AUNE may measure inferior.
Is that audible ? Probably not...

So I may stick to AUNE or wait for some new AKM driven DAC :)
 

Ajax

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Thanks Amir for providing members with the opportunity to purchase yet another SOTA product.

For those that listen to music at their desktop through headphones (I'm not one), here is your nirvana for less than $300. Just add a computer, which all members already own or at least need for work, a decent pair of headphones for say $200 then for $500 you have everything you need.

This is stunning value.
 

SCG

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Wow, could have saved some money vs my D30Pro + HO100 combo and gotten a smaller overall footprint with less external cabling. But agree an updated model # or cleaner version number would be helpful when recommending for purchase.
 

samsa

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They don't have 30% failure rate, have continous high quality support, impeccable build and finish quality... many other things you won't find in budget products.

True, but if I can buy 60 of these, for the price of one of those ... reliability is not exactly going to be an issue.

As eye-candy, I totally agree (about the dCS, not the Chord).
 

pseudoid

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Hi there. Gain setting is for headphone output, not XLR. But if you don't need the headphone output, you could use it to drive amplifiers.
Thank you @amirm, for unearthing another diamond-in-the-rough!
  • Are any of the 3 outputs (XLR/RCA/Phones) simultaneously available?
  • Since you have 'weight' with manufacturers; would it be possible for you to recommend to them to consider providing HDMI audio extraction inputs to such DACs/Amps?
---------------------------------------
Made in Germany has changed its meaning from bad to good over the last hundred years. Maybe one day the same will happen to Made in China. ...
As long as you don't have any statistics, you can't say much about it. The best devices in terms of measurement are certainly not the best devices at all. Everyone should apply their own criteria:
  • measurements
  • price
  • design
  • functions
  • (assumed or proven) longevity [<<#1]
  • environmentally friendly production [<<#2]
  • support [<<#3]
  • working conditions of the workers [<<#4]
  • and so on
I personally can get an impression or information about most of these points via the discussions in this forum here. This is worth a lot to me.
I agree with you.
Yet, in the old days of this hobby, "we" never had to worry about the 4 highlighted purchase decision variables.
Some may call what I am about to say politically charged or xenophobic:
These above factors along w/the extreme government subsidies to clone and then rut many industries (not just tech) and demolish the competition makes me think twice before purchasing anything from such "developing countries".
 

AnalogSteph

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Between this sabaj for 299 and the loxjie d30 for 259, which would you choose and why? Thinking of finally embarking into this audio hobby :)

I'm a complete noob in audio science but love to listen to music and currently using edifier r1280dbs w/ a klipsch r12swi connected to the subout and also use my PC w/ peace/equalizerAPO from this site.
You should really sort out the speaker (/headphone) side first, then see what you need and what sort of budget you've got left over. You can EQ R1280DBs all day long but you'll never eliminate the barely suppressed woofer breakup modes (screech) and screwy vertical directivity. Speakers at this level will render all DAC discussion moot.

I would rather cobble something together around a Behringer HD400 to make the best active monitors you can afford work with onboard audio (which tends to be good enough unless screwed up) than have a fancy DAC with substantially more basic speakers. If that means that you could go with e.g. a pair of Kali IN-5 over some of the usual inexpensive 5" 2-ways (which in turn would be already an upgrade over what you have), any day of the week.
 

Chilli

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Nov 7, 2018
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This is a cute device. I like the looks of it, and the a20d 2022 looks like it has a nicer display. It’s a bit pricier than this one, though. It might be time to sell my D50! Good job Sabaj!
 

BHazard

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The A10d 2022 and A20D 2022 are both on sale at the Sabaj Aliexpress Store right now. $299 and $377. Both are incredible prices.
 

PenguinMusic

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The A10d 2022 and A20D 2022 are both on sale at the Sabaj Aliexpress Store right now. $299 and $377. Both are incredible prices.
Looks like that offer is now gone.
Just checked : 500€ for the A20d :-(

That's more than if I buy it from a local reseller...
 

peterwen

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Audio Company
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Jun 5, 2019
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Dongguan, Guangdong, China
Hi peter, will A10h/A20h also get 2022 updates..? If not, why not send @amirm a Sabaj A20h? :D I really like mine!
Veri,sorry, didn't have the update A10h or A20h.
But the A20d 2022'v has arrive amir's house.
Can looking forward to the review of A20d 2022'v.

Thanks
 

SlamTaz

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Jun 16, 2022
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i saw the hifiman HE-560 v4 and was wondering if this dac is good enough to use with said pair of cans. asking for your opinions as i got a response from another site saying this dac may be a little under powered.

thanks in advance
 

KellenVancouver

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Yes, test measurements were excellent. However, having to power cycle the unit to make a problem go away, gives concern for reliability.
We see so much great measuring gear these days, yet it seems so many companies are focused on the numbers and not quality control or reliability.
But thanks anyway Amir for the review.
As for reliability, it is made in China. There will always be outliers, but China is of course not known for the reliability of their products.
 

James-F

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Jun 18, 2022
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The A20d 2020 might be the crème de la crème of what a ES9038Pro can do paired with a good headphone amplifier, and at 377$ on 10% sales it's a bargain.
The competition is getting tighter, attention to detail is what will put one company over the other, things like more DAC features controllable in the UI, nice looking and user friendly UI, accurate Manual, firmware updates, longevity of support.
We shall see.
 
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