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SONCOZ SGD1 Audio DAC Review

testp

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Hi,

i have a instance with soncoz sgd1 and wonder, do others have as well..

After bluetooth listening session, i click on mute, and after a while it goes to standby like state. however, after a day or 2..3, i see it on again.

its not a big deal, but if its software related maybe can be fixed?
( im guessing the standby voltage is similar to idle on anyway.. not a biggy, just little weird feeling seeing it on when i left it off)

today i left it on usb b when clicking mute, to see what happens in usb mode
 

gatorengineer64

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Based on the strength of the reviews here. I bought a Gishelli Erish and a soncoz sgd-1 as a replacement for an nfb 28 2014.. I bought from Amazon. My first sgd1 arrived Tuesday. I opened the box and while the unit was factory sealed in white plastic the condition of the unit was very poor it looked like it had a run in with a belt sander and it came with a Chinese plug. It was returned to Amazon. Email to the company went unanswered.

Second unit arrived today it was in a little better condition but the plastic face covering was still scratched up. It too came with a Chinese 220v plug, and was set to Chinese voltage. Unit set up OK, remote feels very cheap, and buttons work intermittently, manual is non existant and no info whatsoever on the various filters except what was in the review here.

My perception is that these filters are eq settings as the base from this unit seems very heavy as opposed to the nfb28. I am using roon to feed a pi, connected via USB, with good quality flacs and running hifiman hex phones. Unsure at this juncture if the unit will stay. I want to run more dsd through it before I decide.
 

Veri

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My perception is that these filters are eq settings as the base from this unit seems very heavy as opposed to the nfb28. I am using roon to feed a pi, connected via USB, with good quality flacs and running hifiman hex phones. Unsure at this juncture if the unit will stay. I want to run more dsd through it before I decide.
Filters are definitely not eq, it's just minimum phase (minimum latency) versus linear phase (maximum accuracy) and their intermediate settings. A lot could be said on filters but largely it can be assumed that differences are not really audible, and the default is usually just fine. Since some people think or claim they prefer one over another, the filter can be changed but this is really an 'extra' and you'll find it hard to notice any change.
 

Covenant

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Based on the strength of the reviews here. I bought a Gishelli Erish and a soncoz sgd-1 as a replacement for an nfb 28 2014.. I bought from Amazon. My first sgd1 arrived Tuesday. I opened the box and while the unit was factory sealed in white plastic the condition of the unit was very poor it looked like it had a run in with a belt sander and it came with a Chinese plug. It was returned to Amazon. Email to the company went unanswered.

Second unit arrived today it was in a little better condition but the plastic face covering was still scratched up. It too came with a Chinese 220v plug, and was set to Chinese voltage. Unit set up OK, remote feels very cheap, and buttons work intermittently, manual is non existant and no info whatsoever on the various filters except what was in the review here.

My perception is that these filters are eq settings as the base from this unit seems very heavy as opposed to the nfb28. I am using roon to feed a pi, connected via USB, with good quality flacs and running hifiman hex phones. Unsure at this juncture if the unit will stay. I want to run more dsd through it before I decide.
The fascia has a film over the plastic screen. Run your fingernail around it and eventually you will be able to lift the edge. I replaced the mains cable with a decent aftermarket one. If the remote is faulty I am sure it will be replaced without question. Got to agree with you about the lack of instructions-just stating the appropriate web page would be a help. The bass is spot on played through my transmission line floorstanding speakers.
 

testp

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yes, the cover has film on it. I actually appreciate the remote, it feels hefty and comfortable.

So i left mine in Usb b mode, and so far it has not turned itself on, so it seems to be Bluetooth only, switching itself on in few days.
 

pl_svn

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@Ben1987 forgive me but... I still don't get what the "blinking Volume LED" (the circular one, around the volume knob) means and how I stop the blinking :(

thanks
 

EMMA

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@Ben1987 forgive me but... I still don't get what the "blinking Volume LED" (the circular one, around the volume knob) means and how I stop the blinking :(

thanks
This means it's in mute mode, you press the button to exit mute, and the light doesn't flash again.
 

hyperknot

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What is the recommended setting for foobar2000? I installed the USB driver and ASIO component in foobar2000 and now using that. Any experiences with WASAPI/ASIO/KS in Foobar2000?
 

Pluto

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Any experiences with WASAPI/ASIO/KS in Foobar2000?
Yes, it works perfectly. I wouldn't waste your time with kernel streaming though. I would stick with WASAPI unless you really need ASIO, which not too many people do.
 

hyperknot

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@Pluto I definitely don't need ASIO, I just liked the fact that it makes sure the sample rate and bit depth is always 100% matched, and it can never happen that I resample in foobar and then windows resamples it back to 48k, which is all so easy with the default output. Can WASAPI do something similar?
 

AnalogSteph

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@Pluto I definitely don't need ASIO, I just liked the fact that it makes sure the sample rate and bit depth is always 100% matched, and it can never happen that I resample in foobar and then windows resamples it back to 48k, which is all so easy with the default output. Can WASAPI do something similar?
In exclusive mode, yes. ASIO4All is a KS/WASAPI wrapper, too...

Shared mode still isn't the end of the world, just tedious as you have to keep track of format settings in multiple places. I'm using XonarSwitch for easier access, being the proud owner of a card with a broken ASIO driver and no proper WASAPI exclusive mod support.
 

hyperknot

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The licensed Thesycon driver has really good quality native ASIO driver, so I'd never need to use ASIO4ALL or similar with the Soncoz DACs.

So if I understand right, I can choose to use exclusive mode WASAPI Event Mode (foo_out_wasapi) or ASIO (foo_out_asio) the results should be 100% identical if everything functions well.
 

Veri

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So if I understand right, I can choose to use exclusive mode WASAPI Event Mode (foo_out_wasapi) or ASIO (foo_out_asio) the results should be 100% identical if everything functions well.

Absolutely, with nothing in the chain they should be identical bit for bit.
 

Pluto

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the results should be 100% identical if everything functions well
Indeed, however ASIO does not have the ‘exclusive’ functionality offered by WASAPI which locks out other sounds that might intrude, so it becomes your ‘responsibility’ to ensure that system sounds etc. do not interfere with your listening. This is why WASAPI is preferable if it otherwise meets your needs.
 

hyperknot

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Indeed, however ASIO does not have the ‘exclusive’ functionality offered by WASAPI which locks out other sounds that might intrude, so it becomes your ‘responsibility’ to ensure that system sounds etc. do not interfere with your listening. This is why WASAPI is preferable if it otherwise meets your needs.

Yes, I've noticed it, Youtube etc. gets mixed in. I don't know how would DSD even work over ASIO then, any system sound would crash the stream, wouldn't it? So WASAPI Exclusive mode is definitely preferred for me.
 

JohnYang1997

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Yes, I've noticed it, Youtube etc. gets mixed in. I don't know how would DSD even work over ASIO then, any system sound would crash the stream, wouldn't it? So WASAPI Exclusive mode is definitely preferred for me.
If you play any sample rate other than your system sample rate, it won't mix in.
 

hyperknot

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If you play any sample rate other than your system sample rate, it won't mix in.

Cool, I tried it, setting it to the same sample rate, and then playing a test sound produces noise while the audio is playing.

So basically having foobar2000 resample to 192000 and setting Windows to 44100 would achieve the same "exclusive mode" behaviour with ASIO as well, right?
 

JohnYang1997

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Cool, I tried it, setting it to the same sample rate, and then playing a test sound produces noise while the audio is playing.

So basically having foobar2000 resample to 192000 and setting Windows to 44100 would achieve the same "exclusive mode" behaviour with ASIO as well, right?
Yep. Or you can set windows sample rate to 48000(not very common) to enjoy the "exclusive mode" on ASIO.
 

hyperknot

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So I just wanted to write my first impressions of this DAC. I bought one SGD1 through @Purité Audio and took it to my dad's place for a quick demo. The result was at the end of the demo he dedided to buy it from me immediately, it's that good! So basically I'm ordering my second SGD1 as soon as the new batch arrives!

@Ben1987 congratulations for this product! One feature request if I could ask: Could you add a firmware update to support the Apple remote? The included remote doesn't really work that well, I have to aim it very carefully at the device and the quality isn't that great. Compared to the build quality of the DAC, I'd say the remote feels very cheap. Adding support for an Apple remote would solve this problem really elegantly. I really don't need any other button, just the volume + and -.

Some high-end DACs are actually shipped with the Apple remote from factory, for example https://www.oktoresearch.com/dac8stereo.htm.
 

Ben1987

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