any recommendation for a good replacement to the sabaja30a?

[SlamTaz]

i currently have the sabaja30a and while i really like the sound quality and power it provides, there are issues coming out in the open that's making me think 2x about keeping it. i have elac dbr62 and svs sb2000 currently connected to the a30a and most of the time listen via wiim.

i'm looking at several options up to or less than $1k w/ a relatively compact footprint as i will use it on my wfh desktop set up. some of them are below and would like to pick the expert brains of asr members as to which you think is a good replacement in case i finally decide to return the a30a (i.e. i have until jan 31 to return my purchase to amazon and will for sure put in a review about it, in case i pursue this option):

• mission778x @$749
• svs prime wireless pro soundBase @ $699
• basx ta1 @ $599
• basx ta2 @ $999

i understand that the above are not all apples and what's most important to me are the following but not necessarily in the order of importance:

• power to fully drive the dbr62 - im happy with the power of the a30a so anything similar or more is good. not sure how to interpret the power rating of the above choices due to some terms im not familiar or do not fully understand, like different thd rating and such
• w/ sub out for my sb2000
• good sound quality - i know this is subjective, but i really prefer something closer to a neutral sound with great clarity and wide sound stage.
• all in one solution (i.e. dac/amp or full digital like a30a). im open to separates but im a noob when it comes to mixing and matching so, not sure i can find a good combination by myself and limit total cost up to $1k only
• relatively compact footprint like the a30a, as this will be on my wfh desktop. im a bit hesitant about the basx coz its comparably a bit too wide & deep but since it's not too tall, i can probably make it work

other features are bonuses, specially if it will have a low &/or high pass filter, headphone out and the likes.
can you please help me understand if the choices i listed above satisfy what's important to me and which in your opinion will give me best value for the $$$? or if you have better suggestions, i will greatly appreciate that too.

tia

 

[dwkdnvr]

My perusal of the 'all in one' market leads me to believe that the best value is in separates. Something like a Sabaj A10d that has variable output over XLR (or similar - there are less expensive similar options, but I have the Sabaj) and a Hypex NcoreMP 252 from a vendor like VTV or Buckeye. About $900 total.

Edit: Ack - missed the point about sub out. Disregard the Sabaj recommendation. You'd have to go with a MiniDSP Flex or similar, which is harder to do under your $1k limit.

 

[SlamTaz]

can anyone tell me if the below specs on the mission778x is good enough to fully drive the elac dbr62? sorry im a noob and really don't understand this stuff yet.

Rated Power Output	2x45W(@8ohms); 2 x 65W (@ 4 ohms)
Frequency Response (ref. 1kHz)	20Hz-20KHz (± 0.5dB)
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)	<0.005% (30W / 8 ohms)

 

[AnalogSteph]

Seems plenty fine for a desktop setup.

 

[SlamTaz]

i got a recommendation to go separates and get the smsl A300 + C200. i was told that while it may not be as powerful, i may not even notice the difference in output power unless i really want to listen at ear piercing volume. also, i was told that the C200 is a very nice DAC and that the added headphone output will be nice as well. on the A300 front, it's got some sort of bass management but not exactly the same as the a30a.

can anyone tell me if this combo is good or if there's an existing combination of separates that's as good or better? or if not separates, which of the above mentioned all-in-one would you recommend or even something that's not mentioned above (i.e. except emotiva coz i got my refund as amazon gift card balance and i cant use the credit to buy emotiva products )

 

[bineverlast]

what did you end up doing OP? what are your thoughts on the sabaj a30a, im considering it. i heard they fixed the sub out volume issue via recent firmware patch.

 

[SlamTaz]

what did you end up doing OP? what are your thoughts on the sabaj a30a, im considering it. i heard they fixed the sub out volume issue via recent firmware patch.

i sent it back about a week before my return window at amazon closed and got my refund almost right after.

while the sound quality & power of the a30a were good, i was constantly annoyed by the sub-out volume not in synch with the master volume, which at the time i returned it wasn't fixed yet along with other issues. i read in the a30a thread here in asr that, while users have raised their concerns, sabaj have not yet come out with a fix/update and the last one (mcu_fw_220928) on their website was from last year

too bad, had they been more responsive with fixes, i would have kept it.

 

[bineverlast]

i read in the a30a thread here in asr that, while users have raised their concerns, sabaj have not yet come out with a fix/update and the last one (mcu_fw_220928) on their website was from last year

oh wow, thanks for letting me know.
what are you using now?

 

[SlamTaz]

oh wow, thanks for letting me know.
what are you using now?

im using my trusty old onkyo as a placeholder, until i get a smaller yet adequately powerful integrated/power amplifier.

 

[Freezak]

im using my trusty old onkyo as a placeholder, until i get a smaller yet adequately powerful integrated/power amplifier.

Any update OP? I'm in a similar boat, looking for AIO solution or amp + dac for ELAC DBR62 + SVS SB-1000. Can somebody confirm that the issues with Sabaj A30A fixed? It would be nice to find a decent device for this setup that would not cost more than 600 in USD. I'm looking for a neutral sounding device and it seems like there is no similar device to Sabaj in this price range. Thanks...

 

[SlamTaz]

Any update OP? I'm in a similar boat, looking for AIO solution or amp + dac for ELAC DBR62 + SVS SB-1000. Can somebody confirm that the issues with Sabaj A30A fixed? It would be nice to find a decent device for this setup that would not cost more than 600 in USD. I'm looking for a neutral sounding device and it seems like there is no similar device to Sabaj in this price range. Thanks...

had to find a smaller solution than the onkyo and for less than usd340, i got the smsl a300 + smsl c200 combo for my elac dbr62 + svs sb2000 about 2 weeks now. i dont have golden audiophile ears and i can no longer do A/B testing between the 2 to personally judge which sound signature i prefer. if i will base it off of my recollection, i know i liked the a30a sound signature and while i feel that the a300 is different (which may or may not be due to memory bias), i like it too and for me that's all that matters. i guess it's a good thing that my ears are not that discriminating to say that one is audibly miles better than the other or not.

also, i use the a300 50db high pass filter setting combined with the svs 50db low pass filter and so far the 2.1 set up works great and is more convenient for me (i.e. the sub & speaker volume increments are matched at all listening levels). as far as power is concerned, i dont feel that the a300 is lagging far behind the a30a, they both have more than enough juice to play really loud, both with power to spare

If i were to nitpick, the a300 + c200 combo have non-matching blue/white display as opposed to the better looking a30a display. On the plus side, the combo gave me a very able headphone amp that i can use when needed.