Khadas Tone2 Pro Review (DAC & Amp)

[MalinYamato]

Nope, your reason for buying another DAC should be features/usability, ultimately.

okey, what is lacking on the tone board is optical in -- no need for other features.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

wow, that is what I call a stack, also with a power amp for speakers, but you already have a great setup: tone board 2 and THX AAA amp.
My plan is to use Khadas Tone Board Pro 2 with singer sa-1 which I ordered yesterday -- hope it's a good combo.
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If you have the balanced XLR to RCA cables, the Tone2 Pro + Singxer SA-1 will be a great combo. My first thought was that the amp might be slightly overkill, but a good headphone amp is a solid investment that can be used with several generations of DACs. I know you'll enjoy it.

I'm happy with my Tone2 Pro + THX AAA 789 setup, so that's not going anywhere. The Topping E50 + L50 + PA5 stack will be part of a different system.

BTW, which headphones will you use with this system? I've been alternating between E-MU Wood Series Teak and HiFiMan HE400se with the Khadas + THX system. They are different, but both fun in their own ways.

 

[Veri]

If you have the balanced XLR to RCA cables, the Tone2 Pro + Singxer SA-1 will be a great combo. My first thought was that the amp might be slightly overkill, but a good headphone amp is a solid investment that can be used with several generations of DACs. I know you'll enjoy it.

I'm happy with my Tone2 Pro + THX AAA 789 setup, so that's not going anywhere. The Topping E50 + L50 + PA5 stack will be part of a different system.

BTW, which headphones will you use with this system? I've been alternating between E-MU Wood Series Teak and HiFiMan HE400se with the Khadas + THX system. They are different, but both fun in their own ways.

I don't think the Singxer SA-1 is meaningfully better (or let alone meaningfully different) from the THX amp. I've owned both. So if one wants an amp for the Tone2 Pro, I would recommend the Tone2 Pro + THX AAA 789 setup.. or the Sabaj A20h I have nowadays that has resistor volume control, much better than the pot on the THX drop/monoprice amps

 

[MalinYamato]

If you have the balanced XLR to RCA cables, the Tone2 Pro + Singxer SA-1 will be a great combo. My first thought was that the amp might be slightly overkill, but a good headphone amp is a solid investment that can be used with several generations of DACs. I know you'll enjoy it.

I'm happy with my Tone2 Pro + THX AAA 789 setup, so that's not going anywhere. The Topping E50 + L50 + PA5 stack will be part of a different system.

BTW, which headphones will you use with this system? I've been alternating between E-MU Wood Series Teak and HiFiMan HE400se with the Khadas + THX system. They are different, but both fun in their own ways.

I bought the same cable as you have in your picture to be used between the tone board and the amp. Currently, I have Denon Ah-D9200, Hifiman Sundara, and an Argon T60RP from Modhouse and my next possible upgrade may be an Arya from Hifiman which requires a very powerful amp. My Denon should sound similar to your E-MUs

​

 

[MalinYamato]

I don't think the Singxer SA-1 is meaningfully better (or let alone meaningfully different) from the THX amp. I've owned both. So if one wants an amp for the Tone2 Pro, I would recommend the Tone2 Pro + THX AAA 789 setup.. or the Sabaj A20h I have nowadays that has resistor volume control, much better than the pot on the THX drop/monoprice amps

that's shocking -- I read many positive reviews about the SA-1 especially after the DC mod. to get the 789 sent to me in Sweden including tax and shipment will cost EUR 400 and I bought the SA-1 for EUR 500 as I heard that it sounds better than the Drop 789. Sabaji costs EUR 220 so it is waaay cheaper than the SA-1 but has a big power brick and headphone holes on the back which I dont like. I was also considering SMSL SH8s which costs as much as the Sabaji. What did you do with your SA-1 and what made you get a Sabaji?

 

[Veri]

that's shocking -- I read many positive reviews about the SA-1 especially after the DC mod. to get the 789 sent to me in Sweden including tax and shipment will cost EUR 400 and I bought the SA-1 for EUR 500 as I heard that it sounds better than the Drop 789. The sabaji would match well with my M500 but the headphone holes are on the back which I hate. Sabaji costs EUR 220 so it is waaay cheaper than the SA-1. I was also considering SMSL SH8s which costs as much as the Sabaji. What did you do with your SA-1?

I bought the SA-1 from Audiophonics and thankfully I could return it. It is very low distortion, just like the other amps mentioned and imparts no sound of its own. I didn't like the non-linear volume put, it's quite weird compared to normal ones.
Resistor volume like the Sabaj has is so much more better in terms of user experience that I recommend it to anyone. I don't want to go back from it

You can still try the Singxer somewhere and return if necessary like like I did. But that was my experience.

 

[MalinYamato]

I bought the SA-1 from Audiophonics and thankfully I could return it. It is very low distortion, just like the other amps mentioned and imparts no sound of its own. I didn't like the non-linear volume put, it's quite weird compared to normal ones.
Resistor volume like the Sabaj has is so much more better in terms of user experience that I recommend it to anyone. I don't want to go back from it

You can still try the Singxer somewhere and return if necessary like like I did. But that was my experience.

I also bougtht the SA-1 from Audiophonics and hope I may return it if it is as you say.

 

[Veri]

I also bougtht the SA-1 from Audiophonics and hope I may return it if it is as you say.

Keep everything close together and don't rip any tape or boxes, don't do the jumper mod and if you send it back in immaculate condition it is fine to do that. Or keep it if you enjoy it

 

[MalinYamato]

Keep everything close together and don't rip any tape or boxes, don't do the jumper mod and if you send it back in immaculate condition it is fine to do that. Or keep it if you enjoy it

it's indeed a tricky product as before I know if I really like it I need to do the mod but that voids the warranty and I cannot send it back.
I start to believe that the maker intentionally crippled it so that ppl will do the mod and never be able to send it back or use the warranty.

 

[Veri]

I start to believe that the maker intentionally crippled it so that ppl will do the mod and never be able to send it back or use the warranty.

The maker will remove the DC bypass in the next version(s). I think they didn't expect people do actually mod it this way, since audible difference would be very hard to explain It's just protecting your headphones against DC bursts in case your DAC outputs DC. If it isn't there it can kill headphones in some rare/unlucky circumstances.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

I don't think the Singxer SA-1 is meaningfully better (or let alone meaningfully different) from the THX amp. I've owned both. So if one wants an amp for the Tone2 Pro, I would recommend the Tone2 Pro + THX AAA 789 setup.. or the Sabaj A20h I have nowadays that has resistor volume control, much better than the pot on the THX drop/monoprice amps

The Singxer SA-1 can function as an analog preamp. That's pretty cool. I wish my THX AAA 789 could do that. I imagine build quality is a little better. My first THX AAA 789 developed a scratchy volume pot after just less than a year. Thankfully, Drop allowed me to exchange it. The "Auto Off" feature on the new unit does not work, but that doesn't really bother me. I turn it on when I want to use it and turn it off when I'm done. A resistor volume control would be nice.

 

[Veri]

The Singxer SA-1 can function as an analog preamp. That's pretty cool. I wish my THX AAA 789 could do that. I imagine build quality is a little better. My first THX AAA 789 developed a scratchy volume pot after just less than a year.

Yup those are all fair points.

 

[Walkerboh]

I wasn't sure where to post this but I have question about the tone 2 pro.

I’m using the Tone 2 pro with a Galaxy fold 3 as a source.
I’m connecting the Galaxy fold 3 with the Tone 2 pro with the USB c to c cord provided with the Tone 2 Pro. My IEMs are the KXXS and connected to the 4.4mm output of the Khadas tone 2 pro. I’m streaming Tidal masters with UAPP. I keep hearing EMI noise through the IEMS. It’s usually at the start of a track and/or when changing tracks. I have tried adding a separate power source (Cell phone portable power bank) but it makes no difference.

Question:

1. Is this normal? Do I have a defected unit?
2. Would using a different USB C cable help?
3. Would using something like the ifi silencer help?

 

[MalinYamato]

Tone Pro 2 is now feeding my Singxer amp -- balanced RCA to XLR.
I have an SMSL M500 DAC (with a flagship Sabre DAC chip) but I prefer Tone 2 pro in my setup.
Tone 2 Pro is cute and I love cute things !

 

[Grooved]

I wasn't sure where to post this but I have question about the tone 2 pro.

I’m using the Tone 2 pro with a Galaxy fold 3 as a source.
I’m connecting the Galaxy fold 3 with the Tone 2 pro with the USB c to c cord provided with the Tone 2 Pro. My IEMs are the KXXS and connected to the 4.4mm output of the Khadas tone 2 pro. I’m streaming Tidal masters with UAPP. I keep hearing EMI noise through the IEMS. It’s usually at the start of a track and/or when changing tracks. I have tried adding a separate power source (Cell phone portable power bank) but it makes no difference.

Question:

1. Is this normal? Do I have a defected unit?
2. Would using a different USB C cable help?
3. Would using something like the ifi silencer help?

Hi, check the led color to see if changes right on the sound you hear, if it's at the start or when changing, it may be linked to the MQA processing, especially if your playlist alternates between MQA and standard FLAC in Tidal.
Don't know if you have the MQA decoder plugin in UAPP... I have and I sometimes got the Tone2 Pro used as renderer only (had UAPP showing it was doing the decoding) and sometimes UAPP use it as decoder+renderer

If you're are streaming only "Master" tracks, check if there is more noise when going from a track to another one with a different resolution

 

[MalinYamato]

Hi, check the led color to see if changes right on the sound you hear, if it's at the start or when changing, it may be linked to the MQA processing, especially if your playlist alternates between MQA and standard FLAC in Tidal.
Don't know if you have the MQA decoder plugin in UAPP... I have and I sometimes got the Tone2 Pro used as renderer only (had UAPP showing it was doing the decoding) and sometimes UAPP use it as decoder+renderer

If you're are streaming only "Master" tracks, check if there is more noise when going from a track to another one with a different resolution

thank you for your advice. On my Raspberry PI I run Volumio3 and it outputs a bit-perfect stream to the Khadas DAC and I may see the MQA color flash blue or green for a while under the wheel. The problem I have with Volumio and Tidal now is the sample rate which does not go above 48. I don't know if this is a Volumio issue or a Tidal one... when I run Qubus I get very high bitrate and sample rate.

 

[Grooved]

thank you for your advice. On my Raspberry PI I run Volumio3 and it outputs a bit-perfect stream to the Khadas DAC and I may see the MQA color flash blue or green for a while under the wheel. The problem I have with Volumio and Tidal now is the sample rate which does not go above 48. I don't know if this is a Volumio issue or a Tidal one... when I run Qubus I get very high bitrate and sample rate.

There is no problem regarding the sample rate, what Volumio is sending and received by the Tone2 Pro is the file unprocessed, and the MQA file are at 44.1 or 48, so the Tone2 Pro driver will show 44.1 or 48 as it shows what is received.

If Volumio was doing the decoding, like you can do on Roon, it would send 88.2 or 96, but here decoding and rendering are done by the Tone2 Pro after receiving the file unprocessed.
But the position of your led (Blue or Green) should match the original sample rate of the master, which is shown by the MQA file information.

Example : an MQA track said 192 makes the Tone2 Pro showing the 3rd spot on the led ring.

Check the sample rate information of the track first, because there albums with several sample rate, even in 24bit MQA (I'm not talking about 16bit MQA), like one Norah Jones album with 96 and 192 versions

 

[Dunring]

If anyone else is having noise floor issues when hooking one of these to an SMSL SP200 I figured it out. There was a hiss starting at 1 oclock when doing regular RCA to it. Adding a really thick USB cable plugged into a Samsung 1.5a charger fixed it completely. I was using an Oppo charger and cheaper (and too long I bet) cable to the USB power port on it. It also made the sound when it was just plugged into USB alone for use as a DAC. Running it now in 192khz to avoid the filter problems reported and it sounds amazing. With the SP200 that does best with the RCA inputs it's a coin toss to get the $50 special balanced cables or not. Got both at a really good price on eBay, so might keep them for a daily driver now the noise floor is totally silent at all volume levels on a silent .wav test file, or when something is paused in Foobar.

 

[Grooved]

If anyone else is having noise floor issues when hooking one of these to an SMSL SP200 I figured it out. There was a hiss starting at 1 oclock when doing regular RCA to it. Adding a really thick USB cable plugged into a Samsung 1.5a charger fixed it completely. I was using an Oppo charger and cheaper (and too long I bet) cable to the USB power port on it. It also made the sound when it was just plugged into USB alone for use as a DAC. Running it now in 192khz to avoid the filter problems reported and it sounds amazing. With the SP200 that does best with the RCA inputs it's a coin toss to get the $50 special balanced cables or not. Got both at a really good price on eBay, so might keep them for a daily driver now the noise floor is totally silent at all volume levels on a silent .wav test file, or when something is paused in Foobar.

Hi,
looks like the usb charger or cable had a big problem because I never got this kind of thing directly USB powered or adding a second cable to a usb charer or battery.
You should check your firmware version in the dashboard because the filter and phase inverted problem has been fixed since one year now and v1.2
It would great to add it to the first post of the thread so everybody knows if reading it

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

Running it now in 192khz to avoid the filter problems reported and it sounds amazing.

Latest firmware (actually, even v1.2 MCU firmware) resolves the filter problems. Update if you have not already.