The off switch in the front does not power-off everything on the SA-1. I just measured with switch on the back "on" and switch at front in "off" position: 2,7W are consumed regardless, so its some hidden standby mode.
That's exactly the info I needed, thanks!
Using XLR in and XLR/4.4mm headphone out usually the best option, especially when the amp itself has fully differential architecture internally. But that doesn't imply that the single ended input/output is inferior in general. What kind of difference you experience on the SA-1 besides the volume level difference? I did personally operate the same DAC either connected to XLR and RCA and could not detect any difference besides volume level using headphones connected by XLR/4.4mm (with SE out using the same headphone there might be slight hint of degradation with the same cable by Hart Audio Cables modular system, where you can just exchange the interconnect from XLR to SE, but might be also due to the interconnect or not 100% level matched)
Thanks for your reply. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere the SE output had a higher noise floor/less dynamic range. I'm fully aware this may not be perceivable, but we're in ASR, so I like comparing numbers
Yes, the SE output does not measure as good as the XLR/4.4mm and worse than A90 SE output. So if you use primarily SE headphones, the A90 might be the „better“ option(or A30 Pro). I only had the A90 a few days, but did not like the play/wobbliness of the volume knob, maybe this improved in later batches. Other than that the A90 had a better gain switch placement and real power off switch (I think) in front. Even with all the little quirks, I still personally prefer the SA-1, since I use it 90% of the time balanced. But you can’t go wrong with either amplifier.Thanks for your reply. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere the SE output had a higher noise floor/less dynamic range. I'm fully aware this may not be perceivable, but we're in ASR, so I like comparing numbers
The decision is coming down to the A90 or the SA-1, to be coupled with a balanced dac (either D30 Pro or SU-9, depending on the price and availability at the time of purchase). Pretty sure I'd be more than happy with either one, at least performance wise, so I'm basically nitpicking, looking at usability, etc.
Good to hear your opinion. The A30 Pro doesn't have the preamp functionality I'd like to have for expandability's sake, so I discarded it.
I did order the SA-1 directly from China at HiFiGo (they also offer tax & duty paid shipping to EU, mine did take 2 weeks to arrive), both EU dealers seem to be out of stock currently.
I don't have the power numbers but using it with hd600/6xx/800, I'm at 12 o'clock using low gain. If the file tracks are slow like classical music, I would be at 5 o'clock on the volume using xlr/4.4mm. I haven't tried high gain yet as sometimes I use iem and with that I'm around 9 oclock on low gain and at SE output. Quite a hassle to turn the unit over just for gain change so I just leave it at low though I have acquired 4 jumper caps to try out the DC mod.
It rises a question, is it really class A amplifier? It should be near to hot for pure class A
No. Push-pull class AB.
He got his 10.000th like and decided he could retire
I have a feeling it's not going to happen.
