Review and Measurements of Sabaj D5 DAC & Amp

[wadec22]

I think aliexpress is fine; they now have stock in US and they use Amazon for delivery.

but are the returns as easy as amazon? I can drop off an amazon return at the kohls nearby and get funds back in my bank account within 24-48 hrs.

 

[zym1010]

but are the returns as easy as amazon? I can drop off an amazon return at the kohls nearby and get funds back in my bank account within 24-48 hrs.

working on that. At least they tell me

"Warranty: Within one month, if there is any problem with the product, we will bear the shipping cost and maintenance cost of the return; for more than one month, the product has any problem, the buyer needs to bear the shipping cost of the return, we bear the repair cost of the product; more than one year If there is any problem with the product, the buyer must bear the shipping cost of the return and pay 30% of the repair cost."

So not sure about who is responsible for return shipping's cost, but I think you pay that Amazon premium for some convenience, instead of trading that for some AliExpress sale pricing.

 

[wadec22]

working on that. At they they tell me

"Warranty: Within one month, if there is any problem with the product, we will bear the shipping cost and maintenance cost of the return; for more than one month, the product has any problem, the buyer needs to bear the shipping cost of the return, we bear the repair cost of the product; more than one year If there is any problem with the product, the buyer must bear the shipping cost of the return and pay 30% of the repair cost."

doesn't sound terrible. I'll be very curious to see how long the entire process takes for you.

 

[zym1010]

doesn't sound terrible. I'll be very curious to see how long the entire process takes for you.

See my update in the original post. Volume knob works after I rebooted the DAC...

 

[rmo]

See my update in the original post. Volume knob works after I rebooted the DAC...

The volume knob does seem a little flimsy but the unit is quite well built. The sound quality is superb.

 

[zym1010]

The volume knob does seem a little flimsy but the unit is quite well built. The sound quality is superb.

Yes. The SQ is great but firmware definitely has issues.

 

[wadec22]

Yes. The SQ is great but firmware definitely has issues.

Are you still returning it?

 

[zym1010]

Are you still returning it?

Nope. It works fine, just with some firmware glitches which are not that worrying to me right now.

 

[zym1010]

Nope. It works fine, just with some firmware glitches which are not that worrying to me right now.

See updates to my original post. Most issues have workarounds and the remaining ones are not that important for me.

 

[AnalogDE]

I got my D5 today also. I have seen the issue with the volume knob stop working... Switching off the power supply switch in the back and rebooting fixes it. It seems like the sensor that detects the volume knob "clicks" quits working. Not sure what causes it.

Have to wait 'till my THX AAA 789 comes in before i can test out the back outputs. Since the outputs are variable, what volume level are people setting when using an external amp?

 

[zym1010]

I got my D5 today also. I have seen the issue with the volume knob stop working... Switching off the power supply switch in the back and rebooting fixes it. It seems like the sensor that detects the volume knob "clicks" quits working. Not sure what causes it.

Have to wait 'till my THX AAA 789 comes in before i can test out the back outputs. Since the outputs are variable, what volume level are people setting when using an external amp?

So volume knob issue seems common.

I simply use full volume (40).

 

[Patrick1958]

Have to wait 'till my THX AAA 789 comes in before i can test out the back outputs. Since the outputs are variable, what volume level are people setting when using an external amp?

In my setup back outputs are connected to a pair of active speakers (audioengine A5/S8). When switching from headphone output to line output i just leave the volume as set in headphone listening and control the volume on active speakers.

 

[zym1010]

In my setup back outputs are connected to a pair of active speakers (audioengine A5/S8). When switching from headphone output to line output i just leave the volume as set in headphone listening and control the volume on active speakers.

I think SE out/BAL out/line out have separate volume levels memorized by D5. In any case, since I use external headphone amp, I think using full volume makes the most sense for me.

 

[jruser]

What version is everybody getting? Mine shows v1.2 in the menu, with a date of 8-8-2019.

Checked Sabaj site and didn't see any firmware updates posted, but did find the driver. Installed it and it fixed the WASPI event mode issue I had with the built in Windows driver.

 

[DeepSpace57]

What version is everybody getting? Mine shows v1.2 in the menu, with a date of 8-8-2019.

Checked Sabaj site and didn't see any firmware updates posted, but did find the driver. Installed it and it fixed the WASPI event mode issue I had with the built in Windows driver.

This means Sabaj has updated D5. Mine was Feb-2019.

 

[KingFiercer]

Waiting for D5 to compare with my D70 too. I hope the D5 is at the same level in all aspects or even better.

 

[zym1010]

What version is everybody getting? Mine shows v1.2 in the menu, with a date of 8-8-2019.

Checked Sabaj site and didn't see any firmware updates posted, but did find the driver. Installed it and it fixed the WASPI event mode issue I had with the built in Windows driver.

Mine has same FW ver as yours.

Have you found out a way to reliably play DSD files under Windows? No matter what I do, the OS just crash when playing DSD512

 

[jruser]

Mine has same FW ver as yours.

Have you found out a way to reliably play DSD files under Windows? No matter what I do, the OS just crash when playing DSD512

DSD64 and DSD128 work fine for me with foobar. I don't have 256 or 512 music.

 

[zym1010]

DSD64 and DSD128 work fine for me with foobar. I don't have 256 or 512 music.

yes. only 256/512 are problematic.

UPDATE: updated my original post. now most issues solved. overall I feel D5 has great sound but somewhat fragile firmware which should be fixable.

 

[Veri]

yes. only 256/512 are problematic.

UPDATE: updated my original post. now most issues solved. overall I feel D5 has great sound but somewhat fragile firmware which should be fixable.

What post?