Review and Measurements of Sabaj D5 DAC & Amp

[felizecat]

Hi,
So there has been a few months for some of you with this machine. Any words of wisdom to share? I mean, any concern regarding durability, performance loss since purchase? I am considering the Sabaj but also the SMSL SU-8. I already own a THX 789 AAA and a Grace SDAC with balanced connectors. However, I already have enough headphone amps (pint, SEX, Crack, THX) so I would rather not have an additional amp, unless the Sabaj's durability and qualities justify the internal amp at the cost.
Grateful for the great objective reviews, though it makes choosing ever so much more difficult... ;o)

 

[glajman]

Hi,
So there has been a few months for some of you with this machine. Any words of wisdom to share? I mean, any concern regarding durability, performance loss since purchase? I am considering the Sabaj but also the SMSL SU-8. I already own a THX 789 AAA and a Grace SDAC with balanced connectors. However, I already have enough headphone amps (pint, SEX, Crack, THX) so I would rather not have an additional amp, unless the Sabaj's durability and qualities justify the internal amp at the cost.
Grateful for the great objective reviews, though it makes choosing ever so much more difficult... ;o)

Hm, I can't vouch for the headphone amp qualities. Seeing the mesurements here, I think it will be fine. I use Sabaj D5 as a preamp and dac with my Adam T7V, connected via balance cable.

I have both SMSL SU-8 v1 and Sabaj D5. Sound wise, there isn't much difference to my ears. I haven't done any A/B testing or any sort of testing. I just unplugged one and plugged the second and I'm happy with the sound that both produce. There may be a little bit more detail with the Sabaj, but I'm not sure of this. It may be just my brain playing tricks. I don't care enough to start comparing the two .

If I were in your predicament (especially, having the THX 789 AAA), hearing both and if you are not satisfied with the sound of Grace SDAC. Buy the SMSL SU-8. Someone noted that maybe my Adam's are not that revealing, to hear the differences. So take what I say, with a grain of salt .

 

[veeceem]

Hi, can this Sabaj D5 be used as pre-amp to power any Hypex Ncore power amp and give good result at high volume? Thanks

 

[veeceem]

"The Sabaj D5 is a very well-engineered DAC and headphone amplifier. It nearly outperforms every DAC I have ever tested! The ESS ES9038Pro when implemented well (which is not common) brings stunningly low levels of distortion which shows here. Alas, it also brings the IMD hump which I blame on ESS for not working out before unleashing the design on implementers "
Does this "IMD hump" reduce sound quality or does something bad to its sound quality?

 

[Lotus97]

Hi, can this Sabaj D5 be used as pre-amp to power any Hypex Ncore power amp and give good result at high volume? Thanks

D5 doesn't have RCA/XLR inputs so the answer is no.

 

[lotse888]

D5 doesn't have RCA/XLR inputs so the answer is no.

Can you clarify??
Veeceem asked whether the DAC can be used to power an amplifier (Hypex NC).
The picture of D5 clearly showed XLR out connectors!!

 

[tohoho4]

"The Sabaj D5 is a very well-engineered DAC and headphone amplifier. It nearly outperforms every DAC I have ever tested! The ESS ES9038Pro when implemented well (which is not common) brings stunningly low levels of distortion which shows here. Alas, it also brings the IMD hump which I blame on ESS for not working out before unleashing the design on implementers "
Does this "IMD hump" reduce sound quality or does something bad to its sound quality?

I have measured IMD of 7 kHz tone and 60 Hz tone. Focus on the area enclosed in red after 0:53 of following youtube video, IMD is so small that you could probably not hear it.

 

[veeceem]

D5 doesn't have RCA/XLR inputs so the answer is no.

You mean RCA/XLR OUTputs? They're are at the back of the unit on page 1

 

[TC!!]

I'm new to the forum but wanted to ask for some advice.
My current setup is Roon Core > Mac Mini > Optical Out > Audiolab M-DAC > Balanced XLR cables > ELAC Navis ARF-51

I've been considering the Sabaj D5 and wanted to see if any else has any feedback on how this compares to the M-DAC? As well as looking for an improvement in sound I'm hoping to get an improved USB interface. My M-DAC is very fussy about the USB signal it receives and only a USB3 card in my Mac Pro has allowed me to use USB without popping sounds in the audio. The M-DAC has a USB Buffer display and I can see when the buffer drops I get a pop each time.

I had bought a RPi4 running Ropieee but it's unusable over USB with my M-DAC because of the same issue of popping noise when the buffer drops. I'd like to use that as a Roon Bridge if possible so I can move the Mac Mini away from the system.

I'm not really concerned about the headphone amp. I do sometimes listen using earphones, Shure SE425, but it's rare so not an important issue. My budget is limited to close to what I can sell my M-DAC for which I think is around £350, so the Sabaj D5 is right on the money for me.

I am nervous about connecting a not very well known brand to my speakers as a full volume line out signal would probably cause some damage. I'm also considering waiting for the Topping D70 Pro or the D90 but I think they'll be over my budget. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Lotus97]

Can you clarify??
Veeceem asked whether the DAC can be used to power an amplifier (Hypex NC).
The picture of D5 clearly showed XLR out connectors!!

I believe he asked if it could be used as a preamp, meaning RCA/XLR analog input and then RCA/XLR analog output, bypassing the DAC and its digital inputs.

 

[BDWoody]

I believe he asked if it could be used as a preamp, meaning RCA/XLR analog input and then RCA/XLR analog output, bypassing the DAC and its digital inputs.

I didn't read it that way either... I think he wanted to know if he could go direct from DAC to amp...bypassing any other preamp in between. The answer to that is yes. If he was asking if he could hook up additional analog components, I missed that.

 

[RickSanchez]

I've been considering the Sabaj D5 and wanted to see if any else has any feedback on how this compares to the M-DAC?

I can't speak to the USB interface question. The D5 has a XMOS XU-208 chip for USB, which is probably better than what is in your M-DAC, but it still depends on the implementation.

As for your other questions:

• Sound: unless the M-DAC is somehow faulty / poorly designed you would likely not hear an audible difference between the two -- for the DAC portion -- in controlled listening tests. Unfortunately Amir has not measured the M-DAC yet so it's hard to say.
• Price: the list price for the Topping DX70 Pro (I assume you meant DX70 Pro? Not D70 Pro) that I've seen on Drop and Apos is USD $599; for Drop it was discounted to USD $560 but that run just ended. I haven't seen any pricing yet for the D90.

 

[Lotus97]

I'm new to the forum but wanted to ask for some advice.
My current setup is Roon Core > Mac Mini > Optical Out > Audiolab M-DAC > Balanced XLR cables > ELAC Navis ARF-51

I've been considering the Sabaj D5 and wanted to see if any else has any feedback on how this compares to the M-DAC? As well as looking for an improvement in sound I'm hoping to get an improved USB interface. My M-DAC is very fussy about the USB signal it receives and only a USB3 card in my Mac Pro has allowed me to use USB without popping sounds in the audio. The M-DAC has a USB Buffer display and I can see when the buffer drops I get a pop each time.

I had bought a RPi4 running Ropieee but it's unusable over USB with my M-DAC because of the same issue of popping noise when the buffer drops. I'd like to use that as a Roon Bridge if possible so I can move the Mac Mini away from the system.

I'm not really concerned about the headphone amp. I do sometimes listen using earphones, Shure SE425, but it's rare so not an important issue. My budget is limited to close to what I can sell my M-DAC for which I think is around £350, so the Sabaj D5 is right on the money for me.

I am nervous about connecting a not very well known brand to my speakers as a full volume line out signal would probably cause some damage. I'm also considering waiting for the Topping D70 Pro or the D90 but I think they'll be over my budget. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

D5 has digital volume knob, so to be safe turn it all the way down before connecting the XLR cables to the speakers, I think you will be happy with the D5 and it will outperform the aging MDAC in terms of imaging, sound stage, and dynamics, ESS 9038pro DAC digs deep.

 

[veeceem]

I didn't read it that way either... I think he wanted to know if he could go direct from DAC to amp...bypassing any other preamp in between. The answer to that is yes. If he was asking if he could hook up additional analog components, I missed that.

What I ask is if Sabaj D5 can be used as preamp for a power amp:
Computer -> usb cable -> Sabaj D5 -> Hypex NC400 amp
And use volume knot on Sabaj D5 to control the volume of the speakers

 

[BDWoody]

I'm new to the forum but wanted to ask for some advice.
My current setup is Roon Core > Mac Mini > Optical Out > Audiolab M-DAC > Balanced XLR cables > ELAC Navis ARF-51

I've been considering the Sabaj D5 and wanted to see if any else has any feedback on how this compares to the M-DAC? As well as looking for an improvement in sound I'm hoping to get an improved USB interface. My M-DAC is very fussy about the USB signal it receives and only a USB3 card in my Mac Pro has allowed me to use USB without popping sounds in the audio. The M-DAC has a USB Buffer display and I can see when the buffer drops I get a pop each time.

I had bought a RPi4 running Ropieee but it's unusable over USB with my M-DAC because of the same issue of popping noise when the buffer drops. I'd like to use that as a Roon Bridge if possible so I can move the Mac Mini away from the system.

I'm not really concerned about the headphone amp. I do sometimes listen using earphones, Shure SE425, but it's rare so not an important issue. My budget is limited to close to what I can sell my M-DAC for which I think is around £350, so the Sabaj D5 is right on the money for me.

I am nervous about connecting a not very well known brand to my speakers as a full volume line out signal would probably cause some damage. I'm also considering waiting for the Topping D70 Pro or the D90 but I think they'll be over my budget. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

It is unlikely there will be any audible improvement, but that's going to be the case with really any non-broken DAC no matter the price. You can make your selection based on features, looks...budget...

 

[maxxevv]

Price: the list price for the Topping DX70 Pro (I assume you meant DX70 Pro? Not D70 Pro) that I've seen on Drop and Apos is USD $599; for Drop it was discounted to USD $560 but that run just ended. I haven't seen any pricing yet for the D90.

He might be referring to the D70 with the BT 5.0 connection. That should be in the sub US$500 range, maybe US$450 come the 11:11 sale. .

 

[mostresticator]

What I ask is if Sabaj D5 can be used as preamp for a power amp:
Computer -> usb cable -> Sabaj D5 -> Hypex NC400 amp
And use volume knot on Sabaj D5 to control the volume of the speakers

I wanted to do this with my setup, you can read my experience a few pages back. I didn't like the way it sounded using macbook pro usb with D5 as a preamp feeding my power amp. After putting a preamp in between, it sounded great. I leave the Sabaj volume maxed out and control with preamp. I'm really happy with the Sabaj in my setup.

 

[Lotus97]

What I ask is if Sabaj D5 can be used as preamp for a power amp:
Computer -> usb cable -> Sabaj D5 -> Hypex NC400 amp
And use volume knot on Sabaj D5 to control the volume of the speakers

in that case of course you can, but I suggest to have the D5 volume set on max and control the volume from your computer. Also, if you want bigger sound stage and warmer sound you can always add a tube preamp between the D5 and power amp.

 

[DeepSpace57]

in that case of course you can, but I suggest to have the D5 volume set on max and control the volume from your computer. Also, if you want bigger sound stage and warmer sound you can always add a tube preamp between the D5 and power amp.

any suggestion for a tube pre-amp?

 

[Lotus97]

any suggestion for a tube pre-amp?

Nobsound 12AX7 12AU7 Vacuum Tube Preamp HiFi Preamplifier Shigeru WADA Japan Circuit (Assembled) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F3FDX7C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_kWuPDb3TEJAVQ

If you want to take it to another level, this preamp will do https://www.amazon.com/Vincent-Audi...&qid=1571114318&sprefix=vincent+presmp&sr=8-6

Amazon prime, free return in case you dont like it...