The moderately expensive DAC I bought was the Auralic Vega.
-
Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
Review and Measurements of Sabaj D5 DAC & Amp
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
The moderately expensive DAC I bought was the Auralic Vega.
i believe you, sorry to her that.
right now i have 3 different DAC's, and all have their own distinct sound signature, tested with same amp and speakers. With the burr brown dac the sound sig is very forward and bright, in your face sound, the second dac ES 9023p is more laid back, it is smoother and warmer but very little bass. The Sabaj D5 is gritty, digs deep in the lows, picks up stuff that cant be heard from other 2 dacs and it just sounds a lot better in terms of sound quality, clear as day and night to me.
Get back to us when you’ve verified this ears-only, level-matched. You’re making some highly unlikely claims, but exactly the sort that come from uncontrolled listening-while-peeking.
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,653
- Likes
- 12,245
Repeat after me~~
Audio
Science
Forum
A simple subjective statement with literally no control is simply worthless here. Sorry. I found burr brown's sound not 'forward' or in my face whatsoever... So much for its 'sound signature'
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,653
- Likes
- 12,245
No, we are able to choose very easily between confirmed high performers rather than choosing devices based on what someone else calls "laid-back" or "forward". Which will change from forum to forum and from reviewer to reviewer.... might as well pick blind.
I don't think these kinds of topics are place in this thread. I get notified all the time thinking someone for example has tested the new firmware, or needs help with the D5. Currently it's getting bombarded with, "age ol' questions", that 99% won't get answered.
P.S.: I know, I can turn off the notifications but I want to get notified about firmware and device updates.
P.S.: I know, I can turn off the notifications but I want to get notified about firmware and device updates.
Not sure what's different but this one also ships from UK:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32981545569.html
Ok, so that would be, “No, I don’t trust my ears, I need to peek.”
No offense taken, questions are always welcomed here...and while my background is about as far from electronics and audio as can be, here's what I've managed to cobble together as I asked myself the same questions you are asking now.
I start from the premise that what I want from a DAC, is for it to do its job with competence. It doesn't have to think, it simply has to follow its instructions to recreate an electrical signal from a digital one. Nyquist Shannon Sampling Theorem tells us that as long as we work within its constraints we can recreate the original analog waveform with no loss of information. As hard as that was for me to process...turns out to be true. If there is any magic to be had in digital audio, it is in the recognition of the magic of N/S.
In other words, we don't need to add or subtract anything beyond what the math tell us...which generally has to do with effective reconstruction filtering to get rid of 'aliasing' or potentially misread digital samples which could create unwanted erroneous errors. As long as those functions are performed properly, the DAC can simply be measured along accepted standards by measuring the electrical signal it generates (which isn't a sound yet...it's still just a signal until it reaches your speakers) and see how clean that signal is. What has a chance to be added or subtracted through this process would be signal errors that have nothing to do with soundstage, punch, slam, front to back depth, or any other well and overused buzzword bingo slang of the day which happens to be popular in the standard audio review world, or have anything to do with musicality. It would have to do with noises and distortions.
Since we can compare the electrical output against the input signal with relative ease...we can simply measure these noises and these distortions to see what we might be able to hear, or what is beyond any realm of human senses. Once we know what the levels are of these unwanted signals, we can determine what might come to bother us or even be remotely audible. Instead of using the old fallback of -120 dB being unquestionably transparent as the reference (which I am not arguing...of course it is transparent), how about something to relate what that actually means in the real world.
For example, I love this simple illustration put together by @RayDunzl .View attachment 36015
Once you get beyond maybe -80dB (@ 6 miles away effectively) to -100dB (coming up on 80 MILES away...), how much do you believe that is going to impact anything remotely audible?
We will consistently hear claims of those who can EASILY, OBVIOUSLY hear how much cleaner, (fill in endless stream of random audio kinds of words here)...some DAC is, and if one expresses suspicion of these claims, we hear how it's just that our systems must suck, our ears need help, or some other standard fallback... Often followed by, "even my wife in the kitchen could hear the difference."
Thing is, I used to be right there with them in hearing all of those things. I KNEW I heard differences. What I did, which is what you are doing, is decided to try to educate myself and use my own ears rather than rely on uncontrolled, completely subjective reviews from people who SELL AUDIO PRODUCTS. Bought a moderately expensive DAC...came on here and was relieved to see that it had measured very well. Good for me! Except...the more I read, the more I was learning that maybe it measured well, but it was suggested I couldn't tell it apart from my AudioQuest Dragonfly Red, or even my 20 year old receiver if I were to match the output voltages between them, so as not to give one or the other a loudness advantage (old trick used by any audio salesman....people prefer louder to less loud almost universally), and have someone switch between them without me knowing which was playing.
Wow...humbling...embarassing...WTF-inducing...
Then...ok...on the plus side...I can still send this thing back. And, and even bigger plus is that I can stop worrying whether I need to now buy the next new expensive thing that someone tells me moves the bar even that much higher, and can allocate my resources where it might matter to me in my room with my speakers and my ears.
DAC's are not magical...they do not create music. They take a digital signal, follow instructions, then send out an electrical one. Nothing more...nothing less.
If I want certain sound features or characteristics based on certain recordings, mood, purpose... I can easily add them through DSP. The last thing I want in a DAC, is for it (the designer) to presumptively decide the original music as recorded isn't really what I want...I want HIS version of how it and every other piece of music should be filtered to his taste.
Well, I don't.
Same thing applies to most of the other profit centers in the 'audiophile' world. Cables of any and all types in particular are where you are really getting bent over and laughed at...
Basically, keep reading. It won't take you long to learn from the University's worth of teachers you've got on this Forum.
I'm sure I've bungled something pretty thoroughly in that meandering mass of words, but you asked sincerely and I wanted to give you a sincere answer from this recovering AudioPhool.
My name is Woody, and I am a recovering Audiophool...
Cheers. Please keep asking questions. Whatever the level of detail you are looking for, you can find it here. Without the snake oil chaser...
Thanks for the reply. I was lucky enough to bump into an AudioPhool when I bought my speakers. He'd had them 2 months and decided he didn't like them so I got an almost brand new pair for 1/2 price. He showed me his system with power leads that cost £1000 each and a total cost of over £50,000 and his system did sound amazing.
Right now I just want a DAC that will accept a USB feed and not make popping sounds every few seconds and has a balanced XLR output. What I've read suggests the Sabaj has a good USB input and the price isn't ridiculous.
So much information and smart input from you, you added so much to this thread with that pic, check mate.
I know...happy to help out. You could help yourself out by doing more reading and less spouting of typical unsupported uncontrolled subjective nonsense. You are embarassing yourself...
I think the D5 will suit you well, I am really enjoying mine alot. My advice to you is not to go for a portable USB Stick DAC, it will sound weak, tiny, and you will feel dumb like few folks here that want to take you down with them.
Are differences of opinion not allowed? If the guy likes his D5 then why does he have to be told he's embarrassing himself?
You agreed that a $100 USB stick dac = full sized $15k dac, you should delete your account.
Last edited:
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,653
- Likes
- 12,245
Are you telling us a $15k dac should by definition be 'good' because it's priced as such..?
Similar threads
- Poll
