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Review and Measurements of Sabaj D5 DAC & Amp

officialsm

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I would try to replace the fuse and check the old one with a multimeter! Also, if possible, check if the voltage switch is functioning.

Too bad you are having a rough experience and will have a sour taste with this brands products in the future. This is a great product and has served me well for a long time.

Please could you write down D5 fuse specs? I'm thinking to replace you Will help me.
Thank you
 

georgek558

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Happy to know the D5 is working.

For the Hifiman, sorry but can't understand: you should connect the headphones to the output, not input.
my bad ofc i connected it to xlr output its just no enough power idk what to do hifi,an needs 1000mlw power and sabaj has 2mlw from xlr
 

georgek558

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idk what to do sabaj d5 xlr output should be more than enough to drive my cans it seems i need to buy amp and use sabaj as dac only
 

renaudrenaud

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idk what to do sabaj d5 xlr output should be more than enough to drive my cans it seems i need to buy amp and use sabaj as dac only
Could you tell us what brand and model your pair of headphones is?

And what is in the input? Computer? Did you push the volume in the computer at max?
 

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Malis

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yes its usb max volume on pc
What about your single ended output, is it quieter than XLR?

Maybe the 18 ohm impedance is at fault. Because my Hifiman HE 4XX on single ended output are loud enough, on XLR it has way more power than my ears can handle.
 

renaudrenaud

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Output impedance of SABAJ D5 is 3 ohms, it's excellent and in par with the recommendation for example from this article


If your cans are really at 18 ohms you need an amp with 2.25 ohms of impedance.

Is there any way you can test the D5 output with another cans?
 

georgek558

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Output impedance of SABAJ D5 is 3 ohms, it's excellent and in par with the recommendation for example from this article


If your cans are really at 18 ohms you need an amp with 2.25 ohms of impedance.

Is there any way you can test the D5 output with another cans?
yeah thats what hifiman offical says 18 ohm 92 db . Sadly i dont have another cans to test i have only bgvp buds and hifiman edition xs
 

Fulci

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Is the Sabaj D5 still relevant and a good buy these days or is it surpassed by more recent products? I’m looking for a new DAC and this is on my list along with SU-8S, SU-9N or a maybe an E50. What’s your recommendation?
 

RickSanchez

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Is the Sabaj D5 still relevant and a good buy these days or is it surpassed by more recent products? I’m looking for a new DAC and this is on my list along with SU-8S, SU-9N or a maybe an E50. What’s your recommendation?
Yep, still relevant and still a very good buy. Worth your consideration.

My advice is to spend time looking at the measurements of each device on your list, as well as doing some other reading on ASR. (e.g., the audibility thresholds thread is a great one.) You'll see that not only are the measurements excellent for each one of these devices, but also that they far exceed what's necessary for a well-engineered, transparent DAC. In other words, you should probably put more emphasis on things like price, features, build quality, etc.
From a pure value perspective I'd easily give the nod to the Sabaj D5 because it's a DAC plus headphone amp; the other devices on your list are just DACs. As Amir's measurements show the headphone amp section of the D5 is a little underpowered vs. some of the best dedicated headphone amps (e.g., the Monoprice THX 887) but otherwise excellent. If you use the XLR out on the D5 you should be able to drive the vast majority of headphones.

If you want to compare the D5 to other DAC + amps there are plenty of those that have been reviewed. Amir just reviewed the SMSL M500 MKII, for example: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-mkii-review-dac-hp-amp.29468/
 

renaudrenaud

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I bought a lot of equipment these last 5 years. The SABAJ D5 is on my desk since few years. Because it's confortable to be able to change from headphones to active speakers depending on what I want, at the pressure on a key with the remote control.
I've recently seen the D5 as low as 350€ on Amazon: fir the price, with all the functions, it's a bargain.
 

Fulci

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.
My advice is to spend time looking at the measurements of each device on your list, as well as doing some other reading on ASR. (e.g., the audibility thresholds thread is a great one.) You'll see that not only are the measurements excellent for each one of these devices, but also that they far exceed what's necessary for a well-engineered, transparent DAC. In other words, you should probably put more emphasis on things like price, features, build quality, etc.
From a pure value perspective I'd easily give the nod to the Sabaj D5 because it's a DAC plus headphone amp; the other devices on your list are just DACs. As Amir's measurements show the headphone amp section of the D5 is a little underpowered vs. some of the best dedicated headphone amps (e.g., the Monoprice THX 887) but otherwise excellent. If you use the XLR out on the D5 you should be able to drive the vast majority of headphones.

If you want to compare the D5 to other DAC + amps there are plenty of those that have been reviewed. Amir just reviewed the SMSL M500 MKII, for example: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-mkii-review-dac-hp-amp.29468/
Thanks! I read all those reviews, but I’m looking also at quality control in each of these machines, and which ones have the least problems reported. Which one is the most trustworthy brand and product?

The E50 costs €100 less than the SU-8S here in Europe but it doesn’t have a PSU included.
 

officialsm

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I try to ask about an issue for second time:
Using Moode Audio on Raspberry on D5 display the bitrate i can see on display is locked on the first song i will play.
If the first song after power on is 44.1 every songs i play i will see 44.1 on D5 diaply.
Anyone one is experiencing this issue?
 
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