Sabaj A10d 2022 Version Review (DAC & Amp)

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

lacks clarity about what? did you compare how?
these utterances, especially on this site, leave me stunned every time.

Please define the word “clarity” objectively and scientifically, since the device's measurement data seems to be pretty transparent.

I'm not here to give you any proofs. You wouldn't believe my anyway.
I'm reporting my subjective opinion, do whatever you want with this.
Some people care.

And yes I did blind A/B tests many times.
Cheers

 

[JSmith]

I'm not here to give you any proofs.

Well then don't make unsubstantiated claims, otherwise people will ask for your test results.

You would believe my anyway.

It depends on the controls used in your testing.

And yes I did blind A/B tests many times.

Were the devices level matched?


JSmith

 

[GeekyBastard]

I'm not here to give you any proofs. You would believe my anyway.

What kind of reply is that? You didn't even try to prove your point to me.

All I wanted was some scientific data…

 

[GeekyBastard]

I can but in this class of performance, it is almost guaranteed to have near zero impedance. Otherwise you see a lot of power loss into 32 ohm.

Yep, that's what I thought, thanks Amir.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Were the devices level matched?

Yes

What kind of reply is that? You didn't even try to prove your point to me.

I didn't want to. I misspelled word "wouldn't" with "would"

 

[Music1969]

Specification says: "NEAR 0".

Ah so the product page says it.

Amir can sell all his measurement gear then.

We have product pages to believe

I thought that's the point of ASR - to check what the manufacturers say...

 

[Veri]

Ah so the product page says it.

Amir can sell all his measurement gear then.

We have product pages to believe

I thought that's the point of ASR - to check what the manufacturers say...

As Amir already explained, it wouldn't have so much power (surpasses DX3 Pro) in 300 and especially 32 ohm if output impedance was in fact not "near 0". Many measurements are correlated after all..

Also it's very likely the A10h/A20h amp circuit is just used in this device.

 

[staticV3]

We've seen cheating in the past here, to achieve higher SINAD numbers

How would a manufacturer cheat the output impedance to achieve higher SINAD anyway?
Does higher Zout = higher SINAD?

 

[Zim]

Hoping the next wave of devices will have built-in parametric EQs as the next step up. At this point, there are enough products with similar offerings, price points, and performances IMO.

 

[headwhacker]

There is no point achieving higher sinad nowadays, my money goes to anyone who can build an all in one device that you can use at any use case conceivable and not worrying about affecting sound fidelity.

I am looking at a cheaper MA Element I. Hopefully, when mine dies, there is already one in the market with better specs, better looks and cheaper.

 

[JSmith]

Yes

That's good, as it makes a big difference... so what was the device you compared to this Sabaj during this level matched, blind A/B?


JSmith

 

[JohnYang1997]

So a product that aims at topping EX5, beats it, and pairs in performance to the much more expensive DX5 that should have been at the same price this unit is. Granted, DX5 looks much better.

The performance at the phone out of EX5 and DX5 is much better tho. About 5-6dB better. It's shown in both 300ohm power graph and 50mV SNR.

 

[Music1969]

How would a manufacturer cheat the output impedance to achieve higher SINAD anyway?
Does higher Zout = higher SINAD?

This was a big discussion with an SMSL product thread.

I may have it wrong but maybe the M400 DAC ? I can't recall

 

[FrantzM]

O.T.

Can this drive the Hifiman HE-6-SEv2? To insane levels?

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Please define the word “clarity” objectively and scientifically, since the device's measurement data seems to be pretty transparent.

Clarity?
For example compare sennheiser hd 600 with DCA Stealth.
You can EQ hd600 as much as you want still there is a big gap between these two headphones.

Compare them and you will know what is clarity.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Let it sink in that this beautiful, nice little unit for $300 beats the $14,000 hideous Chord Dave in every measurement I have seen.....

It's a shame that we are unlikely to see a Dave measured here. dCS's hyper-priced products are others I'd love to see under Amir's scalpel.

 

[doug2761]

I'm sure someone else said it already, but are those rack handles? :LOL.

Neat product, lots of bang for the buck, though it's in a quagmire of other better looking products, IMHO.

Yeah, I thought those rack handles looked a bit silly too. What does this thing weigh, a few pounds?

 

[doug2761]

Actually this is a real puzzle for me. I mean: are them really at the same sound level or something is missing? The only answer, in my opinion, would came from a blind test of these products.

At the price of some of these DACs and the low cost of a UMIC, you could do that at home. I went down this rabbit hole last year comparing Chord Qutest, RME ADI-2 (AKM version), McIntosh C48 built-in DAC, HiFi Berry DAC 2 HD, a bit of experimenting this year with headphone set up (RME ADI-2 and Khadas Tone Board to Drop THX AAA 789, and a SMSL M300 MKII for second system. At matched volume levels it was not possible for me to tell a difference. I wound up selling the McIntosh and the HiFi Berry stopped working - probably too many HAT installs/uninstalls. For me there isn't an audible difference and it's just about features and packaging these days.

 

[Garrincha]

It's a shame that we are unlikely to see a Dave measured here. dCS's hyper-priced products are others I'd love to see under Amir's scalpel.

Yes, but there is this, to put it mildly, controversal guy, who did some (although apparently a bit flawed) measurements of both:

https://goldensound.audio/2022/03/14/chord-dave-measurements-with-mscaler/

dCS Bartok (with headphone amp) Measurements - GoldenSound

The dCS Bartok is a 'summit fi' level DAC with a hefty pricetag of £12,500. But whilst the performance is great in many areas, others leave some questions unanswered.

goldensound.audio

And, surprise surprise, although not terrible, theses dacs are nothing special and for sure do not justify their ridiculously exaggerated prices.

 

[Garrincha]

yeah to me the way the Chinese are doing this belies that sort of belief that "chi-fi" is inferior to Japanese or Western products at many multiples of the cost.

I wonder what the Chinese are doing correct and others.... arent.

Decent engineering. Focus on the product and not on advertisement. It might be interesting to research the origin of the 'made in Germany' phrase, similar story.