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Sabaj A10h Review (Headphone Amplifier)

_thelaughingman

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So I got the A10h this week to drive my Hifiman HE400SEs, and I ended up returning it for the A20h. The reason is that I‘m feeding my amp through a Qudelix 5K for the PEQ, and if I give myself 6db headroom for EQ the A10h is a bit limited. Now the A20h— good lord this thing has power to spare. The rear panel headphone jacks are fine too since I’m running a extension cable anyway. Really incredible little unit for the price.
I had the Sabaj A10h driving the HE400se' until last week and replaced it with SMSL HO200 for the headroom.
 
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Veri

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Now the A20h— good lord this thing has power to spare. The rear panel headphone jacks are fine too since I’m running a extension cable anyway. Really incredible little unit for the price.
I was also surprised, I think it can drive anything out there really. It is one powerful hidden little gem ;)
 

carlcamper

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Just ordered the A20h, hope this gets reviewed by Amir as well. As for me, I'll be comparing it to my Gustard H16 :)
 

Asd

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Got an A20h a couple of months ago to replace my L30. So far I'm very happy with it. I hope to see it reviewed soon also.
H1 gain setting is just about right when paired to my HD650 equalized to the Harman target curve. I usually find myself listening at about -15dB, but some recordings might make you go straight to 0dB.
The only drawback so far is that the volume control feels a bit cheap and it tends to skip a step or two while turning the volume up or down, but for the price I think I can't really complain :)
 

DUKE-DUKE

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Hi. I have the Sabaj A10h and am delighted with it, but I am waiting for a review from @amirm of the Sabaj A20H to check how well the 4 pin xlr headphone jack works and compare the results with his excellent review of the Monoprice 887 Monolith THX AAA and decide on one of the two amps to upgrade to balanced cable headphones.

Regards.
 

Veri

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Hi. I have the Sabaj A10h and am delighted with it, but I am waiting for a review from @amirm of the Sabaj A20H to check how well the 4 pin xlr headphone jack works and compare the results with his excellent review of the Monoprice 887 Monolith THX AAA and decide on one of the two amps to upgrade to balanced cable headphones.
What headphones do you use? The A20h has more Max power output than the THX. Besides that they perform more similar than not. Beware A20h has outputs at the back if that is a hindrance or not, to you.
Also they have some internal AP measurements which show very low distortion. 4-pin/4.4mm balanced perform as expected :D
 

carlcamper

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FYI, I created a separate thread for the A20h here
 

DUKE-DUKE

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¿Qué auriculares usas? El A20h tiene más potencia de salida máxima que el THX. Además de que funcionan de manera más similar que no. Tenga cuidado con que A20h tiene salidas en la parte posterior si eso es un obstáculo o no, para usted.
También tienen algunas mediciones internas de AP que muestran una distorsión muy baja. Rendimiento equilibrado de 4 pinos/4,4 mm como se esperaba :D
Hola. No tengo ningún problema en mover auriculares Sennheiser o AKG de 50 Ohmios con cable y conector estéreo con el Sabaj A10h usando la ganancia media H1.

El problema es que quiero actualizar a
Auriculares con cable equilibrados con conectores de canal separados y, a falta de ver reseñas de amirm en el Sabaj A20H, quería asegurarme de que los conectores equilibrados de Sabaj estén completamente operativos, que hagan su trabajo en el A20h y no sean solo para mostrar, como lo son en otros amplificadores de auriculares.

Tanto el Sennheiser como el Hifiman que he mirado son menos sensibles y más difíciles de mover, me alegra leerte confirmando la potencia del Sabaj A20H, era algo que ya imaginaba pero necesitaba saber objetivamente.

Tampoco es un problema para mí la ubicación de las salidas en la parte posterior, mucho mejor, por lo que la parte delantera es libre y limpia.

Muchas gracias por tu post.
 
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Veri

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I wanted to make sure the Sabaj balanced connectors are fully operational, doing their job on the A20h and not just for show, as they are in other headphone amps.
It is a true balanced amp, like Topping A90. No connectors just for show ;)
 

DUKE-DUKE

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Es un verdadero amplificador equilibrado, como Topping A90. No hay conectores solo para mostrar ;)
Muchas gracias Real por aclarar esa pregunta, que para mí es importante a la hora de elegir un amplificador de auriculares y saber a ciencia cierta lo que realmente estoy comprando.
 

_thelaughingman

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Hi, I'm looking for an AMP for my 400se too, but not wanting to spend over £150. What exactly about the A10h let you down?
I was looking for a +15dB gain on the amp to provide more power since the planars tend to be inefficient.
 

carlcamper

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I was looking for a +15dB gain on the amp to provide more power since the planars tend to be inefficient.
I second this. My HE400SE and A20h works beautifully with a -9.5 preamp and a bass shelf.
 

Veri

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For driving the he400se, is the JDS labs atom+ worth the extra £30? A10h £110, atom+ £140 in UK
Unless you either A. will match it with a JDS DAC for aesthetics or B. could find the 3.5mm input on Atom+ useful (Sabaj is RCA only),
I would just go with what is cheapest of the two. Both should be low noise, good volume control and similar in power.
 

Harrycol501

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Hi, not sure if I'm being silly with settings... But the performance of the A10h is nothing close to what I thought it would be. Yeah it it's pretty silent at high volumes, but pairing with the he400se at H2 gain, I thought I'd deafen myself at full volume, but even though it's not at a level I'd listen to continuously, I'm surprised I can. Certain songs I'm pushing to within -10db.

Bass is pretty weak too. Tho it's got a nice neutral/bright sound.

I use an SMSL Sanskrit 10th ii DAC with it, placed at full volume. In the A10h I'm using the front HO.

In comparison, the ancient Music Fidelity V-CAN amp I swapped over to to compare, I can't get even close to 50% volume without abusing my ear drums and the headphones. I sit at 30% volume using that AMP. Bass is also much improved in weight.

The A10h is pretty bright in comparison too. Again, it's far far cleaner which is lovely and has a nice clean sound. The V CAN when pushed produces a lot of noise and is a bit coloured, thus the desicion to look for a cleaner amp for the he400se.

For my IEMs the A10h is a lovely pairing. Again tho, I'm surprised (maybe mistakenly) that I can go to H2 gain with them too.

Here's the V-CAN specs

Power 0.25W /channel into 32 Ohms
Output devices 2 per channel
Output impedance 5
Total harmonic distortion <0.005% typical 20Hz-20 kHz
Signal/noise ratio >109dB ‘A’ weighted
Input impedance 25 K
Frequency response +0, -1dB 20Hz to 80 kHz
Power requirement: 12V DC 500mA
Connections: Line level inputs: 1 pair line level RCA connectors,
Line level outputs: 1 pair RCA [connected to inputs as loop through
Headphone outputs 1 Stereo Jack socket 6.35mm, ¼”
1 Stereo Jack socket 3.5mm, ”
Power input 1.3mm DC power sock
 

_thelaughingman

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Hi, not sure if I'm being silly with settings... But the performance of the A10h is nothing close to what I thought it would be. Yeah it it's pretty silent at high volumes, but pairing with the he400se at H2 gain, I thought I'd deafen myself at full volume, but even though it's not at a level I'd listen to continuously, I'm surprised I can. Certain songs I'm pushing to within -10db.

Bass is pretty weak too. Tho it's got a nice neutral/bright sound.

I use an SMSL Sanskrit 10th ii DAC with it, placed at full volume. In the A10h I'm using the front HO.

In comparison, the ancient Music Fidelity V-CAN amp I swapped over to to compare, I can't get even close to 50% volume without abusing my ear drums and the headphones. I sit at 30% volume using that AMP. Bass is also much improved in weight.

The A10h is pretty bright in comparison too. Again, it's far far cleaner which is lovely and has a nice clean sound. The V CAN when pushed produces a lot of noise and is a bit coloured, thus the desicion to look for a cleaner amp for the he400se.

For my IEMs the A10h is a lovely pairing. Again tho, I'm surprised (maybe mistakenly) that I can go to H2 gain with them too.

Here's the V-CAN specs

Power 0.25W /channel into 32 Ohms
Output devices 2 per channel
Output impedance 5
Total harmonic distortion <0.005% typical 20Hz-20 kHz
Signal/noise ratio >109dB ‘A’ weighted
Input impedance 25 K
Frequency response +0, -1dB 20Hz to 80 kHz
Power requirement: 12V DC 500mA
Connections: Line level inputs: 1 pair line level RCA connectors,
Line level outputs: 1 pair RCA [connected to inputs as loop through
Headphone outputs 1 Stereo Jack socket 6.35mm, ¼”
1 Stereo Jack socket 3.5mm, ”
Power input 1.3mm DC power sock
I will echo your findings of HE400se needed to be turned up higher on the rotary knob for volume on the A10h. H₂ gain on the A10h is set to +9dB, V-Can gain might be higher than the H₂ gain on A10h. I would assume the gain setting on the V-can would be +15dB, though I could not find it in the owner's manual of the gain setting for that amp.
 

Harrycol501

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I will echo your findings of HE400se needed to be turned up higher on the rotary knob for volume on the A10h. H₂ gain on the A10h is set to +9dB, V-Can gain might be higher than the H₂ gain on A10h. I would assume the gain setting on the V-can would be +15dB, though I could not find it in the owner's manual of the gain setting for that amp.
There's no gain function on the V-CAN. Did you get any background noise with the A10h and he400se pairing at the higher volumes?

It may be my desktop setup tho... I've got to tidy up the cables as I've my smart TV, laptop, Xbox, ethernet cables and usb hub all criss crossing each other lol
 

Harrycol501

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I'm just glad it was nothing I was doing wrong tbh with the A10h. Glad that someone else can confirm higher volumes is needed with the he400se. I'll stick by it for now as I only got it yesterday. I'll do some more reading on the k5 Pro and atom+ as backup choices in the meantime
 
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