Sabaj A20d 2023 DAC & HP Amp Review

[ttt]

The speakers at my D5pro with power hums when the a20pro 2023 ist switched Off or the 2022 ist unplugged.

There is a ground loop between your amp and DAC through the mains grounding. The output has an active grounding muting switch (transistor array) which leaves the output floating if the power shut down and power removed from it The difference between 2023 and 2022 that this active element gets power in 2022 because it has "standby" function, which is missing in version 2023. If you unplug the 2022 version, you have the same in 2023 off mode: floating output because of missing power. Anyways, this even should not happen if your amplifier has a correctly planned ground loop handling internally. I also experimented similar, but I use self-built amplifier, so figured out how to eliminate it, there are 2-3 ways.

 

[DaneelOlivaw]

That was exactly my assumption. It's a shame that it doesn't have standby in 2023. Maybe this will at least save some electricity... My power amplifier is the Transaudio D5Pro. I actually thought it was quite properly built. Also a pity.

 

[ttt]

That was exactly my assumption. It's a shame that it doesn't have standby in 2023. Maybe this will at least save some electricity... My power amplifier is the Transaudio D5Pro. I actually thought it was quite properly built. Also a pity.

Even a very well built amplifier can have improperly handled ground-loops. It's not easy to minimize hums. Anyways, you should try: 1. can you hear the hum is you disconnect RCA cable at tge DAC side only and leave floating in the air? 2. Connect the left and right input in your amp together with one side of the RCA cable (like loop to left to right - left and right channel inputs) and notice the hum. If any of the 1 or 2 generates hum, it's ground design issue in amp.

 

[DaneelOlivaw]

1. As said before: It is exactly the hum that my D5Pro power amplifier emits when I don’t have an RCA cable connected—it gets somewhat stronger when cables are connected with the other end unplugged.
2. Hums also.
I thought it is normal because its my first preamp/power amp combo. And with preamp/DAC switched on its completly silent.
It would be interesting to know whether this is the case with all Transaudio D5Pros.

 

[ttt]

1. As said before: It is exactly the hum that my D5Pro power amplifier emits when I don’t have an RCA cable connected—it gets somewhat stronger when cables are connected with the other end unplugged.
2. Hums also.
I thought it is normal because its my first preamp/power amp combo. And with preamp/DAC switched on its completly silent.
It would be interesting to know whether this is the case with all Transaudio D5Pros.

In that case it's most probably a wrongly designed ground loop handling. I spent many weeks to learn and experiment how to eliminate it in my self-built one. It's not easy but after on a 100W PA amplifier output with a directly connected 650ohm headphone on it struggle to hear anything, with a 32ohm a bit. It means hum should be -90dB.

 

[oemm1]

Hi, just got my DAC. What are your recommended settings for bitexact lossless music? Not perfumed, straight. I've read, "Sound Color" to 1. What about the rest of the possible settings.

Thank you and best regards from Vienna, Austria!

Michael

 

[Jimster480]

Hi, just got my DAC. What are your recommended settings for bitexact lossless music? Not perfumed, straight. I've read, "Sound Color" to 1. What about the rest of the possible settings.

Thank you and best regards from Vienna, Austria!

Michael

If you are using Windows then make sure to set your sound settings to 24 bit or 32 bit but 44.1 sample rate. This allows most all audio to go untouched.

 

[oemm1]

Ok, thank you, sorry for not giving enough information. I'm using NEUTRON Player on IPad Pro. I just can change the settings on the DAC itself!
By the way, is there an update, which could be loaded via windows on a seperate PC?

 

[onethreetwowaitthatswrong]

Device still looking lovely, but priced at 500€ on this side of the ocean when the DX5II is at 300... Does the Sabaj has a single advantage ? MQA decoding ?

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Device still looking lovely, but priced at 500€ on this side of the ocean when the DX5II is at 300... Does the Sabaj has a single advantage ? MQA decoding ?

Not really, maybe only if you like the look better.
But it's hard to beat PEQ + power output of DX5II.

 

[onethreetwowaitthatswrong]

Not really, maybe only if you like the look better.
But it's hard to beat PEQ + power output of DX5II.

Yep, that's a bit of a shame, because Sabaj makes simple straightforward sturdy devices that (imo) look nice and work nice as well. Had for a good while a small Sabaj amp (A10A - edit) , my first class D I believe, that was really cheap and worked very good on my previous bookshelves. But at this price, their latest devices can't be competitive, and there's not a lot of second hand.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Yep, that's a bit of a shame, because Sabaj makes simple straightforward sturdy devices that (imo) look nice and work nice as well. Had for a good while a small Sabaj amp, my first class D I believe, that was really cheap and worked very good on my previous bookshelves. But at this price, their latest devices can't be competitive, and there's not a lot of second hand.

I'm pretty sure soon other China's manufacturers will catch up and introduce PEQ to their devices.
So Sabaj probably too