Sabaj A30a announced

[ModDIY]

Well, say what you will, I'm currently listening to my Sabay A30a hooked up to a Wiim Mini streamer and I like what I hear through my Elac Vela BS403s. My only gripe is that with one more firmware update Sabaj may be able to fix some flaws that have been extensively discussed in the thread* and make a good amp great. This would not only make me happier but would help expand the number of buyers of this little jewel.

* In this regard, I cite an example from today: when I returned from work, I strangely found the Sabaj on. I was then told that there was a blackout earlier in the day which explains that when power was restored the amp switched on by itself.

Same for me, the Sabaj A30a is excellent.

It would be nice if Sabaj made a new firmware. Otherwise everything is fine for me.

 

[JRS]

View attachment 270023

Blind day/night test...

Many blind folk can percieve light vs darkness, the rest of us have a visual dynamic range of about 140dB if we consider dark adaptation. The scenes above are perhaps a 100,000 fold difference in lux (moonless night, very little light pollution--it looks like a long exposure) vs a sunny day.
Five decades of difference = 100dB. Was the difference really that stark?
That would be a hyperbolic variety of differential equation.

 

[Leva]

Received my a30a. Looks and feels very solid. Impressed by thickness of housing. Compared to smsl A300 is dead silent. Tried to compare sound with Hypex nc252mp and can't hear much difference. Beautiful screen. I like it!

One question, it became hot in one hour. No sound issues for now. Fan is not rotating. But it feels approximately 40-50 °С, is it normal? Thanks

 

[Toku]

Received my a30a. Looks and feels very solid. Impressed by thickness of housing. Compared to smsl A300 is dead silent. Tried to compare sound with Hypex nc252mp and can't hear much difference. Beautiful screen. I like it!

One question, it became hot in one hour. No sound issues for now. Fan is not rotating. But it feels approximately 40-50 °С, is it normal? Thanks

View attachment 271120

Your A30a's fever situation is perfectly normal. don't worry about anything.
The heat generated by the A30a is greatly affected by the ambient temperature. I've been using the A30a with the power on continuously for months. The current temperature in my room is 20°C, and the A30a at this time is slightly warm. However, in the midsummer season, the room temperature reaches 28°C even with the air conditioning on, and the A30a gets quite hot. The fan may turn on very rarely. The heat is mainly due to STMicro's STA516BE output module.

 

[Leva]

Ok. Three days listening and subjectively I love this amp more that anything I already have Emotiva A-150, Aiyima A07, SMSL A300. It can be compared with Hypex Ncore NC252MP, but for it I also need DAC and preamp. This integrated A30A doesn't have any pops or clamps like I have with D300 or Topping e50 + dedicated amps and dead silent like Hypex. The only cons are its pretty hot housing. I also don't like front handles and little wobbly knob. Great integrated amp for 500$!

 

[Mixed_Messages]

Ok. Three days listening and subjectively I love this amp more that anything I already have Emotiva A-150, Aiyima A07, SMSL A300. It can be compared with Hypex Ncore NC252MP, but for it I also need DAC and preamp. This integrated A30A doesn't have any pops or clamps like I have with D300 or Topping e50 + dedicated amps. The only cons are its pretty hot housing. I also don't like front handles and little wobbly knob. Great integrated amp for 500$!

Yes.. It does sound great and is a nice all in one solution. The housing I suspect acts as a heatsink. I bought mine heading into summer and it has alway been quite warm. The last week we have had cooler nights around 20c and the unit is much cooler like Toku says. I do worry about the heat for longevity in summer but I really dont know. I haven't heard the fan kick in yet. I think with a few simple changes to the firmware this could go to another level.

 

[Toku]

Ok. Three days listening and subjectively I love this amp more that anything I already have Emotiva A-150, Aiyima A07, SMSL A300. It can be compared with Hypex Ncore NC252MP, but for it I also need DAC and preamp. This integrated A30A doesn't have any pops or clamps like I have with D300 or Topping e50 + dedicated amps and dead silent like Hypex. The only cons are its pretty hot housing. I also don't like front handles and little wobbly knob. Great integrated amp for 500$!

The A30a's main knob wobble is due to the use of cheap rotary encoders. There is a slight sense of incongruity when compared to the operation feeling of an analog volume pot.
As @Mixed_Messages explained, the A30a uses the entire aluminum case as a heatsink. Therefore, it is very easy to feel the heat when you touch it.
The A30a has excellent sound quality as an amplifier, but there is still room for improvement in the digital processing section. I have reported to Sabaj any issues that I have noticed.

 

[LennyTheLion]

Ok. Three days listening and subjectively I love this amp more that anything I already have Emotiva A-150, Aiyima A07, SMSL A300. It can be compared with Hypex Ncore NC252MP, but for it I also need DAC and preamp. This integrated A30A doesn't have any pops or clamps like I have with D300 or Topping e50 + dedicated amps and dead silent like Hypex. The only cons are its pretty hot housing. I also don't like front handles and little wobbly knob. Great integrated amp for 500$!

I have had this amplifier since the end of December and i'm also pleased with the sound it produces. As others have mentioned, with a couple of firmware changes it could be improved further and I would encourage others to contact sabaj to request these changes (as I have myself).
This amplifier has replaced a Naim 5i2 integrated amp and Topping E30 DAC in my system. In my view the sound from the Sabaj A30a is superior.

 

[titilandus]

Maybe together here we can jointly define a list of potential changes to the software and proceeded to "spam" the boxes of the manufacturer sabaja?

 

[3125b]

Has anyone actually measured the efficiency/power draw at low loads? To get the rather large aluminium housing noticably warm (15-20K above ambient?) would take quite a lot of energy. My smaller RME wastes about 10W in heat and it's 13K above ambient.

 

[ModDIY]

Has anyone actually measured the efficiency/power draw at low loads? To get the rather large aluminium housing noticably warm (15-20K above ambient?) would take quite a lot of energy. My smaller RME wastes about 10W in heat and it's 13K above ambient.

It's supposed to be 17w without music.

Mine with an ambient temperature of my listening room at 18.5 celsius, the case is barely warm for a moderate volume.

 

[GiBo61]

It's supposed to be 17w without music.

Mine with an ambient temperature of my listening room at 18.5 celsius, the case is barely warm for a moderate volume.

Same here. My Sabaj is much cooler than my other five (mostly vintage) A/B amplifiers (NAD, Denon, Sony, Rotel and Marantz). With my Rotel RSX-1067 receiver I could probably grill hamburgers on the top of the case.

 

[CornFly]

So I'm a bit late to the Sabaj a30a party, but I just received the AMP from Ali-express, and would like to have my take on this device.

I'm coming out of the Creative X7, and from my subjective taste, there is a clear improvement in sound quality, so in that regard, I'm quite satisfied.

However, being a software guy, I must admit I have other concerns that were not discussed here. As my main usage is only while connecting to my PCs via USB

Windows:
From some reason the default Microsoft failed to work with Code 39 (the drivers Microsoft themselves licensed from thesycon), so sadly I had to rely on the Manufacturer provided drivers.
Sabaj sadly didn't submit their drivers into Microsoft repository, and as such the device isn't recognized automatically via plug-and-play. Their support site as previously mentioned here have only 2-year old drivers (5.0.0), so I had to go to their parent company SMSL to grab the 5.5.0 drivers. But even this isn't the latest drivers, as its 5.5.7. I really hope Sabaj can update their drivers more promptly (they already licensed the driver from thesycon, I guess its just re-compiling with the product specific code for their products, and uploading it to their site, or better yet into Microsoft repository)

MacOS:
here I must rely on the built-in drivers, however from some weird reason, macOS master volume control is grayed out, and I have to use a 3rd party software called SoundSource to be able to control the volume. That is very annoying, and I hope Sabaj can fix their firmware to allow volume control under MacOS.

General issues:
it is very weird to me that when I shut down the computer, and the USB signal goes dead, the device doesn't go into standby mode, and vice-versa, when I start my PC, it will not automatically wakeup from standby. This is very annoying, and again somewhat weird, as all of my usb audio devices (including my old KEF x300a) knew to do that. Just a waste of electricity that simply doesn't make sense in 2023.

From my point of view, drivers and firmware can make or break a device much more than anything else.

 

[GiBo61]

After getting all the components I needed I was finally able to directly compare my Sabaj A30a with my Rotel RSX 1067 7.1 AV receiver (https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12_1/rotel-rsx-1067-receiver-1-2005.html). The RSX 1067 was a gift from my family for my last birthday (it belonged to a friend). It was launched by Rotel in 2004 (at €3000), it’s build like a tank (it has a huge toroidal transformer) and is a beast of 24,6 kg, 2x120 W on 8 Ohm and up to 990 W of power consumption (130 w idle power consumption, 19 w when in standby!!!). I had to bring it in twice for assistance for a problem of the DSP with one of the two front channels and it was an experience that my back will remember for a very long time.
The setup for the test is depicted in the image below and includes two "magic box":
- a two port Toslink SPDIF Splitter (that is also a Toslink to Coaxial converter and viceversa). This little jewel costs around $15 (https://www.amazon.com/LiNKFOR-Bi-Directional-Converter-Splitter-SoundBar/dp/B08DXTJLQH) and is able to support up to 192 KHz sample rate as displayed by both the DAC and the Sabaj A30a.
- a amp switcher/speaker switcher (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B093LNGJR3). It’s a little bit expensive but is well made and the ground is not shared between the two devices, something that seems relevant when one of them is class D amplifier.
The test was carried out using as a source a Wiim Mini playing mainly jazz music from Tidal (44.1 khz 16 bit). I used matching volume on the two amps (mostly medium volume) with the tone controls set to zero (flat). On the Rotel RSX 1067 I tested both the “stereo” (DSP active) and “bypass” (DSP off) modes.
For the test I used my Dali Zensor 3 bookshelf speakers (I had no time to switch them with my Elac Vela BS 403). I know the Dali are not considered “audiophile grade” however they perform pretty well in my room and are quite analytic on the mids and highs.
All this to say that… I could ear no difference when switching from A to B the commuter on the SOLUPEAK P2 box. At first I was so surprised that the two amps sounded identical that I had to switch one of them off to make sure I didn't make any mistakes with the cable connections. Perhaps (I repeat, PERHAPS) the Sabaj is a little more "airy" in the medium frequencies but I wouldn't be willing to bet more than one Euro on this. Only at higher volumes I was able to hear a fuller sound (= with a bit of emphasis on the bass) from the Rotel with the DSP active (Stereo mode).
I do not know how to feel about that...
Based on the Amir's reviews of similar amps, the Rotel RB-1070 power amplifier. (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/rotel-rb-1070-amplifier-review.41193/ ) and SMSL VMV A2 full-digital amplifier (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...msl-vmv-a2-review-stereo-amplifier-dac.24640/), my guess is that there is a SINAD difference of ABOUT 15 db (~80 db vs 95 db) to the advantage of the Sabaj.
Two additional considerations: 1) I’m in my early sixties and my earring is not that selective anymore; 2) no comparisons have been made playing music loud.

That's all folks.

 

[kalizor]

Hi, I have bought this amp in November last year, everything was fine till now.

Currently after a while of music listening amp seems to cut the sound.
- similar thing happens using optical and usb source,
- restarting or selecting same input source make it work again,
- I have updated the firmware to 1.12ver,
- after a fresh start it works for ~30min, then after reselecting input it works for 5-10min and again stops, it feels like it might be some overheating problem, but it is not that hot(for sure touchable), but i have never seen the fan going in this amp, maybe this is the cause, strange it started happening just now,

Anyone encountered similar problems?

Anyone have experience processing warranty over hifi-express? Is it worth it? Or should I try to get help locally from some hifi magician.

 

[ModDIY]

Anyone have experience processing warranty over hifi-express? Is it worth it? Or should I try to get help locally from some hifi magician.

I advise you to contact hifi-express and take advantage of the warranty.

 

[Leva]

Small cosmetic update.

 

[ModDIY]

@peterwen (manufacturer)

@Toku do you have any news from Sabaj regarding a new firmware version?

 

[Toku]

@peterwen (manufacturer)

@Toku do you have any news from Sabaj regarding a new firmware version?

There is no firmware update after that.
I have reported some remaining issues with the A30a to Sabaj, but have not received a message about them either.
The biggest problem is that noise mixes into the SW output when using USB input. I would really like Sabaj to fix this problem.

 

[GiBo61]

There is no firmware update after that.
I have reported some remaining issues with the A30a to Sabaj, but have not received a message about them either.
The biggest problem is that noise mixes into the SW output when using USB input. I would really like Sabaj to fix this problem.

I do not use the USB input. Can you better explain what you mean when you say "noise mixes into the SW output when using USB input"?