Sabaj A30a announced

[GiBo61]

Certainly, it's essentially akin to the Sabaj A30a device, albeit integrated with a streamer and HDMI input. Unfortunately, the casing's design falters in terms of heat management, leading to rapid temperature escalation.

The Sabaj A30a is presently frequently available at discounted prices, prompting speculation about the potential development of a substitute model. The incorporation of eARC capability would be highly desirable in this prospective...

I am genuinely curious about how the audio quality of Sabaj stacks up when compared to considerably pricier alternatives, for instance:

Audiolab 7000
NAD 3050
Cambridge Audio Evo 75

Chinese companies like Topping and SMSL have so far been refractary to enter the AV world so I would be really surprised if Sabaj (a sub-brand of SMSL) introduces a new amplifier with eARC functionality soon.

 

[daniboun]

In my opinion there will be no measurement of the A30a.

Sabaj have NEVER responded to multiple firmware revision requests. Several here have sent emails and no response from them.

Sabaj make good products but null for medium and long term customer support.

Wait and see... Amir recently measured the Sabaj A20d 2023 )

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Does the a30a actually indicate whether Ldac 16 or 24bit is on?

 

[daniboun]

Does the a30a actually indicate whether Ldac 16 or 24bit is on?

LDAC allows up to a maximum of 990 kbps with a sampling depth of 24 bit in the best conditions

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Yes, I know, but I couldn't remember now whether this is shown on the display, whether I switched on 24-bit on the smartphone.
It shows the codec. But the bit depth?!

 

[daniboun]

Yes, I know, but I couldn't remember now whether this is shown on the display, whether I switched on 24-bit on the smartphone.
It shows the codec. But the bit depth?!

As far as I know, only shows the Codec on display (not the bit depth)
You try this way from your phone,

1) Enable Devoloper mode

 

[Talisman]

Wait and see... Amir recently measured the Sabaj A20d 2023 )

oh sure, amir has measured countless sabaj dacs, have you ever seen a sabaj amp measured? If a company sends all its DACs and none of its amplifiers to be measured, logic suggests that it does not trust how they measure.... or rather, it knows how they measure and has no interest in making it public. Make your own considerations.

 

[daniboun]

oh sure, amir has measured countless sabaj dacs, have you ever seen a sabaj amp measured? If a company sends all its DACs and none of its amplifiers to be measured, logic suggests that it does not trust how they measure.... or rather, it knows how they measure and has no interest in making it public. Make your own considerations.

I have some Sabaj equipment, and for the moment I have no complaints... I am still waiting for measurements) I am hopeful.

 

[Talisman]

I have some Sabaj equipment, and for the moment I have no complaints... I am still waiting for measurements) I am hopeful.

I have two sabaj a20a 2022 and two sabaj A8, I like the brand and I have no complaints either, they just don't measure as well as one would like on ASR, probably each of these units have a lot of load dependence and maybe a dynamic range that doesn't cover the CD format. The same goes for SMSL, their dacs are also readily measured but their amps very seldom, and when they are measured it is usually thanks to a user who sends them and not the company who sends them for review. An example is the smsl a300, which uses the same Infineon chips as the sabaj a 20 a 2022 and which showed some disappointing measurements (but also great bridge power)

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-a300-stereo-amplifier-review.46742/

I don't despise these products, I'm just saying they don't measure up to Topping or the latest Fosi Audio and therefore companies prefer no publicity to bad publicity.

 

[Roland68]

In my opinion there will be no measurement of the A30a.

Sabaj have NEVER responded to multiple firmware revision requests. Several here have sent emails and no response from them.

Sabaj make good products but null for medium and long term customer support.

Unfortunately, that's something you have to accept. Customer support is really expensive. End users generally have no idea how much of a company's share of the cost is for support.

A device like the Sabaj A30a costs more than double to x times as much from the manufacturers, whether small or large, who offer a well-known good support for the end customer. The same goes for DACs, HPA, etc.
We have a very mean saying in Germany, so please don't be angry with me.
If you want to take the ICE, you also have to pay the surcharge. ICE = Comfortable high-speed train

I always find it amazing how cheap these devices are anyway, because the manufacturer gets a maximum of 25-50% of the sales price, but 50% is more wishful thinking than reality.

 

[voodooless]

We have a very mean saying in Germany, so please don't be angry with me.
If you want to take the ICE, you also have to pay the surcharge. ICE = Comfortable high-speed train

Comfortable, maybe, but high speeds... The Germans still have a long way to go to make the thing actually go as fast as it was designed on the majority of tracks. And some routes have so many stops, that it's almost ridiculous. And then there are the inevitable delays...

 

[Roland68]

Comfortable, maybe, but high speeds... The Germans still have a long way to go to make the thing actually go as fast as it was designed on the majority of tracks. And some routes have so many stops, that it's almost ridiculous. And then there are the inevitable delays...

Unfortunately you are right, and we have developed a faster train.
But at least he still drives in China, even if not very far
You get the irony...

 

[GiBo61]

oh sure, amir has measured countless sabaj dacs, have you ever seen a sabaj amp measured? If a company sends all its DACs and none of its amplifiers to be measured, logic suggests that it does not trust how they measure.... or rather, it knows how they measure and has no interest in making it public. Make your own considerations.

I thought about it too. However chinese DAC are more popular and competitive in the worldwide market than chinese amplifiers (unless they cost less than $200). I believe SMSL, Topping and Sabaj make much more money with their DACs than with they amplifiers so they try to advertize them by sending them to specialist sites for testing. Futhermore Sabaj A30a and SMSL VMV A2 amps are virtually identical inside (same components, same printed circuit board), I would be VERY surprised if they perform significantly different. The group that own both SMSL and Sabaj already sent a SMSL VMV A2 unit to Amir for measurements, it is possible they consider a waste of time and resources to send him also a Sabaj A30a.

 

[daniboun]

I thought about it too. However chinese DAC are more popular and competitive in the worldwide market than chinese amplifiers (unless they cost less than $200). I believe SMSL, Topping and Sabaj make much more money with their DACs than with they amplifiers so they try to advertize them by sending them to specialist sites for testing. Futhermore Sabaj A30a and SMSL VMV A2 amps are virtually identical inside (same components, same printed circuit board), I would be VERY surprised if they perform significantly different. The group that own both SMSL and Sabaj already sent a SMSL VMV A2 unit to Amir for measurements, it is possible they consider a waste of time and resources to send him also a Sabaj A30a.

Hummm not sure about the PCB unless you have some internal pictures of the A2....
They share the same chipsets and same PSU and same architecture OK

 

[Guddu]

Do we know if Amir even have one for measurement, probably not!!

 

[GiBo61]

Hummm not sure about the PCB unless you have some internal pictures of the A2....
They share the same chipsets and same PSU and same architecture OK

You may be right @daniboun, my assumption about the identical PCBs was based on a previous post from an ASR member who mentioned that the board is the same but a different colour (black for SMSL, green for A30a). I tried to find some real photos of the inside of the SMSL VMV A2 and... couldn't find any!
On the SMSL site there are only a few images of some of its components. It's not clear if they were taken from the A2 PCB or if they are stock photos of the ADC chip, XMOS converter, etc. There are more pictures around of the interior of the Sabaj.
However, if the images on the SMSL web site correspond to the real A2 board (and if those on Amazon of the Sabaj are real), then the two devices do not have an identical PCB, at least in the XMOS chip area.

 

[Roland68]

You may be right @daniboun, my assumption about the identical PCBs was based on a previous post from an ASR member who mentioned that the board is the same but a different colour (black for SMSL, green for A30a). I tried to find some real photos of the inside of the SMSL VMV A2 and... couldn't find any!
On the SMSL site there are only a few images of some of its components. It's not clear if they were taken from the A2 PCB or if they are stock photos of the ADC chip, XMOS converter, etc. There are more pictures around of the interior of the Sabaj.
However, if the images on the SMSL web site correspond to the real A2 board (and if those on Amazon of the Sabaj are real), then the two devices do not have an identical PCB, at least in the XMOS chip area.

View attachment 309354

Sabaj (so far) never uses the same circuit boards. They may often use the designs/developments and layouts, but the components don't always have the same arrangement. In any case, the boards were re-routed.
Since the Sabaj devices often come onto the market later, I have often seen that the boards sometimes (can) contain improvements and also better components.
But that's just my opinion based on my personal experience.

The XMOS area in the pictures is a good example, same components but in different positions.
The circuit board in the A30a must have a different layout, just because of the rear connector panel.

 

[daniboun]

Sabaj (so far) never uses the same circuit boards. They may often use the designs/developments and layouts, but the components don't always have the same arrangement. In any case, the boards were re-routed.
Since the Sabaj devices often come onto the market later, I have often seen that the boards sometimes (can) contain improvements and also better components.
But that's just my opinion based on my personal experience.

The XMOS area in the pictures is a good example, same components but in different positions.
The circuit board in the A30a must have a different layout, just because of the rear connector panel.

The respective diagrams give us an idea about the implementation of the PCB

A30A on top, A2 Bottom

 

[ModDIY]

The respective diagrams give us an idea about the implementation of the PCB

A30A on top, A2 Bottom

View attachment 309533

I disagree, the scheme in A2 is a simplification of processing for marketing purposes. We can speculate what we want...

 

[GiBo61]

Sabaj (so far) never uses the same circuit boards. They may often use the designs/developments and layouts, but the components don't always have the same arrangement. In any case, the boards were re-routed.
Since the Sabaj devices often come onto the market later, I have often seen that the boards sometimes (can) contain improvements and also better components.
But that's just my opinion based on my personal experience.

The XMOS area in the pictures is a good example, same components but in different positions.
The circuit board in the A30a must have a different layout, just because of the rear connector panel.

I can only say that I'm surprised. Considering that SMSL and Sabaj belong to the same group, to me it seems a waste of resources to design and implement a new PCB for the Sabaj A30a, unless this will allow a reduction of the final cost of the device.