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Sabaj D5 - Owners' Thread

Veri

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Maybe because the unit sent to amir had a heat sink:confused: and because of that needs more time to reach optimal operating temperature. From what i learned over here members who opened theirs didn't see a heat sink.
Honestly, I think they omitted heatsinks from the unit they sent Amir too. Heatsinks were on marketing/ptototype images I believe. they probably left them out (not needed?). hard to say for sure, though.
 

zym1010

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Maybe because the unit sent to amir had a heat sink:confused: and because of that needs more time to reach optimal operating temperature. From what i learned over here members who opened theirs didn't see a heat sink.
yes that's my impression as well. However, I don't know if there is any cons of removing the heat sink.
 

Saxkun

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Hello, fisrt time posting here. Sorry if I'm not enterily clear, english is not my native language.
Little over 6 months ago, in november I bought the sabaj d5 and everything was weel, but today I tried to listen to music and the thing wouldn't turn on, Instead the led on the button would blink in white and red again and again.
Does this thing happened to anyone here? is there a soution or am I now the proud owner of a very expensive paperweight?

For clarification, I bought it on amazon and my window of support closed on may 26.
Also, I've tried disconnecting the power cable and pressing the button while plug it in again, same red and white blink.

Any help would be very much aprecciated.

Update on my situation with this unit:
After various days I finally was able to contact the people at Sabaj, my vendor on Amazon wanted me to ship my unit to the UK wich would be more expensive that the unit itself so that was a no go for me, asked a musician friend of mine if he knew someone who could take a look and he gave me his technician number, long story short, that mas is a magician and my unit is up and running again with no audible difference as far as I can hear; asked the tech guy what happened and he told me a mosfet burned and was preventing the unit from powering on, he changed and that was it.
So there's that, if anyone happen to be in this situation that how I solved it.
Thanks to the people who took the time to reply and give advice.
 
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Veri

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Update on my situation with this unit:
After various days I finally was able to contact the people at Sabaj, my vendor on Amazon wanted me to ship my unit to the UK wich would be more expensive that the unit itself so that was a no go for me, asked a musician friend of mine if he knew someone who could take a look and he gave me his technician number, long story short, that mas is a magician and my unit is up and running again with no audible difference as far as I can hear; asked the tech guy what happened and he told me a mofet burned and was preventing the unit from powering on, he changed and that was it.
So there's that, if anyone happen to be in this situation that how I solved it.
Thanks to the people who took the time to reply and give advice.
Good that you got it fixed man!
 

zhaqenl

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Btw, would anyone here know how the voltage selector switch in the back work? If the switch is showing 110V, is it currently operating in that mode, or is it in 220–230V, and you have to switch to 110V.
 

Saxkun

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Btw, would anyone here know how the voltage selector switch in the back work? If the switch is showing 110V, is it currently operating in that mode, or is it in 220–230V, and you have to switch to 110V.
As far as I know, if it is showing 110v is working on 110.
 
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After just a day of use screen went berserk... I shut unit down hoping it will go away but instead there was no more screen - it simply would not display anything(unit was working otherwise). While unit was working I compared sound of it with "JDS Labs Element II" and also with "Creative AE-5". I found no improvement in sound quality. Sabaj D5 amp is weak vs JDS and Creative. My Sabaj D5 had latest firmware and I used latest drivers, I also test it in linux.

JDS Labs Element II has more powerful amp and sound is more detailed and otherwise more satisfying. Same goes to AE-5 in comparison with Sabaj D5 - Creative AE-5 sounded better more reach and detailed (tried both direct and indirect mode). Tested using Beyerdynamics DT 1770 PRO. (regular mp3, high-res flacs, dsd over pcm). I had a problem with direct dsd on Sabaj D5 - could not test it.

Conclusion: Sabaj D5 has no aftersale support, sounds as anything else out there and amp is weak in comparison with JDS LABS Element II and Creative Ae-5. Overall quality - not impressed. Website contains spelling errors and advertises the fact that "chipset alone in sabaj d5 costs 70 bucks " - seriously? (not a big deal but ... you know what i mean..)

By the way - unit is supplied with small brochure in chinese and no english. This is in fact a violation to the "Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations" in Canada. I know nobody cares about supplied documentation, but it would be nice for Chinese manufacturers and Amazon to respect Canadian laws. Also there is no warranty info. Website states that any warranty promises are only valid for mainland China.

So, poor engineering, no warranty, amateur advertising and so is website. Do you really want something that costs 600 dollars has no warranty, problematic quality and designed and assembled by folks whose state engineering schools were and still are based on reverse engineering?
p.s. Don't be upset. These are valid critical points.
 

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DeepSpace57

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Bought 3 samples, at 320€, and no problem for the moment.

the same here... i am utterly happy with Sabaj D5. They are so helpful and reponsive to messages on Aliexpress. They shipped updating tool for free at all. Sabaj D5 is superior as standalone dac, and has a good balanced amp.

It is so interesting to see someone who made a long negative comment by the first post. I believe the sales of sabaj D5 have frightened some competitors.
 

Arvind

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Same here... Me too very happy with Sabaj D5. They are so helpful and reponsive to messages on Aliexpress. They shipped updating tool for free at all. Sabaj D5 is superior as standalone dac.
 

RickSanchez

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That's a bummer that you received a bad unit. As to your other points ...

Conclusion: Sabaj D5 has no aftersale support, sounds as anything else out there and amp is weak in comparison with JDS LABS Element II and Creative Ae-5.
...
These are valid critical points.

But are they? For most folks on ASR it was already known that the Sabaj D5 has relatively low output power compared to the JDS Labs Element II. (The Creative AE-5 hasn't been measured on ASR.) Amir spelled that out clearly in his measurements:

power_comparison.png

As for SQ: the SINAD and dynamic range of the Sabaj D5 are clearly better than the Element II; the IMD is slightly better in the Element II vs. the Sabaj D5. But we're talking about fairly elite measurements in both units, meaning both are audibly transparent to levels that you would not be be able to hear a difference between them. So while the Sabaj D5 does not sound like "anything else out there" -- it is clearly better than any poorly engineered device -- it will sound the same as any DAC/amp that measures really well: transparent. Again, no surprise there; it is very clear from Amir's testing + measurements when you read his reviews of each device.


By the way - unit is supplied with small brochure in chinese and no english. This is in fact a violation to the "Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations" in Canada.

Is it? I'm not a lawyer so I won't pretend I know how that law works in Canada. But based on a cursory reading of that statute it seems that:
  1. The regulations only apply to labels on the product, not user manuals which is what you are referring to.
    • The labeling on the Sabaj D5 itself -- similar to any other DAC imported and sold in Canada -- would meet these requirements.
  2. There are exemptions for "specialty products", the key being that specialty products only need to be shown in one of the official languages (English or French) not both.
    • From the statute: "'specialty product' means a prepackaged product that is an imported product (a) that is not widely used by the population as a whole in Canada; and (b) for which there is no readily available substitute that is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged in Canada and that is generally accepted as being a comparable substitute; (produit spécial)"
Sources: here and here.


... amateur advertising and so is website.

To each their own I guess. How a DAC or amp is advertised means nothing to me; I care about measurements, features, price, build quality, etc. Personally I'd prefer to spend my money with a company that invests more on engineering than they do on marketing.
 
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Thank you very much for very speedy responses. This is very valuable...
Let me explain my predicament: I am just a regular user. Main reason I purchased Sabaj D5 is to have a remote to switch between sources, my kids are rather young and have difficulty using JDS Labs switch. I conducted thorough analysis online and used some of the materials from this site to help with purchasing decision. Idea was to keep Sabaj D5 and sell JDS Labs Element ii.

In terms of some statements in response to my original post
To DeepSpace57 / Arvind

1. buying from Ali express is even worse than amazon.
a. no support
b. sellers frequently cant communicate coherently
c. shipping using DHL - Buyer will pay custom duties and tax!
d. If you lucky, seller will accept your return, Buyer will pay for shipping. Imagine my situation: unit is defective and I need to send it back to China and pay for it!

To RickSanchez
1. AE-5 has been measured on this site. but it's irrelevant for our conversation
2. Sabaj D5 is poorly engineered device - any device that has been engineered to a standard will not have display go bad after few hours of use. This is unacceptable from engineering point of view. It tells me that whole chain of engineering workflow is not followed here.
3. Packaging act - yes they are in violations. Please read information you provided - I did (it has nothing to do with specialty products and Sabaj D5 is not a specialty product btw). (but this is irrelevant for me as a consumer. I pointed out just to help out manufacturer/potential distributors and other organized sellers not to be dinged by someone for this).
4. "To each their own I guess. How a DAC or amp is advertised means nothing to me; I care about measurements, features, price, build quality, etc. Personally I'd prefer to spend my money with a company that invests more on engineering than they do on marketing. "
It means to me - since it provides an insight on manufacturer and poor documentation= equals poor engineering.
5. Sabaj D5 manufacturer states that this device is JAS-Hi-Res certified. However there is no record of SHENZHEN DAHAO and Sabaj D5 being certified. You can conduct search yourself.

I would really like to have a different opinion on this but it is what it is. Only reason i published by opinion is because we as consumers heavily rely on internet reviews and so called specialty forums. Long gone those days when these places were trustworthy source of information. Now they are filled by salesman and bots.

Before buying it, I read forums, sites and audio measuring sites where they measure audio equipment, etc.
I watched all youtubes related to sabaj d5 - my impression is that there are small number of people who create a bubble of information that is either not accurate(semi-scientific) of highly exaggerated and biased.

and please suggesting an idea of aliexpress as an option to buy audio equipment in north america... unless you are a masochist.

p.s. I would love the idea to be able to buy rock solid things from China and use them for many years, but unfortunately this doesn't work. Its disheartening to see that staff that is engineered and assembled in China without proper foreign outside supervision is bad as it was 20 years ago. Nothing has changed.
p.s. Please feel free to delete my posts.
 

RickSanchez

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To RickSanchez
1. AE-5 has been measured on this site. but it's irrelevant for our conversation
2. Sabaj D5 is poorly engineered device - any device that has been engineered to a standard will not have display go bad after few hours of use. This is unacceptable from engineering point of view. It tells me that whole chain of engineering workflow is not followed here.
3. Packaging act - yes they are in violations. Please read information you provided - I did (it has nothing to do with specialty products and Sabaj D5 is not a specialty product btw). (but this is irrelevant for me as a consumer. I pointed out just to help out manufacturer/potential distributors and other organized sellers not to be dinged by someone for this).
4. "To each their own I guess. How a DAC or amp is advertised means nothing to me; I care about measurements, features, price, build quality, etc. Personally I'd prefer to spend my money with a company that invests more on engineering than they do on marketing. "
It means to me - since it provides an insight on manufacturer and poor documentation= equals poor engineering.

Well, now you're basically trolling.

1. Great. Feel free to include a link.
2. A single bad device does not mean the entire line is bad. For example: your unit could have been mishandled by the shipping company en route. That's no fault of the manufacturer. If you have an issue with how Aliexpress handles returns/refunds for defective units that's a completely different topic than saying the "Sabaj D5 is a poorly engineered device".
3. Not worth debating you on this issue. I merely pointed out that you were talking about the user manual, and I saw nothing in the Consumer Packaging act that talks about user manuals. It seems to be clearly written to address labeling on the product itself. Feel free to provide a link to show otherwise.
4. Any small company where English is not their native language will have difficulty providing marketing copy that is in 100% perfect English. That most definitely does not = poor engineering.


p.s. I would love the idea to be able to buy rock solid things from China and use them for many years, but unfortunately this doesn't work. Its disheartening to see that staff that is engineered and assembled in China without proper foreign outside supervision is bad as it was 20 years ago. Nothing has changed.
:rolleyes: Yes, like all those terrible iPhones / iPads / Macbooks that people buy every year ... Having purchased one defective unit from one manufacturer does not mean all Chinese products are poorly engineered + assembled such that they somehow require foreign supervision.
 

Veri

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p.s. I would love the idea to be able to buy rock solid things from China and use them for many years, but unfortunately this doesn't work. Its disheartening to see that staff that is engineered and assembled in China without proper foreign outside supervision is bad as it was 20 years ago. Nothing has changed.
p.s. Please feel free to delete my posts.
First, I think you most certainly, simply had the worst luck since many people don't have these issues. Secondly, if you had bought a device from a first-class reseller like Apos, they would make you a return label and ship a new unit in advance to them even receiving the return. Unfortunately Apos is not currently selling the Sabaj brand (although it is part of the same S.M.S.L. group).. : ( sad to hear of your frustrations.
In EU, I buy from audiophonics and they have a mandatory 2-year warranty for all the devices they resell. An out of the factory screen defect would be replaced right away. I can for sure agree that buying through aliexpress for more expensive electronic devices can be a pain...
 
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1. here is the link (i am not sure how relevant it is to my experience)
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...and-measurements-of-sound-blasterx-ae-5.9114/
2. single device does not equal entire line is bad. statement on poorly engineered device is my subjective opinion based on gathered facts, personal experience and documentation.
as to Aliexpress - yes its irrelevant. and does not imply sabaj d5 is bad. I did not connect these together- you did
3. lets leave it - time consuming
4. Your statement is incorrect both factually and logically.
5. Jas - Hi-res fake certification is not good sign. pls see screenshots

and most important - no warranty except mainland China. Explicitly stated on their website.

Guys don't get me wrong - I am not against Sabaj D5 or any other Chinese products. This is the website where users pay attention to the smallest detail in measurement of audio devices. Why not apply same lense to everything else?
Engineering standards are engineering standards. Engineering documentation is a separate discipline.

I just wanted to provide my personal experience and impressions, plus subjective analysis. I bought numerous other items from aliexpress and most of the time quality was bad.
I will be glad to have official dealer of sabaj/topping/etc in Canada so that i could easily exchange devices and have 2-3 year warranty. I still willing to give it a chance and if you recommend something that can have warranty and has same functionality as sabaj d5 or topping d7 - I will probably buy it again. I really like idea of remote...


re: apple - not a fan :) but i got mine replaced no question asked when was out of warranty. very convenient (dont like apple though :) )

Well, now you're basically trolling.

1. Great. Feel free to include a link.
2. A single bad device does not mean the entire line is bad. For example: your unit could have been mishandled by the shipping company en route. That's no fault of the manufacturer. If you have an issue with how Aliexpress handles returns/refunds for defective units that's a completely different topic than saying the "Sabaj D5 is a poorly engineered device".



3. Not worth debating you on this issue. I merely pointed out that you were talking about the user manual, and I saw nothing in the Consumer Packaging act that talks about user manuals. It seems to be clearly written to address labeling on the product itself. Feel free to provide a link to show otherwise.
4. Any small company where English is not their native language will have difficulty providing marketing copy that is in 100% perfect English. That most definitely does not = poor engineering.



:rolleyes: Yes, like all those terrible iPhones / iPads / Macbooks that people buy every year ... Having purchased one defective unit from one manufacturer does not mean all Chinese products are poorly engineered + assembled such that they somehow require foreign supervision.
 

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renaudrenaud

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I am back in France since 3 years. Before that I spent 2 years working in China. It's true, China is not Europe nor North America.
And it's true, questions like guarantee is an Occidental way of thinking.
And quality control is not at the same level as Occidental countries. Anyway, QC is able to produce Boeing 737 max.
If you don't want Chinese product nor orders on AliExpress, here is my free Occidental advice : stay far for these products and these markets.

Ho, and btw, avoid ASR where a lot of Chinese products offer excellent measurements.
 
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