Sabaj D5 vs. SMSL M500 vs. Topping DX7 Pro: measurement comparison

[MalinYamato]

If he can afford it then yes. If he had re-wired/modded his Beyerdynamic to balanced, the Sabaj D5 could drive it at a fraction of the cost though. In any case he could also go with the cheapest M500 and pair it with a magni heresy or Drop 789 I'm not the biggest fan of >€500 all-in-one units when separates can do the same or more, but cheaper.

I second your opinion wrt that.

 

[RickSanchez]

thank you for your efforts in aggregating reviews and measures regarding those products, which helps me in my purchasing decisions.

You're welcome, glad this post was useful to you.

 

[Leitmotif7]

Wondering what would be the best option for me and HD6XX.

Get SMSL M500 (I emailed the seller on Amazon, and it's V2), or get a balanced XRL cable for Sen. HD 6XX and get Sabaj D5. Thoughts on each option?

 

[REK2575]

As a combo DAC/HP amp, it seems like it's hard to beat the SMSL M500 right now in terms of cost to performance ratio. I own the Sabaj D5 and think it's terrific. So it's a difference of around $70 if you're purchasing on Amazon.

Of course, if you subscribe to Tidal, it's the M500 all the way, as the Sabaj D5 (to my knowledge) still does not support MQA.

I use Senn HD660S and the lower impedance Audeze LCD-X with the Sabaj. I find it has more than enough juice for both of these.

 

[Veri]

Wondering what would be the best option for me and HD6XX.

Get SMSL M500 (I emailed the seller on Amazon, and it's V2), or get a balanced XRL cable for Sen. HD 6XX and get Sabaj D5. Thoughts on each option?

For the Sabaj, for future headphones you would again need balanced cables. The M500 goes really loud over its SE headphone output already, and is the better DAC (on paper). Both are pretty good picks, honestly. For the HD650 alone, I'd still lean towards the Sabaj but it's your call

 

[ReaderZ]

As a combo DAC/HP amp, it seems like it's hard to beat the SMSL M500 right now in terms of cost to performance ratio. I own the Sabaj D5 and think it's terrific. So it's a difference of around $70 if you're purchasing on Amazon.

Of course, if you subscribe to Tidal, it's the M500 all the way, as the Sabaj D5 (to my knowledge) still does not support MQA.

I use Senn HD660S and the lower impedance Audeze LCD-X with the Sabaj. I find it has more than enough juice for both of these.

MQA is just lossy crap, I have tidal and only use hi-fi setting, never master. IMHO decision should be made based on other factors and not MQA.

 

[REK2575]

I'm not advocating MQA (I'm a pretty committed Qobuz subscriber in fact) -- but it might be an important factor for some folks, the fact that the M500 can unfold MQA and the Sabaj D5 can't.

 

[MalinYamato]

I bought the M500 for $385 including shipping, red of course, and should arrive this week from the UK. There is a -$15 discount coupon for this one if you buy at hifi-express.com. I am going to pair this with a A90 or Hersey, the red one on top. I haveconfirmed twice that it has V2 with Mandy and she said yes, and YES.

 

[muad]

So assuming all three and the soncoz sgd meet my needs, which of the four would most likely have the best reliability, longevity and customer support? I seem to see a fair number of posts with "my topping stopped working" etc. Just want something to last 10 years at least.

 

[Veri]

So assuming all three and the soncoz sgd meet my needs, which of the four would most likely have the best reliability, longevity and customer support? I seem to see a fair number of posts with "my topping stopped working" etc. Just want something to last 10 years at least.

Buying any of these at apos audio in you're in the US gets you extra warranty, or at an official retailer like audiophonics if you're in the EU.

 

[muad]

Buying any of these at apos audio in you're in the US gets you extra warranty, or at an official retailer like audiophonics if you're in the EU.

I'm in Canada, so ill give apos audio a shout and go from there. Thanks!

 

[Veri]

I'm in Canada, so ill give apos audio a shout and go from there. Thanks!

Ahh I asked apos before and they said they only ship to US customers but you can mail them and ask, of course.

 

[tripanazomi]

Hello , How about comparison to ifi ZenDAC vs M500 ? Price is nearly more then X 2 . But how about the sound , Wonder if there is a link comparing both in terms of sound quality

 

[RickSanchez]

Hello , How about comparison to ifi ZenDAC vs M500 ? Price is nearly more then X 2 . But how about the sound , Wonder if there is a link comparing both in terms of sound quality

Performing a comparison between the ifi Zen DAC and the SMSL M500 is pretty easy: just look at the two reviews that Amir did. I currently do not plan to do any sort of side-by-side comparison between the two. Mostly because I don't have the time, but also because the ifi Zen DAC is way out of its league compared to any of the DAC/amp combos in this review. SINAD is really low, linearity is mediocre, IMD is poor, and power is anemic. The three DAC/amps in this comparison are all near-SOTA devices.

If you're looking for subjective opinions on the sound quality that's not what my comparisons are about; they are measurement comparisons. I'd suggest opening a new thread if you want subjective sound quality comparisons.

 

[tripanazomi]

Performing a comparison between the ifi Zen DAC and the SMSL M500 is pretty easy: just look at the two reviews that Amir did. I currently do not plan to do any sort of side-by-side comparison between the two. Mostly because I don't have the time, but also because the ifi Zen DAC is way out of its league compared to any of the DAC/amp combos in this review. SINAD is really low, linearity is mediocre, IMD is poor, and power is anemic. The three DAC/amps in this comparison are all near-SOTA devices.

If you're looking for subjective opinions on the sound quality that's not what my comparisons are about; they are measurement comparisons. I'd suggest opening a new thread if you want subjective sound quality comparisons.

Thx alot for the feedback , new to forum and was searching info , just saw the reviews from amirim and tried to understand as much as possible. I stop commenting for my needs as its not the right article

 

[SEEDSTAR]

Does anyone know which has more juice from teh XLR outputs M500 vs DX7Pro? I'd like to power some studio active monitor speakers from them

 

[MediumRare]

Does anyone know which has more juice from teh XLR outputs M500 vs DX7Pro? I'd like to power some studio active monitor speakers from them

DX7 Pro outputs 4.04V, SMSL outputs 6.8V max. What do your speakers specify?

One thing the Topping is excellent at: switching via remote between outputs. You can easily select headphone out, line out via XLR & RCA, or both. I don’t know about the SMSL.

 

[SEEDSTAR]

My speakers are massive KRK E8B (30kg each, almost half a metre tall!), they have a input impedance of 10 kOhms, any of the below info help?

 

[MediumRare]

My speakers are massive KRK E8B (30kg each, almost half a metre tall!), they have a input impedance of 10 kOhms, any of the below info help?

Size doesn’t matter nor does input impedance. The manual does not list input sensitivity that I could see, but standard balanced interconnect line level is 4V and the max SPL of these is painfully loud, so you should be fine either way.

 

[SEEDSTAR]

oh cool - so 6V of the SMSL isn't louder?

Thanks for the help really appreciated!