Singxer SA-1 Review (Balanced Headphone Amp)

[deafenears]

Well, Is there any way to make this amp more beautiful by replacing its volume knob with a big red one? Where can I buy volume knobs shat fit this box? It will look soo elegant with one and more suitable for a feminine lady.

As @Roland68 said, look for one with a bore of ~6mm. Either D-shaft or with the little screw to fasten in (which you could use a larger bore). It's basically the same size as the Schiit Jotunheim.


The ones I purchased are from the links below:

11.31US $ 13% OFF|High-gloss Golden Stainless Steel Knob Solid Stainless Steel Knob Potentiometer Knob 30mm Diameter - Shell&body Parts - AliExpress

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5.99US $ 18% OFF|1PCS 38mm/Aluminum Alloy Solid Volume Knob Audio Power Discharge Potentiometer Knob Gold Silver/38*20*6mm|Amplifier| - AliExpress

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EDIT: Maybe one of these? Diameter is a little small though, look for 30mm-35mm.

1.19US $ |Solid Aluminum Alloy 25 X 15.5mm Volume Rotary Control 6mm Dia Potentiometer Cap Knob - Switch Caps - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

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1.88US $ |High-end Aluminum Knob Potentiometer Knob 25*15.5*6mm Volume Switch Rotary Encoder Knobs Silver/black/red /blue/gold - Switch Caps - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

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[Awdeyo]

Has anyone used this as a preamp to feed the avr? I am hearing distortion when its high gain and volume above 75%. Doesn't happen with other DACs/preamps at full ouput.

 

[Roland68]

Has anyone used this as a preamp to feed the avr? I am hearing distortion when its high gain and volume above 75%. Doesn't happen with other DACs/preamps at full ouput.

How and why would you use the SA-1 as a preamp for an AVR? How did you connect it?

 

[Awdeyo]

How and why would you use the SA-1 as a preamp for an AVR? How did you connect it?

Dac>sa1>avr cd input>pure direct>speakers

 

[ra990]

Dac>sa1>avr cd input>pure direct>speakers

You should probably go DAC to avr or DAC to both AVR and SA1 if possible. You're using two preamps the way you have it and it seems unnecessary and prone to issues with levels.

 

[Awdeyo]

You should probably go DAC to avr or DAC to both AVR and SA1 if possible. You're using two preamps the way you have it and it seems unnecessary and prone to issues with levels.

Yes so thats my question. Why does it have level issues given it has a dedicated preamp functionality?

 

[Snoopy]

Yes so thats my question. Why does it have level issues given it has a dedicated preamp functionality?

You are going through two pre-amps. The SA1 is supposed to be used with a Poweramp.

Pure direct doesn't bypass your AVRs preamp


There is no benefit using the SA1 that way

 

[Awdeyo]

You are going through two pre-amps. The SA1 is supposed to be used with a Poweramp.

Pure direct doesn't bypass your AVRs preamp


There is no benefit using the SA1 that way

Gotcha. Pure direct isn't so pure after all

 

[Snoopy]

Gotcha. Pure direct isn't so pure after all

I think you misunderstood what pure-direct does.

 

[Roland68]

Yes so thats my question. Why does it have level issues given it has a dedicated preamp functionality?

Please don't be angry, but I suspect that you are making this mistake due to a lack of knowledge.
It makes absolutely no sense to connect two or more preamplifiers in series. The noise floor of every previous device is also amplified, as is distortion. Depending on how your DAC is set up, you now have 3 preamps connected in series. At least 3 x input stages, 2 x potentiometers, 3 x circuits/capacitors for DC avoidance, at least 2 x amplifier stages, at least one redundant signal cable path.
An audio signal does not get better if it goes through as many (superfluous) components as possible. Each of these components adds noise.

If your AVR allows it then your DAC, or the SA-1, can drive the power amps directly, otherwise it only makes sense to connect the DAC directly to the AVR.

Pure Direct only solves a problem created by your AVR, it bypasses the DSP part of your AVR. This turns your AVR into a completely normal integrated amplifier. no magic

 

[Awdeyo]

Please don't be angry, but I suspect that you are making this mistake due to a lack of knowledge.
It makes absolutely no sense to connect two or more preamplifiers in series. The noise floor of every previous device is also amplified, as is distortion. Depending on how your DAC is set up, you now have 3 preamps connected in series. At least 3 x input stages, 2 x potentiometers, 3 x circuits/capacitors for DC avoidance, at least 2 x amplifier stages, at least one redundant signal cable path.
An audio signal does not get better if it goes through as many (superfluous) components as possible. Each of these components adds noise.

If your AVR allows it then your DAC, or the SA-1, can drive the power amps directly, otherwise it only makes sense to connect the DAC directly to the AVR.

Pure Direct only solves a problem created by your AVR, it bypasses the DSP part of your AVR. This turns your AVR into a completely normal integrated amplifier. no magic

Thanks for the detailed reply
Assuming i have a power amplifier and no avr, and strictly for stereo 2 channel listening, would adding a preamplifier like sa1 help in anyway? Or is it better to directly use the dac (which again becomes a preamp with variable volume).

Why would someone use a preamp like sa1 and in what conditions would it actually help? Does it color the sound in someway or its totally passive? They also say best preamp is no preamp which goes back to your original point of having less devices and IO in the chain..

 

[Snoopy]

Thanks for the detailed reply
Assuming i have a power amplifier and no avr, and strictly for stereo 2 channel listening, would adding a preamplifier like sa1 help in anyway? Or is it better to directly use the dac (which again becomes a preamp with variable volume).

Why would someone use a preamp like sa1 and in what conditions would it actually help? Does it color the sound in someway or its totally passive? They also say best preamp is no preamp which goes back to your original point of having less devices and IO in the chain..

A Poweramp is always at 100%. If your DAC resets it's settings to fixed output you will probably blow your speakers.

 

[raif71]

My setup with preamp : DAC-> Gustard P26 -> SA1 (Low gain, Max volume). Volume is controlled by P26 preamp

 

[Roland68]

Thanks for the detailed reply
Assuming i have a power amplifier and no avr, and strictly for stereo 2 channel listening, would adding a preamplifier like sa1 help in anyway? Or is it better to directly use the dac (which again becomes a preamp with variable volume).

Why would someone use a preamp like sa1 and in what conditions would it actually help? Does it color the sound in someway or its totally passive? They also say best preamp is no preamp which goes back to your original point of having less devices and IO in the chain..

Please get rid of any voodoo thoughts in the HiFi area.
The source principle always applies without restrictions, i.e. you cannot improve the original signal. If anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying.
However, a change in the original signal is usually not desired, except for amplification or attenuation. This also applies to random coloring of any kind.

An SA-1 (definitely an active device) is a headphone amplifier with an additional possibility to connect a power amp. For this reason, there are many integrated amplifiers where you can separate the preamp and power amp.
The SA-1 is also very suitable for driving active loudspeakers.

With your DAC you have to check for yourself whether it only reduces the volume of the signal or whether the resolution is also changed in the process.
When using devices like the SA-1 or your AVR, it is better to have the DAC output at full volume and control the volume through the amplifier.

 

[ra990]

Have there been any measurements performed of this amplifier with the DC mod done? I wonder if that might impact the rising distortion near max power with the really low impedance loads. Would be interesting to see how that popular mod effects the measurements.

 

[Roland68]

Have there been any measurements performed of this amplifier with the DC mod done? I wonder if that might impact the rising distortion near max power with the really low impedance loads. Would be interesting to see how that popular mod effects the measurements.

This mod only bridges the coupling capacitors at the input before the potentiometer. And the coupling capacitors only filter out a possible DC component in the input signal.
In which area do you expect changes? 0.0X% or 0.XX%.
Coupling capacitors are a myth and have been measured thousands of times in all variants over the last 30 years, always with the same result. Provided they are of good quality (and the UES used are good!), they are inaudible and the measurement results are within the error tolerance of the measuring devices.
But again, the best coupling capacitor is.... (you can guess it).

 

[ShiZo]

What's with the gain switches on the bottom?

 

[Roland68]

What's with the gain switches on the bottom?

Only switching between low and high gain.

 

[Snoopy]

I wonder if we see something new from Singxer anytime soon.

Would be really interested in either a SA-1 V2 that is even more powerful or a new DAC-amp combo like the Yulong DA11.

 

[Veri]

I wonder if we see something new from Singxer anytime soon.
Would be really interested in either a SA-1 V2 that is even more powerful or a new DAC-amp combo like the Yulong DA11.

They also hinted at a discrete "L30" kind of amp but that is a really long time ago. Maybe the idea is scrapped..