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Soncoz LA-QXD1 Balanced DAC Review

Robbo99999 said:
I've seen other DACS use Thesycon drivers (like the Topping E30 IIRC).
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Robbo99999 said:
You mean it adds options to the windows sound control panel (the pic I posted)?
Click to expand...

Hoping this thread gets back to the Soncoz, but in the meantime I can show you what happened when I installed the drivers (presumably from Thesycon) for my Topping E30. The E30 was plug-and-play with Windows 10, but in order to get ASIO output from MusicBee player, I had to download the drivers from Topping. As far as I can tell, no changes were made in the Windows sound control panel. In the system tray, a new icon appeared, which opens the "Topping USB Audio Device Control Panel." Screenshots of this panel:

E30_1.jpg

E30_2.jpg

E30_3.jpg

E30_4.jpg

E30_5.jpg

E30_6.jpg


I hope that helps. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming! :cool:
 
Just received the DAC. Thank you Ann :) The build quality is very good and the sound quality is phantastic, after few minutes i hear, that it is (much ?) better then the KTB. Breathtaking dynamics, very natural, sound on the warm side with great detail and 3d stereo. Thank you Ben for such a phantastic product. Now i am waiting for nice power amp from Soncoz. :)
 
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sinski said:
Just received the DAC. Thank you Ann :) The build quality is very good and the sound quality is phantastic, after few minutes i hear, that it is (much ?) better then the KTB. Breathtaking dynamics, very natural, sound on the warm side with great detail and 3d stereo. Thank you Ben for such a phantastic product. Now i am waiting for nice power amp from Soncoz. :)
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Thank you so much. Just enjoy the wonderful weekend with it.
 
I have ordered the Topping A90 headphone amp, but I don't have enough money to buy D90. Is this DAC by Soncoz a better choice over smsl m300 mkii? I'm also considering spending a littlt more money to buy Gustard A18 with AK4499 dac chip, but I'm not sure if it really performs better since it's a new product and haven't been tested by any third party. Can anyone help me?
 
Eugene.H said:
I have ordered the Topping A90 headphone amp, but I don't have enough money to buy D90. Is this DAC by Soncoz a better choice over smsl m300 mkii? I'm also considering spending a littlt more money to buy Gustard A18 with AK4499 dac chip, but I'm not sure if it really performs better since it's a new product and haven't been tested by any third party. Can anyone help me?
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I have this DAC and I can say that it is extremely well built and sturdy, performances are exceptional and it is practically plug and play. The only thing that it is missing is a screen, but for its price and performance it is an absolute champ
 
So Ben or Sophia Ann....how could some from germany order a LA-QXD1 ?

And to have it totally clean....the device, even the new batches come with the ESS-Hump ?
 
If I were to connect a RPi to this via optical or coax to a power amp, can I somehow get decent volume control?
 
mt196 said:
I have this DAC and I can say that it is extremely well built and sturdy, performances are exceptional and it is practically plug and play. The only thing that it is missing is a screen, but for its price and performance it is an absolute champ
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Thanks for your reply! I have already ordered this DAC. This is my first time to build a pc hifi system. I'm not going to change my dac and headphone amp for the next 5 years. I hope i've made the right decision.
 
That is now more than double of what Topping E30 will set me back.
Plus at this price it´s fighting with SMSL M200/M300.
At least here where I live. Nothing left of that Khadas Tone Board myth to me.
No Display, no auto-standby at similar performance and price.
Now it´s just an alternative.
 
mt196 said:
No that are import taxes and VAT, that is why the 50€ more
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not entirely wrong, not entirely true.
when we talked about khadas toneboard that it is 100 dollars dac that performes really well, we meant 100 dollars not 115 euros. (price of audiophonics). this is not a bash toward them obviously. i love the fact that they exist and that they are a viable option. that doesnt mean that the price isnt a bit too much. are we are supposed to refer to only china prices? if so, then it is a lie since noone else could buy in that price.
yes different countries have different vats, but that difference would always be around 5-7%. when you are a bussiness and get some merchandise wholesale i am sure that you can get it to your shop in a way the customs will be minimized. inflating customs charges and passing it to the buyer is not nice. 50 euros up from a 200 dollars (euros) dac is a big step up.
still it is a better option that order from china and pay customs etc by yourself. at least this is a fixed price. and i am grateful they exist.
but i will keep looking for a more viable option. if this was sold for example in banggood at 200 euros and there was a priority direct mail option, then you would 100% pay no customs and the shipping would be no more than 12 euros. 212 to 258 (audiophonics price with shipping) is a big difference.
i waited and bought khadas tone board from usa amazon. from a shop that had shipping fulfilled by amazon (no customs). and the total cost was a tiny bit less that 100 dollars.
anyway, i will wait a bit, most probably i wont buy the dac before august. i then will weigh in my options. if i have no other option i will take the audiophonics price happily. and i am happy that i have this option. but i do hope more ptions will exist for european buyers
 
Magnifico said:
That is now more than double of what Topping E30 will set me back.
Plus at this price it´s fighting with SMSL M200/M300.
At least here where I live. Nothing left of that Khadas Tone Board myth to me.
No Display, no auto-standby at similar performance and price.
Now it´s just an alternative.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Soncoz seems to strip basic, and I think necessary features like a display. We're supposed to assume it's working properly if a pilot light comes on? And seems like pre-production units are being reviewed and new products are coming out when some people don't have older models that are working properly.
 
Magnifico said:
That is now more than double of what Topping E30 will set me back.
Plus at this price it´s fighting with SMSL M200/M300.
At least here where I live. Nothing left of that Khadas Tone Board myth to me.
No Display, no auto-standby at similar performance and price.
Now it´s just an alternative.
Click to expand...
There is no better alternative imho if you want XLR and these kind of performances. If you will use it with RCA than a Topping e30 probably is just more than enough
 
SMSL SU 8 V2 is a decent alternative.
I could get that for 210€ so 40€ less.

+ SMSL M200 is candidate
+ SMSL M300 is candidate

Soncoz Fan ???

I don´t really care for RCA or XLR...only the mass loop via RCA is my concern. Though XLR is clearly the winner if it doesn´t make costs to explode.
I´m currently checking if this cable can help: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B001389G5I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
E30 is good enough for me...but i might need real XLR connection. We´ll see...cable should be here on tuesday.
 
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Let's see if Topping answers with a balanced out basic model.
 
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