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Soncoz LA-QXD1 Balanced DAC Review

Bass Face

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Quick update. As much as I don't want to spend the cash, I'm going for the Cambridge Audio DACMAGIC 200M. Thank you all for your help.
 

swampfire

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Quick update. As much as I don't want to spend the cash, I'm going for the Cambridge Audio DACMAGIC 200M. Thank you all for your help.
Did you look at the Gustard X16? That’s next on my list for $500. If I got that, I’d demote the Soncoz to headphone listening.
 

Bass Face

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Did you look at the Gustard X16? That’s next on my list for $500. If I got that, I’d demote the Soncoz to headphone listening.
That Gustard looks very nice, even has a HDMI which is a nice edition.

I'm sure this will be against popular opinion and I will get flamed for this but will share anyway. The Soncoz will be picked up by UPS on Monday hence I still have it for the weekend. Additionally I swapped out my Studio Monitor for a new one so that is resolved just in case it was the issue.

My friend brought over his Focusrite Solo which is generally used for pro audio and studio editing. Device also supports instruments and so on. It only has one input for USB audio, and a left and right balanced output.

I compared and listened to the same songs, once on the Soncoz and once on the Focusrite. This comparison is purely by ear, no measurements or anything of the sort. And this is probably where things get choppy. For me, my main goal was to get a clean signal from my pc to my studio monitors and listen to Tidal when I work during the day.

The Focusrite not being audiophile grade or even really a DAC for that part sounded significantly better. Not only did it sound better, there was literally no drama with installation and use. It just does what it does really well. I was literally shocked that a piece of equipment like this can just work so well and consistently. By no means does this unit have any of the fancy chips the Soncoz brings to the table. The Focusrite is very even in tone and relatively revealing, true to audio recording. Best part about this setup, it's dead silent. Even when my ear is to the tweeter, completely black.

This is purely my personal experience and I'm not saying or deterring anyone from buying the Soncoz but this little comparison was an eye opener for me personally. The Cambridge is on it's way and should be here next week. Looking forward to that experience and comparison.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Sc...keywords=focusrite+solo&qid=1639875525&sr=8-3

Source Material: Tidal / Spotify

Studio Monitors: One test with JBL MKII series and one with Dynaudio Studio Monitors
 

swampfire

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I think that once someone has gone sour on a particular unit, it’s hard to be objective. I don’t know anyone who can overcome that bias - I sure can’t.

If I’m honest, I’d have a hard time distinguishing the Soncoz from my Marantz 7702 in a blind test. They both sound great to me.
 

Bass Face

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I think that once someone has gone sour on a particular unit, it’s hard to be objective. I don’t know anyone who can overcome that bias - I sure can’t.

If I’m honest, I’d have a hard time distinguishing the Soncoz from my Marantz 7702 in a blind test. They both sound great to me.
I run Marantz in my theater. But at least it's audiophile grade. This thing is a silly studio interface lol.
 

EMMA

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1: I have needed to pull the plug and "reset" the unit twice.
2: Both resets were due to the unit not allowing me to change filters. Only the power light was on and solid.
After power-on, only the power light on indicates that LA-QXD1 does not start to work normally, so the filtering mode cannot be switched. In normal state, both the power indicator and USB indicator are on. The power supply requirement of LA-QXD1 is 5V1A. Insufficient current or instability may lead to failure to start normally. Try twice or replace the power supply equipment as you said.
4: I have no idea how to turn the unit off without unplugging it.
LA-QXD1 plug and play, if you want to turn the unit off without unplugging it, you can try this kind power strip with a switch.
1640164130929.png
 

Bass Face

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After power-on, only the power light on indicates that LA-QXD1 does not start to work normally, so the filtering mode cannot be switched. In normal state, both the power indicator and USB indicator are on. The power supply requirement of LA-QXD1 is 5V1A. Insufficient current or instability may lead to failure to start normally. Try twice or replace the power supply equipment as you said.

LA-QXD1 plug and play, if you want to turn the unit off without unplugging it, you can try this kind power strip with a switch.View attachment 174028
Thanks for the write up. The Soncoz is long gone for me. I am now using the Cambridge unit which is a phenomenal.
 

Takato

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Hey guys. My LA-QXD1 died out of nothing. Purchased it on Sept 2020 and it worked flawlessly for all this time.
Now it has a blinking light on the PWR led, and nothing pops up on Windows.
Tried different chargers and same issue. I can hear a "clicking" noise when I plug it in and then just the blinking light. I can hear something's loose when I "agitate" the unit.
The unit has been plugged in onto a surge protected UPS, so I honestly don't know what happened.

Sad, since the warranty is only 6-months and now I'm out of luck.
Anyone has had the same issue? Any fixes or it's just dead?

Thanks!
 

Doodski

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Hey guys. My LA-QXD1 died out of nothing. Purchased it on Sept 2020 and it worked flawlessly for all this time.
Now it has a blinking light on the PWR led, and nothing pops up on Windows.
Tried different chargers and same issue. I can hear a "clicking" noise when I plug it in and then just the blinking light. I can hear something's loose when I "agitate" the unit.
The unit has been plugged in onto a surge protected UPS, so I honestly don't know what happened.

Sad, since the warranty is only 6-months and now I'm out of luck.
Anyone has had the same issue? Any fixes or it's just dead?

Thanks!
Can you pop it open and inspect the internals and figure out what is loose inside? :D
 

Takato

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Can you pop it open and inspect the internals and figure out what is loose inside? :D
I'm by no means a DIYer, but I can try.

Also, I tried plugging it to a portable battery and it turned on and recognized by Windows, but no sound. And it has a hiss coming from the left speaker. Updated to V5.02 but still, no sound.
 

Doodski

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I'm by no means a DIYer, but I can try.

Also, I tried plugging it to a portable battery and it turned on and recognized by Windows, but no sound. And it has a hiss coming from the left speaker. Updated to V5.02 but still, no sound.
Open that bad boy. We'll maybe see some component that failed or a loose piece of metal. :D
 

Takato

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Open that bad boy. We'll maybe see some component that failed or a loose piece of metal. :D
Opened. Nothing looks burned or loose. The sound was coming from the buttons part, so nothing is actually loose on the main board.
It's simply dead. Nothing else to do, sadly.
 

Doodski

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Opened. Nothing looks burned or loose. The sound was coming from the buttons part, so nothing is actually loose on the main board.
It's simply dead. Nothing else to do, sadly.
Do any capacitors appear disfigured, distorted shape, leaking, dark PCB area(s)?
 

gvl

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Opened. Nothing looks burned or loose. The sound was coming from the buttons part, so nothing is actually loose on the main board.
It's simply dead. Nothing else to do, sadly.

Carefully touch opa1612 opamps with your finger, if hot they got damaged by static electricity, usually it’s the left channel closer to the center of the PCB, careful it can be very hot.
 

alekksander

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Hey guys. My LA-QXD1 died out of nothing. Purchased it on Sept 2020 and it worked flawlessly for all this time.
Now it has a blinking light on the PWR led, and nothing pops up on Windows.
Tried different chargers and same issue. I can hear a "clicking" noise when I plug it in and then just the blinking light. I can hear something's loose when I "agitate" the unit.
The unit has been plugged in onto a surge protected UPS, so I honestly don't know what happened.

Sad, since the warranty is only 6-months and now I'm out of luck.
Anyone has had the same issue? Any fixes or it's just dead?

Thanks!
personally i like qxd1 design, but failure rate + weird controls (one vol control on hardware buttons, and two alsa software controls – all independent from each other(!)) convinced me to sell my unit. never knew warranty is only 6 months and i assumed it's 12 instead. was Your unit plugged directly into surge ups? i doubt it has a quality usb power support. knowing it is fragile and might fail on inproper power input i plugged mine unit into one of the top measured PS from the list: https://lygte-info.dk/info/ChargerIndex UK.html (i think i got apple A1400) and i never induce it to electrostatic discharge (?), so for instance no dust cleaning when it's powered on, and always tried to ground it somehow. Soncoz said they have fixed discharge issue in newer batches and it convinces me to try their products one day again, but at the time being qxd1 was a bit immature it seems…
anyhow if You can locate damaged component and find normal (not „audio qualified”) technician to solder it out and replace with same part (not cheaper replacement), You can probably fix fairly cheap and retain same performance. there is a chance some soldering point got loosen, or a simple element like capacitor needs an exchange. We have plenty of skillful users here on asr, someone might be able to diagnose it if You open it up and document PCB with camera.
 
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swampfire

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I would try a different/new power supply. It’s far more likely that failed than the Soncoz.
 
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