Soncoz LA-QXD1 Balanced DAC Review

[Viper Necklampy]

Wait a second, no way to turn it off with buttons, other than uplug the powering source??

 

[labeautedel'occident]

Wait a second, no way to turn it off with buttons, other than uplug the powering source??

Yep. As pretty as it is, it has its drawbacks and silly compromises like this one. All the effort put behind its convoluted filter selection functionality would have been better invested in a more worthwhile feature like a good old power switch.

 

[Viper Necklampy]

Yep. As pretty as it is, it has its drawbacks and silly compromises like this one. All the effort put behind its convoluted filter selection functionality would have been invested in a more worthwhile feature like a good old power switch.

Hope turning off by powering off my power strip would not damage the la-qxd1 then. I don't know why but even seems to not work with my power bank, that should have provide better sound quality in it :/
I qould also know about the Noise Floor Modulation spec of 4.3 μVrms; most others dac even at this price seems to have about half of this ''noise''? It isn't a spec i don't see here around measured, so i wonder...

 

[volkl77n]

Wait a second, no way to turn it off with buttons, other than uplug the powering source??

I don't see the issue with no power switch. I just put mine into stand by mode and it just sits there, blinking, begging me to give it something to do. It doesn't even stay warm.

Do you unplug your modem & router when not online?

What are the specs of your "power bank"? Ben has been specific about it needing a full 1A or better ps.

 

[Viper Necklampy]

I don't see the issue with no power switch. I just put mine into stand by mode and it just sits there, blinking, begging me to give it something to do. It doesn't even stay warm.

Do you unplug your modem & router when not online?

What are the specs of your "power bank"? Ben has been specific about it needing a full 1A or better ps.

Stand by mode, how? I guess lights will always be on, so usually i power off my power supply when i go bed at night.
It's bad to unplug the power while is on?

My power bank is 1 usb port up to max 5V/2a and a port max, it should work, the Topping E30 used to work and sounded better. But with la-qxd1 it doesn't, it power off/on very fast, i think it's not gonna work even if i try more :/

 

[volkl77n]

Stand by mode, how? I guess lights will always be on, so usually i power off my power supply when i go bed at night.
It's bad to unplug the power while is on?

My power bank is 1 usb port up to max 5V/2a and a port max, it should work, the Topping E30 used to work and sounded better. But with la-qxd1 it doesn't, it power off/on very fast, i think it's not gonna work even if i try more :/

Stand by mode is activated with one quick press of the PWR button. The indicator will blink.
Is it bad? I don't see why would be. You are effectively flipping a switch.

When you say "power bank", are you talking about wall plug, a usb cell charger, or something like a battery back up power supply?

I'm currently using a genuine Samsung usb charger, same spec 5V/2A, and it's working just fine.

 

[Viper Necklampy]

Stand by mode is activated with one quick press of the PWR button. The indicator will blink.
Is it bad? I don't see why would be. You are effectively flipping a switch.

When you say "power bank", are you talking about wall plug, a usb cell charger, or something like a battery back up power supply?

I'm currently using a genuine Samsung usb charger, same spec 5V/2A, and it's working just fine.

Thought that was mute button honestly, lights are still on like it's working..

Now i'm using a wall plug usb cell charger, Sony 5V/2A, but i don't see why on my power bank 5V/2,1A doesn't work. I wonder if other users find the same issue, with power bank most cheap dacs sounds better. Here's mine power bank model: https://www.amazon.it/Yacikos-Caric...=1&keywords=Power+bank&qid=1610370788&sr=8-52

 

[technoian]

[but i don't see why on my power bank 5V/2,1A doesn't work.

Looking at the specs for your power bank I see that it negotiates with the device in order to limit the current supplied. I doubt that the DAC is able to negotiate in this fashion which is why it fails to work. The DAC may uses a USC-C connector for power but there will no USB functionality available on this port.
A raspberry PI 4 power supply should work well with the Soncoz as it comes with a USB-C connector and has more than sufficient power output. It will not attempt to negotiate the current.

 

[sinski]

[but i don't see why on my power bank 5V/2,1A doesn't work.

Looking at the specs for your power bank I see that it negotiates with the device in order to limit the current supplied. I doubt that the DAC is able to negotiate in this fashion which is why it fails to work. The DAC may uses a USC-C connector for power but there will no USB functionality available on this port.
A raspberry PI 4 power supply should work well with the Soncoz as it comes with a USB-C connector and has more than sufficient power output. It will not attempt to negotiate the current.

Yes, i can confirm, that the official PI4 ps works well with la-qxd1.
I am just wondering, that many people are buying la-qxd1 for more than 200€ wanting the best sound quality and using it with some strange power supplies and reporting problems. Power supply is one of the most important parts in any audio gear.

 

[somebodyelse]

USB power has become progressively more complicated with the Battery Charging and Power Delivery specifications, not to mention the proprietary fast charging specs. The more advanced chargers can deliver a lot of power, but only when the signalling from the other end shows it's ok. If there's anything wrong in the signalling they drop back to their lowest current limit. This is why a tiny hardware error on the original Pi 4's USB-C circuit stopped it working with Power Delivery chargers. If you want reliability, and don't absolutely need the highest current output, the less advanced chargers are more likely to work properly.

A USB battery supply will break mains-based ground loops, but probably won't be any less noisy - they have internal SMPS to step the battery voltage up or down to the 5V for the USB socket.

 

[Pluto]

Thought that was mute button honestly, lights are still on like it's working

It is a mute button [on the SGD1]. Wait for about 10 minutes, all the lights go out and it's time for bed.

 

[technoian]

[QUOTE="sinski, post:
I am just wondering, that many people are buying la-qxd1 for more than 200€ wanting the best sound quality and using it with some strange power supplies and reporting problems. Power supply is one of the most important parts in any audio gear.[/QUOTE]

Power supplies can be important in many cases but I should remind you of the original review where Amir states " I did try other supplies including my audiophile power supply but it made no difference. So use a branded good quality phone charger and you should be good to go.". So in this case it looks like upgrading the power supply will simply be a waste of money.

 

[labeautedel'occident]

Yes, i can confirm, that the official PI4 ps works well with la-qxd1.
I am just wondering, that many people are buying la-qxd1 for more than 200€ wanting the best sound quality and using it with some strange power supplies and reporting problems. Power supply is one of the most important parts in any audio gear.

I was using an Apple 5v/1A USB charger matching the exact power requirements of the LA-QXD1, but still the DAC went kaput in a matter of days.

 

[sinski]

I was using an Apple 5v/1A USB charger matching the exact power requirements of the LA-QXD1, but still the DAC went kaput in a matter of days.

Maybe it was not original Apple ps, but some kind of strange fake ? They are plenty of fakes of those small "Apple" ps ...
Just google about it.

http://macprohackintosh.blogspot.com/2017/03/differentiating-between-fake-and-real.html

 

[labeautedel'occident]

Maybe it was not original Apple ps, but some kind of strange fake ? They are plenty of fakes of those small "Apple" ps ...
Just google about it.

http://macprohackintosh.blogspot.com/2017/03/differentiating-between-fake-and-real.html

It was original. In original packaging.

 

[technoian]

I was using an Apple 5v/1A USB charger matching the exact power requirements of the LA-QXD1, but still the DAC went kaput in a matter of days.

Your DAC may not have been kaput! I too was using an Apple phone charger (genuine) to power the LA-QXD1 and have had issues with the DAC not powering up when re-connecting the charger. The DAC would appear dead with no signs of life at all but after lots of unplugging and re-connecting would power up again and work perfectly. I think that the problem is the Apple power supply attempting to negotiate current with the device as it now works perfectly with a different power supply.
As I said in my previous post I would suggest a power supply sold for a Raspberry PI 4 computer. They are cheap, come with a USB-C connector, do not negotiate current and will supply sufficient power. Don't worry if a power supply states it has a higher amp rating than the 1A specified by Soncoz as that is a minimum rating. You won't supply too many amps as long as the voltage rating is correct.

 

[labeautedel'occident]

Your DAC may not have been kaput! I too was using an Apple phone charger (genuine) to power the LA-QXD1 and have had issues with the DAC not powering up when re-connecting the charger. The DAC would appear dead with no signs of life at all but after lots of unplugging and re-connecting would power up again and work perfectly. I think that the problem is the Apple power supply attempting to negotiate current with the device as it now works perfectly with a different power supply.
As I said in my previous post I would suggest a power supply sold for a Raspberry PI 4 computer. They are cheap, come with a USB-C connector, do not negotiate current and will supply sufficient power. Don't worry if a power supply states it has a higher amp rating than the 1A specified by Soncoz as that is a minimum rating. You won't supply too many amps as long as the voltage rating is correct.

My problem was different than yours. Go through previous comments for more info. Even with a different power supply it persisted.

 

[atonik]

Were you able to resolve your issue? I have the same one, worked for 6+ months till today when the power started blinking upon connect and outputting weird noise.

 

[EMMA]

Were you able to resolve your issue? I have the same one, worked for 6+ months till today when the power started blinking upon connect and outputting weird noise.

Is there sound output for both channels?

 

[Massimo]

Were you able to resolve your issue? I have the same one, worked for 6+ months till today when the power started blinking upon connect and outputting weird noise.

At least yours worked for 6+ months. Mine was good for 2 months ... until it stopped working when it began to output weird noise. I was careful with power supply selection using a 5V supply that I had previously used without issue for years.