As for controls, the A10d can be controlled with the front volume knob/button without the need for a remote, however, the included remote makes it much easier to control the device and navigate between the available menus. By pressing on the volume knob, you can navigate between available options and turn the knob to set the desired value, and press once more to apply. It is easy and straightforward. Experience audio like never before with the A20d 2023version's high-performance headphone amplifier. Designed with top-of-the-line audio-specific components and the TPA6120A2 from Texas Instruments (TI), it offers bandwidth, low noise, and astonishingly low distortion of -120dB. With adjustable gain options (+8dB and 0dB), you can fine-tune your audio to perfection. Full Interface Support for DSD Transmission Over the years, there has been much talk about DSD within the audiophile hobby. The problem is that there's really very little actual native DSD content out there; I guess in a way similar to how in recent years there has been little native, pure analogue vinyl without digital processing. Given the limitations of analogue (generational losses) and 1-bit PDM (a.k.a. DSD, difficulty with editing), this should be of no surprise to most astute audiophiles.

So was the problem with my Mac? Or as for you the problem was only present on certain frequencies ? I think he did a good job on that! Maybe he can spend more time on DSP room correction in time as well. (Discussions about the room here: http://archimago.blogspot.com/2020/08/summer-musings-soundroom-speaker-layout.html) You know, all this is way more important for me than a super SINAD measurement, as long as one can't hear diffrences below a threshold of noise and distorsion. Well, all in all, one more very good performer for not much money from a now rather well know chinese brand. Let’s go over the available settings for the device. The first menu we see is the input selection menu. You can toggle between the inputs here. After that, we see the HP/LINE-OUT mode menu. This is especially useful if you are planning to use the DAC stage of the A10d with your active monitors. We see the gain settings next, there are 2 options available: Low (+0dB) and High (+10dB) gain. As for filter options, there are 7 filters to choose from. Manufacturers tend to put the best (most neutral) filter as the default so I rarely feel the urge to meddle with this option. There is a DPLL option to reduce jitter and increase compatibility. Sabaj also included the option to select between UAC1 and 2, this too improves the compatibility of the unit with various devices, such as gaming consoles. Lastly, the screen brightness is adjustable.

III. Stepped Frequency & Amplitude Tests

Tip: If I were to use this DAC on the desktop with both headphones and speakers, I would make sure to program the remote Fn button to toggle between headphone and line out since there's no dedicated button on the front. Otherwise one would need to take a few steps within the menu system. Yes, the headphone volume is controlled and remembered by the device independently of the line-level output.] Now, I would ask for an important precision : in his review, Amir says the first setting shows much more distorsion and spurious tones. How is called this setting, is it the default one ? The Bluetooth 5.0 input is capable of standard SBC, AAC (for Apple products in particular), aptX, aptX-HD, and LDAC (best quality, highest bitrate on Android phones). I connected to this with my smartphone and found the signal strength excellent within much of my house (one of these days I'll have to measure quality of these Bluetooth CODECs beyond SBCand what signal degradation with distance looks like!).

The 2023 Sabaj A20d features a sleek and functional design. All wired input ports support DSD transmission, and the coaxial and optical fiber inputs support DoP64. The rear placement of the interfaces ensures easy wiring and minimizes interference from other devices. MQA-CD Support and High-Spec Bluetooth I bought this from Hi-fi express ( @peterwen) and waited patiently for it to arrive from China. Overall impression is good and I enjoy using my headphones with the DAC/H.AMP Looking at the 192kHz test above, this is an example of how asynchronous USB tends to be better than S/PDIF for jitter performance (even if absolutely audibly inconsequential!). Also, for the S/PDIF interfaces, coaxial tends to be a little better than TosLink in most devices I've tested even though TosLink provides galvanic isolation from electrical noise. I had the D90SE set to automatically turn off the display (after 30 seconds I think). The display would frequently light up when switching songs even when the songs were from the same album (so same bit depth and sample rate). The A20d does not do this. If you look at the front panel in the topmost picture, note both 4.4mm and 1/4" headphone outputs to the right. The 4.4mm headphone output is not balanced, rather, it's provided as a convenience for the user. Specs for the headphone stage look quite good - almost0Ω impedance, with output power up to 1W into 32Ω and 2W into 16Ω, and a claimed THD+N down to -120dB (output level and load unspecified).Digital inputs include USB-C (note that it cannot do direct USB-C to USB-C, it's fine with USB-C to USB-A and probably OK with OTG adaptor) and both Coaxial and TosLink S/PDIF. USB can go up to 32/768 and native DSD512. This inability to connect USB-C to USB-C is not unique; I noticed this with the S.M.S.L. DO100 DAC as well. S/PDIF inputs can go up to the typical 24/192 and DoP DSD64.

As we end off Part II with a detailed look at PCM fidelity, I can say that from an objective fidelity perspective, basically what I'm seeing is an ESS ES9038PRO-based DAC that's performing on par with the best devices available today as published here and on other audiophile objective measurement sources. The XLR 4.77Vrms output is clean with dynamic range of 130dB and 0dBFS THD+N better than -123dB. In a similar way, the RCA 2.35Vrms unbalanced output gives us an excellent THD+N of -120dB. On my more complex Triple-Tone signal, I'm seeing a TD+N of -118dB through the XLR and -111dB through the RCA which are again excellent. Hmmm. As far as I can tell, the only purpose "Processor" mode provides is MQA decoding. It looks like whatever it's doing has added quite a bit of jitter-like sidebands. Some kind of unintended consequence as the processor tries to sniff out an MQA signal? Maybe it's applying MQA decoding to the lower bits even though this is not encoded? While pure subjective folks can always claim that something sounds better than another (no limits to creative, flowery prose - whether they actually hear a difference or not is a matter of faith), I think objective folks need to come from the direction that at some point it doesn't really matter any more.Even as audio performance continues to improve to such extreme performance levels on DACs, as discussed in Part I, I do believe that there are paths forward with features and other "creature comforts" to look forward to. Personalize your audio journey with four distinct tone options and adjustable PCM and DSD filters. The menu offers a range of timbres and modes to suit your preferences, providing a tailor-made listening experience that also tests your discerning hearing abilities. Preamp Mode and Flexible Output Options Based on my listening (and our blind test results), filter phase effects are subtle assuming no significant frequency response changes and of the options available, I prefer a standard linear setting not just in testing but also in personal listening. Be mindful of potential intersample overload with loud, compressed music hitting beyond 0dBFS true peak. Use of volume normalization like ReplayGain or "Headroom management" (-3dB) in Roon will certainly sort things out. Temps not even very warm, the amp and DAC are the same temps to the touch, just to give an idea how not warm it is. As one who came of age in the '80s, it was a joy listening to Def Leppard's recent Diamond Star Halos (2022, DR6). Definitely a "feel-good" reminder of the old days of big hair and excess all those decades ago!

Within the menu controls, you can change the brightness (5 levels). Also, you can set the "Dimmer" time which is how many seconds the display is shown (choice of always turned on, or auto-off up to 60 seconds). I like this auto-off feature but I wish it automatically turned on each time something changes like say the samplerate or switching between DSD/PCM. Also, I would have liked an intermediate setting where the screen stays on all the time but actually dimming to lowest brightness instead of turning off completely. Notice that there is no dedicated power LED so with the screen off, the DAC could still be on or it could actually be in off/sleep mode and we would not know the difference. Not a big issue IMO. The really odd thing about this issue is that it seems to mainly occur during gaming. When listening to music I haven't experienced any cut outs at all. At the heart of this DAC, the ESS ES9038PRO is aided by the ES9311 "ultra-low noise" linear regulator to provide reference voltage to the DAC. Headphone amplifier is based on the TI TPA6120A2.Other menu settings include the choice of 7 PCM filters, 4 DSD low-pass options (47/50/60/70kHz), the DPLL setting to fine-tuning jitter tolerance (level 5 default), and there's a switch for "SPDIF Mode" for "Normal" or "Processor" - the latter setting routes the S/PDIF interface data through the XMOS processor which allows MQA processing. Of note, there's also a headphone gain setting of LOW or HIGH (+8dB). I don't quite understand why this hasn't gotten more attention? Are people unsure of trying Sabaj? I don't think they are that new of a company. I believe this new design matches the great performance the new units offer. I would very much like to see bigger, better units with the same design lines and aesthetics. Good job, Sabaj! bits resolution is really not much to ask of modern DACs these days and the graphs basically look like they're layered on top of each other with minuscule variations. Notice that the only mentionable difference is that DACs do have slight frequency response variations, but even this is less than 1dB difference up at 20kHz (and often this is a reflection of the filter selected). Over the last few years, we have seen an impressive proliferation of high resolution DACs at very reasonable price points coming from audio companies in China. In the world of consumer electronics, this should surprise nobody given that much of our technological products hail from that part of the world. Everything from Apple phones, to computer motherboards, to high-tech multinationals like AMD and Intel having manufacturing and assembly lines there.