Finally, with the passing of Olivia Newton-John lately, I thought I'd revisit her album Physical (1981, first release DR13). Ah yes, the early days of aerobics, "athletic" fashion, leggings, lycra and leotards... Kudos to Sabaj for a job well done across so many areas from design to performance. Yes, there is a bit of room left for products even higher in performance but that gap is incredibly small while cost savings are significant. I am so glad I am not in desktop audio business to compete with products like this! My reaction wasn't focused on pure performances, because they're all actually very good models, but on reliability, brand services and advises, upgrading, etc. This has a price too, so these expensive products used every day fduring a long time in studios can't be compared with Sabaj, SMSL, Topping and co. 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 USB interface chip is the more powerful 16-core XMOS xCore XU216 which is needed for full MQA "decoding" as well as "rendering" (as opposed to the common 8-core XMOS). Joachim Herbert, did you try changing sound colors with HE1000 Stealth? I guess by default A20d uses Sound Color 1? Disclaimer: Hifi-Express sent us the Sabaj A10D for this review, free of charge. We thank them for this opportunity. As always, I am here to honestly convey my thoughts about the product to you. Sabaj I have a Topping DX7s since 4 or 5 years now, it sounds very good on headphone, good at a lesser degree on line ouput (so measurment don't show everything, otherwise line output should also be top notch, which isn't the case on this model), Topping is a good brand with good VFM, but their products have some minor flaws (ergonomy's not top -it's an euphemsism-, there is a very audible "ploc" at extinction - I hope this have been improved on recent models, but not sure).Nice color LCD screen, a good size to see volume setting, and other useful data shown.There is a "Dimming" setting which I typically will leave off (ie. screen on all the time). Currently what this setting does is to turn off the screen after a set number of seconds of inactivity. Maybe it would be good to set a brightness value for dimming (eg. lowest brightness intensity) instead of just turn off the screen completely since there's no power LED to let the user know it's still on. These days, it's not hard to put a DAC into the sound system and right from the start recognize that one has installed a highly "faithful"-sounding component in the chain (you can easily tell when listening to the noise floor, general frequency response presentation, comparisons to other familiar hi-fi gear) - that's the impression I got immediately. 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. It does has a "good measurement" BUT it does not provide a great sound signature as I expected with ES9038Pro. Sabaj A10d features x4 OPA1612 OP-AMPs (two for each DAC chip) and it can dish out around 1 watt of power into a 32-ohm load. The unit drives my Hifiman HE-R9 and Sennheiser 58X, easily without breaking a sweat. The unit does not get hot either. As for the output impedance, the values are perfectly fine. The XLR out has an impedance value of 100Ω and the HP outputs are nearly 0Ω. This means that it plays nicely with even the most sensitive IEMs out there on the market.

The remote is plastic in construction and quite typical of DACs at this price point. There's an on/off button, mute, toggle input, and volume control. The Fn button can be programmed in the menu system to switch to Bluetooth input or toggle between line out / headphone out. Maybe Sabaj could consider mapping other functions like cycling screen brightness. 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? Silent noise floor with a song on pause and max volume, others reported something but with USB into the DAC the combo doesn't have an issue here. Very nice! The sideband anomalies due to jitter are at most around -140dB from the peak of the primary signal. As extreme as this test already is, the result here is even better than the S.M.S.L. DO100 DAC (-130dB below primary signal). IMO, comparisons based on pure objective measured performances with the ultra (too much) expensive DSC Rossini are irrelevant : they're not intended for the same market nor the same use, they're not based on the same technology as for the DCS. Yes, top range pro and high end brands like DCS, Merging, Prism Sound, etc, are making VERY expensive products, but they're also making VERY good ones. Reliability on the long term and brand services matter too, not only the price tag nor the pure SInad ! I never heard of a major recording, broadcasting or mastering studio using Sabaj or Topping Dacs (maybe it will change soon, but now, that's it).Indulge in high-quality MQA music with MQA-CD support, allowing you to enjoy stunning audio when connected via optical or coaxial interfaces. Additionally, the A20d 2023version offers high-spec Bluetooth capabilities, supporting LDAC, apt-X HD, and AAC, enabling stable and high-speed wireless audio transmission over a distance of up to 20 meters. Intuitive Remote Control and High-Resolution Screen 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!

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 Qudelix 5K Bluetooth USB LDAC AptX Adaptive Portable DAC/Amp, Moondrop Dawn 4.4mm (with 2.5mm adapter) and 3.5mm, Topping D10 Balanced DAC (Dual Sabre ESS), SMSL D-6 Balanced DAC (Dual AKM), Topping A90 Discrete Balanced Headphone AmplifierThe DAC is really solid and on the SP200 I love the sound and 5.14 volts I think it does. No driver issues, standard USB drivers and ASIO like every SMSL DAC. I just got one of these and after a couple hours of use I found it to be a more polished/complete product than the Topping D90SE. So much so it has permanently replaced my D90SE. Why? However I want to also use this to power my Klipsch The Fives on my computer. My setup is used for everything, not just music but video games and movies too.

Using the Kill-A-Watt meter, I see that when turned on and playing through RCA/XLR, it's only sipping 5W through Bluetooth or USB inputs. When in sleep mode (turned off with remote controller or hold control knob down a few seconds), it drops down to <1W. Always good to see low-power utilization. The box barely gets warm after an hour of use.The 2023 Sabaj A20d version boasts a preamp mode that enhances your audio output. With an output amplitude of up to 4.6Vrms through the XLR output and 2.3Vrms through the RCA output, you have the freedom to choose from three different output modes. Whether you prefer a fixed volume, variable volume control, or DSD pass-through, this device caters to your specific needs. High-Performance Headphone AMP 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.] Discover the ultimate audio experience with the Sabaj A20d 2023 High Res USB Audio DAC & Headphone AMP. This groundbreaking product combines state-of-the-art technology, unrivaled performance, and versatile features to redefine your audio journey. Key Features: AK 4499 EX Chip Audio DAC with Headphone AMP