Audio GD SA-31 head amp/ preamp . A powerfull Head Amp with Diamond Difference design . - Page 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by WiR3D 

You know - some claim its pointless, some claim its a big factor.
 

I for one, Think anything that meets a decent line of specifications (for interconnects) is perfect. QED Audio 2 cables, thats where I stop. Lifetime warranty, good quality, not expensive. 

 

As for speaker cables - lamp wire or anything that can carry a lot of current and isn't corroded or going past a massive source of noise.

 

Or Coax cable - little more difficult to work with, but if the entire television industry runs off it, then why the hell not.

Ah, the answer I was looking for. Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsoontan 

I suppose what I want to know is if getting a decent RCA cable is worth it compared to say a normal cheap RCA cable. ie. $5 cable vs. $50 cable.

Well, let me state that I have a Master-5/ Ref-8 using Monoprice power cables and interconnects- you judge where I place my importance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3320070 

Well, let me state that I have a Master-5/ Ref-8 using Monoprice power cables and interconnects- you judge where I place my importance.

You mean Reference 5 + Master 8? How does the SA-31 fare against the Master 8?

No he means Reference 8 (balanced SA DAC) and Master 5 (predecessor to Master 8).

The internal amp in the 3x r-core DAC/amp (Reference 10, NFB-20, NFB-27) is said to be on par with that of the Master series (though one can question this claim).

As I wrote few posts before, the SA-31 is technically on par with the internal amp of my NFB-27.

To these technicalities, it adds the "musical flavor" and a warmer tone (when set accordingly, using the 2 jumpers) which make me prefer it over the NFB-27.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clemmaster 

No he means Reference 8 (balanced SA DAC) and Master 5 (predecessor to Master 8).

 

The internal amp in the 3x r-core DAC/amp (Reference 10, NFB-20, NFB-27) is said to be on par with that of the Master series (though one can question this claim).

As I wrote few posts before, the SA-31 is technically on par with the internal amp of my NFB-27.

 

To these technicalities, it adds the "musical flavor" and a warmer tone (when set accordingly, using the 2 jumpers) which make me prefer it over the NFB-27.

That's helpful, thank you!

Anyone has tried the SA-31 with HD800? from what I read here, the "warm yet detailed" nature of SA-31 should suit greatly with HD800. But I will be more than happy to have your opinion.

It's a shame that no shipment is possible during Chinese new year tho... 

Thanks.

I'll do some A/Bing later. Arete/Volcano is usually my go to amp for the HD 800 and other high impedance headphones, but I'll see how the Audio GD compares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve2151 

I'll do some A/Bing later. Arete/Volcano is usually my go to amp for the HD 800 and other high impedance headphones, but I'll see how the Audio GD compares.

thanks very much, will be happy to have your opinion on the comparison. 

The SA-31 is airier and has a softer treble. The Arete/Volcano stack has a blacker background and brings the mids and bass forward. 

I think the Arete compliments the HD 800 better, since it can sound too distant on some tracks. Although there is more space on the SA-31, this sometimes causes the mids and bass to feel recessed on some tracks. Despite the smaller soundstage, the Arete actually has better instrument separation due to the blacker background and better microdetails. 

I give a slight advantage to the Arete /Volcano, but I'd quantify it as a 10% improvement for 3 times the money. 

On the flip side, the SA-31 sounds marvelous with the HE-6 since the ortho is less grainy and has what I consider to be a better frequency balance to begin with. The Arete doesn't supply enough power for the HE-6 and that combo sounds like listening to a concert in a subway tunnel - the soundstage is compressed horizontally and highs sound excessively sharp.

Really considering this for my HE-6...looks like the ideal poor man EF-6 

I got mine a couple of days ago.   Still early with the burn-in - the first couple of hours it was far from warm or musical, but even after only 24 hours it's starting to open up. This is my first Audio GD amp, and I've understood that they need quite a bit of time to get into shape.

Anyway, it's definitely more detailed and spacious-sounding than my previous Matrix M-Stage (a lovely amp - hope I won't miss it). I'm running it with AKG K702 Anniversaries and Denon AH-D5000 (which only gives me maybe ten usable steps on the volume control...), but plan on getting either T1 or HE500 soon to go with it.

For now I'm planning to burn it in for another few days, and then try out the different jumper settings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utopia 

I got mine a couple of days ago.   Still early with the burn-in - the first couple of hours it was far from warm or musical, but even after only 24 hours it's starting to open up. This is my first Audio GD amp, and I've understood that they need quite a bit of time to get into shape.

 

Anyway, it's definitely more detailed and spacious-sounding than my previous Matrix M-Stage (a lovely amp - hope I won't miss it). I'm running it with AKG K702 Anniversaries and Denon AH-D5000 (which only gives me maybe ten usable steps on the volume control...), but plan on getting either T1 or HE500 soon to go with it.

 

For now I'm planning to burn it in for another few days, and then try out the different jumper settings.

I am looking forward to more impressions

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utopia 

I got mine a couple of days ago.   Still early with the burn-in - the first couple of hours it was far from warm or musical, but even after only 24 hours it's starting to open up. This is my first Audio GD amp, and I've understood that they need quite a bit of time to get into shape.

 

Anyway, it's definitely more detailed and spacious-sounding than my previous Matrix M-Stage (a lovely amp - hope I won't miss it). I'm running it with AKG K702 Anniversaries and Denon AH-D5000 (which only gives me maybe ten usable steps on the volume control...), but plan on getting either T1 or HE500 soon to go with it.

 

For now I'm planning to burn it in for another few days, and then try out the different jumper settings.

I'm also using the SA-31 with the K702 65th, as well as my AD2000X with good results.  Hoping to pick up an HD-800 in the next few weeks that I can compare as well.  It does seem to scale well with source also.  Unfortunately I haven't got to try the jumper setting since I bought mine used and it didn't ship with the jumpers.  I noticed a nice upgrade from the Schiit Modi to Resonessence Concero, even though both are simple, USB powered DACs.

I'll say it again that this amp is only slightly left of neutral. It's warm in relation to other AGD amps only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3320070 

I'll say it again that this amp is only slightly left of neutral. It's warm in relation to other AGD amps only.

Yep.

The m-stage is warmer than the SA-31 on its default state (no jumpers).

Adding the 2 jumpers makes it closer to the m-stage but I wouldn't call it warmer, even.

The m-stage is a really good amp by itself (an cheap at that). Paired with planars, the SA-31 is the real deal!

The big soundstage is great addition to headphones that don't particularly shine in this area (planars, again).