[Plieb]

FYI Focal Elex loses all of its main assets paired with the sa-1. Punch, dynamics, the close up in your face perspective. The Elex on the Rebel heightens all those assets lost with the sa-1.
Love the singxer with the senn 660s. Elex is very smooth with the sa-1 however its not an Elex anymore.
Compatibility is everything.

 

[sahmen]

Is it okay to leave the sa-1 on all the time, even if it is not playing? Also, how many hours of "burn-in" (if any) does the sa-1 require to hit its ideal stride in performance?

 

[Alex May]

Is it okay to leave the sa-1 on all the time, even if it is not playing?

Only if you don't care about your electricity bills.

Also, how many hours of "burn-in" (if any) does the sa-1 require to hit its ideal stride in performance?

Until it's warm.

 

[Plieb]

Is it okay to leave the sa-1 on all the time, even if it is not playing? Also, how many hours of "burn-in" (if any) does the sa-1 require to hit its ideal stride in performance?

Much less than many others. I think a few days and its there. I keep master switch on in back of unit for standby but turn off front switch which keeps amplification off. For a few days i kept unit in highz mode to offset slight brightness. Now its always in lowz.

 

[amiga505]

so, in case someone is curious, I am doing an A/B of the SA-1 as a pre-amp against the SW51+ as a pre-amp. setup is this: (1) J2 SE to SW51+, then from the low-z headphone out of the SW51+ with a Canare cable to first line in of Musical Paradise MP-301 tube amp; (2) J2 via balanced XLR cable into SA-1, and then from the SE pre-outs to another line in of PM-301, I can flip the switch handily to catch the difference. speakers are Triangle Titus Ez. well, performance is passable, but I am not impressed with SA-1 as a preamp, at least via SE outs. the thing it has over SW51+ is bass definition, but other than that the problem seems identical to that the SE headphone output of SA-1 - not enough juice. not only do I have to crank the volume all the way to 3 o'clock to match the SW51+ 11 o'clock, but the sound still lacks dynamic punch, the soundstage is noticeably narrower... perhaps things will improve with XLR pre-outs of SA-1, but I don't have a passing power amp on hand to test this.

 

[Plieb]

so, in case someone is curious, I am doing an A/B of the SA-1 as a pre-amp against the SW51+ as a pre-amp. setup is this: (1) J2 SE to SW51+, then from the low-z headphone out of the SW51+ with a Canare cable to first line in of Musical Paradise MP-301 tube amp; (2) J2 via balanced XLR cable into SA-1, and then from the SE pre-outs to another line in of PM-301, I can flip the switch handily to catch the difference. speakers are Triangle Titus Ez. well, performance is passable, but I am not impressed with SA-1 as a preamp, at least via SE outs. the thing it has over SW51+ is bass definition, but other than that the problem seems identical to that the SE headphone output of SA-1 - not enough juice. not only do I have to crank the volume all the way to 3 o'clock to match the SW51+ 11 o'clock, but the sound still lacks dynamic punch, the soundstage is noticeably narrower... perhaps things will improve with XLR pre-outs of SA-1, but I don't have a passing power amp on hand to test this.

Yeah SE out sucks

 

[P1ayer]

Greetings to all. I have Singxer-Sa1 in my use for about 6-8 months. With all this hype, I did not appreciate the prospects of transferring all headphones to Bal. connection

 

[P1ayer]

Honestly. This amplifier causes mixed feelings. Even after DC mode, it doesn't sound fantastic, as many people write about it. There is a lack of dynamics (energy) and warmth, an amorphous sound, detached, as if the vocals sound far away (muffled) and this is called a "wide stage". There is no emotion. I'm not impressed with this pitch, I'm upset.

 

[amiga505]

Honestly. This amplifier causes mixed feelings. Even after DC mode, it doesn't sound fantastic, as many people write about it. There is a lack of dynamics (energy) and warmth, an amorphous sound, detached, as if the vocals sound far away (muffled) and this is called a "wide stage". There is no emotion. I'm not impressed with this pitch, I'm upset.

to be honest, I can't say I agree with your impressions, with Verum 1 balanced I get a pretty good slam, warmth to my liking and all. having said that, I am also a bit disappointed, but I guess this is due to me having high expectations - I though that this would be a much bigger step up from Cavalli LCX.

 

[Plieb]

to be honest, I can't say I agree with your impressions, with Verum 1 balanced I get a pretty good slam, warmth to my liking and all. having said that, I am also a bit disappointed, but I guess this is due to me having high expectations - I though that this would be a much bigger step up from Cavalli LCX.

Was a huge step up from Cavalli CTH and all thx amps for me. (789 & 887)

 

[Thetaburn]

Honestly. This amplifier causes mixed feelings. Even after DC mode, it doesn't sound fantastic, as many people write about it. There is a lack of dynamics (energy) and warmth, an amorphous sound, detached, as if the vocals sound far away (muffled) and this is called a "wide stage". There is no emotion. I'm not impressed with this pitch, I'm upset.

What Dac are you pairing the Singxer with?

 

[P1ayer]

What Dac are you pairing the Singxer with?

I use this amplifier with pc, g6 and AE9, the sound is still worse through China clone Lehman that was before, and no need to spend money on the balance cable)

 

[P1ayer]

delite

 

[P1ayer]

.

 

[sahmen]

I have got the singxer SA-1 (no mods) paired with a Schiit Bifrost 2/64 in a Home Study rig, which sources music from Roon (Tidal/Qobuz/local files) either through my Macmini (USB) or Metrum Acoustics Ambre. However I slice it, this chain rocks, and I have got mucho dynamics, details, spaciousness, and extension at both ends coming out of my ears. Even more interestingly, I can listen to this chain for hours non-stop without any fatigue.

This rig sounds very satisfying--so satisfying--that it always succeeds in playing a funny trick on me by concealing its own limitations to me quite perfectly. Whenever I start off any day listening to it, it sounds quite perfect to me : I can't find any shortcomings to complain about, and wouldn't were I to listen to it all day! I even have a Schiit Lokius hooked up to this stack which is always in bypass mode, because I never feel the need to use it.

However, I do know it has limitations, but I only become aware of those limitations when I switch rigs and begin listening to the same music on another rig which is about 6 times more expensive than the Singxer sa-1/Bifrost 2/64 stack... Personally, I say that's a pretty impressive and neat trick the rig has up its sleeve and it gets me every single time. I have never heard anything on this rig that has been less than impressive my to ears... I do recognize, however, that mileages may vary, for several good reasons.

By the way the HPs I have been using with this particular rig are the Arya V3 and the OG Audeze LCD-X.