[Plieb]

I still use mine as a preamp for my computer speakers, but it's seen less headphone use in recent months. The two headphones in my collection that I felt it best synergized with were the Fostex T50RP Argon and the Senn HD6XX. The Argon, I no longer have because I got the Hifiman HE6se V2 and that does everything I wanted the Argon to do, but much much better (when properly driven, anyway). And the 6XX, I still have it but I've since built a Bottlehead Crack amp and that's a god-tier combo, so I never connect my 6XX to anything else anymore. I mean, Singxer SA-1 & HD6XX is an S-Tier combo no doubt, but BHC & HD6XX is just SSSSSSSS-Tier.

I think I need to discover a new killer headphone synergy with my SA-1 soon or I may have to think about selling it. Which is a shame, because I do really like it, but I also just don't use it a lot anymore because I've mostly moved on to other pairings that I like even more.

Edit - Come to think of it, my Meze 99 pairs with the SA-1 really well, also, but the Meze 99 has to compete with the E-Mu Teak (paired with Liquid Platinum) and Thinksound OV21 (paired with Liquid Spark) that are also in my collection, and those are real tough to beat. I have a hard time looking at those three headphones on my wall and choosing the Meze

Found the 660S a way better match than the 6xx which was too bass heavy and a bit dull. 660S more dynamic with better detail and more sparkle.
But of course different DAC's can change that.
Sa1 not the best when it comes to punch and dynamics. My focal elex character was also greatly changed being a bit dull which was a first for that phone.

 

[LowBeat91]

What would been a warm sounding Amp upgrade vom from an SA1?

 

[rjacko01]

I also use it as a preamp for my AE1 actives for my desktop, works great

 

[JohanE]

Who's still using an SA-1 in their system, I still love mine and it's my main SS amp for listening and gaming.

I do whenever my primary source is connected to my speaker setup. I move it between the systems.
I really think the SA-1 pairs well with my DCA Aeon 2 Noire. Very well.

 

[DMITRIY R]

Who's still using an SA-1 in their system, I still love mine and it's my main SS amp for listening and gaming.

Sold my amp. At the same time, I still consider it one of the best in its price category.

 

[DMITRIY R]

Selling the amplifier looked something like this. The buyer had to make a fair amount of effort to take the box from me.

p.s.
I miss for him.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

What would been a warm sounding Amp upgrade vom from an SA1?

Without knowing anything about your need, my "wild guess" answer is: Burson Soloist 3XP with V6 Classic Op Amp. Or simply go straight to Cayin HA-3A.

 

[DeckHiFi]

I think this has been talked about before with the HD600 perhaps sounding better per Single Ended cable compared to balance even with this amp. I now get it! I feel like I just had an awakening moment going back to single ended output out of this amp to my HD600. No wonder this headphone is an audiophile highlight. When you have a great setup and let the low gain and single ended do it's magic - this is truly special. My current setup is in my signature...

but I really feel like low gain and single ended at least with the HD600 is how it "should" sound. Voices seperate from the rest of the mix so it's very clear, but the dynamic range of the whole soundstage also sounds so freakin good and not artificial at all. Loving it! I have a feeling balanced out and high gain can wow people because you're getting more voltage or gain and it's immediately noticeable. The classic louder is better. But when you find the right volume with low gain and single ended, it could still be as good as it gets. Not to say balanced out sounds bad at all, and might depend on the headphones.

 

[amiga505]

Without knowing anything about your need, my "wild guess" answer is: Burson Soloist 3XP with V6 Classic Op Amp. Or simply go straight to Cayin HA-3A.

or perhaps Flux Labs FA12? they seem to be available for order via webshop again.

 

[Shane D]

What would been a warm sounding Amp upgrade vom from an SA1?

Maybe Violectric? Used V281 or V222? The older one is likely warmer.

 

[Plieb]

I think this has been talked about before with the HD600 perhaps sounding better per Single Ended cable compared to balance even with this amp. I now get it! I feel like I just had an awakening moment going back to single ended output out of this amp to my HD600. No wonder this headphone is an audiophile highlight. When you have a great setup and let the low gain and single ended do it's magic - this is truly special. My current setup is in my signature...

but I really feel like low gain and single ended at least with the HD600 is how it "should" sound. Voices seperate from the rest of the mix so it's very clear, but the dynamic range of the whole soundstage also sounds so freakin good and not artificial at all. Loving it! I have a feeling balanced out and high gain can wow people because you're getting more voltage or gain and it's immediately noticeable. The classic louder is better. But when you find the right volume with low gain and single ended, it could still be as good as it gets. Not to say balanced out sounds bad at all, and might depend on the headphones.

Wow! im using single ended 2.1 volts input.
Just nowhere near enough power via SE out.
Using the 120 ohm efficient Neumann's and need to set volume at 3pm or higher SE out. Just not enough headroom.
With sennheiser 660s via balanced out im setting volume at 11 to 1 pm on most stuff. Great dynamics and ultra clean.
The sa1 gain settings are a bit on the low side making it difficult to use SE out. What voltage is your dac?
Also what confuses me is that the HE 600 has the lowest sensitivity rating of all the 600 series sennheisers. Making it even harder to drive.

 

[DeckHiFi]

Wow! im using single ended 2.1 volts input.
Just nowhere near enough power via SE out.
Using the 120 ohm efficient Neumann's and need to set volume at 3pm or higher SE out. Just not enough headroom.
With sennheiser 660s via balanced out im setting volume at 11 to 1 pm on most stuff. Great dynamics and ultra clean.
The sa1 gain settings are a bit on the low side making it difficult to use SE out. What voltage is your dac?
Also what confuses me is that the HE 600 has the lowest sensitivity rating of all the 600 series sennheisers. Making it even harder to drive.

I wonder if having balanced out of my DAC into the SA-1 is the key to getting SE out of the SA-1 to work well. I found this online for my dac:
RCA: 2.5Vrms (VOLUME FIXED) 100Ω
XLR: 5.0Vrms VOLUME FIXED) 100Ω

All I know is it sounds incredible. I do have to turn the volume pot up to about 4-5 on low gain but of course it depends on the song. So yeah I am turning the volume pot up a very high amount, but isn't that a good thing about this Amp that it has a lot of the volume at the end of the pot and does a good job with it? I know people's general feelings of turning up volume pot up too high means you should go to high gain or perhaps balanced out, but I don't think that's the case with this amp. Again this is all YMMV as I have no idea how other headphones react, and I'm not saying balanced out is bad at all. I just feel like the sound went up a level in terms of what I think the HD600 can offer.

 

[Plieb]

I wonder if having balanced out of my DAC into the SA-1 is the key to getting SE out of the SA-1 to work well. I found this online for my dac:
RCA : 2.5Vrms (fixed volume)
XLR : 5Vrms (fixed volume)

All I know is it sounds incredible. I do have to turn the volume pot up to about 4-5 on low gain but of course it depends on the song. So yeah I am turning the volume pot up a very high amount, but isn't that a good thing about this Amp that it has a lot of the volume at the end of the pot and does a good job with it? I know people's general feelings of turning up volume pot up too high means you should go to high gain or perhaps balanced out, but I don't think that's the case with this amp. Again this is all YMMV as I have no idea how other headphones react, and I'm not saying balanced out is bad at all. I just feel like the sound went up a level in terms of what I think the HD600 can offer.

Ok sounds good. Im a bit confused. Are you saying your using balanced 5 vrms into your SA-1via the balanced input of the amp? Which would make sense that SE out would have enough headroom. However i read somewhere that it was not a good idea to use balanced in and SE out. Not sure why.
Yes the SA-1 being a logarithmic volume pot does sound great at very high settings. The sound volume goes up very slowly untill you hit around 2 pm and higher. At that point the volume increases very rapidly.
I also noticed the distortion that you hear on many amps that go over the limit with high volume settings is very much minimized with the SA-1.

 

[DeckHiFi]

Ok sounds good. Im sure its ok.
Yes the SA-1 being a logarithmic volume pot does sound great at very high settings. The sound volume goes up very slowly untill you hit around 2 pm and higher. At that point the volume increases very rapidly.
I also noticed the distortion that you hear on many amps that go over the limit with high volume settings is very much minimized with the SA-1.

Yeah I also wonder if what I found is why people say my headphones scale so well. Or I think I've read that before. It all seems to make sense. I also think the Passion for Sound YouTube guy seems to prefer Single Ended a lot of the time. I think he actually said balanced out was better for this amp, but I would have to go back to his review. But again I do think balanced out initially is always going to be more impressive, but if you take time with something the initial sound might not be the whole story.

I do now wonder if let's say someone is getting the right voltage for your headphones from your DAC, perhaps Single Ended does have advantages to how it treats the sound compared to balanced. Or maybe it's all placebo..but that Passion for Sound guy might be onto something. It's always fun when something blows you away and at least we have this forum to share it so hopefully at least one other person can enjoy their audio experience more.

 

[Plieb]

Yeah I also wonder if what I found is why people say my headphones scale so well. Or I think I've read that before. It all seems to make sense. I also think the Passion for Sound YouTube guy seems to prefer Single Ended a lot of the time. I think he actually said balanced out was better for this amp, but I would have to go back to his review. But again I do think balanced out initially is always going to be more impressive, but if you take time with something the initial sound might not be the whole story.

I do now wonder if let's say someone is getting the right voltage for your headphones from your DAC, perhaps Single Ended does have advantages to how it treats the sound compared to balanced. Or maybe it's all placebo..but that Passion for Sound guy might be onto something. It's always fun when something blows you away and at least we have this forum to share it so hopefully at least one other person can enjoy their audio experience more.

Ok. Can you review my edited comments again. Im a bit confused as to the way your dac is being used.
Thx