[godmax]

Is it Ares II a good match with SA-1?

I did not try the Ares II with the SA-1 yet, only with the Musician Pegasus (which is basically an modded Ares II, since designed from the same OEM team) and the Questyle CMA400i (AKM AK4490). But in general the Ares II is a very good DAC and pairs very well with any amplifier.

 

[godmax]

May I ask which amp has the widest soundstage of all? Tks

The deepest soundstage is "created" by the Violectric V281 and the widest by the Soloist 3XP.

 

[Muataz]

I did not try the Ares II with the SA-1 yet, only with the Musician Pegasus (which is basically an modded Ares II, since designed from the same OEM team) and the Questyle CMA400i (AKM AK4490). But in general the Ares II is a very good DAC and pairs very well with any amplifier.

Can you feed SA-1 From CMA400i ? I think it has excellent preamp.

 

[godmax]

Can you feed SA-1 From CMA400i ? I think it has excellent preamp.

Yes, I connected the CMA400i to the SA-1 balanced with XLR (with variable output on the CMA400i selected on the back). Even the 4490 is a little outdated, it is still good enough.

 

[simon740]

I did not try the Ares II with the SA-1 yet, only with the Musician Pegasus (which is basically an modded Ares II, since designed from the same OEM team) and the Questyle CMA400i (AKM AK4490). But in general the Ares II is a very good DAC and pairs very well with any amplifier.

Thank you for this info.

regards,
Simon

 

[Shane D]

My SA-1 arrived 2 days ago together with the Musician Pegasus. It very early to make a qualified statement, but so far I do like the unit very much (so far it might not rival my other amps 100%, but the 4.4mm Pentacon alone was enough reason for me). Even so the SA-1 is not fully class A, it powers e.g. my HP-3 as good as my other class A amplifiers.

Seems Singxer was "inspired" by the Questyle product design

Nice collection!

 

[joshUKUSA]

My SA-1 arrived 2 days ago together with the Musician Pegasus. It very early to make a qualified statement, but so far I do like the unit very much (so far it might not rival my other amps 100%, but the 4.4mm Pentacon alone was enough reason for me). Even so the SA-1 is not fully class A, it powers e.g. my HP-3 as good as my other class A amplifiers.

Seems Singxer was "inspired" by the Questyle product design

Definitely interested in hearing a comparison between the gs-x mini, sa-1 and soloist, only person I've heard compared the headamp and the singxer is zeos and I think I only ever agree with that guy like 10% of the time

 

[Lolito]

I did not try the Ares II with the SA-1 yet, only with the Musician Pegasus (which is basically an modded Ares II, since designed from the same OEM team) and the Questyle CMA400i (AKM AK4490). But in general the Ares II is a very good DAC and pairs very well with any amplifier.

Once the sa1 is burned in, let us know how do you like it compared to the rest. Thanks!

 

[Pharmaboy]

My SA-1 arrived 2 days ago together with the Musician Pegasus. It very early to make a qualified statement, but so far I do like the unit very much (so far it might not rival my other amps 100%, but the 4.4mm Pentacon alone was enough reason for me). Even so the SA-1 is not fully class A, it powers e.g. my HP-3 as good as my other class A amplifiers.

Seems Singxer was "inspired" by the Questyle product design

V281! (my favorite amp/preamp ever). How does the SA-1 compare to the V281 sonically?

 

[Pharmaboy]

only person I've heard compared the headamp and the singxer is zeos and I think I only ever agree with that guy like 10% of the time

10% beats my agreement stat. When I first got into this hobby I was dazzled by the first couple Z videos I saw. The dude has more gear than God and can make any comparison he wants. But after awhile, I had to stop watching--he rarely makes straightforward, non-fanboy sonic characterizations, and most of the comps are of the verbal drive-by type w/little detail. Then there's his disturbing tendency to gush/overpraise ~25% of the gear that passes through his hands.

I don't need anybody to amplify the hype train for me. I do need the rational comments and observations of others (here & elsewhere) to minimize the hype train, or at least, put it into some perspective...

 

[godmax]

Nice collection!

Thanks! ... I guess support too many manufactures (audio gear hoarder syndrom™)

Definitely interested in hearing a comparison between the gs-x mini, sa-1 and soloist, only person I've heard compared the headamp and the singxer is zeos and I think I only ever agree with that guy like 10% of the time

10% beats my agreement stat. When I first got into this hobby I was dazzled by the first couple Z videos I saw. The dude has more gear than God and can make any comparison he wants. But after awhile, I had to stop watching--he rarely makes straightforward, non-fanboy sonic characterizations, and most of the comps are of the verbal drive-by type w/little detail. Then there's his disturbing tendency to gush/overpraise ~25% of the gear that passes through his hands.

Will take some more time for me to really make an educated guess , but from the first impressions of the SA-1 vs. the GS-X mini, they share definitely some characteristics, but I would not go that far, that SA-1 and GS-X mini sound undistinguishable the same (like Z did ... but after his video qualifying the Focal Clear as the "Beats of Focal" I cannot take his judgements seriously most of the time).

V281! (my favorite amp/preamp ever). How does the SA-1 compare to the V281 sonically?

Also very early for me to tell, but so far the SA-1 is not quite up to the level of the V281 (especially comparing sound stage depth) - well that is expected and its the way it should be . But the SA-1 can power my Klipsch HP-3 (up to 1800mW) better than the V281 to my liking. The paring of the Musician Pegasus DAC (extra soundstage width) together with V281 (extra soundstage depth) I currently really like.

 

[kdub]

The deepest soundstage is "created" by the Violectric V281 and the widest by the Soloist 3XP.

Other than wide soundstage do you hear any other sonic superiority from Soloist 3XP vs SA-1? This was my other strong consideration when ordering the Singxer.

 

[Chamade]

Just ordered one of these to pair with the Arya and will feed it from an iFi Micro BL and Honey H1. Hoping for a sonic upgrade as I never owned a desktop amp.

 

[godmax]

Other than wide soundstage do you hear any other sonic superiority from Soloist 3XP vs SA-1? This was my other strong consideration when ordering the Singxer.

Also take my words with grain of salt since I did not hear both amps side-by-side with the same source yet, but the Soloist has a overall „leaner“ presentation than the SA-1 (and also the GS-X mini or V281), but that brings also more details and nuances. Especially with bass emphasised headphones this can be favorable (e.g. my EMU Teaks just sound more „educated“ on the Soloist ). So this is more a question of personal preference. Both are very good amps and you can’t go wrong either of these two.

 

[kdub]

Also take my words with grain of salt since I did not hear both amps side-by-side with the same source yet, but the Soloist has a overall „leaner“ presentation than the SA-1 (and also the GS-X mini or V281), but that brings also more details and nuances. Especially with bass emphasised headphones this can be favorable (e.g. my EMU Teaks just sound more „educated“ on the Soloist ). So this is more a question of personal preference. Both are very good amps and you can’t go wrong either of these two.

Thanks for more comparison info on this. The Stellia are quite resolving so maybe something with more fuller body would be a nice pair like the SA-1. Yeah not sure I want to add more lean sound into the chain. Just ordered an Allo USBridge Signature Player streamer last night to add to the chain. Will see if it makes a difference vs sending music from Audirvana on the Mac mini. Moode player suppose to be quite good sq from other’s comments.