[fixedfreak]

I would like to ask which DAC you would buy with my equipment. I plan to order the Singxer SA-1 in the next days and add a new DAC to set up a second system / upgrade from my existing one.

At the moment I am using the Sabaj D5 with Moode on a RaPi3 as a source for my two Focals (Clear and Celestee). Both a connected balanced - Clear with original cable and the Celestee with a Beyerdynamic XLR cable.

Now I am not sure which DAC would be the best partner for the Singxer SA-1 to drive the Focals.

At the moment I am I between the Gustard x16 and the Ares II. R2R might be a good idea to smooth the Focals a little bit. Sometimes both HP are a little bit metallic sounding with the D5 with some mediocre recordings.

The X26pro is too expensive atm. Bifrost is not avaliable in Europe at the moment.

Looking forward to hear your suggestions/opinions.

 

[Ohhellyea]

I would like to ask which DAC you would buy with my equipment. I plan to order the Singxer SA-1 in the next days and add a new DAC to set up a second system / upgrade from my existing one.

At the moment I am using the Sabaj D5 with Moode on a RaPi3 as a source for my two Focals (Clear and Celestee). Both a connected balanced - Clear with original cable and the Celestee with a Beyerdynamic XLR cable.

Now I am not sure which DAC would be the best partner for the Singxer SA-1 to drive the Focals.

At the moment I am I between the Gustard x16 and the Ares II. R2R might be a good idea to smooth the Focals a little bit. Sometimes both HP are a little bit metallic sounding with the D5 with some mediocre recordings.

The X26pro is too expensive atm. Bifrost is not avaliable in Europe at the moment.

Looking forward to hear your suggestions/opinions.

I use a Khadas Tone 2 Pro with my Clears, it is absolutely fantastic.

 

[TheRealDz]

I would like to ask which DAC you would buy with my equipment. I plan to order the Singxer SA-1 in the next days and add a new DAC to set up a second system / upgrade from my existing one.

At the moment I am using the Sabaj D5 with Moode on a RaPi3 as a source for my two Focals (Clear and Celestee). Both a connected balanced - Clear with original cable and the Celestee with a Beyerdynamic XLR cable.

Now I am not sure which DAC would be the best partner for the Singxer SA-1 to drive the Focals.

At the moment I am I between the Gustard x16 and the Ares II. R2R might be a good idea to smooth the Focals a little bit. Sometimes both HP are a little bit metallic sounding with the D5 with some mediocre recordings.

The X26pro is too expensive atm. Bifrost is not avaliable in Europe at the moment.

Looking forward to hear your suggestions/opinions.

I am running my Focal Elegia/DCA CX balanced from my SA-1. I have the Ares 2 DAC and it does smooth things out. But the Ares was just the beginning - I know that I am late to the party, but I am really enjoying the difference that R2R brings.

I've really gone deep down the rabbit hole and have now purchased a half dozen different different cheap Chinese multibit DACs from eBay/Aliexpress. After bypassing the output capacitors on each, they sound surprisingly close to the Ares at nearly 1/20 the cost. (Ironically I can bypass the DAC output capacitors because I DIDN'T do the SA-1 capacitor mod).

As much as I am impressed by the Ares, I could happily live with these TDA1543/1387 DACs. They bring far more musicality and overall enjoyment than my previous Chord Mojo/Hugo, SMSL SU-8v2, Dragonfly Red, etc.

 

[fixedfreak]

As much as I am impressed by the Ares, I could happily live with these TDA1543/1387 DACs. They bring far more musicality and overall enjoyment than my previous Chord Mojo/Hugo, SMSL SU-8v2, Dragonfly Red, etc.

Can you say which one of the 1543/1387 DAC would be the best choice and the nearest to the ares in terms of Sq? For balanced use.

Do you have a Ali link? 11.11 is near.

 

[spruce]

First impressions with the SA-1 and Ares II is that my LCD 2 Classic match well. My LCD2C also have felt pads with some black Dan Clark dampening pads. I really like the Elex on this chain as well, otherwise the Elex is too bright for me on everything else I’ve tried.

I also own the D90 and as much as I love it’s quickness, clarity and incisiveness the Ares II is easily my favorite of the two due to its natural sound presentation. The Ares II also retains all the details and clarity I need!

 

[aroldan]

Another vote for Ares II as DAC

 

[Thetaburn]

Another vote for the Singxer with Ares 2 (OS mode with slow filter). The Ares 2 give a good amount of width to the soundstage.

 

[Tazyn]

I was puzzled by the filtration of the system's power supply. The assembled filters on aliexpress turned out to be beautiful in appearance, but with very cheap and simple filters. After searching, I came across separate filtration boards link
I made a homemade filter out of an improvised box for the board. So far, the impressions are positive. I can recommend it.

 

[NPWS]

I feed Topping D70s xlr into the SA-1, from PC I use foobar2000. Headphone is Arya. I found that in low gain, I need the volume mostly at 3 o'clock position and sometimes need to go to 5. I am wondering is that absolutely fine or if I should set it to high gain. At low gain and with the volume knob turned to the max will it have any adverse effect on the head room and/or dynamic range? I'd prefer low gain setting if possible. Thanks for your advice in advance.

hi, I have D90SE pairing with Singxer SA-1, I've tried several times to listen between Line out Type : RCA out only, XLR only and RCA+XLR using USB from my PC using foobar, turnout that RCA only have bigger power , more clear and everything than XLR only or RCA+XLR, using XLR it should have more power yes?
can you please test with your d70s?
thanks

 

[IZONE]

I would like to ask which DAC you would buy with my equipment. I plan to order the Singxer SA-1 in the next days and add a new DAC to set up a second system / upgrade from my existing one.

At the moment I am using the Sabaj D5 with Moode on a RaPi3 as a source for my two Focals (Clear and Celestee). Both a connected balanced - Clear with original cable and the Celestee with a Beyerdynamic XLR cable.

Now I am not sure which DAC would be the best partner for the Singxer SA-1 to drive the Focals.

At the moment I am I between the Gustard x16 and the Ares II. R2R might be a good idea to smooth the Focals a little bit. Sometimes both HP are a little bit metallic sounding with the D5 with some mediocre recordings.

The X26pro is too expensive atm. Bifrost is not avaliable in Europe at the moment.

Looking forward to hear your suggestions/opinions.

I recommend the Chord Qutest. Amazing combo with the SA-1. Just avoid Bifrost 2 as it does not seem to have good synergy. The BF2 has better synergy with the A90 in my experience

 

[BuckAcog]

I am running my Focal Elegia/DCA CX balanced from my SA-1. I have the Ares 2 DAC and it does smooth things out. But the Ares was just the beginning - I know that I am late to the party, but I am really enjoying the difference that R2R brings.

I've really gone deep down the rabbit hole and have now purchased a half dozen different different cheap Chinese multibit DACs from eBay/Aliexpress. After bypassing the output capacitors on each, they sound surprisingly close to the Ares at nearly 1/20 the cost. (Ironically I can bypass the DAC output capacitors because I DIDN'T do the SA-1 capacitor mod).

As much as I am impressed by the Ares, I could happily live with these TDA1543/1387 DACs. They bring far more musicality and overall enjoyment than my previous Chord Mojo/Hugo, SMSL SU-8v2, Dragonfly Red, etc.

Could you share and elaborate further on your experiences with bypassing the cheap r2r DACs? How did u do it and what difference did it make?

 

[yaps66]

hi, I have D90SE pairing with Singxer SA-1, I've tried several times to listen between Line out Type : RCA out only, XLR only and RCA+XLR using USB from my PC using foobar, turnout that RCA only have bigger power , more clear and everything than XLR only or RCA+XLR, using XLR it should have more power yes?
can you please test with your d70s?
thanks

I have the D70S pairing with Singxer SA-1 and have tried as requested: RCA out only, XLR out only and both RCA+XLR out from D70S to Singxer SA-1. I am connecting from PC using Roon. I do not see any difference in power or clarity using either connection.

 

[Muataz]

I have the D70S pairing with Singxer SA-1 and have tried as requested: RCA out only, XLR out only and both RCA+XLR out from D70S to Singxer SA-1. I am connecting from PC using Roon. I do not see any difference in power or clarity using either connection.

If the RCA give more voltage than 2.5v like chord qutest does at 3v then it will sound louder than 5v XLR.

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

I recommend the Chord Qutest. Amazing combo with the SA-1. Just avoid Bifrost 2 as it does not seem to have good synergy. The BF2 has better synergy with the A90 in my experience

Uh oh, have a BF2 on the way. Is it overly warm paired with the SA-1?

 

[TheRealDz]

Can you say which one of the 1543/1387 DAC would be the best choice and the nearest to the ares in terms of Sq? For balanced use.

Do you have a Ali link? 11.11 is near.

None of the ones I purchased are balanced, which is not surprising at this price point.

This one sounds closest to the Ares; L1387A. The downsides are that you need a 15v power supply, and the unit runs HOT. Supposedly the headphone amp in it is class A, which is hottest with no load - which was the majority of the time, since I use it mainly as a DAC. The case is way too small for its thermal output, and even drilling holes + adding heat sinks doesn't solve the problem.

Note that the headphone amp is quite good though. I will probably take it to work for desktop duty when I return to the office.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/L1387A-8X-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0


This is one I recommend though:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HIFI-USB-8...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

It is a bit softer sounding than the Ares, but highly enjoyable. It also has a decent sounding headphone amp, but it is not as powerful. You can power it off of the USB connection, but I recommend an outboard linear power supply for greater clarity.