[DeckHiFi]

Latest thoughts on this amp. I really think low gain (I did think this on the HD600) is the way to go if you aren't doing EQ or low EQ (don't need the extra gain of high gain). It seems like high gain has some advantages like a more immediate full sound. But I feel like it's very hard on a good amount of songs to get the volume right where the voices sepearte from the other instruments. High gain seems unnaturally boosted, or maybe it's just a lot harder to find the sweet spot for volume. You have to turn up low gain pretty high on this amp, but it seems much easier to hit the sweet spot where a song sounds natural.

But perhaps these thoughts apply to every amp and why people suggest always use low gain if you can for lower noise floor (general concept, not sure how much it applies to this amp).

Edit: I completely changed my mind to high gain with 660S2 headphones using HQPlayer. I now think high gain is better on this amp because you can make small adjustments perhaps easier (since a lot of the volume is at the end of the pot). In High gain, you're at a much lower volume pot level which again I think makes it easier to make small adjustments and make sure you're getting dynamic volume with an accurate sounding filter/modulator. Loving it!

 

[MacMan31]

Amazingly, I came across a review of D90SE by lycos who put up this image that captures exactly what I hear. My topping device wasnt D90se but E30+A90 but I basically hear the same when comparing the E30 and Ares II driven by SA-1. I am more assured of my "subjective" interpretation of sound given that another person perfectly (and more effectively) illustrated what I am hearing.

So the Ares II has a wider soundstage than the Bifrost 2? I have a Bifrost 2 right now but have long wanted an Ares II.

 

[NascentAP]

So the Ares II has a wider soundstage than the Bifrost 2? I have a Bifrost 2 right now but have long wanted an Ares II.

Cant say for sure as I have never heard Bifrost II but the person who made the diagram (lycos) seems to think so. I can say the image is pretty accurate when comparing E30 and Ares II but it appears the D90SE is very similar to E30 win this regard.

 

[Headphoneprobs]

The Singer sa1 I got from Drop.com has developed a channel imbalance. Hope drop.com will

I have to use peace eq at -0.24 to center the sound.

Yes.
Unplug the device.
Unscrew the hex screws.
Buy and install the 4 jumpers.
Screw the hex screws back on and finished.
There's a YouTube video if you need more details.



The downside of this mod is that treble is increased and you might need to eq that down.

Mine just developed imbalance too...owned since Nov 22. Have noticed imbalance only happening with 4.4 and XLR outs. Was this the same for you?

 

[nickrundall]

Just got my SA-1. It's sounding fantastic with my HEDDphones. Set to High Gain with balanced connection the volume control tends to sit at around 50-55%. Quite a dramatic improvement over the HP amp in my Neve 88M. Far more body, weight and depth to everything. The 88M amp just didn't have the power to bring the HEDD to life. The bass performance is way better and everything just sounds bigger.

 

[Plieb]

You guys got me to watch this Joshua Valour video. It was extremely painful to watch as is all of his videos.

First of all, he likes the Topping A90. Topping is built out of crap. Don't trust anyone that recommends Topping. They are garbage and poorly designed/constructed amplifiers constructed of piss poor parts.

Next, he likes the THX 789. The THX789 is able to have a silent sound floor for low $, but the THX circuitry deadens sound. If one is poor and on a budget, sure you save money on a THX 789 if you can't hear any difference. Those of you that have listened to many headphone amplifiers can probably hear this. Just purchase a different budget headphone amp if you are on a budget.

Lastly. Even though I cannot stand watching Joshua Valour videos, he is correct that the competition at this price point beats it. Just not the Topping A90 which is garbage, and not the THX 789 which sounds bad. Instead, the two amplifiers that can beat the Singxer SA-1 the Schiit Jotunheim 2 at $400 and the Rebel Audio RebelAmp at $660. The Schiit Jotunheim 2 sounding better than the Singxer SA-1 most of the time and the Rebel Audio RebelAmp sound better than the Singxer SA-1 almost all of the time.

I hope I never have to watch another Joshua Valour video, but at least he got this one partially right.

Can't say this enough but the monoprice 887 is superior sonically to the 789. Much richer dynamic sound. Superior sound stage. Just keep the amp on all the time and you will have no thx potentiometer problems. At $ 250 its hard to beat.

 

[TrumpOrMonkey]

Amazingly, I came across a review of D90SE by lycos who put up this image that captures exactly what I hear. My topping device wasnt D90se but E30+A90 but I basically hear the same when comparing the E30 and Ares II driven by SA-1. I am more assured of my "subjective" interpretation of sound given that another person perfectly (and more effectively) illustrated what I am hearing.

If you were to change the Ares to the Pegasus and D90SE to the Modius, that's right about how I hear things. Maybe the Modius would be just a bit wider.

 

[Riversalt]

If you were to change the Ares to the Pegasus and D90SE to the Modius, that's right about how I hear things. Maybe the Modius would be just a bit wider.

Wider Modius???

Did you compare Ares and Pegasus vs Modius?

Modius is a great Dac, but to be better or to have better stage and details than Ares or Pegasus I don't think so, but if you tested the 3 at the same time and thought it was ok.

 

[TrumpOrMonkey]

Wider Modius???

Did you compare Ares and Pegasus vs Modius?

Modius is a great Dac, but to be better or to have better stage and details than Ares or Pegasus I don't think so, but if you tested the 3 at the same time and thought it was ok.

I meant a bit wider than what the D90SE (the red line) represents in that image, if it were to be representing the Modius instead; but as shown in the image it still wouldn't be anywhere near as wide as the Pegasus (represented by the green line). I never said anything about it being better or worse than the other DACs. Personally wider and/or deeper staging doesn't always mean better, because sometimes a wider and/or deeper staging means that other qualities of the sound become diminished from my experience.

For example, in that image you can imagine that the depth and width of the stage of the Bifrost 2 is small, so you might assume that the Bifrost 2 is worse than the other two DACs. But what the Bifrost 2 gives you is a more forward presentation (which many people prefer) which has less of a feeling of 'wall of sound' due to the width and depth being roughly equal. Another thing the Bifrost 2 gives you that the other two don't is a great sense of bass weight, macrodynamics and slam. I have found that the wider and deeper the staging became on headphones, DACs and Amps, in many cases there was a diminished sense of bass weight, macrodynamics and slam. The Bifrost 2 has this in spades, amongst quite a few other valuable aspects in its sound.

On the other hand the Pegasus gives you a much wider and ethereal presentation in its imaging and staging; however as mentioned before, it lacks a real bass weight, macrodynamics and slam. It's like comparing a pair of Focal Clears to a pair of Stax Lambdas but not quite as stark of a difference.
What the Modius gives you is a little bit of both worlds, but not veering too far in one direction or another, the wall of sound effect and less forward presentation is definitely noticeable over the Bifrost 2, but there is a more noticeable weight and authority to the bass, macrodynamics and slam vs the Pegasus.

Another thing to add, is there seems to be an added saturation to the sound with the Bifrost 2 and Pegasus that you don't get with the Modius, which appears drier with cleaner and clearer edges to the sound with more blackground - a characteristic you will find many delta sigma DACs will have; however, this may not be preferable to many people depending on the synergy of their setup and personal tastes.

If I were to rate based on how saturated the sound is, I would say the Bifrost 2 has the most saturated sound, followed by the Pegasus, and finally Modius with the driest sound of the lot. Bifrost 2's saturation tends to add a feeling of lifelike timbre and warmth to the bass and mids while removing any prickliness to the treble, but with it comes a layer that smooths everything out slightly, sort of like the famous Sennheiser veil that some people hear (including me). The Bifrost 2 prioritises timbre and dynamics over technicalities and blackground. What the Pegasus seems to do with this saturation is it tends to accentuate and elongate the trailing edges of transients and boost the ethereal feeling of the overall presentation, I would say the Pegasus presents sound more like a well designed, very detailed tube amp with a neutral/bright neutral tonality.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of how each compares to each other.

Cheers

 

[P1ayer]

Could you give more details?
I'm really interested in buying it, but I've seen very bad aliexpress copies damaged, I wouldn't know how to buy a high quality clone, do you have a purchase link?
What would be dark font you talk about?

Hi, friend.
I left you a link to the seller. You can write to him and ask for a photo of the base and components. The seller willingly makes contact. My SE version

Ask what you are interested in at Lehmann, I will be happy to answer.

What I can highlight right away is a more natural timbral balance. As a breed, he has his own temperament and this is not a SA level, it's like an "old" school and a "new" one. The character is felt.

Yes, Lehmann may lack the elaboration of high frequencies, detail, a slightly smaller scene, but it's nice to listen to him, his sound is solid and assertive. I can't even compare with SA.
If you want: SA are monitors, and Lehmann Hi-Fi with a paper diffuser and a silk speaker.

 

[LowBeat91]

Did someone compared the sa1 with the
Liquid Platinium from Monolith?

 

[ostewart]

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.

 

[dstarr3]

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 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

 

[amiga505]

well, why, I use mine to drive the Verums, fed by Parasound D/AC-1600HD - I do agree that SA-1 benefits from extra juice on input which the Parasound provides. as I wrote here, not impressed at all with SA-1 as a preamp, at least as SE preamp, did not try XLR in XLR out preamp, this might have better performance.

 

[dstarr3]

well, why, I use mine to drive the Verums, fed by Parasound D/AC-1600HD - I do agree that SA-1 benefits from extra juice on input which the Parasound provides. as I wrote here, not impressed at all with SA-1 as a preamp, at least as SE preamp, did not try XLR in XLR out preamp, this might have better performance.

Yeah, I should specify that I use my SA-1 with XLR in coming from my Schiit Modius.