So, I missed the big meeting where it was decided that the DC offset jumper mod for the SA-1 became a must. I was aware of it, but didn't realize it had grown into legend, lol. With Apos's permission, I will mod this unit. Jumpers have been ordered with an ETA of 20 Nov. Stay tuned for part 2 where I review the mod and share my thoughts on whether the very existence of this mod is good, bad, or something else entirely. For instructions on how to do the mod as well as a great description of the risks involved I'll refer you to my friend Lachlan at Passion for Sound: ruclips.net/video/32zVw8TONio/видео.html
FWIW I've had this amp for ~7 months now, and have run it constantly with the DC offset mod the entire time. I use it as my main amp for my PC using the pre-amp as well as powering my LCD-X (2021). My DAC is the RME ADI-2. I never turn them off, same for my PC...its all always running and I use this AMP to listen to music constantly (basically). No issues and I love this setup.
Would love to see you take on the Holographic Audio Ear 2. It's a pretty obscure little Swedish company that focuses on making ultra-transparent gear. The Ear 2 is 5000kr or around 500 USD. A very good deal IMO when I compare it to some other amps. It also has an output impedance switch and a pretty good crossfeed circuit.
U can also bypass capacitors by using jumpers inside. This mod turn off DC protection, but make sound DRAMATICALLY better. And u can hear frequencies down to 0(zero) Hertz. (if ur dac can produce these frequencies). If u bypass capacitors - DC on the input wil be apmplified too. So u need to be sure ur source dont produce any parasite DC.
It does seem plausible that it makes a big difference to do that simple (but of course, warranty voiding) mod to bypass that protection circuit. Currawong's previously mentioned review showing how simple it is to do and describing/explaining the difference it makes is worth watching. I get that you probably won't want to open up the unit you have because you plan to send it back or onward to another reviewer, but I think it would be a big omission not to mention what seems like an easy and pretty risk free mod when you do your roundup video. Looking forward to the upcoming Lyr and roundup videos. Thank you for all the effort you put into explaining things as clearly and accessibly as possible. Your quick overview on damping factor was great.
ur videos are on fire dude you need all of the communities to share them! if you can read this- please share WaveTheory videos! this guy is worth the share ;-)
You feel like it's holding something back because you're not getting the full capability of that amp. Not sure if you knew this or not but there is a jumper mod for that amp. If you remove something that's inside of this amp that's controlling the dc protection or something like that, supposedly it really wake up. Some saying it's even better then a schiit jotunhiem and even competes with higher end stuff like the burson soloist. Considering you're one of the most critical reviewers out there I'm surprised you miss this information. If you have the chance check this video out wave. He does the jumper mod . ruclips.net/video/G0GatC7nrBY/видео.html
Thank you. - Why don't you open units up during review? It says a lot about manufacturing and to your comment at the beginning; 'I don't know what potentiometer was used ...' it would have given you the information ... . - I can understand you not wanting to do this for a viewer supplied unit but if a manufacturer supplies a review unit they have to accept this likely scenario. There are plenty of examples on other channels. - Perhaps consider this for future reviews.
Thanks for another well done review. Unfortunately, I was hoping for a better showing for the Singxer. I'm planning on a new amp early next years and the SA-1 was my last mid-fi priced candidate. I've already decided against the Topping A90D and am not interested in the Lake People or Lyr since they are not balanced, which is a practical issue for me: all my headphones (except the HD6XX that I rarefy use) have balanced cables and I have balanced amps that I will continue to use regularly; I do not want to continually swap headphone cables. I guess I'll have to save up a little longer for the twice as expensive Burson Soloist 3X. Though the somewhat even more expensive Violectric V222 is just rolling out and looks very intriguing.
@@hdsarma Thanks, I already know. But I wasn't being euphemistic about having to save up. I'm retired on a fixed income and spent my savings on a new Arya Stealth last month, so I won't have the funds to buy the Burson, on sale or not, until at least February or March. But research is fun and free; as the wise Mr. Spock memorably said: "having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
@@marlowe1537 I'm in the same boat coming from Asgard 3 looking to go to a Singxer SA-1 or higher depending, unsure about all the hype surrounding the Soloist 3xp.
is it possible the op chip amps you dislike are more studio neutral as though sound coming from heavily treated room, while the class a/b and schitt amps are more neutral in an untreated room sound signature, which would lead to believe they are more natural organic sounding? both can be considered neutral but either can be more beneficial for specific listener such as a music producer or an casual audiophile
I do and I keep waffling on whether to include it in the comparison. It's great, but how good is the amp really? Without an analog input the comparison only goes so far IMO.
@@p2h7fiw yes that's how I will have to do it. My issue is that despite how highly I think of the EF400 and its crazy good value, the DAC in it is not going to maximize these other amps. But, it's still worth some quick comparing given the price and value.
Give some thought about abandoning your reliance upon analogies in your reviews. Tell us about the unit, not that it's like being trapped by a sheet of plastic overlay in a swimming pool, or that its performance is like painting by numbers. Those say little to nothing about the unit you're reviewing and afford no insight into how the unit delivers the music. Also, how, pray tell, is timbre "organic?" What exactly do you mean by that? Also, what are micro-dynamic details? What is micro-resolution? In musical terms please. If I want just pure "gear talk" I can go to Amir's site and get slayed by his "objectivist" slavish horde by asking for descriptions of musicality. I come to your site, and others like it, because I want to know how these devices perform in serving their role solely as conduits to the music I'm hoping to enjoy. Take a hint from a fellow RUclipsr, "The Charismatic Voice" (1.13 million subscribers by the way), who really delves deeply and contemporaneously into the musical performance she is listening to and describing. Quit touching your nose please; or don't, and let us know when we can schedule a poker game with you.
Dude. What the hell are you talking about? Wave is one of the most critical reviewers out there and he does a very good job explaining in words how these devices sound and performs. If you don't enjoy it then you probably would do better over at audio science
One of the best reviewer I rely upon, not sure what you are talking about but I find his description quite easy to understand and gives me a pretty good picture what to expect, if you go with popularly you should check some of the other popular reviewers out there who rambles for an hour or so and in the end tell us absolutely nothing.
Perhaps you should look at his Audiophile Terminology playlist if you want to know what those things mean? You know, since he's got videos answering those questions? Which you'd know if you'd bothered to do the most basic bit of research to know your reviewer. And as an aside, just because _you_ don't find the analogies all that helpful doesn't mean that no-one does. They can, in fact, be quite helpful and say quite a bit about a product.
Mate, just admit that you love distortion and move on... You guys should stop pretending that you know everything. I see lot of people like that. Everything that is technically better is considered worse by so called "experts" Silver is harsh, amt drivers harsh, Beryllium drivers hot, feedback sucks cause that makes amps work easier and thus distortion is decreased. I get it... Everything that is new sucks and ancient stuff like pure class a, tube amps and r2r is the best! Also lets not forget to pair technical amps or dacs with flawed open back headphones like Hifimans and Sennheiser that have no bass for best effect.
Oh and don't forget that vinyl is the best...or even better, the old trusty cassette, with its background noise and incorrect speeds...hands down the best!...
Keep your opinion to yourself bro, current equipment is not foolproof and should never be used in isolation, ultimate test is still human hearing, if you feel otherwise please stay in ASR don't waste your time with your negativity.
"Paint by numbers" was an attempt at an analogy that this amp can produce a somewhat enjoyable sound but is otherwise too bland and unremarkable to be anything special. It comes across as the designers simply having Googled "how to build a class A amp" and finding a generic, bog standard design and then mass producing it. Clearer?
So, I missed the big meeting where it was decided that the DC offset jumper mod for the SA-1 became a must. I was aware of it, but didn't realize it had grown into legend, lol. With Apos's permission, I will mod this unit. Jumpers have been ordered with an ETA of 20 Nov. Stay tuned for part 2 where I review the mod and share my thoughts on whether the very existence of this mod is good, bad, or something else entirely. For instructions on how to do the mod as well as a great description of the risks involved I'll refer you to my friend Lachlan at Passion for Sound: ruclips.net/video/32zVw8TONio/видео.html
FWIW I've had this amp for ~7 months now, and have run it constantly with the DC offset mod the entire time. I use it as my main amp for my PC using the pre-amp as well as powering my LCD-X (2021). My DAC is the RME ADI-2.
I never turn them off, same for my PC...its all always running and I use this AMP to listen to music constantly (basically). No issues and I love this setup.
@biz0r07 Hi, the RME is also a headphone amp. I'm curious as to why you prefer the SA1. I haven't heard either yet but was considering both.
Would love to see you take on the Holographic Audio Ear 2. It's a pretty obscure little Swedish company that focuses on making ultra-transparent gear.
The Ear 2 is 5000kr or around 500 USD. A very good deal IMO when I compare it to some other amps. It also has an output impedance switch and a pretty good crossfeed circuit.
DO THE JUMPER MOD.
To unleash its true form 😂
Ownership is high after jumper mod unlocks it.
U can also bypass capacitors by using jumpers inside. This mod turn off DC protection, but make sound DRAMATICALLY better. And u can hear frequencies down to 0(zero) Hertz. (if ur dac can produce these frequencies). If u bypass capacitors - DC on the input wil be apmplified too. So u need to be sure ur source dont produce any parasite DC.
It does seem plausible that it makes a big difference to do that simple (but of course, warranty voiding) mod to bypass that protection circuit. Currawong's previously mentioned review showing how simple it is to do and describing/explaining the difference it makes is worth watching. I get that you probably won't want to open up the unit you have because you plan to send it back or onward to another reviewer, but I think it would be a big omission not to mention what seems like an easy and pretty risk free mod when you do your roundup video. Looking forward to the upcoming Lyr and roundup videos. Thank you for all the effort you put into explaining things as clearly and accessibly as possible. Your quick overview on damping factor was great.
See pinned comment above.
ur videos are on fire dude you need all of the communities to share them! if you can read this- please share WaveTheory videos! this guy is worth the share ;-)
Dude, that is the 2nd hype in a row you _killed_ this week. 😂
Thanks again.
Would be great if you can review the Burson Soloist 3X Performance as it's one of the popular class A amp.
You feel like it's holding something back because you're not getting the full capability of that amp. Not sure if you knew this or not but there is a jumper mod for that amp. If you remove something that's inside of this amp that's controlling the dc protection or something like that, supposedly it really wake up. Some saying it's even better then a schiit jotunhiem and even competes with higher end stuff like the burson soloist.
Considering you're one of the most critical reviewers out there I'm surprised you miss this information. If you have the chance check this video out wave. He does the jumper mod .
ruclips.net/video/G0GatC7nrBY/видео.html
Thanks for pointing out the Currawong review where he shows, and explains the difference it makes to do, the nanny circuit bypass.
I'll be curious for Lyr+, when it comes; being I don't really think there's video out of it just yet.
Thank you. - Why don't you open units up during review? It says a lot about manufacturing and to your comment at the beginning; 'I don't know what potentiometer was used ...' it would have given you the information ... . - I can understand you not wanting to do this for a viewer supplied unit but if a manufacturer supplies a review unit they have to accept this likely scenario. There are plenty of examples on other channels. - Perhaps consider this for future reviews.
Good stuff. Thank you.
Having to open up the unit to do the jumper mod, not to mention the gain setting on the bottom, to change the sound is a deal breaker.
Thanks for another well done review. Unfortunately, I was hoping for a better showing for the Singxer. I'm planning on a new amp early next years and the SA-1 was my last mid-fi priced candidate. I've already decided against the Topping A90D and am not interested in the Lake People or Lyr since they are not balanced, which is a practical issue for me: all my headphones (except the HD6XX that I rarefy use) have balanced cables and I have balanced amps that I will continue to use regularly; I do not want to continually swap headphone cables. I guess I'll have to save up a little longer for the twice as expensive Burson Soloist 3X. Though the somewhat even more expensive Violectric V222 is just rolling out and looks very intriguing.
Burson black Friday sale is going on, 20% off.
@@hdsarma Thanks, I already know. But I wasn't being euphemistic about having to save up. I'm retired on a fixed income and spent my savings on a new Arya Stealth last month, so I won't have the funds to buy the Burson, on sale or not, until at least February or March. But research is fun and free; as the wise Mr. Spock memorably said: "having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
@@marlowe1537 Agree 🙂
@@marlowe1537 I'm in the same boat coming from Asgard 3 looking to go to a Singxer SA-1 or higher depending, unsure about all the hype surrounding the Soloist 3xp.
I'm considering the Lyr. Looking forward to the shootout.
is it possible the op chip amps you dislike are more studio neutral as though sound coming from heavily treated room, while the class a/b and schitt amps are more neutral in an untreated room sound signature, which would lead to believe they are more natural organic sounding? both can be considered neutral but either can be more beneficial for specific listener such as a music producer or an casual audiophile
Does the single ended rca input output to both xlr and RCA outs at the same time
Hadn't thought of it till just now, but do you still have the EF400? That's also $599, right?
I do and I keep waffling on whether to include it in the comparison. It's great, but how good is the amp really? Without an analog input the comparison only goes so far IMO.
@@wavetheorysound You can test all amps with ef400 DAC connected
@@p2h7fiw yes that's how I will have to do it. My issue is that despite how highly I think of the EF400 and its crazy good value, the DAC in it is not going to maximize these other amps. But, it's still worth some quick comparing given the price and value.
can you do the jumper thing?
didnt learn anything about how it performs specifically in bass mids and treble
thank you for your review
i'd like to suggest you not touch your face/glasses during video shooting as it distracts and obstructs your voice
how does it perform with the hard to drive planars?
In my experience, very poorly with Abyss 1266.
@@Wineormusic did you happen to try or prefer the a90d with your planars?
learned nothing about how it performs in bass mid and treble
Give some thought about abandoning your reliance upon analogies in your reviews. Tell us about the unit, not that it's like being trapped by a sheet of plastic overlay in a swimming pool, or that its performance is like painting by numbers. Those say little to nothing about the unit you're reviewing and afford no insight into how the unit delivers the music.
Also, how, pray tell, is timbre "organic?" What exactly do you mean by that? Also, what are micro-dynamic details? What is micro-resolution? In musical terms please. If I want just pure "gear talk" I can go to Amir's site and get slayed by his "objectivist" slavish horde by asking for descriptions of musicality. I come to your site, and others like it, because I want to know how these devices perform in serving their role solely as conduits to the music I'm hoping to enjoy. Take a hint from a fellow RUclipsr, "The Charismatic Voice" (1.13 million subscribers by the way), who really delves deeply and contemporaneously into the musical performance she is listening to and describing.
Quit touching your nose please; or don't, and let us know when we can schedule a poker game with you.
Dude. What the hell are you talking about? Wave is one of the most critical reviewers out there and he does a very good job explaining in words how these devices sound and performs. If you don't enjoy it then you probably would do better over at audio science
One of the best reviewer I rely upon, not sure what you are talking about but I find his description quite easy to understand and gives me a pretty good picture what to expect, if you go with popularly you should check some of the other popular reviewers out there who rambles for an hour or so and in the end tell us absolutely nothing.
LOL at recommending a channel that isn't even reviewing audio gear. You should make your own videos.
Perhaps you should look at his Audiophile Terminology playlist if you want to know what those things mean? You know, since he's got videos answering those questions? Which you'd know if you'd bothered to do the most basic bit of research to know your reviewer. And as an aside, just because _you_ don't find the analogies all that helpful doesn't mean that no-one does. They can, in fact, be quite helpful and say quite a bit about a product.
Mate, just admit that you love distortion and move on... You guys should stop pretending that you know everything.
I see lot of people like that.
Everything that is technically better is considered worse by so called "experts"
Silver is harsh, amt drivers harsh, Beryllium drivers hot, feedback sucks cause that makes amps work easier and thus distortion is decreased.
I get it... Everything that is new sucks and ancient stuff like pure class a, tube amps and r2r is the best! Also lets not forget to pair technical amps or dacs with flawed open back headphones like Hifimans and Sennheiser that have no bass for best effect.
Go back to ASR. “All hail Amir and his graph! There is nothing but the graph!”
Oh and don't forget that vinyl is the best...or even better, the old trusty cassette, with its background noise and incorrect speeds...hands down the best!...
Easy there buddy
@@alphamarshan thats none of your business lil man
Keep your opinion to yourself bro, current equipment is not foolproof and should never be used in isolation, ultimate test is still human hearing, if you feel otherwise please stay in ASR don't waste your time with your negativity.
these terms like "stuck in the mud" and "paint by numbers"? are too vague, if you're a physicist can you try to use more scientific language
"Paint by numbers" was an attempt at an analogy that this amp can produce a somewhat enjoyable sound but is otherwise too bland and unremarkable to be anything special. It comes across as the designers simply having Googled "how to build a class A amp" and finding a generic, bog standard design and then mass producing it. Clearer?
This is made in China.
NO thank you......
So is everything in your home. Practice what you preach get rid of 99% of your stuff in your home.