DomiJi Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Hello :) i've recieved my SDA-6 Pro the last week and i'm still in the burn-in period. But what i can hear so far it is a phenomenal DAC and i like it much more than my "old" Gustard X16 DAC with U16 DDC. At the moment i use the USB interface directly feed by my Intel NUC with Roon ROCK and a linear power supply. The SQ is exceptional. Very smooth but still detailed. The soundstage is fairly wide but not deep. I still experiment a bit if PCM upsampled to 384k or DSD512 sounds better on this device. Best Dominik sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 I've tested the 10 MHz Clock input of my SDA-6 with my Oscilloquartz 8663 OCXO 10 MHz Clock. This clock produces phenomenal results with my Gustard U16 DDC. But with the SDA-6 it doesn't made a big difference. Does anyone tested some other clocks as well? Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 With my Gustard U16 DDC i hear a significant improvemend but with the SDA 6 i can not tell a difference. The clock itself is specwise very good and equipt with a LPS. Link to comment
Popular Post DomiJi Posted April 16, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted April 16, 2021 I think the SDA 6 is as good as it is. I would not couple it with a DDC because it is not worth all the money. You need a DDC, HDMI cable, power cord and space for another device on your desk. With all these things in mind i would probably just buy a higher tier DAC. The USB input is really, really good. When i connect an external OCXO to the SDA-6 the difference for me is totally negligible. sonodynesrp205, 87mpi, mevdinc and 1 other 1 2 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, mevdinc said: Hi, You say that SDA-6 has a better preamp; does it actually have a preamp/analog volume control? Or did you mean that it has a better analog conversion/output stage? The SDA-6 doesn't have a volume control... Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 What format do other SDA 6 owners prefer? PCM or DSD? I use DSD upsampling via Roon with smooth minimal filter... sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
Popular Post DomiJi Posted April 16, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted April 16, 2021 1 minute ago, sonodynesrp205 said: Can I ask what is your "transport" for SDA-6? regards, Simon Roon ROCK: Intel NUC (i5, 16GB, Ssd) with fanless case and 19v linear power supply. 87mpi and sonodynesrp205 2 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 1 hour ago, SwissBear said: You might want to check this DAC: Apart from a different chip (ESS9038 x2 instead of AK4499), it has a lot of similarities with the SDA-6: - NOS mode to make the best out of software upsampling (HQPlayer for instance) - high precision clock with the capability to synthesise a 10 MHz external clock if desired - full discrete analog output stage with volume control - similar price range Sandu already reviewed it: Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 On 4/17/2021 at 3:34 PM, mevdinc said: Thanks for sharing it. As it happens I am a fan of AK DAC chips. I am also considering COS D10 which comes with a built-in pre and analog input too, the latter is useful for home cinema application. There is also a Gustard A22 with 2x AK4499 Chips :) mevdinc 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 2 minutes ago, sonodynesrp205 said: May I ask if the depth of the soundstage is already any better? regards, Simon The SDA-6 is getting better and better with every day. It sounds very holographic and instrument separation is well defined. The depth is indeed better. sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 I only use the USB input and sold my Gustard U16 DDC. I think there could not be a better compliment for the quality of the USB Implementation of the SDA 6 Pro... sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 4 minutes ago, wolft said: - How can I recognize the Plus Version? - which firmware is the newest? - how is the nos mode with the HQPlayer to configure? - which modulators and filters with DSD512 are possible? Open the case and search for the Mundorfs There is only one firmware at the moment Just choose the Nos filter and it is active In DSD Mode the SDA 6 is always in NOS sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 Does anyone tested how the SDA-6 reacts to different power cords and fuses? sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 What kind of upsampling did the SDA-6 owners here prefer? DSD vs PCM? Normally i upsample everything in Roon to DSD but with the SDA-6 i find PCM 384 KHz really impressive. It could justified by the volume difference between PCM and DSD but PCM seems to sound a bit more clear and "airy"? So which format do you prefer with the SDA-6? DSD or PCM? 😁 sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 22 minutes ago, wolft said: Hello, I have now sold my RME Adi-2 DAC Fs, the Singxer SDA-6 is better. What Volume Setting do you recommended for Upsampling PCM --> DSD? My setting is: Min -3 and Max 3. What is a good choice. Some tips als recommended. Wolfgang MacMini M1 (HQplayer) --> NAA Windows + Singxer 5.00 driver --> USB --> Singxer SDA-6 --> (XLR/Cinch) Lavardin ISX Reference Do you mean the volume settings in HQPlayer? Link to comment
Popular Post DomiJi Posted May 22, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2021 11 hours ago, SwissBear said: A few weeks ago, Nicolas, a neighboring audiophile friend, came over to the house to let me play with his source: an Emerson Digital network player, an m-Scaler upsampler and a Chord Dave DAC. It turned out that its source gave an uncompromising lesson, especially in the micro-dynamics of music, to the ensemble that I thought was particularly well-groomed, consisting of Roon + HQPlayer, Diretta, and one of my DACs, either the Singxer SDA-6, supplied with I2S by the SU-2 interface, or the Gustard x-26 Pro. As he himself explained on my thread, listening to dynamic music, ie amplified, he lacked this desire to dance, to stamp his foot, in short to celebrate with movements of his body the life that goes with the music… After he left, I was keen to try and figure out what was going on. I started looking on the convolution side, blaming this process that I had been using for a long time anyway. By removing the convolution, I was able to replace Roon + HQPlayer with Audirvana, and found all the musical micro-dynamics that I had felt with the source of Nicolas. The DACs themselves were not involved, it was the digital music processing process that was involved ... However, I was not completely satisfied, because if Audirvana offered me a solution for the PCM format, which I could up-sample to PCM 384 or 768, I was stuck in DSD and could not take full advantage of the NOS mode of my SDA-6 which has a strong preference for DSD 256 or DSD 512… It was frustrating… Following this experience with Audirvana, a first conclusion quickly emerged: converting the PCM format to DSD, even with HQPlayer, really damaged the dynamics of the music. As @Le Dom kindly confirmed on the Diretta thread, it felt like listening in a Pullmann comfort, but not listening realistically. With @Patatras, we have multiplied the experiments, until trying HQPlayer alone, in upsampling, in [source] mode ie respecting the original music format, upsampling the PCM formats to PCM 384 and the DSD formats to DSD 512, but without using Roon. And things really took came together, each on our side: the SDA-6 and HQPlayer were made for each other, as long as HQPlayer was used on its own ie without Roon. In PCM format, we thus find all the dynamics offered by this format, without any concessions. In DSD format, we find all the tonal accuracy and transparency, all the openness in the treble, offered by this format. As @Patatras and I both use an SU-2 as input to the SDA-6, he suggested to me to change the power supply of the SU-2, which I did by purchasing a small adapter from Kitusne HiFi, which allows me to power this box directly from a 5v rail of my Paul Hynes linear power supply. Thus equipped, the SU-2 gives the full measure of its capabilities, still offering a more pleasant opening in the treble. Finally, let us specify that Diretta is a very appreciable addition to this set. Set in "Sync" mode to respect the dynamic character of the music, it offers additional airiness and appreciable openness. All in all, I am confident to welcome again a confrontation of my SDA-6, powered by HQPlayer in [source] mode, Diretta in “Sync” mode, and to confront the best DACs on the market, even if they are much more expensive. Without claiming that this experience applies to all systems, it seemed important to me to share my conclusions with you: when I bought my SDA-6, I did so on the testimony of an industry expert who praised the advantages of the NOS mode of the AK4499 chip. I have done well, it seems to me, to follow this advice. HQPlayer offers this SDA-6 a truly ideal platform for producing quality music. Thank you to Singxer for offering us this product at such competitive conditions and thank you to Jussi Laako for offering us HQPlayer as an upsampling platform to serve this DAC ... Thank you very much for this information. Its funny because i made the same experience. I just want to trial the new Audirvana Studio. So i setup Windows 10 for my fanless NUC with LPS and Fidelizer/Audiophile Optimizer. With Audirvana the music was much much more alive and full of dynamics and without any harshness. Did i understand you correct that you dont use audirvana anylonger because you can not setup Individual upsampling for PCM and DSD? This is now possible with Audirvana Studio. You can upsample PCM to 384khz and DSD to 512 or 256. SwissBear and sonodynesrp205 1 1 Link to comment
DomiJi Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Did anyone compared the SU 2 and the SU 6 Link to comment
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