w1000i Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 42 minutes ago, SwissBear said: Hi Jussi, Thanks for stopping by. I would love to make those measurements and contribute to a better scientific understanding of the influence of 10 MHz clocks on the behaviour of audio systems, independently of the marketing discourse of suppliers. Unfortunately, this will not happen at this stage as I have not been able to convince myself that this was part of my hobby to invest into costly measurement devices. Access to gears such as APx555B is limited, and the local reseller even refuses to rent me one as I am not a potential buyer :-) And the guys from Spectral Measurement didn’t even reply to my RFQ :-) Another reason why this will not happen is that, despite the efforts put by Singxer into the galvanic isolation of their SDA-6, the USB input is by far not at the level of the I2S one, and I very much prefer to stay with the SU-2 interface in front of it. So I will stay with the measurements which have already been published above, which show that the input of a 10 MHz OCXO clock into the SU-2 improves the jitter in quite a substantial manner, compared to its own Accusilicon AS-318B oscillators. I saw Singxer SU-6 has CRYSTEK’s CCHD-957 and a Clock output. So can that be connected to SDA-6 and is that better than a standalone clock ? Link to comment
SwissBear Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 33 minutes ago, w1000i said: I saw Singxer SU-6 has CRYSTEK’s CCHD-957 and a Clock output. So can that be connected to SDA-6 and is that better than a standalone clock ? Well, the SDA-6 Pro has the same oscillators on its USB input. So I don't think that this SU-6 would improve things in terms of clock. It could obviously improve things in terms of galvanic isolation though. But I would personally favour the SU-2 which is cheaper for this purpose, and add an OCXO at 10 MHz. Prices for such 10 MHz clocks start around 100 USD on the Chinese market. As you can gradually improve the quality of this external clock if you see fit, until you are satisfied... Just be careful if you follow this path to chose a clock which has a 50 Ohm impedance output, as this is what the SU-2 is expecting, and to chose an RG-58 cable with BNC terminations. Pasternack has some industrial ones in the US. Magna Hifi also has some in Europe. Lots of discussions about 10 MHz clocks there: just be aware that EtherRegen expects 75 Ohm connexions though... Link to comment
Popular Post Miska Posted February 3, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 3, 2021 I think I can get SDA-6 Pro for myself at some point, the price isn't too bad and I'd like to do some testing with the latest AKM chip. SwissBear, R1200CL and sonodynesrp205 3 Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers Link to comment
Miska Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 1 hour ago, w1000i said: I saw Singxer SU-6 has CRYSTEK’s CCHD-957 and a Clock output. So can that be connected to SDA-6 and is that better than a standalone clock ? SDA-6 Pro has the same clocks inside... Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers Link to comment
luisma Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Thank you @SwissBear for posting, this looks like an interesting AKM DAC to be used with HQPe The SDA-6 Pro alone will allow PCM384/DSD512, with the SU-2 you could go to PCM768/DSD1024 I was evaluating getting the RME ADI-2 (AKM 4493?) and multichannel with low resolution and this just gets me thinking it could be a better option, granted no bell and whistles like the ADI-2 but for HQPlayer looks very attractive I think I would skip on the SU-2 though ... and a little more will get you a Spring 2 So many choices... Thanks again SwissBear 1 Link to comment
SwissBear Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 5 hours ago, luisma said: Thank you @SwissBear for posting, this looks like an interesting AKM DAC to be used with HQPe The SDA-6 Pro alone will allow PCM384/DSD512, with the SU-2 you could go to PCM768/DSD1024 I was evaluating getting the RME ADI-2 (AKM 4493?) and multichannel with low resolution and this just gets me thinking it could be a better option, granted no bell and whistles like the ADI-2 but for HQPlayer looks very attractive I think I would skip on the SU-2 though ... and a little more will get you a Spring 2 So many choices... Thanks again Thanks to you @luisma. It’s very joyful for me to notice how many new DACs now have this same NOS feature as SDA-6 and Holo range. To name a few recent releases, Gustard X-16 and X-26 Pro also do. I see this as the acknowledgement of the interest of HQPlayer and its asynchronous up sampling model :-) luisma 1 Link to comment
w1000i Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 41 minutes ago, SwissBear said: Thanks to you @luisma. It’s very joyful for me to notice how many new DACs now have this same NOS feature as SDA-6 and Holo range. To name a few recent releases, Gustard X-16 and X-26 Pro also do. I see this as the acknowledgement of the interest of HQPlayer and its asynchronous up sampling model :-) SDA-6 alone in NOS can accept DSD1024 ? And what is the highest PCM in NOS. Link to comment
R1200CL Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 15 hours ago, SwissBear said: Just be careful if you follow this path to chose a clock which has a 50 Ohm impedance output, as this is what the SU-2 is expecting, Can you confirm clock impedance input for the DAC ? If I got the Chinese correct translated, Singxer says the DAC will perform better with an external clock. I was not able to create a user there, as they require a Chinese cell number. (Witch I actually could fix, but it’s not that important to join). Link to comment
R1200CL Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 On 1/29/2021 at 8:21 AM, SwissBear said: We had an interesting discussion the other day with @Miska on the subject of 10 MHz clocks. I was trying to make the point that 10 MHz clocks had an interest in music reproduction which Jussi refuted, explaining that the conversion of 10 MHz signal to frequencies usable by DAC oscillators (multiples of 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz) added jitter and was therefore not useful. This was related to the SU-2 or the SDA-6, or both ? Would in any case be interesting to see measurements (if it make sense) with external clocks. Even the $92 cheap one. As an SU-1 modified owner, I may be interest in SU-2 due to clock input. I will only use AES out. Did you own a SU-1, so some sort of compares is possible? Can external 5V be applied? Would you know main difference between SU-1/2 ? (Except clk in) Do you know if square wave would be preferable? (If you’re in contact with Singxer). Link to comment
Popular Post SwissBear Posted February 4, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 4, 2021 2 hours ago, w1000i said: SDA-6 alone in NOS can accept DSD1024 ? And what is the highest PCM in NOS. As detailed in the specs, SDA-6 supports PCM 384 and DSD 512 through its USB port. Together with SU-2, it supports PCM 768 and DSD 1024. Both are supported in NOS. luisma and sonodynesrp205 1 1 Link to comment
SwissBear Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 19 minutes ago, R1200CL said: Can you confirm clock impedance input for the DAC ? If I got the Chinese correct translated, Singxer says the DAC will perform better with an external clock. I was not able to create a user there, as they require a Chinese cell number. (Witch I actually could fix, but it’s not that important to join). The clock input impedance of the SDA-6 can be adjusted to 50 or 75 Ohm. For the SU-2 it is 50 Ohm only. luisma 1 Link to comment
Popular Post SwissBear Posted February 4, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, R1200CL said: This was related to the SU-2 or the SDA-6, or both ? Would in any case be interesting to see measurements (if it make sense) with external clocks. Even the $92 cheap one. As an SU-1 modified owner, I may be interest in SU-2 due to clock input. I will only use AES out. Did you own a SU-1, so some sort of compares is possible? Can external 5V be applied? The discussion with Jussi was related to external 10 MHz clock inputs in general. A measurement of a cheap OCXO at the input of an SU-2 has been posted above. It's not strictly "external" 5V. But a friend of mine opened his SU-2 and applied 5V. Seems easy to do. I do not have any experience with the SU-1. I compared the SU-2 to my MC-3+ USB in AES and I have a preference for the MC-3+ USB. I found it more transparent. I did not notice any lack of transparency of the SU-2 in I2S mode though. Quote Would you know main difference between SU-1/2 ? (Except clk in) Do you know if square wave would be preferable? (If you’re in contact with Singxer). For clock applications, there seems to be a concensus that square waves are preferable. I did not discuss that specifically with them, but you can contact Singxer. The email address of Leter is on their web site. luisma and R1200CL 2 Link to comment
Popular Post patatras Posted February 5, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 5, 2021 Hello First of all, I would like to thank SwissBear for creating this discussion about the Singxer SDA-6. Indeed this dac was released about 9 months ago and there is no listening report on the net about it, apart from that of SwissBear here and on a French forum (forumhifi.fr). The information is very poor. Astonishing! I have been using a Singxer SU-2 for 5 months which gives me excellent results with a dac Topping D70. My source is a pc with an Intel I9 9900K microprocessor with Roon, HQPlayer and Diretta. Power supply is provided by Sean Jacob. The Singxer SU-2 and SDA-6 configuration interests me a lot because I will be able to run this new dac in NOS and therefore bypass the internal filters in the dac. HQPlayer will thus operate in complete transparency. This will also allow me to convert the pcm to dsd 1024. I will also do some 10MHZ external clock tests. I hope to receive SDA-6 next week. I will do a listening report, but there is at least 200 hours of burning with Mundorf capacitors ... About the SU-2 it is very easy to supply it properly: there are 2 cards (signal processing and power supply) connected by a cable. Just unplug the connector and plug in a very neat 5V linear power supply instead, respecting the polarity. Pierre SwissBear and R1200CL 1 1 Link to comment
fmzip Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 5 hours ago, patatras said: My source is a pc with an Intel I9 9900K microprocessor with Roon, HQPlayer and Diretta. Power supply is provided by Sean Jacob. The Singxer SU-2 and SDA-6 configuration interests me a lot because I will be able to run this new dac in NOS and therefore bypass the internal filters in the dac. HQPlayer will thus operate in complete transparency. I too am intrigued with this setup. Can you share some more info about your PC, motherboard memory, Windows etc please? Are you running everything off the one PC, is it silent? Link to comment
patatras Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Hi fmzip My motherboard is a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro with 8 Go memory DDR4 3200 Mhz, Intel I9 9900K (8 cores, 3,6 Ghz up to 5 Ghz), Windows Server 2019 Standard, Roon and HQplayer. I decided to run this server at 4,2 Ghz. The ventirad is a Noctua I don't power with the motherboard but with an external power diy. This pc is powered with units from Sean Jacob and HDplex 400W. The transformer is a 450W Toroidy Supreme. Yes this pc is very silent because the ventirad run slowly. I recently added Diretta with a second pc (mini pc) for the target. The connection between the server and the mini pc is made by local network. The connection between the mini pc and the Singxer SU-2 is in usb (Audiocadabra Xtrimus cable). Pierre Link to comment
etane Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 How does SDA6 compare to D90/SU2?? I am currently using D90MQA/SU2 and find it very listenable especially with Sikai branded HDMI cable found on amz. D90MQA sounds very good but a bit flat and narrow. SU2 fixes these and am spoiled by the amount of air around the instruments now. But, you claim SDA6/SU2 is even better. So, got me curious. Link to comment
Popular Post patatras Posted February 8, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted February 8, 2021 Hi etane I am using D70 with SU-2 and it works fine. I am also waiting for a SDA-6 and hope to receive this unit this week. I'll report how it sounds. Pierre etane and w1000i 1 1 Link to comment
SwissBear Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 8 hours ago, etane said: How does SDA6 compare to D90/SU2?? I am currently using D90MQA/SU2 and find it very listenable especially with Sikai branded HDMI cable found on amz. D90MQA sounds very good but a bit flat and narrow. SU2 fixes these and am spoiled by the amount of air around the instruments now. But, you claim SDA6/SU2 is even better. So, got me curious. Hi, My experience with D90/SU-2 was hectic. Combined with HQPlayer, this setup was producing large clicks/pops when changing formats or sample rates. This damaged one of my tweeters so I had to send the D90 back. Apart from that, I noticed a presentation of the sound which was vey detailed, but a little bit matt for my taste, as much as the x-Sabre/SU-2 was very detailed but a bit bright for my taste. The SDA-6/SU-2 is right in the middle, just transparent sound-wise. A lot of air and instruments separation too, whether the SDA-6 alone or in connexion to the SU-2. I have a slight preference for the SU-2 connexion as it seems to offer a little more darkness, airiness and separation in my system. The SDA-6 alone seems a little more detailed though. Hope this helps. [EDIT] I would add to this that the D90 is using its PLL when fed through I2S. This limits the usage of DSD to DSD256. When using an SDA-6, you can go up to DSD1024 or PCM768 is you see fit. etane 1 Link to comment
etane Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 10 hours ago, patatras said: Hi etane I am using D70 with SU-2 and it works fine. I am also waiting for a SDA-6 and hope to receive this unit this week. I'll report how it sounds. Pierre I'd very much to hear your feedback, Pierre. Link to comment
etane Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 10 hours ago, SwissBear said: Hi, My experience with D90/SU-2 was hectic. Combined with HQPlayer, this setup was producing large clicks/pops when changing formats or sample rates. This damaged one of my tweeters so I had to send the D90 back. Apart from that, I noticed a presentation of the sound which was vey detailed, but a little bit matt for my taste, as much as the x-Sabre/SU-2 was very detailed but a bit bright for my taste. The SDA-6/SU-2 is right in the middle, just transparent sound-wise. A lot of air and instruments separation too, whether the SDA-6 alone or in connexion to the SU-2. I have a slight preference for the SU-2 connexion as it seems to offer a little more darkness, airiness and separation in my system. The SDA-6 alone seems a little more detailed though. Hope this helps. [EDIT] I would add to this that the D90 is using its PLL when fed through I2S. This limits the usage of DSD to DSD256. When using an SDA-6, you can go up to DSD1024 or PCM768 is you see fit. How would you compare D90 by itself with D90/SU2? D90 MQA by itself is a little "matte" in my system but, if anything, could be a bit bright with SU2. Usually I like darker "NOS" sounding dacs but SU2 brings so much more pluses in other areas. I bought the SU2 a few months ago and never regretted it but now am tinkering whether I should've sold D90 MQA and put funds from SU2 and D90 MQA into SDA6. That said, I am perfectly happy with D90MQA/SU2. I don't have any functional issues as you did as I don't use HQPlayer. I just use foobar, yt and tidal. Link to comment
w1000i Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Any thought of how HQplayer perform with this DAC in NOS ! Does the setting change in HQplayers results in more SQ change compare to other DAC if somebody did compare or have long experience with HQP. :) Link to comment
SwissBear Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 On 2/17/2021 at 12:48 PM, w1000i said: Any thought of how HQplayer perform with this DAC in NOS ! Does the setting change in HQplayers results in more SQ change compare to other DAC if somebody did compare or have long experience with HQP. :) I guess it will be interesting to read the listening report from @patatras when he finally gets his SDA-6. He still owns another DAC he is very happy with, and has a very good installation with Roon+HQPlayer+Diretta as well as very well trained ears, as he has received a classical music education and taught music himself. Wait and see what he thinks about HQPlayer filters and NOS mode of AK4499 :-) sonodynesrp205 1 Link to comment
pavlos Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Hi All, I think I owe you some information about the result of my race for a DAC, where I was considering Singex-SDA-6. Due to lack of any Singex resellers in Poland I have finally given up ordering from abroad and have walked through available supply in my market - within my budget (<=2kEUR). Six species invited and listened at home, in my system. One-by-one. And the winner is: DENAFRIPS Pontus II. The most clear, clean, defined, rare and precious sound. Not clinical (ESS tendency), not soft or lifeless (AKM tendency), not artificially overcolored (Chord). Not any of D/S chip based DACs, not FPGA-based, but this R2R construction. As a matter of fact I didn't have the chance to check the cheaper Musician Audio Pegasus, also gathering only good if not enthusiastic opinions. Well, Pontus is equipped with I2S input, so maybe one day I will come back to Singex label for a higher quality of USB interfaces, as all of you share only the best opinions about their devices. So, keep healthy and have fun! pavlos See here: Link to comment
SwissBear Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 26 minutes ago, pavlos said: Hi All, I think I owe you some information about the result of my race for a DAC, where I was considering Singex-SDA-6. Due to lack of any Singex resellers in Poland I have finally given up ordering from abroad and have walked through available supply in my market - within my budget (<=2kEUR). Six species invited and listened at home, in my system. One-by-one. And the winner is: DENAFRIPS Pontus II. The most clear, clean, defined, rare and precious sound. Not clinical (ESS tendency), not soft or lifeless (AKM tendency), not artificially overcolored (Chord). Not any of D/S chip based DACs, not FPGA-based, but this R2R construction. As a matter of fact I didn't have the chance to check the cheaper Musician Audio Pegasus, also gathering only good if not enthusiastic opinions. Well, Pontus is equipped with I2S input, so maybe one day I will come back to Singex label for a higher quality of USB interfaces, as all of you share only the best opinions about their devices. So, keep healthy and have fun! pavlos See here: Hi Pavlos, Congratulations on your choice. Happy listening with your new DAC :-) Link to comment
Wheat King Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Curious if anyone has compared their Denafrips DAC with a Singxer DDC. I've just ordered the Venus II which will replace a Gustard x20 pro DAC. I currently own a modified Singxer SU-1. I read that the Venus and Terminator already have an excellent adaptive FIFO buffer for reclocking and utilize the AK4118 chip (an ultra low jitter digital receiver). I suppose I can wait until I receive the Venus but I'm looking at a 3 week wait... Link to comment
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