I've had this amp for almost a year now. I pair it with a S.M.S.L SU-9n to drive my Clear MG's as my daily and it is absolute heaven. I really have no desire to climb any higher unless some once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself.
I may be mistaken in my opinion but I'm really enjoying the pairing of my SMSL SU9n and my Topping A30 Pro that utilizes Toppings NFCA Tech inside it. More power than I could ever need, great measurements and works well with my Dynamic as well as Planar Headphones and IEMs. I've kind of been lusting after the Singxer SA-1 but just can't justify the expense and I'm not sure I would even be able to hear/notice any difference. Like I said I'm really enjoying the pairing I have now and it's much better than what I had before so maybe I will grab one if they ever go on a very deep sale. It is hard though to not keep chasing a so called "Perfect Sound" when what I have now I know measures more than perfect but there's always that itch to go for the latest and greatest. Thank you for helping me to keep that under control and I know I can always count on this channel for it's straight forward no BS reviews...
I caught a glimpse of the HA-1A MK2. Can you please do a review of it? Especially comparing them to other cheaper and more expensive OTL amps. Great video as always!
Do you feel like adding an external amp to the RME makes a big difference or is the RME's amp already good enough that people won't notice a difference?
What is the impact of your switch box and interconnects, could that be why every test you make sounds more or less the same to you? Do you ever direct connect gear, curious?
Of course I direct connect gear. There is no impact from a PASSIVE switchbox. This has already been tested by ASR. Again, PASSIVE interconnects don’t affect the sound, unless there’s a grounding or shielding issue-which is easily mitigated.
I got the ADI-2 and use the headphone amp on it. I told myself I could always add an amp later, but the truth is it seems fine for all my headphones. I thought about getting the Singxer to pair with it, but I suspect I wouldn't hear much of a difference even with balanced audio. Any plans to do the Xduoo TA 22?
The RME ADI-2 is an excellent DAC to pair with the SingXer SA-1 amp, as the RME has the high adjustable voltage on the XLR outputs that this amp needs. You can find the correct RME volume setting in combination with the SingXer SA-1 on the official RME forum, just look. The SingXer SA-1 is good to have set to high gain. In the end, all you have to do is fine-tune the parametric equalization on the RME for the preferred type of headphones used. I'm using the PEQ preset by user oratory1990. The HiFiMAN Arya Stealth pairs perfectly with the SingXer SA-1!!! I use an Apos Flow cable with them.
@@paveljopek4927 There was a lot of hype around this amp, but several reviewers that I trust in one way or another kind of echoed what NTR said here; the amp is just another amp, with perhaps an oversmoothed treble or even "boring" sound signature. While it could just be people not being used to class A sound, it sure kills the hype train for me. Like he said, I don't need the power either.
Best reviewer with original style ,no themes. Question , the schiit bitfrost 2/64 has so much hype , what do you think of that dac ? I was looking into that one or chord mojo 2 since price is about same...I'm using monolith thx aaa 887 amp.
There’s a group of audiophiles who believe that all dacs have unique sound signatures-even when measurements and company statements contradict those beliefs. There is no reason for the hype behind any dac, including the Bifrost. If you do real A/B comparisons, volume matched, then there is no difference at all among modern dacs. The Mojo is no better in this regard. It is overpriced and doesn’t provide the features than far cheaper dacs have. I suggest spending less on dacs-which make no audible difference at all-and instead try different headphones or IEMs.
@NoThemeReviews thanks for your reply. T here are a couple of so-called honest reviewer who does seems to call out bs or not scare to give a negative . Few yrs back you liked the chord mojo saying overall it's little better than monolith portable , so now chord mojo 2 has slight improvement or tweaks for the better, so would you think ot takes 2 more steps above monolith and or the 2 sound little better overall than the original chord mojo ? . I ask you because so many good reviewers I trust only about 3 but I can't find a bad remark on the chord 2 . I paid 640.00 total , and if it's not worth if you think then I may return it , that's how I highly respect your work .
@@Angel-AbC9 I appreciate your trust. There are a few things I can say about this. First, the differences I spoke of years ago were pretty minimal, and perceptible only with A/B comparisons. Back then I didn’t have a test bench with switch boxes and Voicemeeter which would have provided more reliable results. Second, in follow up videos about the Mojo I talked about all its problems-bad battery, cost and frustration with repair, the astounding cost for Chord’s compatible cables for the Mojo-and those cables are hands down the worst build of any I have ever used. Third, the Mojo is built around an old, now defunct idea. It doesn’t have BT, renders the same audio resolutions as other dacs costing a fraction, and utilizes a physical design that really isn’t particularly portable-at least no more so than alternatives. Fourth, to get the Mojo’s full features, you have to buy the Poly, which itself is a terrible product. Chord for years has promised a dedicated smartphone app to control the Poly, and as far as I know, they haven’t delivered. Fifth, the Mojo 2’s “EQ” is a laughable feature. You have no real control over minute changes, and since you’ll be tethered to a source device anyway, that source will have far greater EQ capability. Even if the Mojo 2 is somehow “better” than the original, it’s a ripoff. Keep in mind that Chord has always said that its Mojo devices are transparent/reference. That means flat, neutral. They do not change the audio signal, and like any other dac, do not increase the pre-recorded dynamic range of your music. I’m not going to tell you what to buy, or return. You have to make that decision based on objective facts. IMO, Chord doesn’t offer anything truly unique. By comparison, you should look at the THX Portable, which for far less money offers a lot more functionality.
@NoThemeReviews I do have the monolith portable, sound is clean airy nice sound but a bit thin not full body , I like it but I know there's better. Also have ifi hip dac, monolith sounds clear with vocals , hip dac with bass boost off still has a fuller and better bass sound. So there's some differences in dac amp to me and was thinking chord mojo 2 should be better than those 2 . Chord 1 was a mess and according to chord they improved in all those pass areas.
I have the mojo 2 and without any tweaks, I use the same headphones , arya stealth , and listened to monolith thx 887 , fiio ms11 , ifi hip dac , and monolith portable , I can easily say that the chord mojo 2 has a more fuller warmer sound , it sounds more expensive , the others were clear nice separation , but mojo does this a bit better hearing thru my arya stealth , wish I was able to send you the mojo 2 so you can review it.
I've never had the Arya, so I don't know if it really requires the amount of power people claim. I have never found a planar, other than the Argon, which requires more than 250-500mw at most. Sooo...just to keep things simple and safe, probably the Gustard H16. It's dead silent, well-built, got all your connections, and has oodles of power.
@@NoThemeReviews Hallo i have a question, i have a Og M11 and like it allot, but would the M15s be a big upgrade in sound with my denon 7200 and sundara? This because of the newer chip and more power? I don't care about the new android and snapdragon because i only use music on my sd cards 😊. Thanks, have a great day.
@@watchtvatmyplace6691 The dac chip makes no audible difference. All the modern dacs developed by ESS and AKM are flat, transparent. If you think that your headphones don't get loud enough with the M11, then the M15 will get them louder, if you use them balanced. Otherwise, if you're happy with the M11, there's no reason to buy the M15.
But hold on, surely 10 watts is unnecessary at 16ohms but when a 600ohm set gets plugged in it drops the power to 380 milliwatts or so, surely that is the reason it has 10 watts, because lots of headphones are much harder to drive?
No, that’s a true representation of impedance and power requirements. As a rule, dynamic drivers are VERY easy to power. A 600 ohm headphone doesn’t need watts, and can easily be driven by an amp that has 100mw at 600 ohms.
@@NoThemeReviews Maybe 100mw can drive it, but more wattage definitely seems to have a direct effect on the performance of high impedance headphones, because it’s something that you can hear. Even if it’s ‘not supposed to’, it seems to make a difference. But even putting that aside, how about having more wattage just for headroom then? Because I would rather have more power than necessary than not enough, and I suppose if it doesn’t cost a lot extra to put extra wattage in, you might as well have it. They must be doing it for a reason, the amount of time and effort that must go into designing a unit like this, they must have very specific intentions about the power output.
I've had this amp for almost a year now. I pair it with a S.M.S.L SU-9n to drive my Clear MG's as my daily and it is absolute heaven. I really have no desire to climb any higher unless some once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself.
Very nice amp and dac collection. Always enjoy your take on audio equipment.
Great review as always!Thank you!
I may be mistaken in my opinion but I'm really enjoying the pairing of my SMSL SU9n and my Topping A30 Pro that utilizes Toppings NFCA Tech inside it.
More power than I could ever need, great measurements and works well with my Dynamic as well as Planar Headphones and IEMs.
I've kind of been lusting after the Singxer SA-1 but just can't justify the expense and I'm not sure I would even be able to hear/notice any difference.
Like I said I'm really enjoying the pairing I have now and it's much better than what I had before so maybe I will grab one if they ever go on a very deep sale.
It is hard though to not keep chasing a so called "Perfect Sound" when what I have now I know measures more than perfect but there's always that itch to go for the latest and greatest.
Thank you for helping me to keep that under control and I know I can always count on this channel for it's straight forward no BS reviews...
The Singxer SA-1 + SMSl SU-9n + WiiM Pro are my daily desktop drivers. Very enjoyable and I use it specially with my Arya v2 and HD 6XX.
This versus the a70 pro?
will this be enough for the Modhouse Tungsten?
I caught a glimpse of the HA-1A MK2. Can you please do a review of it? Especially comparing them to other cheaper and more expensive OTL amps. Great video as always!
Do you feel like adding an external amp to the RME makes a big difference or is the RME's amp already good enough that people won't notice a difference?
Does the high and low output impedance makes any audible difference with most headphones ?
What is the impact of your switch box and interconnects, could that be why every test you make sounds more or less the same to you? Do you ever direct connect gear, curious?
Of course I direct connect gear. There is no impact from a PASSIVE switchbox. This has already been tested by ASR. Again, PASSIVE interconnects don’t affect the sound, unless there’s a grounding or shielding issue-which is easily mitigated.
Excellent review!
Modhouse Tungsten shows up and says "Not Enough POWER"
Thanks Much !
I got the ADI-2 and use the headphone amp on it. I told myself I could always add an amp later, but the truth is it seems fine for all my headphones. I thought about getting the Singxer to pair with it, but I suspect I wouldn't hear much of a difference even with balanced audio. Any plans to do the Xduoo TA 22?
The RME ADI-2 is an excellent DAC to pair with the SingXer SA-1 amp, as the RME has the high adjustable voltage on the XLR outputs that this amp needs. You can find the correct RME volume setting in combination with the SingXer SA-1 on the official RME forum, just look. The SingXer SA-1 is good to have set to high gain. In the end, all you have to do is fine-tune the parametric equalization on the RME for the preferred type of headphones used. I'm using the PEQ preset by user oratory1990. The HiFiMAN Arya Stealth pairs perfectly with the SingXer SA-1!!! I use an Apos Flow cable with them.
@@paveljopek4927 There was a lot of hype around this amp, but several reviewers that I trust in one way or another kind of echoed what NTR said here; the amp is just another amp, with perhaps an oversmoothed treble or even "boring" sound signature. While it could just be people not being used to class A sound, it sure kills the hype train for me. Like he said, I don't need the power either.
What do you mean by THX gimmicks? I've never heard of this before
Best reviewer with original style ,no themes.
Question , the schiit bitfrost 2/64 has so much hype , what do you think of that dac ?
I was looking into that one or chord mojo 2 since price is about same...I'm using monolith thx aaa 887 amp.
There’s a group of audiophiles who believe that all dacs have unique sound signatures-even when measurements and company statements contradict those beliefs. There is no reason for the hype behind any dac, including the Bifrost. If you do real A/B comparisons, volume matched, then there is no difference at all among modern dacs. The Mojo is no better in this regard. It is overpriced and doesn’t provide the features than far cheaper dacs have. I suggest spending less on dacs-which make no audible difference at all-and instead try different headphones or IEMs.
@NoThemeReviews thanks for your reply.
T here are a couple of so-called honest reviewer who does seems to call out bs or not scare to give a negative . Few yrs back you liked the chord mojo saying overall it's little better than monolith portable , so now chord mojo 2 has slight improvement or tweaks for the better, so would you think ot takes 2 more steps above monolith and or the 2 sound little better overall than the original chord mojo ? .
I ask you because so many good reviewers I trust only about 3 but I can't find a bad remark on the chord 2 . I paid 640.00 total , and if it's not worth if you think then I may return it , that's how I highly respect your work .
@@Angel-AbC9 I appreciate your trust. There are a few things I can say about this. First, the differences I spoke of years ago were pretty minimal, and perceptible only with A/B comparisons. Back then I didn’t have a test bench with switch boxes and Voicemeeter which would have provided more reliable results.
Second, in follow up videos about the Mojo I talked about all its problems-bad battery, cost and frustration with repair, the astounding cost for Chord’s compatible cables for the Mojo-and those cables are hands down the worst build of any I have ever used.
Third, the Mojo is built around an old, now defunct idea. It doesn’t have BT, renders the same audio resolutions as other dacs costing a fraction, and utilizes a physical design that really isn’t particularly portable-at least no more so than alternatives.
Fourth, to get the Mojo’s full features, you have to buy the Poly, which itself is a terrible product. Chord for years has promised a dedicated smartphone app to control the Poly, and as far as I know, they haven’t delivered.
Fifth, the Mojo 2’s “EQ” is a laughable feature. You have no real control over minute changes, and since you’ll be tethered to a source device anyway, that source will have far greater EQ capability.
Even if the Mojo 2 is somehow “better” than the original, it’s a ripoff. Keep in mind that Chord has always said that its Mojo devices are transparent/reference. That means flat, neutral. They do not change the audio signal, and like any other dac, do not increase the pre-recorded dynamic range of your music.
I’m not going to tell you what to buy, or return. You have to make that decision based on objective facts. IMO, Chord doesn’t offer anything truly unique. By comparison, you should look at the THX Portable, which for far less money offers a lot more functionality.
@NoThemeReviews I do have the monolith portable, sound is clean airy nice sound but a bit thin not full body , I like it but I know there's better. Also have ifi hip dac, monolith sounds clear with vocals , hip dac with bass boost off still has a fuller and better bass sound. So there's some differences in dac amp to me and was thinking chord mojo 2 should be better than those 2 . Chord 1 was a mess and according to chord they improved in all those pass areas.
I have the mojo 2 and without any tweaks, I use the same headphones , arya stealth , and listened to monolith thx 887 , fiio ms11 , ifi hip dac , and monolith portable , I can easily say that the chord mojo 2 has a more fuller warmer sound , it sounds more expensive , the others were clear nice separation , but mojo does this a bit better hearing thru my arya stealth , wish I was able to send you the mojo 2 so you can review it.
Please, Review of elex.
Do you have a favorite amp to recommend or do you prefer the built-in amp of the RME?
The RME is fine, but my preference is the H16
what great review again ! .... I have a Hifiman Arya V2 + D50s, what amp do you recomend for the chain ?
I've never had the Arya, so I don't know if it really requires the amount of power people claim. I have never found a planar, other than the Argon, which requires more than 250-500mw at most. Sooo...just to keep things simple and safe, probably the Gustard H16. It's dead silent, well-built, got all your connections, and has oodles of power.
Have you found anything else that plays nicely with the DT880 since your last video on the topic?
I stopped looking after the few videos I made for it.
@@NoThemeReviews Hallo i have a question, i have a Og M11 and like it allot, but would the M15s be a big upgrade in sound with my denon 7200 and sundara?
This because of the newer chip and more power?
I don't care about the new android and snapdragon because i only use music on my sd cards 😊.
Thanks, have a great day.
@@watchtvatmyplace6691 The dac chip makes no audible difference. All the modern dacs developed by ESS and AKM are flat, transparent. If you think that your headphones don't get loud enough with the M11, then the M15 will get them louder, if you use them balanced. Otherwise, if you're happy with the M11, there's no reason to buy the M15.
@@NoThemeReviews Thanks man 😄 great to hear 😁 than i will keep my m11, have a great day and have fun with your next review.
Damn dude, time for a bigger desk! ^^
Lol. Any bigger and I’d have to get another dining room table.
Any product reviewed to an acoustic rendition of Auld Lang Syne must be good.
But hold on, surely 10 watts is unnecessary at 16ohms but when a 600ohm set gets plugged in it drops the power to 380 milliwatts or so, surely that is the reason it has 10 watts, because lots of headphones are much harder to drive?
No, that’s a true representation of impedance and power requirements. As a rule, dynamic drivers are VERY easy to power. A 600 ohm headphone doesn’t need watts, and can easily be driven by an amp that has 100mw at 600 ohms.
@@NoThemeReviews Maybe 100mw can drive it, but more wattage definitely seems to have a direct effect on the performance of high impedance headphones, because it’s something that you can hear. Even if it’s ‘not supposed to’, it seems to make a difference. But even putting that aside, how about having more wattage just for headroom then? Because I would rather have more power than necessary than not enough, and I suppose if it doesn’t cost a lot extra to put extra wattage in, you might as well have it. They must be doing it for a reason, the amount of time and effort that must go into designing a unit like this, they must have very specific intentions about the power output.
good amp but very expensive