Thanks for your comment, glad you like the review. Re your question. I have not heard the AD-18 yet, so from audio point of view I can't tell but overall my opinion is AD-18 seems as a good affordable option as all in one solution considering the internals, features and especially for what you get with this price tag. It is definitely a step up from Q5 in every way. The power of 80w per channel should be enough to most people. It’s packed with ton of features for people who want them. I don't know what all your needs and expectation are, so if you will be more specific and tell me more (what you already have and are used to listen to, what will be the main use of it, sonically your expectations and so on) I might help you more with my opinion. Overall if you go for AD-18 go for the latest revised model (2nd generation) as there might be still older version of AD18 on the market and the improvements are clearly there. Also keep in mind the headphone amp is not to meant to be super powerful but should be enough for "normal"- power demanding headphones. SMSL listens and refines their products so if you think there have been already Q5s and already also first generation of AD-18 I am sure the 2nd edition of AD-18 is refined well. My personal opinion on All in one solutions is that I personally prefer always all separated as all combos and all in ones have a lot of compromises in all the departments/internals which makes sense as they just try to be more affordable solutions but as I go and the technology too the all in one products are better and better for sure..Hope it helped a bit.
Thank you for a very detailed reply. I'm just at the beginning of this path, mostly listened to music via headphones. I've got a Creative X-Fi fatality as a sound card/dac (24/96 capable), so I'm wondering if getting an external DAC with a decent heaphone amp will be an upgrade. I also like the separate modules like the ones you've reviewed (SMSL Sanscrit + SA 98E, great aesthetics too) but I've also taken a look at the FX-AUDIO DAC-X6 + a class A/B amp Dayton Audio APA150, or the Sabaj Da3. So to sum it up, a decent headphone amp would be very nice. Not sure about the DAC upgrade due to the X-Fi Fatality. But the main reason getting an amp is I’m planning also on upgrading to better speakers, nothing fancy for the moment. Also I don’t have a chance to listen to anything mentioned, so I’m basically buying blind. I liked the AD18 reviews, but I’m sure on the DAC it uses.
I have bought it from the amazo,it is amazing.I got it only two day after my ordered it.The price is less than half of the DragonFly RED.It features ESS Sabre9018 DAC chip.It is so suit for my headphone.I love it so much.
OK, I've been using it for 2 months and I like a lot. It's worth the money. When it comes to phones, I have tried it with Huawei Mate 10 Lite and there were some issues, cracks, not entirely flawless experience. I am also using an old Samsung A3 (2017) and it is absolutely fine. I have no problem on a PC. Works well with AIMP and also Foobar.
is it still worth it to buy this? I'm thinking of getting smsl IDEA, is really worth it? since sabaj is not available in my country. or can you suggest other amp/dac that's easy to setup. Other people are recommending me dac x6. I'm really confused what to buy. since it's all in my price range
hi TechRoadTrip, Please, how come I don't see these Sabaj DA-2 dac amps on Ebay? Maybe only one seller from France who charges too much for this device. Please, if you know where I could order it from, besides Amazon. Thank you and best regards from Bosnia! Great review! Cheers!
Hi Sani. Thanks for your comment, glad you liked the review. Re your question, due my knowledge Sabaj distributes their products only themselves through Amazon network and on Aliexpress they have their official store too but no third party re sellers. I will try to confirm for you. Ideally I would choose amazon and check if it's fulfilled by amazon so you have a guarantee of a quick delivery as from China it usually takes about a month or even more with standard shipping, might differ for your country.
Thank you Tech Road Trip very much!! You are very kind and helpful. I am also trying to figure out which headphone amp to buy. i have watched your video about sAp 8 and i liked it very much as well. i don't have a good headphone amp, only a headphone out on my audio interface, and it doesn't have enough power for more demanding headphones- i have Shure SRH-840 and Superlux HD 681 cans. I know that they are low impendance headphones, but I would like to give them a little more push to shine bright. thanks Tech once again and keep up the good work. I watch every video that you upload, very good work. Respect!! Best. Sani
Thanks. Re your question: From functional point of view due my experience with devices running android 6.0 and higher it works well. From practical day to day point of view I just found very unfortunate that it has a fragile micro usb and not usb type-C as even during my testing due the lightness of the dac and cables from both sides it feels too fragile and delicate as sometimes when you move or something you might loose the contact (cable in micro USB port) as it wiggles a bit . But if you are careful and think of it, you should be fine...
In difficult choice between Sabaj Da2 / Sabaj Da3. But anyway I'm not going to use balanced headphones or headphones with impedance higher than 100-150 (now using 32-70). Question: Is there any other reason to buy Sabaj Da3 instead of Sabaj Da2? Is there any big difference in sound, other then balanced output, and ability to power higher impedance headphones?
I don't think there will be a noticeable difference in the sound. They will sound very similar. There are some differences in internals but those are more related to it's architecture as it has balance and unbalanced output . If you don't need the OLED display and balanced output go for DA2 as besides the slightly higher power in unbalanced output (significant in balanced) there will be almost no difference in the sound.
Thnx for the answer. There is actually interesting thread on head-fi forum about exeptional "synergy" between da2/idea (not da3!), O2 amp & PRO 82 headphones. I've never had external dac/amp combo, so my only concern for buying da2 is to be disappointed by lower level of detail in comparison with my good old X-Fi Titanium HD soundcard (PCM 1794 dac).
I see. I quickly checked yours X-Fi sound card and seems it's excellent card as a package and with great specs but unfortunately I haven't had chance to listen to it. Due my experience newest dac chip doesn't mean necessary a better sound it's more about how it's all put together (all other internals) but still DA2 might be better sounding in my guess. DA2 definitely doesn't lack a detail, that's what you can be sure, it can just be a bit more brighter sounding in comparison.
Thank you for your video, it was informstive, now I'm curious: does this work with the Pixel 2 ? Has I'm not happy with the dac that comes in the box and I use the Blue Mofi for headphones.
Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to compare LGv30 with DA2 yet but I believe DA2 will be better sounding but as an amp not necessary more powerful to drive higher impedance headphones.
Thanks very much for this great review, thumbs up for that. I have a question u would recommed this dac for my HTC u ultra and pc usage without buying any amp in addition. My headphones have less than 100 ohm. Thanks. MFG Ucanhoroz
Thanks. Re your question. As the most affordable portable solution yes, I would recommend it if you can live with those couple of flaws I mentioned (fragile micro usb port) in the review especially in my written review on my website. If you can afford to spend more there is for example SMSL IQ which i would recommend more(still small but with internal battery, lcd, balanced output), or if you would like a bigger step up go for Oppo HA2 which you can find used - as new on ebay or forum for a fraction of the cost than its new SE model and it sounds great fro the price, build is top notch and other... Hope it helped
Tech Road Trip Thanks for this helpful answer. The oppo h2 is very cool but out of my small budget like the iq. So thanks for the tips to search in a forum. I hope i can find something thats usefull for me. MFG Ucanhoroz
6 ปีที่แล้ว
Will you recommend buying this DAC if it will not be used with an amplifier? Great video btw
Thanks for your comment. Re your question. As an affordable portable solution for "on the go" occasions, for not so power demanding headphones yes. For desktop use I recommend to pair with a good dedicated amp. I prefer all separated.
6 ปีที่แล้ว
Thanks for your answer, do you think it will work fine with the ath M50X?
the audio in this video is not very good, the deep/mid tones are way too low compared to the rest, it sounds like you're whispering and the volume has to be turned up a lot. Other than that, i think the review was helpful, although i would have liked to know a bit more in-depth about it (frequency response, output impedance and potentially other things)
Thanks for your comment and feedback on the audio. I am honestly aware of it and will be improving my recording audio setup and also a room treatment soon. Re the more information, if I will see people would like to include more in depth technical information as frequency response graphs and other measurements I will for sure consider to include it in my future reviews, if not in video reviews I might include it in my written reviews on my website as they are usually more extended and in depth ...
Depends for what kind of use. They are different kind of products. Fiio A3 is portable amp with a battery built in and stereo 3.5mm jack as the input. DA2 is a combo - USB DAC and amp. Sound wise DA2 will obviously win...re the power Fiio A3.
Thx for the review. What do you think about the SMSL AD-18, as an ALL-IN-One solution?
Thanks for your comment, glad you like the review. Re your question. I have not heard the AD-18 yet, so from audio point of view I can't tell but overall my opinion is AD-18 seems as a good affordable option as all in one solution considering the internals, features and especially for what you get with this price tag. It is definitely a step up from Q5 in every way. The power of 80w per channel should be enough to most people. It’s packed with ton of features for people who want them. I don't know what all your needs and expectation are, so if you will be more specific and tell me more (what you already have and are used to listen to, what will be the main use of it, sonically your expectations and so on) I might help you more with my opinion. Overall if you go for AD-18 go for the latest revised model (2nd generation) as there might be still older version of AD18 on the market and the improvements are clearly there. Also keep in mind the headphone amp is not to meant to be super powerful but should be enough for "normal"- power demanding headphones. SMSL listens and refines their products so if you think there have been already Q5s and already also first generation of AD-18 I am sure the 2nd edition of AD-18 is refined well. My personal opinion on All in one solutions is that I personally prefer always all separated as all combos and all in ones have a lot of compromises in all the departments/internals which makes sense as they just try to be more affordable solutions but as I go and the technology too the all in one products are better and better for sure..Hope it helped a bit.
Thank you for a very detailed reply. I'm just at the beginning of this path, mostly listened to music via headphones. I've got a Creative X-Fi fatality as a sound card/dac (24/96 capable), so I'm wondering if getting an external DAC with a decent heaphone amp will be an upgrade. I also like the separate modules like the ones you've reviewed (SMSL Sanscrit + SA 98E, great aesthetics too) but I've also taken a look at the FX-AUDIO DAC-X6 + a class A/B amp Dayton Audio APA150, or the Sabaj Da3. So to sum it up, a decent headphone amp would be very nice. Not sure about the DAC upgrade due to the X-Fi Fatality. But the main reason getting an amp is I’m planning also on upgrading to better speakers, nothing fancy for the moment. Also I don’t have a chance to listen to anything mentioned, so I’m basically buying blind. I liked the AD18 reviews, but I’m sure on the DAC it uses.
I have bought it from the amazo,it is amazing.I got it only two day after my ordered it.The price is less than half of the DragonFly RED.It features ESS Sabre9018 DAC chip.It is so suit for my headphone.I love it so much.
Sabajd2 IS It iOS compatible? Thanks
OK, I've been using it for 2 months and I like a lot. It's worth the money. When it comes to phones, I have tried it with Huawei Mate 10 Lite and there were some issues, cracks, not entirely flawless experience. I am also using an old Samsung A3 (2017) and it is absolutely fine.
I have no problem on a PC. Works well with AIMP and also Foobar.
is it still worth it to buy this? I'm thinking of getting smsl IDEA, is really worth it? since sabaj is not available in my country. or can you suggest other amp/dac that's easy to setup. Other people are recommending me dac x6. I'm really confused what to buy. since it's all in my price range
hi TechRoadTrip,
Please, how come I don't see these Sabaj DA-2 dac amps on Ebay? Maybe only one seller from France who charges too much for this device.
Please, if you know where I could order it from, besides Amazon.
Thank you and best regards from Bosnia!
Great review!
Cheers!
Hi Sani. Thanks for your comment, glad you liked the review. Re your question, due my knowledge Sabaj distributes their products only themselves through Amazon network and on Aliexpress they have their official store too but no third party re sellers. I will try to confirm for you. Ideally I would choose amazon and check if it's fulfilled by amazon so you have a guarantee of a quick delivery as from China it usually takes about a month or even more with standard shipping, might differ for your country.
Thank you Tech Road Trip very much!! You are very kind and helpful. I am also trying to figure out which headphone amp to buy. i have watched your video about sAp 8 and i liked it very much as well. i don't have a good headphone amp, only a headphone out on my audio interface, and it doesn't have enough power for more demanding headphones- i have Shure SRH-840 and Superlux HD 681 cans. I know that they are low impendance headphones, but I would like to give them a little more push to shine bright.
thanks Tech once again and keep up the good work. I watch every video that you upload, very good work. Respect!!
Best.
Sani
Will it works on pixel XL?
Nine work, really very professional work, let me ask you how does it work for portable use???
Thanks. Re your question: From functional point of view due my experience with devices running android 6.0 and higher it works well. From practical day to day point of view I just found very unfortunate that it has a fragile micro usb and not usb type-C as even during my testing due the lightness of the dac and cables from both sides it feels too fragile and delicate as sometimes when you move or something you might loose the contact (cable in micro USB port) as it wiggles a bit . But if you are careful and think of it, you should be fine...
In difficult choice between Sabaj Da2 / Sabaj Da3. But anyway I'm not going to use balanced headphones or headphones with impedance higher than 100-150 (now using 32-70). Question: Is there any other reason to buy Sabaj Da3 instead of Sabaj Da2? Is there any big difference in sound, other then balanced output, and ability to power higher impedance headphones?
I don't think there will be a noticeable difference in the sound. They will sound very similar. There are some differences in internals but those are more related to it's architecture as it has balance and unbalanced output . If you don't need the OLED display and balanced output go for DA2 as besides the slightly higher power in unbalanced output (significant in balanced) there will be almost no difference in the sound.
Thnx for the answer. There is actually interesting thread on head-fi forum about exeptional "synergy" between da2/idea (not da3!), O2 amp & PRO 82 headphones. I've never had external dac/amp combo, so my only concern for buying da2 is to be disappointed by lower level of detail in comparison with my good old X-Fi Titanium HD soundcard (PCM 1794 dac).
I see. I quickly checked yours X-Fi sound card and seems it's excellent card as a package and with great specs but unfortunately I haven't had chance to listen to it. Due my experience newest dac chip doesn't mean necessary a better sound it's more about how it's all put together (all other internals) but still DA2 might be better sounding in my guess. DA2 definitely doesn't lack a detail, that's what you can be sure, it can just be a bit more brighter sounding in comparison.
Thank you for your video, it was informstive, now I'm curious: does this work with the Pixel 2 ? Has I'm not happy with the dac that comes in the box and I use the Blue Mofi for headphones.
Thank you for your comment. Yes. It should work without a problem with Pixel 2 and will be definitely an improvement .
Tech Road Trip would it be better than the dac in the LGv30?
Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to compare LGv30 with DA2 yet but I believe DA2 will be better sounding but as an amp not necessary more powerful to drive higher impedance headphones.
Anybody can help me? Does it works with ps4?
Thanks very much for this great review, thumbs up for that. I have a question u would recommed this dac for my HTC u ultra and pc usage without buying any amp in addition. My headphones have less than 100 ohm. Thanks.
MFG Ucanhoroz
Thanks. Re your question. As the most affordable portable solution yes, I would recommend it if you can live with those couple of flaws I mentioned (fragile micro usb port) in the review especially in my written review on my website. If you can afford to spend more there is for example SMSL IQ which i would recommend more(still small but with internal battery, lcd, balanced output), or if you would like a bigger step up go for Oppo HA2 which you can find used - as new on ebay or forum for a fraction of the cost than its new SE model and it sounds great fro the price, build is top notch and other... Hope it helped
Tech Road Trip Thanks for this helpful answer. The oppo h2 is very cool but out of my small budget like the iq. So thanks for the tips to search in a forum. I hope i can find something thats usefull for me.
MFG Ucanhoroz
Will you recommend buying this DAC if it will not be used with an amplifier? Great video btw
Thanks for your comment. Re your question. As an affordable portable solution for "on the go" occasions, for not so power demanding headphones yes. For desktop use I recommend to pair with a good dedicated amp. I prefer all separated.
Thanks for your answer, do you think it will work fine with the ath M50X?
Yes. Absolutely.
Of course it is better than dragon, they're limited to 24/96 max, no DSD at all + upsampled mqa. No questions.
Can you please talk louder, you're whispering the entire video :(
Especially when we probs haven't bought the DAC yet.
the audio in this video is not very good, the deep/mid tones are way too low compared to the rest, it sounds like you're whispering and the volume has to be turned up a lot. Other than that, i think the review was helpful, although i would have liked to know a bit more in-depth about it (frequency response, output impedance and potentially other things)
Thanks for your comment and feedback on the audio. I am honestly aware of it and will be improving my recording audio setup and also a room treatment soon. Re the more information, if I will see people would like to include more in depth technical information as frequency response graphs and other measurements I will for sure consider to include it in my future reviews, if not in video reviews I might include it in my written reviews on my website as they are usually more extended and in depth ...
this or Fiio A3 ?
Depends for what kind of use. They are different kind of products. Fiio A3 is portable amp with a battery built in and stereo 3.5mm jack as the input. DA2 is a combo - USB DAC and amp. Sound wise DA2 will obviously win...re the power Fiio A3.
Tech Road Trip thank you man !
will this work with pixel 2 xl on Spotify?
Hi. Yes should work seamlessly . I tried when testing Spotify and Tidal Hi-Fi and no issues at all.
This DAC dont impress me. If you wanna some really goog sound - this DAC dont match. This DAC a little bit better than smartphone.
Русский что ли ? или показалось