Singxer SA-1 Class A headphone amp reviews and discussion

purr1n · Jun 30, 2022

I said I wasn't going to say anything more, but one final comment considering that the "bad" measurements were only with one channel and only exhibited themselves are higher power levels with low impedance headphones:

There's also a disconnect between the highs and lows. To steal a phrase from another member in a private conversation: the highs seem almost oversaturated in the same sense that some people put too much artificial sweetners in their coffee/tea. It's almost like diet soda. It's weird though with that amp because I also felt it was a warmish sounding amp.

Yup, this is exactly it. Even without the glassy texture, there's a diet soda quality to it that does quite sit well. Too much sugar is too much, too much artificial sweetener is a whole 'nother thing.

dormantsheep · Jul 1, 2022

rhythmdevils said: ↑

Nice review! I liked this aspect of the amp because it makes it very iem friendly, which is rare for a discrete Class A amp. It can be used for so many different headphones. It's quiet and has volume pot range even with CA iems which is pretty incredible.
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The Singxer definitely catches my attention since I am looking to replace my trusty THX 789 for iem duty. While the THX 789 has a sort of sweetness or magic sauce when it comes to pure BA iems, I felt that it definitely held back the dynamic iems like my JVC FDX1 and aurisonics rockets, when compared to my DSHA-3F (unfair comparison I know, but I only have these 2 amps). The THX 789 made these dynamic iems sound almost flat and dead when compared to the DSHA-3F.

Jotunheim 2 is probably the other amp on my list aside from the Singxer that might bridge the gap and work for any iems I throw at it. Any impressions on Jotunheim 2's suitability for iem duty vis-a-vis the Singxer, with a focus on hiss and play on the volume pot (assuming balanced ins/outs)?

rhythmdevils · Jul 1, 2022

dormantsheep said: ↑

The Singxer definitely catches my attention since I am looking to replace my trusty THX 789 for iem duty. While the THX 789 has a sort of sweetness or magic sauce when it comes to pure BA iems, I felt that it definitely held back the dynamic iems like my JVC FDX1 and aurisonics rockets, when compared to my DSHA-3F (unfair comparison I know, but I only have these 2 amps). The THX 789 made these dynamic iems sound almost flat and dead when compared to the DSHA-3F.

Jotunheim 2 is probably the other amp on my list aside from the Singxer that might bridge the gap and work for any iems I throw at it. Any impressions on Jotunheim 2's suitability for iem duty vis-a-vis the Singxer, with a focus on hiss and play on the volume pot (assuming balanced ins/outs)?
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You might consider keeping the 789 for BA iems as I agree the pairing is special. And get a Vali 2+ for your dynamic iems. I have not heard the Vali2+ yet but I just got one for my ortho iems. Its supposed to be very quiet.

It would save you some money and might do the trick.

archerious · Jul 13, 2022

Azimuth said: ↑

Ok…solid state, class A (or at least they say), balanced in, balanced out…but what does it sound like?

TLDR; Very smooth and polite amp. Moderate amplification, not overly aggressive, and yet wide and smooth. Blunted attacks and overall lazy slightly warm sound. Good for a Sunday afternoon.

And if you want my YT review:

Sources: Theta DS Pro Basic II, Schiit Bifrost Multibit (modded)
Headphones: HD600, HD650, PMx2, 7hz Timeless, Moondrop Starfield

Design
Yeah it has Hi-Z and Lo-Z switch. You know Hi-Z will only put it in a current limit mode? I did not find really any difference with this switch. It might have been doing something, but it was not super much to make me think there was something going on.

Yeah, 4 high-low gain switches on the bottom. You know those really only control L+/- and R +/-, so really that could just be high-low gain switch. Did you also know that low gain is really low gain, and high gain is probably like mid-gain?

I think clearly the gain switches are if you have super high-efficiency headphones (low gain), or lower efficiency full-sized headphones, (high gain). I did not feel that even with high efficiency headphones that high-gain was high enough to be super annoying. So I take it the gain is supposed to be a set and forget. I left it in high gain. (I guess you could to a “medium gain by only one switch per side, but do this at your own risk.

For balanced/unbalanced in and out...sound is how you would think. Unbalanced in is lower output, balanced his higher input. Same for output - unbalanced is lower output, balanced is higher output. This just tells me that there is no phase inverter or anything on the unbalanced input, and that it is true balanced out and not connectors of convenience.

Sound
Basically this thing is polite. Like, this is the girl next door you take home to mom. Very nice, has manners, not-super exciting, and maybe a bit boring. Boring because it does not have very much in terms of macrodynamics and make recordings sound alive or have any leading edge. It still seems spactious and nothing really I can find much fault, except for some transients.

Some in this thread already pointed out that yes, it has no SS nasties or echiness. Almost to a fault. Meaning that also the transients are also kind of blunted or rounded. It still sounds “open and airy”, which I think attributes to the amps width and also the ample amount of amplification. It has some warmth on the low end and some power down there, meaning I can tell it has good current drive, but still the extreme top end seems slightly rolled off and rounded. It is not as rounded off as Asgard 2, as I think it is more neutral in that respect.

I think this is kind of the exact opposite of Jot 2. It not not suffer from any congestion, as others also said, but I also think that it does have someone better staging that is wider and slightly more organic. The SA-1 also is incredibly clean with no real harsh qualities. It may not be quite as powerful, but it is powerful enough.

It seems that the SA-1 is always in a low gear, just seeming like something is holding back. I see that the gain is +6 in low and +11 in high, but it still does not seem like enough or bring in some dangerous excitement either. It does not try to do too much or go out of the way to impress.

For IEM’s things did improve, and only at the highest volume on high gain was there noise. it was a bit more noise than what I was expecting, but only at the very end of the volume pot. Low gain did fine with both the Moondrop Starfield and 7Hz Timeless. There was a bit more dynamics and liveliness to the sound with IEM’s, although still not what I would be a super impressive sound. It does have still a wide and smooth sound, but you can hear how the layering is just kind of missing.

And if measurement is your thing, ASR did measure this amp and the results were very good. Super quiet, super low distortion, if those things matter to you. They likely measured it in low gain, but it is not surprising it measured low. I will say for how low it measured, you would think it would sound worse, but it was not terrible.

So not a complete showstopper and not a really horrible unit that needs to go in the garbage right away. Very versatile inputs, versatile outputs, super non-offensive sound that is somewhat between the Schiit house sound and the Cavalli laid back sound. I give it a B-, only because there are better amps that you can get that might not be as versatile that I would suggest over this amp. This is still not a bad small footprint start. Just beware that it might not have enough for your high impedance headphones.

Here is the power, and clearly it is better with lower impedance headphones. It did do better with my PMx2's giving it some lift in the high end and more energetic and less sleepy sound.

32Ω: 6480mW
120: 2000mW
600Ω:380mW
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Great review. The main concern of mine with SA-1 and a lot of chifi that makes me scared is will it hold up in 6 months or a year? My SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII had a ground loop issue within six months, then my SU-9N recently started making horrid hissing sounds recently. I had a D10S from Topping with a defective screen etc.

In comparison, Schiit has never had issues for me like this. It just works, years later even. You go on head-fi or usaudiomart and you'll see people selling their Gungnir Multibit or Bifrost that's like 3+ years old.

rhythmdevils · Jul 14, 2022

archerious said: ↑

Great review. The main concern of mine with SA-1 and a lot of chifi that makes me scared is will it hold up in 6 months or a year? My SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII had a ground loop issue within six months, then my SU-9N recently started making horrid hissing sounds recently. I had a D10S from Topping with a defective screen etc.

In comparison, Schiit has never had issues for me like this. It just works, years later even. You go on head-fi or usaudiomart and you'll see people selling their Gungnir Multibit or Bifrost that's like 3+ years old.
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The Singxer SA-1 seems VERY well built to me. If you even just felt it in your hands I think this worry would be gone in an instant. it's a heavy, solid chassis unlike any Chi Fi gear I've seen before. It's very well made as far as I can tell. Seems very solid. No promises of course, but that's my impression.

roderickvd · Jul 14, 2022

I agree. Inside is built like a tank too and seems to be made of good parts. I just could have done without the toggle switches, particularly the “on/off” switch that you need to cycle between off-pre-hpa each time. Seems to me the one part that will fail sooner than later.

Singxer SA-1 Class A headphone amp reviews and discussion

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Singxer SA-1 Class A headphone amp reviews and discussion

purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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