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Sabaj Portable Headphone Amplifier USB DAC Da3 Hi-res SABRE9018Q2C OLED Screen DSD512 32bit/768kHz Grey
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Sabaj Portable Headphone Amplifier USB DAC Da3 Hi-res SABRE9018Q2C OLED Screen DSD512 32bit/768kHz Grey

4.3/5
Product ID: 49193913
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Details

  • Brand
    SABAJ
  • Mounting type
    Table Top
  • Interface type
    USB
  • Number of channels
    2
  • Manufacturer
    Shenzhen Dahao
Ultra-low distortion
🎧32bit/768kHz PCM
🔊Dual DAC design
Frequently Bought Together

Description

🎶 Elevate Your Listening Experience!

  • UNLEASH YOUR SOUND - Experience audio like never before with high-resolution support.
  • DYNAMIC RANGE MASTERY - Enjoy an ultra-high dynamic range for a truly immersive experience.
  • PRECISION ENGINEERING - Crafted with dual SABRE9018Q2C chips for unparalleled clarity.
  • VERSATILE CONNECTIVITY - Connect with ease using dual headphone outputs for any setup.
  • USER FRIENDLY INTERFACE - Navigate effortlessly with a sleek 0.96 inch OLED display.

The Sabaj Portable Headphone Amplifier USB DAC Da3 features a full balanced design with dual SABRE9018Q2C decoding chips, supporting high bit rate digital processing up to 32bit/768kHz and DSD512. It boasts an ultra-low distortion amp circuit for superior sound restoration, a user-friendly OLED display, and versatile headphone connectivity.

Reviews

4.3

All from verified purchases

S**M

Best Sounding DAC under £100 Lacking Any Support

Wow! This Da3 using not one but two highly praised ESS dacs, offered at a uncompromisable price point. All bundled in a superbly built and compact chassis, buttons have a solid feel, it feels super modern with USB C and a OLED screen that displays the current sampling rate, volume, filter preset and output (bal or unbal).One thing to note I got mine in grey It's no where near as dark as it appers in pictures, it would be nice if they included a C to C cable for phones so no adapters had to be used or a cable bought. Playback works on phone but no the most stable with Apps such UAPP crashing two many times to make enjoyable, I use mine for PC playback and its flawless, thats once you install the XMOS driver for the Dac which is on the Sabaj website, but can be found on the SMSL website for there idea dac. The driver works and detects the product, it's a shame the manafacture of this does not put out a dedicated driver.And yes DSD playback really does work with this, It took a while, using Jriver and the XMOS drive, DSD in DoP playback works flawless, upto the 4X. Native DSD playback is something I have only been able to get working once at 2X, all other times it just produces white noise. So if your wanting to use the DSD capablity of this DAC be prepared to tinker alot and research about. All other formats work perfect.Output from the DAC is incredible, very accurate, a tad warm and no noise throughout all volumes even on very Low impedance headphones. AMP is able to push out audio to quite some power and remain distortion free.

I**T

Great sound, great build and can compete with much more expensive / bigger setups.

Sounds great, manages to drive even my HD6xx's, works with USB c and is built well.I have never listened to it long enough on my phone battery to drain it completely but it does eat it quite quickly, I use it mainly for travelling with my laptop so not an issue for me.I compared it against the dragonfly cobalt and a topping d10 paired with jds labs atom and honestly for the price / size this is the absolute winner. Topping + D10 can drive my HD6xx a little bit better in lower frequencies but that's not apples to apples, and for IEMs I actually prefer the Sabaj.If you're planning on driving high impedance cans with it and don't have an amp you might get away with a balanced cable cause the output on balanced is higher I believe.I also LOVE the button volume controls.

G**E

Drives The HD800S With Ease; Needs Better Quality Control

I'd recommend the Da3 solely based on the price/performance you get for the current price; but there are a few problems with quality control.The design is simple enough - a milled aluminium shell and rubber base to prevent it from sliding around. The OLED display is sharp and easy to read. The menus are simple and make sense (no bad translations). There are no bright power LEDs; just a clean understated look.USB-C is a great choice; much better than the tiny and fragile USB-micro connectors on similar devices.Note sure about the 2.5mm balanced connection. I realise there isn't really a universal standard (aside from the 4.4mm one used by Sony and Sennheiser), but this choice seems fairly fragile.Unfortunately my unit came with a case defect on the top left edge. The 3.5mm headphone jack on my unit is also slightly skewed, so it doesn't sit quite square to the case.If I wasn't intending to mill a new case (to allow larger connectors), I'd be returning for replacement it for these reasons. On the plus side, I don't feel bad about taking this one apart now.These issues aside, the general fit and finish of the Da3 is not quite as good as you might expect for the money and materials used; but it's acceptable.All of the milled edges and corners are fairly 'sharp' (if you've owned a unibody Macbook, you'll know what I mean), so expect this to tear holes in whatever bag/case you put it into if you intend to use it as a portable DAC/amp.The buttons are loose and rattle when the unit is moved; tighter tolerances on the milling would prevent this and increase the feeling of quality.The board itself seems well put together, aside from the minor 3.5mm jack alignment issue on mine.With regards to actually using the Da3; so far I've only used the non-balanced output, as I don't have any 2.5mm TRRS cables. Supposedly the balanced connection can provide more power for harder to drive headphones; but it turns out this wasn't needed with the ones I have.I've tried it with multiple Windows 10 desktops and an HP Chromebook 11. All immediately worked with the Da3 without driver installation; although I'm not using the DSD functionality, which I understand does require a driver download. When I get a USB-C to USB-C cable (sadly not included), I'll try it with my Android phone.It's driven the following headphones so far:- Sennheiser HD 800S- Shure SRH1540- Monoprice Monolith M560The Da3 powered all three with ease, which is impressive for a compact USB-powered device. For reference, the maximum settable volume on the unit is '40'. I made the following observations:- The HD800S required a volume of 20-24 to drive to loud (but comfortable) levels, suggesting plenty of headroom for harder to drive headphones. There was no discernible noise (a very black background) and I could detect no audible issues on FLAC CD-rips when played through Foobar- The SRH1540 required a volume of only 16-18. For some reason the bass on these didn't seem quite as 'tight' as I'm accustomed to. Could be an impedance/damping issue? Otherwise no noticeable issues- The M560 (planar magnetic) required a volume of 23-26 with no noticeable issues. Tight and cleanSonically I can't fault the Da3. It provides plenty of power, seems to have fairly flat reproduction, and has no noticeable noise (on my host machines). The three filter options in the menu made no audible difference to me.I plan to assemble a cable to try the balanced feature; but I don't anticipate it will change anything, aside from providing more headroom for less sensitive headphones.The Da3 is definitely something I'd recommend, despite minor quality issues.

A**H

Nice and small

Very clear sound. Nice and small, portable. I bought to be used as a desktop DAC as it supports DSD512 which is rare, or very expensive.The reason for the 3 stars. Well the device has a hardcoded volume limit at startup. Which is 19. Of 36 or was it 38? So each time it's turned on you need to max it out to get a line out output level. Without the option to change it in the settings, something they really should have implemented for users like me.The other star deducted is because if the lack of information about the balanced output and lack of details about the 3 filter settings in the options. Oh and it could have come with perhaps an OTG-like cable like the Da2 does.I know it sounds a bit harsh. I was going to give it 4 stars as the DAC side of things are great. It's just I couldn't keep it due to the above reasons. SMSL have told me future revisions may have the startup volume adjustable in the options.Thanks for reading.

J**A

Increíble dispositivo

Gran calidad y sonido

M**.

Espetáculo

"O decoding de SACD funciona perfeitamente com o foobar2k com ASIO"

W**N

Very portable and does the job right (read on for tips to change output, sampling rate and etc)

Overall impression:- This product is very light and small (see the photo I attached), great for travel!- Unit feels sturdy- The squared edge is not a good design (as mentioned by other reviewers), but it is not too sharp. I will keep it in a separate bag for sure- Can be easily powered by any USB portSome reviews mentioned this unit is power-hungry and cellphones may not be able to drive it. I have used lightning to USB adapter for my new iPhone 11 pro, and the DAC stayed on for ~15 mins without any problem (my phone is new though and the 11 pro has a rather powerful battery)Sound quality (a long review)*** I bought this unit to drive my HD6xx (a clone of HD650), a headphone with an impedance of 300ohms. You can assume I use the stock 3.5mm cable unless stated otherwise.- Desktop: my desktop has a motherboard that is advertised to have decent onboard audio that can drive 300ohms headphones with 2 dedicated amps. The desktop is capable of driving the HD6xx to a good loudness at ~15% of max volume, but the Da3 requires ~45% of max volume to reach the same level of loudness, and the sound quality is about the same. My integrated HiFi amp is able to produce much much better sound.- Laptop/iPhone: the Da3 can improve sound quality (dynamic range, soundstage, tighter bass and etc) noticeably, but not a lot.- 2.5mm port: by using an aftermarket balanced 2.5mm cable, the sound quality improved noticeably!!! I guess this is where the Da3 shines because none of my desktop/laptop has 2.5mm port (the improvement may come from the cable itself and "balanced" cable is praised by producing better sounds).Controls:- The manual is too simple and doesn't explain things well (I will list some tips below)- The unit can be turned on or off by holding the power button, pressing the power button will change to balanced/unbalanced, filter and display time off mode respectively. The "-" and "+" can be pressed in each mode to make adjustments- The unit doesn't automatically recognize 2.5mm or 3.5mm port, take me a while to realize that I need to press the power button and make the change using - or + button- Sampling rate can be only changed by using the sound setting->sound control panel->right click the USB DAC and select properties->advanced (win 10)- Filter settings: I can only hear very very small differences in some pieces of music in 24bit or higher, but I don't really understand what the filters do. It seems to affect ringing and echoing slightly, but I prefer fast roll-off.Conclusion: the DAC slightly improves sound quality for cellphones and laptops (only noticeable in complex classical music). The output may not be powerful enough for high impedance headphones (sound quality-wise). However, by using a balanced cable, the headphone is much easier to drive and sounds improve noticeably!!

D**E

Took A Chance

I really, really like this USB DAC by Sabaj the Da3. I was a little hesitant of course spending just over $100. Unless of course money is no object to you, this item wouldn't even be something you'd consider purchasing. If you are reading this you are like me, a music lover that wants the very best sound quality at a somewhat minimal cost. Why? Because thanks to Chi-Fi, we have this option. That's right Sabaj, Fiio, Topping and many more are Chinese High End audio companies! The cost to manufacture mostly all these fabulous $100-$500 wonders is so low in China by the time it reaches the good old USA it stays low. Granted many of these companies exist only on the vast pages of Amazon. I trust Amazon. I can get 2 day and mostly overnight deliveries that are fully returnable directly back to Amazon. Amazon effect they call it. The Amazon Showroom is so vast if you saw it with your own eyes it would appear as miles and miles, as far as the human eye can see. Kinda like looking out into the ocean from the beach. You can only see so far. We are truly very fortunate to have Amazon reliability and customer service just an email or phone call away. Amazon recently introduced it's very own shipping company as well! Amazon Logistics bypasses the good old USPS, FEDEX and UPS. It's a brlliant idea and business strategy by one of the world's richest men with the largest showroom known to man, (or animal). Thank you Jeff!Back to the review....The Sabaj Da3 is quite an amazing device. It has played every file I've thrown at it for the last 8 hours. A pretty dull life for me you would think. That thought would be incorrect however. I am a music lover, yes audiophile too on somewhat of a budget. Many of you can relate I'm sure. The Da3 promises USB-C input and 2 types of output only, headphone or line out at 3.5mm or the much better, cleaner and powerful BALANCED line out at 2.5mm. Your headphones must be BALANCED High Resolution capable along with that 2.5 mm trrs cable. I've been listening now, for yes, about 8 hours to this musical wonder. I have others too: Fiio K3, Topping NX2 and NX3. Also a Sony PHA-A1 and Audiuquest Dragonfly Red. Why then purchase another DAC when I enjoy all the others? Diversification. Each has it's own attributes and qualities and problems too. I love my new Sabaj Da3 for many reasons but I'm certain you want a review, not a chapter from the book "Audiophile Choices For The Rest Of Us." (Not actually a real book). Aside from the input and outputs of this extremely well built silver aluminum, block tapered device, it's very lightweight for great portability. I've been using it now with one of my favorite media consumption device, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. Also tried it with my Samsung Note 9 and it works wonderfully! PC is next. There is, last but certainly not least, a small black 1 inch led screen on the front of the Da3. It displays your bitrate and output info in hz and Khz. It displays the output number from the volume control buttons too! There are three audio modes to choose from to kinda tweak the sound roll off. Not so sure how precise that is but no matter. The choice of standard 3.5mm headphone in and Balanced 2.5mm Headphone In is the last option. The device remembers your choices and always restarts at middle scale audio output level. Another great feature. The device does not have any internal rechargeable battery. It relies on your smartphone, tablet and PC for power. The drain is very minimal but should be mentioned none the less. You can actually stack the device with your smartphone and take it on the go. I believe it was really made for home use but it's great to have options! I love options, but not too many redundant ones. That's exactly what you get here with the Sabaj Da3. It's a pure, clean powerful sound that works with many if not all headphones on the market today. Naturally I have a little collection from some of the major players. Sony, Audio Technica, Sennheiser HD58X plus others, V Moda, AKG, and Beyerdynamic. Again, it only takes one set. But like many of you reading this (if you've gotten this far) we have our fav's. I happen to love my Sony MDR-1AM2. It has a removable cable allowing me to switch out for a separately purchased higher quality 2.5mm Balanced Cable. I could go on and on! I wont do that in an attempt to stay focused. Please take away this from my review... this is a high quality, very reasonably priced HiFi device for audiophiles and everyone else too. The sound is uniform with punchy bass and excellent fantastic highs. The mids are the hardest to recreate and the Da3 does it beautifully. No treble sibilance or over hyped bass. A truly natural, very high definition sound that puts you right in the front row of the recording studio or stage. Picking out and hearing individual instruments and vocals is astonishing. It will keep you up past your bedtime I am sure. And that's the only downside I can think of! After a lot of research I landed on the Sabaj Da3. An amazing DAC/AMP that really ticks all of the boxes. It's my new favorite USB DAC. Sabaj should be recognized here as a quality audiophile company for those of us still on a budget. And that's a very good thing to be.

P**O

Sounds Brilliant - Just Not For IEM's Using Balanced Port

I also own the Monoprice Monolith USB dac, which uses a single, ESS 9018 based Sabre DAC. I bought this to try balanced headphones using the Dual DAC. To my surprise, everything sounds clearer on the Sabaj DA3 - even with the single ended 3.5 mm port.I've used modified Sony MDR V6's, Sony MDR7520's, Fostex/Modhouse Argons, AKG K550's, and others with this DAC. All my full size headphones showed improvement in clarity and soundstage relative to the Monolith DAC. There was a subtle improvement using 2.5mm balanced cables instead of the single ended 3.5mm. I feel extension is great for both bass and treble, I don't sense any significant roll-off . . .The only disappointment was in using sensitive IEM's with the balanced port. It hissed with two 32 ohm IEM's - but did not on the 3.5mm port. The IEM's I used were the Tenhz P4 Pro, and Custom UE Triple Fi Quads. My understanding is that the impedance of the balanced port is relatively high.Otherwise, this has been very impressive as a pseudo-desktop DAC. I now use it plugged into the balanced ports of a Loxjie P20 tube amp - and the result is delightful. I wonder if any further purchases are going to hit the level of diminishing returns . . . such that improvement is not worth the cost.

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