Unnecessary, but mandatory ramble.
An amplifier should be transparent, heck, everything in the chain should be as transparent as possible. (Denafrips colouring, anyone?)
Colouration should happen only at the speaker's end. Return your knives to their scabbards, and do as you please, to each his own.
Modern technologies, proven designs, and manufacturing prowess have helped to keep costs down while keeping quality up. Making beastly devices in tiny packages at a small enough price is a trend that TOPPING Electronics & Technology Co. started in 2008. Other companies like SMSL and Sabaj have continued this trend. There are rumours that Loxjie, SMSL, and Sabaj are all subsidiaries of the same parent corporation, but I am unable to confirm this. ChiFi's founding has cleared the way for the availability of high-quality goods at competitive prices.
Selection
I was on the hunt for a Class D for my bookshelves. Among the choices were an SMSL A300 and the Sabaj A20a. I wanted to see myself the fuss about these German-made Infineon chips and then came along the Sabaj A30a, with the Axign AX5689 chip from the Dutch company. I gleaned as much information as I could about these chips, and if you must know, they come un-salted. It made a wee bit more power than the aforementioned amps and looked nice while at it.
I have never bought anything off of HiFi-Express before, but folks on other forums vouched for them and I managed to have one delivered with minimum fuss in two weeks. Duty paid was INR 1243, and INR 500 as handling charges. I must say, I was quite impressed with the shipping process. The communication from both, HiFi-Express and the couriers were top-notch; they were prompt and efficient.
Impressions:
The A30a came in a well-packaged sizable box and has a nice heft. Built like a tank and ready to fire projectiles; I fired them up, and they're nothing like a typical Class D, that could be "dry" and analytical, these are smooth while being clinical.
While the highs are silky, the stand-out is the mid-range. Vocals sound breathy and holographic. Do you want to hear every breath the singer inhales? then this is it! I have been wowed by this alone.
I must admit that the Bass control is better on the Crown XLS but in no way a letdown. It's a fantastic integrated amp with Bass and treble management; bump bass and treble a bit, and you have emulated the loudness feature, which some of us find useful for those late-night sessions at lower decibels.
Crossover filters for a subwoofer are a great addition. I do not understand the need for a subwoofer volume control feature, any thoughts?
Observations:
The amp gets warmer than your typical Class D, but not enough to cook an egg.
Unless a snake is hiding in my speakers, I can hear a mild hiss in my 84db speakers at full volume on the amp, only if I keep an ear to the tweeters. The source/preamp volume makes no difference to the hiss, Who listens to music like this anyway? A couple of feet away and it's not audible.
An amplifier should be transparent, heck, everything in the chain should be as transparent as possible. (Denafrips colouring, anyone?)
Colouration should happen only at the speaker's end. Return your knives to their scabbards, and do as you please, to each his own.
Modern technologies, proven designs, and manufacturing prowess have helped to keep costs down while keeping quality up. Making beastly devices in tiny packages at a small enough price is a trend that TOPPING Electronics & Technology Co. started in 2008. Other companies like SMSL and Sabaj have continued this trend. There are rumours that Loxjie, SMSL, and Sabaj are all subsidiaries of the same parent corporation, but I am unable to confirm this. ChiFi's founding has cleared the way for the availability of high-quality goods at competitive prices.
Selection
I was on the hunt for a Class D for my bookshelves. Among the choices were an SMSL A300 and the Sabaj A20a. I wanted to see myself the fuss about these German-made Infineon chips and then came along the Sabaj A30a, with the Axign AX5689 chip from the Dutch company. I gleaned as much information as I could about these chips, and if you must know, they come un-salted. It made a wee bit more power than the aforementioned amps and looked nice while at it.
I have never bought anything off of HiFi-Express before, but folks on other forums vouched for them and I managed to have one delivered with minimum fuss in two weeks. Duty paid was INR 1243, and INR 500 as handling charges. I must say, I was quite impressed with the shipping process. The communication from both, HiFi-Express and the couriers were top-notch; they were prompt and efficient.
Impressions:
The A30a came in a well-packaged sizable box and has a nice heft. Built like a tank and ready to fire projectiles; I fired them up, and they're nothing like a typical Class D, that could be "dry" and analytical, these are smooth while being clinical.
While the highs are silky, the stand-out is the mid-range. Vocals sound breathy and holographic. Do you want to hear every breath the singer inhales? then this is it! I have been wowed by this alone.
I must admit that the Bass control is better on the Crown XLS but in no way a letdown. It's a fantastic integrated amp with Bass and treble management; bump bass and treble a bit, and you have emulated the loudness feature, which some of us find useful for those late-night sessions at lower decibels.
Crossover filters for a subwoofer are a great addition. I do not understand the need for a subwoofer volume control feature, any thoughts?
Observations:
The amp gets warmer than your typical Class D, but not enough to cook an egg.
Unless a snake is hiding in my speakers, I can hear a mild hiss in my 84db speakers at full volume on the amp, only if I keep an ear to the tweeters. The source/preamp volume makes no difference to the hiss, Who listens to music like this anyway? A couple of feet away and it's not audible.
