Sabaj DA2 - SMSL IDEA - Review. A DragonFly RED killer? Native DSD512 DAC/Headphone amp. 

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.

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...

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

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.

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.

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

Especially when we probs haven't bought the DAC yet.

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.

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.

Tech Road Trip thank you man !

Hi. Yes should work seamlessly . I tried when testing Spotify and Tidal Hi-Fi and no issues at all.