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Soncoz SGD1 User experience

sq225917 said:
I never tried the smsl on rca, but on balanced out I couldn't tell the soncoz sgd1 and the smsl400 apart. I have a vague lasting impression that the smsl might shade it in the treble slightly and the soncoz in the bass, but I couldn't pick em blind.
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They are so close in specification that I would expect there to be little to choose between them, but the RCA on the SMSL really does put it at a disadvantage. A pity as it has a great spec. Changing to a balanced amp would have sent me down a rabbit hole that I really wasn't looking for!
 
I’m tempted, already down the XLR rabbit hole so that’s not an issue. I currently have a Lavry DA10 so I’m wondering how far things have moved on.
 
After a couple of weeks use I was a little dissatisfied with the HF response of the Soncoz, I didnt think it was as good as my previous dac that had been upgraded with a CMOS clock. On another forum I read a thread about reclockers and bought this one: https://www.oehlbach.com/en/audio-equip/electronics/xxl-masterclock
Its not an expensive component but you need to factor in the cost of a decent USB cable.
In my system the combination of the Soncoz and Oehlbach sounds better than I have ever experienced before. If you decide to try it and you dont like it then you have two weeks to return it for a refund.
 
I thought the Soncoz SGD1 already contained an XMOS reclocker?

Covenant said:
After a couple of weeks use I was a little dissatisfied with the HF response of the Soncoz, I didnt think it was as good as my previous dac that had been upgraded with a CMOS clock. On another forum I read a thread about reclockers and bought this one: https://www.oehlbach.com/en/audio-equip/electronics/xxl-masterclock
Its not an expensive component but you need to factor in the cost of a decent USB cable.
In my system the combination of the Soncoz and Oehlbach sounds better than I have ever experienced before. If you decide to try it and you dont like it then you have two weeks to return it for a refund.
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If there is a benefit to the Oehlbach, it doesnt come from reclocking the usb signal. It gets buffered and reclocked on the xmos section of the pcb which is under clock control of the OSC section of the Ess chip.

If it sounds different its because the Oehlback does some filtering of the 5v line in the usb.

If you feed a perfect jitter free signal to a final reclocking stage the jitter at the point of conversion is that of the final stage, its additive at the last step, what comes before doesnt matter. You could add ten stages of perfect reclocking together, its still only the quality of the last one that counts as long as the buffer never empties or overflows.
 
Had my SGD1 now for 3-4 weeks and I am extremely impressed with the sound quality and the build of the unit.

I know it’s a good bit of kit for me as it takes me a few weeks to gauge new additions and I don’t consciously notice it like all my favourite sources, It comes with a good selection of inputs (the only notable omission from my pov is BNC) and It’s a good upgrade for my Exposure CDP via Optical with better dynamics and more detail which I wasn’t expecting tbh.

The remote control is adequate, the finish on mine is not quite uniform but it works and is a lot better than the remote controls I’ve had from Exposure for example that are cack tbh.

The service and repair backup for the Soncoz is worth noting, once out of warranty the designer will honour repairs at cost which is reassuring as reliability of these new top spec DACs is a bit of a unknown imo...
 
eevo1969 said:
Had my SGD1 now for 3-4 weeks and I am extremely impressed with the sound quality and the build of the unit.

I know it’s a good bit of kit for me as it takes me a few weeks to gauge new additions and I don’t consciously notice it like all my favourite sources, It comes with a good selection of inputs (the only notable omission from my pov is BNC) and It’s a good upgrade for my Exposure CDP via Optical with better dynamics and more detail which I wasn’t expecting tbh.

The remote control is adequate, the finish on mine is not quite uniform but it works and is a lot better than the remote controls I’ve had from Exposure for example that are cack tbh.

The service and repair backup for the Soncoz is worth noting, once out of warranty the designer will honour repairs at cost which is reassuring as reliability of these new top spec DACs is a bit of a unknown imo...
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Glad to hear that Eevo. Still, very much enjoying mine.
 
The SGDI is a marvelous piece of kit.

I thought the same as you until I swapped my PI for an Aries Mini, this has taken it up a notch over the PI.
 
tomek said:
Yesterday my SGD1 arrived. I am very, very impressed. Incredible sound and build quality for the price. Just phantastic. In the last 30 years i had so many DACs, some really expensive high end gear. This DAC is just incredible. I am using PI4 with picoreplayer connected with usb to sgd1. High end streamer for peanuts. Very natural, warm, dynamic, powerfull sound.
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Nice Tomek. Mine is the hifi bargain of last year and it has never missed a beat for me, becoming the heart of my system with cd player, music server and streamer all connected. I'm thinking of ditching vinyl now because digital is just so good and so convenient.
 
I’ve heard this frequently about Spotify, yet in my experience if Spotify Premium ( and Chromecast Audio) are set up optimally then they’re quite good. I’m hard pushed to differentiate between CD.

This is with Topping E30 via Toslink and CD via BlackCat Silverline co-ax.

Gary




Darren said:
I've been asked a couple of times to comment on the new SGD1 which I've owned for a short period now.
My system isn't very high res and I'm not very experienced but... I'll do my best.

Ok , first things first - Keith @Purité Audio. He's prompt, polite and enthusiastic. He's cheaper than Amazon and you are supporting a small UK business. What's not to like? I would buy off him again without hesitation. Also, My SGD1 arrived boxed and then wrapped in two layers of brown paper - how quaint. It was like getting a package from your favourite aunty :)

My previous dac was a Khardas tone board which I had purchased because I'm skint (doing up a new place) and it said on Audio Science review that the Khardas has great measured performance and sound for very little money. It did sound good and it was cheap. It didn't instil any pride of ownership.... but you get what you pay for right?

I bought the Soncoz because it looked like a 'real' piece of kit ( I'm an audiophile and I love the kit ), it had some great reviews, it seemed superb value for something state of the art and also because sq liked it - sq is merciless so if he says its good, then it probably is. ( I'm about 96% serious)

Ok, build quality is fine, the controls work well. The LED back lighting is soft and classy. The multi-function volume control thing looks and feels a bit cheap but works well enough. I'm using the optical input for a Chromecast audio and the coax for my cd player. I haven't logged the unit onto my wifi because you have to download an app and I cant currently be arsed.
Sound quality genuinely surprised me. I vary between thinking that the stuff Amir comes out with on ASR is a load of measurist crap or thinking he is really shaking up the established rules of the audiophile game with his strict approach to distortion and noise. Often I just 'dunno'
Anyway, when compared to the Khardas or my CD player on its own the SGD1 is a real step up that was immediately obvious. Actually, it completely changed my digital sound from CD. There was a better portrayal of rhythm, bass was apparently deeper and more sonorous, but there was much more bass definition much more sense of bass guitars being vibrating, stringed instruments rather than just dum-dum-dum noise makers, the sound stage is much wider and deeper. Studio effects are laid bare. Its just enjoyable and great audiophile fun.
The first track we played was from Tears for Fears "Songs from the Big Chair" I bought this album when it first came out, I know it really, really well..... As the first notes played through the Soncoz, I said 'wow'.
It wasnt night and day, they were the same notes from the same instruments, just with more definition and resolution. You couldnt miss it.
I'm enjoying the Soncoz SGD1. It isnt coloured but it is colourful. Its neutral but not boring and it has brought much beauty to my listening.
I think its a bargain.
PS. The Soncoz didn't really improve Spotify via the Chromecast Audio much - I honestly don't think there was much more to come - in my system CD is streets ahead of Spotify .... I keep it around so my loved ones can easily use my system which matters to me. I should get a Tidal subscription but I hate subscriptions and somehow already have a few of them.
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I bought a used one recently from @Amber Audio that he got from Keith. I was planning on getting mine from Purite anyway when it popped up in classifieds.
My reasons for choosing it were fairly pragmatic, if approached from the direction that all dacs sound the same. I'm pretty sure that a dCs or a Mola Mola might have a bit more 'something' than your average £500 dac that measures well, but not having heard any high level dacs, I cannot comment.
When I did an initial comparison between the Soncoz and my existing 30 year old Meridian 203 bitstream dac, I could not detect an audible difference. Either the 203 is an excellent unit, dacs have not improved over the last few decades, or my system resolves no better than a Fisher Price all in one? Whichever it may be, I think it sounds superb using CD via rca, TV via optical, computer via USB B, and RPi4 via USB C. And here's the thing, it has multiple varied inputs, each one can have it's gain level set independently, which allows me to reduce the output level for digital sources into my ancient Naim preamp and have more range on its volume control, plus it adds a remote capability to said prehistoric amp, so I don't have to keep leaping up to turn it down when the advert breaks come in louder than programme material.
All in all, what's not to like? (For me, anyway)
 
tomek said:
I have few DACs at home now - DPA DX32 Enlightenment, Buffalo III, Khadas Tone Board, Soncoz LA-XD1, Soncoz SGD1, Hifiberry Pro Dac+, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.
To me each DAC sounds completely different, or i am delusioned audiophile ... :)
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Yes.
 
tomek said:
There is a huge difference in USB and Network implementations between Pi3B and Pi4. Pi4 as a player with one USB DAC is a killer and PI4 with one USB drive is a great media server. Picoreplayer rulez.
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Interesting, I wasn't aware of that. One of the intriguing things I found with the Aries is the difference between using ethernet and wireless connections. Using the ethernet sucked life out of the music.
 
tomek said:
There is a huge difference in USB and Network implementations between Pi3B and Pi4. Pi4 as a player with one USB DAC is a killer and PI4 with one USB drive is a great media server. Picoreplayer rulez.
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I set my Soncoz up with a Pi4 8Gb running Ropieee as a Roon endpoint, USB to the DAC. The sound quality is outstanding, IMHO nothing else is needed.
 
Just curious, but how are the user ergonomics with an SGD1 plugged into a pre-amp, with regards to volume? As I understand it, you cannot set it to have a fixed line-level output and the device defaults to -64dB. Is the volume control in the digital domain? If you set the volume to max, is that equivalent, then, to no digital attenuation? And does the device remember that setting, so you can just set and forget?

I feel like this was covered somewhere in the ASR thread, but at 51 pages, I'm not about to start searching for it. Also, I know that the device can receive OTA firmware updates so I have no idea if things will have changed.
 
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