I find my amp very “lacking” at low volumes and the overall sound just becomes pretty nothing for want of a better description, there’s no warmth / depth or “fullness” to it, as a general rule is this more likely to be the amp or the speakers?
I’ve tried it with a couple of pairs of speakers now - Focal Aria 926’s and Spendor A7’s and it’s the same with both so am suspecting it’s probably the amp.
I walk into my kitchen / living area where I have a Denon M39 and a pair of Elac B5.2 bookshelves and at low volume it’s rich and full sounding and doesn’t suffer the same loss of depth, could it be that bookshelves are just easier to drive?
I’m tempted to try a complete factory reset as I saw someone posting it transformed the sound of theirs, how would I actually do that and I’m guessing I’d be best off downloading the latest software to a stick before I do and updating via that aas opposed to updating over the internet?
If anybody has any thoughts / comments or experiences similar with their amp I’d be interested to hear about it?
I am having issues with mine, software thing. I sent a message to my seller to see what can we do. I am pretty scared with my amp after 1 year having issues. The sound is very bad, like a signal without ground. I have to reboot it to
Fix it. I am not sure if this amp is reliable. Good luck with yours.
I had similar issue with bad sound, no matter what I did (many times reinstalled software) it sounded flat, not engaging.
I have ended up with downgrading firmware to 1.62, now it sounds adequately, though using only airplay, this firmware does not support streaming services like tidal, spotify connect, etc.
Hope to see new firmware coming, it is evident that sound of amplifier is very much dependent on software.
I also had the same problem but after pairing it with the Wiim Pro streamer, My SA30 now sounds vibrant and alive at low volume. ( In another post, Felix recommended this streamer and it was available on Amazon for 150 USD.) The difference is significant. I live in an apartment and cannot listen at higher volumes where the SA30 sounds better. Previous to this, I set up different Dirac curves which helped but was still not to my liking. This streamer has an amazing equalizer which is controlled through the app.
Glad to hear you’re happy with WiiM
It’s a very nice device, especially for the price (compared to i.e. much more expensive Node).
My advice would be to disable internal EQ and volume controls in WiiM, and stick to Dirac as “EQ”.
Reason is, that internal “DSP” in WiiM is rather poor, which can be seen in measurements on Audiosciencereview.
How is the sound compared to built-in streamer when you set it to flat? In theory there should be none, but i think there will be.
I myself cannot imagine the SA30 being flat and unengaging even at low volumes. With a “loudness” DL curve engaged (+8dB bass, 0dB treble), my MA Silver 10’s sound so full and dynamic at 55dB average volume (!) I sometimes wonder why I ever have to turn the volume up.
Felix, I found the SA30 sound slightly warmer and more pleasant at 65db than when connected to the Wiim streamer (EQ off/volume fixed). I purchased the Wiim to upgrade a legacy amp that I don’t use much but decided to temporarily connect it to the SA30. My SA30, at 55db, sounds better ( more resolution) when connected to the Wiim and with the equalizer On, adjusted to boost both the bass and treble. I originally set up my Dirac curves using a higher volume but as EYEBEE pointed out, I am going to re-adjust one of my curves for lower volume listening. I didn’t think of this before so thanks EYEBEE . I’m powering ML I-40 Motion speakers and am overall satisfied with my SA30.
