Here is a DAC with volume control based on ESS ES9038Q2M SABRE technologies. It has been warmly welcomed thanks to its many features, as well as its thorough integration of high fidelity music criteria. Its modern design is extremely ergonomic, making the SGD1 an ideal choise for all audiophiles looking for a solution that provides high quality audio playback, with extensive connectivity and easy installation within any type of ambitious audio system.

Review by Audio Science Review

There is great attention paid to keeping noise and interference to a minimum. All of this helps SGD1 beat over 200 DACs in SINAD (distortion plus noise)!

Two ES9038Q2M DAC chips

The SGD1 is a well designed DAC built on chips ES9038Q2M Sabre 32-bit integrated in dual mono mode : each of these chips see its computing power 100% dedicated to a single channel of the stereophonic signal. This achieves a sound restitution of exceptional clarity with tremendously low crosstalk.

This component belongs to ESS flagship series and is among the best current hardware solutions for high-fidelity audio decoding. It uses HyperStream 32 BIT 768kHz architecture with native DSD support. Each one of this chips is also equipped with advanced reconstruction filters and uses some of the finest dithering techniques available on the audio market.

ESS ES9038Q2M SABRE DACs are also very popular thanks to their ability to operate volume with almost no consequences on the audio bitrate.

XMOS U208 USB interface & AKM 4418A Digital Audio Interface

The device has two USB connectors on the rear panel. Respectively, USB-B input and a USB-C input for interfacing OTG devices.

Both USB inputs work with a XMOS U208 USB interface. This is a reference component in the field of high-fidelity music, with digital streams supports up to 32-bit 768kHz as well as (native) DSD512.

In addition to the USB inputs, the SONCOZ SGD1 has a AKM 4418A chip which allows the conversion of digital S / PDIF streams on its AES / coaxial, optical inputs with a 24-bit / 192 kHz / DSD64 resolution.

The S/PDIF and USB interfaces are communicating with one another. In addition to its DAC function, SONCOZ SGD1 can work as a digital interface capable of interfacing its six digital inputs (USB inputs included) to a coaxial S/PDIF output connector. Note that this output bypasses the device's mute function thus offering wide integration possibilities (connect an OTG device to a receiver that only have a coaxial input, connect for a while a secondary audio system for testing purposes...etc).


Each entry keeps track of its own volume level and the user does not have to redo the whole level adjusting each time a new source is selected.

WiFi & Bluetooth 5.0

A CSR8675 chip allows the device to connect through Bluetooth 5.0. The latter supports LDAC, ACC, SBC, apt-X Low-Latency & apt-X HD. A LDAC compatible device can stream up to 24-bit 96kHz digital audio data for high quality wireless audio.

With its wireless connectivity, it is able to check automatically (once configured) the presence of firmware updates and install them in the background without requiring user intervention. If no update are needed, the WiFi module turns off by itself after a minute.

The front panel displays in real time the active input and the selected filters. Each option has its own backlit icon in order to leave no doubt as to the device proper configuration.