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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a desktop-grade DAC and headphone amplifier that can also decode MQA and drive serious wired headphones at high resolution, choose Sabaj A20d; if you need a pocketable Bluetooth amp/DAC to upgrade a phone, a car stereo or a pair of demanding in-ears on the move, choose HAA FEE HA10-II.
• Sabaj A20d — biggest strength: flagship ES9038PRO DAC chip, full MQA decoding and PCM up to 32bit/768kHz plus native DSD512, in a mains-powered desktop unit with a remote.
• Sabaj A20d — biggest trade-off: it's a stationary, desk-mounted component. It has no battery and no Bluetooth output flexibility for travel, so it stays home.
• HAA FEE HA10-II — biggest strength: a 105 g aluminium portable amp with a 1700 mAh battery giving 8–10 hours, Bluetooth 5.1 LDAC/APTX-HD reception, and enough output to drive 16–300 Ohm headphones.
• HAA FEE HA10-II — biggest trade-off: it's built around 3.5 mm in and out and a more modest ES9038Q2M DAC, so it can't match the A20d's decoding ceiling or desktop connectivity.
• For a fixed home listening station with the widest format support → Sabaj A20d.
• For a portable, wireless-capable amp for phone, car or travel → HAA FEE HA10-II.
The A20d is a desktop DAC/headphone amplifier built around ESS Technology's ES9038PRO, a 32-bit 8-channel flagship chip in the HyperStream II architecture, paired with the ES9311 dedicated DAC power chip. In plain terms, that combination is aimed at low distortion and low noise with high-resolution files — the kind of source material that has become normal in digital music libraries. If you keep a lot of hi-res tracks, this is the side of the market the A20d was designed for.
What separates it from a basic amp is format support. The second-generation XMOS solution handles DoP256 and native DSD512, with PCM up to 32bit/768kHz. It's also a full MQA decoder that expands MQA files, and it supports MQA-CD, so a CD player that outputs the source code over optical or coaxial can feed it MQA music. Services and software like TIDAL and Roon are part of that workflow too. Bluetooth is covered by Qualcomm's latest chip with LDAC 24bit/96kHz, APTX/HD, SBC and AAC, and three OPA1612 dual op amps sit in the analog stage.
Who should buy it: someone building a fixed headphone setup at a desk, feeding it from a computer over USB or from a CD transport over optical/coaxial, who wants the broadest decoding support in this pairing. Who should skip it: anyone who listens while commuting, wants battery power, or only ever connects over a plain 3.5 mm jack.
HAA FEE HA10-II: Who It's For
The HA10-II is a different animal entirely. It's a portable headphone amplifier with a built-in DAC and Bluetooth, and its whole design points at movement. The DAC is an ES9038Q2M with DSD support, the op amp is an OPA1612, and the amp stage is a TPA6120 running on a positive and negative 9V dual supply. That dual-supply arrangement is what gives it the rated output: 750mW into 32 Ohm and 150mW into 300 Ohm.
Those numbers tell you who it's for. HAA FEE rates it for 16–300 Ohm headphones and earphones, which covers everything from sensitive in-ears up to fairly demanding full-size cans. Distortion is listed at 0.007% and SNR at 102dB, so the intent is clean output rather than just loudness. The Bluetooth side is version 5.1 with LDAC and APTX-HD lossless transmission, plus APTX, SBC and AAC, and reception distance is quoted at 8–10 metres. One detail worth repeating: Bluetooth transmits data only, and the DAC decodes independently — so the wireless link is just the transport, not the conversion.
The body is aluminium, silver gray, 110 mm × 59 mm × 16 mm, and it weighs 105 g. Battery is 1700 mAh with 8–10 hours of endurance. Inputs and outputs are 3.5 mm, and the box includes the amp, a manual, a 3.5 mm audio cable and a charging cable. HAA FEE positions it for phones, MP3 players and car audio, and the one-year warranty matches the A20d's term.
Who should buy it: someone who wants better sound from a phone or laptop on the go, wants to keep using wired in-ears or headphones, and values wireless convenience without carrying a desktop box. Who should skip it: anyone who needs balanced outputs, optical/coaxial inputs, MQA decoding or a fixed home installation.
• Best for a home desktop setup → Sabaj A20d. Mains power, gold-plated coaxial/optical/USB inputs and a remote suit a permanent station.
• Best for portability → HAA FEE HA10-II. 105 g, aluminium body, 1700 mAh battery, 8–10 hours.
• Best for the widest format support → Sabaj A20d. Native DSD512, PCM 32bit/768kHz, DoP256 and full MQA decoding.
• Best for wireless listening → HAA FEE HA10-II. Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC and APTX-HD, 8–10 m range, and the DAC decoding independently of the Bluetooth link.
• Best for hard-to-drive headphones → HAA FEE HA10-II on paper. 750mW/32 Ohm and 150mW/300 Ohm are explicit power figures; the A20d sheet doesn't quote output power, so if raw drive into 300 Ohm cans is your concern, the HA10-II states its numbers.
• Best for taming a messy source → Sabaj A20d. The adjustable DPLL bandwidth is designed to stop dropouts from high-jitter sources like TVs and set-top boxes.
• Best for phone, MP3 player or car audio → HAA FEE HA10-II. That's exactly the use case HAA FEE describes, with 3.5 mm in and out.
• Best for a display you can read across a desk → Sabaj A20d. High-resolution panel, large volume readout, input source and output mode shown, five brightness levels.
In my opinion, these two aren't really competing for the same buyer, so the honest answer is to pick by where you listen. If your music lives at a desk and you want the highest decoding ceiling here — MQA, native DSD512, PCM 32bit/768kHz — I'd buy the Sabaj A20d, and the remote and glass display make it pleasant to live with daily. If you listen on the move, from a phone or in a car and want LDAC/APTX-HD plus real output into 16–300 Ohm headphones, I'd buy the HAA FEE HA10-II instead. Forced to choose one for myself, I'd take the A20d, because my listening is stationary and I'd rather have the format support. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since that's the one thing that could tip a close call either way.
FAQ
Yes, per its own ratings. It's specified for 16–300 Ohm headphones and earphones, with 750mW into 32 Ohm and 150mW into 300 Ohm from a dual 9V supply. That's a stated figure, not a guarantee for every model, but it's the range HAA FEE designs for.
It receives Bluetooth — LDAC 24bit/96kHz, APTX/HD, SBC and AAC — but its job is to convert and amplify, so you'd connect wired headphones to its output. The HA10-II is the more natural fit if you want a small wireless chain around a phone.
If it never leaves your desk, the A20d: one power connection, gold-plated coaxial/optical/USB inputs, a remote and a readable display. If it travels, the HA10-II: 105 g, aluminium body, 8–10 hours per charge and a 3.5 mm in/out that works with phones, MP3 players and car audio.
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