Rupert Neve RNHP vs Singxer SA-1

Short answer

  • More power: the Singxer SA-1, with 5.50 W into 32 Ω; the Rupert Neve RNHP has 262 mW. The Singxer SA-1 drives 1 headphone to 100 dB that the Rupert Neve RNHP cannot (Symphonium Titan).
  • Quieter with sensitive IEMs: the Singxer SA-1. 149 headphones stay below audible hiss on it but not on the Rupert Neve RNHP (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 146 more).
  • Output impedance: 51 headphones are left alone by the Rupert Neve RNHP under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Singxer SA-1 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 48 more).
  • Price: the same, $699.

Both are desktop amplifiers, both at $699.

The Singxer SA-1 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Rupert Neve RNHP on 566.

Side by side

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationRupert Neve RNHPSingxer SA-1
Power into 32Ω262 mW5.5 W
Power into 150Ω175 mW1.6 W
Power into 300Ω88 mW785 mW
Power into 600Ω44 mW380 mW
Output impedance0.08 Ω1.4 Ω
Output noise8.03 µV0.3 µV
Price$699$699
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		566567
How solid these numbers are

Where each power figure comes from

LoadRupert Neve RNHPSingxer SA-1
32 ΩDerivedPublished
150 ΩPublishedDerived
300 ΩDerivedDerived
600 ΩDerivedPublished

Both makers publish a power rating. Rupert Neve RNHP publishes at 150 Ω; Singxer SA-1 at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.

So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 150 Ω only the Rupert Neve RNHP figure is the maker’s own and at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω only the Singxer SA-1 figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.

What the labels mean.

What separates them

The headphones that tell them apart

1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Singxer SA-1 but not on the Rupert Neve RNHP — Symphonium Titan.

51 headphones are left alone by the Rupert Neve RNHP under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Singxer SA-1 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 48 more).

149 headphones stay below the audible-hiss threshold on the Singxer SA-1 but cross it on the Rupert Neve RNHP (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 146 more).

566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

On real headphones

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020: Singxer SA-1 has +32 dB of headroom there against +15 dB. 16 dB is about 43 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

Hiss below about 20 dB SPL is inaudible in a quiet room.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsRupert Neve RNHP headroomSingxer SA-1 headroomRupert Neve RNHP hissSingxer SA-1 hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+35 dB+52 dB damping33 dB4 dB
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+15 dB+32 dB damping13 dB-16 dB
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+25 dB+36 dB11 dB-18 dB
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+22 dB+32 dB6 dB-22 dB
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+15 dB+29 dB5 dB-23 dB
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+15 dB+25 dB-1 dB-29 dB
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+11 dB+21 dB-5 dB-33 dB
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW+7 dB+18 dB-7 dB-35 dB
What the price difference buys

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

These two cost the same, $699, so price settles nothing. Out of the 567 models here, the Rupert Neve RNHP leaves 51 models alone under the one-eighth rule; the Singxer SA-1 drives one model to 100 dB and keeps 149 below the audible-hiss threshold — and that is the whole of it on these three axes.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Next

Both pages in full

Each in full: Rupert Neve RNHP and Singxer SA-1.

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