DAC progress

http://www.smsl-audio.com/productshow.asp?id=157



New DAC, from Chinese maker SMSL. Interesting spec, comes in at around £300 GBP. Fully loaded in terms of features, although I've only used it to stream local files via my SOtM SMS-200 streamer.

Sound wise, the M-500 blows away anything I've heard despite cheap op-amp based output stage. Loving the remote control. Loving the deepest, most controlled and textured bass I've heard. Utterly flat in terms of FR and transparent as air!

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-dac-and-hp-amp-review.9606/

Great thread with measurements here. As a DAC is a computer I think this is a quite valid way of assessing performance capability and the abilities of the designers. Measurements won't tell you if you'll like it, for sure,but  luckily I seen to like well designed DACs!

Not without it's controversy though, which is hardly surprising given this almost impossibly high performance for so little money: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-teardown-ess-es9038pro-dac-thermal-analysis.10348/


Comments

  • Nice one Alan.
    I should really make an effort to check out some alternatives. I chose my current Asus DAC largely because I liked the Asus sound card in my old media PC. Pretty lazy really. :-D
    (Tho was congruent with your “computer companies make good DACs” argument I suppose...🤔)
  • Docfoster said:
    Nice one Alan.
    I should really make an effort to check out some alternatives. I chose my current Asus DAC largely because I liked the Asus sound card in my old media PC. Pretty lazy really. :-D
    (Tho was congruent with your “computer companies make good DACs” argument I suppose...🤔)
    Is that the one with the tiger on it? Cos if it is, nothing will best that. Except maybe I've with a gold tiger on it.

    Objective measurement will back me on this.
  • SMSL M500 MQA Decoder ES9038PRO ES9311 XMOS XU-216 32bit 768kHz DSD512 Hi-Res Audio DAC Headphone Amplifier (Black) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07X3929DN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ACwkEb569R4ZD




  • Alan said:
    http://www.smsl-audio.com/productshow.asp?id=157



    New DAC, from Chinese maker SMSL. Interesting spec, comes in at around £300 GBP. Fully loaded in terms of features, although I've only used it to stream local files via my SOtM SMS-200 streamer.

    Sound wise, the M-500 blows away anything I've heard despite cheap op-amp based output stage. Loving the remote control. Loving the deepest, most controlled and textured bass I've heard. Utterly flat in terms of FR and transparent as air!

    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-dac-and-hp-amp-review.9606/

    Great thread with measurements here. As a DAC is a computer I think this is a quite valid way of assessing performance capability and the abilities of the designers. Measurements won't tell you if you'll like it, for sure,but  luckily I seen to like well designed DACs!

    Not without it's controversy though, which is hardly surprising given this almost impossibly high performance for so little money: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-teardown-ess-es9038pro-dac-thermal-analysis.10348/



    That's cool. And the price!

    We seem to be getting to the stage I was expecting years ago when we bought the Youngs. A time when we see cheap and powerful microprocessors giving us cheaper and cheaper digital audio without sound compromises.
  • Alan said:
    Docfoster said:
    Nice one Alan.
    I should really make an effort to check out some alternatives. I chose my current Asus DAC largely because I liked the Asus sound card in my old media PC. Pretty lazy really. :-D
    (Tho was congruent with your “computer companies make good DACs” argument I suppose...🤔)
    Is that the one with the tiger on it? Cos if it is, nothing will best that. Except maybe I've with a gold tiger on it.

    Objective measurement will back me on this.
    Well that’s nice to know!
    Thanks Alan. :-)
    I think it’s dead good, but haven’t done any comparisons.

    I went for the one with the Muses op amps as I read it was the best sounding of the Asus Essence Ones.
    (And some distributor in Germany was selling them at a reduced price. ;-) )
  • uglymusic said:
    Alan said:
    http://www.smsl-audio.com/productshow.asp?id=157



    New DAC, from Chinese maker SMSL. Interesting spec, comes in at around £300 GBP. Fully loaded in terms of features, although I've only used it to stream local files via my SOtM SMS-200 streamer.

    Sound wise, the M-500 blows away anything I've heard despite cheap op-amp based output stage. Loving the remote control. Loving the deepest, most controlled and textured bass I've heard. Utterly flat in terms of FR and transparent as air!

    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-dac-and-hp-amp-review.9606/

    Great thread with measurements here. As a DAC is a computer I think this is a quite valid way of assessing performance capability and the abilities of the designers. Measurements won't tell you if you'll like it, for sure,but  luckily I seen to like well designed DACs!

    Not without it's controversy though, which is hardly surprising given this almost impossibly high performance for so little money: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-teardown-ess-es9038pro-dac-thermal-analysis.10348/



    That's cool. And the price!

    We seem to be getting to the stage I was expecting years ago when we bought the Youngs. A time when we see cheap and powerful microprocessors giving us cheaper and cheaper digital audio without sound compromises.
    Yes I think you are right. 2020 is going to be a golden year for new DAC tech and performance at ever decreasing price. And possibly falling physical quality in some cases? Practically state of the art DACs like the Topping DX3pro cost peanuts now, and aren't any bigger than a stack of CD cases. Performance at the top of the tree for that money? We're talking cheap, consumer grade finish here. How do we feel losing premium quality and finish for easily reachable SoTA specs?

    Many over on ASR forum love the merry go round and try each new device. And why not? You can try each new DAC released and still pay less than buying a Weiss, Auralic, Mola Mola, etc. It seems like good harmless fun. Rather like trying different cartridges on a favourite arm.

    Now some of the cheapest DAC makers build some of the best measuring devices, doors and opportunities are opening to listeners. I wonder if companies like SMSL & Topping will consolidate their achievement by building more substantially finished models at a higher price sometime in the near future, making them more conventional Hi-Fi manufactures (but with an unarguable performance pedigree).

    The highest performance and finished DAC from this group of Chinese makers is from Matrix audio at a more conventional £2k-ish. I'm not able to make an impulse purchase in this case, but the X-Sabre Pro is high end in every sense, and virtually unchallenged at well over twice the price; real reference, end game stuff.


  • Alan said:
    uglymusic said:
    Alan said:
    http://www.smsl-audio.com/productshow.asp?id=157



    New DAC, from Chinese maker SMSL. Interesting spec, comes in at around £300 GBP. Fully loaded in terms of features, although I've only used it to stream local files via my SOtM SMS-200 streamer.

    Sound wise, the M-500 blows away anything I've heard despite cheap op-amp based output stage. Loving the remote control. Loving the deepest, most controlled and textured bass I've heard. Utterly flat in terms of FR and transparent as air!

    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-dac-and-hp-amp-review.9606/

    Great thread with measurements here. As a DAC is a computer I think this is a quite valid way of assessing performance capability and the abilities of the designers. Measurements won't tell you if you'll like it, for sure,but  luckily I seen to like well designed DACs!

    Not without it's controversy though, which is hardly surprising given this almost impossibly high performance for so little money: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-m500-teardown-ess-es9038pro-dac-thermal-analysis.10348/



    That's cool. And the price!

    We seem to be getting to the stage I was expecting years ago when we bought the Youngs. A time when we see cheap and powerful microprocessors giving us cheaper and cheaper digital audio without sound compromises.
    Yes I think you are right. 2020 is going to be a golden year for new DAC tech and performance at ever decreasing price. And possibly falling physical quality in some cases? Practically state of the art DACs like the Topping DX3pro cost peanuts now, and aren't any bigger than a stack of CD cases. Performance at the top of the tree for that money? We're talking cheap, consumer grade finish here. How do we feel losing premium quality and finish for easily reachable SoTA specs?
    I feel good about it Alan. Very good indeed.
    Only thing that would make me feel better is easily reachable SoTA specs and premium quality / finish, but if I had to choose but two, it would financial reachability and SoTA specs.
  • I'd go for the low price/high performance/lightweight finish every time. It's digital, so I can hide it away!
  • I agree with you both. To be honest, I haven't physically touched my M-500 since installing it, as it has a remote control. This has been a real benefit for us; we set the amps volume so that general TV use is comfortable at about half level (on the DAC), which gives enough range for most other listening. The only input into the pre amp is the DAC, and the only inputs into that are optical (TV) and USB.

    I will have to get around to installing Roon Core somewhere on the network, perhaps on a pi? I'd love to play with it, maybe even use a streaming service too.


  • I don't touch my gear, either. The control app, er, controls the volume via the RPi app.
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