SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

[totti1965]

Are you looking for a software PEQ or a hardware PEQ solution?

Well Hardware solution might be jds labs element 3 MkIII or a MiniDSP Flex. But I don’t think that there could be a software solution for equalizing for a Tidal / Sonos user, or am I wrong in this topic?

 

[Doodski]

Well Hardware solution might be jds labs element 3 MkIII or a MiniDSP Flex. But I don’t think that there could be a software solution for equalizing for a Tidal / Sonos user, or am I wrong in this topic?

For about $400 there is a pro model of PEQ that has something crazy like 40 bands and parametric too. I can't remember the brand name but somebody here knows it and to find out one may need to make a dedicated thread asking for it. AS per Tidal or Sonos I'm not familiar with those. Are they a dedicated server/OS or are they part of a Win based PC or Linux?

 

[totti1965]

For about $400 there is a pro model of PEQ that has something crazy like 40 bands and parametric too. I can't remember the brand name but somebody here knows it and to find out one may need to make a dedicated thread asking for it. AS per Tidal or Sonos I'm not familiar with those. Are they a dedicated server/OS or are they part of a Win based PC or Linux?

Dedicated. But my friend is considering switching away from the Sonos Ecosystem. And I have no Problem, because I have Roon livetime. Thanks for the information above. Perhaps you are speaking about MiniDSP? This costs about USD 400,—! Or is it an analog Device which you are talking from?

 

[Doodski]

Dedicated. But my friend is considering switching away from the Sonos Ecosystem. And I have no Problem, because I have Roon livetime. Thanks for the information above. Perhaps you are speaking about MiniDSP? This costs about USD 400,—! Or is it an analog Device which you are talking from?

I am talking about a rackmount version that is DSP based and works amazingly well for the money. It is a dedicated PEQ. I am going to search ASR and see if I can find the model number. brb.

 

[Doodski]

@totti1965 there is this that was tested here at ASR and there is at least one other that I can't find. The one that I linked to here in this comment has a DAC+ADC+DSP and so the test results are not as a pure DSP but they are pretty good for the application.

 

[totti1965]

There are plenty of people using seperates of mixed types (DAC's and amps). What I would like to see is an additional separate that is a really good performing, transparent PEQ/DSP in a small box that can be placed between the DAC and Amp. Bluetooth control of that PEQ / DSP unit. That could be a very versatile piece for my use.

Something like Topping E70 / L70 plus a (fictional) Q70 all of the same form factor in a nice little neat stack.

Not between the DAC and the amp but between the source and the DAC.
Yes, that would be something cool.
We seems to have three nice solutions: RME Adi 2, jds element 3 Mk III and MiniDSP Flex
But nothing in sight for about USD / EUR 200,— or so.
Perhaps the Chinese brands will work something out.

 

[renaudrenaud]

I wish someone would put out a DAC with EQ for like half the price with no headphone amp. One of these days I’ll find a used one or break down and get one.

Not a DAC but if you use Logitech Media Server as your audio server, you can then use Daphile as the software player.

GitHub - LMS-Community/slimserver: Server for Squeezebox and compatible players. This server is also called Lyrion Music Server.

Server for Squeezebox and compatible players. This server is also called Lyrion Music Server. - LMS-Community/slimserver

github.com

Daphile – Digital Music Convenience for Audiophiles

Daphile is an audiophile class music server & player OS – targeted to dedicated headless PC. It manages the bitperfect and gapless playback of common audio formats including the high resolution files.

www.daphile.com

You can generate filters with REW and inject them in the player (Daphile).

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement and analysis

www.roomeqwizard.com

Everything is free and open source and you can rune Daphile on X86 architecture, like old computer or some youyeetoo X1

youyeetoo X1 - X86 Mini PC, SBC - Proxmox, Home Assistant, Server, NAS Kit - Provide Intel native IIC SPI UART use tutorials - Intel 11th N5105, 4K, 10W TDP

Key features: CPU: 11th Gen 4 Core Intel Celeron N5105(Up to 2.9 GHz), 10nm, 10 TDP Graphics ：Intel® UHD Graphics RAM: Up to 16GB LPDDR4 Video: Support Dual 4K HDR and 3-Way Video Output. Networking: 1 GbE LAN. , WIFI 5 + BT 5.0 / WIFI 6 + BT 5.2 / 4G LTE via M.2 2230 E key, Other: USB3.0...

www.youyeetoo.com

 

[totti1965]

@totti1965 there is this that was tested here at ASR and there is at least one other that I can't find. The one that I linked to here in this comment has a DAC+ADC+DSP and so the test results are not as a pure DSP but they are pretty good for the application.

Ah! Thank you for your search! Very cool professional stuff. RME seems to be a little bit smaller Form factor….

 

[totti1965]

They'd make a boat load of money if they did. People are licking their chops for it to happen.

Rich old farts like Amir or me just use Roon. Most problems solved, because of the perfect Equalizer which is build in.
But - what if I just want to watch YouTube videos with my iPad via my Sennheiser HD 58X jubilee headphone?
Why does apple not integrate a parametric equalizer into the iOS?
Some things are more easy for android users.
PE in iOS - that would be the real gamechanger!

 

[totti1965]

Not a DAC but if you use Logitech Media Server as your audio server, you can then use Daphile as the software player.

GitHub - LMS-Community/slimserver: Server for Squeezebox and compatible players. This server is also called Lyrion Music Server.

Server for Squeezebox and compatible players. This server is also called Lyrion Music Server. - LMS-Community/slimserver

github.com

Daphile – Digital Music Convenience for Audiophiles

Daphile is an audiophile class music server & player OS – targeted to dedicated headless PC. It manages the bitperfect and gapless playback of common audio formats including the high resolution files.

www.daphile.com

View attachment 320208

You can generate filters with REW and inject them in the player (Daphile).

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement and analysis

www.roomeqwizard.com

Everything is free and open source and you can rune Daphile on X86 architecture, like old computer or some youyeetoo X1

youyeetoo X1 - X86 Mini PC, SBC - Proxmox, Home Assistant, Server, NAS Kit - Provide Intel native IIC SPI UART use tutorials - Intel 11th N5105, 4K, 10W TDP

Key features: CPU: 11th Gen 4 Core Intel Celeron N5105(Up to 2.9 GHz), 10nm, 10 TDP Graphics ：Intel® UHD Graphics RAM: Up to 16GB LPDDR4 Video: Support Dual 4K HDR and 3-Way Video Output. Networking: 1 GbE LAN. , WIFI 5 + BT 5.0 / WIFI 6 + BT 5.2 / 4G LTE via M.2 2230 E key, Other: USB3.0...

www.youyeetoo.com

Is Logitech / Daphile limited to 44.1kHz 16 bit as my Sonos is?

 

[renaudrenaud]

Is Logitech / Daphile limited to 44.1kHz 16 bit as my Sonos is?

No way in open source this kind of marketing limitation is taken in account.

Daphile is limited to 384/24 because of convolution but you can spend 30€ to build your own player with no limitation and convert everything into 7**/32 bits.

Orange pi zero 3 with 4Go Ram, enough for everything containerized.

 

[Abrise]

Apologies if this has been covered already but can this be set to display the volume rather than sample rate? Ta.

No, the volume is displayed only when you change it.

 

[Abrise]

I'm hoping someone might know how well the smsl d6s would work with the optical output of a TV. Specifically, tv optical outputs seem to generate noise nd other artifacts that many dacs see as jitter problems. In turn they try to resynch which results in pauses and other sound discontinuities. Some smsl dacs with ESS chips have adjustable dpll settings which allows more tolerance to these artifacts. How well does the akm chip in the d6s react to these artifacts?

The d6s includes dpll settings to adapt to jitter issues with TV.

 

[morillon]

The d6s includes dpll settings to adapt to jitter issues with TV.
View attachment 320245

always funny to observe this..and on the other hand the affirmation, the mantra, that the subject of jitter in connection etc does not exist neither on the source nor on the receiver side..the ":bit perfect""" just 0 and 1..
;-)

 

[Tangband]

Apart from the odd display top standing proud of the top cover, this little box looks to be end game for most of us really if a dac is all that's needed.

I dont want to be negative , but is this unit properly tested regarding the safety of the inbuilt power supply ? Where is the european CE marking?

CE marking - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Insurance might not cover untested gear when your house has burned down .

”In one case it was reported that "Chinese manufacturers were submitting well-engineered electrical products to obtain conformity testing reports, but then removing non-essential components in production to reduce costs".[21] A test of 27 electrical chargers with UK sockets in 2008 found that all the eight legitimately branded ones with a reputable name met safety standards, but none of those unbranded or with minor names did, despite bearing the mark;[21] non-compliant devices were actually potentially unreliable and dangerous, presenting electrical and fire hazards.”
————
Seems even CE marking can be fake.

This is the main critisism from my side regarding cheap dacs ( the other is guaranty ) .
As long as the powersupply is an external one, one can always use a tested and safe meanwell . But using 220 volt inside a dac , I want it to be tested and safe.

 

[groot]

I am also searching for an Equalizer solution for a friend of mine. Not everyone wants to have / can afford Roon!

On the MacOS platform, SoundSource from Rogue Amoeba allows you to enable the AUNBandEQ plugin embedded in MacOS on the system audio chain. It's ~$40.

https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/

While I use Roon for my own library, I also use a refurb MacMini with SoundSource combined with a package called AirFoil to make a streamer that I can send AirPlay to from Apple Music and have a PEQ DSP in the chain. The MacMini also runs the Roon endpoint, so I can use either path.

The AUNBandEQ feature is embeded in iOS as well, and is avalable to all Apps, but I don't think there is a way to hijack the audio chain to leverage it the same way SourceSource does on MacOS. It would be nice if Apple would provide access to system-wide EQ under iOS, but it would also be possible for Tidal & Apple Music to provide access to AUNBandEQ in their clients. My guess it that no one wants to support the user interface for PEQ in a mainstream comertion App. But it's really frustrating knowing that the functionality is in there and you can't get at it.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/audiotoolbox/1389745-aunbandeq_parameters

 

[Abrise]

I dont want to be negative , but is this unit properly tested regarding the safety of the inbuilt power supply ? Where is the european CE marking?

CE marking - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Insurance might not cover untested gear when your house has burned down .

”In one case it was reported that "Chinese manufacturers were submitting well-engineered electrical products to obtain conformity testing reports, but then removing non-essential components in production to reduce costs".[21] A test of 27 electrical chargers with UK sockets in 2008 found that all the eight legitimately branded ones with a reputable name met safety standards, but none of those unbranded or with minor names did, despite bearing the mark;[21] non-compliant devices were actually potentially unreliable and dangerous, presenting electrical and fire hazards.”
————
Seems even CE marking can be fake.

This is the main critisism from my side regarding cheap dacs ( the other is guaranty ) .
As long as the powersupply is an external one, one can always use a tested and safe meanwell . But using 220 volt inside a dac , I want it to be tested and safe.

There is a CE marking on the unit and the box.

 

[Chr1]

No, the volume is displayed only when you change it.

Thanks.
Big fail for me here then unfortunately.

Don't understand why they keep this (lack of) functionality.
Perhaps it can be changed with firmware in the future however...
Strange.

 

[Tangband]

There is a CE marking on the unit and the box.

Where ?
( I would be happy If Im wrong on this )

 

[daniboun]

Where ?
( I would be happy If Im wrong on this )

Seems relevant !

Sabaj D10A with CE logo and warning tag versus SMS 6Ds without CE etc...
Makes me remember debate about the Topping RA3 (not for EU market)


NB : I have noticed that a lot of SMSL dacs do not have any CE certification on the back of the device. Except certain models like the SMSL SU-9N

Here are the directives of the European community concerning CE marking (French government source)

Le marquage « CE » | entreprises.gouv.fr

Le marquage CE a été créé dans le cadre de la législation d'harmonisation technique européenne. Il est obligatoire pour tous les produits couverts par une ou plusieurs directives européennes qui le prévoient explicitement.

www.entreprises.gouv.fr

here are the directives of the European Parliament :

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014L0035&from=FR

Which leads me to say that some distributors, do not take into account the instructions of article 9 of the European directives.

SMSL SU9N (CE certified)