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SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II DAC Review

brydon10

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The coaxial jitter measurement doesn't look very good. I see Amir says "likely inaudible with real music". @amirm At what point is jitter audible? I primarily use coaxial. I've noticed that these SMSL Sanskrit's haven't used a very good spdif input chip, or at least not the standard ones often associated with the implemented DAC chips.
 

Aardappel

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I just got the unit in hand. Sound is nice and really transparent.

However, I notice some popping issue... it’s appearing randomly while playing back (keep popping like every 10-15 sec.) . They are small one but noticeable and audible. Pretty annoying noise I mean.

My set up is a MacBookPro running Audirvana 3.5 connect to the Sanskrit via USB then to an amplifier. Most play back flies are flac or streaming via Tidal.
I have tried changing cables. With or with out power supply to the dac. And it’s still popping.

Do I need to change the setup in my laptop or install a firmware or a driver? I can’t find it in its website. Any suggestions here would be please.

Regards,
Hi there, I am considering this DAC at the moment. Has the popping issue disappeared for you, and have others reported the same issue?
 

RPP117

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Hi there, I am considering this DAC at the moment. Has the popping issue disappeared for you, and have others reported the same issue?
Hi, the popping noise was occurred only when I use the usb output from my MBP+Audirvana . Not sure why. I didn’t test it on other MBPs. It’s no pops on Window 8 with foolbar2000.

Now I switched to RPi4+moode cuz I want to eliminated the computer and it’s just working fine.
 

Rusbear

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Hi, I'm new to the forum and all the DAC stuff beyond a simple Raspberry Pi HAT. I'm currently running a setup of RPi 3B+ with an IQAudio Pi-Dac+ (TI PCM5122) hooked up to a DIY class A amp (hefty powerful stuff) + AKG K712 Pro. Will Sanskrit be that much of improvement source-wise? There's a topic here on the forum stating that all the DACs in the Universe sound the same. From the technical point of view, the IQAudio has no clock of its own and SMSL has two, so having far less jitter. How much will it affect (improve) the sound though, provided that the rest of the setup is quite neutral and "transparent" I believe? I wanna treat myself to something nice with all those NY sales around so a good piece of sound tech might be the thing. Sorry poor English lol.
 
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brimble

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Hi, I'm new to the forum and all the DAC stuff beyond a simple Raspberry Pi HAT. I'm currently running a setup of RPi 3B+ with an IQAudio Pi-Dac+ (TI PCM5122) hooked up to a DIY class A amp (hefty powerful stuff) + AKG K712 Pro. Will Sanskrit be that much of improvement source-wise? There's a topic here on the forum stating that all the DACs in the Universe sound the same. From the technical point of view, the IQAudio has no clock of its own and SMSL has two, so having far less jitter. How much will it affect (improve) the sound though, provided that the rest of the setup is quite neutral and "transparent" I believe? I wanna treat myself to something nice with all those NY sales around so a good piece of sound tech might be the thing. Sorry poor English lol.

Your English is excellent!

I doubt that changing DAC will improve your sound noticeably.
 

Rusbear

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Your English is excellent!

I doubt that changing DAC will improve your sound noticeably.
So jitter isn't that much of an issue then, right? Dedicated clock or no clock on the HAT - no big deal? I'll stick with the RPi then. Maybe. An Ibasso DC03 dongle DAC is on its way to me anyway, bought it accidentally from AliExpress lol. Will try to tell the difference between the two DACs. And I have more actually, in my phone, the laptop, the PC... Maybe hook them up to the amp and compare, for the sake of science lol.
 

Rusbear

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Well, I'm an Anrdoid phone and PC user so no Apple devices tolerated lol. I'm about to get that tiny Ibasso dongle with 2 x Cirrus Logic CS43131. Maybe it will sound better that the IQAudio HAT and will take its place, if not - it will make a happy trio with my Xiaomi phone and good old Sennheiser PX-100.
As I have an amp, I need a DAC only: on the one hand, I may save some, on the other hand, for the the price of a DAC/amp I get get a higher grade DAC.
And the question still remains: is jitter that much of an issue? How much sound quality advantage do DACs with clocks of their own have over clockless HATs?
 

BDWoody

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higui

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Hi all,
while going through the thread about the previous Sanskrit model, I read about the possibility of disabling the volume and have a pure "line out" output by operating on the remote control:
- Is this possible also on the MKII version?
- What's the button or the steps to follow? I can't find it in the product manual
- Would this bypass the preamp stage for a more pure signal?
 

BDWoody

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- Would this bypass the preamp stage for a more pure signal?

For most of these, if there is a 'DAC mode' it simply sets the volume to max. It just ensures there is no attenuation, leaving that to downstream components.

It's already a very pure signal.
 

vrobec

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Hello all! I'm considering this DAC, but found different infos. On one website stays it supports DSD256, other seller write this DAC supports DSD512. What is true? Please clear this thing for me.
Seller 1 Seller 2
 

0%_Audiophile

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Can anybody verify that the MK2 version supports DSD512 and 768Khz PCM?

I just bought mine. The box has red v2 with black background, the red PCM logo has 768khz in it. I've opened it and it has AK4493 chip. But 768kHz option does not appear in the Windows setting. Even the manual says it is only 384kHz and DSD256. Was I scammed or there is a third version halfway between the original and the MK2?
View attachment 86408View attachment 86409View attachment 86410View attachment 86411
I had the same issue, bought it from local store in my country (not from ALiexpress).
On box I saw 'v2' and picture from shop was with 768KHz, but on WIn10 I did not see that, so I asked seller from ALiexpress (does this DAC come with 768KHz on display and in XMOS driver and I got clearly response - YES), so I called to local store when I bought it and asked them, they told me "trust us, it is second version, we have checked it", but when I explained that device doesn't support 768KHz and 100% it is not real v2 - they without any question propose me return it and make refund.
What I have already done.

Probably, I will never buy again this cheap chinesse devices.

768KHz is just marketing and I do not like sound, connect it to PC, installed drivers, connect to Magni 3 and treble just make me cry, Creative G6 much better in my opinion, even my motherboard audio on Z490 sounds much better than this DAC.
 

oldsysop

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Probably, I will never buy again this cheap chinesse devices.

768KHz is just marketing and I do not like sound, connect it to PC, installed drivers, connect to Magni 3 and treble just make me cry, Creative G6 much better in my opinion, even my motherboard audio on Z490 sounds much better than this DAC.
:rolleyes:
 

higui

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Hi all, need a warm sounding dac to pair with my Rotel amp. Should I take this or the Schiit Modius is worth the double of the price?
(Same chip, maybe a better build?)
 

holbob

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This is an excellent dac giving up all the information it receives into analogue form. It's as sterile, bright, transparent or warm as you wish it to be.
 

jimboaz

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I think this review nails the sound. I too found this DAC fantastic for particularly older recordings of female voices - Connie Francis, Sarah McLaughlin, etc and dozens of others I checked like many older brassy jazz recordings on London, Deccca, Capitol etc that are normally borderline bright and thin sounding. They blossom through this 10th MKII WITHOUT rolling highs or reducing inner detail and air, or bloating bass or any other trade off. It Just sounds more "analog" in the best sense. Also have Sanskrit 6th with its P1 Supply, and Topping D50 with its P50 Supply (which drastically improved its sound). I'm using the Ifi PS on this. BTW adding a
Pangea Audio AC 14SE MKII power cord to the Topping P50 power supply first then later to my SMSL SA98E amp further improved the sound top-to-bottom of both of those far beyond the minimal cable purchase price.....I expected the improvement with the amp but not the substantial jump up (maybe more so) with the P50...Fun stuff all around
 
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nhatlam96

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I think this review nails the sound. I too found this DAC fantastic for particularly older recordings of female voices - Connie Francis, Sarah McLaughlin, etc and dozens of others I checked like many older brassy jazz recordings on London, Deccca, Capitol etc that are normally borderline bright and thin sounding. They blossom through this 10th MKII WITHOUT rolling highs or reducing inner detail and air, or bloating bass or any other trade off. It Just sounds more "analog" in the best sense. Also have Sanskrit 6th with its P1 Supply, and Topping D50 with its P50 Supply (which drastically improved its sound). I'm using the Ifi PS on this. BTW adding a
Pangea Audio AC 14SE MKII power cord to the Topping P50 power supply first then later to my SMSL SA98E amp further improved the sound top-to-bottom of both of those far beyond the minimal cable purchase price.....I expected the improvement with the amp but not the substantial jump up (maybe more so) with the P50...Fun stuff all around
I think your experience is better suited here HifiGuides Forums and The HEADPHONE Community (headphones.com).
Power cables or -supplies shouldn't have a strong impact on the sound, unless there was something wrong.
 

brimble

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I bought one thanks to this review, it sounds exactly the same as all the other DACs I've tried (through my $2,000 headphones), and I'm delighted with it.
 
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nhatlam96

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I bought one thanks to this review, it sounds exactly the same as all the other DACs I've tried (through my $2,000 headphones), and I'm delighted with it.
What were the other dacs? Which headphone? How did you test it?
 

higui

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I think your experience is better suited here HifiGuides Forums and The HEADPHONE Community (headphones.com).
Power cables or -supplies shouldn't have a strong impact on the sound, unless there was something wrong.
I tried over Spidif powering up with both linear supply and through the usb of my raspberry. No hearable differences trough my setup.
The HUGE difference is from usb (still raspberry 3B+) and Spidif from Allo DigiOne. Literally night and day.
Allo has way more volume, more body and the whole thing is more airy.
 
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