SMSL SU-9 Balanced DAC Review

[JSmith]

Maybe you didn't read my post all the way.

I did yes.

If you are going to quote me, put up the full quote and not cherry pick to take my post out of context.

I didn't do that, I quoted the part that was relevant to my reply and in fairness your full post is just above mine. Maybe you can clarify then, what exactly were you trying to say?

I was trying to help you as I wasn't sure you were aware of this issue yet... apologies if that wasn't the case, but no need for the above tbh.

To my ears, the bass was elevated with the su-9, but in a bad way. The bass sounded bloated and a bit loose compared to the tone board.

This could possibly be because of what I was informing you about... did you consider that at all or think about what excessive 3rd harmonic distortion is?



JSmith

 

[304290]

No is wasn't uncalled for because you would have to click on the quote link to see the full post and the part that was viewable was indeed cherry picked. And I have quite a few posts in the the last couple of pages detailing how I've already returned mine because of smsl lack of response and lack of providing real solutions. So it should be quite obvious that I don't have the updated firmware.

My reply was to the quote I replied to showing why subjective impressions are always taken with a grain of salt here because we both compared the su-9 to the same dac and we both heard elevated bass in comparison to the tone board. But have completely different impressions as to whether the difference were better or worse. I also purpose my statement differences about 109 vs 120 sinad as theoretically possible since 109(which is where the tone board ranks) is technically above the threshold of human hearing which is around 115. I also pointed out that even with the updated firmware that it probably would still sound the same which even more points to the fact that I didn't have the updated firmware which is why I said maybe you didn't read my post since the question about whether or not I had the updated firmware was answered in that post.

 

[JSmith]

click on the quote link to see the full post

Mate your posts is fully viewable without needing to click anything... unless you mean the person you quoted?

I have quite a few posts in the the last couple of pages detailing how I've already returned mine because of smsl lack of response and lack of providing real solutions.

Great, however you shouldn't expect me to remember everyone who has posted such information... I'm not as young as I once was.

the question about whether or not I had the updated firmware was answered in that post.

Apologies again if I misread... shall we get back on topic?



JSmith

 

[304290]

Please

 

[Magnifico]

I´m already looking for something other....I don´t have much faith in SMSL.
They always were keen on promoting stuff in this forum....when problems rised it got silent.

Correct if I´m wrong.

 

[marcom22]

For Info my DAC after only 3 days arrived at Shenzen, China. ShenzenAudio with SMSL's support always answer me. I wait the return of my DAc with corrected firmware. For the moment I appreciated so much the support and customer care of ShenzenAudioStore. Stay tuned for news.

 

[MusicNBeer]

For Info my DAC after only 3 days arrived at Shenzen, China. ShenzenAudio with SMSL's support always answer me. I wait the return of my DAc with corrected firmware. For the moment I appreciated so much the support and customer care of ShenzenAudioStore. Stay tuned for news.

Where do you live and how much was shipping?

My opinion is more along the lines of dumpster fire.

I'm really disappointed there's no update to the original review about this. Not very honest.

 

[Dingenus]

Just back to the issue where it is about. In one channel high distortion when the signal strength comes near the 0DB.
What now when you enter through Toslink and dampens a few dB the signal in advance. Does the problem occur? Or if you put the digital volume back to e.g. 80?

 

[MusicNBeer]

Just back to the issue where it is about. In one channel high distortion when the signal strength comes near the 0DB.
What now when you enter through Toslink and dampens a few dB the signal in advance. Does the problem occur? Or if you put the digital volume back to e.g. 80?

On the M500, if you just turn the volume down from 40 to 30 or below, the third harmonic goes down sunstantially, <-95dB relative to fundamental.

 

[Dingenus]

Thanks! Maybe the SU9-9 will do the same.

 

[JSmith]

Maybe the SU9-9 will do the same.

Well it will... it's digital volume control so turning down by say 20dB reduces the whole main signal compared to the general noise floor of the unit, so of course reduces the 3rd harmonic issue at the same time as SNR has been altered. However it is still there in general and reducing volume in this way already reduces signal over noise and distortion... it's still an error that shouldn't be present.



JSmith

 

[Dingenus]

Yep, I understand. But if my Topping L30 is cleaner to amplifire the last 30db or so, it's a temporary solution for now I think, or not?

 

[MusicNBeer]

Well it will... it's digital volume control so turning down by say 20dB reduces the whole main signal compared to the general noise floor of the unit, so of course reduces the 3rd harmonic issue at the same time as SNR has been altered. However it is still there in general and reducing volume in this way already reduces signal over noise and distortion... it's still an error that shouldn't be present.

That's true somewhat, but what I'm saying is if you reduce the fundamental by 10 dB, the third harmonic reduces by 30 dB. It means THD+N reduces significantly with lower volume setting.

I'm not saying it's acceptable, only that if you already have a unit, turn the volume down for cleaner performance.

 

[Dingenus]

I did contact SMSL and Shenzhen. SMSL did react that I must contact Shenzhen but there I get no reaction.

 

[lateparty]

It's a shame there was so much bickering above. I purchased mine through SHENZHENAUDIO on November 11 2020. What's the best advice at the moment? Contact them and ask for RMA? What kind of assurance do I have that I'll get a fixed unit? What's the most up to date information regarding the SMSL SU-9. Yes I have seen Wolf's new firmware "fix"

 

[mycose]

It's a shame there was so much bickering above. I purchased mine through SHENZHENAUDIO on November 11 2020. What's the best advice at the moment? Contact them and ask for RMA? What kind of assurance do I have that I'll get a fixed unit? What's the most up to date information regarding the SMSL SU-9. Yes I have seen Wolf's new firmware "fix"

All of us are pretty much screwed up. Unless you're willing to send the unit back to China their stance on this is literally deal with it. I asked SHENZHENAUDIO if they could send me the J-Link fix interface or if something else could be done and this was their response:

Hi, if you can not send back it to China, we can not provide upgrade service for you.
Thanks for your understanding.

In a nutshell: Deal with it. The best thing you can do is avoid SMSL from now on, that's it.

 

[marcom22]

Send it to Shenzen and stop. What is the problem?

 

[mycose]

Send it to Shenzen and stop. What is the problem?

1. You have to cover all the shipping costs, including customs for sending something back to China, when it's THEIR fault. Why do I have to waste my money and time when it is NOT my fault? Bruh all I wanted was to listen to some music, I don't want to deal with any of this nonsense crap.

2. The device could be lost or stolen on its way to China. Who's gonna refund you the cost of the product+shipment if it gets lost? SHENZHENAUDIO? SMSL? Santa Claus?

3. Even if the device somehow managed to arrive with the guys at SHENZHENAUDIO, will they send it back at no cost? Again it's the same problem, what if it gets lost on its way back? There's literally nothing stopping them from saying "woops it got lost, deal with it" and there's no one to back you up, not even Paypal, nor Amazon.

I'm not buying anything from SMSL again. This DAC was way too good to be true for < $500.

 

[Magnifico]

Then there are other retailer as well having sold that product.
I bought mine from HifiGo.
Let´s see how that turns out.

With all the costs coming in FOR THEIR FAULT I could have bought a Topping D70s right away
and not deal with this bull$hit.

Last SMSL product for me too. They screwed up once more...others don´t so I´ll choose them in the future.
Gustard for example....was thinking X16 or SU-9.
Baaad decision.

 

[Dominique-T]

I fully share the opinion from mycose above. I have bought this device to a European dealer, Audiophonics, because I do not want to order to China. My order, so my contract is with them. There is a serious issue and they have to take care of it.

Sending the unit back to China from Germany will be a nightmare. Cost, damages, lost item, customs… And the lack of communication from SMSL and their distributors is a shame. It is not only SMSL, but all Chinese brands who are going to suffer from this attitude.