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SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II DAC Review

archerious

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Aug 10, 2020
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I thought my unit was bad, turns out the MicroUSB cable I was using was trash. The MicroUSB cable from my Firestick works wonderfully with this.
 

meinhard57

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Just wanted to post a follow-up - after trying out a Topping E30 (had issues with unit not turning on and off properly) I repurchased this DAC from Amazon US and it works fine now with Roon using USB (and also for TV sound via the optical input). Very pleased!
 

archerious

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New issue, my iMac completely glitches out when I use the SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II with it.

It works for like 1 hour then goes silent.

Restarting the DAC does no good, only restart the iMac itself gets things working.

Screen Shot 2020-08-27 at 8.56.49 PM.png
 

Popscene

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Seems like a computer related problem.

Absolutely love this unit. A good simple dac with preamp used with my ncore amp !

I have difficulties to differentiate impact of digital filters expect for the filter 5 which sounds slightly warmer to me.
 

Aperiodic

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New issue, my iMac completely glitches out when I use the SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II with it.

It works for like 1 hour then goes silent.

Restarting the DAC does no good, only restart the iMac itself gets things working.

View attachment 80245
Have not had this exact issue but had issues getting my 2018 Mac Mini to see it initially for some reason.
 
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Aperiodic

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Have my own question: Would there be any benefit powering the unit through the aux power Micro USB jack? Seems to work fine on direct
USB power as far as I can tell but I have some Apple 'sugar cube' 5W wall warts lying around; would one of those be suitable with an A-to Micro cable? I put this and a couple other questions to SMSL but never heard anything; customer service doesn't seem to be their strong suit.
 

Tks

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Have my own question: Would there be any benefit powering the unit through the aux power Micro USB jack? Seems to work fine on direct
USB power as far as I can tell but I have some Apple 'sugar cube' 5W wall warts lying around; would one of those be suitable with an A-to Micro cable? I put this and a couple other questions to SMSL but never heard anything; customer service doesn't seem to be their strong suit.

No one really knows without actually testing it. My guess would be, not really so as long as your current power source isn't producing audible noise and such.
 

dess

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I recently acquired the MKII. After 20 hours of break in, I tested the unit for a couple hours but unfortunately my preamp went off (and I’m waiting to be fixed).
For the few A/B comparisons I did with 16/44 cd (A from a dvd player > analog rca > preamp and B the same dvd player as transport > coaxial digital > Sanskrit MKII > analog rca > preamp), I heard no significant difference with 16/44 cd material.
Anyone tested Sanskrit MKII as a transport dac with 16/44?
 
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harry501

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Sep 22, 2020
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So my other DACs are Sabaj DA3 and CA Dacmagic v2, occasionally I use my FIIO M6 in DAC mode. I use them with earphones and headphones, nothing too hard to drive. Would getting the S10ii be overkill? It would be connected to my laptop.

My headphones mainly used are Soundmagic hp151, Meze 99 Classics, PSB mu41, hifiman he400s and I have a wide collection of ChiFi brand earphones in the £70-200 range. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT : I should add I have the Tin HiFi P1 coming which are notoriously power-hungry planars. Tho I'd expect the DA3 might be fine pushing them.
 

aon500

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Sep 22, 2020
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Hi I'm just buy MKII and download driver V4.67 from SMSL but I' have found driver V4.86 from Topping E30.

Can MKII use driver V4.86 from Topping E30 ?
 

harry501

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Originally had this connected to my FIIO A3 which did it no justice whatsoever. All I got was a very clear but pretty sterile listen. So seeing as they were from the same stable I connected the SMSL T2 Tube Amp, an amp which I've had for ages but never really used as it didn't much for me... UNTIL NOW. Wow, what a lovely combo. As others have said, there's just an obvious upgrade over other similarly priced or budget DACs. With the headphones and earphones I've used so far there's a veil lifted, a cohesion that ties the music together. Even tho the headphones I've used already shone with other sources they are being pushed to their best now I feel. I honestly didn't think I'd hear much of a change from using the SABAJ DA3 but it's there.

I'm a big Queen fan (please don't stop reading lol) and I've listened to them religiously for 27 years. Some of Freddie's vocals are more articulate and i can hear him jump between notes I never knew were there. On the opening of a song called Liar I'm hearing the original cowbell as it's meant to sound. There's an openness to the sound too as if music is being stretched.

To any of you like me who think DACs don't do much but are still interested in the S10mkii, I'd say go for it, even cheap budget earphones are being pushed to their best for me and I can't wait to listen to more of my collection of IEMs. It won't magically change the sound of your headphones and earphones, but it will help get the best out of them.

QUESTION: Someone in this thread mentioned getting thicker more sturdy RCA>3.5 and USB cables... is this a necessity?

Now I'm off to research a decent desktop amp that might compliment it in the £100-150 range :)
 
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harry501

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So, can someone help a noob out? Using the sk10mk2 connected to my laptop via micro usb port and outputting thru RCA>3.5mm earphones... I have it at it's highest volume and the sound is just at a listenable level. Obviously, I don't intend to go straight from it but I expected it to be very very loud i.e. blow the earphones at top volume.

Now just to be sure when I use it the volume level goes from lowest to highest points -40 up to 0. Is this right or should it go further than zero? I'm only asking to rule that out as a possible fault on my part.

Using my SABAJ DA3, if I was going directly from it to earphones I can't go higher than around 66% for safe listening levels.

I could just be a typical Head-Fi'er who hasn't a clue about how DACs work lol.

EDIT : Not sure if it makes any difference but if I connect a 5v power source via the micro USB port along with it nothing changes in terms of volume or performance... maybe that is worth mentioning?
 

harry501

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The sk10mk2 is not designed to be connected to headphones because it does not have a headphone amplifier in it.

Thank you, I mentioned that couple comments up. I was just curious if the sound direct from it though should be louder going directly to an earphone or headphone than it is.

Appreciate you getting back to me.
 

csadam

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Oct 6, 2020
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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?
driver.pngIC.jpgmanual2.jpgwindows_settings.png
 

harry501

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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 think it's to do with Windows, not the dac.

Here's it connected to my M6.

my box tho didn't have a sticker EDIT : Yeah, the specs on mine are different, says 768, sorry. Get your money back, just use that pic to prove you didn't get MKII

specs.jpg

dac10.jpgbox.jpg
 
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csadam

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Thanks for your tests. It's strange. Now I managed to force it to 768 mode abusing a resampler plugin in foobar2000. So maybe it's a windows limitation, but then why are different values in the manual?...
I don't have much experience in DACs. I have a NAD C 356BEE amplifier with integrated DAC, and I can't say the Sanskrit is better. It sounds a little different for sure, but based on the reviews I expected it to be much better.
 
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