dac (xlr) reccomendation for TV

[tiggerkater55]

hi folks,
this is my first thread and i know, i lot of time recommendations for dacs have been asked for already. i did a lot of reading beforehand, but still i am not sure if i considered all options, also because of the many possibilites even one brand (looking at you smsl) has.

my preferences are simple:
i am looking for a dac with xlr outputs, bluetooth connectivity and optical in. price point below 200 euros would be great.
remote control is a must have.

my TV (samsung smart tv) will be connected to the dac via optical-in and via xlr-out i will connect my active speakers. (only few dacs have hdmi earc option until now)
everything is going to be better than the speakers of the TV

i could buy second hand, too - because sometimes its cheaper. although nowadays with these cheap tiny dac boxes there is barely a big price difference.

some options i considered:
smsl do100
smsl su200
smsl d6s
smsl su9 (second hand)

(out of these for example i cant say, if they would be that different from each other, with newer dac chips or state of the art usb-chips)

sabaj a20d (sells now for a little less than 280.- is over budget but seems like a good deal)
topping ex5 (second hand perhaps, otherwise over budget, too)
topping e50

without balanced out its getting to be cheaper, but not sure if i am running into ground loop problems (old speakers)

thanks so far, all input is highly appreciated!
kind regards!

 

[Power Pop 23]

hi folks,
this is my first thread and i know, i lot of time recommendations for dacs have been asked for already. i did a lot of reading beforehand, but still i am not sure if i considered all options, also because of the many possibilites even one brand (looking at you smsl) has.

my preferences are simple:
i am looking for a dac with xlr outputs, bluetooth connectivity and optical in. price point below 200 euros would be great.
remote control is a must have.

my TV (samsung smart tv) will be connected to the dac via optical-in and via xlr-out i will connect my active speakers. (only few dacs have hdmi earc option until now)
everything is going to be better than the speakers of the TV

i could buy second hand, too - because sometimes its cheaper. although nowadays with these cheap tiny dac boxes there is barely a big price difference.

some options i considered:
smsl do100
smsl su200
smsl d6s
smsl su9 (second hand)

(out of these for example i cant say, if they would be that different from each other, with newer dac chips or state of the art usb-chips)

sabaj a20d (sells now for a little less than 280.- is over budget but seems like a good deal)
topping ex5 (second hand perhaps, otherwise over budget, too)
topping e50

without balanced out its getting to be cheaper, but not sure if i am running into ground loop problems (old speakers)

thanks so far, all input is highly appreciated!
kind regards!

I suspect I would have trouble hearing a difference between your listed choices. I have been using a Topping E50 for 27 months and an EX5 for 30 months without any issues.

 

[tiggerkater55]

I suspect I would have trouble hearing a difference between your listed choices. I have been using a Topping E50 for 27 months and an EX5 for 30 months without any issues.

thanks for the quick reply.
may i ask: is the topping remote working well? it seems, that with smsl remotes you have to point/aim quite well...
thanks!

 

[Power Pop 23]

thanks for the quick reply.
may i ask: is the topping remote working well? it seems, that with smsl remotes you have to point/aim quite well...
thanks!

Yes, the default remote for the Topping gear seems to be sensitive to vertical angles - more so than horizontal angles. I have used remotes with worse performance. I use Topping's RC22 remote control. It seems to be slightly more forgiving than the default remote control.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

hi folks,
this is my first thread and i know, i lot of time recommendations for dacs have been asked for already. i did a lot of reading beforehand, but still i am not sure if i considered all options, also because of the many possibilites even one brand (looking at you smsl) has.

my preferences are simple:
i am looking for a dac with xlr outputs, bluetooth connectivity and optical in. price point below 200 euros would be great.
remote control is a must have.

my TV (samsung smart tv) will be connected to the dac via optical-in and via xlr-out i will connect my active speakers. (only few dacs have hdmi earc option until now)
everything is going to be better than the speakers of the TV

i could buy second hand, too - because sometimes its cheaper. although nowadays with these cheap tiny dac boxes there is barely a big price difference.

some options i considered:
smsl do100
smsl su200
smsl d6s
smsl su9 (second hand)

(out of these for example i cant say, if they would be that different from each other, with newer dac chips or state of the art usb-chips)

sabaj a20d (sells now for a little less than 280.- is over budget but seems like a good deal)
topping ex5 (second hand perhaps, otherwise over budget, too)
topping e50

without balanced out its getting to be cheaper, but not sure if i am running into ground loop problems (old speakers)

thanks so far, all input is highly appreciated!
kind regards!

Try searching on here for threads about problems with DACs and TV sound (intermittent, noisy etc). People start by blaming the DAC, but the problems are caused by bad S/PDIF implementations in the TVs. Ideally it seems that you need a DAC with adjustable PLL.

 

[tiggerkater55]

Try searching on here for threads about problems with DACs and TV sound (intermittent, noisy etc). People start by blaming the DAC, but the problems are caused by bad S/PDIF implementations in the TVs. Ideally it seems that you need a DAC with adjustable PLL.

oh, thats a new one. thanks for the info, will do!
or i really have to wait for a good measured dac with hdmi earc connection.
(edit)ps: or i could connect via bluetooth, but that seemed to me the even worse connection...

 

[tiggerkater55]

Try searching on here for threads about problems with DACs and TV sound (intermittent, noisy etc). People start by blaming the DAC, but the problems are caused by bad S/PDIF implementations in the TVs. Ideally it seems that you need a DAC with adjustable PLL.

hi its me again,
thanks, i did a lot of reading, but i am not quite sure, which dacs could work better. the smsl su9 seems to work, right?
could you perhaps please name some other dacs? not quite sure where to find (or to look for) the "adjustable pll" feature.
thanks!

 

[JSmith]

not quite sure where to find (or to look for) the "adjustable pll" feature.

ESS based DAC's with DPLL adjustment function enabled. AKM based DAC's may not be as sensitive to this.


JSmith

 

[staticV3]

hi its me again,
thanks, i did a lot of reading, but i am not quite sure, which dacs could work better. the smsl su9 seems to work, right?
could you perhaps please name some other dacs? not quite sure where to find (or to look for) the "adjustable pll" feature.
thanks!

Adjustable DPLL is a feature that's exclusive to ESS Sabre DACs.
You can find it on most SMSL DACs and some of Topping's higher-end DACs.

Examples are:
Topping D70 Pro, D90 III
SMSL C200, DL200, D-6s, SU-6, SU-9, SU-9n, SU-9 Pro, SU-10, SU-X, DO100, DO200, DO200 MKII, DO300, DO400, M500 MKIII, D400 ES, VMV D1se 2,
JDS Element 3

 

[BR52]

hi its me again,
thanks, i did a lot of reading, but i am not quite sure, which dacs could work better. the smsl su9 seems to work, right?
could you perhaps please name some other dacs? not quite sure where to find (or to look for) the "adjustable pll" feature.
thanks!

Topping E70 has it with firmware here in ASR published, not on their Website. Works very well. Is not for the „Velvet version „!

 

[JSmith]

Is not for the „Velvet version „!

No, that uses AKM 4499EX.


JSmith

 

[MaxwellsEq]

ISTR the Sabah A10d 2022 enables the DPLL settings. Many ESD DACs could do it, it's whether the company "exposes" the option through their menus or firmware.

 

[tiggerkater55]

Adjustable DPLL is a feature that's exclusive to ESS Sabre DACs.
You can find it on most SMSL DACs and some of Topping's higher-end DACs.

Examples are:
Topping D70 Pro, D90 III
SMSL C200, DL200, D-6s, SU-6, SU-9, SU-9n, SU-9 Pro, SU-10, SU-X, DO100, DO200, DO200 MKII, DO300, DO400, M500 MKIII, D400 ES, VMV D1se 2,
JDS Element 3

ah ok,
so i would be fine with all of my smsl choices.
thanks!

 

[BR52]

No, that uses AKM 4499EX.

Sure !, but in the E70 thread is a lot mixed with the AKM version. My intention was to protect @tiggerkater55 from buying the velvet I didn't recommend.