Help on 1st time DAC choice

[xlinknz]

Hi

I have been following this site not long as I am in the market for an inexpensive DAC so I was keen to hear others experiences and opinions

I have a vintage HiFi consisting of Rega 3+RB300 turntable, a vintage mid 1980s (2 channel only) pre and power amp (no digital inputs or headphone) and lately a Sony s5100 Blue-Ray I plan to use to play CDs and (rip) SACDs (note the Sony has no DAC). I don't have audiophile headphones yet (well except some BT Skull Candy's)

I'm after a DAC that I can provide a) digital inputs to my pre amp b) provide for wired headphones c) allow me to play back from PC or USB phone .DSF ripped from SACDs . So far my short list is a Fosi Audio GR40 or a SMSL DL100

I like the Fosi due to a ) valves b) looks cool c) has a 2 year warranty d) perhaps a more compatible sound with vinyl and vintage amps?
I like the SMSL due to a) excellent review here b) x 2 high output headphone jacks, LDAC, remote. Nice to have HDMI ARC and XLR but no current use for either of those

I see the SMSL supports PCM up to 768kHz vs the 384kHz of the Fosi but I don't understand yet the benefit of a PCM rate of higher than what a CD or SACD can provide?

Interesting the SMSL costs less than the Fosi here in NZ

Happy to hear people thoughts and experiences

 

[SPCL9806]

I put the table below together about a year ago to aid in my search for my first dac. Prices are in Canadian dollars and sourced from Amazon. Ignore the cells with $1000 shipping as these were placeholders.

I started off with the SMSL DL200 and thought it was pretty good but I returned it thinking I wanted something more. I next tried the SMSL DO300EX, which was twice the price of the DL200 but thanks to the AKM chipset, music sounded more vinyl like than the ESS chipset in the DL200.

There was a windstorm of dac releases between 2023 & 2024 but things may have settled down recently. If you are up to it, I suggest assembling something similar to what I have done but be aware of the following:
1) having an IIS / hdmi arc input is incompatible with most blu-ray and SACD players.
2) MQA is no longer a going concern.

Lastly, an SACD typically is at DSD64 whereas the dacs below can decode DSD512, which is 8 times what most SACD players can play. A higher PCM rate, or a higher DSD rate, potentially means there is more data in the music file you are playing.

 

[DVDdoug]

but I don't understand yet the benefit of a PCM rate of higher than what a CD or SACD can provide?

None, unless you want to play "high resolution" files without downsampling. And downsampling is usually transparent as long as you stay above "CD quality".

Not all DACs can decode/play DSD/DSF. But if you are using a computer and a USB connection it can be decoded in software and PCM sent to the DAC.

And almost no stand-alone DACs can play the non-PCM DVD & Blu-Ray formats, again unless it's decoded in software.

But thanks to the AKM chipset, music sounded more vinyl like than the ESS chipset in the DL200.

Eek!!! "Snap", "crackle", "pop", background hiss, occasional distortion, imperfect frequency response...

 

[kemmler3D]

A higher PCM rate, or a higher DSD rate, potentially means there is more data in the music file you are playing.

Correct, but more data does not mean more music.

Higher PCM rates increase the maximum frequency the file can represent. The problem is human hearing and human stereo systems max out at 48khz at best.

So this is analogous to using an image file format that can represent colors beyond the visible spectrum, like UV and higher. Technically superior and very pointless.

Higher DSD rates lower the noise floor in the audible range, but they're already pretty good at the "lower" rates, I think DSD 256 would outstrip most actual hardware, similar to PCM 24 bit.

 

[xlinknz]

Thank you all for your replies . I"m new to this

If my inputs are SACD (via coax) and ripped SACD (to .DSF etc) via DAC USB why would I get a DAC 'better' than a SMSL DL100 for example what would get with a DL200 or DL300 etc that is better if higher PCM sampling and DSD rates make no difference with those source inputs?

@Lambo1985 I see in another thread you had a DL200 and DL300