Need help with DAC selection

[xedra]

Hi to all.
I have just purchased a set of krk rokits 7 (xlr, trs inputs), just for hearing music and I would need your assistance to select a budget/affordable DAC, as there is a ton of info and I am kind of frustrated!

As I said, I am looking for a vfm dac. I want to be able to connect:

*through Bluetooth, as to stream whatever from my phone (mp3, internet radio, etc.)
*using my laptop (occasionally) or another device if possible (like an external cd player or a player in general)
*(optional) optical input for tv
*(desirable) remote control

I understand that it needs to have a balanced output, as well.
I checked S.M.S.L D-6, topping DACs seem to be more expensive, if I am not mistaken.
your assistance will be highly appreciated.

 

[GGroch]

The SMSL M300SE is top of the VFM list with those parameters, assuming you are looking for a desktop DAC. Still waiting on an Amir ASR test.

 

[xedra]

The SMSL M300SE is top of the VFM list with those parameters, assuming you are looking for a desktop DAC. Still waiting on an Amir ASR test.

Thanks for your answer.
It looks promising. Is it capable to drive active speakers (I see that it relates more to headphones)?

Some more amateur questions:
*Will it make such a big difference in comparison to direct laptop connection?
*Does the dac affect somehow the loudness?

And about connectivity, I see there is an optical input for tv, but how about a third party device, such a cd player for example? I thought that there will be a rca/jack input for example.

 

[GGroch]

It looks promising. Is it capable to drive active speakers (I see that it relates more to headphones)?

Some more amateur questions:
*Will it make such a big difference in comparison to direct laptop connection?
*Does the dac affect somehow the loudness?

And about connectivity, I see there is an optical input for tv, but how about a third party device, such a cd player for example? I thought that there will be a rca/jack input for example.

Hi. And I forgot to add, welcome to ASR.
1. The SMSL M300SE should be perfect for driving KRK Rokits 7 through its balanced inputs. I see the G4 version has just a 1/4" TRS Balanced input, so if you have that version you will need an XLR-TRS cable like the Hosa HSX-003 for each speaker. The M300SE is not more related to headphones. It is an excellent DAC that also has a good headphone amp that will match most headphones. NOTE: as you research this model, make sure you are looking at the M300SE SMSL made other M300 models that are different.

2. The M300SE will probably sound significantly better than using the audio jack on a laptop. For one thing, the M300SE has a balanced output to match your speakers' balanced inputs. This potentially can reduce noise/distortion. The M300SE uses the direct USB digital output of your laptop, which in itself measures a lot cleaner than the laptops analog output. You will not know if these differences seem big to you until you try it.

3. The M300SE has a standard 4v output from its rear XLR jacks. That means it is capable of driving your speakers as loud as they can go. The front volume knob and included remote control may also make changing the volume a lot more convenient. I see the Rokit 7s have their own rear volume knob, so you will want to set that initially as well.

Read the M300 instructions before use. If you want to use the M300SE to control the volume (highly recommended) be sure to select "Variable" on the M300SE output mode. If you want to control the volume only through your laptop you could use "Fixed" mode (not recommended). There is also a menu control that switches output between either "Line" (rear XLR) or "HP" (front headphone plug), so you can leave your speakers and headphones connected and switch depending on what you are listening to.

4. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter, so most of them only have Digital Inputs, not an analog aux/line input. The M300SE does have a Bluetooth input so you can stream from your phone. It also has a single Coax digital input, some CD players have that kind of output on the back.

 

[xedra]

Hi. And I forgot to add, welcome to ASR.

thank you.

1. The SMSL M300SE should be perfect for driving KRK Rokits 7 through its balanced inputs. I see the G4 version has just a 1/4" TRS Balanced input, so if you have that version you will need an XLR-TRS cable like the Hosa HSX-003 for each speaker. The M300SE is not more related to headphones. It is an excellent DAC that also has a good headphone amp that will match most headphones. NOTE: as you research this model, make sure you are looking at the M300SE SMSL made other M300 models that are different.

As you may see here the inputs are: Balanced TRS/XLR Combo Jacks.
For the latter, yes, I am checking the SE model.

2. The M300SE will probably sound significantly better than using the audio jack on a laptop. For one thing, the M300SE has a balanced output to match your speakers' balanced inputs. This potentially can reduce noise/distortion. The M300SE uses the direct USB digital output of your laptop, which in itself measures a lot cleaner than the laptops analog output. You will not know if these differences seem big to you until you try it.

ok, understood.

3. The M300SE has a standard 4v output from its rear XLR jacks. That means it is capable of driving your speakers as loud as they can go. The front volume knob and included remote control may also make changing the volume a lot more convenient. I see the Rokit 7s have their own rear volume knob, so you will want to set that initially as well.

Read the M300 instructions before use. If you want to use the M300SE to control the volume (highly recommended) be sure to select "Variable" on the M300SE output mode. If you want to control the volume only through your laptop you could use "Fixed" mode (not recommended). There is also a menu control that switches output between either "Line" (rear XLR) or "HP" (front headphone plug), so you can leave your speakers and headphones connected and switch depending on what you are listening to.

ok. I have read the instructions already, thery are kind of basic, I would say.

4. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter, so most of them only have Digital Inputs, not an analog aux/line input. The M300SE does have a Bluetooth input so you can stream from your phone. It also has a single Coax digital input, some CD players have that kind of output on the back.

ok, I think that I have an old dvd player with coax output, so this might do the trick.

Lastly, do you believe that there is another candidate at this price range?

 

[GGroch]

It should work fine with a DVD player when you play CDs. I do not think there is a comparable balanced output DAC within $50-90 of the M300SE. Others can chime in, but they would be wrong

I own a M300SE which I am using only as a DAC (I have a separate headphone amp) and am very pleased with it.


Side Note to new users. there is a "Like" button at the bottom of each post. If you click that for posts you like, Amir (the site founder) sends the poster $5.......the $5 part is not true, but it enhances the poster's self esteem.

 

[xedra]

It should work fine with a DVD player when you play CDs. I do not think there is a comparable balanced output DAC within $50-90 of the M300SE. Others can chime in, but they would be wrong

I own a M300SE which I am using only as a DAC (I have a separate headphone amp) and am very pleased with it.


Side Note to new users. there is a "Like" button at the bottom of each post. If you click that for posts you like, Amir (the site founder) sends the poster $5.......the $5 part is not true, but it enhances the poster's self esteem.

Thank you for all the info provided.
[fyi, it is about 130 eu+ shipping to Europe]

 

[GGroch]

Your Welcome,

SMSL AliExpress, and perhaps others, have a reduced price starting today 8/21, at least to the US.

I see some places have an "upgraded" version. So far as I know the only difference is that these have the newer ver. 1.1 firmware. The M300se thread here describes how to upgrade the firmware..

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, and welcome to ASR

Can I add a small note of caution. SMSL make good equipment and their cheaper DACs have been very well reviewed here.
Just note that the M300SE has not been reviewed and quality can vary between models. You have a user recommendation here, but it's still worth keeping in mind.
More directly, the M300SE does not have a physical volume control which can cause problems when you are driving active speakers directly (see threads here where volume jumps unexpectedly to 100%).
Take a look at the Review Index (for Audio Electronics) and filter for DAC and your price range https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Reviews/

Edit - my mistake, it does have a volume control - I was thinking about a different unit.

 

[GGroch]

More directly, the M300SE does not have a physical volume control which can cause problems when you are driving active speakers directly (see threads here where volume jumps unexpectedly to 100%).

Mine has a physical volume control. I am sure you mean it's physical control is a digital pot rather than a mechanical pot. Nearly all good DACs have this kind of Digital pot control.

Please point to a post where this causes unexpected volume changes on the M300se. Perhaps you meant that in general you think it could. I can see that if you switch the rear outs from variable to fixed while it is playing it could do that, but that control is a few menu clicks down.

 

[JeremyFife]

Mine has a physical volume control. I am sure you mean it's physical control is a digital pot rather than a mechanical pot. Nearly all good DACs have this kind of Digital pot control.

Please point to a post where this causes unexpected volume changes on the M300se. Perhaps you meant that in general you think it could. I can see that if you switch the rear outs from variable to fixed while it is playing it could do that, but that control is a few menu clicks down.

My mistake about the volume control - I've edited my post.

Here's the first thread I saw about unexpected volume change, they crop up fairly regularly; https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...opping-e70-randomly-went-to-max-volume.42422/

 

[GGroch]

OK. That one is a different MFG, and a different chipset, and the poster was met with deserved or undeserved skepticism.

I think all current SMSL/Topping DACs with volume control and a physical knob use digital pots. If it is a concern, you could use the fixed output, but I think that would be strange.

I concur that it has not yet been tested by Amir, as I noted in my 1st post. He usually does not do a lot of usability tests, so I don't think this kind of issue would likely show up.

 

[Graham849]

As an alternative may I suggest looking at SMSL DO100, it's Bluetooth reception is better than most.

XLR tick

Coax tick

Optical tick

RCA tick

 

[xedra]

Hi, and welcome to ASR

Can I add a small note of caution. SMSL make good equipment and their cheaper DACs have been very well reviewed here.
Just note that the M300SE has not been reviewed and quality can vary between models. You have a user recommendation here, but it's still worth keeping in mind.
More directly, the M300SE does not have a physical volume control which can cause problems when you are driving active speakers directly (see threads here where volume jumps unexpectedly to 100%).
Take a look at the Review Index (for Audio Electronics) and filter for DAC and your price range https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Reviews/

Hi & thank you.
When you say that quality can vary between models, ok it is understood, but compared with the given info at their webpage here, do you believe that this will be far from truth (I don't know, just asking)?
For the review index, it is very useful, but it lacks a simple feature filtering, which makes it very difficult to use.

 

[xedra]

As an alternative may I suggest looking at SMSL DO100, it's Bluetooth reception is better than most.

XLR tick

Coax tick

Optical tick

RCA tick

130eu vs 580eu ()

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi & thank you.
When you say that quality can vary between models, ok it is understood, but compared with the given info at their webpage here, do you believe that this will be far from truth (I don't know, just asking)?
For the review index, it is very useful, but it lacks a simple feature filtering, which makes it very difficult to use.

SMSL's gear has measured well here, so I would expect it to be fine and for the manufacturer's figures to be reliable. It's just a note to say that you can't be completely sure without objective measurement.

I agree that the Review Index is not always friendly (especially with DACs for some reason, because of the many formats). There are advanced filters that can help, or just try putting DAC into the simple search box and ordering the list by Price. You can see which DACs have been recommended and how old the reviews are so you can get a decent picture of what's out there.
SMSL DO 100 is around £200 GBP vs the M300 SE at £130 GBP (UK Amazon pricing) I don't know about pricing where you are. Getting balanced outputs is what keeps the price high.

I don't have anything against the M300 SE and you have a recommendation from a user here who has one.

 

[Graham849]

Gosh pricing varies !
Smsl DO 100 is 252aud which I think is 148 euro.

M300 does not appear on Amazon Australia

 

[xedra]

My bad, DO100 is around 250eu at EU websites.
From what i see, DO100 has an extra pair of RCA output. Not very important to me currently.
Of course i have no opinion on their "inside" components.