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Review and Measurements of SMSL SU-8 DAC

Jimster480

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Ok right off the bat, as soon as you said you had a Magni 3. That raised a red flag for me. I own one, and stopped using it because it does distort at volume levels around %75.
Mine actually always distorted the high end when I had it. I described it as "sharp" and I was flogged on headfi for it.
I really wanted Amir to test this and see if he could reproduce it.
 

T.J. Turner

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Mine actually always distorted the high end when I had it. I described it as "sharp" and I was flogged on headfi for it.
I really wanted Amir to test this and see if he could reproduce it.

I didn't get distorted bass, but distortion appears some where in the lower treble, creating a harsh and fatiguing sound the effect is almost like the volume was too high, when it actually isn't. I replaced my Magni 3 wit ha JDS labs Atom, and have a had no problems.
 

Shoaibexpert

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This sounds like an amp issue.
I had a similar issue with the Magni 3 when I had it.
Great. Could you confirm with the Amp you are using right now (other than the Magni) if you feel some bass issue if there at the song and place I mentioned? I just wanna know if it's a song issue as well just in case. Thanks
 

Shoaibexpert

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Ok right off the bat, as soon as you said you had a Magni 3. That raised a red flag for me. I own one, and stopped using it because it does distort at volume levels around %75. I didn't get distorted bass, but distortion appears some where in the lower treble, creating a harsh and fatiguing sound the effect is almost like the volume was too high, when it actually isn't. I repalced my Magni 3 wit ha JDS labs Atom, and have a had no problems.
Great. Could you confirm with the Amp you are using right now (other than the Magni) if you feel some bass issue if there at the song and place I mentioned? I just wanna know if it's a song issue as well just in case. Thanks
 

Shoaibexpert

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I didn't get distorted bass, but distortion appears some where in the lower treble, creating a harsh and fatiguing sound the effect is almost like the volume was too high, when it actually isn't. I replaced my Magni 3 wit ha JDS labs Atom, and have a had no problems.
BTW I know not to use Magni 3 beyond 75% and I do get the Bass distortion even at low volumes.
 

Shoaibexpert

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This sounds like an amp issue.
I had a similar issue with the Magni 3 when I had it.
Yeah but I don't see hear that when using the Dragonfly Red DAC with Magni 3. Could you please check the song I always liked that by Maria Mena after 1:44 to see if it's just a song issue. Thanks
 

T.J. Turner

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I currently have The Atom connected and the SH-8 amp connected. And I have haven't experienced and distortion at all from either of them.
From The Atom I listened to the song you mentioned, in Lossless from Qobuz, and I don't hear any distortion that the point you referenced. However I did hear a lot distortion on the vocals at 2:30-2:45. i don't think its related to the dac or amp though.
 

Shoaibexpert

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I currently have The Atom connected and the SH-8 amp connected. And I have haven't experienced and distortion at all from either of them.
From The Atom I listened to the song you mentioned, in Lossless from Qobuz, and I don't hear any distortion that the point you referenced. However I did hear a lot distortion on the vocals at 2:30-2:45. i don't think its related to the dac or amp though.
Great... So it must be a recording issue then. I know when I was listening to it the bass did distort the vocals a lot at that moment...only I did hear bass distortion at 1:44 as well. Thanks for confirming mate.
 

Jimster480

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I didn't get distorted bass, but distortion appears some where in the lower treble, creating a harsh and fatiguing sound the effect is almost like the volume was too high, when it actually isn't. I replaced my Magni 3 wit ha JDS labs Atom, and have a had no problems.
Yes I had the same problem. The bass wasn't distorted, the high end was distorted and made a "sharp" and harsh sound.
I sold my Magni3 like 5 days after I received it due to its poor performance/harsh sound vs my Topping A30 & JDS O2 at the time.
Yeah but I don't see hear that when using the Dragonfly Red DAC with Magni 3. Could you please check the song I always liked that by Maria Mena after 1:44 to see if it's just a song issue. Thanks
I'm listening to it on Spotify Premium right now, I detect no difference in the song after 1:44.
I can tell you that there are a few distortions in the song before 1 minute, the song doesn't have a great dynamic range either.

That electronic sound that she puts in the song close to the end is also mastered / mixed like crap. Otherwise its all fine and I didn't detect anything of what you mentioned.

My setup is a Topping DX7 feeding a THX AAA 789 via Balanced. The headphone is a mrspeakers Aeon Flow Closed, single ended.
 

Jimster480

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I currently have The Atom connected and the SH-8 amp connected. And I have haven't experienced and distortion at all from either of them.
From The Atom I listened to the song you mentioned, in Lossless from Qobuz, and I don't hear any distortion that the point you referenced. However I did hear a lot distortion on the vocals at 2:30-2:45. i don't think its related to the dac or amp though.
The 2:30-2:45 is mostly due to that electronic sound she sticks in there which is mastered like crap. It doesn't distort the vocals really, the sound itself just isn't so clean I think due to how they layered it / applied it after the fact.
 

jbar2797

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Im currently using the SU8 v2 with a pair of ADAM T7V active monitors. along with using ROON with Qobuz. Im using the SMSL SU8 as my volume control with the remote. Am i losing sound quality by using the volume control built into the DAC?
 

T.J. Turner

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Im currently using the SU8 v2 with a pair of ADAM T7V active monitors. along with using ROON with Qobuz. Im using the SMSL SU8 as my volume control with the remote. Am i losing sound quality by using the volume control built into the DAC?

If the SU-8 is not overloading your amp, then it should always be at MAX. This is the only way to get bit perfect output. The volume should be controlled by the amp. That is the amps specific job. But I understand the convience of a remote. Thats why I like my SU-8 paired with the SH-8 so I can use the same remote to just control the amp.
 

badyard

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When going through the Sound settings, does anyone what the differences are between the Standard and Original options?
Some time ago I did a quick testing to check if the different sound profiles where dynamically affecting different part of the frequency spectrum (resembling a multiband harmonic exciter), but the results proved not to be the case, and also revealed no frequency response and harmonics alteration using the following profiles (Crystal 2, Original). In other words, those two profiles are equal as the "Standard" profile (At least in regard to frequency response and harmonic content).

Hope it helps!
 

T.J. Turner

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Some time ago I did a quick testing to check if the different sound profiles where dynamically affecting different part of the frequency spectrum (resembling a multiband harmonic exciter), but the results proved not to be the case, and also revealed no frequency response and harmonics alteration using the following profiles (Crystal 2, Original). In other words, those two profiles are equal as the "Standard" profile (At least in regard to frequency response and harmonic content).

Hope it helps!

Thanks, I wonder if this is a firmware glitch.
 

Shoaibexpert

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Call me crazy but I finally found the root cause of my problems...it was just some cable issues. But now that everything is workwlime it should... I find the SMSL SU-8 to be a bit too bright and lacking the dynamic range expected. Is that possible, I mean it's a DAC... Its supposed to relay music like it's recorded. Now I have the Dragonfly Red as well and I find it more musical, Balanced and not as bright..and its a USB. I thought the SMSL SU-8 was the best DAC around under $500....and now I feel like selling it...i'm saddened.
 

digititus

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If the SU-8 is not overloading your amp, then it should always be at MAX. This is the only way to get bit perfect output. The volume should be controlled by the amp. That is the amps specific job. But I understand the convience of a remote. Thats why I like my SU-8 paired with the SH-8 so I can use the same remote to just control the amp.
Are you seriously suggesting that power amplifiers and active monitors are not getting an optimal output from the SU-8 by using the remote control / volume control of the DAC?
 

T.J. Turner

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Are you seriously suggesting that power amplifiers and active monitors are not getting an optimal output from the SU-8 by using the remote control / volume control of the DAC?

No, I was suggesting that when adjusting the gain on the dac that the output may no longer be bit perfect since its going to through some extra DSP. So leaving it at 0 db reference level or MAX is the best choice if possible.
 

Jimster480

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Call me crazy but I finally found the root cause of my problems...it was just some cable issues. But now that everything is workwlime it should... I find the SMSL SU-8 to be a bit too bright and lacking the dynamic range expected. Is that possible, I mean it's a DAC... Its supposed to relay music like it's recorded. Now I have the Dragonfly Red as well and I find it more musical, Balanced and not as bright..and its a USB. I thought the SMSL SU-8 was the best DAC around under $500....and now I feel like selling it...i'm saddened.
It's the crappy Magni 3.
The dragonfly red is a poor performer and it's delivering and amped signal to an amp.
Get rid of the terrible dragonfly product and your Magni 3 and get yourself something good.
 

Shoaibexpert

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Well seems like I'm the only one here not liking what I hear from the SU-8! Am returning mine tomorrow. I did try to listen to it directly as well as amped and in both instances I found the DAC to be too bright and lacking any feel or layering in music. It's just flat, slightly over bright signal coming from the DAC. I am using it in RCA mode and streaming via Tidal on Windows 10. Am I missing something? How do you guys compare it to other DACs as regards sound quality and feel? Maybe my unit has issues...coz I feel my trusty Dragonfly Red sounds richer than the SMSL SU-8! Any thoughts?
 
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