Review and Measurements of SMSL VMV D1 DAC

[Rusty Shackleford]

Would love to see the D3 reviewed here. Has SMSL sent a sample to @amirm?

 

[Max Payne]

are these SNR measurments at 50mv ?
or it's just the maximum SNR that this device can output ?

 

[fabien32]

Yeah, I can’t imagine what else they could have stuffed in there to command such a premium over the m400 which was already overpriced to begin with.

I don't know what they did but they are nothing a like. The sound on the D2 is the best I have ever heard on any dac. So it is very nice to talk theoretically, but in the real world, the D2 is much better than the D90' the M400, the D90se and the Denafrips Ares II by far(I own them and Love them all) maybe the R2R can compete.

Yeah, I can’t imagine what else they could have stuffed in there to command such a premium over the m400 which was already overpriced to begin with.

 

[misterdog]

Solid milled alloy chassis.

With dual linear PSU, one for analogue and one for digital.

PCB.

The SMSL M400 only used half the DAC chip I assume they are using all of it on this optimised version.

I have the M400 which sounds superb, this tempts me, though many will say that if two different DAC chips measure the same they will sound the same. Not in my opinion.

M400 PCB for comparison, including single channel SMPS.

 

[Jimster480]

Solid milled alloy chassis.

With dual linear PSU, one for analogue and one for digital.

PCB.

The SMSL M400 only used half the DAC chip I assume they are using all of it on this optimised version.

I have the M400 which sounds superb, this tempts me, though many will say that if two different DAC chips measure the same they will sound the same. Not in my opinion.

M400 PCB for comparison, including single channel SMPS.

I'm sure this version doesn't sound any different

 

[fabien32]

I'm sure this version doesn't sound any different

What makes you so sure?

 

[Jimster480]

What makes you so sure?

Have you seen the performance? Nothing at this tier sounds different.

 

[fabien32]

Have you seen the performance? Nothing at this tier sounds different.

And I thought that sound is something you hear....

 

[KimbaWLion]

I still have my D1 since around 2019. It still works, it still sounds great! Are there better, of course and the D1 has LONG been discontinued! But at what price for better sound and just a few more features.
I will upgrade at some point, but after all this time my SMSL VMV D1 works and is almost NEVER turned off! I am just not sure what I would by to replace it with.
I like the the D2 but time will tell, it may be discontinued by then! At least I am good for now! Something new is always coming out...

 

[Mat]

So I have one of these now and have noticed two quirks

1. The remote doesn't always work correctly. Sometimes button presses don't register (specifically volume) and other times they can even double-tap or go the reverse at random. It happens often enough that I need to be careful to go 1 step at a time and not just blindly hit buttons, because getting blasted with volume would suck. Is this common? Broken remote?

2. Speaking of getting blasted....Mute has something I've picked up on. I used some cheater cables to do XLR out to RCA on the amp I'm using this with. I noticed when I hit mute I get a rather loud 'pop' before it actually mutes. On RCA out there's a similar, though super quiet sound before going to mute as well I otherwise wouldn't have noticed. I get that XLR would have more voltage than RCA, but why is it making a loud pop? Similarly, while muted on XLR, if I switch inputs on my amp, I get the same loud(ish) noise, but only when the SMSL is muted (not the case when my source is muted or playing music or anything, everything is fine otherwise)

I felt XLR sounded slightly better but didnt want to sacrifice the mute button (or deal with that annoyance) so I switched back for now...

 

[KimbaWLion]

I was reading your above post and since I NEVER use the mute I never tried. I SOMETIMES get the pop you have described, but my remote always works.
I can switch between filters, I can use the volume, I can turn it off/on, switch sources etc. I use the USB input and output by XLR.
TBH I am not sure where I would go for a DAC. Eversolo seems to be the flavor of the month, I am NOT going to spend $1000s on DAC for diminishing returns.
As for now it works and still sounds great, as to what is a logical replacement, that remains to be seen...

 

[Mat]

I was reading your above post and since I NEVER use the mute I never tried. I SOMETIMES get the pop you have described, but my remote always works.
I can switch between filters, I can use the volume, I can turn it off/on, switch sources etc. I use the USB input and output by XLR.

the remote *works* but a press may not register maybe 1 in 10 times, found it wasnt just volume but just cycling Function sometimes I'd have to hit it again. The "doing the opposite" for volume is rarer but scares me a little.

TBH I am not sure where I would go for a DAC. Eversolo seems to be the flavor of the month, I am NOT going to spend $1000s on DAC for diminishing returns.
As for now it works and still sounds great, as to what is a logical replacement, that remains to be seen...

Hard for me to say since I just joined the VMV party and I really love it, especially with the Rich 2 mode on and Slow-min filter, I'm in a very comfy groove at the moment. Only stuff on my want list is in the $2-4k range, nothing sub 1000 is calling to me. I saw a review recently which put the new Geshelli dac ahead of one of the Eversolo DACs, and competitive with the Bifrost 2. I have a Bifrost 2 and think the VMV D1 may be better, so....

btw Did you notice any difference between XLR or RCA outputs?

 

[KimbaWLion]

the remote *works* but a press may not register maybe 1 in 10 times, found it wasnt just volume but just cycling Function sometimes I'd have to hit it again. The "doing the opposite" for volume is rarer but scares me a little.



Hard for me to say since I just joined the VMV party and I really love it, especially with the Rich 2 mode on and Slow-min filter, I'm in a very comfy groove at the moment. Only stuff on my want list is in the $2-4k range, nothing sub 1000 is calling to me. I saw a review recently which put the new Geshelli dac ahead of one of the Eversolo DACs, and competitive with the Bifrost 2. I have a Bifrost 2 and think the VMV D1 may be better, so....

btw Did you notice any difference between XLR or RCA outputs?

To be honest I have NEVER used the RCAs! I have been totally balanced since the start. My mind set? I a pretty sure balanced vs. single ended doesn't make much of any sound difference. I DO believe that XLR is a better connection etc. Hence that is how I always hook up. I am sorry I wasn't much help this time around!