S.M.S.L RAW-MDA1

[Dawsoo]

SMSL released a new piece that might be interesting, what do you think? The manufacturer's measurement looks excellent, it will be interesting to compare it with the DAC Topping D50III, DX-5 and the Topping E50+L50 combination.

S.M.S.L RAW-MDA1 ES9039Q2M Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC)

shenzhenaudio.com: professional headphone, earphone, amplifier, dac, decoder, hifi player, cable supermarket. you will find good price here.

shenzhenaudio.com

 

[TonyJZX]

another new box

i like it - i mean for $280 you're getting a lot of 'added QoL feature' frills - the color display

but i wonder how people would classify this is a HP amp FIRST and a dac 2nd?

the other one like this, the DL200 is the same chipset but at $200 its not a DAC, HP amp 2nd????

its just how people would look at it

also the new DL100 if you can take CS over ESS

 

[Dawsoo]

The DAC part is rather similar to the DO100Pro with two ES9039Q2M. The DL200 has only one and is rather closer to D6S. So it seems to me that RAW-MDA1 takes the better combinations of both variations at a still good price.

 

[mc.god]

Still 3 advertising pictures full of mqa chatter...

 

[Mikig]

I think they need to stop and reflect. Where they want to go?
What's the point in continuing to churn out a DAC every month with the same characteristics, with one more or less output or input and with different boxes?
They no longer have a clear line.

VMV is visually better than the rest of the range, then measures less well than the rest of the cheaper range.
Then there are the D, SU, DO, DL, M, DS, C series. All practically identical and within twenty dollars/euros of each other.

On the other hand, it lacks:

a good, well-made line preamplifier,
a phono preamplifier,
a HT preamplifier,
a stereo or mono power amp
a top-notch streamer.

Actually, I'm having a hard time understanding SMSL…

 

[kemmler3D]

5 digital input isn't bad, but other than that I tend to agree, the world is full of DACs like this one, how can it really make a splash?

 

[TonyJZX]

i'm guessing its still a China market thing

they can flood the people with boxes every few months that effectively do the same thing... to us we ask "what's new? what's the drawcard?"

and it seems its all the same shit

sure we know it will measure well but it seems like they have hundreds of millions of potential customers in china who will keep buying this... but its like... we already have great cheap dac and combo HP boxes that are audibly transparent... why do we need more?

 

[VintageFlanker]

SMSL released a new piece that might be interesting, what do you think?

Appart from the (unusual) presence of 4 S/PDIF inputs, this is just another DAC in the S.M.S.L line, like these seem to be launched every couple of weeks...

it will measure well but it seems like they have hundreds of millions of potential customers in china who will keep buying this

They certainly aren't "hundreds of millions" of potential customers for a DAC like this in any country whatsoever, nor in the entire universe.

 

[kemmler3D]

sure we know it will measure well but it seems like they have hundreds of millions of potential customers in china who will keep buying this...

China has 1.4B people, if 1% of them are interested enough in audio to buy a DAC at all, they have 140m POTENTIAL customers, but somehow this seems high to me. It is probably closer to 1/10 of that.

 

[Dawsoo]

Gentlemen, thanks for response and observations, with the fact that SMSL is somewhat extreme with the absurdly wide portfolio of products I fully agree, so I prefer topping, but this piece came to me with an interesting few things or rather a combination:

1. Dual ES9039QM
2. Multiple Digital Inputs
3. Full size XLR + Headphone Output
4. PSU onboard
5. Nice Display and the related to the clearer menu

For me it is such a combination of everything I would like in one box and without unnecessary things. I do not like the DL-200 series, it is more like a D6S with a headphone output and the do-100Pro series is unavailable outside Aoshida. As an alternative, I have ordered and I want to try and compare directly against me miniature topping D50III, where I do not suit micro size, miserable display, jacks instead of XLR and power supply via USB-C.

 

[restorer-john]

SMSL released a new piece that might be interesting, what do you think? The manufacturer's measurement looks excellent, it will be interesting to compare it with the DAC Topping D50III, DX-5 and the Topping E50+L50 combination.

S.M.S.L RAW-MDA1 ES9039Q2M Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC)

shenzhenaudio.com: professional headphone, earphone, amplifier, dac, decoder, hifi player, cable supermarket. you will find good price here.

shenzhenaudio.com

I like the look of it. Sensible front panel design, decent number of inputs and outputs. Not expensive either.

Is the front panel/knob metal or plastic?

 

[doalt]

sure we know it will measure well but it seems like they have hundreds of millions of potential customers in china who will keep buying this

Based on what I see as an end user, that doesn't seem to be the case. They have less exposure in new and used audio markets than some long-established brands such as Fiio.

But maybe that's the reason. They iterate with every chip/chasiss combination to stay relevant.

 

[TonyJZX]

smsl is one of the biggest players out there, also with the vmv offshoot

I find it hard to believe Fiio, which tends to specialise with headphone gear is that big?

BUT I guess perhaps personal audio could be a bigger deal than the trad home setups?

 

[doalt]

smsl is one of the biggest players out there, also with the vmv offshoot

Maybe it depends on the market. I was talking about China specifically. When searching for these brands in a top e-commerce site jd.com, we can see Fiio sells a lot more than SMSL.
Note: these numbers like 15条评价 refer to customer reviews, but they should be close to sale numbers as most brands incentivize people to leave reviews.

I find it hard to believe Fiio, which tends to specialise with headphone gear is that big?

Fiio started with mobile audio equipment (DAC/DAP) over 15 years ago and extended to desktop DAC etc. It's true that it doesn't have speaker amps yet but its DAC/headphone amps like K5, K7, K9 should beat SMSL in sales, at least in China.

You are right that personal audio sells a lot more than home audio. That's just a fact.

 

[SiR]

Hope Amir reviews it soon, so that I can get this based on his suggestion

Hardly to find a DAC with TWO Coaxial and Optical input these days and this is one of the feature looking for

BTW, what is that RAW - MDA1 mean here ??!!

 

[VintageFlanker]

Hope Amir reviews it soon, so that I can get this based on his suggestion

Literally zero suspense here. It will perform exactly according to the measurements published (only difference is S.M.S.L usually displays SINAD and A-Weighted. But I see that they now also tell their SINAD without Weighting).


I have to say that Topping and S.M.S.L products are now the least existing DUTs to review/measure. Mostly because they did their job correctly regarding specsmanship.

 

[SiR]

Literally zero suspense here. It will perform exactly according to the measurements published (only difference is S.M.S.L usually displays SINAD and A-Weighted. But I see that they now also tell their SINAD without Weighting).
View attachment 374743

I have to say that Topping and S.M.S.L products are now the least existing DUTs to review/measure. Mostly because they did their job correctly regarding specsmanship.

U r right but when the confirmation comes from Amir / You, its seen an authentic, reliable, trustworthy............. & what not ?

 

[staticV3]

U r right but when the confirmation comes from Amir / You, its seen an authentic, reliable, trustworthy............. & what not ?

Why not make your own purchasing decisions based on the data provided?

Amir's or VintageFlanker's subjective opinion will not change the performance of the device under test.

 

[morillon]

these brands share the same protocols, measuring devices... know that will be remeasured... and it is their commercial-marketing lines... "their markets"..

so yes, there is little point in remeasuring... unless it enriches new protocols for original and...relevant things
;-)

 

[JSmith]

Hope Amir reviews it soon, so that I can get this based on his suggestion

It doesn't seem SMSL are sending current units to Amir... either that or they're on "the shelf", but I'd say SMSL stopped.

You could buy one and ship it to Amir for confirmation testing, if you're worried SMSL's measurements are not up to scratch?


JSmith