SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

[Jim Anderson]

I have been an Apple user since 1988 - it works perfectly here without any problems.

It is great that you have been using Apples for ever, but D6s is been on sale for only several month... It may work fine for others, maybe mine is defective. The scam is the complete lack of post sale support. It is not even a bargain, for less $ one can get a Schiit that has a true warranty...

 

[Esprit]

In Europe the two-year warranty is given directly by the seller.
I don't know where you live but yours is an unjustified attack on a manufacturer who here on the forum demonstrates that he produces valid products at the right price.

 

[nanook]

It is not even a bargain, for less $ one can get a Schiit that has a true warranty...

Esprit is right - in Europe it is the seller who has to take care of warranty. Since you ordered at Apos-Audio, you're probably located in the US?
Things might be different over there.

SMSL develops and produces the unit for one or several of their sales channels. It is not fair to "flame" them - and for sure not in this forum.

Last-not-least: If you're in favor of a Schiit, you should have gone for it.

 

[Karlser]

The scam is the complete lack of post sale support. It is not even a bargain, for less $ one can get a Schiit that has a true warranty...

I've gotten great support by Smsl and other Chinese sellers and manufacturers.

Schiit might be a viable choice if you live in the US, and don't mind their often outdated tech and limited features, at barely competitive prices.
Outside of the US, or at least in Europe, Schiit is far too expensive for what they have to offer.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

Doesn't have delta sigma modulator time behavior too? Is that an ideal circuit without introducing any distortion? And the D/A stage and analog stage behind DAC? Is that an ideal circuit? I pointed to that the D/A stage behind modulator is mostly responsible for the chip output quality, since DR and SNR numbers of digital content are reduced just here. You are restricting everything, what can affect sound, to a part of digital processing within a DAC chip and particularly to something specific what is made to be adjustable. That's too simplified view. Read once again what I wrote.

Hmm…we've discussed frequency response, time-domain behavior, and now we're back to talking about distortion. We already know from Amir's published measurements that distortion products from the D-6s are well below the threshold of hearing at around -140 dB. Time-domain behavior

 

[nanook]

You are restricting everything, what can affect sound, to a part of digital processing within a DAC chip and particularly to something specific what is made to be adjustable.

Bogi, I still don't get what your point is.

Of course the Delta-Sigma-Modulator does have a "timing". First of all this is a delay depending on the sampling rate, the OS-ratio and the order of the modulator.
BUT: All of this is comprised in the final measurement results as I tried to point out in my reply #520.

When talking about level dependency of distortion. I pointed out that speakers can exhibit significant distortion depending on the signal level - they are complex magnetic and mechanical devices and they even exhibit some "fading" when driven at really high levels such that the voice coil heats up and the current (and thus force) fades because the amplifier drives a constant voltage; this is known as thermal compression. Another interesting thing is the homegenity of the magnetic field in the gap and the overlap with the voice coil, not to mention the nonlinearity of the suspension ... Honestly, I'm impressd again and again, that that works out so well ;-)
BUT: In basically all of the measurements of DACs that I have seen, distortion figures drop when the level is reduced until the harmonics vanish in the noise floor.
AND: We are not very susceptible to harmonic distortion as long as the order of these harmonics is low.
Last-not-least: Our ear exhibits a lot of distortion itself, so I'd bet -80dB distortion is not audible if the harmonics are low order. For these modern DACs we'e talking about -100 dB and more.

 

[Jim Anderson]

Esprit is right - in Europe it is the seller who has to take care of warranty. Since you ordered at Apos-Audio, you're probably located in the US?
Things might be different over there.

SMSL develops and produces the unit for one or several of their sales channels. It is not fair to "flame" them - and for sure not in this forum.

Last-not-least: If you're in favor of a Schiit, you should have gone for it.

In Europe the two-year warranty is given directly by the seller.
I don't know where you live but yours is an unjustified attack on a manufacturer who here on the forum demonstrates that he produces valid products at the right price.

Gee, tough crowd...I thought that I'll do this community a service telling my sad story. I live in US and this level of post service support is unheard of for a decent manufacturer... I contacted SMSL also, got a short answer "Kindly contact with SHENZHEN audio support team", so once I did that they referred me back to Apos....as for the price, what is the wright one if one is shipped defective and there is no warranty ?

 

[PyramidElectric]

You have my sympathy @Jim Anderson - it must be beyond frustrating. I personally think that no matter where you are, and no matter what the local laws are on this, the retailer has a moral duty to fix/replace any product they ship that is non functional. Aside from it being the right thing to do, it's just a better long term business strategy. Are you able to claw the money back via Credit card company/Paypal?

 

[jackdanyal]

Apart from the odd display top standing proud of the top cover, this little box looks to be end game for most of us really if a dac is all that's needed.

with every new dac from topping, smsl, etc. I read and hear, that the new DAC/amp/etc. It should be the end game. but still, people buy every new device just because the new one has a little bit of different specs, considering that 99% of buyers and even reviewers don't hear any differences between them the audiophile world went crazy tbh

 

[staticV3]

with every new dac from topping, smsl, etc. I read and hear, that the new DAC/amp/etc. It should be the end game. but still, people buy every new device just because the new one has a little bit of different specs, considering that 99% of buyers and even reviewers don't hear any differences between them the audiophile world went crazy tbh

I seriously doubt that many people on ASR are replacing their 120dB SINAD DAC with a 123dB SINAD DAC or whatever.

If they are, then they've clearly not been on here for very long.

 

[jackdanyal]

I seriously doubt that many people on ASR are replacing their 120dB SINAD DAC with a 123dB SINAD DAC or whatever.

If they are, then they've clearly not been on here for very long.

then I don't understand who buys all those DAC/amps if every year topping/smsl produces 5-6 new models with very little difference in specs. they just stamping the same thing but in different enclosures. I would say if the design was great with every new product, but they are literally all the same black/gray/silver boxes.

 

[DSJR]

with every new dac from topping, smsl, etc. I read and hear, that the new DAC/amp/etc. It should be the end game. but still, people buy every new device just because the new one has a little bit of different specs, considering that 99% of buyers and even reviewers don't hear any differences between them the audiophile world went crazy tbh

I think some here have plenty of income for little boxes like this and will buy them regardless, all but building a small collection unless they sell them off each time. I mean, if I have it right, most of the dacs tested in the sinad list and including some in the bottom of the list, are arguably audibly transparent pretty much, at least to red book 16/41 sources.

Having said the above, I think it's great that such hard work has been and still is ongoing, to make dacs totally a commodity nowadays - fit and forget, or show off depending on taste and/or budget. There will always be an market for contrived overpriced confections that may well offer a 'nice tone' or 'nice appearance' (the two are inextricably linked to subjectivist audio people) to justify their OTT spending but these people don't like sites like this one and often seek to discredit those looking to the best performance for not much money I think.

 

[wavetrade]

After signing up here I was playing into the smsl/topping game and did buy way too many of them. But I am learning and moving into the "they all sound the same" camp. When I hook them up to a multi input setup and match levels, I do still hear slight differences in all of them. It is akin to changing filters. But there is no way I would correctly identify any of them in a blind test. It all started with the SU-1 then moving to D-6, E50, DL200, DO100, D-6s, E70V and DO300. I was already questioning myself but then added a RME ADI-2 to the group. At that point it hit me that the inexpensive chinese dacs were not really the bargain I thought they were. I could of bought another RME with the money I spent experimenting. Until SMSL/Topping add something that is actually new, like DSP or sub crossover, climbing up their model lines is a waste. The D-6s and DO300 sound very much the same, level matched, in a quick A/B test.

 

[nanook]

the audiophile world went crazy tbh

I think this holds true for quite a while already - I entered this game almost 45 years ago, we spent hours comparing cables, amplifiers, CD players - and even tape decks back then.
There was a lot of subjectivism involved, I'm convinced ..
I gained reasonable distance to this over the years and I'm happy that now I can just enjoy music and relax instead of listening to a single passage of music over and over again fully concentrated.
I even think that the community has been shrinking heavily - the young folks wants music - always, everywhere, convenient - sound quality is second.

I bought this DAC because I wanted Bluetooth capability and I wanted to banish thoughts like "maybe with a better DAC the music might sound more involving".

The D-6s likely will my last DAC, but of course, the setup in the other room might "need" BT or a nicer DAC to keep up with the SOTA headphone amp...

Guys, we are really lucky, that abundant performance is available for relatively small money thanks to SMSL, Topping, etc.
And thanks to @amirm for providing benchmarks through top notch measurement gear and standardized measurement procedures.

 

[Masher]

I just got the D6S to replace my 10+ years old NAD M51 dac. I am very happy with its performance and that i paid only slightly over 1/10 of the price i paid previously. Many thanks to Amirm and all for your feedbacks!

 

[Toku]

I'm looking for a manual for the D-6s, but I can't find it on SMSL or the Shenzhen Audio download site.
Does anyone know where to download it?

 

[svosprey]

I'm looking for a manual for the D-6s, but I can't find it on SMSL or the Shenzhen Audio download site.
Does anyone know where to download it?

Use the D-6 manual. It describes the various filters etc.

 

[Masher]

This is based on the hard copy of the D6S manual

 

[jeenam]

It's mind numbing that folks would purchase one of these Chinese DAC's without using a credit card. If the hardware you purchased is defective and the manufacturer will not take it back or honor the warranty, then simply call your credit card company and request a 'chargeback'. Problem solved.

I had been using the RME ADI-2 FS DAC v3 (ESS) that is in storage along with my main rig and need a temporary solution to act as a source for active speakers. Source will be Wiim Mini. Hopefully the D-6S sounds great with the setup. I'll report back on sound quality in a few weeks once all the components have arrived.

 

[ADoIDo]

I hate to be that guy. Any better value out there if I DON'T need bluetooth, volume knob, remote control? The lxr connection is nice to have. Thanks