SMSL D1 - ROHM DAC for everyone

[amanieux]

Here is my 5 cents about this device.
I have been using two different CS41131 based dongles (Moondrop Dawn Pro and the TRN Black Pearl ) to drive my desktop analog Class A headphone amplifier into Audio Technica ATH-R70Xa. I used 3.5mm TRS to RCA cables.
Both dongles had a digital hash/ground loop issues in this setup. The TRN was better than the Moondrop by a few dB. It was not a very prominent noise, but it was audible with higher volumes. So I decided to get a DAC with a separate power supply and hopefully get rid of the ground loop and digital switching noise.
This little DAC came up in the search and I found it for $71.00 on Amazon so I grabbed it.
Today I tied into my system using a dedicated USB power supply (not using the computer for power) and optical SPDIF signal from an RME audio interface.

First of all it's dead quiet. I can turn the volume on the headphone amp to the max and I can't hear any hiss. So that's a win right there.
Second, the first impression is that the sound has a different character than the dongles. Whereas the CS41131 DAC has this top end detail and clarity to it, the Rohm DAC seems to be a touch softer in the treble and the low mids and bass are more distinct. Not louder, but different. Overall a very pleasant sound.
It's just the first listening impression, but in this short experience I definitely like what I hear. This little DAC is a keeper.

to separate ground loop from digital harshness, have tried unplugging your music source from the ac plug ( laptop or phone running from it's battery while doing the test)

 

[JanL]

have you tried stopping a 90% volume on your dongle dacs to lower the noise floor from the dongle dac itself ? thd+n goes up between 90% and 100% volume as you can see below

It's not distortion that was the problem. They would make audible hash/switching noise when no music was playing. Typical dirty ground loop problem. And I didn't want to lift the electrical ground on the amplifier because it's a safety issue. It would most likely reduce the hash dramatically, but not kill it totally.

 

[JanL]

to separate ground loop from digital harshness, have tried unplugging your music source from the ac plug ( laptop or phone running from it's battery while doing the test)

No, but what's the point? I can't have the system operate on battery for more than a few hours at a time, so it would not be a good solution other than confirmation of the existence of ground loops. I could have lifted the electrical ground on the amplifier side and it would have helped, but that's not a safe long term solution either.

 

[JanL]

... and how did you arrive at this conclusion?


JSmith

The clue is in the word "impression". It's an important part of what makes us what we are. One could argue that we are listening to music mainly for that one reason.

 

[JSmith]

One could argue that we are listening to music

Exactly... listen to the music, instead of trying to find differences between DAC's without any fast switching or level matching. We don't listen to DAC's and only potentially hear differences when very poor or fundamentally broken... they don't have a "sound", it's just a DAC.


JSmith

 

[anonyless]

Exactly... listen to the music, instead of trying to find differences between DAC's without any fast switching or level matching. We don't listen to DAC's and only potentially hear differences when very poor or fundamentally broken... they don't have a "sound", it's just a DAC.


JSmith

he bought an (not very expensive) audio equipment that solved a problem for him, and on the way , finds it to sound better according to his ears/brain. why are you having hard time with it? call it listening bias or whatever, sometimes new hardware makes us happy
oh and spare me the upcoming AudioFeelingsrReview.com joke

 

[JSmith]

why are you having hard time with it?

Those types of comments just perpetuate myths about audio, nothing personal.


JSmith

 

[conuss]

Those types of comments just perpetuate myths about audio, nothing personal.


JSmith

So, if a device simply has a codec and works perfectly, then for YOU it is equivalent to the sound quality of the best measured DAC?..

 

[Svend P]

So, if a device simply has a codec and works perfectly, then for YOU it is equivalent to the sound quality of the best measured DAC?..

Pssst!

How can DAC's have a SOUND SIGNATURE if they measure as transparent?

I know there are people out there that think cables affect sound, which is much worse, but there really is no response to something like that, but just to smile and nod. But what about people who talk about DACS as if they were headphone drivers or speakers, and talk about the SOUNDSTAGE...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[JanL]

DACs have a sound that varies from model to model. Ask anyone who has been involved in music production over the last 30 years or so. Even the old first generation 20 18 bit ADAT and Digidesign converters measured better than the theoretical 16 bit converters, but they were pretty bad sounding. Over the years companies like Apogee, Avid, Yamaha, Lynx, dCS, Tascam, Alesis, Radar, and bunch of others have constantly worked on better sounding products, used newer and better DAC chips by companies like AKM, Burr Brown, Analog Devices, Philips, Sony, Cirrus Logic and things did audibly improve. All those improvements would probably be classified by the gatekeepers on this board as below the threshold of human perception, but they did make a difference to the people who used them for living.

Personally I started out on the first gen Akai hard disk recorders in the early 90's, then had a 24 track ADAT studio that went from the original black face models to the second gen models. Then I went to work for one of the biggest sound reinforcement and AV integrations companies and had my hands and ears on a ton of digital gear including DSP processors, digital consoles and other digital AV gear. It's not hard to tell the original Yamaha M7 mixer from a more modern Yamaha digital mixer or a DiGiCo mixer from a Studer or SSL product. Same for the older DSP processors and the newer ones. The quality of AD and DA converters is not hard to discern with no processing applied.

 

[conuss]

JSmith
You should acquire the appropriate meaning and approach the phenomenon of sound as an assessment of auditory sensations, the organization of which is built with varying degrees of emotional involvement, including levels of technical and aesthetic sound-path equipment.

 

[kazuviking]

can anyone confirm which opamps are used in D1?

Your bog standard OPA1612 and OPA1611 i think. I highly doubt its NE5532/34 as it requires some crazy feedback and layout to achieve this kind of distortion.

 

[Roland68]

Your bog standard OPA1612 and OPA1611 i think. I highly doubt its NE5532/34 as it requires some crazy feedback and layout to achieve this kind of distortion.

I would assume they're NE5532s or something cheaper, since it's ROHM's standard layout based on the NE5532, and the measured values are in the same range as the evaluation board.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have ground down the op amps.
It could even be an op amp that's not from the usual audio range.

 

[conuss]

I would assume they're NE5532s or something cheaper, since it's ROHM's standard layout based on the NE5532, and the measured values are in the same range as the evaluation board.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have ground down the op amps.
It could even be an op amp that's not from the usual audio range.

And in what cases do they erase the markings on operational amplifiers? Does this happen anywhere else, except among Chinese high-tech swindlers?..

 

[Roland68]

And in what cases do they erase the markings on operational amplifiers? Does this happen anywhere else, except among Chinese high-tech swindlers?..

Why do you speak of high-tech fraudsters? That would also apply to many American and European manufacturers, not just those in the audio industry.
In most cases, it's simply a matter of no one knowing which components are being used, partly to secure competitive advantages and knowledge. This was already done over 40 years ago, for example, with logic ICs or memory chips. Nothing new and nothing wrong.

 

[kazuviking]

Otherwise, they wouldn't have ground down the op amps.

SMSL usually grinds down most of their opamps so it can be anything really. In the D1 its more like a tape and not grinded down. NVM its grinded down.

Got the idea of cutting off and desoldering the coax rca and adding a 4.4mm pentaconn for balanced out. Looked in the datasheet and its super easy to wire it in since SMSL followed the example circuit.

 

[conuss]

Why do you speak of high-tech fraudsters? That would also apply to many American and European manufacturers, not just those in the audio industry.
In most cases, it's simply a matter of no one knowing which components are being used, partly to secure competitive advantages and knowledge. This was already done over 40 years ago, for example, with logic ICs or memory chips. Nothing new and nothing wrong.

"'High-tech' here turned out to be merely a translation difficulty. Of course, this refers to cases in the everyday Chinese audio industry, rather than in rocket and space technology.
And yet, does something similar occur in comparable branded products from American and European manufacturers?

 

[Svend P]

DACs have a sound that varies from model to model.

This is what reviewers tells you a DAC does:

This is how they all meassure

 

[sabih]

Ne5532 is actually an excellent opamp.
I could be more than happy if smsl uses original ne5532 and not some cheap jrc ones that are very common in Japanese mass market equipment.

 

[conuss]

Ne5532 is actually an excellent opamp.
I could be more than happy if smsl uses original ne5532 and not some cheap jrc ones that are very common in Japanese mass market equipment.

Meanwhile, THIS Chinese manufacturer is experiencing true happiness, allowing itself to openly and defiantly lead the hopeful user by the nose.