SMSL D1 - ROHM DAC for everyone

[oleg87]

He posted his results you just don't like the measurement equipment he used - his ears and brain.
I get that many here prefer other equipment, but most people don't have that, or they don't care about it.

Not measurement equipment, and hence not objectively meaningful results.

 

[kazuviking]

Can anyone else confirm that the D1 distorts like crazy when used with a samsung galaxy via usb? At 0:59, 2:04 and at 4:05 with this song the vocals becomes super compressed and distorted. In Razormind at 1:49 and 3:39 when the beat drops it does the same compression. Tried two different samsung galaxies an A32 and a A52s 5g and the result is the exact same compression/distortion.

 

[conuss]

Here's a great, inexpensive power supply option for this DAC. Of course, you should re-solder the connector to USB Type-C or use an adapter.

MEAN WELL, CLASS I, GST18A05-P1J​

Stunningly 'audiophile' advice! Let’s ignore engineering common sense and buy the GST18A05-P1J just because it’s a chunky industrial brick. Who cares that it’s overkill with 3A for a DAC that barely sips 1A? And who cares about the DC barrel jack when the D1 is USB-powered?
The plan is truly 'genius': buy a generic PSU, hack off the connector, void the warranty, and spend the evening soldering a USB-C plug... for what exactly? To add more cable clutter and potential points of failure?
If your hobby is performing unnecessary surgery on power supplies to solve problems that don’t exist, go for it. I’ll stick with the NGE12E05-USB—it’s designed for the job, has plenty of headroom, and works out of the box without the 'heroic' DIY drama and the smell of burning flux.
Final touch: unless you can show me a SINAD improvement from your soldering job that justifies the mess, you're just adding noise to the forum, not the signal. Keep your soldering iron for something that's actually broken.

 

[antcollinet]

He posted his results you just don't like the measurement equipment he used - his ears and brain.

If you had a measurement device, that took a measurement, and then changed the results before it delivered them to you, you'd throw it out as not fit for purpose, wouldn't you?

 

[proud]

Stunningly 'audiophile' advice! Let’s ignore engineering common sense and buy the GST18A05-P1J just because it’s a chunky industrial brick. Who cares that it’s overkill with 3A for a DAC that barely sips 1A? And who cares about the DC barrel jack when the D1 is USB-powered?
The plan is truly 'genius': buy a generic PSU, hack off the connector, void the warranty, and spend the evening soldering a USB-C plug... for what exactly? To add more cable clutter and potential points of failure?
If your hobby is performing unnecessary surgery on power supplies to solve problems that don’t exist, go for it. I’ll stick with the NGE12E05-USB—it’s designed for the job, has plenty of headroom, and works out of the box without the 'heroic' DIY drama and the smell of burning flux.
Final touch: unless you can show me a SINAD improvement from your soldering job that justifies the mess, you're just adding noise to the forum, not the signal. Keep your soldering iron for something that's actually broken.

Why so much fuss about nothing?..
I just hate power supplies like warts and am pleased with the results I heard. Also I'm one of many for whom 5 minutes with a soldering iron is not a problem.

 

[tccalvin]

no one is saying to anyone they didn't hear what they heard.

Some people actually say it. As in "you didn't hear it, but you think you've heard it". Weird stuff. I guess it depends on how you conceptualize things.

Personally, I tend to believe in self-reported experiences. But subjective experiences do not need to correlate with objective reality (and they often don't).

Here's a great, inexpensive power supply option for this DAC. Of course, you should re-solder the connector to USB Type-C or use an adapter.

Any 5V (1A or more) USB PSU will do.

 

[antcollinet]

repeating this ad infinitum is borderline insanity. People who hear a difference will NEVER believe you.

You'd be surprised. There are many people here who were previously lost in the fog of audiophile nonsense, who have since coming here, realised how lost they were.

And we all hear differences between equipment. Hell I hear differences from day to day or hour to hour in the setup I have - when I know nothing has changed. The difference, is that I know what I perceive as the sound can be impacted by my mood, my health, whether or not I am comfortable, level of stress, what I've imbibed - or of course, what gear I know I am listening to - or any other of countless things that can influence it. Just as it can for every other human: it is how we are built.


The confounding effect of human perceptive bias is an established scientific fact - which is why blind testing exists in all areas of science (including eg medicine) where human perception forms part of what is studied.

 

[proud]

Any 5V (1A or more) USB PSU will do

You forgot to add: with strict requirements for the level of pulsation and HF noise.

Hell I hear differences from day to day or hour to hour in the setup I have - when I know nothing has changed.

Now I'm comparing the sound of four DACs. Two of them use a chip from Burr-Brown, and the other two use a chip from ROHM. One of them is SMSL D1. I don’t make any technical measurements, just a subjective assessment of the sound. I'll definitely share the results later in this topic.

 

[antcollinet]

I'll definitely share the results later in this topic.

Why? - your (or anyone else's) purely subjective impressions that probably wont transfer to any other individual - are not of much use on a forum where we are more interested in objective reality.

What will your subjective evaluation of those four DACs tell us about their actual performance?

 

[Bleib]

The main problem as always is to get the exact same level of output from all sources, and since that's so difficult people tend to prefer the one that plays the loudest

 

[proud]

Why? - your (or anyone else's) purely subjective impressions that probably wont transfer to any other individual - are not of much use on a forum where we are more interested in objective reality.

Excuse me, but I only have one question for you: are you making decisions for everyone?
Perhaps someone would be interested in my opinion on SMSL D1, especially given that more attention will be paid to technical solutions?

The main problem as always is to get the exact same level of output from all sources, and since that's so difficult people tend to prefer the one that plays the loudest

Believe me, it's not that important. I need some more time to study some of the nuances.

 

[antcollinet]

Believe me, it's not that important.

It is one of the most important aspects of comparing audio gear using human hearing (equally important to blinding the tests). Small level differences that we don't hear as a volume difference can still alter our perception of tonality - due to the inherent equal loudness curves our hearing is subject to.

The fact that you are apparently unaware of this is just another reason that your evaluation will be meaningless for informing anyone else about the DACs you are evaluating.

 

[proud]

...you are apparently unaware...

I respect your opinion, but listening to others makes humanity smarter.

Let's take a break for a few days, and then you'll have a wonderful opportunity to tell me how wrong I am.

Thanks in advance for your understanding..)

 

[Svend P]

I respect your opinion, but listening to others makes humanity smarter.

Let's take a break for a few days, and then you'll have a wonderful opportunity to tell me how wrong I am.

Thanks in advance for your understanding..)

Message to golden-eared audiophiles posting at ASR for the first time...

Hello friend. Hey, listen...we know how it is. Believe me, most of us have been there too. You've spent years toiling in the muck of audiophilia. You read ALL the reviews. You watched ALL the youtube videos. You visited ALL the other forums where everything always makes a difference. You...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[tccalvin]

You forgot to add: with strict requirements for the level of pulsation and HF noise.

Uhh... no, literally any working PSU will do. The DAC will take care of the filtering of unwanted noise.

I'm saying this for people who are interested in purchasing this product. If the DAC is engineered correctly, USB power won't be an issue.

 

[kazuviking]

Uhh... no, literally any working PSU will do. The DAC will take care of the filtering of unwanted noise.

The D1 have multiple linear regualtors so its doesn't give an F about psu quality.

 

[JSmith]

how wrong I am

No one is saying you're wrong and that you don't hear what you hear... members are trying to help and show that the cause or reasons for this are likely not due to the DAC. No need to take it as some kind of challenge or personal affront.


JSmith

 

[antcollinet]

I respect your opinion,

I'm not sure you do.

listening to others makes humanity smarter.

Indeed. That is exactly what happened when I first came here and started to unlearn some of my misapprehensions about audio gear, and the capabilities of the human auditory system. Humanity became infinitesimally smarter.

Let's take a break for a few days

Fine - but first let me remind you that it was you replying to one of my posts with a seemingly unrelated description of your purely subjective evaluation of four un-named DACs, that started our little interaction.

then you'll have a wonderful opportunity to tell me how wrong I am.

I'm not totally sure it will be worth my effort.

 

[proud]

Dear science-based community, could you be so kind as to provide me with a link to a description of what you consider to be the most correct process for setting equal loudness levels for a blind test?..

 

[proud]

Dear science-based community, could you be so kind as to provide me with a link to a description of what you consider to be the most correct process for setting equal loudness levels for a blind test?..

.................??