This is a review, listening test and detailed measurements of the SMSL D12 stereo USB DAC with Bluetooth support. It was sent to me by the company and is selling for US $126.
The D12 deviates from typical SMSL DAC by using a 7 segment display. It is white and get hyper bright (there are many levels of brightness to choose from). A remote is provided as well which makes navigation surprisingly easy despite use of such a display. It is clear that company wanted to reducing the cost as much as possible by only allowing USB and Bluetooth inputs:
Which is fine by me as most people don't need S/PDIF and those who do can well, spend more money and get a higher up model.
USB class type switch is there I believe to allow compatibility with game consoles. Power is provided through USB-C for that input. Or an external USB power for exclusive Bluetooth support (not provided).
If you are not familiar with DAC measurements, here is a video to get you started.
SMSL D12 DAC Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard (max output was 2.2 volts so I reduced the volume by 1 dB):
Distortion is incredibly low at -130 dB so SINAD is determined by noise alone:
Our stand alone noise measurement shows what I already mentioned:
Multitone is excellent:
Jitter and linearity however are not up to usual SMSL standards:
IMD distortion is very good but wished that it was a tad better to match our higher performance reference:
We have the usual AKM filter set:
AKM DAC used here seems to have a bit more out of band noise than its competitor:
SMSL D12 Headphone Measurements
Power delivery is modest but sports very low noise and distortion:
There is no noise penalty for high gain so might as well use that all the time seeing how the volume control is digital (and hence no channel imbalance).
Because there is no true low noise mode, at 50 mv, while performance is above average, it can't compete with top of the line products:
SMSL D12 Listening Tests
I was pleasantly surprised by the ability of the D12 to drive both my difficult Dan Clark Stealth and Sennheiser HD650. On both headphones I could get to above average loudness levels. I can only imagine that the peak power available is more than the average I measured. Overall fidelity was excellent with no hint of distortion at even maximum volume. I could not find anything to complain about.
Conclusions
Getting a combination DAC and headphone down to $125 price is not easy these days. SMSL delivers a good package here. Yes, it doesn't have the stellar performance of other SMSL products but the D12 still managed to literally beat hundreds of DAC as far as noise and distortion. Measured headphone power is modest but subjectively there is enough drive for most headphones for average to somewhat higher than average playback levels.
I am going to recommend the SMSL D12.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The D12 deviates from typical SMSL DAC by using a 7 segment display. It is white and get hyper bright (there are many levels of brightness to choose from). A remote is provided as well which makes navigation surprisingly easy despite use of such a display. It is clear that company wanted to reducing the cost as much as possible by only allowing USB and Bluetooth inputs:
Which is fine by me as most people don't need S/PDIF and those who do can well, spend more money and get a higher up model.
USB class type switch is there I believe to allow compatibility with game consoles. Power is provided through USB-C for that input. Or an external USB power for exclusive Bluetooth support (not provided).If you are not familiar with DAC measurements, here is a video to get you started.
SMSL D12 DAC Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard (max output was 2.2 volts so I reduced the volume by 1 dB):
Distortion is incredibly low at -130 dB so SINAD is determined by noise alone:
Our stand alone noise measurement shows what I already mentioned:
Multitone is excellent:
Jitter and linearity however are not up to usual SMSL standards:
IMD distortion is very good but wished that it was a tad better to match our higher performance reference:
We have the usual AKM filter set:
AKM DAC used here seems to have a bit more out of band noise than its competitor:
SMSL D12 Headphone Measurements
Power delivery is modest but sports very low noise and distortion:
There is no noise penalty for high gain so might as well use that all the time seeing how the volume control is digital (and hence no channel imbalance).
Because there is no true low noise mode, at 50 mv, while performance is above average, it can't compete with top of the line products:
SMSL D12 Listening Tests
I was pleasantly surprised by the ability of the D12 to drive both my difficult Dan Clark Stealth and Sennheiser HD650. On both headphones I could get to above average loudness levels. I can only imagine that the peak power available is more than the average I measured. Overall fidelity was excellent with no hint of distortion at even maximum volume. I could not find anything to complain about.
Conclusions
Getting a combination DAC and headphone down to $125 price is not easy these days. SMSL delivers a good package here. Yes, it doesn't have the stellar performance of other SMSL products but the D12 still managed to literally beat hundreds of DAC as far as noise and distortion. Measured headphone power is modest but subjectively there is enough drive for most headphones for average to somewhat higher than average playback levels.
I am going to recommend the SMSL D12.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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