SMSL D300 Review (Balanced DAC)

[Anigma]

Did you do 1.21 -> 1.1 -> 1.0 or directly (in one step) 1.21 -> 1.0 ?

1.21-->1.1-->1.0, then in different combinations
The sound disappeared immediately 1.21-->1.1

 

[bogi]

The problem is that the new versions of the D300 from 1.21 have something that is incompatible with the old firmware. v1adpetrov2 originally had the D300 with firmware 1.0

You probably mean that the new versions of the D300 from 1.21 differ not only in firmware but also in hardware what makes them incompatible with the old firmware.
That would explain different yours and v1adpetrov2's experience.

 

[Anigma]

You probably mean that the new versions of the D300 from 1.21 differ not only in firmware but also in hardware what makes them incompatible with the old firmware.

Yes, that's right. I just want to add that normal manufacturers, when releasing various firmware, warn that rolling back from such and such a version is impossible, but here...

 

[bogi]

Who originally had version 1.0 and they upgraded it to 1.1 and then rolled it back to 1.0, there are NO problems!

v1adpetrov2 originally had the D300 with firmware 1.0

But v1adpetrov2 bricked his device ... still confusing. Then it looks 1.1 bricked some older devices and succeeded on others.

The question is if these two groups of older devices (bricked and successfully updated to 1.1) had exactly the same hardware, or some hardware change was done yet before SMSL started to ship devices with 1.21.

 

[v1adpetrov2]

Yes, I have a first-generation D300, on which the MCU firmware 1v0, 1v1 and 1v11 were tested.
How it will behave if I install the firmware of the MCU 1v21 is unknown...

 

[bogi]

Mine shows:

How can I find my MCU version?

 

[v1adpetrov2]

Mine shows:

View attachment 330739

How can I find my MCU version?

You have the firmware version 1v0.
The display of the firmware version number was added only starting from 1v1.

 

[bogi]

You have the firmware version 1v0.

Interesting! My unit was sent from hifi-express.com.

pickyAudiophile's unit sent in Oct 2022 has s/n 1108213221134
It means my unit is older!
1134 - 0226 = 908

D300 is like wine! The older, the better.

Edit: That s/n belongs to pickyAudiophile's unit, not Snoopy's - my mistake. I corrected it above.

 

[Anigma]

Snoopy's unit sent in Oct 2022 has s/n 1108213221134
It means my unit is older!

- and what will this give in a global sense?
Here are the serial numbers of my DACs:
brick

worker

 

[bogi]

- and what will this give in a global sense?

Your numbers are longer (14 chars) than mine (13)
The difference in numbers between mine and yours bricked is 10620128980269 (14).
It seems the numbers are similar only short time till they change something.

 

[despoiler]

I just received my D300 this week. I ordered from Hifi Express also. It has the older serial number sticker and the 1.0 firmware.

I've been listening to it for the last few days and all I can say is WOW. What a DAC. The best way I can describe the sound is it's like if Burr Brown had never been bought by Texas Instruments. Then they made a modern DAC with all the resolution one would expect, but with that famous Burr Brown sound. Maybe it's no coincidence that both Rohm and BB are/were Japanese companies?

The D300 is what DACs should sound like or at least that is what I want them to sound like. It's truly phenomenal. The main quality of the D300 is it doesn't have a hint of the hardness or sharpness I hear with other chip DACs. It's not what I would call soft or indistinct. It has all the resolution to hear everything in a track. It's just not fatiguing in any way. The midrange is stunning. It has a richness and sweetness about it. It sounds right. The bass has quantity yet still retains texture and tone. Dynamics, attack, sense of space. All rendered amazingly by the D300. I'll just say this. I very much prefer it over my Topping D30 Pro. I find the Topping to accurate and neutral, but to my ears it's flat and thin sounding. It's like some of the life has been sucked out of the music.

 

[v1adpetrov2]

I've been listening to it for the last few days and all I can say is WOW. What a DAC. The best way I can describe the sound is it's like if Burr Brown had never been bought by Texas Instruments. Then they made a modern DAC with all the resolution one would expect, but with that famous Burr Brown sound. Maybe it's no coincidence that both Rohm and BB are/were Japanese companies?

And if you download a file "Cascade Noise Burn-in" to warm up from TARA Labs and play it on repeat for two weeks, then the DAC will please you with even better sound.

 

[Peerke007]

And if you download a file "Cascade Noise Burn-in" to warm up from TARA Labs and play it on repeat for two weeks, then the DAC will please you with even better sound.


View attachment 331133 View attachment 331134

You probably need the cables from TARA Labs to have any benefit from that "Cascade Noise Burn-in" for sure .

 

[despoiler]

And if you download a file "Cascade Noise Burn-in" to warm up from TARA Labs and play it on repeat for two weeks, then the DAC will please you with even better sound.


View attachment 331133 View attachment 331134

If that works for you that's great. My process is to listen to music. If there is such a thing as burn in it will happen as I'm enjoying my hobby.

 

[v1adpetrov2]

You probably need the cables from TARA Labs to have any benefit from that "Cascade Noise Burn-in" for sure .

You are, as it is now customary to say politically correct, "a little mistaken."
We will leave the cables from TARA Labs to the audiopsychos audiophiles...
And simple music lovers use "warm-up files" to speed up the OpAmps that are installed in new audio devices into nominal operation mode.
This is a common practice when buying new DACs, CD-transports, headphone amplifiers, preamps, and power amplifiers.

 

[Peerke007]

You are, as it is now customary to say politically correct, "a little mistaken."
We will leave the cables from TARA Labs to the audiopsychos audiophiles...
And simple music lovers use "warm-up files" to speed up the OpAmps that are installed in new audio devices into nominal operation mode.
This is a common practice when buying new DACs, CD-transports, headphone amplifiers, preamps, and power amplifiers.

If that is what your ears and mind prefer, that's fine with me . Enjoy the music.

 

[Snoopy]

You are, as it is now customary to say politically correct, "a little mistaken."
We will leave the cables from TARA Labs to the audiopsychos audiophiles...
And simple music lovers use "warm-up files" to speed up the OpAmps that are installed in new audio devices into nominal operation mode.
This is a common practice when buying new DACs, CD-transports, headphone amplifiers, preamps, and power amplifiers.

This is something people did with tube amps and cartridges on turntables but Is absolutely unnecessary on solid state amps and even less on dacs and cd transports..

 

[Tilata]

Is the "popping sound at start and 5 secounds after stopping" thread still alive?
It seems to me that the sound is related to the auto-mute of the DAC, possibly the XMOS USB driver and so firmware update will not, but driver update will solve the problem. Would you be able to direct me to the SMSL support team?

 

[Vannel]

Just to share my story whit this unit :

Bought on july, everything was ok except missing the " pre " mode and does not clock whit every Mac book pro I've tried.
I liked the unit sound a lot anyway.

Attending to infos founded on this tread I did firmware upgrade : " pre " mode appears but no audio out from any output whit every source .

Wrote a message to SMSL guys, never answered.

Sent back the unit to Italian importer that dealed whit SMSL

SMSL sent a new unit back to the importer for me.
Arrived yesterday, happy but scared to check it.

Hope helps.

 

[Anigma]

but driver update will solve the problem. Would you be able to direct me to the SMSL support team?

- SMSL is not associated with USB drivers in any way, it uses Thesycon software (SDK). And SMSL definitely won’t answer you if you write to her.