SMSL DA9 - Wait and see, or solid buy?

[SOUNDSONIC]

mine arrived today.it's built is really high quality from the outer side.Nice finish, flawless assembly and smooth, heavy feeling. Sound is as great as its built. at max volume, i can barely hear white noise if i lean my ears to tweeters from 3-4cm , quite nice. Sound quality is simply superb guys, do not hesitate to buy.
p.s. surprised to see that smsl didn't fix their crappy remote. If you ever push button B or C, remote locks up and you have to remove battery and put it again to make it work. It was same with SA300...very interesting.

I have now 4 pcs remote controls (Ad18, SA300, SU9, DA9) and all are working perfectly fine. Buttons B and C are for the SH9 and SU9 respectively. A is for the DA9. These 3 are controlled by just 1 RC unit by switching these buttons accordingly. So if you accidentally pressed B or C, simply push A again to access control back on the DA9....

 

[jokan]

so if i want to access to psu, i have to remove all screws also on the back panel? or only lower lid screws will be enough? thanks for clarification, i'll dismantle mine

I don't endorse opening your amplifier:
Disclaimer, you are choosing of your own free will to willfully open and void your warranty, any and all damage is your sole responsibility and I am not responsible for any damage that may occur as a result. If you agree to this, I will send you detailed instructions via personal message.

Shoot me a personal message and I will respond to your question, mine has been open 3 times in total. Don't attempt it without having a basic understanding of engineering/assembly. The BT antenna cable length seems to vary by production run.

I have a family member that had a stroke and I'm the medical proxy, or decision maker from japan to fairfax virginia usa. I'm not able to respond to messages immediately but I am checking and reading the board once a day or every-other day at this time. I will reply to your personal message or whatever the forum calls it. I just don't want to tell everybody how to disassemble the amplifier and anger SMSL!

 

[PatentLawyer]

@jokan, I am wishing you well on your family matter.

 

[jevenator]

Does anyone know if the SMSL SA400 is worth the 2.6x price increase over the DA-9?
I'll be powering JBL Studio 530's and a sub in an apartment living room ( 12 x 11 room with listening position 9ft away ). What would I be missing out on?

 

[Crakzor]

Does anyone know if the SMSL SA400 is worth the 2.6x price increase over the DA-9?
I'll be powering JBL Studio 530's and a sub in an apartment living room ( 12 x 11 room with listening position 9ft away ). What would I be missing out on?

I'll let you know. my da-9 arrives today, and one of them will be going back

 

[jevenator]

I'll let you know. my da-9 arrives today, and one of them will be going back

Thanks, I most likely will end up doing the same thing since Apos has the 45-day return policy but will be curious to hear more experiences.

 

[Crakzor]

Thanks, I most likely will end up doing the same thing since Apos has the 45-day return policy but will be curious to hear more experiences.

Ya, for me the sa400 is not worth the price difference and I’ll be returning it. I only run balance input, no eq, direct. Listening to MQA, and some analog dsd 512 and 256. It sounds good enough. I probably wouldn’t be able to tell much difference if I A B tested. I’ll need to listen to it more this is my initial impression. My only problems with the sa400 were the heat and fan noise. At first sa400 was idle 64 Celsius, heating up my everything around it. So I put bigger feet on it which brought it down 2 degrees. Then SMSL gave me access to a secret menu which let me adjust fan operating temp. It sits on my desk so the fan noise was annoying.

The da-9 is smaller than the sa400.

To get balanced inputs for so cheap is awesome.

Driving klipch rp600m which doesn’t need much power anyway.
-sa400: (low gain (there are 3 levels)) comfortably loud at 20
-Da9: (no gain options) comfortably loud at 30

 

[adamjohari]

Ya, for me the sa400 is not worth the price difference and I’ll be returning it. I only run balance input, no eq, direct. Listening to MQA, and some analog dsd 512 and 256. It sounds good enough. I probably wouldn’t be able to tell much difference if I A B tested. I’ll need to listen to it more this is my initial impression. My only problems with the sa400 were the heat and fan noise. At first sa400 was idle 64 Celsius, heating up my everything around it. So I put bigger feet on it which brought it down 2 degrees. Then SMSL gave me access to a secret menu which let me adjust fan operating temp. It sits on my desk so the fan noise was annoying.

The da-9 is noticeably smaller than the sa400.

To get balanced inputs for so cheap is awesome.

Driving klipch rp600m which doesn’t need much power anyway.
-sa400: (low gain (there are 3 levels)) comfortably loud at 20
-Da9: (no gain options) comfortably loud at 30

Exactly the reason why I got the DA-9. The whole package matters a lot to me. I want a small foot print, running cool, with good sound. No use having exceptional sound if it's a behemoth on the desk. Or if it's running so warm.

 

[JPrufrk]

I would seriously consider the SMSL AO200 instead of the DA-9 at this point. They seem virtually identical, but the AO200 has a USB port, one would assume to support FW updates.

 

[jokan]

@jokan, I am wishing you well on your family matter.

Thank you! It's going to be a long, long road ahead for her.

 

[jokan]

I would seriously consider the instead of the DA-9 at this point. They seem virtually identical, but the AO200 has a USB port, one would assume to support FW updates.

Honestly speaking, I wouldn't expect that. The reason, they used an USB A instead of B for packaging reasons to allow dual subwoofer outputs. There literally isn't room on the rear panel for a USB B. It would be great if the did offer a way for firmware updates though for both units.

 

[jokan]

Thank you! It's going to be a long, long road ahead for her.

@PatentLawyer Don't worry, I'm a multiple stroke survivor, and ruptured brain aneurysm (3 of them) survivor for 15 years now. I know what it's going to be like for her, I don't know if she can take it but she's like me so she'll fight all the way. I am extremely grateful for your thoughts though! Every little bit of positive thinking helps.

 

[jokan]

Exactly the reason why I got the DA-9. The whole package matters a lot to me. I want a small foot print, running cool, with good sound. No use having exceptional sound if it's a behemoth on the desk. Or if it's running so warm.

Correct in my opinion, hence I have one! Zero regrets. Zero noise even with my ears at tweeter level, and also on the amplifier case with the display cranked to the max. I would like a little tiny bit more fullness in the bass, but at this price, I am hard pressed to think of anything better on balance.

 

[jokan]

Ya, for me the sa400 is not worth the price difference and I’ll be returning it. I only run balance input, no eq, direct. Listening to MQA, and some analog dsd 512 and 256. It sounds good enough. I probably wouldn’t be able to tell much difference if I A B tested. I’ll need to listen to it more this is my initial impression. My only problems with the sa400 were the heat and fan noise. At first sa400 was idle 64 Celsius, heating up my everything around it. So I put bigger feet on it which brought it down 2 degrees. Then SMSL gave me access to a secret menu which let me adjust fan operating temp. It sits on my desk so the fan noise was annoying.

The da-9 is smaller than the sa400.

To get balanced inputs for so cheap is awesome.

Driving klipch rp600m which doesn’t need much power anyway.
-sa400: (low gain (there are 3 levels)) comfortably loud at 20
-Da9: (no gain options) comfortably loud at 30

I believe you have made the wise choice. The SA400 has a hires logo but it stops outputting above at 20khz. That makes it non-hi-res by the definition of the standard.

 

[jokan]

Does anyone know if the SMSL SA400 is worth the 2.6x price increase over the DA-9?
I'll be powering JBL Studio 530's and a sub in an apartment living room ( 12 x 11 room with listening position 9ft away ). What would I be missing out on?

I would recommend reading the review on the "reviews" section so you are fully informed. I always say that any purchase is ultimately a personal decision. And you are on the DA-9 thread. Most of the owners that have a DA-9 are extremely satisfied, if not beyond satisfied. The 530's are not particularly difficult to drive or power. It is all about the room, speaker placement (huge factor, mm adjustments can be significant). Many of us owners think the amp should sell for 2x the price with a few tiny improvements to QC. Short answer, it's a good match. You are unlikely to be disappointed.

 

[JPrufrk]

Honestly speaking, I wouldn't expect that. The reason, they used an USB A instead of B for packaging reasons to allow dual subwoofer outputs. There literally isn't room on the rear panel for a USB B. It would be great if the did offer a way for firmware updates though for both units.

@jokan , I think the only reason for the USB port's existence on the AO200 is FW updates. Unless I'm missing something; there is no mention of a DAC in the amp, other than the DAC in the BT chip of course. Why else would a USB port exist?

 

[jevenator]

I would recommend reading the review on the "reviews" section so you are fully informed. I always say that any purchase is ultimately a personal decision. And you are on the DA-9 thread. Most of the owners that have a DA-9 are extremely satisfied, if not beyond satisfied. The 530's are not particularly difficult to drive or power. It is all about the room, speaker placement (huge factor, mm adjustments can be significant). Many of us owners think the amp should sell for 2x the price with a few tiny improvements to QC. Short answer, it's a good match. You are unlikely to be disappointed.

Thanks, yes I've read that thread a few times now. Mixed opinions as with everything

On that same review I linked earlier, in his youtube comments someone asked the same question and this is what Soundnews thinks,

I have the DA-9 as well. It depends on your loudspeakers, with mine SA400 is better controlled in the sub-bass and it is way punchier. Reference 3 are not that sensitive (~87 dB) and need more power to sound at their best. Infineon modules from DA-9 are...not that clean sounding, transparency is not their best trait. I find DA-9 less revealing, but extremely impressive nonetheless at its respective price point. If you are not driving standfloors, then DA-9 should be more than enough.

Seems like you really need to be looking out for things to notice a difference. If I hook up a sub, for crossover/etc does the DA-9 have the same controls as the SA400 does?

 

[Premonition]

Seems like you really need to be looking out for things to notice a difference. If I hook up a sub, for crossover/etc does the DA-9 have the same controls as the SA400 does?

The DA-9 has no sub controls as far as I am aware, will have to do the crossover on your sub. Whether the amp can sound any different largely depends on your speakers though.

What I like about the DA-9 is that it doesn't really sound like most Class D amps that I have tried, I think that Infineon chip has some magic that makes it sound more organic.

I think the SA400 at its current price is a no-no, I was considering ordering from Taobao during their recent sale where the SA400 was below 400USD but still didn't do it because of the heat and ADC Conversion. I was never a fan of Class D to begin with but hate those "full digital amplifiers" with a passion. Also the fact that these products are only online so warranty will be annoying to deal with.

Meanwhile, I ordered a second DA-9 from aliexpress(shenzhenaudio) last week to replace my SA300 for my wfh setup, and received it in 4 days. They sent it by DHL which I really appreciate.

 

[fluxcapacitor]

I don't endorse opening your amplifier:
Disclaimer, you are choosing of your own free will to willfully open and void your warranty, any and all damage is your sole responsibility and I am not responsible for any damage that may occur as a result. If you agree to this, I will send you detailed instructions via personal message.

Shoot me a personal message and I will respond to your question, mine has been open 3 times in total. Don't attempt it without having a basic understanding of engineering/assembly. The BT antenna cable length seems to vary by production run.

I have a family member that had a stroke and I'm the medical proxy, or decision maker from japan to fairfax virginia usa. I'm not able to respond to messages immediately but I am checking and reading the board once a day or every-other day at this time. I will reply to your personal message or whatever the forum calls it. I just don't want to tell everybody how to disassemble the amplifier and anger SMSL!

i couldn't resist my curiosity and opened it...
what i see first was as your amp. thermal grease is almost non existent at all, barely touching cooling meatal of the chips, see below,

i think %20 of the cooling area is dissipating heat to lower plate. I removed the grease and fully covered it with better one.

in addition to it, i added 1 nichicon fine gold cap 35V2200uf to output caps on the psu. All three caps on the psu is in serial connection,35V 560ufX2 + 1x 35v390uf Rubycon ZLH series.I just added 1 Nichicon. This really helped at high listening volumes, lower frequencies are more prominent now with better defined treble/less harsh. I will also add a 400V 100uf matsushita cap to reservoir section, cap. i see in this psu is garbage.

I've a much better 24V PSU for this amp, i highly recommend bypassing current psu with better one if you listen at high volumes. This amp simply uses 24V dc, you can easily solder psu output cables to jack behind of the amp and from then you can use your external psu.

update: added 400V 180uf Rubycon BXW cap to reservoir...Bass is definitely improved, audibly punchier bass after that cap. If you'll use stock psu, i highly recommend to add similar caps to your psu.

psu of the amp, shame there's no any photo is smsl page similar to this ones...lol

i'll bypass current psu with this one soon, i also modified with much better caps.

 

[Toku]

I would seriously consider the SMSL AO200 instead of the DA-9 at this point. They seem virtually identical, but the AO200 has a USB port, one would assume to support FW updates.

The specifications of the AO200 are so inaccurate whether I look at the HP or the manual, so I am currently asking the main retailer Aoshida for any questions.

What I was able to confirm
The design of the front panel is that the photo with the left and right screws is the actual product.

The purpose of USB is for playing PC music, not for updating firmware.
However, it seems that an explanation will be added about the types of files that can be played.

I commented that many audiophiles would never buy the AO200 in a product description like this.


Postscript
USB-connected PC audio is probably the same method as the SA300, although details are not yet known.