SMSL DA9 - Wait and see, or solid buy?

[TimF]

Does this help?

PSU is Morsun LOF225-20B24

The inputs and outputs don't look sturdy but I image the rear panel of the casework can shore that up. It is all highly miniaturized. Will units like this be showing up inside powered audio speakers?

 

[TimF]

Does this help?

PSU is Morsun LOF225-20B24

 

[Toku]

The phenomenon that other companies' devices operate with the SMSL remote control also occurred in Topping's D50/D50s. It is the specific button that is affected.
I noticed when I placed the D50/D50s and M500 side by side.

 

[jokan]

So I have an interesting one for you.
I had the DA-8s as you all know in the past. I have 2 tube amplifiers, one of which I was using through the RCA outs from my RME DAC. ZERO noise from anything.
Switch over to having the DA-9 plugged in but turned all the way down, plugged in with XLR and RCA's are unplugged. WHITE NOISE hell!
If I turn on the tube amp with the DA-9 turned on with the volume all the way down, and connected via XLR just not working at the same time, insane white noise. I'm not going to do anything to try and eliminate the noise as I should never allow two audio outputs go to two separate devices and power two sets of speaker at the same time, something weird happens to the output impedance. BUT the DA-8s could be used together with my tube amps, just not with the DA-9.

A weird noise issue, I do not recommend having a DAC that has both XLR outputs and single ended powering two amplifiers at the same time. The white noise is moderate level so it won't blow up your speakers, but we can only hear up to a limited range, there's no telling what sort of ultra high frequency was actually coming out! Tweeters beware!

 

[jokan]

The phenomenon that other companies' devices operate with the SMSL remote control also occurred in Topping's D50/D50s. It is the specific button that is affected.
I noticed when I placed the D50/D50s and M500 side by side.

really annoying isn't it! I guess there are a limited number of RF frequencies that can be used and or assigned. But I'd have thought that a company like RME would be more proprietary with it's remote. Especially being that it's actually painted wrinkle black metal, and not a plastic remote! Yes, I bought a spare so I have a pristine remote. I used rubbing alcohol to wipe and clean the remote on the RME and the paint started to get soft!

 

[jokan]

I'm planning to buy DA-9 and bypassing onboard cheapo power supply with modified meanwell one.

View attachment 126470

I've posted in the past about Nichicon specifically and I'll post this again as this is important information.
Nichicon are by far one of the more copied capacitors out there. To know if it's genuine you need calipers, and to read all the letters as they correspond to model, production lot code.
Nichicon also clearly states that they consider the shelf life of any electrolytic to be 10 years, regardless of if they've been used, 10 years from date of manufacture. I read more about the Mornsun PSU, it switches at 20mhz. That's pretty low in the hi-fi world. Most top end brands are into the 50mhz range for switching. That could be why I got noise when I turned my tube amp on concurrently. Tubes are old fashioned transistors after all, op amps are just the latest version of a tube.
Doing a crazy mod with a different PSU in the DA-9 sounds fun, but it's very difficult to get everything just right so that not only things fit, but also sound right. The more I listen to mine, the more impressed I am with it's ability to drive my 2.7nominal (not DCR) loudspeakers. I think the folks at SMSL have done a fine job at matching things up. Though it's inevitable that the DA-9v2 when it does come out will be better.


In order not to burn out the OLED screen I think I'm bringing out the DA-8s to run at night. And I'll run it using BT or RCA's. SMSL, please make this a priority for a firmware update. Allow us to completely turn off the screen, and with a turn of the nob the screen comes back on at the preset brightness. That shouldn't be too difficult! Please start work on firmware updates!

 

[milan616]

In order not to burn out the OLED screen I think I'm bringing out the DA-8s to run at night. And I'll run it using BT or RCA's. SMSL, please make this a priority for a firmware update. Allow us to completely turn off the screen, and with a turn of the nob the screen comes back on at the preset brightness. That shouldn't be too difficult! Please start work on firmware updates!

The SMSL site says the DA-9 is an LCD screen not OLED:

"Color LCD display and user-friendly operating system are simple and easy to understand, equipped with full-featured remote control function"

 

[jokan]

I know what it says, I'm not sure if it is LED or OLED. It looks like OLED to me. LED's burn out but not as fast so I hope that it is indeed LED.
The colour, the vibrancy looks very much like OLED to me. But I'm no LED/OLED specialist. It's why I would never buy an OLED TV, not until they prove that they'll last 5 years without burning out or fading. And yes many companies are making OLED TV's so they must have tested them for lifespan. I am a person who doesn't turn off his amplifier however. Anything that lights up will burn out under my use. The DA-8s had the option to turn off the screen which was nice because it's frankly distracting. I don't need to know how loud I have anything set. I can hear how loud it is. If the amp had VU meters or some sort of movement, then the screen would be entertaining and wouldn't be showing the same thing, balanced and the preset volume level which I have set to 60, my RME takes over for volume control and it has an auto off function to save it's display. The RME manual clearly states if you want to save the display's lifespan to set it to auto-off! The screen on the DA-9 is very high resolution which makes me suspect that it is OLED vs LED. It's so fine pitched. It's finer pitched than my 4k Sony Bravia. It makes sense to believe the manufacturer, though the DA-8s doesn't have a single OPA1612 inside it. So I tend not to take the manufacturer's word for everything.

 

[jlm70]

...
I cannot recommend this amplifier enough. I am staggered. I have multiple tube amplifiers that I've built and I would compare the sound of the DA-9 between a new, current generation Class AB and a Pentode amplifier of about 45watts/channel. This tiny amplifier really crushes it. It doesn't have the older style, sterile Class-D sound. It improves vastly the sound that the DA-8s had. And the DA-8s was no slouch. If you want a new toy, just buy one. I am fairly sure you will not be disappointed. No personal guarantee, but I would HIGHLY recommend this amplifier. There will inevitably be a firmware update eventually. But I'm assuming it would be some minor menu tweaks.

Thanks for the enthusiastic and detailed reviews: I had just ordered the DA9 and should receive it before the weekend.
I’ll connect it to a RME ADI-2 DAC FS as well (great DAC!!), and to JohnBlue JB3 speakers (small bookshelf ones but sound awesome: this is my studio/desktop ring). I will substitute a good old Trends Audio TA10.1 little amplifier (a previuos indiegogo-funded Auricsound A7 did die in 6 months... together with its chinese company and the S7 DAC they should have sent me @*%#!).
I’m waiting as well for a small sub (Cambridge Audio Minx X201) to complement the JB3 on the lower end.
Hope to review in short.

 

[jlm70]

I know what it says, I'm not sure if it is LED or OLED. It looks like OLED to me. LED's burn out but not as fast so I hope that it is indeed LED.
The colour, the vibrancy looks very much like OLED to me...

For what I’ve seen in many reviews and youtube demos it’s an LCD, not OLED: there’s a clear graysh background vs front glass. Resolution is not a problem for both techs: the RME ADI-2 sports an higher res LCD. Nonetheless... I’m not scared about the rme lcd lifespan: RME is such a serious company that in 20 years they would allow sending me a spare part to change, in case

 

[SOUNDSONIC]

To follow up, the DA-9 is even quieter than my first impression. I know this is not a tweak-friendly-forum, but I added an ifi iDefender+ ground loop breaker and external 5V source for my Hidizs S9, and now there is virtually ZERO noise even with the volume at 70 (max) and no program material. Pretty impressive all around given all the computer equipment on my desk and various switching power supplies...Do I listen at 70? No, but noise is noise.

I am guessing there must be beautiful reason/s you opted to get the HIdizs S9 over Fioo BTR5 and Shanling UP4 (aside from the lower price). And this may also convince me to get one too....

 

[jokan]

Thanks for the enthusiastic and detailed reviews: I had just ordered the DA9 and should receive it before the weekend.
I’ll connect it to a RME ADI-2 DAC FS as well (great DAC!!), and to JohnBlue JB3 speakers (small bookshelf ones but sound awesome: this is my studio/desktop ring). I will substitute a good old Trends Audio TA10.1 little amplifier (a previuos indiegogo-funded Auricsound A7 did die in 6 months... together with its chinese company and the S7 DAC they should have sent me @*%#!).
I’m waiting as well for a small sub (Cambridge Audio Minx X201) to complement the JB3 on the lower end.
Hope to review in short.

It's an absolute pleasure to be one of the early adoptee's and unpaid to keep reviewing this amplifier. I think you'll be pleased once all the resistors and caps cycle up a few times. Don't expect 100% straight away. I did literally play pink floyd's pulse on LP, all 4 records back to back and then it sounded "right". Digital sources would probably take several days of average listening. A records bandwidth is technically ALL of the sounds. Even when you are playing silent bits, the speakers are moving about, subsonic frequencies. That's what speeds up the burn-in process. The same goes for all power and signal cables. Records are better at burn-in than a digital source.

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I am.

 

[jokan]

For what I’ve seen in many reviews and youtube demos it’s an LCD, not OLED: there’s a clear graysh background vs front glass. Resolution is not a problem for both techs: the RME ADI-2 sports an higher res LCD. Nonetheless... I’m not scared about the rme lcd lifespan: RME is such a serious company that in 20 years they would allow sending me a spare part to change, in case

Yeah, except RME in Japan isn't nearly as user friendly as RME USA or RME Germany. Virtually every electronic audio component is sold through a distributor. All the audio magazines are literally paid to pump out only positive reviews. Never a harsh word or critical word. The whole culture is that way actually. So people get offended with my American/English approach to the world. Having lived in 3 cultures for years of my life, I get and appreciate different cultures approaches with similar goals, it's how they get there.

RME, the perfect example. And Kii, the loudspeakers that are also German. No-nonsense. Beautiful approach. Does what it says on the tin!
I think the LED thing you said is correct. But like I said, I never turn off my Class-D equipment. Something is always playing And it makes no sense to me to burn in an image of the balanced connection. If you can put a dimmer function in, you can put an off function in. It's not like any of us need to know how loud the amplifier is being asked to play. We can hear just how loud things are! Yeah, I like simple things that work.

The SMSL DA-9 definitely works. Take all the precautions against noise. It does appear to be relatively susceptible to picking up errant electronic EMI. If you find noise when you get yours, move the amplifiers socket, try another power source. Mine was straight away noise free.

 

[PatentLawyer]

I am guessing there must be beautiful reason/s you opted to get the HIdizs S9 over Fioo BTR5 and Shanling UP4 (aside from the lower price). And this may also convince me to get one too....

Ummm, probably not as "beautiful" a reason as you are hoping for. As I posted elsewhere, I have one foot in the subjectivist camp and the other in the objectivist camp. I indulge my subjectivist side in my large, primary rig (which I don't discuss here!) and indulge my objectivist side in my desktop system. The S9 measured insanely well and costs virtually nothing -- my frame of reference is my large rig, where $100 doesn't get you anything, let alone a DAC!

And in the end, the S9 is a great product! I recommend it without hesitation. I almost want to buy another to rip it open and see what kind of voodoo magic is inside!

 

[jokan]

SMSL DA-9 + RME ADI2 DAC fs connected via XLR. RCA outputs connected to Tube amp.
I encountered immense white noise. I found that very odd as there was no noise with the SMSL DA-8s in the same exact position and cables.
I had replaced the factory thermal grease with HY883, a pretty highly rated grease intended for CPUs which left the DA8s running cooler than the HDF audio rack.
So just now, I removed all of the factory thermal grease/paste from my DA-9. It has yet to cure, but the white noise is gone. I can now use the XLR's connected to the RME DAC, and the RCA outputs connected to my valve amplifier. Noise is gone entirely. I chose this paste from the materials used and it's high reviews when I bought the DA8s. Apparently the HY 883 nano-particulate structure, micronized aluminum and zinc oxide, it's non-conductive also. It cures "hard" but can be removed. When I removed the bottom of the DA-9 I was shocked at how the two power chips didn't have an even coat, or even full coverage of the amplifier chipsets. Very haphazardly sorted squirted on, and what looked like a finger to slightly even it out.
In conclusion, upgrading the paste removed all the noise that was induced by turning on my tube amplifier that was connected via RCA from the RME DAC. The original thermal paste is not put on cleanly, or even spread uniformly between the two chips. Replacing the thermal paste eliminated the white noise that the tube amplifier was picking up, and or putting out. The performance/sound of the DA-9 remains unchanged I expect it'll run cooler once the paste sets and hardens.

If you are so inclined to replace and remove the original paste, you can use rubbing alcohol, which I don't recommend. I used spray type flux remover on lint free shop towels. It takes off the original paste without leaving any trace that you were ever in there except for the silver coloured paste and not the white cheap thermal grease. And grease is really what it is. It wasn't intended for ultimate performance of cooling or for better thermal conductivity. Especially how the factory had it squirted on. At least 60% of the two chips had zero paste on them.

This paste has an inadvertent benefit of helping reduce EMI/RFI. It's available in various sized tubes, comes with a finger glove, a plastic spreader. Easily found on Amazon. I bought the 2mg tube.

I will let you guys know if my amp suffers any ill effects. I highly doubt it since I had zero issues with the same paste on the DA8s.

Happy listening folks!

PS, use precision 2mm wrenches/hex screwdrivers, the screws are really cheap material, you want to make sure that the hex screwdriver or whatever tool you use goes all the way in. The screws are extremely soft.

 

[jlm70]

(...) Digital sources would probably take several days of average listening. A records bandwidth is technically ALL of the sounds. Even when you are playing silent bits, the speakers are moving about, subsonic frequencies. That's what speeds up the burn-in process. The same goes for all power and signal cables. Records are better at burn-in than a digital source.
I hope you enjoy yours as much as I am.

I hope too!
I didn't know about the subsonic freqs that an LP might cause vs digital, and the role of these frqs within the burn-in process... Thanks for the info! Even if... unluckily... I've not anymore a serious LP player at home. Yet... sure Dark Side of the Moon SACD will be part of the initial tries...

 

[jlm70]

(...) But like I said, I never turn off my Class-D equipment. Something is always playing And it makes no sense to me to burn in an image of the balanced connection. If you can put a dimmer function in, you can put an off function in.

I've recently suggested in RME forums if they could release a firmware with an option that senses the signal: if the sound is not playing, the screen after 30secs switches off, when it senses the signal again, it resumes... to show that awesome spectral wave on my desk ;-)
In fact... I'm used to keep the RME almost always on... and agree on not depleting the LEDS in a few years (but consider LEDs are long to die and different from OLED and plasma screens: no burned image possible... at max the brightness will decrease or start flickering)

 

[jokan]

I hope too!
I didn't know about the subsonic freqs that an LP might cause vs digital, and the role of these frqs within the burn-in process... Thanks for the info! Even if... unluckily... I've not anymore a serious LP player at home. Yet... sure Dark Side of the Moon SACD will be part of the initial tries...

I have the "best" CD version, it's the original "CP35-3017 1A1 TO" stored on one of my cloud servers. DM me after looking up on google the quoted item. You will not find a better sounding version of DSOTM, it's from the original tapes, painstakingly restored! The subsonics that come through a record isn't a bad thing as long as you're not blasting anything and you don't need to when burning in any electronics. It's more a function of having all of the information rather than the 20-20khz cd range. They dispose of a lot of audio information when they went to CD. Feel free to DM me! I won't share it to everybody so... lol

 

[jokan]

I've recently suggested in RME forums if they could release a firmware with an option that senses the signal: if the sound is not playing, the screen after 30secs switches off, when it senses the signal again, it resumes... to show that awesome spectral wave on my desk ;-)
In fact... I'm used to keep the RME almost always on... and agree on not depleting the LEDS in a few years (but consider LEDs are long to die and different from OLED and plasma screens: no burned image possible... at max the brightness will decrease or start flickering)

Read the manual over. the 70 page manual. they warn that constant display use will burn it out prematurely, obviously the brighter you have it set. I really like that it shuts off after 30 seconds. We really don't need the pretty lights when we're listening to music, we know exactly how loud everything is, right? A lot of AV receivers do this even from the mid 90's, they actually shut off the power going to the display in an effort to improve sound quality. And back then many were dot-matrix led's!

 

[lordhumungous]

https://apos.audio/products/smsl-da9-bluetooth-amplifier?utm_campaign=SMSL VMV A1 + DA9 Launch (TpiPss)&utm_medium=email&utm_source=All Customers who Accept Marketing&_ke=eyJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIkxkazhTVyIsICJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJicHVsaWRvZHR4QGdtYWlsLmNvbSJ9

Apos sucks ass . I have bought 2-3 different items from them they claimed to be in stock and never were . I even emailed them on this amp and they told me it was in stock and I just got an email that says end of May now. I don’t like being lied to .