SMSL DA9 - Wait and see, or solid buy?

[mario_rouge]

Here are my impressions of the PA5 compared to the DA9. Copied and paste from the PA5 thread because Im too lazy to type again. Lol!

Ive been using the PA5 for a week and Im comparing it exclusively to my DA9 and the way more expensive Rotel RC1572 MKII pre and RB1552 MKII power combo which is known to be very revealing throughout the entire spectrum. Speakers used were the Diamond 12.2, R200 and the OG LS50. Dacs used are the SMSL SU9, SU9N and Sanskrit 10th MKII. Build quality is fine, Ive got no issues with it but its really not good looking to me. I like how the DA9 looks better, especially with that sexy lcd screen.

First I tried it with LS50 and right away I noticed it has more control over it compared to the DA9, especially in the bass department. The LS50s will start sounding beefy with the right amount of power (and amp for that matter), with the PA5 it sounded like the 130 watts Rotel, which is surprising as hell. Make no mistakes, the DA9 can power the LS50s but it just doesnt have that kind of body the LS50 produces with more powerful amps. They do suck the living daylights out of amps, especially for their size. So there, bass wise, its as good as my Rotels, which is way more expensive and powerful.

Mids, especially with vocals and guitar plucks were sharp and defined, and it had body and meat in em. The DA9 in comparison sounded leaner but still not as defined which is a shocker to me. Again, in this regard, it sounded more like the Rotel than the DA9. All this coming from a small box like that. This shit is neck and neck with the Rotel till this point although the Rotel sounds a wee bit meatier.

Now we get to the upper registers and this is where I was floored. The DA9 is no slouch when it comes to the higher frequencies but the PA5 made it sound like the DA9 was veiled all these while. Even the Rotels, which I consider revealing af, didnt have the sparkle like PA5. I was hearing nuances in the upper frequencies I wasnt hearing before. The saliva of Etta Cameron in Motherless Child was clearer than ever, the birds chirping in What A Wonderful World by Kat Edmonson sounded so life like and holographic I was looking around for actual birds! I kid you not, this amp is no joke.

Soundstage and instrument separation was also fantastic, better than the DA9 but not as wide as the Rotels. Its higher and deeper though, it can throw bell tolls, bird chirps, clock ticks and door squeaks deeper and higher than what the Rotels can. Clean is the word, VERY CLEAN.

For 350, I would buy this amp again, over and over again. The DA9 nearly made me sell my Rotels if not because of the power hungry LS50s, now its a done deal with the PA5. John, come up with a PA9 already!!!

Great review! Thank you. Could you compare also su9 Vs su9n? Is there a big difference?

 

[MarkWinston]

Great review! Thank you. Could you compare also su9 Vs su9n? Is there a big difference?

There are 2 camps here, 1 the All Non Broken Dacs Sound The Same and the other Dacs Do Sound Different. Im in the latter as I know as good as an AK and ESS may measure, they do have different qualities. The SU9N is an improvement over the SU9 in terms of sound quality, not by MUCH but audible. Everything is just more defined, soundscape is overall cleaner and I like how the 9N is able to place instruments further apart and not cluttering them up. The All Non Broken Dacs Sound The Same will come up and tell me what Im hearing is all in my head or that one is louder than the other, Ill tell them to stick their great measuring 100 dollar Schiit DAC up theirs while I listen to greater sounding dacs like the SU9N, D70S and D90SE.

 

[lostwind]

Here are my impressions of the PA5 compared to the DA9. Copied and paste from the PA5 thread because Im too lazy to type again. Lol!

Ive been using the PA5 for a week and Im comparing it exclusively to my DA9 and the way more expensive Rotel RC1572 MKII pre and RB1552 MKII power combo which is known to be very revealing throughout the entire spectrum. Speakers used were the Diamond 12.2, R200 and the OG LS50. Dacs used are the SMSL SU9, SU9N and Sanskrit 10th MKII. Build quality is fine, Ive got no issues with it but its really not good looking to me. I like how the DA9 looks better, especially with that sexy lcd screen.

First I tried it with LS50 and right away I noticed it has more control over it compared to the DA9, especially in the bass department. The LS50s will start sounding beefy with the right amount of power (and amp for that matter), with the PA5 it sounded like the 130 watts Rotel, which is surprising as hell. Make no mistakes, the DA9 can power the LS50s but it just doesnt have that kind of body the LS50 produces with more powerful amps. They do suck the living daylights out of amps, especially for their size. So there, bass wise, its as good as my Rotels, which is way more expensive and powerful.

Mids, especially with vocals and guitar plucks were sharp and defined, and it had body and meat in em. The DA9 in comparison sounded leaner but still not as defined which is a shocker to me. Again, in this regard, it sounded more like the Rotel than the DA9. All this coming from a small box like that. This shit is neck and neck with the Rotel till this point although the Rotel sounds a wee bit meatier.

Now we get to the upper registers and this is where I was floored. The DA9 is no slouch when it comes to the higher frequencies but the PA5 made it sound like the DA9 was veiled all these while. Even the Rotels, which I consider revealing af, didnt have the sparkle like PA5. I was hearing nuances in the upper frequencies I wasnt hearing before. The saliva of Etta Cameron in Motherless Child was clearer than ever, the birds chirping in What A Wonderful World by Kat Edmonson sounded so life like and holographic I was looking around for actual birds! I kid you not, this amp is no joke.

Soundstage and instrument separation was also fantastic, better than the DA9 but not as wide as the Rotels. Its higher and deeper though, it can throw bell tolls, bird chirps, clock ticks and door squeaks deeper and higher than what the Rotels can. Clean is the word, VERY CLEAN.

For 350, I would buy this amp again, over and over again. The DA9 nearly made me sell my Rotels if not because of the power hungry LS50s, now its a done deal with the PA5. John, come up with a PA9 already!!!

Thank you for your comparison. I see ao200 have half power of PA5. Should I spend more money jump from ao200 to PA5? By the way, I will buy Polk R100.

 

[MarkWinston]

Thank you for your comparison. I see ao200 have half power of PA5. Should I spend more money jump from ao200 to PA5? By the way, I will buy Polk R100.

The AO200 does not have half the power of the PA5, the PA5 is just a little more powerful (maybe another 10w @ 8 ohms). I have the R200 and even the DA9 dont have any problem driving them LOUD. REAL LOUD. You will be fine with the DA9/AO200/PA5. More than you ever need for the R100.

 

[lordhumungous]

I have the PA5 and i am mightily impressed.

 

[JimmyKing]

Received my DA-9 today. Turned it on, very slight high pitched coil whine, which quickly became inaudible over the white noise coming from the right channel. I disconnected all inputs & turned everything sharing the same outlet off. White noise remained on the right channel. Swapped speaker terminations over and it went to the left. I think it's clear that the trouble is with the DA-9's output. Really disappointed as this is my first separate amp...

 

[Argomedo]

My unit now has an issue with the volume knob. When i turn the volume up or down and release it, the menu is selected. It's super annoying. I end up using the remote.

I'am starting to hate this unit really bad. Because it wasn't cheap.

 

[JimmyKing]

And now both the front and rear balanced outputs of my iFi Zen DAC are making a high pitched noise. Coincidence? Or has the DA9 somehow f#c#e# it up? Possibly just an unlucky day but really not happy now...

 

[JimmyKing]

Shenzhen Audio have at least been very prompt & professional in issuing a replacement. While iFi are yet to acknowledge my ticket...
Fingers crossed that the replacement DA9 is up to the job as it's a nice little unit beside my issue.

 

[enio nery]

i am loving mine. it will now live forever in my restaurant connected to a pair of bose cubes which surprisingly can take a lot of full range power. bass is rendered by a Jurassic JBL PB 10. Customers love it. aha

 

[JimmyKing]

My replacement arrived today & all is good. No noisy right channel, much lower noise floor when maxed out & much smoother sound overall (the faulty one was harsh by comparison). Shenzhen Audio managed to ship it from China faster than iFi doing anything about my DAC too, which is impressive when iFi and I are in the same country & it's New Year over in China... Out of interest, both units had the same HW & SW versions (1.0).

 

[Actungz]

So I'm about the get this amp, but it seems that the 2*Infineon chip in this doesn't output twice the power than the Loxjie A30 that only has 1? At least the power figure graphs for both of these are identical at 8 ohms.

 

[Toku]

So I'm about the get this amp, but it seems that the 2*Infineon chip in this doesn't output twice the power than the Loxjie A30 that only has 1? At least the power figure graphs for both of these are identical at 8 ohms.

That is a natural operation as an amplifier.
In this case, the operation is the same as when two batteries are connected in parallel. The voltage does not change, but the current capacity doubles. As a result, it can supply power to a low load of 2Ω, which has twice the current flow.
The operation of an amplifier that uses two separate chips for the L-R CH is to increase the drive current.

 

[asoka]

Great review! Thank you. Could you compare also su9 Vs su9n? Is there a big difference?

Here are my impressions of the PA5 compared to the DA9. Copied and paste from the PA5 thread because Im too lazy to type again. Lol!

Ive been using the PA5 for a week and Im comparing it exclusively to my DA9 and the way more expensive Rotel RC1572 MKII pre and RB1552 MKII power combo which is known to be very revealing throughout the entire spectrum. Speakers used were the Diamond 12.2, R200 and the OG LS50. Dacs used are the SMSL SU9, SU9N and Sanskrit 10th MKII. Build quality is fine, Ive got no issues with it but its really not good looking to me. I like how the DA9 looks better, especially with that sexy lcd screen.

First I tried it with LS50 and right away I noticed it has more control over it compared to the DA9, especially in the bass department. The LS50s will start sounding beefy with the right amount of power (and amp for that matter), with the PA5 it sounded like the 130 watts Rotel, which is surprising as hell. Make no mistakes, the DA9 can power the LS50s but it just doesnt have that kind of body the LS50 produces with more powerful amps. They do suck the living daylights out of amps, especially for their size. So there, bass wise, its as good as my Rotels, which is way more expensive and powerful.

Mids, especially with vocals and guitar plucks were sharp and defined, and it had body and meat in em. The DA9 in comparison sounded leaner but still not as defined which is a shocker to me. Again, in this regard, it sounded more like the Rotel than the DA9. All this coming from a small box like that. This shit is neck and neck with the Rotel till this point although the Rotel sounds a wee bit meatier.

Now we get to the upper registers and this is where I was floored. The DA9 is no slouch when it comes to the higher frequencies but the PA5 made it sound like the DA9 was veiled all these while. Even the Rotels, which I consider revealing af, didnt have the sparkle like PA5. I was hearing nuances in the upper frequencies I wasnt hearing before. The saliva of Etta Cameron in Motherless Child was clearer than ever, the birds chirping in What A Wonderful World by Kat Edmonson sounded so life like and holographic I was looking around for actual birds! I kid you not, this amp is no joke.

Soundstage and instrument separation was also fantastic, better than the DA9 but not as wide as the Rotels. Its higher and deeper though, it can throw bell tolls, bird chirps, clock ticks and door squeaks deeper and higher than what the Rotels can. Clean is the word, VERY CLEAN.

For 350, I would buy this amp again, over and over again. The DA9 nearly made me sell my Rotels if not because of the power hungry LS50s, now its a done deal with the PA5. John, come up with a PA9 already!!!

I just chose this days to return pa5 and keep old good da9. You are right about "the sparkle" of the pa5...but this is the exact reason because I will return it What you describe as more resolution and sparkle for me it is to much high mids and highs that make the sound to aggressive and the voices to thin and shouted sibilant and unnatural. The da9 is better sound balanced bifier and natural voices, entire sound being as a whole, on the pa5 sound start broking off the unity. I do not notice any more power from it...but annoying much lower gain and missing lfe output that I need...because the low gain it is very hard and never perfect to control an sub thru dac. At the same dac output the pa5 maxed it is under half the power of da9.

 

[ohnonotagain]

Ordered a DA-9 as it's just the right size to sit nicely on top of a Mac Mini.

I'm sending it straight back due to the constant whee-whee-whee-whee-whee whining sound that you can change the pitch of by adjusting the brightness but can't make go away completely. When the amp is sat on a desktop, there's just too much noise coming from the unit for it to be in any way acceptable. And sorry, but when you buy a brand new unit, you don't want to have to put magic tape on its innards to solve a design flaw, you want it to just work out of the box.

Pity, as it's a very nice-looking unit, and it sounds good too. There is some residual hiss from the speakers, more even than some of my vintage kit puts out, and that's disappointing.

 

[asoka]

Mine from the first batch ...no wee wee from it...dead silent and siting at some 40 cm from me...at max volume if you put the ear right on tweeter you will faintly hear a ideea of hiss...but at 3 cm already you will not hear it. Manufacture problem...

 

[ohnonotagain]

Well, since they’re in stock in the local Amazon (the first came from a different country’s Amazon), it won’t cost anything to try another! Might as well see if it comes from a different batch.

 

[asoka]

Yes, maybe better luck...I suggest to use xlr inputs, in my case the only problem, by rca input because a ground loop I have bad interference crackling...but if I put it in another wall socket the problem disappear...on xlr no problem.

 

[mario_rouge]

if you used RCA cables maybe you have ground loop problems. Try balanced cables and dacs.

 

[Toku]

You can easily cite the ground loop as the cause, but it is extremely rare for a ground loop to cause a failure.