SMSL DA9 - Wait and see, or solid buy?

[gallantus]

So long story short, how is this SMSL DA-9? A buy or no buy?

 

[jokan]

You should read the entire thread and decide for yourself.
Many of us are early adopters and very happy with our SMSL DA-9's.
We can't your decision for you.

I've recommended it to many friends.

 

[SOUNDSONIC]

So long story short, how is this SMSL DA-9? A buy or no buy?

What is best to me may not be good to you. I just dived for it and I'm a happy listener....and so far its the best amp I've ever owned! And the good thing is it did not empty my wallet....

 

[PatentLawyer]

I love mine, and also have recommended it to friends. I have mine connected to very easy to drive speakers, but with that caveat I think you have to spend a lot more to get something you only might be able to say is definitely better.

 

[jokan]

There would be no question about it's sound quality if it was priced say 10x higher and weighed a lot more. A technique used by many brands to fool people into thinking the amplifier is of substantial quality.

 

[gallantus]

Are there any transformer hums with the unit?

What are the top 3 pro's and con's you guys would say about this amp?

 

[stranGER]

Disclaimer: I am NOT an audio expert. I haven't reviewed any audio devices. I am just one music lover and just use my ears to tell if the music playing from my audio setup suits my personal preferences.

I have been using DA-9 for a month now even before I found this forum. It is balanced connected to a MK100 then connected to a notebook as my source via USB. I have a pair of decent passive speakers and an active subs connected to the DA-9 amp.

I haven't had any issues with unwanted sounds. For me, everything has been almost perfect since day one.

But when I found this forum, I am glad others as liking the DA-9 too. I have been reading and learning a lot from all your post/comments. Keep it coming.

 

[jokan]

Can I double like your post! lol!

 

[jokan]

Are there any transformer hums with the unit?

What are the top 3 pro's and con's you guys would say about this amp?

please read the thread, it's heavily discussed. many of us love our DA-9's your questions are valid and have been answered at length throughout the whole thread. We can't make purchasing decisions for you.

 

[gallantus]

please read the thread, it's heavily discussed. many of us love our DA-9's your questions are valid and have been answered at length throughout the whole thread. We can't make purchasing decisions for you.

My goodness, no one is asking anyone to make any decisions for me, I am a grown adult who is spending my own money. I asking for your recommendation based on your experience. And if your recommendation doesn't work out for me, I am not going to sue anyone. There is 14 pages of mumbo jumbo, who the heck have time to read through all that gibberish jabberish. Give the cliff note summary and be done so I can order.

 

[jokan]

@gallantus there isn't much gibberish in there. you are asking for a subjective opinion. those of us who own one obviously like ours. but we don't know what the environment you will use it in, as in speakers, DAC, etc. There are too many variables to answer your question with one to three words. It would be irresponsible for one to do so. we are a friendly bunch. 14 pages for a thread is literally very short. you should check out some of the other threads that have many times that amount of comments. with all due respect we don't know what your goals are from the amplifier or your expectations. component matching is just as important as your listening habits. Sorry if you are offended, but we are trying to be helpful by giving our own experiences in this thread. There is no official ASR review and we may all be wrong about the amp, but most of us who have ours are more than pleased with ours.

 

[gallantus]

@gallantus there isn't much gibberish in there. you are asking for a subjective opinion. those of us who own one obviously like ours. but we don't know what the environment you will use it in, as in speakers, DAC, etc. There are too many variables to answer your question with one to three words. It would be irresponsible for one to do so. we are a friendly bunch. 14 pages for a thread is literally very short. you should check out some of the other threads that have many times that amount of comments. with all due respect we don't know what your goals are from the amplifier or your expectations. component matching is just as important as your listening habits. Sorry if you are offended, but we are trying to be helpful by giving our own experiences in this thread. There is no official ASR review and we may all be wrong about the amp, but most of us who have ours are more than pleased with ours.

"More than please" bam! That's your experience, no? Which is all I'm asking.

Now what is the top 3 things that YOU like and top 3 things that YOU don't like.

 

[gallantus]

Order placed.

$250 is not a drop in the bucket, but it's also not enough for me to spend hours doing endless research and reading endless pages of nuance, side conversions, detours and mods and gibberish. Plus purchased through Apos, if I don't like it, I got 30 days for a full refund return. ZERO risk.

 

[jokan]

From one music lover to another, welcome stranGER you're a super early adopter! The overwhelming consensus amongst fellow owners appears to be much the same as your opinion. I waited a little while before I made my purchase out of an abundance of caution but turns out there was little need for it.

 

[SOUNDSONIC]

Order placed.

$250 is not a drop in the bucket, but it's also not enough for me to spend hours doing endless research and reading endless pages of nuance, side conversions, detours and mods and gibberish. Plus purchased through Apos, if I don't like it, I got 30 days for a full refund return. ZERO risk.

My guess is that you will like it.

 

[SOUNDSONIC]

Order placed.

$250 is not a drop in the bucket, but it's also not enough for me to spend hours doing endless research and reading endless pages of nuance, side conversions, detours and mods and gibberish. Plus purchased through Apos, if I don't like it, I got 30 days for a full refund return. ZERO risk.

Ok, heres the pros and cons of the DA-9 even the amp is still 4 days in my possession:

PROS:
1. Amazing sound quality. Comparable to much higher end amps.
2. Compact and classy, elegant looking..
3. Cool operations. Low temp. Low power consumption.
4. Sharp, clear and brightness-adjustable display
5 Will not break the bank

CONS:

Cant think of any. Some see the only 3 rubber foot, instead of 4 as negative.

 

[magic44ken]

Ok, heres the pros and cons of the DA-9 even the amp is still 4 days in my possession:

PROS:
1. Amazing sound quality. Comparable to much higher end amps.
2. Compact and classy, elegant looking..
3. Cool operations. Low temp. Low power consumption.
4. Sharp, clear and brightness-adjustable display
5 Will not break the bank

CONS:

Cant think of any. Some see the only 3 rubber foot, instead of 4 as negative.

Agree and furthermore, the overall tonality is very natural, clear, detail, excellent tight and detail bass and very quiet or black background. For this price, it's hard to find something that comes close this in such a small size. Runs very cool and comes with Bluetooth and a remote. This sound better and cheaper than the popular Peachtree desktop amplifier.

 

[jokan]

Order placed.

$250 is not a drop in the bucket, but it's also not enough for me to spend hours doing endless research and reading endless pages of nuance, side conversions, detours and mods and gibberish. Plus purchased through Apos, if I don't like it, I got 30 days for a full refund return. ZERO risk.

I have seriously heavily recommended this amplifier to many of my closest friends. I wouldn't have if I didn't think it was worth every penny and I've stated earlier that they could probably sell it for 3-4x the price had it been put in a heavy case. A technique long used in the audio industry to fool people into thinking that there is more to the amplifier than there really is. I hope you enjoy your purchase.

Pros:
very wide soundstage.
convincingly realistic reproduction of instruments and voices
small package that is easy to find a spot for

Cons:
small package makes people underestimate it's output and ability to create a realistic sound.
Bluetooth is limited to APTX but it's not a big deal really because the amplifier does such a good job.

All of which was stated in the 14 pages you didn't want to read.

 

[Ntrax]

Ok, heres the pros and cons of the DA-9 even the amp is still 4 days in my possession:

PROS:
1. Amazing sound quality. Comparable to much higher end amps.
2. Compact and classy, elegant looking..
3. Cool operations. Low temp. Low power consumption.
4. Sharp, clear and brightness-adjustable display
5 Will not break the bank

CONS:

Cant think of any. Some see the only 3 rubber foot, instead of 4 as negative.

Yeah 3 feet is a joke. Hehe. Not sure why. And most of you already enjoying it while I still waiting for mine to arrived. Sigh.

 

[stranGER]

Setup:
- Laptop -> via USB -> MK100 DAC -> via XLR Input -> DA-9 -> Decent pair of 100watts passive speakers through channel outputs plus 10" active subwoofer connected to the subwoofer out.
- a small 5m(L) x 3m(W) x 2.8m(H) office/music room

Pros:
- makes me sing along a lot now when I know the song
- makes me tap my feet most of the time on upbeat music, even if I don't know much about the song
- makes me feel like being in the front row when listening to live music or concerts
- makes me appreciate all the small and backup instruments since I can clearly hear them now
- makes me smile a lot when pure vocals are played, the artist is just like beside me, with very clear vocals.

Cons:
- makes me spend more time in my music/office room now, hence lesser time going out for errands.
- it will make me spend some more on hi-fi music subscription and downloads

Comments:
- I can't compare my setup to any high-end setup or well-known brands that may cost me $50k or more, because, I can't afford that setup in the first place. but even if I can afford it, I will use my money somewhere else.
- It took me a few months to save money to buy and build my setup - and from what I can "hear" from my investment now - this is a well spend money, and with the hope to last for a long time.
- my previous setup still has the same speakers and subwoofer but using a 300watts karaoke amplifier

Disclaimer:
- I am NOT an audio expert.
- I haven't reviewed any audio devices.
- I am just one music lover and just use my ears to tell if the music playing from my audio setup suits my personal preferences.