This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the SMSL DL100 balanced stereo DAC and headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $179.
The DL100 is a fair departure from standard SMSL offering in that it uses a stamped steel enclosure instead of machined aluminum. Despite that, the unit maintains its high quality feel and you only notice otherwise when you look from behind and see the seams in the lid:
The slanted back and bright display make it easier to see the settings at the desk. Alas, I wish that it would show the volume by default than sample rate. A remote control is provided (not shown).
I love that despite the budget pricing, and slim case, the power supply is in the case. And support for HDMI ARC (which I cannot test at the moment).
Navigation of the settings was surprisingly easy display the limited display type.
We expect superb measured performance from SMSL so let's test to see if there are any surprised.
SMSL DL100 Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard:
This nicely lands the DL100 in our excellent category:
Output can go higher, delivering even better performance:
Here is RCA output:
Here is the dynamic range:
IMD tests shows slightly earlier distortion rise (curve starting to flatten) but it is still impressively low:
Multitone performance is superb in mid and higher frequencies where it matters:
As is measurement of 50 Hz tone into 600 ohm load per stereophile test:
Linearity is perfect but shows a very slight offset at both ends of the spectrum:
Jitter is excellent sans harmless couple of sidebands:
I did not mess with filters so here is the default behavior (filter 1):
At first blush, wideband distortion+noise vs frequency looks quite high:
But that is an artifact of measuring all the way to 90 kHz and pulling in "noise shaping" behavior:
Actual distortion spikes are down a whopping -135 dB so no audible issue at all.
My minimum standard for headphone output with 300 ohm is 100mwatts and DL100 easily passes that mark:
Notice the incredibly low distortion before it clips. Story gets even better with 32 ohm load:
Good current delivery ability means that it is able to keep increasing power all the way down to 16 ohm!
Most headphone amps in this class start to droop the voltage at 32 ohm and below.
Sorry forgot to save the 50mv test results last night.
SMSL DL100 Listening Tests
I went right to the stress test of using my everyday Dan Clark E3 headphone to pair with the DL100. This is a rather difficult headphone to drive but the DL100 had no trouble producing superb fidelity with it and no hint of any distortion even at max volume. Speaking of that, comfortable listening was at -10 dB on the display. Pushing to 0 dB allowed just enough headroom to shorten your hearing lifetime by a bit while producing excellent dynamics! Someone had complained about switching track glitches with SMSL DACs but I heard nothing here with my Roon player.
Conclusions
DL100 provides some form factor changes and inclusion of HDMI ARC. Performance is more than excellent in every area, making for a compelling package despite its attractive price. I especially like its high current drive for headphones that have low impedance.
I am happy to recommend the SMSL DL100 dac and headphone amplifier.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The DL100 is a fair departure from standard SMSL offering in that it uses a stamped steel enclosure instead of machined aluminum. Despite that, the unit maintains its high quality feel and you only notice otherwise when you look from behind and see the seams in the lid:
The slanted back and bright display make it easier to see the settings at the desk. Alas, I wish that it would show the volume by default than sample rate. A remote control is provided (not shown).
I love that despite the budget pricing, and slim case, the power supply is in the case. And support for HDMI ARC (which I cannot test at the moment).
Navigation of the settings was surprisingly easy display the limited display type.
We expect superb measured performance from SMSL so let's test to see if there are any surprised.
SMSL DL100 Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard:
This nicely lands the DL100 in our excellent category:
Output can go higher, delivering even better performance:
Here is RCA output:
Here is the dynamic range:
IMD tests shows slightly earlier distortion rise (curve starting to flatten) but it is still impressively low:
Multitone performance is superb in mid and higher frequencies where it matters:
As is measurement of 50 Hz tone into 600 ohm load per stereophile test:
Linearity is perfect but shows a very slight offset at both ends of the spectrum:
Jitter is excellent sans harmless couple of sidebands:
I did not mess with filters so here is the default behavior (filter 1):
At first blush, wideband distortion+noise vs frequency looks quite high:
But that is an artifact of measuring all the way to 90 kHz and pulling in "noise shaping" behavior:
Actual distortion spikes are down a whopping -135 dB so no audible issue at all.
My minimum standard for headphone output with 300 ohm is 100mwatts and DL100 easily passes that mark:
Notice the incredibly low distortion before it clips. Story gets even better with 32 ohm load:
Good current delivery ability means that it is able to keep increasing power all the way down to 16 ohm!
Most headphone amps in this class start to droop the voltage at 32 ohm and below.
Sorry forgot to save the 50mv test results last night.
SMSL DL100 Listening Tests
I went right to the stress test of using my everyday Dan Clark E3 headphone to pair with the DL100. This is a rather difficult headphone to drive but the DL100 had no trouble producing superb fidelity with it and no hint of any distortion even at max volume. Speaking of that, comfortable listening was at -10 dB on the display. Pushing to 0 dB allowed just enough headroom to shorten your hearing lifetime by a bit while producing excellent dynamics!
Someone had complained about switching track glitches with SMSL DACs but I heard nothing here with my Roon player.Conclusions
DL100 provides some form factor changes and inclusion of HDMI ARC. Performance is more than excellent in every area, making for a compelling package despite its attractive price. I especially like its high current drive for headphones that have low impedance.
I am happy to recommend the SMSL DL100 dac and headphone amplifier.
----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
