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SMSL DL100 DAC and Headphone Amp Review

Rate this DAC & HP Amp

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 3 1.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 4 1.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 47 21.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 167 75.6%

  • Total voters
    221
I only have 2 things to say against this dac. Left and right are backwards and also upside down. Other then that it seems perfectly fine.
 
This was to get around DACs muting with no signal. That is not what is happening here.

Absolutely. And this was back in the CD player days were S/N and dynamic range numbers were king. CD players were claiming S/N ratios above 118dB in the late 1980s.

And then there were the bit shifting D/A converters where low level signals were increased in the digital domain and dropped in level in the analogue domain. Yamaha's HiBit "18 bit" converters were one of the first.

IMG_3559.jpg


What's old is new again.
 
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Why wasn't this tested, when 99% eyeing at this DAC is for this input so they can hopefully use volume control from their TV?
My analyzer has no HDMI ARC output. Nor can my computer generate the same. AP has a new HDMI card with ARC support but costs some $5,000. But is not compatible with my version of APx555.
I have a hack that I will be trying but needs fair bit of setup and I wanted to get this review out now...
 
Thanks for this review.

This looks like a very good DAC for the price.
SMSL now just need to add a 12V trigger output to all their DACs.
Auto on and off is also often a requested addition and since they started with more inputs this should become the norm
+I often want 2v/4v output mode as well for maximum compatibility
 
- why do manufacturers like SMSL and Topping market devices that essentially compete against their own products with similar performance and similar price and very little else to distinguish the products?

At these price points these articles are not bought in a physical shop and a seller explain you it’s characteristics. They are sold in online shops, mainly Amazon.

I think the only reason to flood the market with similar products is to have more display space. If I tap “Dac” in Amazon and Smsl only has two dacs, they will be two products. But if they have 15 dacs, there will be many more than two in my searches.

A nice thing is that they also can vary the features. Rca, xlr, Bluetooth, subwoofer output, hdmi arc, etc etc
 
I think I'll buy one of these, use my machining skills to put it in a really fancy case, put some fake WBT connectors on the back, and market it for $12,000.00

How much you want to bet that people would buy it, and then claim that it "sounds way better than that cheap Chinese junk" ???
Agree
Some audiophiles judge sound quality only by purchasing Price, looks, brand , so many in fact.. just read forums and you will understand

I'd love to see a real blind comparison between expensive and cheap audio Gear and read the results
 
This is an ugly duck (DAC) both inside and outside.
You know that something must be wrong when they start doubling the number of DAC chips.
This DL100 has 4×CS43131 chips, the DO100 Pro had 2xES9039Q2M chips, and the D-6S just 1xES9039Q2M chip.

And by the way, what is the "job to be done" of an HDMI ARC circuit or a Bluetooth circuit in a DAC? Is it precision, or is it convenience?

In electronics, when you add circuitry for convenience, you add more components, and more components add more noise, and more noise reduces precision.
 
tbf heaps of companies use multiple chips in the one DAC... as long as it works why would you care unless you are like me and pore over spec sheets

if it works it works

i also think people are swimming against the stream if you are against HDMI and BT input - it de rigueur these days in all modern dacs

as far as Crystal's 'circuit silencing' technology - you know this is fake scammy tech if they dont publicise it

if Crystal were honest they would say they have to magic new feature that increases SNR and you can turn it on and off at will and *hear* the difference... like AKM Velvet Sound

but they just do *this* and they try to hide it, so you know they know its wacky

so I'm with StaticV3 here

BUT I'm kind of with Amir when I say... if the end result works then why quibble how they get there???
 
My analyzer has no HDMI ARC output. Nor can my computer generate the same. AP has a new HDMI card with ARC support but costs some $5,000. But is not compatible with my version of APx555.
I have a hack that I will be trying but needs fair bit of setup and I wanted to get this review out now...

Nah, all we want to know is whether TV volume control is supported when the DAC is connected through HDMI. The actual audio fidelity should be fine.
 
Thank you, Amir.

This is starting to become ridiculous! A complete Dac/Amp with an HDMI/Arc input no less, and balanced outputs able to competently drive most headphones and with inaudible levels of noise and distortion for only $179, and I don't give a rip that the case is stamped steel. Just don't sit on it!

How much longer before the $150 barrier is broken? Best of times, yada, yada, yada!

Now let's do this with speakers!
 
i think there's some cost cutting to come down from $175... surely they can do a full HDMI I2S with just a usb type-c in?

I dont see the point of a full IEC power when its not necessary.

otherwise there's nothing else much to cut - we still love the legacy sp/dif, we cant lose XLR and full rca out and we want the dual headphones... we're to the bone!
 
Nah, all we want to know is whether TV volume control is supported when the DAC is connected through HDMI. The actual audio fidelity should be fine.
From what I read the answer is yes. It will give you volume control of your tv through the DAC using hdmi/arc.
 
Anyway they still sticks to the damn sample rate display instead of volume, what a shame.
It does show you the volume when you adjust the level it will momentarily show you the volume gain level and then it goes back to the bitrate data.
 
Glad to see the prices dropping. Though I don't trust SMSL really for long lasting products anymore. They repaired my SU-9n on warranty but a defect after 18 months for a low power, low temp device rarely powered on? Come on ... and that device was 400 €. I hope they improved their PCB design.
 
That's already done in cameras with intermediate ISOs being digital gain. And if they did what you said, as long as it has zero side effects (HDR method you mentioned gets messed up with motion), then it would be valid as well.

I don't know if validity was the thing in question, it would be more so the dishonesty involved when the question about the dynamic range was in question. No one is actually posing the question of what the dynamic range of a camera is when multiple exposures are combined into one. They want to know the dynamic range of a single exposure in order to gauge the capability of the sensor in such condition.

The Sony A9III can take a 120 photos in a second, even with slight motion something of this speed can be used to fudge dynamic range results while claiming the camera has a ridiculous amount of dynamic range. (And since dynamic range tests are conducted with still test charts, this will always be something this camera can always Ace). If camera burst rates keep improving, at some point you can take the worst sensors and claim amazing dynamic range (the only side effect being disgusting storage requirements, and battery use required to in-camera combine all the exposures).
 
Someone had complained about switching track glitches with SMSL DAC

I had an issue with a SMSL switching digital sources not tracks ( a few years ago on an older model). Switching from Roon to Amazon music - I lost the handshake and got loud white noise.
 
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