SMSL DL200 the best ever value DAC/AMP?

[Pablos]

I mean if the volume is at 10% on the TV and the optical output take it in account, you got a weak volume signal entering the DAC.

Oh i see what you mean! Changing TV volume makes no difference, sadly. I thought optical was fixed output.

*edit* appears I was wrong. Found a setting on the tv for changing digital output volume and it's as loud as I'll ever need now.

Thanks for steering me in the right direction, @renaudrenaud

 

[Qu@rk]

Many TVs have a setting for a fixed max volume of SPDIF out for example if an AV receiver is connected. In this case the volume level is fixed at 100% and you are not able to change it using the remote.

By default this fixed volume setting is usually disabled.

 

[Pablos]

Understand. I was never aware of this but learning all the time. Thank you!!

 

[nick_l44.1]

Hi, I have a few comments about the DL200 HPA output. The voltages at the 6.35mm and 4.4mm outputs are completely identical. Most likely the device has a single HPA that works on both outputs.
DR measurements showed significant noise. The final result is somewhat worse than could have been with the es9039q2m: 126/125.4dBA.

THD is not bad, about -130dB. Due to high noise THD+N measures around -120dB.
SMPTE -112.1/-110dB.

CCIF -111.5/-110.8dB. So-so result. My e1da 9038d6k shows -121.7 dB CCIF.

Multitone

 

[DeN2000]

Hi! When playing any file from any source, the number 96 lights up on the DAC. Shouldn't a different number be displayed depending on the source?
USB 2 is connected

 

[nick_l44.1]

Hi! When playing any file from any source, the number 96 lights up on the DAC. Shouldn't a different number be displayed depending on the source?
USB 2 is connected

Perhaps your source is resampling to 96k. I see all frequencies on display including DSD.

 

[DeN2000]

Perhaps your source is resampling to 96k. I see all frequencies on display including DSD.

Thanks! I will deal with the source.

 

[JIW]

Hi, I have a few comments about the DL200 HPA output. The voltages at the 6.35mm and 4.4mm outputs are completely identical. Most likely the device has a single HPA that works on both outputs.
DR measurements showed significant noise. The final result is somewhat worse than could have been with the es9039q2m: 126/125.4dBA.
View attachment 341136
THD is not bad, about -130dB. Due to high noise THD+N measures around -120dB.
SMPTE -112.1/-110dB.
View attachment 341141
CCIF -111.5/-110.8dB. So-so result. My e1da 9038d6k shows -121.7 dB CCIF.
View attachment 341139
Multitone
View attachment 341140

SNR is specified as 125 dB for the headphone output. Keep in mind that this includes the noise of the amplifier adding to that of the DAC. Assuming the DAC is connected symmetrically to a standalone amplifier, its 130 dB SNR would require the amplifier to have an SNR below 126.65 dB to achieve a total SNR above 125 dB at unity gain assuming noise is uncorrelated. At 50 mV, SNR should be at least 91 dB which is only 4 dB below the highest measuring amplifiers.

 

[audioje]

So, I got DL200 and installed windows driver with usb 2.0 setting and fl1 filter. Other than that, I didn't change anything and things are good to go so far!

Edit:
Changed the xml option to visible to make it always on and then played files with different sample rates (44.1 -> 88.2) on foobar. I don't hear the audible pop some talked about. Thought about the firmware upgrade but I don't think I need it.

 

[Qu@rk]

Please always be careful with firmware updates unless they are official updates from the SMSL website (or Topping etc.). And even then, if everything works perfectly for you, why update (there is no security risk or something like that). A new firmware can also introduce new bugs (and most probably will).

As far as I can see, please correct me if I am wrong, the latest firmware update posted here is more than 4 months old and it is unofficial (from a distributor). I would assume that the recently sold DL200s already have a newer firmware version installed. Of course we will never know because there is no (known) way to show the installed firmware version.

I did not perform a firmware update (my units have been purchased in December) and everything works fine (so far, don't want to jinx it, ).

 

[nick_l44.1]

only 4 dB below the highest measuring amplifiers

DR126dBA of DL200 is not bad at all. But the performance of my es9038q2m usb dongle is exactly the same and I was огые hoping for something more. I don't think it's unreal. Measurements of the XLR (TRS) output confirm that this is HPA noise.
XLR DR = 130.6/130.7dBA

XLR THD+N -124.5/-123.7dB

XLR SMTE -112.9/-110.9dB
XLR CCIF -115.7/-113.5dB

The bad news is that the noise has a fairly high amplitude. This applies to both XLR and HPA.
That's the scope of 1kHz -25dB HPA output:

The XLR output silence scope shows 35.7MHz WTF oscillations:

I believe that this was the reason for the unexpected clipping of the preamp and the increase in distortion that sometimes occurred during my measurements.

 

[JIW]

DR126dBA of DL200 is not bad at all. But the performance of my es9038q2m usb dongle is exactly the same and I was огые hoping for something more. I don't think it's unreal. Measurements of the XLR (TRS) output confirm that this is HPA noise.
XLR DR = 130.6/130.7dBA
View attachment 341354
XLR THD+N -124.5/-123.7dB
View attachment 341355
XLR SMTE -112.9/-110.9dB
XLR CCIF -115.7/-113.5dB

The bad news is that the noise has a fairly high amplitude. This applies to both XLR and HPA.
That's the scope of 1kHz -25dB HPA output:
View attachment 341360
The XLR output silence scope shows 35.7MHz WTF oscillations:
View attachment 341361
I believe that this was the reason for the unexpected clipping of the preamp and the increase in distortion that sometimes occurred during my measurements.

Can you explain your measurement setup and particularly what bandwidth you selected for the last two measurements and what the amplitude and time scales are? The high frequency noise could be due to noise shaping.

 

[nick_l44.1]

Can you explain your measurement setup and particularly what bandwidth you selected for the last two measurements and what the amplitude and time scales are? The high frequency noise could be due to noise shaping.

It was just the DL200 connected to PC. I used REW generator for the first test. All the values you requested are in the screenshots. BTW probably due to noise, my oscilloscope made a mistake in calculating the frequency in both tests. So it should be about 7mVrms/100MHz. I don't think that noise shaping can generate such relatively clean UHF sine instead of noise hump. In addition, as I wrote, in the last test there was no signal at all.
I have now retested the XLR output (same DUT, different location). The result is slightly different, but the frequency is the same. It looks like some kind of digital artifacts.

 

[JIW]

It was just the DL200 connected to PC. I used REW generator for the first test. All the values you requested are in the screenshots. BTW probably due to noise, my oscilloscope made a mistake in calculating the frequency in both tests. So it should be about 7mVrms/100MHz. I don't think that noise shaping can generate such relatively clean UHF sine instead of noise hump. In addition, as I wrote, in the last test there was no signal at all.
I have now retested the XLR output (same DUT, different location). The result is slightly different, but the frequency is the same. It looks like some kind of digital artifacts.
View attachment 341479

It could be the switching frequency of the power supply or at least be related to it in another way.

 

[Deleted member 68540]

Got a FiiO BTR7 in the AliExpress "Winter Sale" (USD 135 vs 199 on Amazon). Have been listening to it; so very impressive (I wonder if the K7 sounds similar). Got back to the DL200. Even more impressed, still. Would love to see official measurements by @amirm.

 

[Deleted member 68540]

For the DL200 click police (myself included): the BTR7 also produces clicks in USB/ASIO mode (via both the balanced and the SE outputs; interestingly, clicks sound different between modes, perhaps because of the BTR7's balanced 'boost'). Editing the Thesycon USB Audio driver's XML file had no effects.

As with the DL200, I can hear no clicks in Bluetooth mode on the BTR7.

Common among clicks in all my USB DACs there is thus one company: Thesycon -- exempting Microsoft here because I am connecting to the DL200 in LDAC mode via my Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio using the Alternative A2DP Driver by Luculent Systems, which works like a charm, with no clicks.

 

[Qu@rk]

Bluetooth/LDAC always uses the same sampling rate (DAC side, 96 kHz) and does not disconnect when playback was stopped. It is therefore understandable that no clicks/pops occur with BT/LDAC compared to an USB connection.

 

[Deleted member 68540]

That is the case via Android. Most interestingly, that's not the case with the Luculent Systems' driver. Sample rate varies and can be seen both in the driver's interface as well as on the FiiO BTR7's display itself.

 

[Qu@rk]

Yes, of course you are right. The sample rate is selected automatically by "best effort" between 44.1 and 96 kHz and the codec (lossy compression) will be adapted accordingly. I misread the specs of LDAC or at least remembered it wrong.
Thanks for clearing that up (nice pictures).

 

[Yersinia Bestmate]

DL200 has auto off screen. Push 2 seconds the FN button on the remote: the screen will print OFF and then will be active only 5 seconds each change (input, volume...).

In your case I will stop to use Windows and go for another OS like Linux: it is unbelievable people continue to use a system where issues cannot be fixed, and continue with the DL200.

Linux. Thanks for the advice, I guess But there's no way I'm going to jump into that swamp and start changing my whole OS and start learning how to use a new one just because of a faint pop/click when switching tracks (and which are not there in my no.1 set which runs on Win10, as I wrote).

And I do know about the auto-off screen function on DL200. It doesn't switch off the device though, does it? Just the screen. And anyway I like the screen to be on when I'm using the device, not only when I change volume or toggle inputs, et cetera. So in my opinion it in fact has nothing to do with signal sensing auto-on/off function, but thanks anyway.

Gonna give Topping E70 a try. Hope it works as well as E30II did.