SMSL DO300 DAC Review

[Trell]

When did I say that ASR no longer has any use ?

These devices are solved; DAC/ADC, preamps, most amplifiers and a large percentage of speakers.

When I say solved, it refers to competently designed products that process or reproduce the original signal and keep distortion levels below human audibility. I can't help it if someone wants bastardize a topology to add distortion

That does not mean that new products are competently designed or engineered.

 

[respice finem]

That does not mean that new products are competently designed or engineered.

This. Some still manage to botch stuff where nobody would expect it - either by making cheap too cheap or trying to be "unique".
There are some examples in this forum.

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[mdsimon2]

Is that a good reason for users setting their DACs to output @0 dB and then control de final heard loudness via the file player and/or the amplifier ?

Thank you.

File player will give the exact same results as it is also digital volume control. Amplifier volume control may give better results (and may also give you channel imbalance issues at low levels) but this DAC is already so low noise that it really doesn’t matter.

This measurement is most interesting for DACs that have analog volume control (or hybrid digital / analog volume control) or have 0 dBFS SINAD that is dominated by distortion.

If 0 dBFS SINAD is dominated by distortion you would hope that at lower levels distortion decreases but this may not be the case. With analog volume control you would expect that lower level SINAD will be better than just subtracting the attenuation from dynamic range.

Michael

 

[Burns]

it has not yet been 24 hours since the measurements and the DAC DO 300 has a survey result of 4.Great=86 and 3.Fine=24. I do not believe that 110 people have this DAC at home to judge whether it is good or hopeless.

 

[pseudoid]

I never thought we'd see the day when we can complain about too many nothing-burgers flooding the market.
Maybe it is because we can't find NOTHING wrong with these nothing-burgers @amirm has been delivering!

 

[Trell]

it has not yet been 24 hours since the measurements and the DAC DO 300 has a survey result of 4.Great=86 and 3.Fine=24. I do not believe that 110 people have this DAC at home to judge whether it is good or hopeless.

It’s just the members subjective opinion of the DAC based upon the measurements, price, features, connectivity, look etc.

No need to own the DAC to have an opinion and vote.

 

[Burns]

I never thought we'd see the day when we can complain about too many nothing-burgers flooding the market.
Maybe it is because we can't find NOTHING wrong with these nothing-burgers @amirm has been delivering!

@amira's tests become inconsistent. Some are measured at 4V others at 5V. The DO300 defaults to 5V, why was it intended at 4V without a second 5V measurement? Transducer ranking is out of date. Example: you read the DO300 measurements where is the DX3 pro+? You read the DX3 pro+ measurements where is DO300. This should be linked to the cumulative ranking. Why isn't it said that the $500 SMSL remote is just as shoddy as the $200 one? The IPS display is unreadable from a distance of one meter or less. Why in DAC only mode 0.0dB takes up the whole screen. Nonsense. Are the measurements paid so as not to show defects?

Filter mode off suggests clean DAC and suggests default. This time it causes huge audible problems. How am I supposed to know this without this review and measurements if the manufacturer does not mention it?

 

[Trell]

Are the measurements paid so as not to show defects?

Nope.

 

[Burns]

Nope.

I know, I feel that way, but I'm slowly getting doubts

 

[amirm]

The DO300 defaults to 5V, why was it intended at 4V without a second 5V measurement?

My sample powered up at 0 dB and 4.1 volt you see on the dashboard. Should it have been higher, I would have reduced it down to that.

 

[Burns]

My sample powered up at 0 dB and 4.1 volt you see on the dashboard. Should it have been higher, I would have reduced it down to that.

Factory site, as you know I had this device at home. Did you reset the device to factory settings before measuring up to +2.0 dB?

Haste is not good, haste is not advisable.

 

[Burns]

It’s just the members subjective opinion of the DAC based upon the measurements, price, features, connectivity, look etc.

No need to own the DAC to have an opinion and vote.

Thanks to such assessments, audio science and audiophiles will be healthy for a very long time to preach their stupidity. 110 sheep rated this device as very good. A new person comes who wants to buy a DO300, looks for reliable information on the Internet, finds this forum. He reads the ranking because he doesn't understand the measurements yet. If 110 Sheep rated the device as good, it is good. Only the buyer doesn't know that they were sheep. He brings the device home and is disappointed because the device is stupid. there is no power management and a few more features - a disappointment.

 

[Reynaldo]

Factory site, as you know I had this device at home. Did you reset the device to factory settings before measuring up to +2.0 dB?

One doubt, in the SMSL DO300 leaving the volume fixed will the XLR have 5.2Vrms?

 

[amirm]

Factory site, as you know I had this device at home. Did you reset the device to factory settings before measuring up to +2.0 dB?

Haste is not good, haste is not advisable.

What are you talking about? The picture simply shows the maximum output which is correct. And are you fingers broken and you can't set the volume back to 0 dB if it were not so?

 

[SuicideSquid]

@amira's tests become inconsistent. Some are measured at 4V others at 5V. The DO300 defaults to 5V, why was it intended at 4V without a second 5V measurement? Transducer ranking is out of date. Example: you read the DO300 measurements where is the DX3 pro+? You read the DX3 pro+ measurements where is DO300. This should be linked to the cumulative ranking. Why isn't it said that the $500 SMSL remote is just as shoddy as the $200 one? The IPS display is unreadable from a distance of one meter or less. Why in DAC only mode 0.0dB takes up the whole screen. Nonsense. Are the measurements paid so as not to show defects?

Filter mode off suggests clean DAC and suggests default. This time it causes huge audible problems. How am I supposed to know this without this review and measurements if the manufacturer does not mention it?

My understanding is that Amir tests at what the device reports as '0.0dB' output and that ought to be 4 volt output, though some devices are not capable of 4v output and will output less signal. Perhaps he can confirm.

The rest of these complaints just seem weird and incoherent. The remote is clearly pictured with the device, as is how the device displays volume. If you don't like these things, they're there for you to observe. Filter mode off does not suggest "clean DAC" and anyone here will tell you as much. It's also clearly noted in Amir's review that this mode should not be used. How are you supposed to know this? Because it's flagged in the review.

As for the complaint that the DX3 Pro+ isn't in the graph, because the graph is of the top 20 DACs tested, and the DX3 Pro+, with a SINAD of 116, is outside the top 20. This is clearly indicated above the graph. The DO300 is not in the graph on the DX3Pro+ review because that review is two years old and the DO300 did not exist at that time.

 

[Steamrolly]

One doubt, in the SMSL DO300 leaving the volume fixed will the XLR have 5.2Vrms?

You simply need to adjust the volume to 0.0 dB before before setting the Pre Mode to 'Fixed' and it will remain at 0.0 dB.
I own a DO300 and really appreciate the pre mode setting since I do not use volume controls on my DACs. For those who would like to set the volume at another level, the volume level is maintained at the level you have it set to when you set pre mode to fixed. It does not revert to +2.0 dB.

 

[LesterNZ]

SMSL releases too many DACs.

What is the actual difference between a DO300 and a SU-9 PRO ?
Same chip used, same performances, almost the same connectivity, almost the same look, and alsmost the same price on Audiophonics.

Why choose one instead of the other ?

You're right about that! Big confusion as I've bought 2x SMSL D300 (only a 'D' w/300) that have the new ROHM dac chip in a similar box. More confusing?

And to my ears - or imagination - or its' output implementation, they sound 'slightly' different OR 'better' than my ESS (2x March1Khadas, & 2x Oppo '05's, plus some TI 1794a's-OPA1612, and miniDSP SHD AKM 4490's that I've fed into my amps.

Tricky enough discernment in listening without also wrestling nomenclature!

I'm just going to be spending any more $$$ on sensibly priced whiskeys.

 

[sam_adams]

Many of the common technical metrics are being met or exceeded with current designs from the top-tier manufacturers of reasonably priced DACs. Where the focus should be now is on designing interfaces that are more 'readable' from other than desktop distances. The guys at Okto seem to be able to get this right:

so where is the design element disconnect with the other manufacturers?

 

[ThatGuyYouKnow]

Many of the common technical metrics are being met or exceeded with current designs from the top-tier manufacturers of reasonably priced DACs. Where the focus should be now is on designing interfaces that are more 'readable' from other than desktop distances. The guys at Okto seem to be able to get this right:


so where is the design element disconnect with the other manufacturers?

Topping got that part right with the E70/E70V/L70, in addition to 12v triggers which are also very important to me and should be on many more DACs.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

When did I say that ASR no longer has any use ?

These devices are solved; DAC/ADC, preamps, most amplifiers and a large percentage of speakers.

When I say solved, it refers to competently designed products that process or reproduce the original signal and keep distortion levels below human audibility. I can't help it if someone wants bastardize a topology to add distortion

A large proportion of speakers are “competently designed products that process or reproduce the original signal and keep distortion levels below human audibility.”
Is that true?