SMSL DO400 : good product?

[Gloum]

Hello,

So I'm looking at a dac/amp and I've stumbled upon the SMSL DO400.
It has been some years it is released, is it a good and reliable product?
I was looking at the Topping products (dx5ii) but it seems it has its own issues. But maybe it's the sheer volume of the sells that make the number of complaints.

It will be connected to a computer or wiim ultra.
I would like to power a dan clark e3 or hifiman he-1000 stealth.

Or do you have another product to advise?
I don't mind going separate dac + amp.

Thanks!

 

[john61ct]

Did you miss these ?

SMSL DO400 DAC & HP Amp Review (NTTY)

Hello Everyone, This is a complementary review of the SMSL DO400. Preamble This exact item has already been reviewed by Amir, and I asked him to send it to me. I wanted to verify my ability to reproduce meaningful tests as I planned to review more of high precision devices in the future...

www.audiosciencereview.com

SMSL DO400 DAC & HP Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL DO400 DAC and balanced headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by Aoshida Audio and costs US$499. It is not quite visible but there are contours on top of the front panel sheet metal, giving the DO400 a higher end look. I expected the user...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Gloum]

Oh I def red those. But I think there is a difference between measurements and fiability long term. So wondering if SLS DO400's owners have something negative to say about it after X months / years of use

 

[john61ct]

If so they would log them into the pre existing threads. Better to keep things consolidated rather than scattering even more

Also, fiability?

 

[Gloum]

reliability sorry i'll ask in those threads then, sorry!

 

[Ruediger]

The DO400 has some sister products. Same DAC chip, case size. AL400 and models over at Loxjie. You could get the same for cheaper than the DO400, or in different optics. But afaik the DO400 is the one with the 3 headphone outputs.

I use it as an USB DAC behind a WiiM Ultra. It's job is to produce XLR out to a Purifi amp. And power various headphones.

The unit isn't turned off here at all and in use all workday. It's reliable so far as in no need to touch it again. Just to switch over to headphone out.

I can say that I have found no bugs, but I don't use all features.

For longterm reliability you should look to reports about power supply or defective units or issues with the display. Those would be in the big review thread(s). I searched through them prior to buy but didn't find anything.

My reasons to get it: ESS9039pro, strong headphone amp.

I wouldn't mind if it were smaller. But the unit gets handwarm or a little more as it is, so probably not an option with the big DAC.

If you are looking with headphone as #1 priority, I think one of the other SMSL models with ESS9039pro has an even beefier amp. The one with the deeper case. The DO400 is as deep as the Ultra.