SMSL DP5 Music Streamer and DAC Review

[Sukie]

I've tried Moode with RPi. It's very good, but still can't match using the native Tidal app casting to CCA. For example, you can't edit Tidal playlists, unless its changed since I tried it.

I can hear the splashing as folks get themselves in a lather about gapless!

It's a funny world that we inhabit. We can get everything that we want, but not in the same package. CCA works for some things, RPi for other things.

I suppose that what we're looking for in a streamer is something that ticks all of the boxes. The Holy Grail! The DP5 certainly doesn't appear to be this, but it's not alone. I've followed the thread on the Audio Element M and it seems a lot of money to pay for something that requires a fair amount of user effort to get it working properly.

I can live with a few things not exactly as I like if I've spent peanuts on a CCA or RPi. I can't live with a broken panther if I'm spending £450 on the DP5.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I don't think Roon integration is all that important. But then again I don't even know what Roon is or does.

 

[Glasvegas]

It's a funny world that we inhabit. We can get everything that we want, but not in the same package. CCA works for some things, RPi for other things.

I suppose that what we're looking for in a streamer is something that ticks all of the boxes. The Holy Grail! The DP5 certainly doesn't appear to be this, but it's not alone. I've followed the thread on the Audio Element M and it seems a lot of money to pay for something that requires a fair amount of user effort to get it working properly.

I can live with a few things not exactly as I like if I've spent peanuts on a CCA or RPi. I can't live with a broken panther if I'm spending £450 on the DP5.

Exactly. The even more expensive Element X has similar problems.

I'll stick with the CCA>D50 until something better comes on the market with an app that works. A D90 or RME with built in Chromecast would do.

 

[jhwalker]

Today's storage capacity is overwhelming....Not an issue, for me, anymore. Only buying tablets and phones with outboard SD card storage. No SD, no deal. Most have USB OTG, with sticks also reaching 1 TB....around 40000 songs in FLAC.

They even have wireless access....

https://www.sandisk.com/goto/connect

Certainly an issue for me - I've been buying music for 45+ years and have a library of over 150k tracks.

That said, I'm OK when traveling to bring the last 50 (or so) albums I've purchased and rely on streaming from Tidal or Qobuz for the rest.

 

[Jimbob54]

Certainly an issue for me - I've been buying music for 45+ years and have a library of over 150k tracks.

That said, I'm OK when traveling to bring the last 50 (or so) albums I've purchased and rely on streaming from Tidal or Qobuz for the rest.

Have you ever done a bit of a random sample to find how many of the 15k albums or so aren't on qobuz /tidal?

Tidal is better than qobuz but of my 30 or so years of CD buying, around 90 %of albums (far less singles and EPs are there.

 

[jhwalker]

I have JRiver and like it but Roon endpoints are far easier to create. I have a QOBUZ subscription with Roon and love it.
Cost matters, but I bit the bullet and am happy I did so.

- Rich

Same - I bought Roon lifetime within a day or two, so there is no ongoing cost for me and that $395 (original cost with early adopter status) is long forgotten

 

[jhwalker]

Have you ever done a bit of a random sample to find how many of the 15k albums or so aren't on qobuz /tidal?

Tidal is better than qobuz but of my 30 or so years of CD buying, around 90 %of albums (far less singles and EPs are there.

Well, most of them, for sure. And for the past 5+ years, I've done 99% of my buying from Qobuz, so ALL of those

Obviously, streaming wasn't available when I first started out with 8-tracks, cassettes, LPs, CDs, etc., so have a very large collection of those. Today, I may only buy an album or two a week, but listen to 10 others I don't wind up buying.

 

[BDWoody]

Same - I bought Roon lifetime within a day or two, so there is no ongoing cost for me and that $395 (original cost with early adopter status) is long forgotten

Same here... Realized within a few days it just handled a lot of work I didn't want to have to mess with.

Being gapless with the CCA just made it that much more of a no brainier for me. I use the sync /group function all the time, and I'm still impressed with how well it all just works.

 

[amirm]

Same - I bought Roon lifetime within a day or two, so there is no ongoing cost for me and that $395 (original cost with early adopter status) is long forgotten

Same here. I think the price has gone up but still, think of it as buying a piece of audio hardware.

 

[jhwalker]

A quarter to half second silence is low on my list of life problems that I need to worry about.

... and for me it would be a showstopper.

90%+ of my listening is classical and I only listen to albums, not tracks. So gapless is a requirement, not a nice-to-have.

 

[Tks]

Amazon Music HD took a longer time to be available In Canada than elsewhere, I fact I didn't know we had access but I just checked and it looks like it is now. But with a mention "Quebec resident don't have access to the 3 month free trial... "Unfortunately that rules them out for me right now. I just use Tidal. Yes they can be criticized, it just works for me, don't feel a need to change, or to expand to multiple streaming service. I hear you about the home integration, I just for some reason didn't get used to talk to my machines, I'm still typing in a browser instead of asking Siri, but it's just me.

Stay that way, unless you want to be a part of that entire privacy nightmare.

 

[MZKM]

Same here. I think the price has gone up but still, think of it as buying a piece of audio hardware.

It is now $700 for lifetime.

 

[SKBubba]

Don't get why people wouldn't use JRiver instead.

Antiquated UI, lack of streaming integration.

Roon has its own UI issues, but isn't hideous or complicated. Roon/qobuz integration is excellent. And RAAT is genius for devices that support it. For devices that don't, there are cheap pc/rpi ways to provide it.

 

[gvl]

Does Roon have a good recommendation engine?

 

[gvl]

Antiquated UI

It also has a techy feel to it, it's powerful but feels it may be a bit too much for an average Joe to appreciate.

 

[SKBubba]

Does Roon have a good recommendation engine?

It has three or four different ways to approach that. Some better than others. But with all the methods combined and a tidal/qobuz subscription you can deep dive for what seems like forever.

 

[BDWoody]

Does Roon have a good recommendation engine?

My experience has been generally pretty good. The occasional 'WTF was that,' but not that many.

 

[amirm]

Does Roon have a good recommendation engine?

Yes. I add half a dozen albums to my library each day because of it. When an album finishes, by default it goes into that mode and it is uncanny how well it finds similar mood/sounding tracks to play. This is with Tidal subscription by the way.

 

[GDK]

it is uncanny how well it finds similar mood/sounding tracks to play

Umm.... YMMV. Mine certainly do.

 

[gvl]

I might splurge for it but not before the price goes to $1k So you guys have a dedicated box somewhere in the closet that runs it (Roon) ?