SMSL DS20 Portable DAC & HP Amp Review

[Tonton_ZEeD]

To avoid phone addiction??

Yeah ! Try to avoid notification on a phone when you want to select a specific track\album. You can enable airplane mode but it defeat the purpose of a phone no ?

 

[wiggum]

I think it is too heavy to go into any pocket. It is something you carry in a purse/bag for long commute/flight.

No, it is for home use only. The ambient noise levels in an aircraft cabin is 80 dB and for subway trains, it is around 75 to 100 dB SPL defeating the very purpose of using a Hi-Fi device.

On the other hand, on quiet residential areas, the noise levels can go as low as 26 dB.

 

[microfast]

M20 doesn't have an internal battery so you would need a separate battery bank to power that while on the go.

Correct, mine was a consideration about affinity like electronic implementation ...

 

[MingRui]

Thank you

This is a review and measurements of the SMSL DS20 balanced, portable (battery operated) DAC and headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by Aoshida Audio and costs US $190.
View attachment 473743

I am usually not a fan of transparent covers on electronics but this one is so well done that I approve! The enclosure is very solidly built metal which while heavy, oozes feeling of quality as does the glass cover. The white LEDS in the middle nicely show the current volume. Others indicate charging, USB class, etc.

Nice to see (true) balanced and unbalanced headphone jacks:
View attachment 473744
While the multi-mode power button takes some getting used to, the rocker volume control is buttery smooth. It does have rather large steps though.

The entire back of the unit is magnetic and rather strong too as it kept sticking to my metal bench! It is made so that you can attach your phone to it. So you can put aside your rubber band!

In the interest of time, what you are about to see is abbreviated set of measurements, focused on balanced 4.4mm output. Company documents that the 3.5mm jack outputs half the voltage which means you get quarter of the measured power you see below.

SMSL DS20 Measurements
As noted, the volume control is rather coarse, jumping from 3.8 to 4.5 volts. I like to see 4 volts but gave the benefit of doubt and tested at 4.5 volts:
View attachment 473746
This is shockingly good and quite unexpected! We are talking very competent desktop class performance:
View attachment 473747
View attachment 473748

Likewise, dynamic range at 4.5 volt is superb for this class:
View attachment 473749

But not the 50 millivolt output:
View attachment 473750

So highly sensitive IEMs may expose some noise.

Key for portable devices is amount of power and we have quite a bit of it here for this class:
View attachment 473751
View attachment 473752

This is well above what you get out of a dongle and you have a battery here to boot.

Conclusions
The SMSL DS20 turns in impressively good numbers for a portable DAC and headphone amplifier. The former aspect, is desktop class though the latter can be outdone with desktop amps. But not with dongles. So if you have any worries of draining the battery on your phone while enjoying music, the DS20 makes an excellent option.

I am happy to recommend the SMSL DS20.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

It’s really good. Thank you!

 

[tomatocookie]

I just recently picked up this DAC and I'm getting some weird static noises whenever it's attached to the back of my phone. Is anyone else having this issue?

Is it normal for a portable DAC to pick up some interference when it's close to the phone? I don't have this issue when it's placed further away though.

 

[staticV3]

I just recently picked up this DAC and I'm getting some weird static noises whenever it's attached to the back of my phone. Is anyone else having this issue?

Is it normal for a portable DAC to pick up some interference when it's close to the phone? I don't have this issue when it's placed further away though.

Yes, some dongle DACs tend to pick up RFI from your phone's Cellular/WiFi antenna.

Try turning on Airplane mode and the noises will likely stop.