SMSL M400 Balanced USB MQA DAC Review

[THIBAULT]

Build looks fine except the ugly volume knob. Unnecessarily expensive product since all dacs sound same. I think Topping E30 set the bar for single ended. I havent seen good balanced dac from China yet. Modius is leading there. M200, m300 has bunch of bloatware and ugly design. They are expensive too. They are acting like everyone needs a bluetooth and some other features. Modius is $200 you have no excuse.

I was talking about SMSL SP 400 amp no M400 dac.

 

[odyo]

I was talking about SMSL SP 400 amp no M400 dac.

WUT ? I didn't quote you. I just did a comment to review.

 

[misterdog]

Unnecessarily expensive product since all dacs sound same

Great review, complete nonsense.

Several members who have heard the M400 think it the best DAC they have heard.

Why are you on this forum if you think all DAC's sound the same.

 

[THIBAULT]

Great review, complete nonsense.

Several members who have heard the M400 think it the best DAC they have heard.

Why are you on this forum if you think all DAC's sound the same.

I am totally agree with you

 

[odyo]

Great review, complete nonsense.

Several members who have heard the M400 think it the best DAC they have heard.

Why are you on this forum if you think all DAC's sound the same.

Well... this forum thinks all dacs sound same and you need blind tests to prove otherwise. I think you are in the wrong forum

 

[sq225917]

The forum doesn't think anything, it's a bunch of software run on a server.

I doubt that most members think all dacs sound the same. More like all competently designed dacs 'should' sound the same.

The smsl400 certainly doesn't sound like my ess9038qm dual mono dac, far from it.

 

[Veri]

The M400 also has a pretty high output level. Maaaaybe louder = better..?

 

[misterdog]

The M400 also has a pretty high output level. Maaaaybe louder = better..?

Whatever the reason it works well for me.

Amir reduced the voltage output to level match with other DAC's while testing.

 

[ChrisUK]

I was about to purchase this dac but noticed this review over at Amazon Japan, it states there is a problem with the RCA output, can Amirm confirm this?

 

[SECA_alan]

Mine arrived today, it's a different beast to the M-500. I have no means to test anything here, so I logged in to see if anyone had flagged anything as amiss. The screenshot above may be accurate, it seems to me (I use the RCA output).

I would be very interested to see if that can be verified.

 

[ChrisUK]

Mine arrived today, it's a different beast to the M-500. I have no means to test anything here, so I logged in to see if anyone had flagged anything as amiss. The screenshot above may be accurate, it seems to me (I use the RCA output).

I would be very interested to see if that can be verified.

JohnYang1997 has confirmed it here:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...asurements-of-smsl-m400-dac.13662/post-457731

 

[misterdog]

Mine arrived today, it's a different beast to the M-500. I have no means to test anything here, so I logged in to see if anyone had flagged anything as amiss. The screenshot above may be accurate, it seems to me (I use the RCA output).

I would be very interested to see if that can be verified.

It has been 'verified' 14 minutes after @ChrisUK posted the the first sighting of an anonymous Amazon Japan 'review' using free REW software and a £ 20 SPL microphone.

@JohnYang1997 happened to take the same measurements yesterday on his APX 500. As seen by the time stamp on his plots.

So 14 minutes after @ChrisUK posted his findings conformation was available.

Amazing how many new posters have surfaced to condemn the SMSL products.

Is this what the internet was invented for ?

 

[Veri]

Amazing how many new posters have surfaced to condemn the SMSL products.

Is this what the internet was invented for ?

It's actually rather amazing that only ~6 weeks later, people notice the RCA problem. Constructive criticism is positive no? Condemn? If there is a bug it only makes sense to report about it ....

 

[ChrisUK]

It has been 'verified' 14 minutes after @ChrisUK posted the the first sighting of an anonymous Amazon Japan 'review' using free REW software and a £ 20 SPL microphone.

@JohnYang1997 happened to take the same measurements yesterday on his APX 500. As seen by the time stamp on his plots.

So 14 minutes after @ChrisUK posted his findings conformation was available.

Amazing how many new posters have surfaced to condemn the SMSL products.

Is this what the internet was invented for ?

Don't shoot the messenger!

Who is condemning SMSL? I posted a fact that potential customers need to know before purchase. I do my due diligence before any purchase, maybe you should have done the same!

I think the bigger question is why this was not found in the initial review, it is a very basic thing for SMSL to get wrong! Do SMSL not test there products before they leave the factory?

 

[SECA_alan]

I am hoping for an additional measurement or at least some observations from @amirm on the subject, having bought the DAC on the basis of this discussion. My own suspicion is based on subjective assessment only, an assessment which has already shifted with time. I noticed a lack of 'air' and missing rasp in brass instruments, and a generally soft top end. Given how exemplary everything else is, this stood out to me.

I may still get an XLR to RCA cable and see if it is different that way.

 

[ChrisUK]

@amirm needs to verify this, and if verified this dac should be removed from the recommended list IMHO.

I would be very angry if I had spent £700 on dac with such a school boy error.

 

[Veri]

I may still get an XLR to RCA cable and see if it is different that way.

Note that an XLR to RCA cable might introduce distortion, usually it's not that simple to use a cable to go XLR to RCA... the device might not like it.

 

[SECA_alan]

Note that an XLR to RCA cable might introduce distortion, usually it's not that simple to use a cable to go XLR to RCA... the device might not like it.

An interesting point, that would make 'this' more of an issue. My pre amp has only single ended inputs and has, thus far, always sounded better than a direct connection to the power amplifier.

 

[SECA_alan]

@amirm needs to verify this, and if verified this dac should be removed from the recommended list IMHO.

I would be very angry if I had spent £700 on dac with such a school boy error.

It's far too early to get angry about anything IMO, and besides the online seller for SMSL has always provided me excellent service in the past. New products occasionally have issues, that's how it is. I'm not even convinced there is an issue, yet.

I was an early adopter of the M2Tech Young mk1 DAC, now that was a painful, protracted experience...

 

[ChrisUK]

Hmm... No word from Amir..... No word from SMSL....

I know there watching