SMSL M400 Balanced USB MQA DAC Review

[SMSL-Mandy]

Claiming to hear differences in clocks based on them being implemented in different dacs makes no sense.

The jitter measurements in the smsl400 are flawless, so the clocks are a none issue.

The clock system uses 2 accusilicon ultra-low phase noise crystal oscillators.

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Oh man! SMSL needs to get their act together. First the SU8 disaster, then the M500 mess and now the M400 crisis (coz it is very expensive!)...technically off course, may not be sonically!

I was myself a beta tester for SMSL when i bought their earlier batches of M500 stock and then the whole chip heating up and losing performance mess happened. I was fortunate to get a new one and still am using it, but the scar remains.

From what ive read on this thread, Amir didnt detect any issues in the DAC apart from the lower SPDIF input performance. He didnt detect linearity issues as he stated its 'text book perfect' or something (unless that linearity is not the linearity later found to be tilted clockwise). Then came some news about the M400 being a non-linear DAC...kind of having a clock wise tilt in FR...which was such a bummer already. Then came the explanation from SMSL that RCA has been made DELIBERATELY in such a way for that output to sound more musical ...thereby admitting to the crisis and Quality issues with the expectations that the users will replace caps...for a USD 810 Chinese device...sorry to sound redundant as if i am repeating the story but WTF SMSL? Cant you guys make one high end DAC right the first time around like maybe Topping does?

PS. I love the fact that we live in this era when manufacturers cant really get away with selling sub-par products without them being called out...

 

[Veri]

for a USD 810 Chinese device...sorry to sound redundant as if i am repeating the story but WTF SMSL? Cant you guys make one high end DAC right the first time around like maybe Topping does?

PS. I love the fact that we live in this era when manufacturers cant really get away with selling sub-par products without them being called out...

The XLR performance is still at least as good as Topping D90, and there's MQA support over USB, for who wants that. It's still a good DAC, just a shame about the undocumented RCA shenanigans. But I mean, XLR performance is top-notch/top of the line, still so that's good...

 

[Shoaibexpert]

The XLR performance is still at least as good as Topping D90, and there's MQA support over USB, for who wants that. It's still a good DAC, just a shame about the undocumented RCA shenanigans. But I mean, XLR performance is top-notch/top of the line, still so that's good...

Right! the RCA performance issue isnt that of lack of documentation i feel. It is a performance issue that escaped the QA as many others do in case of SMSL. I am personally happy to be great XLR performance...similar to D90 but then do we need to pick and choose what features we want to work flawlessly and which one we can or should be able to live without. The M500 MQA issues, the chip performance issues and the like and then this here are QA issues pure and simple. I doubt having 'Great XLR performace' gives any manufacturer a green signal to mess up other outputs and also inputs in the M400 case, especially at this price range. I mean you can get a Chord Qutest for a few hundred more used...or an RME ADI-2 or better yet a Cambridge Audio CXNV2 which is really feature rich and a streamer all the same, and those are EU premium brands...

 

[ShiZo]

Oh man! SMSL needs to get their act together. First the SU8 disaster, then the M500 mess and now the M400 crisis (coz it is very expensive!)...technically off course, may not be sonically!

I was myself a beta tester for SMSL when i bought their earlier batches of M500 stock and then the whole chip heating up and losing performance mess happened. I was fortunate to get a new one and still am using it, but the scar remains.

From what ive read on this thread, Amir didnt detect any issues in the DAC apart from the lower SPDIF input performance. He didnt detect linearity issues as he stated its 'text book perfect' or something (unless that linearity is not the linearity later found to be tilted clockwise). Then came some news about the M400 being a non-linear DAC...kind of having a clock wise tilt in FR...which was such a bummer already. Then came the explanation from SMSL that RCA has been made DELIBERATELY in such a way for that output to sound more musical ...thereby admitting to the crisis and Quality issues with the expectations that the users will replace caps...for a USD 810 Chinese device...sorry to sound redundant as if i am repeating the story but WTF SMSL? Cant you guys make one high end DAC right the first time around like maybe Topping does?

PS. I love the fact that we live in this era when manufacturers cant really get away with selling sub-par products without them being called out...

Non linear?

 

[JohnYang1997]

Non linear?

I think he was talking about the frequency response on rca output.

 

[SMSL-Mandy]

Right! the RCA performance issue isnt that of lack of documentation I feel. It is a performance issue that escaped the QA as many others do in case of SMSL. I am personally happy to be great XLR performance...similar to D90 but then do we need to pick and choose what features we want to work flawlessly and which one we can or should be able to live without. The M500 MQA issues, the chip performance issues and the like and then this here are QA issues pure and simple. I doubt having 'Great XLR performace' gives any manufacturer a green signal to mess up other outputs and also inputs in the M400 case, especially at this price range. I mean you can get a Chord Qutest for a few hundred more used...or an RME ADI-2 or better yet a Cambridge Audio CXNV2 which really features rich and a streamer all the same, and those are EU premium brands...

Has been explained before. It affected by capacitance. The original RCA design is more musical. So a higher capacitance value is used.

If your mind, we can provide tools and accessories for replacement. We can also provide more DIY solutions, which can be adjusted according to personal preference. E.g. low impedance Because every consumer’s preferences are different and different usage scenarios. As the manufacturer, on the one hand, it will pay attention to the actual situation of use, on the other hand, keep high parameters.

Hope you can try its RCA output, comment based on actual usage. Thanks.

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Has been explained before. It affected by capacitance. The original RCA design is more musical. So a higher capacitance value is used.

If your mind, we can provide tools and accessories for replacement. We can also provide more DIY solutions, which can be adjusted according to personal preference. E.g. low impedance Because every consumer’s preferences are different and different usage scenarios. As the manufacturer, on the one hand, it will pay attention to the actual situation of use, on the other hand, keep high parameters.

Hope you can try its RCA output, comment based on actual usage. Thanks.

Sure but I like it balanced like most people spending USD 810 on a Chinese DAC (no offence here, I love Chi-Fi!) will like, as you can imagine. Just saying but, did you let the customers know that youve made the DAC more musical for one port and not the other? Did you mark the outputs as such? Thereby, making the DAC not neutral for RCA implementation. I mean its your product and I see you have all the right to do with it as you please, but to create a high end DAC and NOT call it as 'Non-Neutral' looks to me as a gross gap in ethical customer communication. Btw, how is a gradual -4 or -7db dip accross all frequency ranges a sign of informed quality decision? Its a clockwise tilt and could prove a disastrous for people having darker sounding gear. Here at ASR, we like neutral DACs that essentially do not appear to exist in the chain (i would imagine). All i am saying is a DAC can be non-neutral and musical per say like maybe some of the European brands are...but then its should the same accross the board for all its outputs.

As regards the DIY options, I feel those with little to no knowledge of replacing CAPs should be allowed to return and replace the DAC configuration of their choice at SMSL's own expense and the two types of products with different CAPs should be marketed separately as well for consumers to choose wisely. Just a suggestion.

 

[MissMarplesexbomb]

Just buy the cheapest dac that measures well and call it a day. No ? they all sound the same anyway be it a E30 or M400.
Unless your looking for a specific feature.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Just buy the cheapest dac that measures well and call it a day. No ? they all sound the same anyway be it a E30 or M400.
Unless your looking for a specific feature.

You're on a mission today aren't you...

 

[MissMarplesexbomb]

You're on a mission today aren't you...

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Just buy the cheapest dac that measures well and call it a day. No ? they all sound the same anyway be it a E30 or M400.
Unless your looking for a specific feature.

I think most people here at ASR would agree to the E30=M400=M500=D90=DX7Pro=Broklyn+=Chord Qutest=iDSD Pro=any other more expensive DAC that i cant recall now, but has the SINAD>117...all sound the same! I'd love this to be correct...would save a ton on the DAC side in this rabbit hole...

 

[SMSL-Mandy]

I think most people here at ASR would agree to the E30=M400=M500=D90=DX7Pro=Broklyn+=Chord Qutest=iDSD Pro=any other more expensive DAC that i cant recall now, but has the SINAD>117...all sound the same! I'd love this to be correct...would save a ton on the DAC side in this rabbit hole...

Your theory is that all cars are the same and can be driven on the road. Porsche=BMW=Ferraris=BYD=Lamborghini？？

 

[Veri]

Let's try to stay on topic of M400! There's a 90+ page discussion about dac sound/sound signature already, no need to clutter up the thread
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...le-thinking-a-dac-has-a-sound-signature.9245/

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Your theory is that all cars are the same and can be driven on the road. Porsche=BMW=Ferraris=BYD=Lamborghini？？

I feel you. Tell that to the 95% people here

 

[somy]

How does it compare to topping d90?

 

[Jimbob54]

How does it compare to topping d90?

Read the reviews on here.

 

[SMSL-Mandy]

 

[Christophe999s]

If you set the volume to fixed, can you select the level it should be fixed to? For ex. 80?
If set to fixed, what is displayed on the display?

 

[Jimbob54]

If you set the volume to fixed, can you select the level it should be fixed to? For ex. 80?
If set to fixed, what is displayed on the display?

"Fixed" on most DACs means "lock to full"- also known as "DAC mode" on some devices. Its not the same as a "lock" to prevent accidental change, more it disables the pre-amp functionality.