SMSL RAW-MDA 1 DAC & Headphone Amp Review

[Lambo1985]

Another user in this thread also had a problem with their screen—they had a burn-in issue. So, I recommend other users use the auto screen to turn off, just in case.

Thanks. However, my issue is not burn-in. The screen won't turn on. I think it just failed. I tried powering off/on. Disconnecting power for a day. Tried again. No dice.

 

[john100a]

I've noticed a new issue with my unit, perhaps it is due to my own electricity infrastructure, but everytime I play music and turn on another device in my room (like a ceiling fan or a light, for example, from another socket) the unit stops playing music. The song itself still plays on the computer but it gives no output to the speakers. Skipping forward/backwards makes the audio come back again.

I use windows 10, latest updates on it, with the latest firmware on my MDA1.

Does anyone know what might be causing this?

 

[supermax]

Quick question guys - im waiting for my unit to arrive tomorrow.

Does the all output function on it allow it to play audio through the headphone port and the RCA output ports at the back simultaneously?

Im trying to use it for my 2 PC Gaming streaming setup. I want to hear the audio via the 4.4m jack on my gaming PC but want it to simultaenously send that gaming audio to my streaming pc via the RCA output ports. Is that possible or if I use the headphone ports do the others become muted?


Appreciate your feedback.

 

[NewbieAudioKnight]

I bought this unit and there's a serious problem I'm having.
Everything so far has been OK EXCEPT the optical in. Totally muffled sounding audio output when I use that input. Sounds like a pillow is pressed over the speakers---like totally unusable. I thought maybe I had a cable problem because I'm using a crazy old toslink cable and RCA cable (to connect to my powered desktop speakers) from so long ago, so I even bought new RCA and toslink cables. Same result. Really bad.
I bought this despite having a KA17 dongle that runs everything fine b/c I wanted to use it as a connector for my desktop PC, PS5, and phone all kicking out to the same headphones and speakers so I just have to click the button on the remote to change the input. But since the optical inputs are unusable, defeats the whole purpose. Maybe I have a faulty unit? Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Bleib]

Anyone else have this problem?

Optical sounds exceptional, no difference from USB

 

[nanook]

From a technical point of view, I cannot think of a fault that could do this.
The optical input seems to receive the data properly - otherwise there would be crackling and/or the outputs would get muted.
Altering the sound would require to modify the digital data stream and to deliver a consistent data format.
Does eventually your optical source have an equalizer?

 

[Magicmastja]

This was my first DSD capable desktop DAC and I didnt want to color my initial perception as much as I could avoid it so I setup live PCM to DSD playback with JRIVER while reading just enough info to get it up and running. I was surprised to see that I liked the sound more than standard PCM, but also a littled worried that I was falling victim to some placebo effect. From there I went down the whole PCM vs DSD rabbit hole, felt relieved to at least know the ES9039Q2M has a separate initial filter pipeline for DSD/DoP so sounds like at the very least I might be enjoying the presentation of a different reconstruction method.

Still trying to get a grasp on a few more things related to DSD and the ES9039Q2M in general. For one, do you need to dither with PCM to DSD conversion? I know you usually do it for down-sampling but is the conversion process similar enough to a typical 24bit --> 16bit or lower scenario or is it detrimental for these pseudo/true 1bit DAC modes of operation.

The other thing is, does the ES9039Q2M have a increased distortion penalty that scales with the DSD sample rate the same way it does for PCM? I ask because I swear DSD256 sounds clearer than DSD512, particularly in the definition of lower frequencies. Tried searching to see if anyone had done testing comparing different sampling rates for this chip but IIRC I could only find one example where someone compared DSD64 to the equivalent in PCM and it was just a slight -1-2db difference in favor in the DSD, but no side by sides of the sampling rates in purely DSD. Its still a fairly new IC so guess I shouldnt be too surprised that it hasnt been tested to death in every conceivable scenario yet lol.

Appreciate any insight folks might have. DSD seems like such an odd topic in the modern day, if im understanding correctly, the reasons it might outperform PCM are seemingly attributed to the reconstruction filtering + oversampling handling used within a particular implementation of DSD in a particular DAC-chip just happens to be marginally better than one it uses for PCM.

Lastly, if anyone has any recs for live PCM to DSD conversion besides JRIVER and HQplayer feel free to share lol. I wish there was something that was basically just Peace APO but with some driver + encoder/output management tacked on but I havnt found anything that simple yet. I enjoy JRIVER as my all in one for video and audio, especially since you can use Libplacebo for HDR like I used to with MPV, but its live loopback WASAPI keeps crashing the application whenever I go to switch back to normal audio playback and I really miss having the separate parametric EQ graph in Peace to visually track and model my adjustments.

 

[sonci99]

Another problem with this dac for me.
Randomly when touching the dac, mostly volume control, sound cuts out for like half a second, then everything normal. This happens in all inputs, but mostly I use coaxial. Maybe a ground or electric issue, or a cold solder joint. It doesn`t happen everytime I touch the dac, mostly I use a universal remote but once in a while I use dac volume control.
Anyone else with this problem?

 

[nanook]

Randomly when touching the dac, mostly volume control, sound cuts out for like half a second, then everything normal.

Can you say if it's related to electrostatic discharge?
In other words, does this happen as well when you touch some grounded stuff before (without moving your feet in between)?

 

[sonci99]

Can you say if it's related to electrostatic discharge?
In other words, does this happen as well when you touch some grounded stuff before (without moving your feet in betwI

I haven`t tried that, but I think the volume control on the dac is plastic anyway.

 

[raif71]

What Pro version are you referring to? There will be a RAWPRO-DAC1, RAWPRO-DAC1N, and RAWPRO-AMP1. But none of them are RAWPRO-MDA1. I'm really curious because I'm thinking of buying the RAW-MDA1, but I wanted these popping noises to be fixed, or at least that I could fix them on my OS (Linux).

I would like also to hear people who use Linux discuss how they tried to fix these issues, from using PulseAudio, PipeWire, or JACK.

I'm also waiting for more reviews on the RAW-DAC1 and RAW-HA1 stack together, but I'm sure that will take some time.

Here are the links to the other versions of SMSL products not yet disclosed:

https://fccid.io/2ASLV-DA-9/Letter/Declaration-Letter-of-Model-Difference-7751232.pdf

https://fccid.io/2ASLV-D2/Letter/Declaration-Letter-of-Model-Difference-7751250.pdf

I'm too waiting for the raw-dac1 as it has i2s input

 

[nanook]

I haven`t tried that, but I think the volume control on the dac is plastic anyway.

Just try this anyways. I wouldn't expect that a faulty connection at the rotary encoder (volume knob) makes this kind of dropouts.

Does the device "reboot" after touching the knob? This could as well hint to a faulty power connection.

 

[escalibur]

Is anyone having an issue with no sound? USB in and 4.4 headphone out. The device wroks perfectly (no noise issue, popping sounds etc..) but so far I had no sound issue about 3 times aready. I tried to disable and enable device in Windows 11 Device Manager -> no luck. Also re-plugging the USB cable makes no difference. I have updated the firware a few weeks ago, so it should be the latest one?

 

[Burns]

There is a button on the remote that is dedicated to switching the input source. It's the button to the left of the "FN" button. It's a circle with an arrow pointing down. View attachment 392747

Is SMSL RAW-MDA 1 set only in the DAC mode.

After switching to headphone mode, will the front outputs automatically have volume control available or do I also have to go into the menu and change the setting from DAC only to pre-amp mode?

By the opposite reasoning, I want to avoid a situation where I stop listening to headphones. I do not use the RAW-MDA 1 Menu because I forget to change pre-amp to dac only and my stationary amplifier will roar with great power and cause noise or damage to the speakers

To simplify.
Connecting headphones I want to have the volume control on the front.
Unplugging the headphones DAC remains in DAC only mode and has a fixed volume on the XLR outputs, I can only change the output mode, I do not want to use other menu variables.

Fixed volume for headphones will be useless to me!

From what I see topping dx3 pro+ and dx9 can work as headphone amp + line out simultaneously
Other devices like topping L70 on Line/XLR output work with variable voltage as pre-amp
So what about this SMSL RAW-MDA1?

 

[Wookiee]

I just got my replacement, and I am having the same issue again. I put down my IEM's, get up from my table and walk away, then the sound from them completely cuts out. PC stops recognizing that the DAC is connected until I restart the DAC's power. I've tried different USB ports and power outlets and it's all the same.

I think the culprit is static electricity, as my chair has wheels on carpet, so when I get up, I can sometimes hear static near my IEM's and the audio completely cuts out. Not sure why this is the case because I made sure not to touch the IEM's or any of my electronics while getting up.

I have two other DAC/amps and none of them have this problem(O2/ODAC, Fiio K7).

Should I just chalk this up to how this product is designed, and that it probably isn't going to work out for me? I'm guessing since this happened to me twice in a row, the protection against static doesn't seem to be that great.

Anybody have a suggestion for a DAC/amp combo or stack? I was looking at the D50 III/A50 III stack with the P50 linear power supply. Only reason I'm not considering the RME is because I want to use up my Amazon gift cards, and a new RME is way out of the budget that I'm willing to spend.

I felt compelled to register and reply to this comment as it led me to resolving my issue kind of.
So, I had on occasion paused watching a youtube video got up and walked away from my desk only to come back and find that the sound no longer worked. Had to power cycle the DAC in order to get sound working in windows again. It got to a point today where it happened twice in a row and felt compelled to investigate further.
Updated the firmware and drivers, but it still happened.
I then got up again and noticed a static shock when standing up from my desk which caused the sound to pop and also one of my monitors to lose signal for a second.
After a lot of testing and probably giving my computer and DAC more static than I should have, I narrowed it down to my chair. Specifically a Steelcase Gesture which has a fabric cover.
I've chucked a towel over the chair and after an hour or so of testing (getting up every 5 mins - fun), I'm now no longer having any static discharges. Clearly my body/clothes don't like the fabric on this chair. Incidentally, this only started happening recently and I've had the chair for over 2 years. I've also been getting the same issue at work (lots of static shocks), and again, I have a fabric covered chair their too.
So, thanks, for helping me narrow down and "solve" the issue.
Whether this means this DAC should have better shielding, I don't know, I'm just sharing my experience.
Overall, I've been pretty happy with this DAC and my Beyerdynamic DT 900 ProX's, from a sound perspective.

 

[Burns]

I felt compelled to register and reply to this comment as it led me to resolving my issue kind of.
So, I had on occasion paused watching a youtube video got up and walked away from my desk only to come back and find that the sound no longer worked. Had to power cycle the DAC in order to get sound working in windows again. It got to a point today where it happened twice in a row and felt compelled to investigate further.
Updated the firmware and drivers, but it still happened.
I then got up again and noticed a static shock when standing up from my desk which caused the sound to pop and also one of my monitors to lose signal for a second.
After a lot of testing and probably giving my computer and DAC more static than I should have, I narrowed it down to my chair. Specifically a Steelcase Gesture which has a fabric cover.
I've chucked a towel over the chair and after an hour or so of testing (getting up every 5 mins - fun), I'm now no longer having any static discharges. Clearly my body/clothes don't like the fabric on this chair. Incidentally, this only started happening recently and I've had the chair for over 2 years. I've also been getting the same issue at work (lots of static shocks), and again, I have a fabric covered chair their too.
So, thanks, for helping me narrow down and "solve" the issue.
Whether this means this DAC should have better shielding, I don't know, I'm just sharing my experience.
Overall, I've been pretty happy with this DAC and my Beyerdynamic DT 900 ProX's, from a sound perspective.

If this is true and we are on the ASR forum, we should not be discussing whether the carpet has 100% wool or the armchair is made of alpaca because there are other forums for sales agents for that. The matter seems simple, the housing must be poorly insulated from the integrated circuits and an overvoltage occurs. Either it is a design defect or a lack of quality control and there is a lack of plastic, rubber, Chinese glue somewhere, which should be an insulator between the housing and the electronics.

 

[DilbertPugh]

This Dac/Amp has a Stellar 87.9% "Great" votes on the first page but then pages of complaints about popping sounds and firmware issues.
Can anyone clarify their experiences with the the RAW-MDA 1 if used with a Pi streamer as a Roon Endpoint; is this still an issue or does it only happen when connected through a computer usb port?
Thanks.

 

[sonci99]

I think there are some issues with this dac, apart sound quality which is great, sometimes it just stops especially when connected to a pc, and then there is this electrical discharge or whatever, you touch the dac and it stops.

 

[JinX11]

Registered just to confirm that I'm having some of the same problems with this device, which I got hooked up today. Particularly bad crackling with my Hifiman Sundara headphones (more metal on them); I'm thinking static electricity, as well, given that we've reached the colder months. For folks complaining about audio cutting out, yes, I can confirm that, too. Seems worse when using the balanced headphone output; restarting the device seems to resolve the matter (but still annoying).

Updated firmware this evening, as well...no issues with audio cutout, but still faint popping on occasion (swapped to HD 660s, which are more plastic, but I can still hear the popping here and there).

edit: adding in that I'm connecting over USB port to PC.

 

[frgmnt]

If this is true and we are on the ASR forum, we should not be discussing whether the carpet has 100% wool or the armchair is made of alpaca because there are other forums for sales agents for that. The matter seems simple, the housing must be poorly insulated from the integrated circuits and an overvoltage occurs. Either it is a design defect or a lack of quality control and there is a lack of plastic, rubber, Chinese glue somewhere, which should be an insulator between the housing and the electronics.

I agree that the issue is on the device's design. People are just giving suggestions to work around this issue since the RAW-MDA1 performs so well sonically. I suspect that some of these Chinese companies don't bother with testing their devices in a high ESD environment, especially since a lot of parts of China are pretty humid. I'm not an electrical engineer, so I'm not sure if there is some extra wonkiness with static discharge/grounding from extremely cold dry winds constantly blowing against the house or having the base of the house frozen cold. Maybe a properly built house wouldn't have these issues, but it's pretty common for house builders to cut corners.

The D50 III/A50 III stack that I got to replace the RAW-MDA1 had a similar issue. ESD discharge would sometimes shut off my A50 III, but using the 12V trigger in the stack solved that for me.

Updated firmware this evening, as well...no issues with audio cutout, but still faint popping on occasion (swapped to HD 660s, which are more plastic, but I can still hear the popping here and there).

There's a firmware update? When I had my RAW-MDA1, the stock firmware was the version number as the one on SMSL's website. Just checked and it seems to be the same version still.