SMSL RAW-MDA 1 DAC & Headphone Amp Review

[RHO]

i have this for a while now and I can attest to this being more than endgame adequate.
Question though, I plan to get a subwoofer, can i use the xlr for my active speakers as is, while hooking the rca to the subwoofer?

Yes, I think that would work.
But many subs have outputs for the mains. So you route the output from the DAC to the sub and from the sub to the speakers/amp.

 

[caster_troy]

Good evening all.

I am interested in this DAC and headphone to replace a creative blaster g8 and have a couple of questions.

Will this DAC have better sound quality then my G8?

Something on my G8 seems off and whilst using it for gaming, the pc gaming audio seems flat and almost mono and not stereo sounded.

Can this DAC/amp make use of a Seinheiser HD600 or better for high impeding headphones?

Is there a toggle switch on the remote or on the device istelf to select eitehr inputting to headphone or to a RCA? i heard tehre are some DACS that when you connect a headphone to the socket, it automatically switched the sound to only output to the headphones

I currently use a low inpeding headphones(BOSE quiet2 wired) but i will eventually upgrade those to something way better,

I will use this dac as follows:

PC/work pc -> SMSL -> miniDSP 2x4 HD(future purchase) -> Doukl Audio A5 PRO AMP -> pair of old hifi philis speakers(I will upgrade this later also)

I like nice deep bass with good clarity in voice and instruments and i want to be immersed in sound when it comes to playing video games.

 

[dasherzx]

Good evening all.

I am interested in this DAC and headphone to replace a creative blaster g8 and have a couple of questions.

Will this DAC have better sound quality then my G8?

Something on my G8 seems off and whilst using it for gaming, the pc gaming audio seems flat and almost mono and not stereo sounded.

Can this DAC/amp make use of a Seinheiser HD600 or better for high impeding headphones?

Is there a toggle switch on the remote or on the device istelf to select eitehr inputting to headphone or to a RCA? i heard tehre are some DACS that when you connect a headphone to the socket, it automatically switched the sound to only output to the headphones

I currently use a low inpeding headphones(BOSE quiet2 wired) but i will eventually upgrade those to something way better,

I will use this dac as follows:

PC/work pc -> SMSL -> miniDSP 2x4 HD(future purchase) -> Doukl Audio A5 PRO AMP -> pair of old hifi philis speakers(I will upgrade this later also)

I like nice deep bass with good clarity in voice and instruments and i want to be immersed in sound when it comes to playing video games.

i do not own the g8 but creative have made good gear so i highly doubt there will be sound quality improvements. if its a faulty unit idk maybe take an iem and an apple dongle and test it on both. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between a 15$ apple dongle and a 500$ topping stack if I use iems. btw the mda1 does not have mic input compared to the creative. 99.69% of sound quality improvements only happen on the headphone/speaker side

anyway its more than enough for a hd600, heck its more than enough for 4000 dollar headphones, if one eventually gets there. i know because i use it with my dca e3 and utopia.
as for the toggle yeah i toggle between my headphones or speakers by remote. i believe many dac/amp combos come with this as a standard.

not sure about the need for a minidsp, why not just run rca directly from the mda1 to the douk amp.

 

[caster_troy]

i do not own the g8 but creative have made good gear so i highly doubt there will be sound quality improvements. if its a faulty unit idk maybe take an iem and an apple dongle and test it on both. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between a 15$ apple dongle and a 500$ topping stack if I use iems. btw the mda1 does not have mic input compared to the creative. 99.69% of sound quality improvements only happen on the headphone/speaker side

anyway its more than enough for a hd600, heck its more than enough for 4000 dollar headphones, if one eventually gets there. i know because i use it with my dca e3 and utopia.
as for the toggle yeah i toggle between my headphones or speakers by remote. i believe many dac/amp combos come with this as a standard.

not sure about the need for a minidsp, why not just run rca directly from the mda1 to the douk amp.

The minidsp is mainly for tweaking the EQ for the speakers

 

[RHO]

The minidsp is mainly for tweaking the EQ for the speakers

If your only source is a PC, I would let the PC handle that.

 

[flake]

Completely off topic. But the standard XMOS driver installs at 31/44. If all your using is the PC for spotify/yt/games is there any benefit to do 32/48 or keep it at 32/44?

 

[caster_troy]

If your only source is a PC, I would let the PC handle that.

It will be connected to a pc and a macbook pro laptop to the dac,

Currently PEQ only works on windows and i would need to install a alternative EQ software on the macbook in order to obtain the same sound.

For reference i had a philips midi hifi system that no longer works and of course, it had built in EQ so it diddnt matter where the input was coming from, it woudl output the sound to my taste consistently

 

[RHO]

It will be connected to a pc and a macbook pro laptop to the dac,

Currently PEQ only works on windows and i would need to install a alternative EQ software on the macbook in order to obtain the same sound.

For reference i had a philips midi hifi system that no longer works and of course, it had built in EQ so it diddnt matter where the input was coming from, it woudl output the sound to my taste consistently

With multiple sources this situation becomes more complex indeed. Then the MiniDSP is a decent solution.

 

[IgorD]

I can't even test any of the headphone outputs now, because as soon as I select the headphone output on the MDA1, it reboots.
And yes, as you can infer, it seems to have been a problem with the cable I used, as they were a little loose and/or the solder joints were stuck together. I checked it later.
What I'd like to know is if it's reversible or if the headphone output is already dead...

Hi,
Can you please comment while headphone outputs were still working, what you experience with it was? Sound quality, etc.
Thank you.

 

[Panelhead]

Yes you can drive main amps with either output and an active sub with the other. Both will be full range.
I do not use the line level crossovers built into subs. They usually degrade the quality of the feed going to the mains.
All subs filter the input, usually a selectable crossover frequency. I set this at twice the frequency of the -3dB point in bass response of the main speakers. Then set sub level a little low in reference to main speakers. Slowly bump up sub over a few days of listening. I prefer output too low over too high.

i have this for a while now and I can attest to this being more than endgame adequate.
Question though, I plan to get a subwoofer, can i use the xlr for my active speakers as is, while hooking the rca to the subwoofer?

 

[john100a]

I have this issue where if I have music playing, and I turn on an electric appliance in the room such as a ceiling fan, the music stops until I skip forward or simply just pause and play.

What is causing this?

 

[templebuda]

Hi,
Can you please comment while headphone outputs were still working, what you experience with it was? Sound quality, etc.
Thank you.

Hello! The sound quality is very good, which is why I'm sorry I missed them. Crisp and detailed, as is typical of Sabre chips. They obviously worked much better with my HD650s than with my HiFimans, which are generally brighter, especially in the upper mids. Enough power to drive all three of the aforementioned headphones. With the HiFimans, I use the XLR output to connect them to my XDUO MT604 amp, and they sound great. Best regards.

 

[SiR]

For the people who experience clicks and pops when changing/skipping songs on tidal/roon etc, there might be a fix for that.
You need to change some settings in the XMOS driver control panel.

www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/xmos-driver-settings-for-no-cutoff-delay.25838/ view less

Did anyone try the above link and found it useful



USERS OF this DAC is the popup noise still exists while using the USB

 

[ArthurStein13]

Je m'intéresse de près au SMSL RAW MDA-1, que je trouve très attractif. J'envisage de l'utiliser exclusivement en symétrique, avec le gain réglé sur « low », et connecté à mon casque Sennheiser HD 660S2.

Ma question est la suivante : dans cette configuration précise, le MDA-1 est-il réellement capable de faire fonctionner les HD 660S2 à 100 % de leur potentiel ? Autrement dit, est-ce que je peux espérer tirer tout ce que ce casque a à offrir — en matière de précision, de détails, de dynamique — sans me heurter à une limitation de puissance ou de contrôle ?

Je cherche à éviter toute forme de sous-alimentation subtile, qui pourrait brider le rendu global du casque, même légèrement, car cela est pour une utilisation sérieuse de l'écoute de musique. Donc si quelqu'un ici a pu tester cette association, ou a un avis solide sur le sujet, je suis preneur.

 

[JIW]

Je m'intéresse de près au SMSL RAW MDA-1, que je trouve très attractif. J'envisage de l'utiliser exclusivement en symétrique, avec le gain réglé sur « low », et connecté à mon casque Sennheiser HD 660S2.

Ma question est la suivante : dans cette configuration précise, le MDA-1 est-il réellement capable de faire fonctionner les HD 660S2 à 100 % de leur potentiel ? Autrement dit, est-ce que je peux espérer tirer tout ce que ce casque a à offrir — en matière de précision, de détails, de dynamique — sans me heurter à une limitation de puissance ou de contrôle ?

Je cherche à éviter toute forme de sous-alimentation subtile, qui pourrait brider le rendu global du casque, même légèrement, car cela est pour une utilisation sérieuse de l'écoute de musique. Donc si quelqu'un ici a pu tester cette association, ou a un avis solide sur le sujet, je suis preneur.

The HD660S2 have a sensitivity of around 105 dB at 1 V RMS or 0 dBV. The RAW-MDA1 in low gain has a maximum output of 2.5 V RMS or 8 dBV. Thus, maximum peak SPL is around 105+8+3 = 116 dB SPL. That is plenty for most things, but may leave something to be desired for the most dynamic or quiet recordings. Using high gain alleviates this with maximum output of 10*log10(167*300/1000) = 17 dBV for maximum peak SPL of 125 dB SPL.

I use a DL200 which has the same output levels with HD600s and I use low gain almost exclusively.

 

[AFireInAsa]

Thank you, will try this out. Also @JIW Qobuz trick also works in cutting out 3/4 of the popping using MacOS.

 

[Panelhead]

A SMSL RAW MDA1 will arrive tomorrow. Have not purchased a dac in over five years and it cost 90.00, also a SMSL.
The measured performance made it a hard to say no. Performance of a dCS stack for about a 10th of the sales tax on one.

 

[SiR]

A SMSL RAW MDA1 will arrive tomorrow. Have not purchased a dac in over five years and it cost 90.00, also a SMSL.
The measured performance made it a hard to say no. Performance of a dCS stack for about a 10th of the sales tax on one.

Give your feedback after a brief usage

Me too considering this but postponed due to the feedback from the users here

 

[Bleib]

Apart from the filter names not being quite right it's the perfect DAC

 

[john100a]

I have this issue where if I have music playing, and I turn on an electric appliance in the room such as a ceiling fan, the music stops until I skip forward or simply just pause and play.

What is causing this?

Anyone can shed some light on this if they have the same issue?