SMSL RAW-MDA 1 DAC & Headphone Amp Review

[Loomynarty]

Nice measurements but low power output. I don't think you can drive a HE6 or any other "notorious" headphone with this.

The HE-6se is not that difficult of a load for most amplifiers being that its 64 ohms. I can get it louder than I would normally listen at driving it from my Qudelix 5k balanced out in high gain mode.


This SMSL DAC/amp should be able to drive them to near ear damaging levels even with EQ. Assuming this calculator is showing dBSPL @ 1kHz, you only need ~500 mW to put your ears into a world of hurt with the HE-6se.

 

[David_M]

FL3's stop band begins at fs/2 at the cost of rolling off early at 18.5 kHz for 44.1 kHz sample rate. FL4 has extension to 20.5 kHz for 44.1 kHz sample rate but its stop band only begins at 0.55 fs.

Thanks ... so are FL3 and FL4 the 3rd (Apodizing) and 4th (Linear Fast) selections on my PCM filter setting menu?

 

[OctoEmu]

The HE-6se is not that difficult of a load for most amplifiers being that its 64 ohms. I can get it louder than I would normally listen at driving it from my Qudelix 5k balanced out in high gain mode.


This SMSL DAC/amp should be able to drive them to near ear damaging levels even with EQ. Assuming this calculator is showing dBSPL @ 1kHz, you only need ~500 mW to put your ears into a world of hurt with the HE-6se.


View attachment 388031

it requires 1370mv for 94dbSPL, the input @1mv is incorrect

 

[staticV3]

HE6se is 91dB/Vrms or 79dB/mW (according to Amir's measurements).

 

[GianDi]

I hope folks at Smsl will include an hdmi arc input port and a streamer module. Will be a game changer.

 

[JIW]

Thanks ... so are FL3 and FL4 the 3rd (Apodizing) and 4th (Linear Fast) selections on my PCM filter setting menu?

Is the menu different to this? If so, can you post a picture?

 

[m8o]

Pardon if asked and answered; read 3/7th of the thread posts but didn't see it if it was. What does RAW stand for in this product's name?

 

[KiyPhi]

I know the OG HE6, Abyss 1266, Tungsten, etc all take more power then the HE6se(last time I checked). The holy grail is a device like this but like 4 watts at 32-50 ohms so it can drive anything ever released.

Can take and needs are two very different things. Let's not forget that my HE6SE were less sensitive than the HE6 Amir measured. I used mine with a -8dB preamp in EQ on top of their low sensitivity. Even if some model was different in sensitivity, it really depends on how loud you listen. I don't see any reason why I would need to put my headphones above 110dB personally.

 

[Wunderphones]

Also, I don’t think “is not the Holy Grail” is much of a criticism at $300. If you bought that thirsty a transducer, you knew going in that you were committing yourself to spending more on amplification than you would have if you had been sensible.

 

[amirm]

Pardon if asked and answered; read 3/7th of the thread posts but didn't see it if it was. What does RAW stand for in this product's name?

It is "don't ask" in Swahili.

 

[alloallo]

The one feature that Topping has and SMSL does not is auto turn on and off. It seems like a small thing but when hooked up to an Apple TV or a streaming device, it’s frustrating to need two remotes instead of being able to hit play and getting sound. Current use case is Wiim mini->Topping D70 (optical)->Fosi monos. All I have to do is hit play on my phone and the whole thing turns on. I had the SMSL DO100 in that system briefly and was very disappointed when it didn't do the same.

Perhaps you can leave the SMSL on all the time? I compared the power consumption of the Topping EX5 and the SMSL C200: the Topping EX5 consumes about 5W in standby mode with auto on/off, while the SMSL C200 consumes only 2.3W in on mode with the optical input selected.

 

[Ruby Gomez]

Does it really matter if it's XLR or TRS out? TRS to XLR cables exist afaik. I for example prefer TRS as they take up less space, but to each his own.

I am curious about this too. Do I have to change TRS out cable for XLR out cable, given the specs and rest results?

 

[DeDovla]

I am curious about this too. Do I have to change TRS out cable for XLR out cable, given the specs and rest results?

As far as I am aware TRS out and XLR out on a DAC should both be balanced and thus have same output. The difference is in the form factor, and if one device has TRS out and the other has XLR input (and vice-versa), I think TRS to XLR cables can be used with no problems.

But as I said I think it's a preference thing. Someone's chain might have devices that have XLR and they don't have any TRS cables laying around so they find having to get extra cables annoying. I on the other hand enjoy the smaller form factor of TRS as my L50 is TRS input so I acutally prefer a DAC with TRS outputs.

 

[jed1]

I am curious about this too. Do I have to change TRS out cable for XLR out cable, given the specs and rest results?

Signal-wise, there is no difference. However, XLR is safer than TRS when plugged or unplugged hot. If I plug / unplug TRS accidentally when amplifier is on, there is a chance I can short and fry. This is why XLR is preferred in pro audio installation. Good quality XLR connectors like Neutrik brand, it's perfectly fine to step on them. If I try on TRS connector, it may get bent or broken. If I have a choice, I will use Neutrik XLR connectors through out signal chain.

 

[Loomynarty]

it requires 1370mv for 94dbSPL, the input @1mv is incorrect

Even so, it's not as difficult of a load as people make it out to be. 64 ohms is rather high for a planar and doesn't put a high current demand on the amplifier. Any amp with a decent amount of voltage swing can power them easily with EQ.

 

[ampguy]

Whilte the a10h Sabaj has no DAC, or balanced ins, it seems that old headphone amp has better specs than this one? I'm always curious if the knobs are audio taper or linear. I prefer the audio taper, but it's just something I grew up with. With DAC's, the electronic or analog pot doesn't matter, I always use the full output of DACs, but on headphone and speaker amps, I much prefer a nice audio taper pot.

 

[Cool Runnings]

Just got my RAW and used it with WiiM Mini to replace the Cambridge MXN10. All into my Kali LP UNFs for very near field listening.

Initial impressions seem to be better imaging and details. But it could definitely just be my ears playing tricks on me.

Yes there’s some pop and cracking issues that come with the RAW. Happens when I start a new track and sometimes when I skip tracks or when it moves into new track. It’s a bit annoying and I managed to reduce it significantly (by about 60-70%) via the WiiM app sample rate switch latency settings. I also reduced the Aux out level to 1 Vrms but since I’m using optical out I don’t think that makes any difference.

I’ll see how long I can take the pops and cracks. This might be a show stopper for me for an otherwise good performing DAC preamp.

Even though my previous set up with the MXN10 had no pops does anyone know if this issue is not just related to the DAC but also possibly related to either the WiiM or Kalis used together with SMSL? Or does anyone know of a fix for this type of situation?

EDIT: I think I have eliminated 99% of the pop and crack issue with the SMSL RAW. I think the main fix is to turn off the pre-mode and reduce the volume by about -10db. I now only hear an occasional very small pop/crack when I start playing the first track. No pops when switching tracks. The other thing I did was to unplug and power off the whole system and replug/power on again. I'm not an EE not sure which is the real fix but doing these 2 things seem to have made the biggest difference.

 

[jed1]

Just got my RAW and used it with WiiM Mini to replace the Cambridge MXN10. All into my Kali LP UNFs for very near field listening.

Initial impressions seem to be better imaging and details. But it could definitely just be my ears playing tricks on me.

Yes there’s some pop and cracking issues that come with the RAW. Happens when I start a new track and sometimes when I skip tracks or when it moves into new track. It’s a bit annoying and I managed to reduce it significantly (by about 60-70%) via the WiiM app sample rate switch latency settings. I also reduced the Aux out level to 1 Vrms but since I’m using optical out I don’t think that makes any difference.

I’ll see how long I can take the pops and cracks. This might be a show stopper for me for an otherwise good performing DAC preamp.

Even though my previous set up with the MXN10 had no pops does anyone know if this issue is not just related to the DAC but also possibly related to either the WiiM or Kalis used together with SMSL? Or does anyone know of a fix for this type of situation?



View attachment 388432

I use SMSL DO100 Pro (which is pretty much similar to RAW-MDA 1 except the headphone amp) with WiiM Pro Plus and Kali IN-8/WS-6.2. When I change tracks / sources with different sampling frequencies, I do not hear pops / clicks. Connection between WiiM and DO100 Pro is optical.

 

[Cool Runnings]

I use SMSL DO100 Pro (which is pretty much similar to RAW-MDA 1 except the headphone amp) with WiiM Pro Plus and Kali IN-8/WS-6.2. When I change tracks / sources with different sampling frequencies, I do not hear pops / clicks. Connection between WiiM and DO100 Pro is optical.

Thanks for this info. Reading more online it also doesn’t seem to be that my issue is a common one. But I don’t get much more info online on how to resolve it except to return it. I’ll probably try to exchange it for a Topping D50III.

 

[diaolodoro]

Does anyone know if this DAC automatically powers-on when power is plugged in and the computer is turned on? I just want it to be ready to use when I turn my computer on.
Also, does it remember the last settings regarding the volume and input/output?