SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II DAC Review

[Jarrett]

so e30 polarity issues (fixed on usb but still there on optical and coax) makes this SK10mkII the winner of the duel?

Have you tested the MK II for correct polarity?

 

[Vini darko]

Have you tested the MK II for correct polarity?

Hahaha open that can of worms

 

[confucius_zero]

Have you tested

nope but there are no reports of such issues but e30 has been made famous for it.

e30 also requires a powerbank to sound best but sk10mkii didn't seem to have any reports of such requirements.

 

[Eetu]

nope but there are no reports of such issues but e30 has been made famous for it.

e30 also requires a powerbank to sound best but sk10mkii didn't seem to have any reports of such requirements.

This has been discussed ad nauseam. The polarity has been fixed in all sn. 2004-> devices. It's inaudible with actual music, only test tones. Amir tested the E30 without a powerbank and it measured great. Multitone was significantly better on the E30. Both the Sanskrit and the E30 have a great price/performance ratio. The biggest difference is in the design language.

 

[Ciccio84]

i identified the source of the noise to be the macbook display ports, either of them to two different monitors and both exhibited the same issue.

with just the display port connected and the usb to sanskrit connected the noise is readily apparent. i tried connecting the display port monitor power cord and speaker power cord to the same power outlets and nothing else via a shared surge protector and the noise is still there.

I had similar problems at first (as I posted on this forum). They noise started when I plugged my laptop to the external monitor via HDMI. It lasted a couple of days, really annoying, but then the noise went away. No idea what happened. With or without monitor, and I haven't been using the aux power. Super quite. Go figure

 

[tomstoll]

I had similar problems at first (as I posted on this forum). They noise started when I plugged my laptop to the external monitor via HDMI. It lasted a couple of days, really annoying, but then the noise went away. No idea what happened. With or without monitor, and I haven't been using the aux power. Super quite. Go figure

yeah i saw that as well. i am currently running on my modius until my e30 gets in. but whatever reason the sanskrit didnt like the displayport combo.

 

[confucius_zero]

Amir tested the E30 without a powerbank and it measured great.

so e30 only works with a powerbank but not plugged into wall directly?

 

[ModDIY]

so e30 polarity issues (fixed on usb but still there on optical and coax) makes this SK10mkII the winner of the duel?

The advantage of SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II is especially the price. The performances seem fairly close.

The polarity problem of the E30 is now corrected in the new deliveries. What I like about the E30, a bigger display and more standard connectors.

 

[confucius_zero]

The polarity problem of the E30 is now corrected in the new deliveries.

yes but does the powerbank requirement remain for the e30?

 

[Eetu]

so e30 only works with a powerbank but not plugged into wall directly?

yes but does the powerbank requirement remain for the e30?

You should ask these questions on the E30 thread. But once more: there is no powerbank requirement. Amir tested the E30 with the 'dirtiest' source: PC USB port/hub. You can also use a phone charger, linear psu, powerbank, wall wart etc.. No audible difference. Please, stop confusing people and next time use the correct thread. Now back to topic >>>

 

[hifiamps]

The op amps have no markings (MkI used JRC version of 5532, smaller caps, AK4490 from pictures). Nice looking metal film resistors, but can't make out the tolerance. Just delivered today. My first USB DAC, upgrading from Allo Boss. The key to the Boss was SoX upsampling to 32/384, which turned off chip resampling in the TI PCM5122. Served me quite well for over a year. Can't get the SMSL to sound as good through the Windows 10 computer compared to RPi3B+ Moode. Prefer the Moode interface. On brief listening, SMSL sounds better with SoX disabled. Will listen to this for a week, then go back to the Boss. Already quite certain the SMSL is an upgrade from the Boss.

 

[hifiamps]

Based on photos posted by the_brunx , the Topping E30 build quality looks substantially better, and is a better value. They use what appear to be genuine TI OPA1612A op amps, which are about $5 each. ASR test results are better too. Forgot to say it earlier, but thanks to ASR we are able to obtain excellent information on these products. Greatly appreciate ASR.

 

[dubsubs]

JDS Atom + Stack Cables = 100 USD + 39 Euro import to Germany (direct)
SK10 MKII = 77 USD (w 10$ off coupon on Banggood) no import costs

removable sticker feet make it easy to place the SK10 on anything, sticks out over the Atom though.

Pretty amazing combo for 200 Euro !!

 

[meinhard57]

Buyer beware - this DAC will not work with Linux as part of a Roon endpoint.

 

[hifiamps]

It works with Linux (Moode). If using USB input, be sure it's set to U1. It starts in U2 optical by default.

 

[meinhard57]

Yeah - I guess I should have qualified what I said more precisely. It doesn't work with either DietPi or RoPieee as a Roon endpoint (my statement about Linux was too broad). I apologize for posting this in haste. I gave up and returned it after Harry @ RoPieee gave me a few suggestions, ALL of which I tried, to no avail.

 

[Sagittarius]

This little DAC works perfectly under GNU/Linux with a modern kernel.

With the USB input, DSD DoP and DSD native! is perfectly handled by mpd (Music Player Daemon).

It has an hardware mixer too that you can enable in mpd.conf

audio_output {
    type                "alsa"
    name                "SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII AK4493 - USB Audio"
    auto_resample       "no"
    auto_format         "no"
    auto_channels       "no"
    replay_gain_handler "none"
    device              "hw:0,0"
    mixer_type          "hardware"
    mixer_device        "hw:0"
    mixer_control       "SMSL USB AUDIO "
    mixer_index         "1"
}

A great DAC.

 

[Sagittarius]

Pop, pop, pop, pop... PCM->DSD->PCM->freq. change pop, pop, pop . And again. Pop, pop, pop... Seems all these AKM based DACs pop in some way.

Absolutely no pops at all with DSD64/128/256 Native to PCM44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192 or DSD64/128/256 DoP to PCM and vice-versa !
I'm using mpd under GNU/Linux with v5.7 kernel.

 

[Kempeu]

This unit got 6 pcm filters but no DSD filters (39kHz/ 76kHz)???

 

[hifiamps]

RPi 3B+ and Moode 6.6 playing DSD256 without pops. But over network, need to have a larger buffer setting.