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Oh man, ya beat me to it!
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SMSL SU-1 Stereo DAC Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
LtMandella
Active Member
It powers up when power is connected- there is no power switch.
And I bought two it sounds so good and I am concerned it will go out of production or SMSL will wise up and increase the price
And I bought two it sounds so good and I am concerned it will go out of production or SMSL will wise up and increase the price
Hm. Mine has a power (slash source) switch, and it DOESN'T turn on automatically... (powered via usb).
Ah, if you keep it turned on before you cut the power line, then it turns back on again when powered!
LtMandella
Active Member
I stand corrected, thank you. I never have used the power button since I first powered up, it always lights up as soon as I plug in power, and these old eyes ain't what they used to be.
AKM's 4493S automatically switches to DSD direct mode when in DAC mode without volume control.
The SU-1 is operating in DAC mode, so I think it is operating in DSD direct mode.
Thanks for your comment. I also thought like this, but on the contrary maybe they disable DSD direct mode because of the low price. Because I had a look at the AK4493S datasheet and they mentioned that DSDD mode is enabled on register settings by the developer.
Normally, they mention this feature on the product pages if the DAC has this feature. Anyway, I asked this to their support, hope they will answer.
AKM's DAC chip has a DSD direct mode. DSD Direct is enabled by setting the volume to fixed DAC mode, but SMSL has not commented on this feature at all.
I hope they answer your question.
Support team answered to me and unfortunately DSD Direct mode is not enabled. And there is no option or config to perform this by ourselves.
DSJR
Major Contributor
I've just received mine - £67 or so on Amazon UK over the weekend, so twenty quid off the usual price. Got to say I'm enchanted by it, as it does seem slightly clearer than the admittedly safe-sounding CD player I compared it with (reverb and 'echo' is slightly less smudged to me) and 'hearing into' the mix is a doddle.
I'm not suggesting at all that it's the best thing since sliced bread and for the main rig, a Schiit would look better (can't get the cheaper Schiit dacs here currently anyway).
As it is for the second rig I'm using it in, it comes on to the previously selected input as soon as it's switched on and it's light enough that I can use 25cm interconnects and allow it to hang down the back of the unit the gear is on as it'll usually be set to take input from the PC SPDIF output, currently via optical, or a USB3 - USB-C cable if I can find a nice one around 3m long that doesn't suffer due to length?
I'm not suggesting at all that it's the best thing since sliced bread and for the main rig, a Schiit would look better (can't get the cheaper Schiit dacs here currently anyway).
As it is for the second rig I'm using it in, it comes on to the previously selected input as soon as it's switched on and it's light enough that I can use 25cm interconnects and allow it to hang down the back of the unit the gear is on as it'll usually be set to take input from the PC SPDIF output, currently via optical, or a USB3 - USB-C cable if I can find a nice one around 3m long that doesn't suffer due to length?
This is a completely disappointing answer. SMSL does not understand the merits of AK4493S at all.
I sent a follow up email and asked if they can prepare seperate firmware for the people who want DSD direct. And their response:
The response from the technical staff of SMSL is: Sorry, this is impossible.
Anyway, still we have a great DAC.
Interesting.
Well, does it sound better than a Linn DS or a Ikemi or Rega dac R ? Write what you think.
DSJR
Major Contributor
No idea guv'nor, but it allows me to hear slightly better into the mixes on the rig compared to said rigs CD player analogue outs which in fairness were hardly reference standard, it cost me very little, it came nicely packaged and put together and I can hide it down the back as I don't need fancy-foo displays and so on.Interesting.
Well, does it sound better than a Linn DS or a Ikemi or Rega dac R ? Write what you think.
A DAC-R if still available has been shown to be totally out-classed by these sub £200 wonder-dac appliance-commodities now easily available online and apparently Rega have actually admitted this (through clenched teeth no doubt). As for the Ikemi? Oh do leave off as the first ones weren't good and the last ones OK, but two and a bit grand's worth? No idea on the DS and similar era Linn stuff as I was retired from retail by this time and nobody nearby sold Linn then.
Report of problems with SU-1.
If you are repeatedly playing a DSD album as background music for hours using a USB connection, the USB connection may be cut off and playback may stop without you realizing it. I purchased two SU-1s, and both have the same symptoms. The same problem occurs even if you change your PC to another model. But it does not occur at all with PCM albums. Also, the symptoms do not change for any file from DSD64 to DSD512. I have several other DACs, but this does not occur at all with them, so I think it is a problem specific to the SU-1. The USB driver is the latest V5.58. Well, it's a rare phenomenon, so I won't worry about it. There is nothing wrong with OPT/COAX.
If you are repeatedly playing a DSD album as background music for hours using a USB connection, the USB connection may be cut off and playback may stop without you realizing it. I purchased two SU-1s, and both have the same symptoms. The same problem occurs even if you change your PC to another model. But it does not occur at all with PCM albums. Also, the symptoms do not change for any file from DSD64 to DSD512. I have several other DACs, but this does not occur at all with them, so I think it is a problem specific to the SU-1. The USB driver is the latest V5.58. Well, it's a rare phenomenon, so I won't worry about it. There is nothing wrong with OPT/COAX.
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In regards to the comments above with early problems ... my audio has stopped working 3 or 4 times in 2 weeks of daily use with the SU 1. Sometimes it stops after a song, other times when the PC goes to sleep. The only solution seems to be restarting the PC. Unplugging, powering off, or switching the audio source on the DAC has no effect.
The DAC is connected to a WiiM receiver via toslink. When the issue occurs, the OPTICAL indicator light on the DAC blinks.
The DAC is connected to a WiiM receiver via toslink. When the issue occurs, the OPTICAL indicator light on the DAC blinks.
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I reported that when I was continuously playing DSD files with the USU-1 connected to USB, the connection suddenly disconnected and playback stopped. Foober2000 displays the following message and stops playing.
"Unrecoverable playback error: Could not query channel counts"
"Unrecoverable playback error: Could not query channel counts"
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