SMSL SU-8 Version 2 Balanced DAC

[Veri]

Has it got 2 Dac chips??? Ess 9038 ? True Balanced circuitry?? Thanks

ESS9038Q2M, where M stands for mobile. Not ESS9038 Pro, you will need to look at SMSL D1 for that.

And yes, true balanced.

 

[Ultrasonic]

Yesterday I tried my SU-8 with Room EQ Wizard (REW) for the first time and I'm afraid it shares the same problem that the Topping D50 has. This is, if you try to run a frequency sweep measurement on the right channel only the DAC cuts out - presumably going into some sort of 'protection' mode since it doesn't detect any signal on the left channel. Sweeps run on left channel only run fine.

Last night I got round the problem by just running left channel sweeps but swapping the output leads over to send the signal to the right speaker. This method won't allow testing of the right DAC channel though, for which I assume you could just tell REW to output the signal to both speakers but unplug the output cable on the left channel. Obviously all of this is rather more of a faff than just controlling everything via the software!

 

[Pulkass]

ESS9038Q2M, where M stands for mobile. Not ESS9038 Pro, you will need to look at SMSL D1 for that.

And yes, true balanced.

Two chips then ????

 

[Pulkass]

Damn, I ve sold my Pro Ject pre 2 dac, simply it did not have 'slam', gain, yes very suble and correct, but not my kind of sound, bought at the same time, (from China) Topping Dx7s---because I have to go balanced, had I known about this smsl su-8 I would have saved a lot of money, is it really better ???

 

[Veri]

Two chips then ????

Yes, circuitry is fully symmetrical, everything comes in two:

The two rectangular chips above the Altera are two pieces of ESS9038Q2M..

 

[Pulkass]

So when l get the Topping s7xs l will put it on sale straight away , and buy this one if better....(?) . It has got volume via remote.....

 

[Ultrasonic]

So when l get the Topping s7xs l will put it on sale straight away , and buy this one if better....(?) . It has got volume via remote.....

s7xs? Do you mean DX7s? If so note that the SU-8 doesn't have a headphone amp.

 

[Veri]

So when l get the Topping s7xs l will put it on sale straight away , and buy this one if better....(?) . It has got volume via remote.....

You can do that DX7s also uses same mobile ESS chip, but has included (high impedance) headphone amp.

If you don't need the amp, the SU-8 is better value indeed.

 

[Pulkass]

You can do that DX7s also uses same mobile ESS chip, but has included (high impedance) headphone amp.

If you don't need the amp, the SU-8 is better value indeed.

Thanks. I will sell it immediately.l do not need a headphone amp

 

[Pulkass]

You can do that DX7s also uses same mobile ESS chip, but has included (high impedance) headphone amp.

If you don't need the amp, the SU-8 is better value indeed.

The pro Ject had lots of internal caps, but lacks slam ....l guess how can you power a circuit with just 5 volts??? those Topping and SMSL DACs do have enough power supply??? (Caps)

 

[Veri]

The pro Ject had lots of internal caps, but lacks slam ....l guess how can you power a circuit with just 5 volts??? those Topping and SMSL DACs do have enough power supply??? (Caps)

Yes. Smsl dac has new fixed circuit it had problems first, see this thread

 

[Pulkass]

Yes. Smsl dac has new fixed circuit it had problems first, see this thread

Yes l read it thanks !!! Very kind

 

[Ultrasonic]

The pro Ject had lots of internal caps, but lacks slam ....l guess how can you power a circuit with just 5 volts??? those Topping and SMSL DACs do have enough power supply??? (Caps)

DACs are very lower power devices. From memory I think the manual says the SU-8 uses about 2 W. Unlike headphone amps, pure DACs don't drive anything, they just have to be able to produce a voltage across the high input impedance of an amplifier (meaning the current and therefore power output of the DAC is tiny).

Also note that even for amps, output voltages determine how loud it will play but generally by 'slam' people mean more about how something sounds rather than just how loud it is.

 

[Pulkass]

I happen to own other DACs, Cal Audio ( tube stage), Adcom a600, Cambridge Audio DAC Dacmagic ll mkii (1995), Cambridge audio DAC (2009). They all have a higher output and a forceful somehow sound output, more soul, more hot blood. That s what l mean slam . I have a big system 4 amped , a big treated room, l love not to get deaf, at 67 y.o. !!! But l love it loud and clear. Pro Ject was a big let down for me. I was very happy having sold it. It was Very thin, yes detailed, hi definition, but low on bass, Had to push the volume very high, still the other all won over it. Plus no xlr out.

 

[Ultrasonic]

I happen to own other DACs, Cal Audio ( tube stage), Adcom a600, Cambridge Audio DAC Dacmagic ll mkii (1995), Cambridge audio DAC (2009). They all have a higher output and a forceful somehow sound output, more soul, more hot blood. That s what l mean slam . I have a big system 4 amped , a big treated room, l love not to get deaf, at 67 y.o. !!! But l love it loud and clear. Pro Ject was a big let down for me. I was very happy having sold it. It was Very thin, yes detailed, hi definition, but low on bass, Had to push the volume very high, still the other all won over it. Plus no xlr out.

I don't believe the power output capabilities of the DACs, or the voltage levels they use internally, have anything at all to do with the differences in sound you may have heard.

I own three DACs but I've never tried to work out what internal voltages they might use!

 

[Ultrasonic]

Oh, and playing loud and clear (low distortion) is overwhelmingly down to the amp/speaker combination, not the DAC.

 

[Pulkass]

In my humble opinion 5 volts are not enough to power the darn thing. Imagine it s being sold with a smart phone type transformer!!! I bought a 25 watts linear power transformer and it fared a little better. But if 2 volts have to go to the RCA outputs (!) ....power it s very important in hi Fi. Thé Cambridge audio dac Magic ll mk ii has 4 ii internal transformers !!! And it shows. Differential 2 DACs. Balanced.

 

[Ultrasonic]

In my humble opinion 5 volts are not enough to power the darn thing. Imagine it s being sold with a smart phone type transformer!!! I bought a 25 watts linear power transformer and it fared a little better. But if 2 volts have to go to the RCA outputs (!) ....power it s very important in hi Fi. Thé Cambridge audio dac Magic ll mk ii has 4 ii internal transformers !!! And it shows. Differential 2 DACs. Balanced.

Low noise internal voltage levels are undoubtedly very important, but this is completely different to worrying what the voltage levels are, or what the maximum power delivery capabilities of its input power supply are.

Note also that there are various threads here providing measured data to show the capabilities of DACs you appear to consider underpowered.

 

[Pulkass]

In the end ....sound counts. Data graphs not fully show the sound of a machine. My Pro Ject had no gain. To put it simply.

 

[Ultrasonic]

In the end ....sound counts. Data graphs not fully show the sound of a machine.

Agreed, but looking at a voltage level inside a DAC tells you even less .