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SMSL SU-8 Version 2 Balanced DAC

Happy to report that my SU-8 arrived via DHL a few minutes ago. I had to pay approx $28 in brokerage and duties but appreciate Shenzhen using DHL given the Chinese New Year related delays.

The unit is too cold to even hold so I will let it acclimate for a few hours before powering up.

Will go well with my Mac-Mini once I remove the other two DACs
54D8ECF0-EC2C-488F-BF9F-188AE70B8783.jpeg
 
Please tell us can you hear the difference between teac and su 8....It must be extremely small......you might not hear it.
 
Oukkidoukki said:
Please tell us can you hear the difference between teac and su 8....It must be extremely small......you might not hear it.
Click to expand...

If you look carefully, notice that the rack handles are missing. I’ve owned the UD503 for just under two years and after about 18 months, I thought I was imagining that the sound quality was deteriorating. Things gradually worsened to a point where it became apparent that there was a fault with the electronics. I initially thought that I had damaged the unit with a large static discharge but now doubt that this has anything to do with the fault.

After taking the UD503 apart and running a few tests, it turrns out that the volume control chips are misbehaving and the output from the NJW1195A chips are unstable. The problem is temperature related and worsens as the unit heats up. I need more time to zoom in on the exact cause.

I also spent some time studying the circuit and feel that I can improve the DAC’s noise performance with a few simple mods. Teac took some surprising shortcuts for a Reference design and I plan to follow the AKM evaluation board manual more closely than Teac did.

So, to answer your question, the SU8 sounds better in this instance but I doubt that I could tell a good UD503 apart from a SU-8.
 
badyard said:
Yes you can, and the volume control works on both outputs at the same time. You cannot have them controlled independently though..
Click to expand...

That's interesting. So in theory I could get a balanced amplifier, connect it to the SU-8 balanced output and connect my unbalanced tube amp to RCA. With a balanced-to-unbalanced adapter on the tube amp and balanced cables on the headphones I could have the best of both worlds. Probably too much hassle and money spent for little gain, though.
 
Ok. Wierd that teac took those shortcuts...always considered tascam/teac as one of the best...
 
happythoughts said:
hrbngr,

I'm just looking to run unbalanced at the moment for my setup. (PC USB or SPDIF > SU-8 > 789 > 58X

So what cables do you recommend? RCA interconnect? or just go with the Ghent balanced?
Click to expand...
I actually ordered Blue Jeans balanced (currently in use, ~$30 each), and Ghent Audio RCA (have not received yet, ~$15 each). I'd have ordered Amazon Basics or something, which Amir recommends, but the shortest length I could find was 3 ft. I ordered 1 ft cables.

As was mentioned, and as Amir measured, the SU-8 has marginally better performance via balanced. Where it might be apparent is in channel balance at low levels:

1551281525225.png


That was why I opted to go with balanced. I think I listen at pretty low levels compared to many people; my phone's SPL meter tells me my desktop setup is currently at 60 dB (40 dB during quiet passages!), and I would rarely go any louder while sitting at my desk. (It's unlikely that I would ever be able to hear ANY of this, but I'd rather just not worry about it.)
 
Last edited:
happythoughts said:
hrbngr,

I'm just looking to run unbalanced at the moment for my setup. (PC USB or SPDIF > SU-8 > 789 > 58X

So what cables do you recommend? RCA interconnect? or just go with the Ghent balanced?
Click to expand...
If you decide to go balanced and wanna get the best Price/Quality ratio, I recommend Proel Bulk series, they're heavy duty, well shielded, oxygen free copper, excellent build quality overall.
BULK250LU05.0-750x750.jpg
 
amirm said:
There was a request for a properly labeled response of reconstruction filter in the other thread so here they are:

View attachment 18143

View attachment 18144
Click to expand...
Question on the filters: personal preference aside, it looks like the "Fast minimum" or "brickwall" filters are the "best", correct? (And few people, if any, would be able to hear a difference between Apodizing and Brickwall.)
 
GoMrPickles said:
Question on the filters: personal preference aside, it looks like the "Fast minimum" or "brickwall" filters are the "best", correct? (And few people, if any, would be able to hear a difference between Apodizing and Brickwall.)
Click to expand...

From a technical point of view I'd say the Fast-linear default is best. Have a read of the following for why I say this:

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/01/audiophile-myth-260-detestable-digital.html?m=1

(From a frequency response change point of view I measured the differences with a microphone and all effects were above I think about 17 kHz, which is higher frequency than most can hear.)
 
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Just got the SU-8 from Shenzen and when i checked the firmware (holding down power button as i plug in the power cable), it shows ver 1.6. Any idea on what has been changed from the well known and Amir-tested ver 1.3?
 
pantag said:
Just got the SU-8 from Shenzen and when i checked the firmware (holding down power button as i plug in the power cable), it shows ver 1.6. Any idea on what has been changed from the well known and Amir-tested ver 1.3?
Click to expand...
We have no idea, would be nice to have an official changelog though!
 
Happythoughts,

Based on the previous posts, it looks like you have a lot of nice options for balanced cables. I would also go with amazon basics rca for now and get either blue jeans or ghent audio for balanced if you decide to stay with that cabling vs going balanced for custom length purposes. I did not know that there were so many balanced options, honestly.
 
pantag said:
Just got the SU-8 from Shenzen and when i checked the firmware (holding down power button as i plug in the power cable), it shows ver 1.6. Any idea on what has been changed from the well known and Amir-tested ver 1.3?
Click to expand...

Did you ask that to Shenzhen Audio ?
Usually, they are very responsive.
 
Just got my SU-8 from Massdrop. After having a defective Topping D50, I'm happy to announce this guy works perfectly!
DSC00075.JPG


I'm using it as a USB DAC for my Nvidia Shield as pictured. Does anyone know how allow apps to directly control the USB DAC? I can only set the DAC to 192kHz (High quality Stereo) or 44.1kHz (Stereo) and it doesn't appear that any apps (Plex, MX Player, etc) have the ability to set the sampling rate supplied to the DAC.

P.S. Mine is also version 1.6.
 
I wanna see a nice multichannel ADC with balanced inputs for this stack, I'll buy it instantly!
 
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