SMSL SU-9 Balanced DAC Review

[chocomamey]

finally order mine due to aliexpress sale days..SMSL has launched a new integrated amplifier called DA9 with SW output and 50wpc in 8 ohms !

 

[Shoaibexpert]

There is one more question that I wanted help with. Is SU-9s output impedence compatible with the NAD C298s? Attaching the NAD's spec sheet here with relevant info highlighted. Thanks in advance.

 

[Veri]

There is one more question that I wanted help with. Is SU-9s output impedence compatible with the NAD C298s? Attaching the NAD's spec sheet here with relevant info highlighted. Thanks in advance.

The output values amirm measured are not troublesome at all, so yeah. No worries.

 

[Shoaibexpert]

The output values amirm measured are not troublesome at all, so yeah. No worries.

Thanks mate

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Most subjective reviewers are reporting a warmish tinge to the overall sound of the SU-9 when compared to say the D90. Can this be rooted in any of the measurements done or not done by Amir? Surely not all these marketeers can have the same smelling brain farts about this device? We see that the impedance is no problem and The SMSL's own MKTG material shows a flat FR across the range.

 

[Dominique-T]

I have bought the SU-9, and for the price, the level of performance and the build quality is outstanding.

My subjective impression is also very positive, better than the D90 I had the opportunity to evaluate. I do not believe the measures published by Amirm could support any non linearity statements made by the users.

certainly nothing like warming to my ears... But I do not believe this is the best forum to exchange on subjective impressions...

 

[Veri]

Most subjective reviewers are reporting a warmish tinge to the overall sound of the SU-9 when compared to say the D90. Can this be rooted in any of the measurements done or not done by Amir?

Just like many people claim the D90/AKM4499 has some "warmish" tone, there is not a single trace of proof to statements like these. So no I wouldn't expect the SU-9 to exhibit these traits

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Just out of curiosity, but to debunk the claim that one similarly measuring DAC has a larger or grander sound stage than the other (in this case, some people noticing a larger sound stage on the M400 VS the SU-9 - especially with speakers in a large room)....is there a unit of measurement/reading/scale that can be utilized (or exists) that kinda can prove that it doesnt matter or that the sound stage is the same basically on all these instrument grade DACs?

Also, does an output stage in a DAC play any role in making a DAC sound better or worst...I have read (which i feel i need to stop doing...) that most of these Chinese instrument grade DACs have their output stages removed (could be a fabricated lie, too!) for improving their measurements which makes them sound different/not as premium...while I am convinced it's not true...I'd like a reaffirmation with some logic from the experts here to remove any doubts.

Thanks

 

[somebodyelse]

Just out of curiosity, but to debunk the claim that one similarly measuring DAC has a larger or grander sound stage than the other (in this case, some people noticing a larger sound stage on the M400 VS the SU-9 - especially with speakers in a large room)....is there a unit of measurement/reading/scale that can be utilized (or exists) that kinda can prove that it doesnt matter or that the sound stage is the same basically on all these instrument grade DACs?

That probably depends on who you're trying to prove it to. There's a thread about published research on ways to assess spatial reproduction which may be helpful. The obvious direct test is a suitably controlled listening test (level matched, double blind etc.) to see if a difference can be heard.

Also, does an output stage in a DAC play any role in making a DAC sound better or worst...I have read (which i feel i need to stop doing...) that most of these Chinese instrument grade DACs have their output stages removed (could be a fabricated lie, too!) for improving their measurements which makes them sound different/not as premium....

Thanks

This bit could descend into a debate about what an output stage is. It can certainly affect performance, but I'd go with the 'fabricated lie' since the internal photos show a relatively conventional output stage on almost all the DACs, Chinese or not. I think we've seen one case with an unusual output stage that might have questionable compatibility, but that's certainly not 'most'.

 

[cursive]

Question about MQA on my SU-9. The manual isn't completely clear about what the different colored dots mean next to the MQA logo. It seems if I play tidal masters track on ipad plugged in usb to to su9 I get the magenta dot. When on my pc, also using usb, I select use exclusive mode, force volume, and passthrough MQA, and on my pc I only ever get a green dot on MQA tracks, never magenta. Does this mean I'm not getting the final unfold? If so, any ideas what would cause this on pc, but not ipad?

I'm not a proponent of MQA or anything, just more of a curiosity about its functionality. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Destination: Moon]

Question about MQA on my SU-9. The manual isn't completely clear about what the different colored dots mean next to the MQA logo. It seems if I play tidal masters track on ipad plugged in usb to to su9 I get the magenta dot. When on my pc, also using usb, I select use exclusive mode, force volume, and passthrough MQA, and on my pc I only ever get a green dot on MQA tracks, never magenta. Does this mean I'm not getting the final unfold? If so, any ideas what would cause this on pc, but not ipad?

I'm not a proponent of MQA or anything, just more of a curiosity about its functionality. Any help is much appreciated.

I'm not sure but there are a few similar devices from other mfgrs that show a colored led to indicate the type of blue tooth connection.

 

[Destination: Moon]

I'm not sure but there are a few similar devices from other mfgrs that show a colored led to indicate the type of blue tooth connection.

I tried to force another connection on my SU9 other than LDAC just now but couldn't seem to make the change stick. I can try again tomorrow.

 

[Magnifico]

DUDE.....Dots next to MQA Logo, not bluetooth.
There is even no dot when in bluetooth mode

NonLDAC shows bluetooth logo and 44.1 Khz
LDAC shows HighRes Logo with 96khz. Thats surely because of my phone upscaling the audio signal.



Coming to the original question:

MQA and green dot:
Sample rate : 44100 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1666 kbps

Sample rate : 44100 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 16
Bitrate : 1007 kbps

MQA and blue dot:
Sample rate : 44100 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1477 kbps

So I´m puzzled too. Since SU-9 doesn´t show the unfold data....I guess it has to do with that.
The quality/grade the encode unfolds to. But that is just a "wild" guess.

/EDIT: Oh, look what we got here:
Sample rate : 48000 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1644 kbps
SU-9 shows MQA green dot AND "96khz".
Those 96khz seen for the first time

Until now it was said SU-9 doesn show anything other than 44.1Khz. But now I can proove thats wrong!
========================================================================
Sample rate : 48000 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1726 kbps

MQA green
AND 48khz


*************************************************************************************************
Are we all too dumb to google ???

The Blue color means that the file is “Studio authenticated”.
The Green color is for other MQA audio file.

 

[cursive]

DUDE.....Dots next to MQA Logo, not bluetooth.
There is even no dot when in bluetooth mode

NonLDAC shows bluetooth logo and 44.1 Khz
LDAC shows HighRes Logo with 96khz. Thats surely because of my phone upscaling the audio signal.



Coming to the original question:

MQA and green dot:
Sample rate : 44100 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1666 kbps

Sample rate : 44100 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 16
Bitrate : 1007 kbps

MQA and blue dot:
Sample rate : 44100 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1477 kbps

So I´m puzzled too. Since SU-9 doesn´t show the unfold data....I guess it has to do with that.
The quality/grade the encode unfolds to. But that is just a "wild" guess.

/EDIT: Oh, look what we got here:
Sample rate : 48000 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1644 kbps
SU-9 shows MQA green dot AND "96khz".
Those 96khz seen for the first time

Until now it was said SU-9 doesn show anything other than 44.1Khz. But now I can proove thats wrong!
========================================================================
Sample rate : 48000 Hz
Channels : 2
Bits per sample : 24
Bitrate : 1726 kbps

MQA green
AND 48khz


*************************************************************************************************
Are we all too dumb to google ???

I guess I thought all MQA was studio authenticated masters, isn't that the whole selling point?
Sorry for wall of text, but here's from the manual

" The SU-9 LED next to MQA logo glows green or blue to indicate that the unit is
decoding and playing an MQA stream or file, and denotes provenance to ensure that
the sound is identical to that of the source material. It glows blue to indicate it is
playing an MQA Studio file, which has either been approved in the studio by the
artist/producer or has been verified by the copyright owner.The SU-9 LED next to MQA
logo glows magenta to indicate that the unit is rendering an MQA stream or file. This
delivers the final unfold of the MQA file.

When playing an MQA file, the sampling rate of the original master recording is
displayed."

Maybe you're right, blue is an MQA studio file which is somehow different than normal green mqa? But it says magenta indicates it's rendering a stream or file vs just playing the file? I have only seen the magenta indicator when playing usb from ipad, never from anything else even if it has high bitrate. I would think it would be rendering or doing the final unfold on all MQA files, but maybe I'm misunderstanding.

Edit: I don't normally listen to classical, but I have this playlist saved for testing purposes, highest bitrates I've seen on tidal. https://tidal.com/playlist/ed8350de-a7db-4b02-b17b-edeeeeb98b32

I tried to force another connection on my SU9 other than LDAC just now but couldn't seem to make the change stick. I can try again tomorrow.

Thanks destination moon, but I've never actually used bluetooth on my su-9. I'm purely talking about playing MQA from tidal and the little dot indicator it gives on the screen next to the logo. Not sure if MQA over bluetooth can be done.

 

[chocomamey]

Finallu SU9 arrived at my door . But I dont know how to make MQA logo appear on the SU-9 screen.I use MQA downloaded files but I dont know if Foobar needs a special plugin for that, or only recognize the logo by Tidal (I dont use streaming).

 

[Magnifico]

Google for it....you need some plugins to install....

foo_input_sacd
foo_out_asio
ASIOProxyInstall-0.9.4

 

[Destination: Moon]

One odd thing of note with my SU9, we've had two power failures lately and both times the SU9 turned itself on. Not an issue if your home really but if you travel or are away it's not ideal

 

[chocomamey]

Google for it....you need some plugins to install....

foo_input_sacd
foo_out_asio
ASIOProxyInstall-0.9.4

thats what I have already installed in foobar to use dsd and flacs wav etc ..but I play some downloaded MQA files and I notice the great quality but no logo of mqa in SU9 screen.

 

[Magnifico]

look for a free sample and we can compare....MQA is a tricky thing
Only installing isn´t enough for example...you have to choose the right options....
Have you tried HR files? Do you get to see the HR Logo ?

 

[Magnifico]

One odd thing of note with my SU9, we've had two power failures lately and both times the SU9 turned itself on. Not an issue if your home really but if you travel or are away it's not ideal

You should know, that you should cut the power to the devices anyway when you´re traveling.
Other than that....what would happen ? NOTHING....