SMSL SU-9n Review (Balanced Stereo DAC)

[Veri]

Ciao a tutti. sono nuovo e italiano (sto usando google translate) ho appena ricevuto il mio smsl su-9n ma ho un problema. Uso il wiim mini come streamer e ho Amazon Music HD come abbonamento. il mini è collegato tramite il cavo ottico al dac. Ho notato che alcuni brani non vengono letti dal dac. questi brani hanno una risoluzione superiore a 3000 kbps a 24 bit 192 kHz. se sono sotto i 3000 kbps a 24 bit 192 khz il dac li legge. anche quelli sopra i 3000 kbps 24 bit, ma sotto i 192 khz li legge. ho provato sia dalla mini app che dall'app amazon. ma non c'è niente da fare. non legge quelle canzoni. per ulteriori informazioni, il software dac è 1.01. Qualcuno può aiutarmi a risolvere il problema? grazie. scaldati un po'. è normale?

-we can't speak Italian though.
-very few devices can transfer 192 kHz over optical("ottico") reliably, so that's where it's going wrong. You can try another cable, but it's likely to be limited at 96Hz.

 

[Alay]

-we can't speak Italian though.
-very few devices can transfer 192 kHz over optical("ottico") reliably, so that's where it's going wrong. You can try another cable, but it's likely to be limited at 96Hz.

Excuse me
With the coaxial cable, you Say It can solve the problem? Thank you

 

[Veri]

Excuse me
With the coaxial cable, you Say It can solve the problem? Thank you

It depends on the sending and receiving device. But yes possible it will work in coaxical. Be sure to check the official specifications of your devices.

 

[Alay]

It depends on the sending and receiving device. But yes possible it will work in coaxical. Be sure to check the official specifications of your devices.

In the meantime, thanks again for the reply.
The devices are the wiim mini and the smsl SU-9n. The funny thing Is that without a dac, i never had this problem.
The wiim always read everything to me.
Spending almost 400€ to then have this type of problem, Is both funny and annoying at the same time.
It's like a saying here in Italy: It was Better, when It was worse :/

 

[sq225917]

Right. I could post another 25 threads just from this forum about SMSL. I did say that I didn’t need you to go through them and would rather drop it

Funny that you criticised me for not giving evidence, yet when I pasted in some links you criticise me for posting examples.

I also said SMSL issues, not specific products... But it sounds like you read whatever bits you want.

I was conscious at first not to post any examples, if you want them, I am happy top post a plethora of thread all over the internet about the reliability issues, and thereafter the lack of support or slow repairs.

Maybe they have got better, and I know they sell probably tens of thousands of products each year. I just wanted a bit of help. Is all.

I'm not sure if you read every thread onsite, I do in the digital and amplifiers threads, which helps build up a picture of users and user experience.

Imo what you have relating to chifi quality, is threads from 50% one-time hit and run posters, and 50% genuine posters.

I know maybe 50 people with gustard, topping, smsl products, none have ever had issues. So I suspect the defect rate is absolutely no higher than with other mass produced brands.

Let's not forget these products are 90% pick and place smt built products, so failures are highly unlikely and when they do occur it's within small batches, not randomly across a line.

Like any forum there's a contingent of posters on here who are just sock puppet accounts created for shooting down one brand or another. They're easy to spot as they only post once or twice then never come back, or constantly post about the same one or two brands.

 

[Veri]

Spending almost 400€ to then have this type of problem, Is both funny and annoying at the same time.
It's like a saying here in Italy: It was Better, when It was worse :/

Yes but you see very few devices can do 192kHz over optical. Just reading on the subject matter would have let you know this in advance I think. There's usually glitches and dropouts when you do >96kHz. Maybe coaxical will work without issue but you'd have to try...

 

[Snoopy]

Why even bother with optical? Just use a raspberry pi and usb

 

[Alay]

Yes but you see very few devices can do 192kHz over optical. Just reading on the subject matter would have let you know this in advance I think. There's usually glitches and dropouts when you do >96kHz. Maybe coaxical will work without issue but you'd have to try...

Hello Veri,
Everything Is settled. As i do sometimes when the electronics don't go as they should. I unplugged It, waited a few seconds, plugged It back in, and now it works.
Read everything. ( I had inquired if you cold read on the toslink )
Now i am enjoyng music with this new dac. And i can Say with certainty. That It Is really valid. Instruments well "visibile" stage, Opening on the voices. Never felt like this my sistema ( Yamaha as-1200 Chario Pegasus ) Is worth the Money spent.

 

[Veri]

Hello Veri,
Everything Is settled. As i do sometimes when the electronics don't go as they should. I unplugged It, waited a few seconds, plugged It back in, and now it works.
Read everything. ( I had inquired if you cold read on the toslink )

I'm glad you figured it all out!! Enjoy your new set up in full working order!

 

[mrjayviper]

Does this dac allow the use to change PLL settings for SPDIF? thanks

 

[cap1980]

Скажи пожалуйста. Как настроить плейлист в ROON? Заранее спасибо.

 

[Napster4]

Had mine since the beginning of September and using it everyday as part of my stack

• SMSL SU-9N + DA-9 + SH-9

All three are tethered together via XLR with the 3 way Hart Audio Cables. It's been perfect and no issues.
View attachment 243486
View attachment 243487

Hey guys,

im planning to get the whole stack sine i already ahave the DA-9 but im kind of confused how to connect all 3 pieces together now that i saw this picture.
I tought i was going to connect the headphone amp to DAC with 2 balanced XLR cables and the DAC to the speaker amp with RCA but then i saw this picture with all 3 connected with some sort of XLR split cable i suppose?
What would be the best way to connect these 3 units together?
Just to clarify neither my headphones nor speakers are balanced atm and i don't know if connecting everything with XLR may reduce noise that might come up if you raise the volume.

thx for the advice in advance ^^

 

[thechez]

I would advise anyone steer clear of these units. I purchased mine through Apos audio and have tried two units. The first one lasted three months before the RCA outputs fried and then the second one stopped powering up after a month. I guess you really do have to pay more to get quality. Apos was nice about the return process and everything but at what point does constant failure begin to add up too much? That can easily turn a $400 DAC into a $500 DAC and so on.

 

[xrk971]

I had my SU-9n on since May 2022 and about a week ago, it started making static noises and popping sound plus really distorted sound. I thought it was my amp failing at first but changing to another DAC (Khadas TB-1, iPhone dongle) the noise went away. Turning it off and letting it rest and turning back on seems to work for a few minutes but it seems to be a thermal issue because as it warms up, it gets worse until unusable. This happens to both the SE and balanced outputs and at both 96kHz and 192khz rate USB input. I suspect there is a part inside that has failed due to aging and thermal stress. Anyhow, searching for similar issues by others have led me here. Sounds like some people have not had any issues but many people in other threads have described this very issue. Kind of a pain because I really liked the balanced out capability.

 

[microcontrollerpro]

I had my SU-9n on since May 2022 and about a week ago, it started making static noises and popping sound plus really distorted sound. I thought it was my amp failing at first but changing to another DAC (Khadas TB-1, iPhone dongle) the noise went away. Turning it off and letting it rest and turning back on seems to work for a few minutes but it seems to be a thermal issue because as it warms up, it gets worse until unusable. This happens to both the SE and balanced outputs and at both 96kHz and 192khz rate USB input. I suspect there is a part inside that has failed due to aging and thermal stress. Anyhow, searching for similar issues by others have led me here. Sounds like some people have not had any issues but many people in other threads have described this very issue. Kind of a pain because I really liked the balanced out capability.

Hi xrk971, I seem to be having a similar issue to you. I purchased this in Feb 2022 from ShenzenAudio and this just started happening. I can confirm that it seems to be thermal related. The noise triggered overcurrent protection on my A30 Pro so I've switched back to using my Schitt Modi DAC.
Here is a recording of what it sounds like:

 

[xrk971]

Hi xrk971, I seem to be having a similar issue to you. I purchased this in Feb 2022 from ShenzenAudio and this just started happening. I can confirm that it seems to be thermal related. The noise triggered overcurrent protection on my A30 Pro so I've switched back to using my Schitt Modi DAC.
Here is a recording of what it sounds like:

There is a thread on DIYA where the OP shows how to fix this. I followed it and it works fine now. You need to know how to remove and install a small SMT IC chip with a hot air pencil. I can confirm that the fix is good and has been working for over a month now. Here is my installed new timer chip.

SMSL SU-9n issue

I have an SMSL SU-9n DAC that I've been enjoying for more than an year. A few weeks ago it stared having interruptions while playing music. Initially I thought it was something network related. So I stared resetting switches and routers but with no success. Here is my main setup: the SMSL DAC is...

www.diyaudio.com

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/attachments/img_5324-jpeg.1184409/

 

[RedCometZero]

Is this a design flaw that should be proactively repaired, or a dead chip? I have a pair of SU-9ns that I would like to have in service for a long time, and basic soldering skills.

 

[microcontrollerpro]

There is a thread on DIYA where the OP shows how to fix this. I followed it and it works fine now. You need to know how to remove and install a small SMT IC chip with a hot air pencil. I can confirm that the fix is good and has been working for over a month now. Here is my installed new timer chip.

SMSL SU-9n issue

I have an SMSL SU-9n DAC that I've been enjoying for more than an year. A few weeks ago it stared having interruptions while playing music. Initially I thought it was something network related. So I stared resetting switches and routers but with no success. Here is my main setup: the SMSL DAC is...

www.diyaudio.com

View attachment 301167

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/attachments/img_5324-jpeg.1184409/

Haven't learned how to solder yet, despite graduating from an EE program a few years ago, lol. Probably going to send it back for repair.

 

[microcontrollerpro]

How is that not caught in testing???

Maybe they didn't thermal cycle testing or a faulty batch of timer chips.

 

[RandomEar]

? Highly recommended to learn soldering. I'm a ChemE grad and have been soldering since 1998. I've upgraded numerous power amps and DACs. You can modify the sound character of most any DAC just by changing out the op amps that are in the output stage from warm and lush to cold and clinical. You can do this with little risk and at a low cost. Recommend you try this at least once in something you've bought used: put in an 8 pin socket and start rolling your own. Have a bag full of op amps from 2013 still and most of them hadn't cost me more than $5. You will also be able to replace leaky electrolytic caps in old amps, and improve sketchy power supply circuits.

While I support the "learn soldering" message, rolling op amps is almost always a bad idea. At best, it will change nothing audible in the devices performance. At worst, you will increase distortion or noise by selecting op amps which are not suited for the circuit at hand. The original circuit designer usually had good reasons for choosing a specific IC and unless you reverse engineer the whole PCB, you are very very unlikely to improve upon the design. In most cases, you will actually make it worse.

Some threads to read on op amps rolling:

Rolling (replacing) Op-amps in Topping D10 DAC

This is a study of whether changing op-amps in a DAC makes a measurable difference. Taking a lead form "rolling" tubes in tube products, a trend has started in replacing op-amps -- sometimes with much difficulty -- to improve performance of solid state products like DACs. A few months ago I...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Rolling Op-amps in Gustard H20 Headphone Amplifier

I reviewed the Gustard H20 which is a high-end headphone amplifier yesterday. Its owner kindly sent me some high-end op-amps to "roll" in there to see what difference it makes. The task was pretty easy. The top screws come out of the H20 and if you tilt the unit, the lid falls out exposing...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Objective Guide to Op-Amp Rolling - Part 1

As per moderator, here is full article from the site: Objective Guide to Op-Amp Rolling - Part 1 July 30, 2021 Op-Amp Test Board This blog article/post is a deep dive into currently available 8-pin DIP dual op-amps, for those that like to swap op-amps in their designs and/or DIY projects. The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Opamp Rolling, Does It Work?

Many hobbyists like to do "Opamp Rolling", by changing the different opamps in audio gear. There's much discussion on the internet audio forums about the best opamp to use. However, many just read about a specific opamp that is the current flavour of the month and change it willy nilly. When an...

www.audiosciencereview.com