VMV D2R Stereo DAC Review

[Jimster480]

This ROHM DAC is certainly no slouch... It's the same one they use in the $3K Cayin N8ii DAP.

Yes, you are right. The performance is more than fine. But the price has absolutely nothing to do with the performance, as price and performance have absolutely no correlation in the world of audio anymore. When it comes to DAC and AMP.

 

[bobaachen]

Did anybody compare a preamp to the DAC in pre mode ?? I'm unsure byuing an integrated amp or just a power amp ...

 

[promilleweg]

yesterday we compared d2r and creative ae-9. we listened to mp3 and flac in good quality from a computer. A stock power cable and a usb-ugreen cable were used for connection. without going into details, creative has outplayed smsl. my question is, how much impact could these cables have on the sound? or is d2r not playing after all??

 

[Chagall]

yesterday we compared d2r and creative ae-9. we listened to mp3 and flac in good quality from a computer. A stock power cable and a usb-ugreen cable were used for connection. without going into details, creative has outplayed smsl. my question is, how much impact could these cables have on the sound? or is d2r not playing after all??

Welcome to ASR!

Power and data cables won't have any impact on the sound. If the cables work (aren't broken) the DAC will work.

Did you implement any controls for the test?
- did you listen through headphones or speakers?
- what was the amp used for VMV and was it level-matched to Creative?
- were any EQ, preamp, or Windows sound enhancements enabled on DACs/soundcards?
- what filter was used on VMV?
- was the test done blind?

No test controls could explain the differences you heard 99.9 times out of 100, rather than cables.

 

[promilleweg]

Welcome to ASR!

Power and data cables won't have any impact on the sound. If the cables work (aren't broken) the DAC will work.

Did you implement any controls for the test?
- did you listen through headphones or speakers?
- what was the amp used for VMV and was it level-matched to Creative?
- were any EQ, preamp, or Windows sound enhancements enabled on DACs/soundcards?
- what filter was used on VMV?
- was the test done blind?

No test controls could explain the differences you heard 99.9 times out of 100, rather than cables.

Hegel H390+Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 setup was used for comparison.
Headphones were not used, the levels were matched.
Foobar2000 wasapi in both case.
Lo osr+hpc off. When changing the filter, we didn't hear much difference.
The difference was significant, and a blind test was not required.

 

[Chagall]

The difference was significant, and a blind test was not required.

People will not take a comment like that seriously and will dismiss the claim.

What you need to do is a proper control:
- connect Creative to Hegel analog 1 and VMV to analog 2 and level-match the DACs output with a multimeter.
- get Foobar or any other player to output wasapi to both DACs simultaneously (group zones in JRiver and Roon)
- A/B with the remote (changing inputs analog1/2) so that the playback is seamless
- do it blindly

If you would still hear differences, that would be something altogether different.

 

[promilleweg]

People will not take a comment like that seriously and will dismiss the claim.

The vast majority of people listen to music with their ears and do not adjust the outputs of the DAC using a multimeter.
I am an ordinary listener, not an expert, not a blogger. I will not carry out surgical measurements because I hear enough. I'm just expressing my point of view. I don't pretend to be the truth.
I don't know, maybe after 100+ hours of listening, the sound will change for the better. But I can hardly believe it.
The budget card from five years ago plays better than one of the top smsl devices. There's something don't understand about this case. So far, I'm disappointed with the device.
It shouldn't be like this!

 

[voodooless]

The vast majority of people listen to music with their ears and do not adjust the outputs of the DAC using a multimeter.

It's strange to claim a difference of a few tens of a dB to a few dB isn't relevant when the differences between these devices are below -100 dB in the first place when properly matched.

the levels were matched.

How? Clearly, you did not use a multimeter...

As for the Creative card, it should be transparent as long as you disable any "sound enhancing" features like the Crystallizer. When enabled, surely you'll hear a difference. As for the cables: they make zero difference.

 

[Chagall]

The vast majority of people listen to music with their ears and do not adjust the outputs of the DAC using a multimeter.
I am an ordinary listener, not an expert, not a blogger. I will not carry out surgical measurements because I hear enough. I'm just expressing my point of view. I don't pretend to be the truth.
I don't know, maybe after 100+ hours of listening, the sound will change for the better. But I can hardly believe it.
The budget card from five years ago plays better than one of the top smsl devices. There's something don't understand about this case. So far, I'm disappointed with the device.
It shouldn't be like this!

I understand what you are saying.

But it's not a matter of ordinary listening or being an expert - you currently have a problem you are trying to resolve. That requires some steps and measuring to eliminate level mismatch and bias.

After the problem is resolved, you will most definitely use your ears and enjoy music (in fact for the test you will use your ears - just not your eyes).

 

[Angsty]

Hegel H390+Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 setup was used for comparison.
Headphones were not used, the levels were matched.
Foobar2000 wasapi in both case.
Lo osr+hpc off. When changing the filter, we didn't hear much difference.
The difference was significant, and a blind test was not required.

Again, welcome to ASR! Since this is Audio Science Review, a modicum of science-based inquiry is to be expected.

From my experience, you’ll find that regulars here will take claims of audible differences more seriously if the claimant has data which support subjective observations. Blind tests are one way to gather such data.

The data collected over many tests done on this site indicate strongly that changing line-level interconnect cables don’t make an audible difference.

 

[piaseczek]

D2R mk2:

VMV D2R MK2

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...

www.smsl-audio.com

 

[Jimster480]

D2R mk2:

VMV D2R MK2

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...

www.smsl-audio.com

I wonder how the new one compares if it is using a newer chip. The current one is "good" but it isn't better sonically then what is available for 1/10th its price.

 

[Billy Budapest]

D2R mk2:

VMV D2R MK2

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...

www.smsl-audio.com

Touting MQA and MQA-CD support as a selling point? Both of those technologies are dead.

 

[piaseczek]

Probably selling points are: new clocking system CK04 based on an OCXO and the newest ROHM chip.

 

[suur13]

Can you now have volume control for DSD playback (issue with mk1) ?

SMSL VMV D2R DAC ROHM BD34301 XMOS XU316 Bluetooth 5.1 aptX HD LDAC 32bit 768kHz DSD512 MQA - Audiophonics

The SMSL VMV D2R is a top-of-the-range DAC, offering very high performance thanks to its meticulous design and carefully selected components. In particular, it is equipped with an excellent ROHM BD34301 conversion chip...

www.audiophonics.fr