New SMSL DSD DAC

[Sid the Kid]

I saw this SMSL on Mass Drop as well for $179. There is a 12 page thread going at Head Fi about this piece if anyone is interested on more reviews.

 

[banyanleaf]

Simply said, it is more complicated than that. Digital format is, unfortunately, not plug and play as we would like to see. The sources, hardware, software, setting, all play a role. And, unfortunately, neither SMSL nor Douk has very good user support or good manual. You have to figure out by yourself or rely on other informed users.

So I just hook my usb port on my laptop to this, and it not only replaces the Dragonfly, but upsamples my FLAC to dsd?

Truly? Cause at 75 bucks, I'll leap on that.

 

[onwardjames]

The DAC doesn't usually do that, your playback program will do that...JRiver seems to send everything to my Chord as DSD files when I have the format conversion applied.

At least that's what the lights on the DAC say...
.

Thank you, another reason to switch to JRiver.

Simply said, it is more complicated than that. Digital format is, unfortunately, not plug and play as we would like to see. The sources, hardware, software, setting, all play a role. And, unfortunately, neither SMSL nor Douk has very good user support or good manual. You have to figure out by yourself or rely on other informed users.

Thanks to you as well. Yes, I am trying so hard to learn all this, and it is a jumbled, confusing mess.

 

[banyanleaf]

Be patient and be a learnt consumer. That will pay off in the long run. I don't think you can convert a non-DSD signal to a DSD signal, just like you can't enlarge a 600x800 pixels picture to a real high definition 2400x3600 pixels picture. Something was lost permanently during the compression process. No matter how good the extrapolation algorithm is, it is approximation, not the real deal. So you really don't get much by buying something that "cheats" better.

 

[AZab]

I was going to buy the Schiit Modi 2 until I saw this deal...what to do....

 

[onwardjames]

Yes you can. JRiver does that. I am sorry that you don't understand that.

Hey man, it's cool, let's stay civil. Since I asked that question, I feel responsible. This SMSL DAC, IF I got it, and paid for JRiver, is it theoretically possible my FLAC files would be

converted to DSD

and then

SOUND BETTER with this DAC??

I know AK'er slipper on is a big BIG fan of DSD upconversion, and has written about it many times.

Like all of us, just looking to squeeze more sound out of redbook. :yes:

 

[BeerCan]

Jriver will convert them to/from DSD no problem. If they sound better, that is up to you to decide
I change DSD to PCM for my Ygg and it sounds fine. I have never gone the other way.

 

[cuke]

Smsl m6

Anybody jumped on one of the newer SMSL M6 yet? I bought one on ebay because of the specs and price..I found it for $136. I can't find anyone saying anything about it. I did see something somewhere saying its better soundimg than the M8 but would like to hear from you guys what you think.

 

[cuke]

bump

 

[mjw21a]

Hmmmm, looking at the SMSL M6 presently. What are the main differences between the 6 and 8? Are these really that good?

 

[SoNic67]

So I just hook my usb port on my laptop to this, and it not only replaces the Dragonfly, but upsamples my FLAC to dsd?

More like DOWNGRADE to DSD.

.. is it theoretically possible my FLAC files would be
converted to DSD and then SOUND BETTER with this DAC??

The current Delta-Sigma DAC chips are doing a way better job at converting the PCM to an internal multibit (4 or 5) DSD 256 format. No need to convert anything to a single bit DSD 64, it won't bring nothing good.

 

[woofmytweets]

Hey man, it's cool, let's stay civil. Since I asked that question, I feel responsible. This SMSL DAC, IF I got it, and paid for JRiver, is it theoretically possible my FLAC files would be

converted to DSD

and then

SOUND BETTER with this DAC??

I know AK'er slipper on is a big BIG fan of DSD upconversion, and has written about it many times.

Like all of us, just looking to squeeze more sound out of redbook. :yes:

yeah, i've got an upconverting TEAC DAC, upconverting to DSD does not produce any difference with the limited testing i've done.

from what i can tell, if you have a 16bit/44kHz pcm file, it doesn't get any better than that....assuming all else being equal. i suppose the DAC circuitry for the DSD and the PCM sections of each unit are potentially different, so in some cases it might sound better, but in mine, i don't hear a difference.

 

[onwardjames]

11 months later, and I get an answer. Gotta love AK! Thanks woof and sonic.

 

[SoNic67]

Well, sorry, looks like somebody that won't be named (but his name starts with "mjw21a") digged out this dead topic

 

[onwardjames]

All good, Sonic. Glad to hear that I haven't wasted more cash in pursuit of sonic nirvana, even if it's a bit further down the road.