Treble is one of the standouts of the SP400, while it is extremely clean, detailed and sharp sounding, it was never bright or teeth clenching to me. It goes high and there is plenty of driver movement past top octave. SP400 is extremely good in here, with a clean and defined leading edge. The best treble I have ever heard was with THX amplifiers and SP400 is really no different. If you love real sounding cymbals, tambourines and bells then SP400 got you covered. Full-sized headphones: Hifiman Susvara, Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-4, Erzetich Phobos, Erzetich Mania, Kennerton Wodan, Magni, Gjallarhorn, Vali, M12S, Quad ERA-1, Ollo S4X Reference, HarmonicDyne Zeus

S.M.S.L M400 Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC) - SHENZHENAUDIO

Other folks (and it turns out that I’m one of them), prefer a DAC to automatically be set to the “BEST SOUND” option and don’t want to spend their valuable listening time figuring out which of the last eight options sounded better than the current one. A power button, input selector, and volume control may be enough. When it comes to driving easier loads as IEMs, portable headphones, even desktop dynamic headphones, I would give an edge to the HPA4 which was simply noiseless and was providing the cleanest power unleashing their maximum potential. SP400 was very close to it, but it wasn’t as crystal clear and transparent sounding. Their D1SE was an exemplary DAC in this area, always highlighting the leading edges and the smallest nuances like it would be a child’s play and D2 goes with the same winning formula. If you’re crazy about your music on a micro-scale, then be prepared hearing the truth alone. With D2 on my table, I’m sure that the only limiting factors would be my upstream equipment, my amplifiers and transducers in a headphone or speaker form. The SU-9 sounds linear, virtually uncolored, and transparent. It’s not so analytical as that it overshadows the music. Instruments and vocals remain natural and real sounding. The SU-9 is just smooth enough to balance all the details.The SU-9 does, however, have tons of features and a great screen to differentiate it from comparable (and competing) models. It also has a little audible edge in how it rounds off the sharp corners and presents a smooth, enjoyable sound. Where to Buy PCM Filter – you can select your desired digital filter that are built-in directly in the DAC chip itself, there are 6 filters to play with, but the sound difference is slight at best.

HEADFONICS—SMSL M400 REVIEW

The remote is simple and functional as well, although because it is a shared remote between SMSL devices and can control three components, you must press the ‘C’ button before it functions with the SU-9. As one who eschews reading the manual upon the initial setup, I was quite convinced that the remote was DOA after swapping a few pairs of batteries. Once I stumbled across the ‘C’ button necessity, all was well. Menu Instead, I’ll write about one of the most interesting delta-sigma modulation converters that passed through my hands in 2021. It sounded in such a way, that I’ve completely changed my preconceptions about this particular brand. Everybody knows Shuang Mu San Lin Technology by now or SMSL for short. I’ve covered most of their gear, starting with affordable and finishing with top-end units. Just months ago, I’ve learned that there is a sister company under their umbrella, calling themselves VMV Technology that releases only top of the crop that SMSL has to offer. One of their most valuable deeds was releasing a DAC that forced a new spin of competition among industry members. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears. Thanks in advance for any time your put into a reply. All the best, SMSL VMV D2 performed like a top-end converter from multiple points of view. It has an amazing build quality; it covers all digital inputs and offers plenty of features than I’m not spotting on competitor devices. I particularly liked its sound tuning that felt different, to a point of being unique and I hope they will continue using its voicing in the future.It’s good to be attractively and robustly made and feature some perks like a legible screen and remote control. A reasonable price tag also helps. While it is still not as precise as HPA4 is when it comes to ultimate transparency and detail retrieval, it still has double the power and that was immediately felt with headphones like Audeze LCD-4 and Hifiman Susvara. I knew that HPA4 was controlling well the drivers of some of the best headphones there is, but SP400 did that so gracefully and so easily, like it was nothing for it. HPA4 is no slouch and it is still one of the best I have ever heard, but with some particular headphones, SP400 worked better at less than ~4.75 times the price of HPA4, impressive! Isn’t it? For unknown reasons, from the land of delta-sigma converters, those that had ESS-Sabre chipsets were undisputed champions when looking at your music with a magnifying glass. Matrix Audio Element X stood out as being extremely technical sounding, so much so that I couldn’t part ways with it for about two years in a row. It just pushed all details forward, as if trying to get the attention of the listener. AKM based DACs can do that too, but only the ones carrying a flagship AK4499 with top components around it. As I’ve mentioned before, component selection around the DAC chip is extremely important and I believe SMSL did an amazing job in here, squeezing a higher dynamic range, making it the cleanest sounding SMSL DAC to date. This includes XLR and RCA outputs, and a variety of different inputs: AES, I2S, Coaxial, Optical/Toslink, and USB-A. In addition, there is a bluetooth antenna which has the latest Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.0 standard, and allows for LDAC, AptX-HD, AptX, AAC and SBC formats.

SMSL D400ES DAC Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum SMSL D400ES DAC Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

However, I consistently noticed some sonic characters on the DO300, even in blind testing. Basically: the DO300 has a noticeably harder hitting bass slam, and the stage is slightly cramped compared to my reference setup. Microdynamics is another area where the DO300 struggled, with subtle shifts in volume not being as apparent as they are on the LPGT.The SMSL DO400 is the first to use a new design which makes the screen “floating” and puts it on the corner in the left hand side of the front. This is quite a drastic change compared to previous models such as the DO300 or the DO200 MKII where the screen was in the centre or slightly off-centre. This seems to be a trend currently as Topping appears to be adopting the same type of design on their latest products. I have to say, and this is 100% down to personal preference, that I am personally not a super fan of this placement of the screen, as a more central position would make it easier to read it if you don’t have the device on the dead centre of your desk, but again others may find it to their liking so it’s really down to personal opinion (and also to where you place the unit on your desk!). Bluetooth sampling rate: UAT: 24bit/192kHz (1200kbps/900kbps/600kbps), LDAC: 24bit/96kHz (990kbps/660kbps/330kbps), aptX-HD: 24bit/48 kHz-576kbps, aptX: 16bit/44.1 kHz-352kbps, SBC: 16bit/44.1 kHz-328kbps, AAC: 16bit/44.1 kHz-320kbps

SMSL M400 Balanced USB MQA DAC Review

With all that said, there is one thing that I wish SMSL did differently, there is still hope as I’m having the Hardware and Software version 1.0 and maybe there is a chance, I can update it later on. The biggest issue that I’m writing about is its gain position. There is very little difference volume wise between low, to mid and then to high gain and while this doesn’t seem like a huge con, it is a huge con with hard to drive headphones like Hifiman Susvara. When you put it side by side with its smaller brother SH-9 that offers exactly half the power, it doesn’t sound more powerful at all and here are some examples.I have made a good comparison to all of them before I made a modification to my SMSL SU6, and M400. As a whole, SMSL VMV D2 presented a clear and an extended frequency response, never rolling-off parts of the frequency response. There weren’t drops or rises, just a complete rendition of the audible spectrum, delivering a fuller-bodied presentation to usual converters. The knob has notches in relief which help you grip it as well as providing a bit of design variance. The knob itself is actually a digital stepped wheel, with discrete steps for volume adjustment as well as navigation through the menus of the firmware. It has a bit of weight to it that makes turning it (and therefore adjusting volume) with precision easy. Features & Specs