Just got the SMSL SU-8 DAC!

that technique seems complicated

True, true, but I prefer just removing the light source entirely lol

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one of the things i love about this DAC is the ability to turn it off.

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I just turn off the display light or dim it.

Does anyone have experiential comparisons between M100 vs. the SU-8? What are the audible upgrades? Worth the price difference?

I think it is because of the extra features. The sound is more detailed and also a bit more transparent sounding. And you can also tweak the sound with the sound settings (not an eq)

I think this DAC has a sleep function. God i love this DAC. I hated the way my other DAC would stay on all the time.

Love the always on feature of most DACs

After using it for some time, any other opinions?

Well as I said I like the sleep feature. what’s kind of cool is if it goes to sleep all I have to do is play music and it will automatically turn on. also if I want to turn it off manually I just have to hold the button in. I love how uncolored it is, yet it still sounds great. I have it set to max volume is that a good idea? from my experience with audio equipment it’s rarely good to leave the volume at Max it’s usually best to leave it set to under 15% Max. But that’s analog audio.

so what’s the next step up from this Dac? I’m unsure about the r2r Dacs. since I heard they don’t measure that well. but I’m starting to wonder about this analytical approach to music. maybe I should go for a more musical path?

I mean you can max it out and be fine, but leaving it a bit lower volume doesn’t hurt

For an upgrade to this, you are correct in deciding weather you want to continue to either take the analytical path or the more “musical” path (essentially just getting stuff that colors to your sonic preferences)

That is what´s called an analog solution I guess…:+1:

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Did any of you try to listen with Optical cable?
Does it make any difference, I mean the sound (USB vs Optical)?

It should be pretty much the same from my experience

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The only differences I’ve found are those of output level. Other than that I’ve found no apparent audible differences once volume has been adjusted. Bit-depth wise I can’t really tell between 24 (optical) vs 32 (USB).

It’s not as stark of a difference (between SU-8 and DA9) as there was on the Topping MX3, that one had audibly better sound over USB. But I think most of it had to do with different output gains, as it was once again hard to tell much of a difference when A/B testing between my different DAC’s once volume was leveled. DA9 definately had better bass response over the MX3, maybe even SU-8. But the SU-8 wins out on all the features it has.

The only thing SU-8 really lacks is BT. But that’s coming with the new M200 I hear, which will pair nicely with the SP200 visually. Previously referenced as M400 because of the markings on the panel, SMSL-Mandy said this was an error and it will be called M200 once released sometime in January 2020.

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I really hope the M200 is better than the SU8. I love matching stacks and i want to get one when it comes out. hoping its not too expensive. I dont need the BT feature though. i hope they offer one without.

I just got this DAC, and when connected first time Windows install some drivers

I also download driver from SMSL site, so my question is do I must install that driver or is not necessary?

What do I get with this driver?

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You don’t have to, but it will allow you to use asio if you like. I would suggest installing the smsl driver because I think it’s more stable with it imo

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Here is OK to put 32bit 96k or higher?

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So personally 32 bit can cause problems with some applications, so I would keep it at 24 bit (I would only turn on 32 bit if you are using a DAW or creating music). I personally like to keep mine at 24/96 khz for normal use, and use asio direct in foobar if I want to go higher

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