SMSL Sanskrit 10th DAC review: BASS!
So, I already had the SMSL sAp-1 headphone amplifier. I found out the Sanskrit 10th was pretty much the same size, and available in blue, and I wanted an inexpensive AKM dac. So there it is.
Note: This is my first external desktop DAC. For all this, I used the Sanskrit 10th COAX in… and a few headphone amps, headphones, and even different pairs of speakers (well, Merry Christmas in advance to me lol).
Dynamics are great. Really great. It’s the stupidest thing to say, but even silence sounds louder. Everything jumps at you. Especially the Bass: It is possible that all of my other dacs I use daily (in my phone, in my AVR, my Playstation 3 even) were… “meh” for bass and sub-bass. And definitely lacking in dynamics. For anyone saying “dacs don’t matter”, well… plug your headphones into your smartphone and then into that. It’s a night-and-day difference. Bass drum/kick slams with authority, and I can now hear bass notes clearly. They’re no longer hidden “somewhere”. And they now go lower. And remember, it’s a 100$ DAC. So… yeah, you’re a “bass head” and want a desktop DAC? Buy this.
Mids: I finally know what the “AKM warmth” is (lows and mids boost – yup, there it is). Bass and acoustic guitars resonate more. Male voices too. Mids are more prominent. Great, “mids are where the music is”.
Treble: it definitely pushes high frequencies, 10khz, even 15khz and above (verified with sinegen). If that’s too much treble for your headphones or speakers, there are filters. Stock one is FL1, filter FL3 is better for me (it’s apparently -5dB at 20khz). The ability to choose filters is a simple, but great, feature. I set the filter to FL3 with the remote and put the remote in the drawer for good.
Specs say my old Denon AVR-1312 got an AKM dac. Same for this little blue box. So, using this DAC, and my AVR as a speaker amplifier only, I was expecting more of the same. Not at all. Pleasantly surprised. I got Fluance SX6 speakers, Zeos likes treble and even him said the treble could be “a little bit too much” with these. This DAC fixed em. I’m listening to electronic music with these and get the same “oof” I get with my T50RPs bass/drum kick slam… At moderate volume. I used to listen to music with these, admire the “treble soundstage”, but if I wanted more neutrality, I had to lay down in bed “under” the speakers, or push the volume to “party” levels. Otherwise I was like “yeah, that’s fine, but I want to hear more bass and mids, so I’ll use headphones now”. Not anymore. I’m listening to jazz at talking volume right now, and it’s just glorious. The “height” of the treble goes as high as the bass goes low.
TL,DR: “Vertical soundstage” got more “lower” and less “higher” (…I don’t think that’s english but I think you’ll get it, lol).
Detail: Also, for the first time, I believe I clearly hear the weird, subtle “clap” sounds in “Morphine - Souvenir”, or the drummer turning on his seat (maybe?) at 1:50, or the saxophonist hitting the key around 2:55 before playing, with speakers that are 5ft away from me. Maybe it’s these “clap” sounds I was talking about: Just the saxophonist doing “percussion” with the keys during the entire song, really subtly in the background, having fun. I like that it sounds like a crumpled piece of paper, when the song is talking about a piece of paper a guy dropped on the floor and lost. Might be that, too. 
And for the SMSL sAp-1 amplifier in the picture? Well, I may have been wrong saying the sAp-1 was very laid-back, and maybe not even deserving of the yellow “Hi-Res Audio” sticker 
because I thought it couldn’t even do anything above 10khz. With this DAC plugged straight to it, it definitely, definitely pushes high frequencies, 10khz, even 15khz and above, through it (again, heard in songs and verified with sinegen). I already reviewed the sAp-1, and said it was analog sounding and very laid-back (it is, technically, a baby ~275mW “Class A” amp). Basically the exact opposite of a JDS Atom. Even the smooth Liquid Spark amp sounds “digital” in comparison. I would not create music with the sAp-1 amp. Under 10khz, the treble sounds “veiled”. The Sanskrit 10th “AKM warmth” paired with the sAp-1’s “analog”, laid-back sound might be too smooth for you if you already have smooth speakers or headphones… but it sure is damn enjoyable.