S.M.S.L SU-1 MQA MQA-CD Audio Decoder AK4493S XU316 768kHz/32Bit DSD512 Hi-Res DAC

Brilliant piece of kit for an affordable price. Wanted to push CDs and it did just that. Really uncovers the sound. Soundstage has improved massively and high end has a nice shine to it. DACS are meant to be transparent and it does just that. For the price, you are getting a lot for the sound. Highly recommended.I currently have the output running into the AUX IN of a tube preamplifier to get some nice warmth and harmonics through the tubes that digital just doesn't have and I must say it does it brilliantly. Vocals pop forward with a warm tone and bass has a nice timbre to it. The Mids need some working.For this DAC, it's a must buy unless someone has the money to buy a more expensive one. Which by all means go for it.

Bought this is on review recommendations. Just had an 1990s DAT player refurbished, brought back from the dead after it had spent thirty years in the garage, now it plays perfectly but it had a somewhat compressed sound.This DAC has one of the very latest/best chip sets usually found in units at ten times the price, the DAC in the DAT is thirty years old so could benefit from the latest tech to give it a boost.Some people think all DACs are the same but they are clearly not, a listening test shows this very clearly, just as all headphones don’t sound alike. I have six DACs, some are good, some are not so good and it does not always relate to cost. A have a Fosi which is ok as a headphone DAC and pre amp which is ok, warm sounding but lacking clarity, a Beyerdynamic slightly better but not enough for the additional cost, a Chord Mojo which is very good used between an ipad and twin rca cables to an amp, a Prozor for 5.1 sound from a modern tv to ancient analogue cinema amp which was very cheap but sounds great and now this which sounds brilliant, better than the Chord but at about a fifth of the price.A good DAC puts air and soundstage into the music, separates the instruments and gives clarity to bass and treble.This one has opened up the sound of this DAT player, giving a clearer sound, very pleased with the result for such a low cost item.Also as the DAT is optical cable and the CD player, also from the 90s, is coaxial digital, this unit can take both items and you can switch between them using the button on the front.

I connected the SMSL SU-1 to my laptop via USB and installed the XMOS drivers. It shows up as "USB DAC ASIO." I previously had ASIO4ALL v2 installed, so I had to uninstall that first.I'm very glad I bought this DAC — it significantly improved the sound quality, even when using Edifier active speakers. I plan to get Polk ES15 speakers soon to pair with my Marantz amp and the DAC, but even now, the sound quality is amazing.

Remarkable

The SMSL SU 1 is a well made and featured DAC. However, if you have a detailed system already this DAC can prove a bit too forward in the mid and upper frequencies. The bass is there but a bit on the lean side. So much so I have reverted back to my Khdas tone board that gives a lovely level presentation, detail, image and bass. I use my DAC via coax to spdif of my CD player.

Brilliant budget DAC, DSD512 works well with jriver. You get better sound quality if you install the Xmos driver and switch of safe mode, this dac doesn’t like other usb DACs on the same PC (like my essence one)

I have owned many DACs over 5 decades and prior to private use I worked with the BBC, where engineers got down to the physics of transcoding two different methods of storing and playing back music.Cambridge Audio DACs became studio standard after the BBC research period and were quite large.US chip designers miniaturized good quality converters and Asian manufacturers went further, gradually, from within universities in China and Japan.A good DAC is really about the chip being able to do its job with the least interference from circuitry and SMSL managed to do this in small box because WHY NOT?DACs have become trendy and some self-described "audiophiles" rave about the "sound" of various expensive products, which are supposed to be good to look at as well.A proper DAC should have no "sound" of its own and what is the point of prettifying a functional item in a chain except for vanity and profit?SMSL observed the functional side and chose to add nothing.That is why it really is a David standing against the Philistines.Remarkable in what it does and equally so that the company chose to avoid embellishments.Just make sure to remember to download the software or it will hiccup until you do.

The dac chip is good. A nice sound also needs a good amp chip, and a reasonably high voltage supply. The voltage supply is only 5 volts, and the amp chip is not a rail to rail type. So the amplifier section will start to struggle at around 4 volts. With no volume control to tame that gain, it's operating at maximum. This is how it sounds to my ears. Sometimes the basic specifications give a clue to the sound. Maxed out with limited power does not get the best from any audio equipment. This dac is no exception.