SMSL SU-1 MQA MQA-CD Audio Decoder AK4493S XU316 768kHz/32Bit DSD512 Hi-Res DAC

Update: March 13, 2024 (previously 1 star rating, now I give it 5 star rating). After several exchange of messages between Leaudio seller and myself, it was suggested that I install SMSL SU-1 driver from smsl-audio.com official website, which I did. To my surprise that fixed my DAC! Now I am finally able listen to music from my PC sent to SU-1 by USB cable, which is connected to my SMSL A300 by RCA. It seems the driver installation to my Windows 10 fixed whatever issue I was having with SU-1 DAC. As result of this, I'm updating the previous 1-star rating to 5 stars. As for the sound quality from SU-1, as stated below, it's an improvement over my SMSL A300 amplifier by 15 - 20%, but more specifically, it is the sonic clarity and separation that are the most notable. Though a minimal audio improvement over my amplifier's internal DAC, the sound clarity and instrument separation are noteworthy, and for that I give a 5-star rating. Also, through this DAC, vocals seem to be slightly more forward and clearer. March 6, 2023, initial review, I gave it 1 star rating due to the DAC's failure after 10 days of use. Bought this SMSL SU-1 DAC in November 2023, but I couldn't use it since I didn't have a pair of RCA cables to connect it to my class D SMSL A300 amplifier that I purchased from Amazon at the same time. The DAC was on Black Friday sale, so I figured to try it with my new amplifier. Fast forward to Feb 2024, I finally ordered a pair of CESS 163-4i RCA cables, connected the DAC to my amplifier. The SMSL SU-1 DAC improved the quality by about 15% over my SMSL A300 internal DAC. I used the DAC on and off for about 10 days, then today it simply failed on me. It simply fell dead silent while playing a music file from my PC (PC to USB cable to SMSL SU-1 DAC to RCA cables to SMSL A300 amplifier). I tried another RCA port in the back of my SMSL A300 amplifier, but that too didn't work. The DAC simply does not work at all. I also tried powering down my amp completely, unplug RCA cables between the DAC and the amp, then powered both up again, and toggled between various input options in the DAC to no avail (USB, coaxile, and optical just in case the internal circuit's connectivity had glitched and that toggling among input sources might reset it). The source-light LED still functions on the DAC, but I get absolutely no audio signal going into my amplifier. Heck, I even rebooted my PC just to see if that may be causing an issue, but it was futile. After 2 hours of wrestling with the connections and toggling between input sources and settings, I gave up. Now I'm back to connecting my PC directly to my SMSL A300 amplifier by USB cable, which works fine. As far as SMSL SU-1 DAC is concerned, it was a decent DAC for the price (while it worked). However, the unit I got simply failed after about 10 days of usage. I'd instantly return it for a refund, but the Jan 31 deadline return date is closed, so sadly it's not an option for me. A good-sounding, affordable DAC with a high quality DAC chip, but in my case, I must have received a lemon, so quality control seems questionable. Maybe it's just bad luck on my part, but I still wouldn't recommend this DAC to anyone. You'd be better off to spend a bit more money on a high quality DAC with its own power supply built in. Update On March 11, 2024 I emailed with photo attachments of the failed SMSL SU-1 DAC to [email protected]. According to their site, they'll honor their product warranty up to 6 months with either a repair, replacement, or refund if their product proves to be defective. Hopefully they'll reply in a timely manner with a resolution. As others may encounter a product failure after the Amazon's 30-day free return policy, I'll post further updates for reference. Update, March 11, 2024, 8 hours later, shenzhenaudio.com support staff replied my to my email, asked for the Amazon purchase invoice and order number. I forwarded them the necessary information. According to their reply, they'll forward my case to their Amazon Support Team. I hope this will be resolved asap as I'll need to either get a replacement DAC or get a refund and buy another DAC, so for now I'm stuck in a limbo with 70 bucks tied up in a failed DAC unit. For now I'm stuck to using the internal DAC of my SMSL A300 amplifier, which is quite ok, but I did like the somewhat improved audio fidelity of SMSL SU-1 DAC. Update March 12, 2024. Got a reply from Leaudio requesting detailed info on what's wrong with my SMSL SU-1 DAC. I forwarded an account of how it simply stopped working while playing music from my laptop connected to it by a USB. Also forwarded 3 photos of the DAC. Hope this matter will be dealt with either a refund, replacement, or repair soon, because at this point, the DAC is useless.

Dac seems to built well. It feels like a quality item in hand. The recent reviews on Amazon are spectacular. For me it didn’t work. No sound. When I tried to download the drivers for my device listed on the SMSL page they would not install? There is no customer service no. Thank goodness for amazons easy return policy. As a footnote when adding a third party dac into an existing audio environment a lot can go wrong. From wiring to software conflicts and so forth. When searching online for other buyers with similar problems I found very few posts as SMSLs products seem to work pretty well out of the box.

Trochę nie wierzyłem, że tak tanie urządzenie może coś poprawić. U mnie jakość dźwięku z podstawowego streamera (TagaHarmony) zdecydowanie się poprawiła - dzięki głębszym basom i większej selektywności.

Très bon. Bons timbres, très dynamique et clair. Bonne profondeur de scène sonore. Il a remplacé un Topping E30 et est nettement meilleur. L'avantage est qu'il n'y a pas de filtres, ni de suréchantillonnage avec une lecture CD. Comme on dit en anglais, "Less is More". Il a de bonnes basses, bien tenues, mais pas extra profondes. Il manque un peu de medium. J'ai essayé ensuite le D6s qui avait un son dur dans les aigues et artificiel sur mon installation. Donc, je garde le SU-1, qui est imbattable en rapport qualité prix. Il faut lui associer une bonne alimentation linéaire et de bons câbles pour en tirer le maximum. La puce AK produit des sons très naturels. Je n'ai pas du tout aimé le son de la puce ESS sur le D6s.

今までは、ノートパソコンからREIYINのDAC、中華アンプ、小型ブックシェルフスピーカーと繋いでいたのてすがもっと音が良くなるかなぁーと思いこちらを購入しました。音だししたらイキナリの爆音！かなり出力が高いです。今までのDACは、ボリュームが付いて出力が調整出来ましたがこれは、入って来る音そのままに出てきます。アンプのボリューム絞りました。間にヘッドホンアンプ入れる場合も気をつけてください。後、パソコンでビットレートは、32bit.384kに設定しました。さすがに4000円のDACよりかなりや良い音です。特に音の分離感が素晴らしい。回路に余計な物を付与していないので尚更です。尚、SMSLのDACは、もう少し高いのも使っているんだが出だしの音は、少しシャリツキますが鳴らし込みでスッキリ澄んだ音になっていきます。ボディーもコンパクトで場所も取りません。欠点は、小さいので固いケーブルを使うとボディーが浮いてしまうことかな。