Thank you for your so clear explanation of the sound! Please do a test of the new SMSL SU-10 - this is a very interesting DAC. Thank you for your work!
Thank You! I just received this DAC having bought it on the strength of this review, thinking I'm even sure I'm going to notice a difference compared to my current DAC ( which I wasn't entirely happy with) but Wow, what an improvement, it's a really great upgrade to my listening experience!
I have owned an SMSL VMV D1 since 2019, paid around $799usd. It only has a tiny small non-color screen but it is still going strong. The D VMV series tend to have the power supply fully separated and it weighs a bit. I wonder how a Denefrips Ares 2 or an SMSL D2 compares. Try giving those a try vs. the cheaper SMSL know. I am curious which one you prefer or if you can even hear notable differences. I like SMSL products and just bought one of their A1 amps off Apos. Thanks for all your work!
Thanks Sbrboljub for great reviews👍, what is significant upgrade against Tradutto or similar under 800USD dac ? Is is at least r26 or x26 pro for example? I mean, not sidestep...My setup is about 10K (speakers+amp+2x sub, neutral and resolving) many thanks in advance..
You and I are kinda in the same boat so I thought I'd reply. We must also take the rest of the system and the audio source into into consideration. If you feel that your source is as good as it could get (HD or UHD) and your amp(s) & speakers, even cables are all very good then it's a good time to think about possibly upgrading to an outboard DAC. I think it's pretty safe to say that a decent $100-$200 DAC should be better than 98% of built-in DACs. The question is "how much improvement will I hear if I spend this extra $" and that's where I'm at 😂 I have a few thousands CDs and have even been replacing some of them with higher quality recordings of my favorite ones. I recently subscribed to Amazon Music and have noticed that some of their UHD songs sound better than my CDs. My $3k Adam Audio are quite revealing and I've finally come to the realization that the DAC in my Yamaha mixer "could" be the weak link in my system. One way to "break" into external DACs is to buy a used one just to satisfy your curiosity. A month ago, spending $100 on a DAC would have been completely out of the question for me but today I would consider spending $200-$300 since it's the only questionable link in my system. I'm buying a used 2 year-old JDS DAC+ and AMP+ for $40 ($210 new) as my first step. My next step will probably be the new SMSL DO100PRO.
About the USB port.......................................... The DO200 MKII has one. It is a USB Type "B" connector. Correct? Sometimes these ports/inputs are labeled "PC", presumably to connect to one. Correct? However, I'm finding USB Type "B" connectors as rare as hen's teeth on a PC or laptop. What the heck's the deal?
@@iiWiReviews Yes, I understand that. Of course. So tell me why a company like Geshelli Labs UPCHARGES for a connector you just use an adapter for? Why not just use USB "A"? It's MUCH cheaper.
Using A or B is just a matter of physical shape, nothing else. The expensive part that's being upcharged is USB processing circuitry inside the DAC (XMOS, Amareno, etc.) and that's the same no matter what type of USB connector sits on the outside.
Warning about purchasing SMSL dacs if you live in the USA. I purchased the smsl d300 and absolutely loved it…until the optical and coax inputs stopped working. I contacted smsl and emailed back and forth for over a month. Smsl will not warrant their 1 year warranty. I would encourage you to buy from schiit, geshelli labs. They have excellent products and customer service.
Based on user complaints, I don't understand what is the point of reviewing SMLS and Loxjie if the Optical ports of their devices do not lock normally. What can the sound of these devices give me if the source cannot be connected. Otherwise, these products are of lower quality and lack the support to offer one class higher sound for the same price. There will be a place for everyone in this market.
@@anlemcsa132 Right now have D70s, Aune X8 with sparkos opamp and a couple of Lavasudio DS600s not currently in use. No plan to go R2R and if there is an end game dac, perhaps the Gustard A26 but it depends on whether I upgrade speakers and keep my Hegel. I am having fun with smaller speakers right now, Dali Opticon 1 fearfield and Triangle Zetas in mains. To get better, means larger speakers which I don't currently need or just blow the budget for something like Neat, among a few others that are supposedly a marked improvement in SQ. Or wait until I move to see what size room I have. But dacs will likely improve, however marginally, but that A26 seems really, really endgame for whatever system I end up with. Still considering amps as well, which I want more compact and lighter without sacrificing audio quality else what's the point of upgrading a dac. Sitting pretty decent right now. There's better, but not willing to go over 10 grand for speakers, amp and dac combos especially when I don't listen loud.
@@nc3419 You probably don't like the sound of R2R. I will ask about Aune. When you turn it off and on from the power supply, does it remember the last setting for an incoming source (p.s. because as far as I understand it does not have an auto standby mode and the electricity consumption is not indicated either, I could put it on the power relay together with other equipment)? And does it make a pop sound in the speakers when switching between input sources or powering it up?
I'll take SMSL gear over Topping all day. Recently got the SU9-Pro DAC to pair with the SH9 THX AAA amp for a secondary audio setup and it is a great stack for the money. Could be an end game budget stack for those not wanting to spend a fortune on a stack
Love your sense of humor that comes across in a very unforced way. And you are, without a doubt, one of the best reviewer of DACs and other HiFi gear on RU-vid. Please hang in there even you're getting tired from all SMSL DACs ;)
I own the Topping D90se and I think it is a fantastic DAC, but recently I bought the new SMSL D400EX DAC, AKM based, so called flagship DAC from that company. Let me tell you I think it is absolutely divine, everything the D90 is in terms of details and separation but better soundstage, spaciousness, fluidity and a little "je ne sais quoi" that makes it an absolute joy to listen to. Hoping you will review that device at some point, curious to see what you think of it. Cheers.
Bought SU-1 for work desk setup after watched your video and couldn't be happier. Now looking for DAC for living room. And my current setup is Xiaomi mibox to SMSL A300 powering Q Acoustics 3020 speakers. Hard to choose between DO200 mkii, SU-9 pro, su-9 ultra and M500 mkiii. What would you recommend around 500 USD budget? Thank you in advance :)
I have M500 MKII because of its small footprint and obviously it's a good DAC and headphone combo, even though I don't use any headphones yet. But just future proofing just in case.
I am just waiting for your review of the 500 MK III I am trying to decide between the MK II and MK III or the Aune X8 with Sparkos Opamp, now there seems to be another contender. There are good black friday deals taking about an hundred of the mkII an MKIII so the MKII is now at a similar price level as the Aune+Sparkos and the MKIII at the regular level of the MKII. Decisions decisions. So IIWI to get a MKIII over a MKII if you are willing to give a small hint ;)
@@iiWiReviews oh well... I would like something with the form factor of this one or the Aune but with a remote but it has to have the best sound out of the three. at the lowest price. Can't have it all....
I've only recently started looking at DACs and it's like going down a rabbit hole. It's confusing even if I only look at SMSL products. They seem to have too many models doing almost the same thing. I'm streaming HD/UHD from Amazon Music on my Mac Studio -> USB to a Yamaha MG10ux mixer (I also have a microphone and a digital piano plugged into the mixer) then XLR to a pair of Adam Audio active monitor. The Yamaha mixer's internal DAC sounds pretty decent but I'm hoping an external DAC would sound better (much better???). I think DO100PRO is their latest model but does it actually sound any better than the DP100 or does it just have another feature that I don't need? Does the DO200 sound that much better for being twice the $? I listen to mostly Pop/Rock, some Jazz and Classical. I'm open to all the help I can get!
I choose this dac because of your great and complete review. I hesitate with the d300 but this one with deeper bass seems best for me. Thank you for your great hifi Channel. Can't Dream of better explanation !
I think audio is a bit like food. Some likes shrimps better than oysters. Some prefer oysters despite the 10x price. This video is discussing different shrimp brands. Upgrading to oysters might not be better, depending on your dish. (system)
Greetings. I would like to know if the USB input of the DAC SMSL DO200 MKII works to receive digital data when connected to an android device. Thank you very much in advance.
just bought a do200 original open box got a very good deal on it .also have a a300 integrated amp .dont see much of a difference in the mk2 and original the display and the 216 to the 316 xmos not sure if it will sound different .thanks
With the release of the Su9 pro which is just slightly more expensive, I wonder if Smsl will release an equivalnent model in the DO range? I'm only interested for the HDMI input
Great review - I’m looking for a budget-ish DAC and amp for the Triangle Br03’s - which of the SMSL DACs do you think would pair best, and do you have a budget amp suggestion?
I just bought a custom headphones from JM Audio Editions. He said get a detailed dac like the D90 ect, and see what the headphones can do...then get the warmth you want from the amp. I'm liking that idea. Before he told me that, I was wanting #1 dynamic, punchy bass...details resolution #2. I think his logic is that if you never have the detail from the dac, then you can never have it.
all great, but more than 500€. Fiio k7 is all we want to see reviewed. a 200/250€ dac amp combo, true balanced, akm chip, just out now. great work once again!
I would consider this if I needed another dac as it seems comparable to my D70s in some ways. The DO200 MKII supposedly will allow playback of MQA discs (which I havn't even seen around yet other than at high prices on Amazon), but if they were more popular and readily available second hand, it would make this a more tempting purchase for that feature. Don't know if I missed it but is the stage depth flat or does it have some 3D ness to it?
Unfortunately SMSL, Topping and Gustard produce way to many dacs every year and not taking their time to tune them really well, they care a lot about the measurements than tuning them properly and selling them at a higher price. It’s a continuous rat race and hype trainwith every dac from them, but after a while people kind of forget about all about their last years dacs. For example Chord does the opposite. I have to admit i am curious about the new chips from AKM when they will be implemented properly(maybe D400EX) and the new SU10, or even R26 or the old X26 pro, but after a few years it gets very confusing with so many models, just give us a proper chinese uber high end dac at 2-3000€ and just let us just enjoy it for a few years untill you launch a new replacement.
I agree. Fiio seems like the only ChiFi company that invests more time into design and sound presentation. I bought the Topping DX3Pro+ DAC and after several weeks of testing and getting ear fatigue realized that there is simply no use in wasting money on Topping and SMSL products. I bought the new Fiio K7 in hope that it will be listenable and am waiting for it to come in the mail.
@@milosCivejovidar The Topping DX 3 Pro+ isn't fatiguing. You're either listening to loud, or you source is full of jitter. I have one running on the night table. Hooked to a older Bluesound Node 2i, streaming Amazappa HD. NOT going to be confused with any of my big rigs, not really an ortho runner. Satisfying at moderate levels.
How many dacs does a guy need? I have one for my main system and a dongle dac (both over $100). You have three r2r dacs over $1000. Could you pick just one?
Aune out of the box is no match to D0200 MKII. With Burr Brown I mentioned in its review they are on the same level. With Sparkos, Aune takes a lead being arier and slightly more deteiled.
D300 is very smooth and natural too. It sounds kind of mild and slightly less dynamic and less authoritative in the bassline. Personally, I would rather go for this one or M500 MKII.
That's the limit inside the Windows. You would have to use audio player that can bypass Windows' audio layer and output 768 kHz. But I don't see any point in that since there is no commercial music with that sample rate so your player would need to use 44 to 192 kHz files and upsample them (which DAC does internally anyway...). The most important thing for your sound quality is to actually bypass that Windows audio layer that resamples everything to what you set it.
@@iiWiReviews Thank you for your support, yes I've bypassed the Windows and the sound quality has improved :) I'm using Foobar2000. I've decided to buy the SMSL DO300 by watching many of your reviews. Your obvious choice was M500mkII, but it has changed with the Su-9 pro, while it's a bit better. I've compared the specification of both and I saw the only difference seems the DO300 has two more input option, the rest looks completely the same, am I right? and one last question, when I play for example a 44 khz file, on the dac screen I see exactly the same value as 44 khz (when I'm bypassing the windows of course), as you've mentioned the upsampling, how would it be possible to upsample it from 44 to 192 or 384 etc...? Thank you...
Aune X8 with Sparkos is still my favorite. But its not an out of the box solution and buyer still needs to solve a slightly protruding Sparkos with bigger feet or something.
@@iiWiReviews thats true, some very comfortable people just prefer hustle free visual experience. By the way great audio explanations in your reviews. Great to watch and LISTEN. Thanks
We can enjoy that the explosion of musical DACs is exhausting your immense store of delicious metaphors. Take care! Seriously though how does this DAC compare to the Aune X8 ?
Aune can sound better with Sparkos opamp. Arier, more deteiled, but still very natural. But you would have to sort out lifting it with some sort of feet to accommodate for protruding opamp.
Thanks, I have the Aune, first with the Sparkos, but now with the Staccato opamp which needs even longer legs to lift it but to my ear is more musical, sweeter, more tube like. The whole setup looks like a lifted, racing turtle.
I was always agreeing with you before this review. I have heard do200 mkii and it was disappointment. it is sound like a drill espacially with mqa file. No musicality, no warm sound, metallic voices, and after 20 minutes it is really tiring. We have hear the same dac?In my opinon also the Topping d30 pro sounds much better and defintely SMSL d300 is also better than d0200 mkii.
Can't say why you're hearing what you're hearing. There's nothing drill like and metallic sounding that I can notice with my unit. It follows the footstep of warm and full sounding M400 and M500 MKII.
@@iiWiReviews many thanks for you answer, Could you tell me, in your opionion, how smsl d300 and topping d30 pro sounds compared to d200 mkii? In my opinion both of them have sounds more warm, with more bass, and more depth. What do you think about it?
Paolo : Run it for ten days continuously, yes you read correctly continuously, non stop. You will be surprised !!!. just set it up in the basement and let it run, don't listen to it during that time to prevent getting used to it.
My SMSL experience started with M300. And I thought the MKII would be a step forward sonically. But he clearly wasn't. So I went back to the M-300. With Bluetooth the MKII was a little more comfortable. Thats it. Ever since the M-300, I've definitely been a fan of the AKM chips. And SMSL products with a SABRE chip don't come into my house. In general, however, e.g. the operating instructions are sheer horror. Just like the SMSL website. But in most Cases you get Quick Answer from the Support
I have the arcam sa20 that includes the ess9038 non pro chip and also use tidal Master. Since the sa20 doesn't support mqa I'm curious if adding the do200 would be better then the internal DAC? May Also look at m500?
They are basically equal in terms of sound quality. Quitest is one of those DACs that focuses on clarity of the edges more. DO200 offers fuller and warmer tone.
