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

I am not typically impressed with modern audio gear. It just doesn’t seem to compare with the great sound that we get from the vintage audio gear. That said, audio chip designers are coming up with some interesting products. And audio component designers are taking advantage. I wanted to improve the audio system connected to my multimedia workstation. The systems already has a pair of vintage RCA Minimus 7 speakers and more modern Lepai LP-2020A Class T amp. These are far from audiophile quality but, for their modest price and demur size, they do a credible job. Sadly, the same can’t said for my DAC. It doesn’t sound great and has become intermittent. It was time for a replacement. I read reviews of the S.M.S.L SU-1 MQA MQA-CD Audio Decoder. Reviewers and osers described it as “amazing." Since it sells for a very reasonable $85, it was worth the gamble so I bought it. After connecting it up to my PC and audio system I tested it with a number of high def audio files. It sounded quite good. Then, just for fun, I fed a DSD file into it. I expected noise because few DACs can handle DSD files. What I got instead was a DSD decode from the device. Apparently, the designers included DSD decode into the chip that runs the S.M.S.L SU-1 MQA MQA-CD Audio Decoder. Amazing! What was more amazing was what I heard when a started listening to “Billy Jean” on the Michael Jackson “Thriller” album. It is a DSD file mixed from the original master tape. The drum beats at the beginning of the song were so sharp, so clear that it literally startled me! Hats off to the designers of this inexpensive, amazing DAC!

Great for the price. Made a big difference to the cheap DAC I was using. Decent soundstage, clarity and great defined bass with weights to it. Connected to my Panasonic TV and tunes to my preamp from there for my HiFi system. Good for YouTube. Easy to use and feels like good quality too. No regrets. Was worth it.

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.

It just blow me out of water when I switched it with my 10 years old external sound card. I thought my old sound card is already decent enough but comparing to this DAC, they are definitely not in the same league. The first thing I noticed is the clarity/detail comes from this little thing. I have DROP AAA 789 + HD650 setup, and use Apple Music Lossless as music source, I feel this DAC really brings the best of the two. Aside from that, the low becomes deeper with no compromise in quality. It makes my whole setup really addictive! However, all the good stuff comes with one caveat, that's the driver if you are using Windows. I noticed a non-stopable clipping sound when I launched Chrome browser, the only way to stop that is to close the browser or launch Apple music before launching Chrome. It's not a big deal but I just can't give it a 5 star rating. Overall this is a great DAC for the price!

Finally, a simple and practical device that lets the music out of your computer like an actual audio component. Unlike the audio output jack on a PC, there is no extra noise, hiss or hum. You get full range, unaltered and fully dynamic sound. Just plug it in and windows automatically installs it as a sound output device. Reason for leaving this review is due to good customer service. The first unit I received slowly failed after about a month to the point that there was no sound. After typical troubleshooting, they sent me a replacement unit at no charge, after the return period. The new unit has been in use 24/7 for about six months now without any interruptions. Thank you! I have always used a full-size receiver/amp with full-range speakers/sub with my PCs. The SMSL SU-1 is the best option since the SoundBlaster days!

Le stelle sono 5 ma potrebbero essere 6😉 Il DAC è molto ben costruito, piccolo ma "pesante" , tutto in metallo di buona qualità. Riguardo il suono: suona molto bene, per il prezzo poi suona in modo eccellente. Io utilizzo dac di vario tipo, anche apparecchi pro usati solo come convertitori, e questo piccoletto non sfigura affatto. Confrontato con il mio dac" di riferimento " ( uno che avevo assemblato anni fa, con alimentazione separata ,op- amp sostituibili, e, guarda caso con un vecchio chip AKM, perde solamente qualcosa nella gamma bassa, che è meno estesa e presente. Quindi in sintesi: se non volete spendere centinaia di euro ( parecchie) questo è sicuramente la scelta giusta. Sono rimasto abbastanza sorpreso, perché non credevo suonasse così bene

初めてDACというものをアンプに付けて使った。CDプレーヤーと中華アンプの間に挟むだけ。 DACと中華アンプを合わせても、DVDのケースくらいの大きさだ。 かつての重厚長大なアンプとは大違い。 しかも値段が数千円から数万円だ。お財布にとてもやさしい。 早速、名機ダイヤトーンで視聴。 あら不思議！通常CDがSACD以上の音質で出て来るじゃない。しかも音が澄んでいる。迫力があり、音が美しい。 もうSACDは要らないな。早く買うんだった。 DACを付けるのが面倒なら、DAC内臓のアンプもあるよ。 我々庶民にもハイエンドオーディオ並みの音質で音楽が楽しめるようになった。 名機オールドダイヤトーンをよみがえさせたDACに大拍手！！！ ブランドにこだわらないなら、音楽を楽しむのにはこれで十二分です。

Después de un tiempo buscando información sobre Dac's encontré este y que gran suerte! Con una pequeña inversión optienes un Dac que ofrece una calidad de sonido que soprende por lo pequeño que es el aparatito, eso sí muy bien construido y decodifica la senyal digital y la transforma a analógica por salidas rca a tu amplificador, previo, receptor AV etc. Actualizando y dando una calidad de sonido increíble, con una nitidez y claridad matices sorprendente superando a otros 2 o 3 veces más caros, con un coste inferior pero no en calidad de sonido i acabados. Sí buscas un Dac sin tener que invertir mucho dinero pero con una calidad que sorprende este es tu Dac, no lo dudes. Tu música en streaming mejorará gratamente y solo desde tu smartphone, tablet, pc, eso sí que dispongan de transmisión de archivos de audio a través del Puerto usb-c, yo utilizo un Xioami Mi 9TPro y funciona perfectamente ya que envía audio y alimentación al Dac sin ningún problema, también tengo un Poco X3y perfecto pero tengo un Xiaomi Redmi note 11s y no lo puedo usar hasta el momento, no tengo ni idea porque no alimenta este Dac yo uso la entrada usb-c del Dac, que también es Puerto de alimentación de este para darle alimentación eléctrica tienes que usar un cargador de móvil, yo en mi caso cuando no lo uso a través de mi smartphone como no tengo toma de corriente eléctrica cercana uso una Powerbank y no me da ningún problema funciona perfectamente. También lo puedes usar a través de sus entradas digitales coaxial o óptica como Dac externo de un CD, DVD, streamer mejorando su calidad de sonido, yo lo he conectado con la entrada coaxial con mí CD Pioneer PDR-W839 Multi-CD Changer / CD Recorder y la mejora es notable, igualando a mi CD de referéncia dedicado el Marantz cd-48. En conclusión, por el coste que tiene y la calidad que ofrece no tengo dudas que es una gran compra este Dac, es pequeño pero matón.

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.