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

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.

Generally flawless DAC although I find I need some bass EQ compared to other converters. So silent and with such high resolution that digital volume control can be used with absolutely zero subjective loss in quality.The issue with the XMOS USB controller is that it goes into a standby mode after 5 seconds of no signal, apparently a default intended for when the chip is used in dongles for mobile devices (i.e. phones) to save a watt or so of power draw (silly for desktop and general hifi applications), and when it 'wakes up' it misses the first half second or so of playback which can get REALLY annoying if you're browsing files.It can be fixed in Windows by installing an XMOS USB driver from the SMSL website (the DAC is otherwise plug-and-play with the default, fairly recent Windows driver), but you then have to edit an XML configuration file to enable "Always On" as an option in its control panel (it's fixed to "On When Needed" otherwise).Search for "XMOS driver settings for no cutoff/delay" on the Audio Science Review forum.*** Edit Dec. 2024 *** the latest XMOS driver from SMSL's site (released in the last month or two) now allows 'Always On' available in the control panel (it might even be the default, I can't remember if I had to change it ), so my criticism above no longer applies.ETA 2 - A general tip - this little box draws practically no power, maybe a watt or two - leave it powered on 24/7 and it will last. If you keep switching it on and off (power cycling it) there's a much higher chance it will fail.

A bargain DAC. Excellent sound quality and reliability

Powered by USB, it was instantly recognised by my pc and took over audio function.It outputs a higher signal than the onboard headphone socket (or a usb-headphone adaptor), allowing me to remove an additional gain-stage, for higher signal purity.The sound? Acoustically invisible.And the price? Wow.

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.

Very good value and, so far, working better than expected. Very clear sound from TV and Sony CD player. Recommended.

Very inexpensive stand-alone DAC (£79) but has had rave reviews. Simple no-fuss design with just an single power/input selector (optical/coax/usb) button. The unit is incredibly small and gets its power through USB-C connection, so needs an additional 5V phone charger, if you're not using the USB to connect to a computer. Despite the positive reviews, I was disappointed by this device. Compared with the sound from my AV receiver's onboard DAC it had lower noise and amazing clarity, pinpointing instruments or voices precisely within the stereo image. However, for me the sound lacked genuine timbral accuracy, so voices, though reproduced with ununusual purity, had an unnatural thinness and a lack of richness, warmth and fullness to the sound. Likewise for piano, which had an artificial hollowness to the sound despite a fullsome bass. All instruments were bathed in a superficially attractive but synthetic and unvarying reverberent acoustic, which added to a slightly processed feeling to the sound. Don't get me wrong, these effect are subtle and for many listeners may be unimportant, but for me it was a dealbreaker and I had to return the unit for a refund, which Amazon processed with remarkable alacrity.

For the money, it's blindingly good. It's replacing the onboard DAC in my Chromecast audio and now sits between that, using its optical out, and a little Fosi class d/valve amp, and goes into my ancient pair of homebrew LS3/5a speakers. Much better imaging and separation than before.