I’ve been out of audio for a while and trying to get back in it. I am lost when it comes to what the general consensus is in dac’s. I’ve been using an smsl m8a that I’ve had for many years. What am I missing on advancements in dac’s the past 4-5yrs? If can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated
What the above posters said and watch out for shills of boutique DACs because they will try to scare you into spending more money.
Moved to Digital Line Level.
According to this, the Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital looks very good for the price.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/recommended-components-fall-2021-edition-digital-processors
Rest of my system is mono block pushpull el34, power supply separate from amp section, separate power transformers for each tube, k and k audio regulators for preamp and splitter, lundahl output transformers, John broksies aikido Noval front end into ccs ltp. If all that makes any sense lol Christmas is being chaotic
Klipsch heresy with upgraded crossovers. Knew was forgetting something lol also streaming tidal is best source I have at the moment.
Well, I'd just check back here in another five years, and see if anything else has happened.
Lol well working on getting girlfriend hooked on audio so may be doing lot more reading on here. Fingers crossed lol
IMHO there are better and there are worse dacs as compared to SMSL M8A. Main questions would be, are you happy with it now? ...and or is there anything you don't like about the sound?
I’ve only used it and a topping d30. The topping sounded muddy and just off tbh. That’s the only thing I have to compare the smsl m8a to. I’m pretty happy with it. But then again I don’t have a reference point or a wide range of things to compare it to.
Reviews of SMSL M8A at Amazon are mixed. As is common with dacs designed around ESS chips there are some complaints that the sound is too bright. Other than that the chips can measure quite well, so the 'bright' sound does not seem to be attributable to frequency response or harmonic distortion (at least as such figures of merit are typically measured).
Another thing that may matter to some people is imaging, the subjective credibility of the stereo illusion, the perception of width beyond the speakers and depth behind the speakers.
Yet something else to consider is that some people claim to dislike the sound of 'sigma-delta' dac technology. Those people may prefer a switched discrete resistor type of dac. There are some trade offs in the sound between the two types, some people don't seem to care which it is.
Anything else you would say about your preferences given the above thoughts?
Another thing that may matter to some people is imaging, the subjective credibility of the stereo illusion, the perception of width beyond the speakers and depth behind the speakers.
Yet something else to consider is that some people claim to dislike the sound of 'sigma-delta' dac technology. Those people may prefer a switched discrete resistor type of dac. There are some trade offs in the sound between the two types, some people don't seem to care which it is.
Anything else you would say about your preferences given the above thoughts?
SMSL M8A is based on ES9038Q2M DAC chip, USB/TosLink/SPDIF inputs, stereo SE output.
Tiny display and external brickwall PSU.
I've dig DAC offer as I was looking for something PnP, within my budget
Products are nowaday providing stellar performances.
ASR will give you tons of reviews, graphics, sinad ranking, and ...
AKM vs ESS chips "aficionados" war is still alive. ES9038Pro "hump" bug is now under control.
Bluetooth (LDAC) is common. Some have IIS input and external clock plug.
Balanced and SE analog out are both available too, such as remote control.
You'll have full set of options : PCM/DSD filters, DPLL (jitter), "sound colors", color display, dimmer/brightness, fixed or variable preamp, integrated linear low noise PSU.
I'm not concerned about MQA, some DAC have it, some not.
Among all those, I took one which FW could be updated by user.
I hope SMSL will update if necessary.
The unit satisfies my listening sessions.
But, it's not DIY 😏
Tiny display and external brickwall PSU.
I've dig DAC offer as I was looking for something PnP, within my budget
Products are nowaday providing stellar performances.
ASR will give you tons of reviews, graphics, sinad ranking, and ...
AKM vs ESS chips "aficionados" war is still alive. ES9038Pro "hump" bug is now under control.
Bluetooth (LDAC) is common. Some have IIS input and external clock plug.
Balanced and SE analog out are both available too, such as remote control.
You'll have full set of options : PCM/DSD filters, DPLL (jitter), "sound colors", color display, dimmer/brightness, fixed or variable preamp, integrated linear low noise PSU.
I'm not concerned about MQA, some DAC have it, some not.
Among all those, I took one which FW could be updated by user.
I hope SMSL will update if necessary.
The unit satisfies my listening sessions.
But, it's not DIY 😏
She surrprised me with a smsl su9 for Christmas. May have to keep her around for a while. Lol