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S.M.S.L M2 DAC First Impressions
Jul 4, 2014 at 1:14 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 154
DoubleB123

DoubleB123

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I broke the headphone jack on my laptop and decided to get a DAC rather than replace the jack. I was planning on getting the HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC, but saw that this DAC had the same chip but also included an amp. I could not find much information about it, but decided to buy it anyways. It was $63 from here: http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/smsl-m2-headphone-amplifier-external-dac-decoder-sound-card-2014-new.html and arrived in North Carolina from Singapore in about 15 days or so. I have only had it for a couple days but I figured I should put up my first impressions.
 
First off, the sound quality is great for the price which I expected considering all of the great reviews I heard about the Sabre. I run my 32 ohm Creative Aurvana Lives through it and the sound it very clear and full. The amp has a decent amount of power and my CAL! can get very loud with this amp. I also tested it with my friends 250 ohm Beyer DT770 and it was able to drive them but the volume had to be set pretty close to max.
 
The DAC is about the size of my ipod touch, but about a half inch shorter but a tiny bit thicker. It is very light, comes with a 3 ft mini usb cable to hook it up to your computer and is definitely portable. The build quality seems solid, it has a metal case and feels sturdy. The only issue I have with it so far is that if I put my computer to sleep, once it wakes back up the audio is really fuzzy and sounds strange. However, all you have to do is unplug the USB and plug it back in to fix it, so it is a very minor problem. This could be specific to my computer and really is not a big deal. Overall, this DAC/amp seems like a great deal for the price and would recommend it to anyone looking for a budget DAC and is ok with waiting for it to ship from overseas.
 
Jul 17, 2014 at 5:33 AM Post #2 of 154
doubleb123 said:
  I broke the headphone jack on my laptop and decided to get a DAC rather than replace the jack. I was planning on getting the HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC, but saw that this DAC had the same chip but also included an amp. I could not find much information about it, but decided to buy it anyways. It was $63 from here: http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/smsl-m2-headphone-amplifier-external-dac-decoder-sound-card-2014-new.html and arrived in North Carolina from Singapore in about 15 days or so. I have only had it for a couple days but I figured I should put up my first impressions.
 
First off, the sound quality is great for the price which I expected considering all of the great reviews I heard about the Sabre. I run my 32 ohm Creative Aurvana Lives through it and the sound it very clear and full. The amp has a decent amount of power and my CAL! can get very loud with this amp. I also tested it with my friends 250 ohm Beyer DT770 and it was able to drive them but the volume had to be set pretty close to max.
 
The DAC is about the size of my ipod touch, but about a half inch shorter but a tiny bit thicker. It is very light, comes with a 3 ft mini usb cable to hook it up to your computer and is definitely portable. The build quality seems solid, it has a metal case and feels sturdy. The only issue I have with it so far is that if I put my computer to sleep, once it wakes back up the audio is really fuzzy and sounds strange. However, all you have to do is unplug the USB and plug it back in to fix it, so it is a very minor problem. This could be specific to my computer and really is not a big deal. Overall, this DAC/amp seems like a great deal for the price and would recommend it to anyone looking for a budget DAC and is ok with waiting for it to ship from overseas.
Click to expand...

If I get you right than you can use it as USB-DAC and get the digital input through the usb connector of the M2?
 
Aug 23, 2014 at 2:21 PM Post #9 of 154
Following browsing ebay for usb dacs, I was drawn to this one (I must learn to resist).
 
It came in the post today (China to the UK, so it took it's time), and on opening the packaging to see what's in the box I noticed the supplied USB cable was heavier than the dac.
blink.gif

 
Now for the playing.
 
The fist thing I noticed is that this thing will be able to drive most headphones with volume to spear. (I tried it on a Sennheiser HD 25-II, beyerdynamic DT880 600 Ohm, and Hifiman HE 500).
 
Sound quality for the price I paid was very good.
 
From a quick test on some tracks, I found it tended to the hi end. But for the price can't complain.
 
Still testing.
 
Aug 23, 2014 at 5:40 PM Post #10 of 154
I will probably get one of these. I like that it is so versatile. Dac/amp with spdif and line out. From what i hear is that the dac itself is worth the money. The heavies headphone that i have is the 150 ohm Superlux hd330. A cmoy can do it just fine but the HRT headstreamer really struggles. If this little thing can do it. I will be a happy camper. 
 
The HRT headstreamer is to dry and grainy for my taste and it is also headphone only, no line out. So i cant use it with my other amps without double amping the signal. 
 
It should also work fine with my phone. Which is a big plus when you want a little better setup on the go :)
 
Sep 9, 2014 at 6:32 PM Post #11 of 154
I got one of those yesterday, and I cannot even tell about the sound quality, because the amount of noise generated is screwing up everything.
In this setup desktop Ubuntu 14.04 -> SMSL M2 -> FIIO E12 -> DT880 is noise hell.
Note that the the FIIO E12 is dead silent when fed via FIIO X3, or iPhone/iPad feeds.
Even by taking AC out of the question, and feeding it via a battery powered MacBook Pro, noise is pretty high.
Going to try a USB isolator now, but the laptop test let me think it will be a no go either.
Is mine a dud?
 
Sep 10, 2014 at 4:03 AM Post #12 of 154
"...amount of noise generated is screwing up everything"
 
Really...
 
For a start, why would you have a FIIO E12 in the chain when you can drive the DT880 directly (see my previous post)?
 
If you have to go to the extent of using a USB isolator you must have a faulty unit.
 
The SMSL M2 maybe cheap, but sound quality is not as bad as you have described.
 
Sep 15, 2014 at 10:45 AM Post #15 of 154
I really liked the size and the build of the SMSL M2, but it picks up so much USB noise, it is almost unusable for me. I will be getting a USB isolator this week, and check if with that is better.
But still, that jacks the solution price up, and forces you to carry another piece of equipment.
IMHO the E10K is a much more beaten path. I wish I had found more M2 reviews before pulling the trigger.
 
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