[Okamoto]

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[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello.
 
I stumbled across this DAC/Amp Combo on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SD-793II-SMSL-DAC-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-Coax-Optical-Input-Headphone-Amp-/271109639751?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item3f1f64ce47 and have some questions about it.
 
 
Is it a good DAC/AMP? If i connect it to my soundcard via optical cable, will it act as an external DAC? and will it maintain the soundcard features, like DTS and other surround stuff?
 
Thanks.

It will do the job, maintaining the sound card features while hooked up to the sound card's S/PDIF output.
I have 4 SMSL products and two no longer work.

 

[Okamoto]

Quote:

It will do the job, maintaining the sound card features while hooked up to the sound card's S/PDIF output.
I have 4 SMSL products and two no longer work.

 
Does it mean they have bad build quality?
 
Are there better options in the price range?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
Does it mean they have bad build quality?
 
Are there better options in the price range?

The SD-792II is about the only thing i know of in that price range.
 
What sound card are you currently using?

 

[Okamoto]

Quote:

The SD-792II is about the only thing i know of in that price range.
 
What sound card are you currently using?

Right now i'm using the onboard card of my p8p67 deluxe, but i'm willing to get a Titanium HD or Xonar Essence together with the DAC/AMP.
 
By the way, SQwise, will it be the same with any sound card, or is it proportionally related to the card's dac quality?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Right now i'm using the on board card of my p8p67 deluxe, but I'm willing to get a Titanium HD or Xonar Essence together with the DAC/AMP.
By the way, SQwise, will it be the same with any sound card, or is it proportionally related to the card's dac quality?

The Asus Xonar Essence STX ($180) & ST ($195) come with a good DAC and a headphone amplifier that can work with headphones up to 600-Ohms. no add-ons needed.
The Titanium HD ($109) has slightly better DAC and (one) op-amp over the STX/ST, does not have a true headphone amplifier, so spending $100-$160 for an add-on external amplifier is recommended (but not required).
 
Depending on what headphones your using? (which are ?)
The Asus Xonar DG ($25) or DGX ($40) sound card is a great value (built in basic head amp).
 
To me at least there are lots of decently good DAC chips used in sound cards ($25 to $80 range),
like Nissan and Toyota make decently good (inline 4 & V6 powered) cars, but some want to pay extra for the V8 BMW.

 

[Okamoto]

Quote:

The Asus Xonar Essence STX ($180) & ST ($195) come with a good DAC and a headphone amplifier that can work with headphones up to 600-Ohms. no add-ons needed.
The Titanium HD ($109) has slightly better DAC and (one) op-amp over the STX/ST, does not have a true headphone amplifier, so spending $100-$160 for an add-on external amplifier is recommended (but not required).
 
Depending on what headphones your using? (which are ?)
The Asus Xonar DG ($25) or DGX ($40) sound card is a great value (built in basic head amp).
 
To me at least there are lots of decently good DAC chips used in sound cards ($25 to $80 range),
like Nissan and Toyota make decently good (inline 4 & V6 powered) cars, but some want to pay extra for the V8 BMW.

I'll use it more with a HD558 i just bought, mainly for gaming. I also own a M-80 paired with a fiio e10/e11, but though they're outstanding for music, they don't do very well with gaming.
 
Do you think an Asus Xonar DGX is enough for a HD558? Would it be better than the SD-793II with my onboard card?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I'll use it more with a HD558 i just bought, mainly for gaming. I also own a M-80 paired with a fiio e10/e11, but though they're outstanding for music, they don't do very well with gaming.
 
Do you think an Asus Xonar DGX is enough for a HD558? Would it be better than the SD-793II with my on-board card?

I've used my HD558's plugged into the Xonar DG (same as the DGX), sounded fine to me.
The DGX can easily drive headphones up to 150-Ohm and the HD558s are only 50-Ohm.
I'm just not currently into recommending the SMSL products....for now.
 
You can always plug your Fiio E11 into the Xonar DGX's line-out/headphone connection (green) and the HD558's into the E11.

 

[Okamoto]

Quote:

I've used my HD558's plugged into the Xonar DG (same as the DGX), sounded fine to me.
The DGX can easily drive headphones up to 150-Ohm and the HD558s are only 50-Ohm.
I'm just not currently into recommending the SMSL products....for now.
 
You can always plug your Fiio E11 into the Xonar DGX's line-out/headphone connection (green) and the HD558's into the E11.

Is there any major differences between the two cards? (DG and DGX).
 
If it's only the interface (PCI vs PCI-e), it's worth taking the DG.
 
And regarding the E11. Would be there any noticeable differences between high and low power when driving the HD558?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Is there any major differences between the two cards? (DG and DGX).
If it's only the interface (PCI vs PCI-e), it's worth taking the DG.
And regarding the E11. Would be there any noticeable differences between high and low power when driving the HD558?

The only difference between the DG & DGX, is the DGX has one extra chip, that allows it to work with the PCI-E slot.
But otherwise they are the same, so getting the cheaper DG is fine.
Could there be a difference between low and high power setting on the E11 when using the HD558?
I guess the answer would be yes, the HD558 like a decent amount of boost.
It more just really what your ears like or prefer.
The two switches, the Low/High voltage setting and the Low/High gain setting would effect how long the battery charge lasts.

 

[moby1974]

Hi
Old thread but seems to be a hard thing to find reviews on.
 
The smsl sd-793ii dac, how did you rate it? need a small dac/amp for my ps4 when using my AKG 712 cans, needs optical in and this seems to be one of the few budget ones.
 
Thanks

 

[moby1974]

bump