[Hyde00]

I cave in and bought one!!! Only because it's cute looking LOL, talk about priorities......

 

[drhonk]

This DAC is going to raise eyebrows over at Schiit....with Modi at $129 plus shipping....so like $60 cheaper.
I'm seeing the pre-Covid prices starting to return for a lot of gear.

Agreed, feature-wise, SU-1 has the edge with DSD support (no need to mention MQA) and it would be a great DAC pairing with Magni.

 

[Convolver]

I cave in and bought one!!! Only because it's cute looking LOL, talk about priorities......

Does it decode MQA through Toslink/coax (SPDIF) or only through usb?

 

[Hyde00]

Does it decode MQA through Toslink/coax (SPDIF) or only through usb?

Looks like only USB and Optical I think....?

 

[dpump]

Can anyone here who has the SU-1 confirm you can use an SMSL remote to control the volume. I know a remote doesn't come with the unit but the specifications say a remote will work it.

 

[Hyde00]

Can anyone here who has the SU-1 confirm you can use an SMSL remote to control the volume. I know a remote doesn't come with the unit but the specifications say a remote will work it.

I feel like that's a copywriting error or something I think.

Reason I think that is because usually for the remote to work there need to be screen that receive the remote signal. But there is none of that screen as far as I know.

Source: My unit arrived today lol.



Here it is next to the O2/SDAC for size comparison.

 

[drhonk]

I feel like that's a copywriting error or something I think.

Reason I think that is because usually for the remote to work there need to be screen that receive the remote signal. But there is none of that screen as far as I know.

Source: My unit arrived today lol.



Here it is next to the O2/SDAC for size comparison.

nice .. it's probably about the size of a magni huh?

 

[Hyde00]

nice .. it's probably about the size of a magni huh?

Lol I would actually say it might even be smaller, since this is smaller than O2/SDAC and also less deep too. But I don't have Magni with me anymore so this is just based from memory lol.

 

[Remusz911]

Has anyone compared the SMSL SU-1 to the Massdrop X Grace Design Standard DAC ?

I was very satisfied with my SDAC, low price and high quality sound.

The SU-1 looks like a worthy successor, how do they compare? Just curious. Has anyone compared them?

 

[Hyde00]

Has anyone compared the SMSL SU-1 to the Massdrop X Grace Design Standard DAC ?

I was very satisfied with my SDAC, low price and high quality sound.

The SU-1 looks like a worthy successor, how do they compare? Just curious. Has anyone compared them?

Yes I did! For the most part they're actually not super different from each other but there are still some difference.

Let's see:

High: SU-1 has more high and a little bit more air and as a result felt like slightly better imaging and soundtage. Granted it's not a huge difference but noticeable.

Mid: SU-1 in comparison the vocal is a little bit laid back. And a bit less rich in the mids. So in comparison SU-1 felt slightly colder/leaner and SDAC felt a bit thicker.

Bass: SU-1 is like cleaner / tighter bass while SDAC has more overall bass so felt like it's a bit warmer and thicker.

Layering / soundstage: I think it's pretty close but SU-1 is perceived to be slightly better in this regard.

So for the most part they're still from the Delta Sigma AKM family so you won't be getting like an R2R dac difference but at this point you need to decide what's more important to you.

If you want a little bit more treble / air / layering / soundtage / leaner / cleaner type of sound then SU-1 is for you.

But if you prefer SDAC's intimate / rich vocal and rich mid range and thicker bass. Then SDAC is for you.

For me I can't get over the slightly more distant vocal so I went back to SDAC.

And if anyone's interested I'll also be listing my SU-1 up for sale. Only thing is I'm located in Canada. Feel free to shoot me a PM if interested.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers!

 

[drcktx]

Agreed, feature-wise, SU-1 has the edge with DSD support (no need to mention MQA) and it would be a great DAC pairing with Magni.

This unit pairs very well with the Magni 2U.

 

[juliusthecat]

I've been away from the DAC discussions for a while, but I'm amazed at the performance for the price.