SMSL SD-793 and SD-1955 DACs

Apr 24, 2012 at 11:04 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

scootsit

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I searched around a bit and cannot seem to find much about this DAC. It seems to be built with nicer components than the Muse Minis, but there really isn't a lot of info around.
Here's a listing for it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-793-Mini-DAC-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-Decoder-Optical-Coaxial-RCA-/320823851654
 
It does look nice and from the little bit I have been able to find, it seems well built.
 
There's also another model, one step up with USB:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-1955-DIR9001-AD1955-DAC-Optical-Coaxial-Decoder-Power-Adapter-silver-N-/110772953205
 
Both seem to use WIMA and Nichicon Muse caps, as well as low ESR caps outside the signal path, which is promising, but I know little about DAC implementation.
 
There is one thread with some impressions, but few comparisons and not too much info.
 
 
I'm really thinking of going for this, but I really don't have anything to compare it to, aside from my grubDAC.
 
Oct 3, 2012 at 10:31 AM Post #2 of 5
Based on pure built/value/price, this offering is one of the best out there. If anyone askes me for a 100$ USB DAC recommendation -> SMSL SD-1955 , this is it. 
 
Oct 3, 2012 at 2:09 PM Post #3 of 5
Quote:
Based on pure built/value/price, this offering is one of the best out there. If anyone askes me for a 100$ USB DAC recommendation -> SMSL SD-1955 , this is it. 


Thanks! What are you comparing it to? I think I'm going to build an oversampling DAC soon, so I put off purchasing it.
 
Oct 3, 2012 at 2:58 PM Post #4 of 5
Well, well , well, let's try to figure out together...
 
First of all, I don't like Wolfson DAC-s. I've had plenty of them (Teclast T51 DAP, Audinst HUD-MX1, AudioGD FUN).. None of them really impressed me. All of them share same flat 2D soundstage, uninvolving sound overall. So, coming from this idea, we may exclude about 50% of all ~100$ offerings on market. 
 
 
What else can we find in ~100$ DAC sector, having all those goodies we can find in MSL SD-1955, + a solid metal case ? Ok, there are plenty chinese offerings on ebay too, but when we zoom-in the schematics , we see crappy no-name capacitors. For example, I've seen an interesting offering "Salience HIFI Audio PCM2706 + CS4398 USB Input DAC" , yes, it looks great on paper, CS4398 chip especially, but hay, the entire scheme alone can be bought on same store for only... 30$ !
 
Toys like X-fi Go! or Asus U3 are not even worth considering.
 
Fiio E10 is a good Head-fi-er budget choice, but as a dedicate DAC alone, well... 
rolleyes.gif

 
Vintage, multibite DAC-s like  TDA1541 or TDA1543 require expensive capacitors and lots of time and tweaking in order to make it sound good. In a low budget circuit you'll get a total muddy mess (my HiFiMan HA-601 experience). 
 
Is there anything else worth mentioning I have forgotten about ? 
 

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