[cobrabucket]

Mine just arrived. Will update after testing. BTW, they sent me a US power cable!

 

[cobrabucket]

Ok y'all. I'm really impressed with what I've heard so far.
That being said, I am a relative noob in the audiophile world, so please keep this in mind. I haven't heard multibit of any sort. The only external DACs I've heard are the ones I own:
1. Fiio E17K + K5 [can do 24/192 PCM and DSD64] and
2. The balanced AK4490 DAC module [non-MB] that came with my Schiit Jotunheim [24/192 PCM, I generally prefer this over the Fiio, but can't do DSD] and now
3. SMSL SU-8 [PCM up to 768kHz (honestly never even seen anything @ that rate) and DSD512 (whoa...)]
First impressions are that I definitely prefer the su-8 over both of the others. I'm not great at describing what I hear, but the detail and soundstage seem better IMO. Set-up was relatively straight-forward; configuring foobar to output native dsd w. the su-8 took a minute to figure out. But, yeah... Glad I held out for a balanced DAC. Seems like a great value @ this price [paid $212.50/free shipping w. a 15% off coupon via ebay]. So far, so good!

Set-up: cpu>usb>su-8 or Jot. DAC or e17k>Jotunheim amp>hd6xx

I will continue the "testing" and give it some burn-in and report back. Thanks for all the advice and feedback as always everyone!

 

[khojberg]

Ok y'all. I'm really impressed with what I heard so far.
That beind said, I am a relative noob in the audiophile world. I haven't heard multibit of any sort. The only external DACs I've heard are the ones I own:
1. Fiio E17K + K5 [can do 24/192 PCM and DSD64] and
2. The dual-mono DAC [non-MB] that came with my Schiit Jotunheim [24/192 PCM, generally superior than the Fiio, but can't do DSD] and now
3. SMSL SU-8
First impressions are that I definitely prefer the su-8 over both of the others. I'm not great at describing what I hear, but the detail and soundstage seem better IMO. Set-up was relatively straight-forward; configuring foobar to output native dsd w. the su-8 took a minute to figure out. But, yeah... So far, so good!

Set-up: cpu>usb>su-8 or Jot. DAC or e17k>Jotunheim amp>hd6xx

I will continue the "testing" and give it some burn-in and report back. Thanks for all the advice and feedback as always everyone!

Thank you very much for your comments. Still 3-4 weeks until Massdrops will ship mine. Impressive that you find it better than the Jotunheim. Can't wait.

 

[Th3Drizzl3]

sounds like a nice unit. im interested in how it works as far as the display and the single button if you can maybe go through it a bit? i may pick one of these up. thanks

 

[cobrabucket]

sounds like a nice unit. im interested in how it works as far as the display and the single button if you can maybe go through it a bit? i may pick one of these up. thanks

Haven't even messed with the single button yet. I'll read the manual to see about the different filters, etc. So far, It just works with all formats I've thrown at it. The display updates accordingly. I don't have batteries for the remote yet, but will look into both of these and get back.

 

[cobrabucket]

BTW, fastest shipping from China ever! Seriously... Like 5 days. Sometimes ebay is the bomb.

 

[cobrabucket]

From the manual: "Function key, long press on/off, short press to switch input source."

 

[cobrabucket]

3

 

[cobrabucket]

1

 

[cobrabucket]

2

 

[joasjoas]

Is it worth it on the smsl M8A? I ask why they are at the same price, the m8a I can buy on Amazon and the other I have to order on Aliexpress.

 

[Holypal]

Is it worth it on the smsl M8A? I ask why they are at the same price, the m8a I can buy on Amazon and the other I have to order on Aliexpress.

From some feedback, the SU-8 is a very promising dac. I think you can buy it from amazon.de. Anyway, amazon or aliexpress, both are shipping from China.

 

[BrotherKathos]

Awesome!! I ordered D50, so skipped this one, but very curious on the comparison.

I just got the D50 today. The D50 is a nice little unit. Its quite a bit smaller than the SU-8 and feels a bit more "quality" to the touch as it does not nave any issues like the rattling power button of the SU-8. The sound quality from the short time i've spent listening to it is extremely similar to the SU-8 to my ears. I am listening to them on the same amp and speakers combo, but they are in separate systems in separate rooms. The SU-8 is aslo using balanced Cardas cables and the D50 some cheaper canare se rca, but the D50 is using an ifi ipower dc wall unit vs the SU-8's built in ac power .

That disclosed I think i would still have to listen extremely critically to hear much of a difference if at all between the two. This being the case I would probably put the SU-8 on top because of the balanced connectors and remote capability. But if you don't have balanced and don't ever plan on using it or need a remote then the D50 is also a great option considering I really cant hear much of a difference between the 2 even with the D50 using cheaper rca cables. You cant go wrong with either imo as long as they remain reliable, but who knows how that will pan out. Only time will tell.

 

[Dr. Ameet V Joshi]

thanks for the comparison. I got my D50 as well. Listening to it. For me, I am comparing it with NFB 11.28. For amp I am using Darkvoice SE. There is clearly more separation in the sounds, the sounds feels more fuller, less fatiguing. Frankly I did not expect to have so much improvement over NFB. Its a great little unit. I am not even using any linear power supply. Just apple iPad charger .

 

[Dr. Ameet V Joshi]

I just got the D50 today. The D50 is a nice little unit. Its quite a bit smaller than the SU-8 and feels a bit more "quality" to the touch as it does not nave any issues like the rattling power button of the SU-8. The sound quality from the short time i've spent listening to it is extremely similar to the SU-8 to my ears. I am listening to them on the same amp and speakers combo, but they are in separate systems in separate rooms. The SU-8 is aslo using balanced Cardas cables and the D50 some cheaper canare se rca, but the D50 is using an ifi ipower dc wall unit vs the SU-8's built in ac power .

That disclosed I think i would still have to listen extremely critically to hear much of a difference if at all between the two. This being the case I would probably put the SU-8 on top because of the balanced connectors and remote capability. But if you don't have balanced and don't ever plan on using it or need a remote then the D50 is also a great option considering I really cant hear much of a difference between the 2 even with the D50 using cheaper rca cables. You cant go wrong with either imo as long as they remain reliable, but who knows how that will pan out. Only time will tell.

thanks for the comparison. I got my D50 as well. Listening to it. For me, I am comparing it with NFB 11.28. For amp I am using Darkvoice SE. There is clearly more separation in the sounds, the sounds feels more fuller, less fatiguing. Frankly I did not expect to have so much improvement over NFB. Its a great little unit. I am not even using any linear power supply. Just apple iPad charger .