[westsounds]

if you have to strain to hear differences well that says it all.

Which is pretty much the case for the majority of DACs out there. What you do get with the SU-9n however is one that has great functionality and connections. Good design as well and one that measures very well if that's your thing. Given all that it's also reasonably priced. DACs can cost a small fortune and the differences are rarely perceivable. You may get to know and like the sound of a particular DAC but if you have two or more which you are unfamiliar with level matched and blind tested it would bee very hard to tell what's the best. People may have a preference to a sound but it wont tell you how much it costs or from what manufacturer it came from.

 

[BenWaB3]

OK, in order to steer this thread back to its more genteel aspects , one oddity I'm experiencing is that when the unit powers on it shows the Bluetooth icon on the screen but it won't pair with the phone until I cycle through the input options until I come back to Bluetooth again. Does anyone else experience this or is it just something I'm doing wrong? Not a "Dammit, this thing is going back" situation at all but just found it a little odd.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Not quite, but there seems to be a lot more evidence around that MQA is nothing more than a name that people, in general, are no longer willing to pay for. It's hardly comparable to a global pandemic where people are reliant on governments and their agendas and good intentions we are not disputing that. However, among all that there is still mass confusion as to what is going on and where it all goes. A bit different from MQA.

Many people are still willing to pay for Tidal and MQA, were it not so the service would cease to exist. Value is placed according to the owner or user of said item/service, and I and other users value our Tidal and/or MQA subscriptions.
Remember MQA came out when data access was not so available or reliable, nor speeds so fast and cheap. Most music files and streaming were of the lower MP3 bitrates. Both Tidal and MQA addressed the internet speed/data issues by addressing how files were handled - instead of downloading a music file bit by bit and being subject to extreme buffering and play stoppage during playback, Tidal and MQA sought to solve both the buffering problems and file size limits by downloading the whole music file before any of it was played. This also allowed the playback of CD quality files and MQA was a way to stream CD or higher bitrate quality music - in real time. Other services at the time, while available, couldn't advertise or boast CD quality playback.

 

[ezduzit2500]

OK, in order to steer this thread back to its more genteel aspects , one oddity I'm experiencing is that when the unit powers on it shows the Bluetooth icon on the screen but it won't pair with the phone until I cycle through the input options until I come back to Bluetooth again. Does anyone else experience this or is it just something I'm doing wrong? Not a "Dammit, this thing is going back" situation at all but just found it a little odd.

I leave mine on 24/7. The only thing I turn off is my Class A amp, and only if I'm not going to be using it for a few days.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Sorry folks for derailing the thread. Happy listening all.

 

[adydula]

My PassLabs HPA-1 stays on 24/7. No issues. Recommended by PassLabs.
I rip cd's into flacs. Use JRiver Music Player and Foobar 2000.
No MQA needed.
I have several dacs, one for NOS playback, others for r2r and filters (that are worthless to me).
I have done many blind and AB tests with 44.1 redbook vs higher res or oversampled source files....not a real BIG difference at all.
Some, but often very slight.

Enjoy the journey...tell it the way it is, not the way you want it to be...

:>)

 

[ezduzit2500]

My PassLabs HPA-1 stays on 24/7. No issues. Recommended by PassLabs.
I rip cd's into flacs. Use JRiver Music Player and Foobar 2000.
No MQA needed.
I have several dacs, one for NOS playback, others for r2r and filters (that are worthless to me).
I have done many blind and AB tests with 44.1 redbook vs higher res or oversampled source files....not a real BIG difference at all.
Some, but often very slight.

Enjoy the journey...tell it the way it is, not the way you want it to be...

:>)

Most of these differences are somewhat subtle and one has to know how to listen for them or what to listen for - except if something is broken. That's why most casual listeners don't "get" hifi hobbyists, it's all the same to them as long as music plays. It's also why some absolute "objectivists" won't acknowledge the possibility of well engineered components being able to sound "different" - it does not fit pre-conceived philosophies nor their mindsets. I think there's room for all of us under the big tent of the hifi world. Happy listening.

P.S. I don't own the Su-9n so in the future I'll not comment on it - unless someone asks about the original Su-9 (that, I do own and use, and with good results).

 

[adydula]

Me being not a casual listener often is amazed at how well most any of the latest and recent stuff works in this headphone world of ours. I have a $99 and $149 amp that I have on top of a $3500 amp and going back and forth they both are really good and very close! How can this be!! LOL!.

The big differences are in the amount of power available to various loads. Current and voltage. The damping factor. Noise, hum and hiss etc...

The other BIG difference is in the quality of the build, the parts and soldering.
Whether these make a real listening difference is very subjective for the most part.

I have had three Chinese built very low spec amps here, which perform well, but when taking the covers off the solder job was atrocious, all the big components looked like they were done by people that had never soldered before, cold joints, and flux all over the place. Sent back.

To me this means alot. I want stuff that works well, lasts a long time and am willing to pay a decent price for it...Some are not willing and price is the deciding factor at times.

So the Chinese stuff fits the bill many times and even Schiit built in the USA offers stellar products for a low price, but IMO with much better build.

So if this amp etc works well for you great, but there are many things to consider with electronic gear and for me its half the fun beside listening to the music!!

Happy New Year!
Alex

 

[ezduzit2500]

Me being not a casual listener often is amazed at how well most any of the latest and recent stuff works in this headphone world of ours. I have a $99 and $149 amp that I have on top of a $3500 amp and going back and forth they both are really good and very close! How can this be!! LOL!.

The big differences are in the amount of power available to various loads. Current and voltage. The damping factor. Noise, hum and hiss etc...

The other BIG difference is in the quality of the build, the parts and soldering.
Whether these make a real listening difference is very subjective for the most part.

I have had three Chinese built very low spec amps here, which perform well, but when taking the covers off the solder job was atrocious, all the big components looked like they were done by people that had never soldered before, cold joints, and flux all over the place. Sent back.

To me this means alot. I want stuff that works well, lasts a long time and am willing to pay a decent price for it...Some are not willing and price is the deciding factor at times.

So the Chinese stuff fits the bill many times and even Schiit built in the USA offers stellar products for a low price, but IMO with much better build.

So if this amp etc works well for you great, but there are many things to consider with electronic gear and for me its half the fun beside listening to the music!!

Happy New Year!
Alex

I have learned to regard each piece of kit on it's own merits. I've had $99 pieces of gear that I've had to return along with multi-thousand dollar gear that had to be exchanged too - and vise-versa - their replacements were great and are still in use. No company has a 100% spotless QC track record. From Schiit, to Topping, to Gustard, etc, (I won't mention Hifiman - though their higher tiered stuff is much better put together and QC'd).

 

[Archerious]

Has anyone had any issues with their SU-9n? Mine started having static sounds on XLR.

It doesn't matter if I use my NC252 or a headphone amp, as long as it's on XLR it makes that awful noise.

-Tried different power cord
-Tried with and without UPS/surge protector
-Tried different interconnects
-Tried using both NC252 and Schiit Jotunheim 2

The issue has persisted.

 

[MOONDROP]

I have no idea why it took so long to realize nobody uses MQA.

Because most of the people don’t walk away just because there’s an optional functionality is there. They only care about whether it sounds good.
It took time for market to respond to a not so important option. Manufacturers don’t know whether customer will walk away, consumer don’t always have choice, or they don’t care.
Even those obvious advantage can be either delayed(4.4 over fragile2.5) or cancelled for profit(3.5mm elimination on smartphones)

 

[eliwankenobi]

Has anyone had any issues with their SU-9n? Mine started having static sounds on XLR.

It doesn't matter if I use my NC252 or a headphone amp, as long as it's on XLR it makes that awful noise.

-Tried different power cord
-Tried with and without UPS/surge protector
-Tried different interconnects
-Tried using both NC252 and Schiit Jotunheim 2

The issue has persisted.

If you can perceive the issue with XLR and not with RCA, I would contact SMSL for a possible RMA, unless it’s something that could be solved by firmware but doubtful it is that.

 

[Archerious]

If you can perceive the issue with XLR and not with RCA, I would contact SMSL for a possible RMA, unless it’s something that could be solved by firmware but doubtful it is that.

I will try but I think Apos Audio is who would handle the RMA. So far no reply from them.