IEMs: FiiO FH9, FH7, FD7, FA9, Meze Rai Penta, LittleDot Cu KIS, Hiby Crystal 6, 7Hz Timeless & others When it comes to the unboxing experience of a SMSL product, everything has been written already a lot of times. This is an innovative and very competitive company, but when it comes to the presentation, it is definitely function before form. The DO300 is no different, since it comes in a standard white box, that only included things that are essential and functional. If you care a lot more for the act of music listening itself and less for the measurements, then D2 will feel as a substantial upgrade from multiple points of view, getting you to musical nirvana in no time. Wrap-Up​SMSL's DO300 is a very nice DAC that makes use of the latest from ESS with their ES9039MS PRO DAC chipset. This little unit has a variety of sound tuning options within its simple and colorful display that is easy and intuitive to control with the included remote. Full-sized headphones: Hifiman Susvara, Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-4, Erzetich Phobos, Erzetich Mania, Kennerton Wodan, Magni, Gjallarhorn, Vali, M12S, Quad ERA-1, Ollo S4X Reference, HarmonicDyne Zeus

S.M.S.L M400 Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC) - SHENZHENAUDIO

The signature has noticeable differences, however. The DO300 is not as etched in the treble as the M400, and the M400 also tended to push upper-mids a bit too forward. The DO300 is a step up on that front. Staging and imaging are similar on both, but the bass slams harder on the DO300 (which seems to be a thing of this DAC at this point). The SMSL DO300 is everything that we’re used to from the Chinese manufacturer – incredibly clean, detailed, airy, and neutral. While slightly warmer than the rest of the DO series, it’s still very transparent and linear sounding.

I have made a good comparison to all of them before I made a modification to my SMSL SU6, and M400. Customers are to bear the consequences and fees incurred, if the parcel was undelivered due to any of the following situation: DSD Filter – Narrow (37 kHz) or Wide (65 kHz) – for the most natural sound choose the first option, for the most extended sound choose the latest Gustard X16 is a detailed, clean, and flat DAC. The main difference between the two units is that they are tuned with different ideologies in mind. The Gustard X16 is really good when it comes to transparency and detail-retrieval, however, it does not offer the natural tonality of the D1SE. The transients are more distinct and sharp with the X16 while the D1SE presents them more organically. It all comes down to the pairings. The sharper transients and in-your-face-detailed approach of the X16 make it a perfect companion for headphones with a warm signature. If you have a rather analytical headphone or a balanced one, I’d recommend getting the D1SE if you have the budget.

SMSL SP400 Review - A Flawed Masterpiece - Soundnews SMSL SP400 Review - A Flawed Masterpiece - Soundnews

There isn’t much to say about them design wise, one is smaller and one is bigger, one has 6 Watts on tap and one is doubling that number, one has a preamp output and SH-9 doesn’t have it. SP400 is pretty much a dual-mono version of SH-9 and it costs twice as much too. Apart from that, their UI is the same, I/O is the same, they look almost the same too. The big issue lies elsewhere – it’s about SMSL saturating its own lineup. There is the DO200 mk2, the D400ES, the D300 (with ROHM DAC), and even more upscale options in their VMV lineup of products. It gets dizzying, confusing, and the average consumer might even give up since there is no clear delineation between these products. So, does the DO300 manage to harness the TOTL DAC chip inside to its full potential, or do they end up being another generic release? We shall see in due time. I’ve tried opening it up, but it seems that the last 2 screws are hidden behind its rubber feet, so I will stop there. SA400 is a fully balanced integrated amplifier based on the STA516BE digital amplifier stage by STMicroelectronics. STA516BE is a second generation, high-performance integrated stereo digital amplifier power stage with an improved protection system. This chipset is capable of delivering in a 6 Ohm bridged load up to 250 Watts per channel with low THD + N and with low power dissipation. SA400 uses two of them, outputting some serious 230 W per channel in 4 Ohms and 110W per channel in 8 Ohms. That is a lot of power, way too much power considering its size, weight and power consumption. SMSL added an electronic volume control chip from New Radio Japan, NJW1195 is already being used in plenty of high-performance preamplifiers of today, due to its precise volume control and low distortion.Long story short, VMV D2 has the potential of winning my best DAC award of 2021, simply because I couldn’t detect serious flaws or bad design decisions. Component selection is flawless I believe those Noratel transformers, Nichicon KG, Fine Gold and Muse ES capacitors (which are literally some of the best caps in production right now) added a lot of weight, substance, a good flow, an open and wide soundstage, that I can’t get from entry to mid-level converters. SMSL didn’t economize with this one, I don’t see compromises and it really shows after pressing that play button. When I’m getting new toys to play with, I would always pop their hoods, as good audio starts with good PCB design and component selection. I would follow their signal path, finding some cool ideas, simplified/overkill digital or analog sections, sometimes small mistakes, but always suggesting a few things. Opening it up was a difficult task, as several ribbon cables are holding its PCB in place, so I took just a small glimpse of what’s inside. Carving three rooms in its aluminum case, a huge one for its power supply section, one for digital and another for its analog section, already suggests that SMSL went slightly overkill with this one. Gain: Low (best setting for IEMs or sensitive headphones), Mid or High (for your power-hungry headphones) Having heard so many THX Achromatic Audio Amplifiers by now, you would think that all of them should sound the same and this article would read like a copy paste as I would be describing the same sound for the fifth time, right? Truth is that all of them sounded so differently that I felt the urge to compare separately three THX amplifiers and write that down. THX released several modules and from the all, 888 modules sounded the best to me and I’m not about their uber low distortion and undetected noise levels, I’m about their sound signature. While they all disappear from your acoustic chain, leaving your headphones doing their work, 888-based amplifiers sounded by a hair bolder, they were wider and deeper sounding, and a lot more visceral and impactful to me. Those are having a higher current delivery, thus offering a better driver control with hardest to drive planar magnetics and that was the sole reason Benchmark HPA4 stood at my side no matter what for almost two years now. SP400 is reminding me a lot about the technicalities of the HPA4, but since it has a higher current delivery, it worked even better with the most demanding headphones like Hifiman Susvara. HPA4 and the rest of the THX mafia were in the clipping territory with Susvara, unable to sustain a deep bass note, it is painful saying this but SP400 is a better unit with headphones like Susvara, as it never entered its protection mode, it was never clipping and dynamics were always sky high.