SMSL DO300EX AK4499EX+AK4191 DAC, Studio-Quality MQA DAC, XMOS XU316 USB DAC, Bluetooth 5.1 DAC, I2S/Optical/Coaxial Converter, High-Resolution DAC with 4.4mm/6.35mm Headphone Output (Silver)

Using this in my main stereo system being fed by a Wiim Pro plus (coaxial connection) and cd transport (optical connection). The DAC is connected via balanced xlr into a Quad pre-amplifier. The Quad has an option to bypass the tone shaping circuits for the balanced connections, which is what i selected. The Quad pre then connects to a pair of Neumann studio monitors and sub. Initially I left all the default settings on the SMSL DO300EX unchanged as I wanted to check whether the reviews of it sounding neutral were 'true'. Well it did sound flat, as I expected. The Neumanns do not add anything that isn't in the signal already so what I was hearing was the recording of the music and nothing else. There is a noticeable gain drop when using this DAC compared to using the Wiim plugged direct into the Quad. The Wiim has an AKM chipset also (AK4493SEQ) so I'm not sure if this behaviour is related to the pcm filters always being 'on'. With ESS based DACS there is usually an option to turn off the filters. That might be important to you or not, so you might want to choose your chipset carefully. I messed about with the volume pot on the SMSL and settled on -3dB in the end. You are able to 'lock' the volume pot at your chosen level in the comprehensive menu to prevent unwanted changes. Next I altered the sound colour setting and noticed very subtle changes between each setting. Like really subtle! I reverted back to the default filter '1) sharp roll-off'. The included manual provides basic information only. There is no illustration or description of how the sound profiles or pcm filters alter the sound spectrum. You will have to go online to find the graphical plots of the filters for the chipset installed in this device.Listening to a variety of music sources it is obvious that the level of detail is excellent and comparable to the Wiim Pro Plus direct as you would expect. Forget terms like "warm" or "less digital" sounding, this is a DAC. Phrases by AKM of "sound as if you were there" are marketing mumbo jumbo! Everything else in the chain has to be up to scratch too for this to be a close reality. What I did find was that listening to this DAC for several hours straight was more pleasurable than when listening through the Wiim Pro Plus direct. Even with the Wiim's EQ abilities. This DAC does a job and it does it very well. No glitches, no hair on the sound, just a conversion with all the detail present. The headphone stage is an added feature which might sway your final decision.

I upgraded from a FOSI Q4 to this, which costs ~£70 and features 1 Cirrus chip. Cirrus chips are mainly used in portable devices now, or in unison of quantites of 6-12 in some modern desktop DACS.The SMSL DO300EX is 4 times the price, 4 times the size, but does it sound 4 times as good?I'm listening with Fostex TH900 and also Sennheiser Momentum (1st gen). Using the unbalanced output as it's such a short distance it won't matter. After fiddling with the settings, I'm set on the default sharp roll off, low gain, as both headphones are low impedance, and a narrow DSD. The sound is plenty loud even on low gain, below 0.0db, for these easy to drive headphones at 25-32 ohms.The display can be permanently on, altered brightness, or dim after 5s - 1min, which is nice.I did have an issues with the DAC disconnecting, so it's important to have the DAC directly USB into the PC, instead of using a USB extender in the middle. This fixed the issue completely.I immediately noticed that the sound was much more crisp & detailed and the bass was a lot more punchy and deep. The sound generally overall feels a lot more premium, responsive and present.I don't have anything in the general price point to compare to, but I would say it's a very neutral DAC and it allows my V shaped headphones to colour the sound very nicely. The other review saying that it smooths out the voices, not really sure what that person is on about there, I don't hear that at all.My goal was to buy a personal endgame upgrade, as IMO the diminshing returns for cost with DACS likely goes exponential beyond £300-500 range. Overall, does it sound better than a cheaper alternative with a single AKM or ESS chip with less features? I couldn't tell you, as I have no reference to similar products. If you are more budget constrained, perhaps it would be a better alternative. But as it stands, i'm very happy with the purchase and would be satisfied to never upgrade again. I am a little worried about the unit eventually breaking, but if it lasts several years before a capacitor blows, and can be repaired, then that seems ok.

I bought it and returned it immediately.Compared to a dragonfly black the coices are smooth out.It sounds clean and somewhat wide on my 1990 but the voices are so dull. It is what tou call an audiophile boring sound. Lack energy and dinamics. Though clean, i much prefer the 50£ dragonfly black.I bought a mojo 2 instead and it is not comparable.Mojo 2 it is so transparent and clear and most of all doesn’t smooth out the voices. Twice as good.Construction is solid. No pops or crackles on usb on mac os sonoma. But the sound is sooo boring.Do yourself a favor and skip this one and buy a mojo 2

I love this Dac very flexible sound is amazing, very tight bass clear crisp high and mids.

Upgrading from the amazing SMSL SU-1. I was very fortunate to get one during the 30% off sale from $469 to $328 last week. Same AKM flagship DAC chips configuration as the D400EX, SU9 Ultra and the Gustard A26 - all using AK4191 + 4499XE configuration. An extra bonus, this has a headphone amp. The sound in the first 72 hours was stiff then after 4 days and after playing around with the PCM filters and the Sound Colors it sounded more fluid with huge, deep soundstage and very defined sonic images, holographic. Connected RCA solid metal splitters on the L+R lineout of the DAC, one set going to the amp and the other going to L&R subs. WOW, the integration of the subwoofers low end to the BW speakers mid-range is jaw dropping giving super large images with very defined bass lines. Even at low volumes at night all frequencies are crystal clear and well defined with sonic images emerging from dark background in a very deep soundstage that made music by Patrick O Hearn, Mars Lasar and others very enjoyable to listen to and eerie at the same time. This SMSL DO300 EX is a real gem for what it does and for the price I paid for it. This is really an amazing DAC and I did not expect it to perform this good. SMSL is ahead of the game. Also thanks to AOSHIDA.BTW....this is a great DAC....for audiophile recordings, playback sounds best using optical or coax BUT for streaming ROCK music, I found using the BLUETOOTH connection gives the fattest and more enjoyable resolution since you do not really care too much about depth, imaging and all the hifi audiophile mumbo jumbo.

Habe dieses Modell hauptsächlich für den sehr guten D/A Wandler und den Kopfhörerausgang erworben. Per USB an den Windows 11 PC und per Cinch-Kabel an den Stereo Verstärker der Anlage angeschlossen und mit Foobar als Software Player hat man eine hervorragend klingende Abspiel-Quelle vor sich.Allerdings sollte man beachten, dass man das Gerät komplett ausschalten sollte - Standby ist nicht zu empfehlen. Dann sollte das Gerät nach dem Booten des PCs eingeschaltet werden und dann funktioniert auch der ASIO USB Treiber tadellos und selbst 512 DSD Dateien klingen sehr gut und lassen sich auch problemlos abspielen.

Ho collegato il DAC SMSL DO300EX al mio vecchio impianto HI-FI risalente agli anni '80 e questo è rinato: ho percepito dettagli musicali in tutta la gamma di frequenze che non avevo mai sentito. Per me è un prodotto eccellente a un prezzo imbattibile. Grazie ai tecnici SMSL e al venditore AOSHIDA!

Cette merveilleuse puce AKM 4499EX et tout l'environnement que SMSL a construit autour.On ne peut dire que bravo aux ingénieurs.Enfin on se rapproche de la perfection musicale.Ne pas hésiter à le rallumer si pas visible par votre ordinateur.Ne pas hésiter aussi à soigner l'environnement qui va avec.Pour ma part, j'ai investit dans un câble USBC / USBC en argent pur (on entend vraiment la différence, c'est quand même le câble qui transporte les milliards de données).Bien laisser rôder l'appareil une 50aine d'heures pour qu'il s'ouvre dans les aigus et dans la précision de la scène sonore (comme tous les appareils électroniques).J'ai une installation en XLR jusqu'à l'ampli, ça vaut vraiment le coups pour la scène sonore (ampli Yamaha Old School des années 80. Une installation en stéréo symétrique (c'est à dire 2 haut-parleurs devant et 2 derrière pour être totalement immergé).Pour ce qui est de la partie numérique, j'utilise Audirvana depuis de nombreuses années qui permet d'avoir accès aux effets Apple. Je corrige l'acoustique de ma pièce avec l'égaliseur 31 bandes AUEqualizer, certainement aussi de mon oreille qui a eu tendance à se modifier à l'approche de la 60aine ...Bref beaucoup de bonheur musical en perspective. Je pense que je vais en prendre un deuxième pour mon Home Cinema étant donné qu'il a l'entrée son spécialisée HDMI pour améliorer la sonorité de mes 2 enceintes principales et pouvoir améliorer le son de mon lecteur Blu-Ray qui a cette sortie spécialisée ...Voilà, j'espère que ça pourra en aider certains.