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For some reason, SMSL decided to make the SU-10 a hair brighter. Continue reading nonetheless even if you’re treble sensitive since I still find the SU-10 more flowing and less intense with females adding some weight to instruments like strings. I would reassess what you think you know. Start researching how these filters work in relation to the Nyquist Theorem and you'll see there is no perfect way to perform these functions and only when you distill everything down a small set of measurements and draw conclusions on them do DACs all look the same beyond a certain threshold. In a speaker setup, they both delivered good sonics and I couldn’t find major cons with either one. As I’ve said in the beginning of this article, Benchmark HPA4 loves a hotter signal and that is why SU-9 with its 4.7 Volts played by a hair nicer in a speaker setup. It sounded more engaging and livelier to its competitor. SU-9 has a clean looking front panel, with just a volume knob that works as a menu navigator, plus an LCD screen in the middle makes it quite a looker. LCD screen is moderately big, but thanks to its bigger lettering you can clearly see the volume level and the selected input from afar.
We found it to be quite exceptional that it's so neutral at this price point." -Next Best Thing Studio The SU-9 features the ES9038PRO SABRE DACs, the vanguard of decoder technology, touting the industry’s highest dynamic range (DNR) of 132db in a 32-bit, 8-channel DAC. It decodes 32-bit/768kHz PCM and native DSD512. Top-of-the-line THD+N That is, the audio output from a DAC that is doing its job properly should sound like the original master recording—nothing else, just that. It’s up to your amp, DSPs/ASPs and headphones to color the sound further to your liking. This is by far my most favorite chapter to write about and since listening to Agnes Obel didn’t increase my dopamine level that much, naturally some harder slamming music will be needed. La interfaz USB, basada en la plataforma XMOS XU-208, es compatible con señales PCM de hasta 32 bits / 768 kHz y DSD512. Dispone de un circuito de supresión de jitter y luente de alimentación viene incorporada. Audio DAC SMSL SU9 MQA Full Decoder ES9038PRO DAC XMOS DSD512 PCM768kHz 32BitSU-9 is coming with a full blown MQA decoder that will fully unfold an MQA file before natively playing it. I am personally streaming a lot of music via Tidal Hi-Fi, it is super convenient as you can do that with pretty much any smart device, you can do that even with your TV if you want and SU-9 can even work with OTG capable smartphones. Do note that MQA will work only via its USB input, coaxial or optical will not work with MQA files. DSD Filter – 47, 50, 60 or 70 kHz Cut Off – for the most natural sound choose first option, for the most extended sound choose the latest One of the earliest differences I noticed is the less enduring rumble on the DX5 that settles for honesty and dryness in the arrangement. This puts the SU-9 Pro in an early lead as I get from its richer beats the same enjoyment out of eating a slow-cooked meal imbued with multi-layered flavors whereas the DX5 settles on being safe and clean. Overall, SU-9 is a warm sounding source, that delivers heavier bass and midrange density at the cost of less treble presence. It isn’t linear sounding and maybe that is for the best as sometimes music wants to be listened and enjoyed, not only analyzed.
What we can see in these pictures is that despite using a very simple UI, it is user friendly and easy to grasp without even reading their manuals (cause I didn’t tried to read it all). Home screen tells the connection type, file format and the volume. Using the remote or the volume knob (which is a bit harder to use) you can navigate through other options. For MQA listeners, the full decoding functionality of the SU-9 for USB has been extended to the optical and coaxial inputs on the SU-9 Pro for greater flexibility. There is also MQA-CD reserved for the two SPDIF inputs. Before my listening tests, I have volume matched both units by using a MiniDSP EARS system and a Benchmark HPA4 that can individually control every analog input, including their signal strength. I used the same power cables; USB cables and I have set the listening volume to 85 dB.We are not talking about a linear and straight as a line DAC, not at all. We are talking about probably the warmest sounding ESS-Sabre based DAC I’ve heard of late. It has incredible textures in the bass and midrange, all my attention was moved in here, my mind and ears were all focused mostly on its naturalness and flow, I was simply flooded with positive emotions. With all my tunes, it was dancing like a butterfly but stung as a bee when music demanded higher dynamics. Use the product with MQA renderer to complete the final deployment. Renderer including USB DACS and some headphones and other portable products.For example, AudioQuest DragonFly can connect to the MQA Core signal and complete the expansion of the MQA file. PRE MODE – Set to ‘Vol Fixed’ if using as a DAC for an amplifier, or ‘Vol Variable’ if wanting volume-controlled preamplifier functionality. With two design awards, the DX5 is made with two-tone rounded chassis that puts the face slightly proud of the rest. To make a case for the SU-9 Pro looking barer at first glance, it has a full-color display as its main design element. Overall, SU-9 offered a higher transparency compared to midrange DACs and a mind-blowing detail retrieval that I was not expecting at this price point.
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