Smsl d300

heliumflight

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Hello friends,

Has anyone experienced with Smsl d300 dac as I have purchased it and dying to try it in on my system.
 
Hello friends,

Has anyone experienced with Smsl d300 dac as I have purchased it and dying to try it in on my system.
Finally a thread for smsl d300 in hfv. I'm also planning to buy it. Would love to hear your impression
 
My initial impressions. This wonderful hobby is first and foremost about music and its reproduction. Making music your new hobby can heal your body and your soul, making you a happier, well-rounded person. Years ago I had a LUXMAN power amplifier M-06a and this sound still haunts me and tried all things to get that same sound. Recently I bought a Denafpris Pontus II, Chord Qutest and sold it in just a week as I was really tired and fed up with the physical pain and financial loss incurred. I again gained courage and got SMSL D300 Dac. It turned out to be a very good decision. Much more dynamic with a better high-end response. The sound stage is fuller with more definition and detail.

Folks believe me it has the same Luxman sound signature as is their top-of-the-line range D10 CD player and costing $16000. The SMSL uses the Rohm chip BD34301EKV for $399 seems like a bargain. It has a cult following as they were very few that were manufactured. I invite you over for a home listening and it will be your final destination, I assure you. What mesmerizing vocals, seductive tone, a little bass shy, but all that disappears as the music continued to play all night I couldn’t turn it off.


Best!
 
My initial impressions. This wonderful hobby is first and foremost about music and its reproduction. Making music your new hobby can heal your body and your soul, making you a happier, well-rounded person. Years ago I had a LUXMAN power amplifier M-06a and this sound still haunts me and tried all things to get that same sound. Recently I bought a Denafpris Pontus II, Chord Qutest and sold it in just a week as I was really tired and fed up with the physical pain and financial loss incurred. I again gained courage and got SMSL D300 Dac. It turned out to be a very good decision. Much more dynamic with a better high-end response. The sound stage is fuller with more definition and detail.

Folks believe me it has the same Luxman sound signature as is their top-of-the-line range D10 CD player and costing $16000. The SMSL uses the Rohm chip BD34301EKV for $399 seems like a bargain. It has a cult following as they were very few that were manufactured. I invite you over for a home listening and it will be your final destination, I assure you. What mesmerizing vocals, seductive tone, a little bass shy, but all that disappears as the music continued to play all night I couldn’t turn it off.


Best!
From where did you purchase?? How much did it cost?? Thnx.
 
Would you please provide the link. Whether import duty was included in the price. Thnx.
I am sorry it is sold out.
 
I got mine a couple of days back.
These are things that impressed me
  • vocals and instruments sound natural with more weight
  • Very musical (like @heliumflight mentioned, I find it difficult to turn off the music)
  • Soundstage is deeper
  • Better detail retrieval
  • No sibilance
  • I'm able to listen for longer hours without any fatigue
On the flip side
  • Bass is on softer side with almost no punch
  • Dynamic range is little less.
  • Background is not as dark as e30 with nirvana
  • LCD display is not very useful when viewed from distance. Font is too small. Good thing is it can be turned off.
  • Build quality is average
I come from using topping e30 dac with nirvana smps and my impressions on smsl d300 are with e30 as reference.

Will update the post if I find any changes in sound quality.
 
I got mine a couple of days back.
These are things that impressed me
  • vocals and instruments sound natural with more weight
  • Very musical (like @heliumflight mentioned, I find it difficult to turn off the music)
  • Soundstage is deeper
  • Better detail retrieval
  • No sibilance
  • I'm able to listen for longer hours without any fatigue
On the flip side
  • Bass is on softer side with almost no punch
  • Dynamic range is little less.
  • Background is not as dark as e30 with nirvana
  • LCD display is not very useful when viewed from distance. Font is too small. Good thing is it can be turned off.
  • Build quality is average
I come from using topping e30 dac with nirvana smps and my impressions on smsl d300 are with e30 as reference.

Will update the post if I find any changes in sound quality.
what streamer are you using, is there a app based one? I found it strange that were didn't experience any dark back ground?
 
what streamer are you using, is there a app based one? I found it strange that were didn't experience any dark back ground?
I'm not using any dedicated streamer. Right now I'm using apple music from my samsung phone as source.
 
Does Apple music stream lossless files? Can you help me how you stream using a samsung phone?
Yes, apple music streams in lossless but playback is not bit perfect as android resamples audio to 48khz. Phone is connected to dac usb input via an otg cable and all audio from phone is routed to dac.
 
Thank you for sharing this information. What resample rate is with Tidal? How can I get a subscription? Is any other equipment required to stream Tidal?
 
Does Apple music stream lossless files? Can you help me how you stream using a samsung phone?
At the moment the only way to get it out lossless & bit-perfect and play it lossless & bit-perfect is to use an ipad/iphone and use the camera connection kit to connect your dac to it.

EDIT:
Using android gives you either 48Khz / 96 KHz sampling rate (depending on the phone). Macbooks, mac mini will give you a fixed sampling rate depending on what setting you have selected using the audio midi app. On windows too I believe it is a challenge to play it bit-perfect.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for sharing this information. What resample rate is with Tidal? How can I get a subscription? Is any other equipment required to stream Tidal?
I was using tidal sometime back (with topping e30 dac) when Tidal Turkey was available. Apart from otg cable nothing was required. Don't remember the sampling rate with tidal. With apple music I'm getting below sampling rates displayed in dac

44.1 khz(am) -> 48khz (dac)
24/96 khz (am) -> 192khz (dac, displays hi res logo in display)
 
I was using tidal sometime back (with topping e30 dac) when Tidal Turkey was available. Apart from otg cable nothing was required. Don't remember the sampling rate with tidal. With apple music I'm getting below sampling rates displayed in dac

44.1 khz(am) -> 48khz (dac)
24/96 khz (am) -> 192khz (dac, displays hi res logo in display)
So with tidal playback, was it showing hi res in display?
 
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