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S.M.S.L SU-9 MQA Full Decoder ES9038PRO DAC XMOS DSD512 PCM768kHz/32Bit Bluetooth 5.0 UAT APTX-HD USB Balanced Decoder

£9.9£99Clearance
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About this deal

But as they say, a DAC is more than simply a chip, and the entire circuit design and componentry all play a role in the overall sound. In this case, the SU-9 leans a hair more towards the full, warm, midrange-focused side of things, at least as far as ESS DACs go. It’s still remarkably detailed and resolving, and manages to avoid undue glare and grain. Lest you think I’m exaggerating the sheer number of menu options, the SU-9 allows users to toggle between seven PCM filters, four DSD filter cutoffs, ten sound colors, fifteen DPLL bandwidth settings, and the list goes on. Multiply that all together to see how many unique combinations you can come up with. Buchardt S400 loudspeakers are sounding extremely well in their price category, yet they are no match for the speed and punch that is coming out of a Hifiman Susvara, Audeze LCD-4 and Fostex TH909, so most of my listening was done via three pairs of headphones. So it should be very clear that because this new SU-9 Pro is a pure DAC (a computational data processor that exists solely in the digital domain until its final steps) measurements should, and do, tell the whole story of how well it is doing its aforementioned job. Waveform analysis has been calibrated and validated as a gold standard measure of audio reproduction for decades, including by the folks recording your music and engineering your audio gear. This DAC is either reproducing that analog waveform cleanly, quietly and accurately, or it isn’t. Period, full stop. El control se lleva a cabo mediante una rueda situada en el panel frontal: cambia las conexiones de entrada, los modos de pantalla, cambia el DAC a modo previo con un control de nivel de salida digital de 99 pasos.

Mostly though I'm into the DIY aspect and building my own speakers and the electronics are sort of a means to an end. I do find the technical aspects of DAC and amps interesting though so I plan on getting a Bifrost to see what multbit is about and just a higher-end DAC in general as well as build a Class A ACA amp because I've never had anything Class A and unlike Amir's test my current speakers efficient enough to pair with it. The Pro chipset is an 8-channel digital to analog converter and offers a 6dB SNR improvement over the ES9038Q2M. With a cohesive tonal balance that doesn’t fight for attention, the SU-9 Pro isn’t too bright leaning and has enough oomph in the midrange and low-end. Plus, the subtleties of whispery areas while not faultless are detailed enough avoiding to become too grainy or soft. Timbre 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.Set in USB input from the factory, the full-color display will show the sampling rate below the volume setting. Turning the wheel will rapidly sweep between -99.5dB and +2.0dB in 0.5dB increments. Bluetooth sampling rate: UAT: 24bit/192kHz (1200kbps/900kbps/600kbps), LDAC: 24bit/96kHz (990kbps/660kbps/330kbps), aptX-HD: 24bit/48 kHz-576kbps, aptX: 16bit/44.1 kHz-352kbps, SBC: 16bit/44.1 kHz-328kbps, AAC: 16bit/44.1 kHz-320kbps All in all, I was surprised that SU-9 was keeping up with such a nice unit like SGD1. There was a clear difference in their tonalities as SGD1 sounded by a hair more linear and extended in the treble and SU-9 warmer, smoother and more natural sounding with a slight roll-off in the treble. In the end, it comes down to system matching and to the sound signature that is more to your liking.

The S.M.S.L SU-9 is undoubtedly reference level DAC, with near flat sound signature (slight warmth) and excellent detail retrieval quality. To keep it concise (because my review is too long already), I can say that it is neutral and can pair well with almost any gears out there, it is tuned quite safe and can actually please most if not all audiophiles out there since there is still good amount of body despite its resolving nature. To mute the SU-9 Pro, it can be done either by rotating the dial below -99.5dB or pressing the mute switch on the remote. Since using the remote to turn the volume down is much slower, having a dedicated mute button is indispensable.The remote is simple and functional as well, although because it is a shared remote between SMSL devices and can control three components, you must press the ‘C’ button before it functions with the SU-9. As one who eschews reading the manual upon the initial setup, I was quite convinced that the remote was DOA after swapping a few pairs of batteries. Once I stumbled across the ‘C’ button necessity, all was well. Menu

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