The listing price is $169, but there is a "coupon" option that takes $34 off the price in the cart. The SMSL C100 seems like a decent entry DAC with a few things that you may or may not need:
- USB-C powered (no separate lead for the power if you listen from a USB source)
- MQA (If you are into that)
- Coaxial and Optical and USB-C inputs.
- Preamp function with variable volume output (via remote control only)
- Bluetooth
- LCD screen that can show bitrate or volume
SMSL C100 DAC $135 Delivered @ Aoshida HiFi-AU via Amazon AU
Last edited 20/08/2023 - 21:15 by 1 other user
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you feed it a digital audio signal via coaxial cable, toslink or usb
ie. flac or mp3 files
and it spits out 2 channel stereo via rca cable
that you feed into an amp
i have this one (plus about half a dozen other dacs) - this one is excellent
most people will be fine playing music out of a 3.5mm socket off their PC
if you want to spend $135 to 'improve it', this will do it well
i really think there's actually not much difference in actual audio performance between even an SU1 and the $1,000+ SMSL SU10
most of us would fail a blind test
its more towards what convenience features you like
eg. the SU-1 lacks everything, no vol. no remote
the SU-6 has a built in psu and its a much more substantial unit but it too has no vol. knob
if you're using it on a V3 you'd want something with more features and that has no remote either
also the SU1 is akm, the su6 is ESS… i'd get the SU6 but its like 2x the price at least
How's it compare to topping dx1 and ifi uno?
Maybe it's the best budget DAC in the market.
very much so
i have it running into a $1,500 amp + $2,000 speakers and it truly is a amazing design… and it runs fine of a 1 amp phone charger
Your $1500 amp doesn't have a decent DAC?
Not the previous commenter, but my $4000 amp doesn't have a DAC.
@Morien: yep. there's a slew of expensive amps that dont have dacs…
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/yamaha-a-s3200-integ…
i wouldnt buy an amp with a dac inside… why would you want a dac that's always going to be upgradeable for cheap
@tonyjzx: Man, I'd love that amp…
If your headphones are power hungry do not get this dac.
ratings arent so good.
Does it even have a dedicated headphone amp to drive high impedance headphones?
No, but it has a sound distortion over time that becomes annoying the more power your headphones need the worse it gets.
I used this before I got the fiio k7, and haven't looked back.
"Have been using it for a week. First venture into separate DAC and amp for music and TV / movies. Sounded great. Nice clarity. Works well for TV and movies too.
However it’s developed distortion when using the optical input. Cycling through the inputs back to optical makes the distortion stop, but return when it’s turned off and on again. It’s a strange defect."if this were widespread then it would affect all output inc. to a desktop speaker amp
@tonyjzx: It could be a fault developed over time, but yeah i used it for optical connection as well.
@garetz: i suspect i may not have had mine turned on long enough for it to show up.. i never turn off stuff
eg. i might change a dac after a week
i'm running it right now on optical on an old Apple charger… no issue
maybe faulty units out there?
@tonyjzx: Where did you find this info? If it is a widespread issue it is pretty serious. If it is just a one-time post it may just be a faulty unit. I better check this out before buying.
@trippy: amazon reviews
fwiw
ahh the tube sound I see
Are you using this without an amp?
The wiim mini dac is on 15% sale to $118.15
With 15% off.
This dac is fantastic. I see a sale noted in 3 1/2 or so hrs. Maybe wait and check.
https://amzn.asia/d/gReVyZZThe Wiim is a streamer, with a very average built-in DAC. A good combo would be to connect the Wiim via optical out to the SMSL DAC. Or wait for the Wiim ProPlus (Not the regular Wiim Pro), since the Wiim Pro Plus apparently has very decent DAC built in.
Great price on the Wiim Mini though. It doesn't do ChromeCast, but has Spotify connect and a few other things.Yes sorry got exited there seeing the streamer at this price. You are 100% correct. Thanks for the adjustment.
In either case the wiim is a great streamer for this price I have mine connected to the S.M.S.L Sanskrit 10th MKIII dac and it's a peach.
Thanks again for the post mate ! 👍
I noticed a lot of DAC's don't do 192khz via usb input. Will this one?
The C100 does up to 768 kHz via USB, but is limited to 192 kHz via optical and coaxial: https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/811.html
I doubt many would be able to hear any difference above 192 kHz though.The 44kHz sampling rate of CDs is already beyond human hearing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist%E2%80%93Shannon_sampli…
True, but do the sounds waves you can’t hear interact with ones you can? 🤔
@WhyAmICommenting: There is only one sound wave, but we can think of it as a composite of pure sine waves.
In that model, the higher frequencies can be ignored.
I’ve got SMSL Sanskrit. Hooked to my TV via optic. And my TV to Apple TV and they drive JBL LSR305. Let me tell you it’s incredible bang for the buck all around and the dac has been fantastic, crisp clear sound even with the full sized monitors.
EXCEPT, I have to change the volume from the dac as optic input won’t do it so the Apple TV or my TV can’t change it. So I programmed the Apple Remote to act as the remote for the dac and it’s not RF, it’s regular infra red and it SUCKS. You have both be close and direct it right at the thing.
Can someone explain what this thing does before I buy it :)
I don't know what this is but I'm tempted.