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

At this price range I don't think this DAC can be beaten. Its expensive sure but its also high quality and well made!Measurment wise it is close to perfect. And how does it sound? like it doesn't exist! - it sounds very transparent and natural, you hear your Amp and speakers not the DAC!Has all the settings you need!The remote design is Meh but works fine.The worst part is that they used 3 rubber feet under it instead of 4 so if you go to use the knob on the front or plug anything in/out the back, it rocks around. but once installed thats not an issue.**UPDATE**My unit developed a fault after 10months of daily use, but SMSL have agreed that the problem is not my fault and agreed to replace the unit for me.The customer service recieved was very, very good, and i would happily still reccomend this product and certainly reccomend the brand SMSL as quality brand and caring about customers. Thank you so much SMSL. I will be buying more products from this company!10/10 would use again!

I deliberated for a while over buying this. I read a lot of reviews before finally pushing the button and I am so glad I did! I was upgrading from a USB dongle type DAC, the Zorloo Ztella. The Ztella is an excellent DAC for the money and it renders MQA files. When I got it I was impressed with the improved sound quality over my PC's regular output. That was over a year ago and I was feeling that, maybe, I could improve on the sound quality. I read many reviews for similarly priced DACs (and DACs much more expensive) and decided that the SMSL SU-9 appeared to be the best value DAC with a sound quality well above its price point.Quite simply, I am blown away with how good this DAC is, for both regular FLAC files and for MQA! I've only had it for a few days, but the sound quality makes me feel like I have had my ears syringed it really is that good! I am running on a Windows NUC with Roon, but it works fine with Tidal too. Even if you are not interested in MQA decoding, this DAC sounds amazing on regular FLAC files and should be able to handle just about any hi-res file format you want to throw at it.All I can say is, if you are in the market for a new DAC then for this price you probably won't find anything better.

Su-9Previously had a smsl M8 dac which was about £150 with which I am comparing with.I’ve tried to dispense with a separate preamp and go directly into a power amp with su-9 variable output. 5v output available through balanced connection which is what I’m using.Coaxial inputSo far best sound quality has been using CD player digital output into the coaxial input. No harsh edges that I was used to getting on smsl M8.Tidal/usb inputTidal masters are (were) in mqa format. The bit rate varies between masters. Su-9 has indicators for full unfolding of mq.BluetoothIt’s quite good for background music but not having the detail of the other digital inputs. Aptx is not available on iOS. Just aac. Uat, again I don’t think this is available for Apple iOS. There’s no indication of sampling for Bluetooth on the display so not sure what my iphone is outputting. It’s been easy and fun. Can stream to SU-9 via Bluetooth from upstairs with no drop-outs. Volume is lower on Bluetooth so careful when you switch inputs not to get loud volumes.Optical inputCurrently using this input from WiiM mini.Remote controlAwful cheap plastic. The worst part of the whole package. The item you are likely to handle the most sadly. Maybe a third party learning remote could be a future upgrade. Requires too careful aiming.UnitMain unit solidly put together. No ventilation for the 9038pro chip is a worry as chip performance likely affected by rising temperatures. Rotary control doesn’t feel as cheap as I expected. Simple interface. Menu system seems to be only exitable via remote or lengthy timeout.Sound colour modesHard to hear a difference, like the filters.SupportSeller has been helpful.Some language difficulties.IEC mains cableVery cheap quality and oddly short at 1m.Bought in 2020 and is working fine.RemoteI found a good quality aluminium learning remote on Ali for £32 to replace the original. Unfortunately got sent a silver one 🙄. Will post a picture.

Ive given this 5 stars as im happy with the overall high quality sound (especially with my Panasonic TV via optical cable) and its nice display and handy remote control. Some gripes... The Bluetooth feature is a receiver only. Would have been handy to connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones but i cant. You see Bluetooth and assume you can connect headphones but no. They should make this clearer in the blurb unless i missed it. The individual audio settings on the menu screen are a bit pointless because none of them make any discernable difference to sound quality in my opinion and i have a reasonably good system at home to listen for those differences.It definitely was a step up in sound quality from my Topping E30 dac. The SMSL presents a wider and doesnt in anyway take away the detail given to it by my Bluesound Node 2i.MQA is only accessible via the USB connection to your laptop. Not coaxial or optical cables. Its possibly over priced considering im not going to use Bluetooth or MQA despite having a Tidal Masters MQA account but it looks nice on my rack and has a quality feel to it so am going to keep it.