DS100 USB MQA DAC with CS43131 Chip 6.35mm & 4.4mm Headphone Amplifier Support MQA MQA-CD XMOS XU-316 32bit/768kHz DSD256 USB/Optical/Coaxial Input Mini USB DAC

Seriously a must-have for DAC/AMP, I can’t even call it a starter despite how good the value is. It functions smoothly as soon as it’s plugged in and easy to drive most of my IEMs and headphones (Truthear Pure and Sennheiser HD58x). And the unit is so small which is actually something I really really like, I can place it anywhere on my desk or move it to a new setup completely. This little thing is so underrated I seriously couldn’t recommend it enough, worth every penny from me. I will say don’t forget to remove the little plastic film, I thought mines was damaged but it’s good as new actually! In my past experience of using headphone drivers I tried the other expensive interfaces like the latest gen Scarlett Solo and absolutely HATED it, they trash the audio, cutoff sound from windows, or other bloat software junk filled in it. This thing has none of that, just connect smoothly and you’re done! I was considering the upgraded version for a bit but this is so compact and nice I wouldn’t change it out for something worth way more in price at this point.

Fantastic DAC, zero noise, completely transparent, perfect for my needs! Using to connect a CD player's coax S/PDIF, and TV's optical S/PDIF to a Fosi BT30D Pro amp. Volume control works great, and is remembered even if it gets disconnected from power. I needed a DAC with volume control over the line output mainly because my CD player's sound output was too high. Measured the USB power consumption and it's only 0.5 watts. I tried the Headphone Amp function and it works great too, but my main use case is DAC to line output, easily switchable between my 2 input sources. The unit looks beautiful and well built. Great job SMSL!

Good quality, great sound quality for their price.

It is a pretty good DAC. Simple to set up, functions well, good sound quality, and overall a very pleasant piece of equipment. One thing to note (definitely on me and not on the company at all), you would need to buy an adapter as well to use it with 3.5mm headphones/IEMs. Kind of wish they threw one in the box so it is compatible with some more standards. I only had one pair to test out the 1/4in jack, and it sounds good, but it is a pair that I don't intend to use with the DAC. Got an adapter so I can plug in my IEMs and got to use it to it's full capabilities after setting it up. Absolutely solid for someone who wanted a simple setup for simply good sound in a much more simple spot on my desk and closer to my head. All through one cable from my PC. Highly recommended for those who want their DAC placement to be a lot more flexible and even be some stylish desk candy to look at. The good sound quality is also a decent bonus on top as well.

I'm blown away!! I've been listening to Tidal HiFi with my 7hz x Crinacle Zero:2 and HiFiMan HE400SE. What a time to be an audiophile on a budget! With my HiFiMan's, like another reviewer said, they can have a little sibilance when the gain is turned up, but I toned down the 7kHz peak by a few dB and now I can drive them to more than enough volume without any distortion or loss of clarity. Great size, great range of volume with nice small step sizes. What more could I want in a sub $100 dac/amp? I couldn't be happier!! (Got it for $70, open box)

Perfect high performance minimalist preamp and headphones amp being tiny, fantastic ergonomic experience with just one bottom for fonction and volume selection ...

5/25/2024 Update: Reduce my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars for the following reason. I have an old PC with an ASUS Zonar Essence STX sound card. I decided to test it against my new USB DAC. Although the ASUS sound card is a 24bit/192kHz sound card, it performs much better than this 32-bit/ 768kHz USB DAC. It produces much more "space" and clarity. It is much more enjoyable to listen from the sound card than the USB DAC My test is done with the same set of FLAC music with the same set of speakers. Most people are thinking standalone sound is dead because new PC comes sound output from the motherboard. In my experience, the sound from the PC motherboard is not good enough. It seems to be the same with USB DAC. One can't really tell the differences until being able to compare. Anyway, the ASUS Zonar Essence STX sound card has been discontinued for a long time. I'm lucky enough to still have one and functional. ----------- below is the original 4-star review This is a nice plug & play USB DAC for Windows 10. If driver was needed, it was downloaded and installed automatically on my Windows 10. I play many FLAC lossless music at the highest bit rate without any issue. The sound is very clean. However, the spec states it supports 32 bit/768kHz but Windows 10 only shows 32 bit/384kHz (see attached screenshot). I'm not sure if this is an issue with the driver or the spec is inaccurate. Overall, it is a nice USB DAC.

I am using this with Sony MDR-7506 headphones. I am very pleased with the sound quality. Or maybe I should say I’m pleased with lack of sound. This DAC is transparent. I have four other SMSL DACs. They all have excellent performance. This one continues the tradition. Using the mode LEDs to indicate volume level when the knob is turned is an interesting idea but there really are not enough LEDs to indicate anything other than an approximate level. The knob can be rotated multiple times before the LEDs change. Everything else works perfectly.

ヘッドホンだけでなく、スピーカーからもハイレゾ音質が聞きたく、本製品を購入しました。音源はアマゾンミュージックですが、ＣＤ音質でも音の輪郭がはっきりし、楽器が浮かび上がります。さらにハイレゾ音源では、シンバルの音の繊細なこと！ ヘッドホンで聞いてみると、さらにリバーブの余韻が大変心地よいです。ヘッドホンはAKGのＫ240ですが、近々ランクアップして、さらなる音の広がりを期待しています。 また、使いはじめは「プツプツ」というノイズが入り、初期不良かなと思いましたが、よくよく確かめてみると、ハイレゾ音源を読み込むＰＣの能力不足でした。私と同様、ストリーミング初心者の方はお気をつけください。 追伸 : ケーブルを変えるなど色々試しましたが、最終的にUSB端子3.1から2.0に差し替えたらピッタリおさまりました。PCが原因なのは変わりありませんが、色々やってみることは重要だと分かりました。 再追伸：USB2.0に変更してノイズが収まったと思ったら、音質が16bit/44.1kHzに固定されてしまい、それ以上の音質で再生されなくなりました。次の策として、3mのUSBケーブルをオウルテックの1mAtoCに交換しました。 これが最終的に正解で、ノイズは全くなくなり音源通りの音質で再生されました。やはり、ケーブルは短くするが鉄則でした。

EDIT2: I upgraded the X-FI card that I'm using as an optical S/PDIF source to a PCIE SB0880 . I'm guessing that this his one seems to have a more stable internal clock source. EDIT: I have added results through optical S/PDIF input I have only tested in USB mode so far and found no specific issues other than its performance, in my setup at least, being strongly dependent on how it is connected. IMPORTANT note : I used RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) and a MOTU M2 to record and measure the DS100's line-out performance, so the values shown are limited by the MOTU M2's line-in performance and ARE NOT directly comparable to other RMAA tests except possibly if the recording device used was also a MOTU M2. - Volume was set to max on the DS100 and its line-out was used. - Volume was set to max on the Apple A2049 and its headphone out was used. - Gain on the MOTU M2 was adjusted for level to be at -3.1dB for the DS100 tests - Gain on the MOTU M2 was adjusted for level to be at -3.1dB for the Apple A2049 dongle tests - The Apple A2049 needed 6dB more gain than the DS100 for level to be matched on the MOTU M2 - The manufacturer provided driver was used through ASIO for the DS100 - The default Windows 10 UAC audio driver was used through ASIO4ALL for the Apple A2049 - The first column in the first image shows DS100 results through a Plugable USB2-HUB-AG7 USB 2.0 powered hub - The second column in the first image shows DS100 results through a Plugable USB2-HUB-AG7 USB 2.0 without power external power connected - The third column in the first image shows DS100 results directly connected to a motherboard USB 3.1 port - The first column in the second image shows A2049 results through a Plugable USB2-HUB-AG7 USB 2.0 powered hub - The second column in the second image shows A2049 results through a Plugable USB2-HUB-AG7 USB 2.0 without power external power connected - The third column in the second image shows A2049 results directly connected to a motherboard USB 3.1 port - the MOTU M2's performance is unaffected by the USB or not of a USB hub (powered or unpowered) - I also tried some unpowered USB 3.0 hub which, AFAICR, were actually worse than a direct connection for the A2049). Again, the MOTU M2's performance was unaffected by these. - The computer's PSU is a Corsair RM750x - The motherboard is a Gigabyte B550 Gaming X V2 on which I used the Q-Flash Plus Port (I summarily tested other ports before and saw no notable differences) Conclusion : IMHO, the SMSL DS100 is worth it to me. A decent DAC with powerful output (and a headphone amp), S/PDIF input, physical volume control and good specs, at this price is very nice.

Excelente producto .

Sorprendente! Appena arrivato questo mini amplificatore mi ha sorpreso per dimensioni, resa audio e versatilità delle connessioni. In pratica lavora con le HD 650 (300 ohm) con le HD 660S (150 ohm) e KLH (32 ohm). Le rese audio sono chiaramente diverse a seconda della personalità della singola cuffia. Mentre scrivo sono con le HD 650 (acquistate 18 anni fa!) connesse in bilanciato, bene senza burning, suonano alla grande. In confronto con amplificatori dal costo dieci volte superiore ci sono notevoli differenze, ma la Portabilità il Prezzo e la Versatilità ne fanno un ottimo acquisto per chi si sposta con il PC. Unica osservazione è la modulabilità del volume che presenta una progressione non troppo lineare e una certa latenza (ritardo nella risposta); forse un mini telecomando anche solo per il volume migliorerebbe un prodotto di qualità/ prezzo già notevole.

great little DAC, No issues