Cheap AKM DACs Suck. SMSL D6 DAC Review

High Res Music Streaming for FREE!!!!

Test Track Playlist:
Satanic Panic Playlist:
Leg Warmers Playlist

If you click on this link and sign up for a free trial I will receive a small referral fee.

If you use any of my links to purchase products I will receive a small commission on the sale of that item. Won’t cost you any more to purchase with the link.

Recommended Streamer

Recommended Speaker List

Around $100 (These prices will fluctuate between $75 - $150)
Pioneer AJ First Gen - Laid Back

Around $200

Around $400

Around $500

Around $600
Polk Reserve R100 - Neutral

Recommended Amp List

Under $100

Around $130

Around $250

Around $400

Recommended DACs

Subs

[rosswarren]

I beg to differ a bit (pun intended). My older Schiit Modi 3+ uses an AKM AK4490 DAC and I think it sounds great for the price I paid ($99). As everyone always notes (and they should) for all delta-sigma DACs, the implementation and analog output stage and quality of power supply has as much (or more) of an effect on the sound quality as the DAC chip itself. I'm happy I got it before the fire at the plant in Japan. Yeah, I like ESS Sabre DAC based devices too (have a Fiio BTR5-2021), and my Denon CD player uses a Burr-Brown (now TI) PCM1795. I think some get too hung up on the sausage making instead of the sausage itself. Engineers can do great things with *most* of the DAC chips out there today. YMMV. We've come a long ways since 1984...

[gwine]

Odd that you, recently, have been extolling the virtues of the SU-1, which has the same chip.

[jeffhernandez]

FiiO K5 Pro AKM is freaking amazing. The AKM4499s are unbeatable for me. I have tried several different ESS and Burr Brown (TI) DACS. Not even close. I LOVE the AKM sound. Hell, I'm running an SMSL Sanskrit 10 Mk II with the AKM 4493 chip at work. Sounds WAY better than the ESS DAC in the JDS Labs Atom. My Sanskrit doesn't sound anything like what you describe. Nothing. In fact, I have the SU-6 on my desk as well. It sounds harsh and analytical, like all ESS DACs do to me.

[eeyorebill]

I don't think it's fair to use the thumbnail saying "AKM DACs still suck" for this video. I think it's SMSL's implementation that sucks, not the AKM DAC chip itself. Schiit (and many other manufacturers) sold tons of great DACs using AKM chips before the fire. Changing your designs (which everyone using AKM chips had to do after the fire) to use a different manufacturer's chip is a lot of work. So I think that's why so many DAC makers who switched from AKM to ESS are sticking with ESS, because it's so much work for these small design teams with limited resources to switch back...not because AKM DACs are inherently crappy.

As always, a DAC's sound is highly dependent on its chip implementation, power supply, and analog output stage. Those 3 things probably affect the sound of a DAC more so than what model of DAC chip is used.

[pdcragin]

I vote for balanced outputs whether TRS or XLR. Makes it easy to connect to powered or active speakers/monitors. Also balanced headphone amps.

[Obi__Shinobi_]

Dude, TRS is fine, theres other models with xlrs. The reason I'm watching your video is because i was looking for a TRS output DAC

[joelcarson]

TRS sockets are likely WAY cheaper than any sort of XLR connecter to mount on equipment. A lot of home studio gear uses them as well. XLR seems reserved for mic inputs and main outputs on ADC/DAC interfaces.

[yourchildrensghost]

I remember when it was all about AKM and Saber dacs sucked. Now it's Saber and AKM sucks, people are weird. I for one Love my AKM Geshelli JNOG.

[NosEL]

Dac's Dac's and more Dac's. After buying a couple "cheap" dac's in the last 18 months for streaming purposes I finally just went out and bought an RME. Now I don't worry about it anymore lol. Unless I end up wanting an exotic that adds some pleasant distortion I can't imagine ever buying another Dac. It's a money sucking rabbit hole..just find a decent one and spend your money on other things like speakers..those differences really stand out.

[abxaudiophiles]

I am a fan of SMSL. My desktop setup is an AD-18 paired with a set of B&W 600 series bookshelves and a monoprice 10" sub. But I agree, I find most of their stand-alone DACs to be harsh; my favorite "Budget DAC" is the Cambridge DAC 100, which I use in my Emotiva reference system.... GREAT REVIEW and THANK YOU!!

[michaelkaercher]

I am listening currently to three different DACs. A 15 year old Burr Brown in a Yamaha Receiver, The SMSL SU 1 and the Topping E70 velvet. The differences between the Burr Brown and the AK4493 of the SMSL are relatively easy to recognize, the SU-1 being more energetic. The differences between the AK4493 in the SU-1 and the AK 4499 in the Topping E70V are subtle at best. I do hear a slight - a very slight - difference where the E70V sounds a tiny little bit less harsh and more rounded. But nothing to justify 5 times the price. So the massive differences you find in your review seem to be rather a bit strange.

[joecharpentier]

Wow. I almost always agree with you Randy. But this one we are miles apart. I have it connected to my smsl a300 monoblocked and into Monolith encore B6 speakers and it sounds simply amazing. Zero fatigue or sibilence (sp?) And brings out the highs of the Encore B6's unlike any dac I've tried. I bought the d6 thinking I'd just return if necessary, and it ain't goin nowhere. Lol. I love it.

[dave-]

I will take a AKM DAC over ESS any day.

[shipsahoy]

It most certainly does have to do with implementation.. and that applies regarding any asic design .

[NeilBlanchard]

Randy, I hope you get a chance to listen to the Geshelli J2 with the AK4493EQ chip, at some point soon. It is *anything* BUT harsh. It has very good details and soundstage, but without drawing attention to it. The most noticeable quality is the very punchy and dynamic bass, with loads of clarity. Its bass is better than any other DAC I have heard, actually. And the overall tonal balance is clean and nimble and dynamic. Cymbals are great - they are nearly as good as the Ares II, in my opinion.

If $250 is in your budget, I think Geshelli is setting the standard for an AKM chip DAC - and maybe for all DACs up to the price of the Ares II?

[cdlp]

I bought the WiiM mini on you recommendation. I just got it in, and I love that thing. I’m thinking of getting another one.

[Rollyclic]

Very bad evaluation, I have the modi3 and the D6, completely off track, sorry. The D6 sounds really good, more depth/definition than the modi. Without being a high-end dac, the versatility of this one is really powerful. Not to mention the physical quality of the product. Its almost the same price.

[tedthomas]

I have the Jnog with the akm chip and love it. But then I am a Geshelli fan boy.

[JonCurcio]

Supposedly this DAC has sound color modes in addition to the filter settings. Maybe one of those would help with the harshness up top?

[Hirnlego]

This is probably the cheapest dac that has both balanced and non-balanced outputs. Toppings E30 II with AKM is about 150 USD and provides only non-balanced.
Personally I don't mind TSR, there are cheap cables that go into XLR that are easy to find.