SMSL DO100 Pro DAC Review - Features Galore. Decent Sound. Only $220

Thanks to Aoshida Audio for sending the DO100 Pro!

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Reviews of Mentioned Gear:

Timestamps...

00:00 Intro, Pricing, Dislcaimer
00:49 Shameless Self Promotion
01:21 Specs & Takeaways
03:22 Unit Tour
06:05 Test Gear
07:51 Sound
11:35 Input Discussion (comp w/ Modius e)
18:17 Balanced vs SE Outputs
20:04 Wrap Up

[aeon]

Thank you for the very exhaustive reviews of both the Modius E and DO100 Pro, your description of the sound aspects for each(holography, soundstage, imaging, house sound) and what to expect from each input when comparing them both is on another level, also you are very kind to talk about shipping cost for international customers which I am one, I just happen to be interested in a sub 250$ DAC/preamp and subscribed because of your Modius E review, I'll make sure to use the affiliate links and donate if I finally do buy one, many thanks!!

[davidzwicker]

Your single ended vs balanced commentary is a top differentiator to all other Dac reviews.

[vaneast]

another interesting offering in a competitive field thx WaveTheory

[hoonhog]

Great point on your International perspective - in Australia we pay A$520 for the Modus e and A$300 for the DO100 Pro so its no context in term of value bang for bucks giving it clearly to SMSL.

[ancientalien]

Wave, when you do the USB test, please make sure you install the driver, disable safe mode in the driver and set to 32 buffer. This makes the USB sound completely different.

[Michael_mki]

People greatly undervalue the benefits of all-around competence, preferring to focus on things that have a 'wow' factor which at this price will usually have a large drawback.

[ancientalien]

We need the DO200 Pro review to see if its better than the D70 Pro Octo. 12 vs 8 chips.

[ReverendDr.Thomas]

Thank you for another wonderful review, Professor! 👌

[znguscc]

Have you had a chance to compare this to the new Topping D50 III?

[milosCivejovidar]

I've been looking at SMSL DO300 as a DAC, based on the previous impressive review, and I wonder how big of a step-up it is compared to the DO100 Pro when comparing the sound quality?

[PinkyPowers]

I would like ARC input, actually. I use a whopping 42" LG C2 OLED as my computer monitor, and do a fair bit of TV/Movie watching from it. The optical output from these TVs are fairly jittery, and audiophile DACs tend not to deal with such a noisy signal well, causing the audio to drop out from time to time while streaming Netflix from the TV. I suspect ARC would be better, but have never tried it.

[jp]

I don’t need the screen, hdmi or XLR plus I’m cheap so I picked up the SMSL PS200 with the same ESS9039Q2M. For $80 getting my $ worth.

[progronom]

Hi! If the device is turned on, and at the same time turn off the power - for example, pull 220 volts out of the socket, then turn it back on after a while. Will the DO100Pro turn on itself? Or do I need to turn on the button on the remote control again, or on the Knob handle?

[ceddy]

Can I stream tidal directly from my phone through SMSL DO100 Pro ?

[FDKAUSW]

No informations about what ist inside the device is bad! Sorry 🙈

[klausfreis]

When it comes to I2S input please resist the phrase "for those who like it". It comes accross as if you already know that it's not good.
As a reviewer you need to be able to test all the inputs that are on a unit. We audio enthusiasts want to know what input sounds best.
Please get youself a piece of gear that puts out clean I2S so we can get an idea how well it works on the unit under investigation. There are quite a few dacs out there that do better on I2S than on the Sony/Philips diff input.
😎

[mcmify]

Smsl d6s is better? The sound i more natural, the soundstage ?

[jari]

Did you make any abx tests? You must have golden ears 😅

[thinkIndependent]

Wave theory why not just promote CLEAN input elimination of noise is where listening should go.


Im not reviewer but lab grade power can put competent equipment in every top tier.

They typically use low-end OP-AMPS on single end.

[YTjuanchicod]

Never buying smsl again since my Su-6 starts making rain noise 2 months after buying it