S.M.S.L M400 HiFi Audio DAC, Supports MQA decoding AK4499 Chip, Second XMOS XU216, DSD512 32Bit/768kHz, Bluetooth 5.0 Fully Balaced Decoder Hi-Res Hi-end, USB/ Optical/ Coaxial/ I²S/ Bluetooth Input

I ordered the SMSL M400 before I picked up my McIntosh MHA150 and planned on returning it when it arrived. Since Amazon had extended their return policy for the holidays, I decided I may as well try it out.Well....it beats the very capable built-in DAC on the McIntosh (to me). It may not sound as warm or rich as the McIntosh DAC, but it’s certainly not harsh. The improved detail, separation, and soundstage with this DAC is incredible for the price.Streaming from Roon (linked to Qobuz and Tidal) on my phone/computer —> BlueSound Node 2i (Digital Coax Out) —> SMSL M400 (Digital Coax In / Balanced Out) —> McIntosh MHA150 (Balanced In), digital sounds exactly how it should through both my headphones (Audeze LCD-X) and speakers (KEF LS50).I use the ‘Wide’ setting for DSD Filter on all DSD playback (64/128/256/512). It also has several settings for PCM filter, which is nice, but I leave it on ‘Sharp’. You can control the volume from the M400, but I leave it ‘Fixed’ as I control volume on my MHA150.The M400 unit and remote control looks and feels cheap compared to some other equipment out there. It’s technically plug and play, but if you’re using USB and want ASIO rather than WASAPI/DirectSound, you’ll have to install the driver from their website.It has it’s flaws and was a little finicky during setup, but when considering price to performance, what do you expect? I’m more interested in the sound. Just look at the Audio Science Review forum thread on tests of this DAC to see objective test results proving it’s capability.This thing is a beast. If you’re considering getting one - buy it and don’t look back. Oh and don’t forget to press ‘C’ on the remote if you think it’s not working ;)

When I got this I was surprised at how light and small it is. My old dac is heavy with a divide for the power supply. I had no complaints other than the lack of mqa support. That forced me to get this dac.I got this mainly to get mqa support. I might have changed my mind if I knew I had to use usb input to get mqa. I have Tidal and really enjoy the master quility albums.I have a dac that cost the same as this one. At first I was disapointed with the sound stage. As it broke in my sound stage came back. I'll have to try swapping them out someday to see if there is a detectable difference, other than the mqa.My setup is dac, amp, headphones. I currently have THX 787 amp and hd 800s along with dac. The best description is pure heaven. I really would think anything above this is a waste of money but some have money to waste or more refined tastes.Perhaps someone could find a complaint with this dac but it would have to be pure nickpicking.On a personal note I plan to have a duplicate setup in the future, which is why I convinced myself to get this dac. One will be for music off my server and the other for Tidal. I have several headphones and will likely swap them around on the tidal set. Then I will be able to tell if there is a clear difference between the two dac's. In any case this dac will run the tidal setup.Highly recomended.

I hear a pop thru my speakers via my usb port when I put my portable streaming device on pause or play. So I always hit mute 1st. The reason I returned this is usb is required for mqa which my portable device supports and sounds great..but it doesn't charge the portable device thru the usb. Thus the pioneer audio player battery dies.Who forgot to allow charging??

I have been mostly using the Bluetooth input for streaming music from my phone as well as a projector. For the first hour, it sounds out of this world. Huge stage and so crisp. After about an hour, a progressively increasing distortion developes in the higher tones until it becomes damaging to the speakers.Awaiting a response from SMSL for a firmware update or other solution. Hoping this review will inspire a response, otherwise I will be returning it. Amazon tech support, although unable to solve the issue, was incredibly friendly and apologetic and steered me in the right direction to attempt to solve the issue.

Overall the sound quality was quite good. I didn't compare officially with other DACs but enjoyed the sound of this DAC. However for $800 it lacks a lot of features: you need a computer or a decent network / cd player with digital output. For this much money I would expect it at least has a USB port to accept files on a hard drive. The remote control just feels cheap. Oh and it does not have AES input unlike a comparable product.If you read online you will find other design flaws with this device. For example it only uses half of the AK4499 chip which does not utilize the maximum potential of the DAC chip (which btw is close to $100 alone). The output impedance is also on the high side, which means you don't get the full potential of volume when driving an amp with lower impedancen.

In applications where DAC neutrality is a key decision making factor this DAC with the top of the line AK 4499Q DAC chip is an excellent choice. There is no sonic coloration and it maximizes the live and unfiltered sound signature if that is what you're looking for. This is not a good choice for bass heads or people looking for warmth in their sound. The application where this works best is in a scenario where you have a CD transport, are running a passive pre-amp and using a tube power amp out to high efficiency speakers. In this configuration you will hear exactly what the sound engineer intended when they mixed the music. Nothing more, nothing less. So if it's a poor recording or a poor mix that's what you'll hear. If the vocals are mixed forward, that's what you'll hear. If the miking was poor, you'll hear it. I love this DAC. It is easy to set up and looks great. It has a sturdy feel and plenty of connectivity. I would recommend this for people looking for uncolored signal processing and decoding.

I was hoping for an improvement from the DAC in my Rotel RCD 975, however, the Rotel is much more pleasant sounding. The M400 is thinner sounding with a much narrower Soundstage.