SMSL DS100 MQA MQA-CD DAC Headphone Amp CS43131 Chip 6.35mm & Balanced 4.4mm Headphone Amplifier Mini Audio Decoder USB Optical Coaxial Desktop Stereo DAC XU316 768kHz/32Bit DSD256 for Home Audio

This headphone amp is considerably better than the one in my old Pioneer AVR, my SMSL AD18 and the recently purchased FIIO DS-2 dongle. It's definitely a winner in the low-price specter of today's cheap class D amps. Gives better separation and a wider sound field than what I've been using lately and is small enough to place under my desktop monitor. I can't really tell the difference in audio between the 6.35mm unbalanced side and the quarter balanced side, but both are more than powerful enough for my assorted IEMs and 32ohm headphones and sound fantastic to my ears. Will be hunting for higher impedance cans next to try on it. NOTE: my unit shipped with the output set to rear. One has to hold the Volume knob in for several seconds after powering up the first time to change the output from "line out" (rear RCA's) to the headphones. There are no lights or anything to let you know of the switch other than it starts playing. Highly recommend it!

Plug and Play. A small download for the software that launches on plug in. Crazy how this little device makes such a huge difference in your audio. Highly recommend. Design is small, about the size of 2 cassette tape cases stacked on top each other. Build is solid, doesn't feel like cheap materials. Functionally it works perfectly.

The cost performance is good. The sound stage is good, and this had no problem driving my HiFiMan planar magnetic headphones. The DAC uses the Cirrus Logic CS43131 chip-set for clear audio reproduction.It's equipped with a 6.35 mm single-ended headphone jack and a 4.4 mm balanced headphone jack. It uses the XMOS XU-316 USB Interface enabling the SMSL DS100 to support high-resolution audio signals up to PCM 32bit 768kHz and DSD512. I don't have anything that high, but my 24bit/192kHz files sounded quite nice. This is a fairly quite headphone amp/DAC, with the source on pause, I get no perceivable background noise introduced from the DAC/amp.

I've been using this DAC/Headphones Amp for about 3 weeks now. I have it sitting on my indoor treadmill where I connect it to my iPad for video and music streaming. The device has such a small footprint that it is well suited for use just about anywhere. It is made of quality materials (metal case) and is appointed with a high quality rotary encoder dial for volume control which also serves as a pushbutton switch - this allows for selecting the various sources and modes of the device.The device is powered by USB-C and connects to a data source through the same USB-C connection, or via optical or coax data IN, so all the bases for modern audio sources are covered. On the output side are two headphone ports, a standard (unbalanced) 1/4" stereo jack and a balanced 4.4mm jack for those who you have headphones that support such an audiophile-grade connection). On the backside are RCA outputs which I am assuming are line-level, intended to connect to an external amplifier or would be ideal for connecting to suitable powered speakers on a bookshelf or anywhere where space is limited.The device has specs that are typical of high end audio gear nowadays. Sound so good I would challenge anyone to tell the difference between this device and any other high-end piece of audio equipment. To my middle-aged ears, it sounds wonderful and I'm sure it sounds even better with younger ears and a pair of good headphones, to which this amp has no problem providing all the power you'll ever need, regardless of which headphones you use - and all this, via the widespread versatility of USB-C - simply amazing!The music source that I have been using with this device is TIDAL, which offers MQA and other high bit-rate and audiophile grade streaming audio formats (like FLAC). Note that TIDAL will be discontinuing MQA streaming formats as of July 24, 2024, in favor of FLAC lossless. Please see their website help section for details.I've been able to use all the available streaming ranges, up to and including MQA - and they all sound very, very good whether through my HiFiMan Sundara heaphones (32 Ohm) or my Austrian Audio Hi-X55 headphones (25 Ohm). They are spec'd to provide adequate power to heaphones with impedances up to 600 Ohms, but I don't own any that go so high, so I cannot comment on the performance at those ranges, though I have no doubt that S.M.S.L., a leading audio mfr, would make such a claim if it were not a fact. Speaking of facts, there are much more capable reviews out there than I can provide which speak to the outstanding nature of the SMSL DS100.I should mention that I did experience disruptions in playback (stuttering, drops, jitter, etc) when streaming a TIDAL MQA track through my M1 iPad Pro. The disruptions were sporadic, but made the mode UNUSABLE for all practical scenarios. I am using high quality USB cables connecting between the M1 iPad and the device, connected to the service via WiFi. Not sure what the problem is, but I can't tell the difference between MQA and TIDAL's "High Quality" streaming mode, so I just avoid using MQA mode and haven't bothered to investigate further. You may want to investigate further if you are determined to use MQA and need a reliable solution. It may be something about my unique setup that is causing the issue.Follow up Note: Actually, I just connected the SMSL DS100 device with the same cables, etc to my desktop computer and am streaming verified MQA via the TIDAL APP in EXCLUSIVE MODE in both GREEN and BLUE indicated modes (GREEN indicates that streaming media or files in MQA format are being played. BLUE indicates that MQA Studio files are being played). Wow, what a difference! So this leads me to believe the device is working as advertised and that my MQA difficulties when streaming from iPad may have been due to streaming from WEB rather than from the APP - or something else, it's hard to say. Not sure. Such is the way with these advanced streaming CODECS and high tech in general - lots of versaitility and complexity, but that necessarily comes with lots of opportunity for misconfiguration.In conclusion, I have nothing but praise for this device, though I find it upsetting that MQA as a format is teetering on the brink of industry abandonment. That said, the device seems to play other popular lossless streaming formats such as FLAC and DSD just as aptly, so even the loss of MQA would not diminish the value of this device - though I still think that MQA may not be abandoned entirely, since the original company is being acquired. The controversy remains, but it should not deter you from considering the SMSL DS100. As far as I am concerned, even without MQA, it is product that offers superb value for anyone who isn't chasing the pop trends.