DACs — SMSL DAC MINI

The SMSL DAC Mini is a compact USB DAC with a built-in headphone amplifier, made by Foshan Shuangmusanlin Technology in China. SMSL designed it specifically to sit with an Apple Mac mini, using the same manufacturing process as that computer so that the silver aluminium case matches it on a desk.

Key specs that matter

SMSL builds the converter around an ESS ES9039Q2M chip fed by a third generation XMOS XU-316 USB interface. PCM is accepted up to 32 bit and 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD256, with DoP also reaching DoP256, with full MQA decoding. The RCA line output delivers 2 Vrms. SMSL quotes THD+N of 0.000125 percent (-118 dB) from the line output and 0.000178 percent (-115 dB) from the headphone output, signal to noise ratio of 122 dB and 120 dB respectively, and dynamic range of 121 dB and 120 dB. Headphone power is 265 mW per channel into 16 ohm, 317 mW into 32 ohm, 280 mW into 64 ohm, 120 mW into 150 ohm, 60 mW into 300 ohm and 30 mW into 600 ohm. Consumption is under 4 W, falling below 0.3 W in standby. The case is 127 x 28.2 x 133.6 mm and weighs 0.244 kg.

Engineering and use context

Headphones connect through a 3.5 mm single-ended jack or a 4.4 mm balanced jack, the latter driven by a balanced amplifier circuit inside. Line, headphone and the coaxial and optical digital outputs all run at once, so no output mode needs selecting. The unit is powered through a USB Type-C socket rated 5 V at 2 A. A USB Type-A port adds a USB 3.0 hub for the host computer and stays live even when the DAC is switched off. A touch key turns the DAC on and off with a long press, while a separate triangle key on the front starts the Mac mini, whose own power button is hard to reach. The shell has a mesh pattern that lets an internal ambient light shine through. A high-efficiency power chip supplies the converter, followed by several groups of low-noise LDO regulators. Windows 7 through 11 require a driver, whereas macOS 10.6 and later, Linux and Android run it without one. The box contains the DAC, a USB cable, a manual and a warranty card, and the chassis is CNC machined from aluminium alloy.

Pairing

The gold-plated RCA output can drive active speakers or an integrated amplifier, and the pass-through digital outputs can send the stream on to a separate converter or receiver. Its rated power figures cover everything from low-impedance in-ear designs to high-impedance studio models.

Alternatives

For a full-size SMSL converter, the D200 uses a ROHM BD34352EKV chip and adds Bluetooth, balanced XLR outputs and an external clock input.