ЦАПы — SMSL DL400

The DL400 is a desktop DAC with a fully balanced headphone amplifier from the Chinese brand SMSL, priced at USD 499 and supplied in black. It pairs a conversion stage with line outputs for an amplifier and a headphone section, and SMSL lists Japan Audio Society Hi-Res certification for it.

Key specs that matter

An ESS ES9039MSPRO chip handles conversion here, which also carries out hardware MQA decoding, including MQA-CD. The USB receiver is a third-generation XMOS XU-316, accepting PCM up to 32 bit and 768 kHz and native DSD from 2.8 MHz up to 22.5 MHz, which is DSD512. SMSL quotes a THD+N of 0.00005% at the line outputs and 0.00009% at the headphone outputs, while both the dynamic range and the noise figure are rated at 133 dB via XLR and 127 dB via the headphone amplifier. Headphone power reaches 6 W per channel into 16 ohm, 3 W per channel into 32 ohm and 700 mW per channel into 300 ohm. The case measures 250 x 47 x 240 mm and weighs 1.74 kg, and consumption stays below 40 W in use and below 0.5 W in standby.

Engineering and use context

SMSL built the headphone amplifier as a fully balanced circuit around four Precision Linear Feedback Circuits, abbreviated PLFC. Gain is +9.5 dB on the single-ended output and +15.5 dB on the balanced one. Digital inputs cover USB, optical, coaxial, AES/EBU, an I2S port that shares its socket arrangement with XLR, and Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.1. Every input apart from Bluetooth passes DSD, as DoP256 over USB and DoP64 over coaxial, optical and AES/EBU, while the wireless link supports LDAC at 24 bit and 96 kHz as well as aptX HD, aptX, SBC and AAC. A DPLL stage steadies the incoming clock. Users can choose among eight PCM filters and nine preset sound colour modes, all from the full-function remote control. The chassis is aluminium alloy with gold-plated connectors, and firmware can be updated. Windows 7 to 11 needs a driver, while macOS 10.6 and later and Linux work without one.

Pairing

With unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR line outputs, the DL400 can drive a power amplifier, active speakers or an integrated amplifier. Headphones connect through a 6.35 mm single-ended jack or a 4.4 mm balanced jack, and the balanced one gives the higher gain for hard-to-drive models. A CD transport or a streamer with an AES/EBU or coaxial output can be linked directly, while a laptop or desktop computer uses the USB port.

Alternatives

The SMSL D400ES uses the same ES9039MSPRO chip in a converter without a headphone amplifier, fitted with RCA and XLR outputs only.