SMSL Audio M3 USB Powered Audio Decoder, Black

I upgraded to this from the SMSL M2, which I'm relegating to mobile laptop duty. I was a bit worried about what the build quality would be like, but it's a very solid little metal box, with a bit of heft to it -- the only plastic bit on the whole thing is the power/source selector switch. Audio quality is incredible -- it might just be placebo, or the fact that I have it power isolated from the computer (power directly from the wall, signal via optical) but I'm positive that the M3 sounds better than the M2 I was using previously, which already sounded great. It only takes half a second for it to switch from input to input when you hit the button, so it'll be perfect if you have multiple source devices, as long as each one can use a different input (e.g. optical from desktop, USB from laptop, SPDIF from something else). It's got plenty of power, as the normal listening volume for my Sennheiser HD555's results in the volume knob being at only ~25%. The indicator LEDs for the source and sampling rate are white, as is the 'standby' LED that's in the center of the selector switch, which only lights up when you turn the device off by holding the switch for 2 seconds. It only comes with a very short micro-to-micro USB cable, a micro-to-B cable, and a 3.5mm-to-1/4 adapter. So you'll need to source your own cables if you plan to run it via optical or SPDIF, or power it directly from AC power. All in all, I'm very impressed. 10/10, do recommend.

Edit: My issues with it was due to Windows 7. Now with W10, it works normally as it should. Cannot fault it any more. Drives even my new Headphones: HD 6xx, HE4xx. All in all, still working after almost 1 year. This DAC is great! Saved on shipping costs and customs to Denmark.Then why do i rate it with one star, you ask? Because it's great only when it works. My history with it: - bought 1 piece from SHENZENAUDIO. Asked the seller to check it before sending. She assured me, that the factory does that and the products were 100% good. Arrived nicely, seller is alright at first. Sounds nice and clear, looks like a good buy. A bit of jack problems going on when it would cut the left channel, but nothing too bad. As time passed, it gotten worse to the point of which it was unbearable and needed constant fiddling to work on both channels. Decided it's time to replace it. After endless talks with the seller, it took about 45 days to get another replacement, after amazon.com got involved. -2 for the seller. - second piece is also defective. Now the 6.5mm jack is solid but... it still has flaws. Not as annoying, but still bad. Sometimes it just cuts signal and it doesn't play. Right in the middle of a song or movie. I have to take the usb out and in again. It does that about once/twice per day. I presume it will start doing it more often as time goes by. Also, if waking computer after sleep, it gives weird sounds until re-plugged again. It's a shame because i really enjoy the sound of it. Together with APO equalizer, can make headphones sound really detailed and clear. But what's the point if it does all of this annoying stuff? At this point it might have been worth to pay more with shipping and customs to get e10K or just buy it locally. So far got 2 pieces, both defective, but the time and annoyance to get it replaced is just to much. I will stick with it as it is now. Conclusion: get the Fiio e10K. Can't possibly be as bad as this one, and people say sound quality is pretty close while Quality control is ok.

When I heard the headphone output has a serious issue of bass roll-off, I thought it was not true but it is. Even slight deeper bass will get muffed and rolled off badly. It is possible to solve the issue by short-circuiting the two capacitors, however, I do not feel worth the hassle at this price point. Other than that, it does power 250 ohms and sounds clear except the bass.

Ridiculously ... incredible. For the price, it is, according to my point of view, the best entry into the world of audio and fidelity. Headphone output, RCA output, Coaxial input and USB input working from the first moment, it would still be necessary to test the digital optical input, but I do not have what to do at the moment. Simply connect, turn on and enjoy. Excellent construction, solid, and a priori, very durable. As for handling, it's really simple, hold down the only button to turn on and off, and to switch between connections, just press.

Didn't even have it for a full month before it stopped working. Just went kaput one morning and Windows returns a "usb device not recognized" when plugged in. Tried to fiddle with the driver in device manager but it's stuck on "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed) no matter what I do. I had heard there were some issues with the device not being recognized by Windows with the M2 but figured issues would have been fully reserved with the updated version. The unit was adequate before this happened except for a reported small audio hiss when transitioning from sounds being off or on.

Great little amp/DAC. I purchased this to get a cleaner audio signal from my gaming rig. I was using front panel audio as I take my headphones from my PC to work everyday and I was getting some mean interference from that jack, getting on the floor behind my PC to plug it out and in got old pretty quick. I could have purchased an extension cable but I opted for this instead as I've read it's always good to have a solid amp/DAC. Using this unit got rid of the interference completely, so it served its purpose for me. I will note though that you may not notice much of a difference if you already have a decent quality on board DAC. Doing an A-B comparison between this and my MacBook Pro's on board DAC I didn't notice any difference in audio quality.

Stopped decoding 192khz files for no reason. Purchased 2 months ago and it has worked flawlessly up until now. Sounds great and played pretty much anything I threw at it. All of a sudden, 192khz isn't even an option for this DAC anymore. It had played 192khz files earlier, and then it stopped. I have tried deleting and reinstalling the drivers, no help. It still plays fine for everything else, but now I have files that simply won't play and that is DRIVING ME INSANE. Of course, it's now outside the return window.

Really a great addition to the desk top; so much better than the on-board sound card. Solid build, drivers self-install (in Windows 7 anyway); no issues. At this price, there is absolutely nothing to complain about. The D-A conversion is flawless, no jitter or jump, and sounds great. I've paired this with a pair of the really inexpensive (but highly rated) Philips SHP9500S headphones, so for under $ 150 I've got a pretty decent system at the office to listen to.

Es buen DAC por el precio. Lo utilizo para conectar un XBOX One hacia un amplificador Yamaha A-S300 y de ahí hacia unas KEF Q300. Hay un punto en que la calidad de audio percibida casi siempre es relativa, pero para ponerlo simple: Utilizar este DAC es infinitamente superior en calidad de sonido respecto a sacar el audio de mi TV (Hisense) por 3.5mm al ampli, pero igual a utilizar una MacBook Pro 2016 como fuente. Si si, probablemente no es la comparación mas justa pero es lo que hay. No se si eso hable bien de Apple o mal del DAC. Si alguien busca calidad de sonido superior a esto, busque otra cosa.

Just WOW! Work perfectly fine with my Beyerdynamic dt 770 pro 80 ohm. A bit too powerfull for my Audio-Technica ath-m50x. The sound is crystal clear.

La finitura é veramente ben fatta, tutta in metallo. La manopola del volume é leggerina ma fluida e ben calibrata. Gli attacchi sembrano robusti. Il fatto che si alimenti dallo stesso cavo USB che porta i dati é molto comodo. La qualità del DAC é buona, senza fruscii, mi ha permesso di usare delle cuffie senza avere più le interferenze che c erano con la scheda audio integrata del PC. La qualità dell amplificatore é buona, guida senza problemi delle Akg 240 mkll . Confrontata con la uscita per cuffie di un vecchio ampli yamaha, gli alti sono più chiari, aperti con le s meno sibilanti. In definitiva un ottimo acquisto. Da tenere presente che é proprio piccolo, meno di una spanna

Purchased the SMSL M3 Audio USB Powered Audio Decoder primarily to drive my AKG Q701 headphones which it does well. The DAC/Amp is fed dc power and audio using the same USB cable without problem. Its relatively small form factor means it takes up little space on my desk and is suitable for desk hopping.

普通に使えますが、音質も普通です。