SMSL D6S – A Best DAC $200 Can Buy

SMSL D6S is a very affordable DAC model at 200 dollars. Given the SMSL brand is known for producing great value products – I am never surprised to find out they lift the bar of price-to-performance ratio at a given price point. Of course, not all products can be like that, so let’s find out if D6S is one of them.

Build and Features

SMSL D6S is a fairly simple affair. The fully black metal build has a textured feel to it. Even the display has that same textured finish, and when turned off it blends with the rest of the unit seamlessly. Texture-wise at least because it is designed to protrude like a separate panel. I don’t have any positive or negative thoughts on this design choice so I’ll leave it to your subjective feeling. There’s only one volume knob/button that lets you control the unit, but the remote is included too. A nice addition at this price point.

The back of the unit hosts your standard selection of inputs and outputs. Digital inputs include USB-C, Coaxial SPDIF, and optical Toslink SPDIF. Wireless connectivity is onboard too so there is a detachable Bluetooth 5.1 antenna. LDAC is supported if you wonder. Analog outputs come in single-ended RCA and balanced XLR forms. Finally, the power supply is fully integrated so you only need to connect AC power to it. This means no external power brick.

In the heart of the device, a Sabre ES9039Q2M DAC chip is used. This is a very high-end DAC chip and it is accompanied by a very capable signal processor XMOS XU-316. Together, these can accept PCM up to 32 bits and 768 kHz, as well as DSD512. Measurements are impressive too if you’re into paper performance. Given that my reviews are impression-based – we’re now moving to how this DAC sounds.

Sound

SMSL D6S is a precise and resolving-sounding DAC. The bassline is punchy, tight, and hits with precision. If you’re after some warm and soggy kind of sound – you will not find it here. Upper frequencies have those same traits. The midrange is highly informative and can bring out a lot of tiny details from any recording. Edges of notes are crisp and well-defined. But this DAC doesn’t sound analytical and its sound doesn’t stop at clean edges only. Even the inner tone texture is pretty great. Wind instruments and vocals, for example, sound harmonically rich. The highest frequencies are once again precise and very revealing. Luckily they avoid sounding overly edgy or metallic. That said, don’t expect them to make your music warm, silky, and refined. Once again, this is not what this DAC is about.

The soundstaging is decent and has a forward character. In absolute terms when money is not a problem, it’s nothing to write home about and it will not compare favorably to high-tier DACs and their vast soundstages. But put it next to anything up to five hundred dollars and D6S will hold its own. Put it next to several years old DACs of a similar launch price – and SMSL D6S will sound bigger, fuller, and more three-dimensional. Even something like the original SMSL SU-9 (without any suffix) will sound flat next to D6S.

Dynamics are strong as this DAC sounds punchy and alive. If a song tends to make you tap your foot, this DAC will make sure that happens. Combined with that forward character from the previous passage – this is one fun and engaging DAC for sure.

Comparisons

SMSL SU-1 sells for less than half the price. It’s smaller too and doesn’t have a display, remote, or balanced connections. SMSL also left you to worry about the 5 Volts power supply since there is none in the SU-1 box. All this put aside, these two DACs sound more similar than different. SU-1 has the same tonal qualities but it ends up being ever so slightly less dynamic and narrower sounding. You will probably not notice the difference in a decent budget system to be fair. So it might be best to let price and feature set guide this decision.

Topping D50 III is an equally priced model. Oddly enough, Topping sounds more laid back and softer this time. SMSL D6S is more forward and punchier. Out of the box, I give an advantage to the SMSL. However, the D50 III has an external power supply that can be upgraded with an aftermarket option. For this, I tried the iFi iPower X which goes for one hundred dollars. With it, Topping still sounds more laid back and softer than SMSL, but this time with even deeper space and natural tone flow. This tilts my preference slightly towards the Topping+iFi combination. But the price is tilted towards that combination too – so I consider them equally good, but slightly different options. Out of the box – SMSL offers slightly more engaging sound.

Geshelli Labs J2S is more than twice the price when AK4499 and USB module choices are selected, which is the version I have on hand and the only one I can talk about. It is also the first DAC in line that I feel outperforms D6S comfortably. It does that by sounding smoother and offering a more natural tone flow. It also offers a deeper and more three-dimensional soundstage. For you to be able to notice and enjoy this, however, your system has to be quite revealing too.

Conclusion

SMSL D6S looks unassuming but sounds mighty good for the asking price. It can rival almost anything up to five hundred dollars. If you like your sound revealing, tonally neutral, forward, and engaging, this one should be high on your list.

SMSL D6S – CHARACTERISTICS

Inputs: 1x USB-C 1x Optical Toslink 1x Coaxial Bluetooth 5.1 Outputs: 1x Stereo RCA 1x Balanced XLR Line output amplitude: XLR: 5 Vrms RCA: 2.5 Vrms Output impedance: XLR: 100 Ω Dynamic range: XLR: 129dB RCA: 126dB SNR: XLR: 129dB RCA: 126dB USB compatibility: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11 (needs driver); Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Linux (driverless) Sampling rate and bit depth: USB: PCM: 44.1-768kHz (32bit) DSD: 2.8224-22.5792MHz (1bit) DoP: DOP256 Optical/coaxial: 44.1-192kHz (24bit); DoP64 Bluetooth version: 5.1 Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC Power consumption: <10W Standby power: <0.5W Size: 150x42x128.5mm (WxHxD) Weight: 1.57lbs (0.71kg) Official product page