SMSL Sanskrit 10th mkII and Topping E30 mkII review
First review here, please be gentle.
Decided to upgrade my good old Beresford Bushmaster fully upgraded by Stan, main reason wanted to have a DAC with pre-amp and remote control, otherwise I am happy with the way it sounds: https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...ing-Lexjie-etc
Here is a quick review for the two DACs I tested.
SMSL Sanskrit 10 mkIII
Recently released, uses a single AK DAC:
https://hifigo.com/blogs/news/four-u...skrit-10th-mk2
First copy made loud and annoying clicking noises on coax and optical inputs when the streaming to DAC was paused or stopped. Sent it back for replacement, also ordered Topping E30 MKII just in case. Second copy - no more clicking from the left channel on idle, so I went to listening and comparison tests, see below.
Topping E30 MKII
Recently released, Dual AK DAC, only £10 more expensive than the Sanskrit:
https://hifigo.com/blogs/guide/six-u...-e30-ii-vs-e30
Listening tests:
Equipment:
IFI Zen Blue (BT LDAC), 96kbps via optical/coax --> DAC -> Hitachi SR-608 (G Class amp from late 70s, recapped and upgraded) -> Audio-Technica M50 or Klipsch RP150M.
Disclaimer: Didn't test USB, DST, etc. While my setup makes me smile when I listen to it, it is definitely not the best, will measure badly on ASR and will color the sound, potentially rendering the testing below irrelevant for some of us. The AMP is not fully transparent, it adds a lot of texture and musicality without losing the resolution. It actually makes everyone go "wow" when they hear the difference between the headphone output of Beresford and the sound coming out of the amp, I guess it's not the best amp for A/B tests of DACs.
Initial impressions:
Beresford Bushmaster was giving fuller and richer sound, while still resolving a lot of details.
SMSL and Topping shared a similar sound signature, plenty details, bass not as tight as Beresford, lean sound, a bit of harshness with sibilant sounds. SMSL sounded a bit wider and had a better depth.
Unfortunately, the SMSL had a lot of issues, I sent the SMSL back for the refund:
* - High level of digital background noise when there is no signal with optical or coax inputs. Absolutely silent if switched to USB inputs. I guess their new proprietary "CK-3" clock architecture is not mature enough to keep a clock when the streaming stops. Unacceptable.
* - Popping/clicking noise with optical/coax inputs when switching the bitrate, did they say "the new CK-3 clock architecture"? Also unacceptable for me.
A/B testing: Bushmaster vs E30 mkII
Somehow the difference between the Beresford and E30 was gone after a few days. Listener fatigue? Burning-in? Don't know the sound is almost identical now. If I am really picky, the E30 is marginally wider and more open through my headphones, but I can only feel it when doing A/B test.
The harshness of higher frequencies has gone, the bass is indistinguishable from the Bushmaster. It's quite likely that they do sound differently and my amp simply masks the difference with it's own colors. There is no headphones output on E30, so I can't test it before the AMP.
I also tested E30 in pre-amp and in DAC mode, no difference for me again. No popping or clicking with other audio sources too (CD - coax, TV - optical), good.
Bottom line, it gives almost identical SQ as Beresford in my system. It is virtually noiseless both between the tracks and during the play, has remote control and pre-am mode, it's tiny and cheap. It also has a smart standby mode that wakes it up automatically every time I turn my TV on. Wish my 45 year old amp was smart to enough to learn the same trick.
I am keeping the E30 mkII, it's quite an impressive DAC for it's price and size.
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