Product Comparison: SMSL SU-8 vs SMSL M8A

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SMSL SU-8 Balance DAC Decoder

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SMSL M8A USB DAC Optical Coaxial Decoder

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General Specifications

Brand

SMSL

Model

SU-8

M8A

Origin

China

About the Product

Ideal for placing at the center of your hi-fi system, the SMSL SU-8 boasts high-end DAC features at a surprisingly low price. It’s built with many of the current specs you might expect to see in a more expensive model.

The upgrade version of M8 SMSL M8A DAC improves hardware and sound quality. Performance and sampling rate have greatly improved. Japan Audio Association Certified "Hi-Res Audio".

Key Specs

Built-in DAC

E9038Q2M

ES9038Q2M

Type

Desktop

Sample Resolution/Rate

32-bit / 768kHz

Signal/Noise Ratio

116 dB

117 dB

SMSL SU-8

SMSL M8A

What customers say about "Key Specs"

SMSL SU-8 Balance DAC Decoder

Sound quality as good as my ears can hear. Nice DAC.
The sound of this DAC is very pleasing, which is the strongest strength of this unit in my opinion.
This DAC is fantastic. It is very clean and does a great job of reproducing sound.
Impressive DAC. Sound quality is tonally perfect. Neutral, not bright, it just sounds what you would hear live.
This dac sound is clear and all but, the sound is thin. Has no bass or body, plus the level is way low for balanced.

SMSL M8A USB DAC Optical Coaxial Decoder

It sounds great and natively handles every bitrate I've thrown at it.
Sound is amazing. Got a linear power supply that dropped the noise floor even lower and I am blown away.
It does sound great and is a big improvement from using my ipod with rca cables.
This Dac is awesome for the money. The sound is clear, detailed and reviling.
High resolution music sounds not impressive and it even sounds really bad on mp3 recordings and streamed music.

Size & Weight

Color

Silver

Height

1.57 in.

0.86 in.

Width

7.28 in.

4.72 in.

Depth

4.92 in.

3.85 in.

Weight

35.2 oz.

14.04 oz.

SMSL SU-8

SMSL M8A

SMSL SU-8

SMSL M8A

SMSL SU-8

SMSL M8A

SMSL SU-8

SMSL M8A

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

SMSL SU-8 Balance DAC Decoder

This little DAC is simple to operate and versatile. I like it!
This is a great small DAC, this is fantastic sound and design.
LOVE that it's signal is super clean, extremely low signal-noise distortion, and perfect size for me.
Wow! Noise floor is lower, silent moments are blacker, staging much improved. I like this little DAC.
Your quality is going down hill, just purchased this SU-8. DAC is big for desktop type.

SMSL M8A USB DAC Optical Coaxial Decoder

Highly recommended this little and powerful DAC for your sound!
Smaller than The picture indicates but It was very simple to set up and worked great right out of the box.
Great product and highly recommend for any audiophilics out there. I really like this size for my desk.
I love SMSL M8A because It isn't as expensive as others that have the same technical descriptions and It works great. Very good size and weight.
My main concern is that it sounds veiled. The bass also appears to be a tad bit bloated. Size is not impress. Bad design.

Features

Enclosure Material

Aluminium

Max. Frequency Response

20 kHz

Min. Frequency Response

20 Hz

Controls

Input Selector, Voltage selection switch

Power On / Off, Input Selector

OS Compatibility

Microsoft Windows, Apple OS, Linux

Apple OS, Microsoft Windows

Wireless Connection

Interfaces

Optical Input, Coaxial Input, USB, XLR balanced analog output, Line Out

USB, Optical Input, Coaxial Input, Analog Stereo RCA

Extras

OLED Screen, Digital filter settings, XMOS, DSD streaming

OLED Screen, Support HiFi, XMOS, DSD streaming

What customers say about "Features"

SMSL SU-8 Balance DAC Decoder

Drivers are easy enough to find and install. Connectivity options on both in and out.
This device packs a lot into a small footprint: internal power supply, USB and coax input, balanced XLR outputs. I recommend it.
I prefer the sound using coax SPDIF input, but the USB input is pretty good too. The fancy functions can only controlled by the remote controller.
As far as the sound goes, it's a device that you can tweak in many different ways with the PCM filters and SMSL's EQ options.
I had real problems with this DAC. In a matter of less than 2 months, the remote quit working.

SMSL M8A USB DAC Optical Coaxial Decoder

Very easy to setup - worked flawlessly with my Volumio media player.
Excellent DAC. Good USB cable and linear power supply are a must.
Bright sounding, the filters do virtually nothing, the sound is garbled at the highest setting.
I'm using Windows 10 with this thing. Installation was easy: hooked up the unit to USB then downloaded and installed driver. Done.
Difficult to install driver necessary to operate with PC with USB. Have unit 2 weeks now and still cannot use USB connection.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

CE, FCC