By If you’re familiar with Chinese-made audiophile products (Chi-Fi), then you have likely heard of S.M.S.L. One of their integrated amplifiers, the S.M.S.L DA-8S (read the review), was among the first products ever reviewed on this site, back in 2022. While their products are new to many people, it is a brand that isn’t exactly obscure. S.M.S.L. as a brand, like most Chi-Fi (learn more here), is known for delivering products of value that well exceeds their modest price. Based on specs alone, the D400EX DAC fits perfectly into that same exciting audiophile market niche. At just under $1,000, you are getting a DAC with the flagship AK4191 chipset, plus two AK4499EX chips (one for each channel), which are used to achieve a measured distortion of as low as 0.00006 percent. This audiophile DAC also features USB-B, optical, coax, AES, Bluetooth (LDAC, APTX/HD, SBC, AAC) and IS2 inputs, as well as being able to decode MQA and MQA-CDs. All these features are housed in a 9.4-inch-wide, 7.4-inch-deep, 1.8-inch-high (240x188x46 mm) silver all-aluminum shell that weighs just over four pounds.
What Makes the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC So Special?
- Getting high-end digital inputs at this price is a fantastic value. I struggled to find a DAC from a Western company that had an AES output for less than $1,500, which is 50 percent more than the D400EX and, to get both AES and IS2, you could be spending at least $5,000.
- Built-in volume control allows you to skip the preamplifier if you wish. For many modern users, who are only using a streamer, it isn’t unreasonable to consider skipping the preamplifier and have your DAC go right to your amplifier. With the cash you are keeping in your pocket, this way you can look at a higher-end power amp than you might have been able to otherwise.
- There are seven filters (EQ) to choose from. If you’re into filters, then S.M.S.L. has you covered with the D400EX. Five of the filters are for PSM (Sharp Roll-Off, Slow Roll-Off, Short Sharp, Short Slow, Super Slow, and Low Dispersion) and two for DSD (Wide and Narrow). I only played with these to test them out, as my listening was done without any filters engaged in hopes of getting a true sense of what this affordable DAC sounds like without any equalization.
- The color LED screen on the front panel is sexy. The screen is used for the standard features, knowing which input you are selecting, and seeing the bitrate and frequency, as well as being able to choose your filter and other settings. The screen was easy to read when going through the different features.
- Truly balanced outputs are always great to have. You will struggle to find an audiophile who would tell you they would prefer to use unbalanced outputs over balanced. Getting them at this price point is a splendid value add.
Why Should You Care About the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC?
Most audiophiles don’t have unlimited budgets, or even budgets that are in the thousands of dollars for upgrades to their systems, which is why we have seen Chi-Fi gear gain so much popularity. You can get the features and performance that you desire without having to spend thousands of dollars.
Another factor that is really appealing about this audiophile DAC is that you can get it from Amazon, so you don’t need to find a dealer who stocks their products, you can simply order it with a few clicks, which makes it easy for anyone who isn’t located close to a dealer. If you don’t like it, you can send it back relatively hassle-free.
Some Things You Might Not Like About the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC
- The remote feels cheap on the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC. I think this is likely a cliché at this point, but I feel like it needs to be noted, especially if you’re going to use the remote directly for your amplifier. In many cases, the quality of the remote doesn’t matter all that much, but having one that is durable and functional is important, and I do fear that the remote included with the D400EX could break easily.
- The buttons on the front panel of the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC aren’t intuitive. In my simple uses of the front panel buttons, they were anything but intuitive. You have three buttons, On/Off, Menu, and FN, plus a knob that also acts as a button for selections. This seems simple enough. Where these get confusing is that they also use short press and long press of the buttons to achieve different functions. For example, if I want to turn the DAC off, I use a long press of the power button. The short press enables or disables volume control. These are features that you get used to in time, but they can also be very frustrating when you’re just trying to do something like turn the DAC off.
Listening to the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC …
I tested the S.M.S.L D400EX DAC with my Anthem STR preamplifier in and out of the signal chain. In both cases, I used a Bluesound Node (2024), a Music Hall CD25.3 CD player, and an Anthem MCA 225 Gen 2 amplifier played through Paradigm Premier 700F floorstanding speakers.
In my review of the Gustard DAC-X18 (read the review), I compared it directly with the S.M.S.L D400EX, using the same set of tracks that I used for my Topping D70 Pro Sabre review. I chose different tracks for this review to avoid being redundant.
Rush’s “Armor and Sword” (Qobuz 44.1 kHz) from their 2007 album Snakes & Arrows. This is Rush’s eighteenth studio album, which showed that, 40 years into their musical journey, they can still rock and write great songs. This track is particularly notable for Neil Peart’s symbol use. Cymbals can be particularly hard to reproduce, and this track has a collection of different cymbal sounds throughout. In addition, Alex Lifeson also features an acoustic guitar for parts of this track, which can also be hard to reproduce. The S.M.S.L was able to reproduce both the cymbal sounds and the acoustic guitar accurately and without either of them sounding too bright or harsh. The difference on this track in comparison to the Gustard was minimal. Both reproduced this track with ease, with the difference being that, with the Gustard in the signal chain, everything sounded more forward.
Piano (jazz) can be great for testing a DAC. Listening to The Oscar Peterson Trio’s famed 1962 album Night Train, the track “C Jam Blues” (Qobuz 96 kHz) really stands out. The track sounds very clinical, and the S.M.S.L. really showed off some of the issues with the recording, namely Ray Brown’s double bass, which sounded a bit dull on this track. With that said, Peterson’s piano sounded accurate and dynamic throughout the track, and the drums of Ed Thigpen sounded accurate and full. This type of track also compared favorably to the Gustard, with no clear winner between the two.
The last track was more electronic, “Only” from Nine Inch Nails (From Compact Disc). This comes from the band’s 2005 album With Teeth. This album came after a six-year hiatus and really set the foundation of where the band would go moving forward. This track represents one of the band’s clear tracks, as many of the instruments are played without distortion or effects. That isn’t to say that the signature distortion and electronic sounds aren’t there, but the drum track and the bass stay clean throughout. The S.M.S.L. did a great job providing detailed separation when the track does gets denser, around the three-minute mark. It was easy to pick out the wailing of the guitar as it moved in and out of the drum and bass lines, as well as the noises added through the synthesizers, and Trent Reznor’s vocal. This was another track where the D400EX was very comparable to the Gustard DAC-X18. If anything, I would say the D400EX had a slightly colder sound.
Will the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC Hold Its Value?
There are a lot of variables right now that will play into whether this DAC will hold its value. In one case, with its high-end digital inputs, it is easy to see how this DAC will be desirable on the used market, and you could still get a return around 50 percent of what you paid.
However, there is also a world where tariffs push the price of these DACs up by 100 percent (or much more), and you are actually able to sell the DAC for much closer to what you paid. With that said, you are also not talking about an item you paid thousands of dollars for, so you could also just as easily keep the D400EX and use it as part of a system somewhere else in your house or build something out for a family member to bring some audiophile love into their life, too.
What is the Competition for S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC?
The Gustard DAC-X18 ($700 – buy from Amazon) is a couple of hundred dollars less, and uses the ESS chipset. This is a very well-built DAC, and one that, in my listening sessions, was sonically superior to the S.M.S.L while having the same input options. The only thing the D400EX has that the Gustard doesn’t is a color screen.
The Topping D70 Pro Sabre ($700 – buy at Amazon) is another option for a little less money. In my listening (review pending), this DAC showed why Topping’s DACs are gaining so much notoriety. It doesn’t’ have the I2S connection, but it does have a color screen and, in my listening, had better sonics than the D400EX from S.M.S.L.
The Schiit BiFrost 2/64 ($799) is worth considering at this price point as well. Schiit is an American company that has built its reputation in a similar way that Chi-Fi companies have. They provide high-value products at prices much lower than comparable products from their competitors. The BiFrost 2/64 is fully balanced and uses Schiit’s own custom DAC chipset. It doesn’t have AES or IS2 inputs, but most people shopping in this price range likely don’t have components that use those outputs anyway, and you’re getting a piece of gear that is going to have a stable price, as it is designed and built in the United States.
Final Thoughts on the S.M.S.L. D400EX DAC …
If you look at the S.M.S.L D400EX on its own, it is quite compelling. The sonics are neutral/neutral, and for all of its features, you could make a case for why it’s $950 price tag is worth paying. Where it falters, however, is that, while feature-wise it is very comparable to its Chi-Fi brethren, it sonic qualify doesn’t quite measure up as well as the Topping D70 Pro Sabre or the Gustard DAC-X18, which I have reviewed alongside the S.M.S.L. This is also before you also start to consider that politics could make the value of these DACs disappear with the wave of a pen, should a world where the cost of Chinese-made goods increases by more than 100 percent.
Today’s low-cost DAC world is a vastly improved place. The performance that you can get from a $1,000 DAC would have been unthinkable as recently as 10 years ago. The S.M.S.L. is a well-constructed, well-designed digital audiophile component at a beyond-fair price. It also has steep competition from others in the Chi-Fi/value world, and that is nothing but a win for the audiophile looking to get that last drop of performance from a tight budget. And isn’t that refreshing in a world where some DACs cost 100 to 600 times more on the retail front and deliver only incremental differences for all of that extra money?
