As recommended by a fellow viewer here's the audio file of this comparison in FLAC file: mega.nz/file/UYVHwYDB#G13nSW3mwi2a9Ws11duFlrem2rd07a5u76qw7XmM3BM Bitrate and sample rate were both aimed at YT standard, but I'll make hi-res recordings for future comparisons.
I bought it (e30) several months ago just because you reccomend it to me over other models.I like it so much..in this comparison sound very similar.Wont stress over very very minimal differences.I will continue to enjoy it.Both models are great.
I'll say this without wanting start a war 😂. I bought the E30, then saw a few reviews a little later of reviewers that I resoect that had both E30 and Sanskrit II and liked the Sanskrit a bit more tonally. So I bought the Sanskrit as well. And ended up selling the E30, not because it's better or worse. I used my Schiit Bifrost Uber AK4490 as the benchmark tonally and found the Sanskrit on two of the filters sounded so close to the Bifrost I couldn't tell which was which (playing through Hi-Fi Marantz PM8005, Monitor Audio RX8, Chord Chameleon interconnect, Audioquest Rocket 33 speaker cable). I set the test up so that each DAC was playing same track through different channels of the Marantz amp). On filter 5 on Sanskrit I could dial a little more warm than Bifrost, filter 4 a little more mid focussed, filter 1 and 6 a touch more open than Bifrost and filter 3 and 4 couldn't hear any perceived difference to the Bifrost. On the E30, the warmest filter was almost near Bifrost tone. All the filters I could hear it just slightly lacking the drive and body the Bifrost has. At no time since have I felt the Sanskrit to sound slow, or bloated or lacking. The fact the the E30 and Sanskrit keep up with the AK4490 Bifrost which 3 years ago would have been 3 times the price of the E30/Sanskrit is quite frankly incredible and no one will feel unhappy with either. I could warm the E30 up with a warmer interconnect like Van Den Hul D501 for example so it's within fractions of tone. The Topping D50s lasted a week in mu system. Yes, detailed but at expense of long term listenability and tone. And to be frank, most of the lower end hyped chi-fi DACs over the years have suffered from lack of real world tonality ie a DAC that doesn't sound overtly digital and sterile. I wouldn't take the comparison in this video too literally in that some are saying the Sanskrit sounds slower/bloated. Who knows what the TH-cam compression does to the audio and any perceived slowness in video might well be swayed the other way at home listening to proper uncompressed files. Both iiWi Reviews and Soundnews (probably the best two reviewers on here) slightly preferred the Sanskrit tonality but you'll love both at this price they are unequivocal bargains. Can't recommend either enough tbh especially with the feature set, but do use a reasonable power supply!
I also had both and preferred the SMSL by a respectable margin. If people try even higher end dacs like Chord and R2r, those are even richer tonally with better spatial cues & richer timbre. Its easy to have perceived detail when the tonality is leaner as you can hear from the E30 in this comparison.
@@mykeldg exactly. I think the very recent interest in low cost DACs particularly in the headphone world is great but, perceived detail is to me sometimes a trap. No matter how much detail is etched out by thinning out lower frequencies, most people tire of that and it's not until you give equal or higher importance to tonality that you start enjoying music rather than analysing music f that makes sense
@@LorDarkGoose hmm it was I while ago, but 3 or 4 sounded slightly less edgy than the others in my set up. But the differences between filters on the E30 were super minimal, almost questioned if I was hearing any difference at all. On the SMSL Sanskrit 10th mk ii, there's quite a noticeable difference for me anyway
I was skeptical at first about there being a difference in DACs, but this comparison is quite onto something. There is a a noticeable difference between the two.
I saw some reviews of SK10 MK2 stating it sounded a little better than the Topping, but listening to this demo now it's hard to decide... E30 sounds more detailed and controlled.
I found the Topping a winner here... I found it has more details, more control, and less mud in the bass section. But I am biased, because I am listening on a Topping l30+e30 stack:)
After confrontation I've took SMSL 10th mkII. With my amp nad c356bee and speakers Pylon Diamond 28 it sounds much more nicer than with E30. Sound is fuller, softer and with deep, well controlled bass. Mids are natural and play voices very well. SMSL gives good separation in highs and big sound stage. E30 sound harsh and dry.
these are the two i've been mulling over. Surprised a difference could be heard over YT given they share the same akm chip. So the e30 is what I'm gonna buy going by the first listen
Playing back via my system using the SMSL M500 MKII. The comparison of the SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII sound signature, and the Topping E30 sound signature. The Topping E30 sound signature is more closely resembling to that of the SMSL SU-9 sound signature. The sound signature of the SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII is more closely resembling to that of the SMSL M500 MKII sound signature. I would think that the Topping E50 sound signature is more closely resembling to that of the SMSL SU-9n sound signature.
Thx for the test. e30 sounds better for me with better separation, though they're using the same dac chip, guess the little distortion came from different opAmp on the RCA output... if TH-cam could give a vote function here, would be more interesting😄
I listened both in my home studio on RME UFX II & Hedd AudioType5. I find the SMSL sound cheaper and disgusting compared to the Topping E30. The bass is more prominent in it, but it is not elastic and dynamic, but simply thumping. All the details are stuck in some kind of mess. Topping E30 is also not ideal, but it sounds much fresher and more cheerful. If I had to choose, I would take him. Thank you for your efforts!
With Sanskrit I had a better immersion. Especially in the 3rd track, hearing the Sanskrit was like being in a live performance. E30 sounded a bit thinner but cleaner. Sanskrit a bit warmer. I am using the DT770 Pros 250 Ohm.
My Gear, D10s, Liquid Spark or L30, Msr7, WS1100i, M40x pad mod,---- The E30 Flatter Low end & Low mids - a little more air on top,,, Sanskrit was a little thick to me all around,, E30 is my pick... but with my JBL 308's powered monitors? I might dig the Sanskrit to cut the top end a little bit in the room..✌
Defintely comes down to preference and what you are matching these DACS with. Both are really great. All my speakers are leaning on the bright side, so the SMSL will go better with less emphasis on leading edges, although I may miss the space and organisation of the E30 at times.
First i thought hmm great bassguitar and slightly more musical on the sanskrit but the end revealed why is Topping so good. It is crazy fast and accurate. Has better low extension.
E30 more open, with sharper transients. I feel with a neutral system, the upper mids/lower treble could become fatiguing. Sanskrit is warmer, with more body, especially in the lower mids. To me the Sanskrit sounds more organic/analog. Both are excellent, but system matching is key.
If you own either of these, you're not missing out. Without them head to head and labeled, it's the same. The details and sound quality on both are identical. Head to head, Id say the Sanskrit sounded "taller" with sharper high end and bigger bass, by a small fraction. Like if the Topping was a 27 inch TV, the Sanskrit was a 29 inch. Originally, I preferred this. However, the more i listened, the Topping sounded more controlled. Almost like the image fit tighter in a 27 inch tv vs an extended one. I felt this gave a slightly warmer sound as well. Id give knod to Topping but if you own the other, the distinctions aren't worth it.
I notice the same effect on the bass as I do when comparing my own SMSL vs E30. E30 has better control but SMSL has more body to the bass, a bit more punch and a dat longer decay, at the expense of control.
@@loonation2185 JDS Atom, testing on Hifiman Deva. As you mentionted, Sanskrit sounds a tad more mellow and deeper. E30 is a tad crisper, more analytical and wider.
@@bibitsurawan Critical listening is a skill and comes with time, experience and patience, not to mention some good headphones/speakers. The difference are subtle, but that is what good audio is mainly about. When you get something like the E30 + L30 + Sundara you will probably hit 60% of everything that can be achieved. Everything else that is better is just small, tiny, incremental improvements.
@@CraciunAlexandruGh I almost don't hear any detail u hear in this demo Ur hearing at another level man I only hv D10 feeding my Zen Can or sometimes I switched to Cmoy my friend make for me My gear old Ts671 & k7xx
I have a SMSL mk3 not mk2. As I know, both sounds very similar. And it sounds a little harsh in mids, a little brighter than music sounds in real live performance. So, I use very soft equalization down from 500hz to 2000hz with minimum - 2db at 1khz and it works good. In this video I hear that Topping is more accurate. I would try it now to compare both personally.
First of all, excellent sound recording, congrats, you are really serious about your videos. You always know what you are talking and you are always right, so I bought both Lucya DAC and lately E! DA, with a greatest satisfaction. Now I am listening through E1DA and Sennheiser HD 600, yes, no joke, sounds marvelous together, although I have another setup, with Dark Voice as an amp, but beleive it or not, after days of listening I prefer HD 600 with E1 DA, no processing in the app or Utopia to Harman setup, for more of good stuff. But now to this video, I can clearly prefer Sanskrit. I was listening to Topping dac in my old system, with Little Dot 1 and many headphones, including some planars, like Hifiman HE 400i, but that artificial sharpnes or brightness was distractive, too much, for my ears. Now here, its the same story, Sanskrit being more natural in sound rendering, although maybe sounding rolled off but only compared to Topping, otherwise nothing wrong, reminds me on my Cambridge Dacmagic 100 but with more bass, which maybe not all the time defined, little bloated. But, all in all, more pleasing sound to my ears. Thank you Srboljub, keep entertaining us.
I like the SK10 MK2 more. The bass is more punchy. Anyway, I am a bass head. I think it is not a bad idea to pair SK10 MK2 with Topping L30. It is cheaper too.
Listening with sennheiser momentum over ear + dragonfly dac and they sound almost the same...I would never found any different if not for this instant change comparison. I'll just buy the cheaper one
For me topping sounds more dry and SMSL is winner for me since I preffer livier sound. I haven't looked on screen to see I can hear the difference or not without "cheating" hehe. Nice demo man, I appreciate that you're doing this kind of videos!
I agree with you. I’ve bought E30 as improvement after D10. i found that it’s too bright and dry. It presents a thin midrange. I’ve sent it back and bought D30. It sounds more natural for my ears. Comparing to E30 it is less detailed in highs but warmer and fuller mids. Bass is definetly better in E30. Goes much lower, better controlled and punchy. Now I’m going to buy smsl 10th mkII and i think it will be something between E30 and D30.
I think someone has to have a very revealing system to detect differences, if any. I would go with the smsl as it is almost half the price, I do prefer the topping form factor though. Not sure why smsl uses these rectangular boxes.
I am listening on an cheap HP chromebook with a pair of Senhiesser earphones and I can cleary hear the E30 as having a more precise sound overall. As far as bass does the Sandskrit has a bit more 'boom' and a little more 'punch' but its not a controlled as it could be and so smothers to some degree the midrange. The E30 has less 'boom' and 'punch' but it holds the greater discapline over the low end and is the better inspecter of such. I think it could be a matter of choice of equipment to compliment either DAC in this case i.e I would run the E30 with any Denon amp as they tend to have a reseverved top end. I would also run the E30 with any set of Edifier powered speakers as they have very good low end and good balance overall. I think the Sandskrit would be actually a little too bassy and sloppy for either of those rigs. That so called 'fullness' in the Sandskrit just sounds a little drunk/lazy to me and careless in the inspection of the low end but that said the difference is marginal. In Track 3 the E3 seems to capture the vocals better whereas the Sandskrit albeit ever so slightly just lets the vocals slip a bit and so the audible defintion is again marginally blurred. I personally would have no issues with either for use but the E30 which would have been my choice has currently the less settled status with polarity issues and that for me makes it and uncomfortable purchace, which is a shame becuase i do like the sound. I simply do not have enough experience to equate the long term possible problems with the E30 so on that ground alone i would go for SMSL model. If there is any news in regards to the Topping E30 and its polarity issues it certainly would be welcome by many of us I am sure.
On track 2/3 the SMSL had the bass kick that disappeared on the Topping - which sounded a litter more open though....I have an SMSL 6th/P1 and Topping D50 in main system
To be honest , I can detect significant difference between these two only in first song. In all others tracks there are little to no difference. I would choose E30 just because I like form factor and orange display. Sound wise , they are both acceptable, especially in this price range.
Thank you so much for the review and comparison. Personally I'm leaning to Sanskrit, however I'm gonna use DAC with optical input and measurements show worse performance with toslink/coax in terms of Jitter. Did you use Sanskrit with coax input? Any audible problems?
Listening to this with my Topping E30 coupled to Yamaha AS-501 with B&W DM601 speakers I don't hear a discernable difference. I'm not a headphone person:) Both have the same features, and anyone would be happy with either of these at the price. The Topping easily beats any built-in DAC up to medium-high-end consumer receivers or laptops (my Onkyo CD-player with dedicated Wolfson DACs though, that's something else) But: the hype is real. High performance DAC's have become affordable, and these are two prime examples. If you own a 1000-1500$ system, a nice DAC should be your next upgrade. You will not regret it.
the sound improvement was outstanding compared to PC sound card. only flaw start up instructions that came with the dac. I almost was going to return them until i finally got them to work. now i just love this product
Thanks for your reviews, I find them really helpful and entertaining. SMSL Sanskrit sounds better to me, but I have to say I generally prefer a warmish sound signature. How does the Ifi Zen dac compare to these 2 in your opinion? Although more expensive I was considerning it because of the headhpones output.
Thanks. Zen DAC has warmer and less defined bass than both of these. Also more laid back vocals. It's good on its own, but I would rather take either of these two.
As I always tell people, when comparisons like this are attempted, there are soooo many variables involved - things like the cables you are using to items such as Preamp's/Head-amps (if you are using those) - and not to exclude the speakers you are listening to the comparisons with. All of these items can make a difference and they can either add to or detract from what you are hearing. In my opinion, these two DAC's sound remarkably similar. In my case, I'm actually using both the DAC's shown in this comparison, Audioquest USB cables, the iFi USB conditioner, Worlds Best RCA cables, and the Presonus Eris E5 XT powered monitors with the Mackie CR8S-XBT 8" powered subwoofer. Additionally, I used both the HiFiMan Sundara and 400i 2020 version headphones to listen to the comparisons. So, IMO, these two DAC's are too close to call - which means they are both superb audio instruments.
Funny, with my sort of muddy Edifier S1000 speakers playing through the original Topping D10 I find the Sanskrit better. Same through BT Sennheiser wireless HDR175 heaphones. It just sounds more open and detailed. I was planning to buy the E30 but now I don't think I will. Thanks for the video!
Anybody got any idea why this won't put out any more than 24/96 via optical....it's being fed with Quboz Masters via a Chromecast Audio. It casts fine at 24/192 to the onboard DAC in the amp...but putting the Sanskrit inline and it drops to 96 Puzzling.....is there a hidden menu anywhere?
that switch at 45 seconds, with the vocals, sounds like they threw a wet blanket over his face in the sanskrit....huge diff....no thanks to that, e30 by a landslide
Thank you Srboljub for your effort bringing us this nice comparison. It’s very close but I liked the SMSL slightly better. It seems to have a slightly more appealing musical timbre to my ears. I played the demo through my Burson Conductor 3XP and German Maestro GMP 400’s by USB to my iPhone X. If I’d used my Topping E30 & L30 stack I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. I am tempted to get the SMSL Sanskrit but I’m also considering the Loxjie tube amp which has a balanced output. So it gets more and more expensive!
If your headphone amp has enough power (L30), why do you bother whether it is balanced or not? You should spend your $$ on a better headphone. At certain levels, the dac/amp will sound the same.
@@steveyoung101 Good advice Jo and I would like a really nice pair of headphones. However, the jump in price is just not affordable for me just now. The German Maestro GMP 400’s are really nice, as are my Fostex/Dekoni Blue’s (though these are really hard to drive), and I have a pair of AEG 702’s which are nice too. I want to convert these headphones to balanced wiring, which will nearly double the output from the amps and possibly give improved sound quality too. To do this I need to get some good headphone cable (low resistivity copper should do rather than the more exotic silver and gold coated “single crystal” copper that I see advertised for IEM’s). It’s then just a matter of running an earth wire on each side, all the way to the connector plug, instead of combining them at one side of the earphones. So there’s an earth on each side to match the balanced wiring of the amplifier. The German Maestros should be easier to do as they have a single cable coming from each side of the earphones. The Fostex and AEG’s run the wire from one side of the phone to the other and join the earths there (I think), so it’s a little harder to install two earth wires to the connector plug. If anyone knows a source of good, low oxygen, copper wire suitable for headphones please let me know.
Smsl more present in lower frequency,midbass specially,Topping in upper region. Smsl little boomy,muted on top, Topping less energy in midbass,more defined on top. For me maybe Topping because it sounds less coloured. I like my dishes to be flavored,with spices,but sound i like to be close to original
Interesting that so many people can't tell them apart, I spotted differences while listening to this test on my tv. Also interesting, while normally sounding brighter, E30 reaches deeper in the bass on the 3rd track, while spatial effect I find more convincing on SMSL's side on the 4th track. Kinda draw I'd say, maybe with some pleasure points going to SMSL...but where is the psu, goddammit.
Hi and thanks a lot for the very interesting comparison of two amazing little dacs. I wonder how much using and external high quality PSU can improve the sound already excellent with usb power. Kind regards, gino
It's hard to put numbers on it, but any of these DACs get cleaner soundstage and more springy (less muddy) bassline with a decent low noise power supply such as iFi iPower or some affordable linear power supply.
@@iiWiReviews Hi thank you very much indeed for your kind and very valuable advice. I will experiment a little with those psu pretty soon Kind regards, gino
Послушайте на 4:05 как играет соло гитара. На SMSL она звучит мелодично, притягивает внимание на себя и хочется слушать ее еще. А вот на Topping как-то печально и скучно. Но вот первый трек мне больше понравился на Topping.
I cant tell them apart. They both sound good to me. I guess my ears are LoFi? I found the topping a little leaner maybe, but the could be a matter of very slight volume difference.
Buy the E30. After a lot of research I pulled the trigger. It’s very neutral and revealing. After 7 months it’s still perfect. I’ve heard the smsl budget Dacs have issues. Using a weight on top, battery power supply, and a better usb chord will take it to the next level.
E30 is better in any way. Both tested today, without additional power supply. After receiving the additional power supply, I will be comparing it with the CA Dac Magic 100. At this moment 1st place: e30; 2 DacMagic100; 3 SMSL 10th MK II
Watching this video, I absolutely think the SMSL sounds better, so I ordered one a few days after ordering the Topping, but after getting both and setting them up in my own system a few days ago, I find the Topping to be much better. For me, the SMSL just makes music sound flat and dull, it takes away all the magic and sparkle from my Sony SSCS5 speakers, definitely NOT was I was hoping for, which was to add a bit of body and warmth to the sound of those bright speakers. The Topping also sounds much better with my floor-standing speakers as well, there's much better separation and detail to the sound.
e30 sounds marginally better, the vocals sounded a bit crisper in track 3 and there was more definition in the bass (track 2 bass guitar). Don't think there is enough of a difference to justify purchasing one over the other purely based on performance, but if the price was similar, say no more than 20 euros (in EU there seems to be 15-30 euro difference depending on where you look) then I would probably go for the Topping...
Does it colour things if I am listening to this through a Topping E30/L30 Combo? First proper DAC I have purchased and would recommend to anyone! Clarity on my DT770's is amazing.
sorry if i'm getting something wrong here BUT how is this demo supposed to work? You record the DAC and then I listen it back through my computers or stereos DAC? Ofc it will sound completely different with every person depending on Computer, Interface, DAC, Speaker or Headphones...
The SMSL sounds more old school multibit digital with slightly rough artifacts in the treble. Topping better. Are you using the supplied power supply or better? Thank you for posting.
Hi there. Can any kind soul help me with whether i should change the USB cable for the Sanskrit? Some static and the sound is not even as good as my dongle DAC. The dongle connected using a very good RCA to 3.5mm cable. But with Sanskrit it's Amazon basics kind of cables for me plus the provided white USB cable. I use Aux power too but also another cheap cable.
Song 1 no preference. Song 2 Topping, Song Three Sanskrit, Song 4 Topping. The Topping has a wider sound stage but a more receded central sound I hear it at a lower point (physically in my room) Than the Sanskrit. Song Three is mostly central so the Sanskrit lends it more pertinence. Nothing happening on the sides for the e-30 to shine. I listened to it on a Sansui 331 and two BNS 232 Bookshelves, sound split of with a DAC in a HDMI 2.0 sound extractor. This was helpful. I was leaning towards the Sanskrit, but may now go for Topping.
I have a sanskrit 10th now, but listening to this demo, i prefer the topping E30, more details....with better control in bass and hight.....and i am now sure Soncoz la qxd1 is over this two.
Nice Channel , good job. Please do more Audio comparsions. There are still enough TH-cam channels with only blablablablab , but blablabla doesnt give me good impresion of the real sound .. Cheers thaynamite :)))
Guys, are you seriously think to hear the difference? I think people who will use this video to choose a DAC, never compared anything in real life. What do you what to hear? Difference between 0,0006 THD and 0,001?
I'm auditioning them both and I'm leaning towards the Sanskrit for one reason: I can't deal with the harsh mids of the ES30. My problem isn't because the mids are harsh with the E30 per se. My system is very neutral and I'm getting harshness from the digital source with the USB and digital streaming. It works great with coax hooked up to my transport. I think the ES30 is very transparent and if I were looking to use it as a DAC for my cd transport, that would be fine. That said, can I clean up the harsh sound with a better power source? Any recommendations on better USB cables? I don't know whether to keep the Sanskrit and call it a day or keep the ES30 and work on cleaning up the source.
In my experience, cleaning a noisy USB feed is tiresome and expensive job... And I would avoid falling into that trap with E30 (good USB regenerator costs more than E30 itself). That's why I personally moved to using a streamer with SPDIF interface in my own system. On the other hand, decent low noise power supply is useful for both of these DACs and better investment than USB regenerators in my opinion (bigger impact for less money).
Thanks for the response! I just learned something really important here. I'm new to adding streaming to my main system. I'm only looking at these DACs because my regular DAC doesn't have USB. If I can get a streamer with S/PDIF, it makes the DAC a moot point unless I want to try a different DAC. Edit: I need to look at different DACs if I want the higher sampling. I guess I should be looking at streamers first.
The Modi 3 even without USB unison kicks the hell out of the SMSL. I expect it does similarly with the E30. This I learned first hand when I had both the Modi 3 and SMSL. The highs are muted on the SMSL sadly and the Modi 3 kicks butt (audio wise). With a little weight placed atop the Modi 3, I find the sound is significantly better in my high fi system featuring serious tube mono blocks and full range speakers.
@@IronHorsey3 That's it you've convinced me... I value what Schitt is doing with their business model, when given the option us Americans need to buy American.
@@thomasward00 I have a high end tube mono block system and I'm just stating the simple fact. My system is very sensitive so if there's any difference it'll be audible. On this one, it's not close.
My Tascam recorder adds some background noise. For normal dialogs, you would usually apply some sort of noise reduction in post processing but I upload these demos unprocessed for several reasons.
Better than these two will be the loxjie d30 on the 4497 chip. It will have more drive. Sanskrit needs to be improved, to replace the operational amplifier with the best one that spoils the sound there.
I never had a chance to compare them directly but from what I remember, both of these should easily outperform DacMagic 100. It wasn't the most engaging and dynamic DAC back in 2012 either...
if you can try a better psu with the CA before ditching it ... unfortunately the thing has a dc socket of a rare standard ... 6.3*3.1 mm if i am not wrong i am trying to source and adapter for mine ...
It was so long ago that I don't remember anymore. But filters on both of these DACs make such a small difference that it can't be noticed in a recording like this... so it wouldn't make any difference to this video anyway.
U poslednje vreme sam prešao na SMSL M500 MKII. On je mnogo dobra sprava ali skuplji od ova dva. Taj Sanskrit 10th MKII je takođe jako fin proizvod za svoju cenu. Ja ga lično preferiram u odnosu na Topping E30, em je malo povoljniji em zvuči punije, toplije.
pozdrav. ja trenutno imam u sistemu SMSL Sanskrit 10 mk2, s Dali Oberonima 3 koji su inače malo topliji u basu i srednjim tonovima, a svijetliji u gornjim. I sviđa mi se kako SMSL zvuči, širina slike, no čini mi se da nema toliko autoriteta u basu i razmišljam o nadogradnji na topping e50, no bojim se da bi izbugio tu širinu slike na korist autoriteta u nižim tonovima :/
As recommended by a fellow viewer here's the audio file of this comparison in FLAC file: mega.nz/file/UYVHwYDB#G13nSW3mwi2a9Ws11duFlrem2rd07a5u76qw7XmM3BM
Bitrate and sample rate were both aimed at YT standard, but I'll make hi-res recordings for future comparisons.
I bought it (e30) several months ago just because you reccomend it to me over other models.I like it so much..in this comparison sound very similar.Wont stress over very very minimal differences.I will continue to enjoy it.Both models are great.
I'll say this without wanting start a war 😂. I bought the E30, then saw a few reviews a little later of reviewers that I resoect that had both E30 and Sanskrit II and liked the Sanskrit a bit more tonally. So I bought the Sanskrit as well. And ended up selling the E30, not because it's better or worse. I used my Schiit Bifrost Uber AK4490 as the benchmark tonally and found the Sanskrit on two of the filters sounded so close to the Bifrost I couldn't tell which was which (playing through Hi-Fi Marantz PM8005, Monitor Audio RX8, Chord Chameleon interconnect, Audioquest Rocket 33 speaker cable). I set the test up so that each DAC was playing same track through different channels of the Marantz amp). On filter 5 on Sanskrit I could dial a little more warm than Bifrost, filter 4 a little more mid focussed, filter 1 and 6 a touch more open than Bifrost and filter 3 and 4 couldn't hear any perceived difference to the Bifrost. On the E30, the warmest filter was almost near Bifrost tone. All the filters I could hear it just slightly lacking the drive and body the Bifrost has. At no time since have I felt the Sanskrit to sound slow, or bloated or lacking. The fact the the E30 and Sanskrit keep up with the AK4490 Bifrost which 3 years ago would have been 3 times the price of the E30/Sanskrit is quite frankly incredible and no one will feel unhappy with either. I could warm the E30 up with a warmer interconnect like Van Den Hul D501 for example so it's within fractions of tone. The Topping D50s lasted a week in mu system. Yes, detailed but at expense of long term listenability and tone. And to be frank, most of the lower end hyped chi-fi DACs over the years have suffered from lack of real world tonality ie a DAC that doesn't sound overtly digital and sterile. I wouldn't take the comparison in this video too literally in that some are saying the Sanskrit sounds slower/bloated. Who knows what the TH-cam compression does to the audio and any perceived slowness in video might well be swayed the other way at home listening to proper uncompressed files. Both iiWi Reviews and Soundnews (probably the best two reviewers on here) slightly preferred the Sanskrit tonality but you'll love both at this price they are unequivocal bargains. Can't recommend either enough tbh especially with the feature set, but do use a reasonable power supply!
I also had both and preferred the SMSL by a respectable margin. If people try even higher end dacs like Chord and R2r, those are even richer tonally with better spatial cues & richer timbre. Its easy to have perceived detail when the tonality is leaner as you can hear from the E30 in this comparison.
@@mykeldg exactly. I think the very recent interest in low cost DACs particularly in the headphone world is great but, perceived detail is to me sometimes a trap. No matter how much detail is etched out by thinning out lower frequencies, most people tire of that and it's not until you give equal or higher importance to tonality that you start enjoying music rather than analysing music f that makes sense
Which filters on the E30 did you find warm? thx!
@@LorDarkGoose hmm it was I while ago, but 3 or 4 sounded slightly less edgy than the others in my set up. But the differences between filters on the E30 were super minimal, almost questioned if I was hearing any difference at all. On the SMSL Sanskrit 10th mk ii, there's quite a noticeable difference for me anyway
@@2791dles thanks!
I was skeptical at first about there being a difference in DACs, but this comparison is quite onto something. There is a a noticeable difference between the two.
I saw some reviews of SK10 MK2 stating it sounded a little better than the Topping, but listening to this demo now it's hard to decide... E30 sounds more detailed and controlled.
Sk10 sounds more robust, E30 sounds lighter top heavy not so much low end... each sound good.
I found the Topping a winner here... I found it has more details, more control, and less mud in the bass section. But I am biased, because I am listening on a Topping l30+e30 stack:)
I got the same stack bro
Topping e30 the best, number one 👌
After confrontation I've took SMSL 10th mkII. With my amp nad c356bee and speakers Pylon Diamond 28 it sounds much more nicer than with E30. Sound is fuller, softer and with deep, well controlled bass. Mids are natural and play voices very well. SMSL gives good separation in highs and big sound stage. E30 sound harsh and dry.
Hej jak zestaiwnie tego NAda z Pylonami . zadowolony jesteś?
these are the two i've been mulling over. Surprised a difference could be heard over YT given they share the same akm chip. So the e30 is what I'm gonna buy going by the first listen
Playing back via my system using the SMSL M500 MKII. The comparison of the SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII sound signature, and the Topping E30 sound signature. The Topping E30 sound signature is more closely resembling to that of the SMSL SU-9 sound signature. The sound signature of the SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII is more closely resembling to that of the SMSL M500 MKII sound signature. I would think that the Topping E50 sound signature is more closely resembling to that of the SMSL SU-9n sound signature.
Thx for the test. e30 sounds better for me with better separation, though they're using the same dac chip, guess the little distortion came from different opAmp on the RCA output... if TH-cam could give a vote function here, would be more interesting😄
I listened both in my home studio on RME UFX II & Hedd AudioType5. I find the SMSL sound cheaper and disgusting compared to the Topping E30. The bass is more prominent in it, but it is not elastic and dynamic, but simply thumping. All the details are stuck in some kind of mess. Topping E30 is also not ideal, but it sounds much fresher and more cheerful. If I had to choose, I would take him. Thank you for your efforts!
With Sanskrit I had a better immersion. Especially in the 3rd track, hearing the Sanskrit was like being in a live performance. E30 sounded a bit thinner but cleaner. Sanskrit a bit warmer. I am using the DT770 Pros 250 Ohm.
My Gear, D10s, Liquid Spark or L30, Msr7, WS1100i, M40x pad mod,---- The E30 Flatter Low end & Low mids - a little more air on top,,, Sanskrit was a little thick to me all around,, E30 is my pick... but with my JBL 308's powered monitors? I might dig the Sanskrit to cut the top end a little bit in the room..✌
Defintely comes down to preference and what you are matching these DACS with. Both are really great. All my speakers are leaning on the bright side, so the SMSL will go better with less emphasis on leading edges, although I may miss the space and organisation of the E30 at times.
First i thought hmm great bassguitar and slightly more musical on the sanskrit but the end revealed why is Topping so good. It is crazy fast and accurate. Has better low extension.
E30 more open, with sharper transients. I feel with a neutral system, the upper mids/lower treble could become fatiguing. Sanskrit is warmer, with more body, especially in the lower mids. To me the Sanskrit sounds more organic/analog. Both are excellent, but system matching is key.
If you own either of these, you're not missing out. Without them head to head and labeled, it's the same. The details and sound quality on both are identical. Head to head, Id say the Sanskrit sounded "taller" with sharper high end and bigger bass, by a small fraction. Like if the Topping was a 27 inch TV, the Sanskrit was a 29 inch. Originally, I preferred this. However, the more i listened, the Topping sounded more controlled. Almost like the image fit tighter in a 27 inch tv vs an extended one. I felt this gave a slightly warmer sound as well. Id give knod to Topping but if you own the other, the distinctions aren't worth it.
I notice the same effect on the bass as I do when comparing my own SMSL vs E30. E30 has better control but SMSL has more body to the bass, a bit more punch and a dat longer decay, at the expense of control.
may i know what amp do u pair them to?
@@loonation2185 JDS Atom, testing on Hifiman Deva. As you mentionted, Sanskrit sounds a tad more mellow and deeper. E30 is a tad crisper, more analytical and wider.
what ear do you have man! damn!
@@bibitsurawan Critical listening is a skill and comes with time, experience and patience, not to mention some good headphones/speakers. The difference are subtle, but that is what good audio is mainly about. When you get something like the E30 + L30 + Sundara you will probably hit 60% of everything that can be achieved. Everything else that is better is just small, tiny, incremental improvements.
@@CraciunAlexandruGh I almost don't hear any detail u hear in this demo
Ur hearing at another level man
I only hv D10 feeding my Zen Can or sometimes I switched to Cmoy my friend make for me
My gear old Ts671 & k7xx
Well done! Due to your video i was able to decide for a DAC without any doubt. Thank you very much
Hahaha :-)
I have a SMSL mk3 not mk2. As I know, both sounds very similar. And it sounds a little harsh in mids, a little brighter than music sounds in real live performance. So, I use very soft equalization down from 500hz to 2000hz with minimum - 2db at 1khz and it works good. In this video I hear that Topping is more accurate. I would try it now to compare both personally.
Great constructive test there, they both sound quite similar but Sanskrit has wider soundstage and mids are fuller compared to Topping.
Exactly, sound's more natural than Topping E30
First of all, excellent sound recording, congrats, you are really serious about your videos. You always know what you are talking and you are always right, so I bought both Lucya DAC and lately E! DA, with a greatest satisfaction. Now I am listening through E1DA and Sennheiser HD 600, yes, no joke, sounds marvelous together, although I have another setup, with Dark Voice as an amp, but beleive it or not, after days of listening I prefer HD 600 with E1 DA, no processing in the app or Utopia to Harman setup, for more of good stuff. But now to this video, I can clearly prefer Sanskrit. I was listening to Topping dac in my old system, with Little Dot 1 and many headphones, including some planars, like Hifiman HE 400i, but that artificial sharpnes or brightness was distractive, too much, for my ears.
Now here, its the same story, Sanskrit being more natural in sound rendering, although maybe sounding rolled off but only compared to Topping, otherwise nothing wrong, reminds me on my Cambridge Dacmagic 100 but with more bass, which maybe not all the time defined, little bloated. But, all in all, more pleasing sound to my ears.
Thank you Srboljub, keep entertaining us.
Zeos effect..... Many Amps, Many headphones... only 2 ears ;-)
I like the SK10 MK2 more. The bass is more punchy. Anyway, I am a bass head. I think it is not a bad idea to pair SK10 MK2 with Topping L30. It is cheaper too.
thanks for this sound demo, the sanskrit sounded more natural with more depth.
You got very good ears to find any difference from those two....
@@pedecia Its not just my ears, I think my setup helps me determine the difference.
Listening with sennheiser momentum over ear + dragonfly dac and they sound almost the same...I would never found any different if not for this instant change comparison.
I'll just buy the cheaper one
your ears are shot if you cant hear a huge diff in these, poor feller........
Even though I have the E30 and the D10s....I will still buy this. It is real good and the price is right.
For me topping sounds more dry and SMSL is winner for me since I preffer livier sound. I haven't looked on screen to see I can hear the difference or not without "cheating" hehe. Nice demo man, I appreciate that you're doing this kind of videos!
I agree with you. I’ve bought E30 as improvement after D10. i found that it’s too bright and dry. It presents a thin midrange. I’ve sent it back and bought D30. It sounds more natural for my ears. Comparing to E30 it is less detailed in highs but warmer and fuller mids. Bass is definetly better in E30. Goes much lower, better controlled and punchy. Now I’m going to buy smsl 10th mkII and i think it will be something between E30 and D30.
you can add some more warmth with the choice of cables ... solid copper for instance
I think someone has to have a very revealing system to detect differences, if any. I would go with the smsl as it is almost half the price, I do prefer the topping form factor though. Not sure why smsl uses these rectangular boxes.
You can place the SMSL in two different positions.
I heard the difference. SMSL gives deeper bass, sweet sound. E3 sound is drier and more detailed.
I am listening on an cheap HP chromebook with a pair of Senhiesser earphones and I can cleary hear the E30 as having a more precise sound overall. As far as bass does the Sandskrit has a bit more 'boom' and a little more 'punch' but its not a controlled as it could be and so smothers to some degree the midrange. The E30 has less 'boom' and 'punch' but it holds the greater discapline over the low end and is the better inspecter of such. I think it could be a matter of choice of equipment to compliment either DAC in this case i.e I would run the E30 with any Denon amp as they tend to have a reseverved top end. I would also run the E30 with any set of Edifier powered speakers as they have very good low end and good balance overall. I think the Sandskrit would be actually a little too bassy and sloppy for either of those rigs. That so called 'fullness' in the Sandskrit just sounds a little drunk/lazy to me and careless in the inspection of the low end but that said the difference is marginal. In Track 3 the E3 seems to capture the vocals better whereas the Sandskrit albeit ever so slightly just lets the vocals slip a bit and so the audible defintion is again marginally blurred. I personally would have no issues with either for use but the E30 which would have been my choice has currently the less settled status with polarity issues and that for me makes it and uncomfortable purchace, which is a shame becuase i do like the sound. I simply do not have enough experience to equate the long term possible problems with the E30 so on that ground alone i would go for SMSL model. If there is any news in regards to the Topping E30 and its polarity issues it certainly would be welcome by many of us I am sure.
Big difference with voice reproduction for Topping in the first track. The other tracks both units are doing almost the same , at least over TH-cam
On track 2/3 the SMSL had the bass kick that disappeared on the Topping - which sounded a litter more open though....I have an SMSL 6th/P1 and Topping D50 in main system
To be honest , I can detect significant difference between these two only in first song. In all others tracks there are little to no difference. I would choose E30 just because I like form factor and orange display. Sound wise , they are both acceptable, especially in this price range.
sanskrit sounded fuller
Smsl muddy abit. Topping was bright.
Thank you so much for the review and comparison. Personally I'm leaning to Sanskrit, however I'm gonna use DAC with optical input and measurements show worse performance with toslink/coax in terms of Jitter. Did you use Sanskrit with coax input? Any audible problems?
Listening to this with my Topping E30 coupled to Yamaha AS-501 with B&W DM601 speakers I don't hear a discernable difference. I'm not a headphone person:) Both have the same features, and anyone would be happy with either of these at the price. The Topping easily beats any built-in DAC up to medium-high-end consumer receivers or laptops (my Onkyo CD-player with dedicated Wolfson DACs though, that's something else) But: the hype is real. High performance DAC's have become affordable, and these are two prime examples. If you own a 1000-1500$ system, a nice DAC should be your next upgrade. You will not regret it.
boomer hands typed this
@@automachinehead I'm an old soul.
@@Bob.martens if you were you should be using gears manufactured in the late 80s not these chinese craps
@@automachinehead my vynil system is an '83 Harman Kardon pm650 with '70's B&W dm2a's. I just like the reliability of modern gear for everyday use:)
Sanskrit sounds fuller and clearer. A little less grit but more even across the frequencies. Topping is brighter.
Have the Sanskrit with a Jungson JA88D and Wharefadale Jade 5 speakers, Sounds absolut amazing!
the sound improvement was outstanding compared to PC sound card. only flaw start up instructions that came with the dac. I almost was going to return them until i finally got them to work. now i just love this product
Thanks for the comparison, any chance of reviewing the smsl SK10 III vs II?
Thanks for your reviews, I find them really helpful and entertaining.
SMSL Sanskrit sounds better to me, but I have to say I generally prefer a warmish sound signature. How does the Ifi Zen dac compare to these 2 in your opinion? Although more expensive I was considerning it because of the headhpones output.
Thanks. Zen DAC has warmer and less defined bass than both of these. Also more laid back vocals. It's good on its own, but I would rather take either of these two.
@@iiWiReviews many thanks
As I always tell people, when comparisons like this are attempted, there are soooo many variables involved - things like the cables you are using to items such as Preamp's/Head-amps (if you are using those) - and not to exclude the speakers you are listening to the comparisons with. All of these items can make a difference and they can either add to or detract from what you are hearing. In my opinion, these two DAC's sound remarkably similar. In my case, I'm actually using both the DAC's shown in this comparison, Audioquest USB cables, the iFi USB conditioner, Worlds Best RCA cables, and the Presonus Eris E5 XT powered monitors with the Mackie CR8S-XBT 8" powered subwoofer. Additionally, I used both the HiFiMan Sundara and 400i 2020 version headphones to listen to the comparisons. So, IMO, these two DAC's are too close to call - which means they are both superb audio instruments.
Funny, with my sort of muddy Edifier S1000 speakers playing through the original Topping D10 I find the Sanskrit better. Same through BT Sennheiser wireless HDR175 heaphones. It just sounds more open and detailed. I was planning to buy the E30 but now I don't think I will. Thanks for the video!
Anybody got any idea why this won't put out any more than 24/96 via optical....it's being fed with Quboz Masters via a Chromecast Audio.
It casts fine at 24/192 to the onboard DAC in the amp...but putting the Sanskrit inline and it drops to 96
Puzzling.....is there a hidden menu anywhere?
that switch at 45 seconds, with the vocals, sounds like they threw a wet blanket over his face in the sanskrit....huge diff....no thanks to that, e30 by a landslide
Thank you Srboljub for your effort bringing us this nice comparison. It’s very close but I liked the SMSL slightly better. It seems to have a slightly more appealing musical timbre to my ears. I played the demo through my Burson Conductor 3XP and German Maestro GMP 400’s by USB to my iPhone X. If I’d used my Topping E30 & L30 stack I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. I am tempted to get the SMSL Sanskrit but I’m also considering the Loxjie tube amp which has a balanced output. So it gets more and more expensive!
If your headphone amp has enough power (L30), why do you bother whether it is balanced or not? You should spend your $$ on a better headphone. At certain levels, the dac/amp will sound the same.
@@steveyoung101 Good advice Jo and I would like a really nice pair of headphones. However, the jump in price is just not affordable for me just now. The German Maestro GMP 400’s are really nice, as are my Fostex/Dekoni Blue’s (though these are really hard to drive), and I have a pair of AEG 702’s which are nice too. I want to convert these headphones to balanced wiring, which will nearly double the output from the amps and possibly give improved sound quality too. To do this I need to get some good headphone cable (low resistivity copper should do rather than the more exotic silver and gold coated “single crystal” copper that I see advertised for IEM’s). It’s then just a matter of running an earth wire on each side, all the way to the connector plug, instead of combining them at one side of the earphones. So there’s an earth on each side to match the balanced wiring of the amplifier. The German Maestros should be easier to do as they have a single cable coming from each side of the earphones. The Fostex and AEG’s run the wire from one side of the phone to the other and join the earths there (I think), so it’s a little harder to install two earth wires to the connector plug. If anyone knows a source of good, low oxygen, copper wire suitable for headphones please let me know.
I ordered the P20 but need a DAC, hence watching this video. Wonder which pairs better with tubes??
Smsl more present in lower frequency,midbass specially,Topping in upper region. Smsl little boomy,muted on top, Topping less energy in midbass,more defined on top. For me maybe Topping because it sounds less coloured. I like my dishes to be flavored,with spices,but sound i like to be close to original
Interesting that so many people can't tell them apart, I spotted differences while listening to this test on my tv. Also interesting, while normally sounding brighter, E30 reaches deeper in the bass on the 3rd track, while spatial effect I find more convincing on SMSL's side on the 4th track. Kinda draw I'd say, maybe with some pleasure points going to SMSL...but where is the psu, goddammit.
E30 is bright and Mk2 is warm so what is your flavor? I bought the SMSL mainly for headphone use as my Klipsch Mirage OM-9s and already warm.
Hi and thanks a lot for the very interesting comparison of two amazing little dacs. I wonder how much using and external high quality PSU can improve the sound already excellent with usb power.
Kind regards, gino
It's hard to put numbers on it, but any of these DACs get cleaner soundstage and more springy (less muddy) bassline with a decent low noise power supply such as iFi iPower or some affordable linear power supply.
@@iiWiReviews Hi thank you very much indeed for your kind and very valuable advice. I will experiment a little with those psu pretty soon Kind regards, gino
Послушайте на 4:05 как играет соло гитара. На SMSL она звучит мелодично, притягивает внимание на себя и хочется слушать ее еще. А вот на Topping как-то печально и скучно. Но вот первый трек мне больше понравился на Topping.
Hi, I was curious if you could add the DAC portion of the Loxjie D30 in the mix? Much appreciated :3
I'm looking a DAC for my iFi Zen CAN AMP which is a cleaner-warmish amp. I like how Sanskrit sound with it or should I go for Topping?.
How’s this supposed to work. If i play it through chord qutest dac will i hear chord dac or topping/smsl? )))lol youtube sound demos...
I cant tell them apart. They both sound good to me. I guess my ears are LoFi?
I found the topping a little leaner maybe, but the could be a matter of very slight volume difference.
What you're hearing the comparison through is an important factor 😅 it's probably not just your ears
Buy the E30. After a lot of research I pulled the trigger. It’s very neutral and revealing. After 7 months it’s still perfect. I’ve heard the smsl budget Dacs have issues.
Using a weight on top, battery power supply, and a better usb chord will take it to the next level.
E30 is better in any way. Both tested today, without additional power supply. After receiving the additional power supply, I will be comparing it with the CA Dac Magic 100. At this moment 1st place: e30; 2 DacMagic100; 3 SMSL 10th MK II
I want to change Cambridge magic 100 with Topping e30. I used Marantz with Dali. It will be good?
E30 sounds more lifelike with details and depth; SMSL sounds vailed, rolled highs, a bit compressed and muddy
Watching this video, I absolutely think the SMSL sounds better, so I ordered one a few days after ordering the Topping, but after getting both and setting them up in my own system a few days ago, I find the Topping to be much better. For me, the SMSL just makes music sound flat and dull, it takes away all the magic and sparkle from my Sony SSCS5 speakers, definitely NOT was I was hoping for, which was to add a bit of body and warmth to the sound of those bright speakers. The Topping also sounds much better with my floor-standing speakers as well, there's much better separation and detail to the sound.
e30 sounds marginally better, the vocals sounded a bit crisper in track 3 and there was more definition in the bass (track 2 bass guitar). Don't think there is enough of a difference to justify purchasing one over the other purely based on performance, but if the price was similar, say no more than 20 euros (in EU there seems to be 15-30 euro difference depending on where you look) then I would probably go for the Topping...
After listening to track 4 again, the tuning on the e30 sounds less harsh to me, is that the case in actuality?
Does it colour things if I am listening to this through a Topping E30/L30 Combo? First proper DAC I have purchased and would recommend to anyone! Clarity on my DT770's is amazing.
How do they pair with tube amps? I am waiting on a Loxjie P20 and need a DAC to go with...
sorry if i'm getting something wrong here BUT how is this demo supposed to work? You record the DAC and then I listen it back through my computers or stereos DAC? Ofc it will sound completely different with every person depending on Computer, Interface, DAC, Speaker or Headphones...
CA dac magic 100 vs sanskrit 10th MK2?
The SMSL sounds more old school multibit digital with slightly rough artifacts in the treble. Topping better. Are you using the supplied power supply or better? Thank you for posting.
I was using iFi iPower with both, that's a 50 bucks low noise switching power supply.
geweldige muziek prestaties
Hi there. Can any kind soul help me with whether i should change the USB cable for the Sanskrit? Some static and the sound is not even as good as my dongle DAC. The dongle connected using a very good RCA to 3.5mm cable. But with Sanskrit it's Amazon basics kind of cables for me plus the provided white USB cable. I use Aux power too but also another cheap cable.
Song 1 no preference. Song 2 Topping, Song Three Sanskrit, Song 4 Topping.
The Topping has a wider sound stage but a more receded central sound I hear it at a lower point (physically in my room) Than the Sanskrit. Song Three is mostly central so the Sanskrit lends it more pertinence. Nothing happening on the sides for the e-30 to shine. I listened to it on a Sansui 331 and two BNS 232 Bookshelves, sound split of with a DAC in a HDMI 2.0 sound extractor. This was helpful. I was leaning towards the Sanskrit, but may now go for Topping.
I have looked in it some more. It seems both have six different filters. So this test is probably limited to the default filter setting.
+1สุดยอดเห็นด้วยทุกอย่างเลย ตามแทรคนั้นๆ
I have a sanskrit 10th now, but listening to this demo, i prefer the topping E30, more details....with better control in bass and hight.....and i am now sure Soncoz la qxd1 is over this two.
DId you know, SMSL and Topping are owned by the same Chinese company?
ใช่ๆๆๆ ดูในอาลีเพรสนะ ชื่อเป็นsmsl แต่ในรายละเอียดบอกเป็นtopping
Nice Channel , good job. Please do more Audio comparsions. There are still enough TH-cam channels with only blablablablab , but blablabla doesnt give me good impresion of the real sound ..
Cheers thaynamite :)))
Guys, are you seriously think to hear the difference? I think people who will use this video to choose a DAC, never compared anything in real life. What do you what to hear? Difference between 0,0006 THD and 0,001?
They are tonally different.
please review Tempotec BHD & e1da 9038s,
thank you,
much love from Indonesia,
Has anyone got a preference between these two days when paired with aiyima a07?
Halo , fren thzx sharing demo sound video ,can I know where to free download the dsd files ? Tq
Great test!! Hey if I use a lightning to midi cable can I also use this dac with my phone?
Mine worked perfectly fine with a USB female to Type C cable. :)
E30 clear abit!
I'm auditioning them both and I'm leaning towards the Sanskrit for one reason: I can't deal with the harsh mids of the ES30.
My problem isn't because the mids are harsh with the E30 per se. My system is very neutral and I'm getting harshness from the digital source with the USB and digital streaming. It works great with coax hooked up to my transport. I think the ES30 is very transparent and if I were looking to use it as a DAC for my cd transport, that would be fine.
That said, can I clean up the harsh sound with a better power source? Any recommendations on better USB cables?
I don't know whether to keep the Sanskrit and call it a day or keep the ES30 and work on cleaning up the source.
In my experience, cleaning a noisy USB feed is tiresome and expensive job... And I would avoid falling into that trap with E30 (good USB regenerator costs more than E30 itself). That's why I personally moved to using a streamer with SPDIF interface in my own system. On the other hand, decent low noise power supply is useful for both of these DACs and better investment than USB regenerators in my opinion (bigger impact for less money).
Thanks for the response! I just learned something really important here.
I'm new to adding streaming to my main system. I'm only looking at these DACs because my regular DAC doesn't have USB. If I can get a streamer with S/PDIF, it makes the DAC a moot point unless I want to try a different DAC.
Edit: I need to look at different DACs if I want the higher sampling.
I guess I should be looking at streamers first.
Question about the mkii: should i use a power supply combined with usb cable it comes with? Ive heard it sounds better this way
Yes, try that, it should sound better.
do You have any plans about reviewing loxjie d30? would be very helpfull to make my decision. thanks!
Not planing to get it unless some retailer decides to send it in. When I did D10 interest for that review was really below average.
They sound very, very, very close.... I'd take the upgraded Schitt Modi 3+
The Modi 3 even without USB unison kicks the hell out of the SMSL. I expect it does similarly with the E30. This I learned first hand when I had both the Modi 3 and SMSL. The highs are muted on the SMSL sadly and the Modi 3 kicks butt (audio wise). With a little weight placed atop the Modi 3, I find the sound is significantly better in my high fi system featuring serious tube mono blocks and full range speakers.
@@IronHorsey3 That's it you've convinced me... I value what Schitt is doing with their business model, when given the option us Americans need to buy American.
@@thomasward00 I have a high end tube mono block system and I'm just stating the simple fact. My system is very sensitive so if there's any difference it'll be audible. On this one, it's not close.
Is it good than sonos connect?
I hear some background whithe noise on track 1 ,what is that ?
My Tascam recorder adds some background noise. For normal dialogs, you would usually apply some sort of noise reduction in post processing but I upload these demos unprocessed for several reasons.
Thank you. Dacs was connected using coaxial or usb?
Very high quality Coax cable...
Topping E30 BEST!!!
which firmware on e30 was performed here? the one with reverse polarity, or one with fixed one?
Fixed one
Have you had a chance to hear SMSL M300? Is it much better than the E30 or 10th MKII?
Haven't had a chance to hear M300 so can't tell.
E30 better. Sound separation is better. Bass control is better. a bigger sound space.
On the download flac, which is topping ? and which is smsl ?
It's same as in the video... You can just play muted video alongside to see when the changes happen.
Better than these two will be the loxjie d30 on the 4497 chip. It will have more drive. Sanskrit needs to be improved, to replace the operational amplifier with the best one that spoils the sound there.
how would you compare the CA Dacmagic 100 to these two?
I never had a chance to compare them directly but from what I remember, both of these should easily outperform DacMagic 100. It wasn't the most engaging and dynamic DAC back in 2012 either...
if you can try a better psu with the CA before ditching it ... unfortunately the thing has a dc socket of a rare standard ... 6.3*3.1 mm if i am not wrong
i am trying to source and adapter for mine ...
Were they using the same filter #?
Yes, short delay slow. But I doubt that different filters would come through the recording anyway.
@@iiWiReviews thanks. i also preferred the same filter on mine (#2). according to ASR, both Filter 2 and 4 has the lowest measured IMD
Qual é a diferença?
Sanskrit clearly sounds better than the $250 Modi Multibit so I grabbed it.
What filter was the Sanskrit on?
It was so long ago that I don't remember anymore. But filters on both of these DACs make such a small difference that it can't be noticed in a recording like this... so it wouldn't make any difference to this video anyway.
E30 is a lot cleaner and airy. Smsl was muddy for sure on the cymbals
Is Khadas Tone Board better of them?
No it's not. It was the best two years ago, now it's matched and even surpassed in some areas by DACs such as these two.
aqko nije tajna prijatelju, reci mi koji DAC koristis u svom sistemu ? Jako mi je tesko odluciti koji DAC kupiti ?
U poslednje vreme sam prešao na SMSL M500 MKII. On je mnogo dobra sprava ali skuplji od ova dva. Taj Sanskrit 10th MKII je takođe jako fin proizvod za svoju cenu. Ja ga lično preferiram u odnosu na Topping E30, em je malo povoljniji em zvuči punije, toplije.
@@iiWiReviews hvala na odgovoru, mucim se sta da uzmem .....
pozdrav. ja trenutno imam u sistemu SMSL Sanskrit 10 mk2, s Dali Oberonima 3 koji su inače malo topliji u basu i srednjim tonovima, a svijetliji u gornjim. I sviđa mi se kako SMSL zvuči, širina slike, no čini mi se da nema toliko autoriteta u basu i razmišljam o nadogradnji na topping e50, no bojim se da bi izbugio tu širinu slike na korist autoriteta u nižim tonovima :/
@@fahy01 i ja naginjem lagano na topping e50 + mqa format ....
SMSL M200 Balanced DAC
E30 has more punch in the bass. And more crisp sounding compared to smsl
Please review XDuoo XD-05 Plus
, and if possible try to test it using sundara and tell me how does it perform.