SMSL D10 REVIEW

>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<

INTRO:

SMSL is well known for manufacturing DACs and desktop amplifiers, but now the company has started to look for new horizons within portable audio equipment (I would say it took a while). The market for devices such as dongles has grown a lot in recent years, and we currently have some models that compete with more advanced systems.

Price: $69,99 USD
Color: Black or Gray

SMSL LINKS:

https://amzn.to/4eGhN8F

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_omxct9Z (Aoshida HiFi)

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oljvPO7 (ShenzhenAudio)

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_olsZsiP (Angelears)

SPECIFICATIONS:

– DAC chip: Cirrus Logic CS43131 (x2)
– Input: USB-C
– Output: 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm Balanced
– Compatibility: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11 (needs driver), Mac OSX10.6+, Linux, Android, iOS
– Supports DSD256 hardware decoding and PCM 32bit/384kHz.
– Maximum output level: 2Vrms
– Output power: 500mW (16Ω), 500mW (32Ω), 160mW (150Ω), 80mW (300Ω), 40mW (600Ω)
– THD+N: <0.00015% (116dB)
– Dynamic range: 121dB
– SNR: 121dB
– Sampling rate: PCM 44.1 ~ 384kHz, DSD 2.8224 ~ 11.2896MHz
– Bit depth: 1bit, 24 ~ 32bit
– Power supply: 5V/200mA
– Dongle size: 5.4cm [L] x 1.9cm [W] x 1cm [D]
– Cable size: 11.3cm (end to end)
– Material: Aluminum + Glass
– Dongle weight 17.4g
– Cable weight: 4.7g
– Total weight (packaging, dongle, etc): 99g
– Packaging size: 14cm [L] x 7.4cm [W] x 3cm [D]

DEVICES USED:

– Kiwi Ears Quintet
– NF Acous NM20
– Tin Hifi P1
– FiiO BTR13
– FiiO BTR11
– FiiO KA11
– MotoZ3Play
– Samsung S22U
– Dell Inspiron 14 (W10)

UNBOXING:

PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Construction: Do you remember the Questyle M15? That dongle that had a glass part, and that was quite a hit in the community… Well, here we have a dongle that is very similar to the M15 in terms of design. In addition to the aluminum body, the D10 also has part of its structure made of glass, which allows us to see the inside of the circuit. I know that aesthetics are always very subjective, but for me, the D10 is one of the most beautiful dongles I’ve ever tested, if not the most.

It’s a very light and very compact dongle too, if you saw the unboxing of the FiiO BTR11, you will notice that the D10 is practically the same size as the BTR11, but it’s important to remember that the D10 is a device with a balanced output, and on top of that, at 4.4mm, which is the largest one. The D10 also has great construction quality, all edges are rounded, avoiding sharp corners.

It’s worth mentioning that the D10’s construction has a weak point, as it is a device that contains glass parts, and therefore, you will always need to be extra careful. First, there is the issue of scratches on the glass, and second, it’s a small and portable DAC/AMP, so the chance of it falling is greater than with a desktop amplifier, for example. Honestly, this issue could be easily solved if the company made a protective film and/or case, but as of this writing, neither of these options has been released.

Independent volume control: According to my tests, the D10 has about 60 volume steps directly on the dongle. It also has the 15 volume steps available on Android. Therefore, the D10 has an independent volume control on each device.

Unfortunately, the D10 doesn’t have any type of configuration/button that can give gain to the device, and another thing is that it doesn’t have an application (App). This isn’t necessarily a demerit, something that prevents the product from achieving its objective, it’s just an observation that we currently have some products that have these features.

The D10 comes with the implementation of two LEDs in the circuit: one on the back and one on the front. In other words, no matter which side the dongle is, you will have an LED lit. This is a point that is always positive – in my opinion – and I only realized it when I review the AUNE Yuki… The Yuki doesn’t have an LED, so the person feels a bit lost, it gives the impression that the product is not working. Interestingly, the D10’s LED is always on… this may be annoying for some people, but not for me. Here I could only notice that the LED remained blue the whole time… I only tested with 16bits/44.1kHz and 24bits/96kHz files, the LED didn’t change the color. Maybe it only changes if you use DSD files.

Battery consumption on the 3.5mm output. Using the Kiwi Ears Quintet, the battery consumption was 7%. The smartphone I used has a 5,000mAh battery. The test was performed during 1 hour of playback with the screen off and WiFi turned off (airplane mode). The volume set on the dongle was the max volume and on Android it was level 8 of the 15 available. I repeated the same test using the Tin HiFi P1 on the balanced 4.4mm output. The consumption was also 7%. Obviously, these numbers are just a base. I found it a little strange that it gave the same number on both outputs – although I left it at the same volume for both IEMs. If we look at the specifications, there’s no specific power for the 3.5mm and another for the 4.4mm… It’s like 500mW for both.

Heating test: When testing the product, I noticed that it gets considerably warm, both in the 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs, and in the latter, the surface gets even hotter. The product does get warm, and I don’t think it’s dangerous to the human touch. However, there’s the thing that some people may use the device inside backpacks, pockets, etc., and considering this scenario, the D10 will have more difficulty dissipating the heat.

Accessories: The dongle comes with only a USB-C to USB-C cable. In my opinion, it’s a great quality cable, very flexible and covered in a Paracord-style material. What I didn’t like very much was that SMSL forgot to include a USB-A adapter, or a Lightning cable for users of older iPhone models. It’s a so cheap thing…

On the Samsung S22U (Android 14), the D10 worked normally, and on my PC (Windows10) the dongle connected Plug & Play, I didn’t need to install a driver. However, it didn’t work on my Motorola Z3 Play smartphone (Android 9).

This is a dongle that doesn’t really have that many features, it follows the line of older dongles, which didn’t have a display, didn’t have a battery, etc. Finding information about it on the internet was quite difficult, as the company didn’t provide much in the material. The specifications are quite limited, which made things even more complicated.

SOUND ASPECTS:

It’s important to remember that this review is subjective, based on my experience with the product and also on its synergy with other equipment I have used. I must also point out that the more objectivist side of the hobby isn’t really my beach, so some information may be limited, as I’m not an expert on the technical side of this type of product.

As I said before, this dongle’s physical aspects can leave you with a feeling of “wanting more”. I think there are many things in the physical part that could be improved, or simply have the option… however, it’s important to remember that the price of the D10 is much more affordable than other dongles in the same category (dongles with 3.5mm and 4.4mm Bal).

I see that the D10 is a dongle that offers a good cost-benefit, because when it comes to the sound part, it improves exponentially. Both in terms of sound quality and amplification power, the D10 is very good. During the time I used the dongle, I can say that the audio quality was perfect, very transparent and defined. I didn’t notice any adversity in the dongle’s audio, in my experience with the product, I didn’t heard any strange noise, background noise or distortion.

Currently, of the balanced output dongles I’ve tested, the SMSL D10 is only behind the FiiO KA5, but even then the latter is a dongle with many more features, the physical part and the features elevate the product as a whole… if you put it on the scales, the D10 is almost half the price of the KA5, so you need to think about whether you want to pay more for a more sophisticated “beyond sound” part.

The D10 is without a doubt one of the most powerful dongles I’ve tested, if not the most powerful. In this regard, it is actually more powerful than the KA5, however, as I said before, the D10 gets really warm… this may be a characteristic to be taken into consideration, since the KA5 doesn’t get that warmth.

In terms of amplification, first of all, I should say that I tested the D10 connected to my notebook, so I left the dongle at maximum volume and controlled the sound using the Windows10 volume scale. Testing the 3.5mm output with the Kiwi Ears Quintet and the NF ACOUS NM20, the D10 only needed 20-25% volume for both IEMs to be at a loud but comfortable volume (for my ears). Both IEMs are easy to push, the NM20 is even easier, so the sound of both on the 3.5mm output, for me, is already correct.

On the 4.4mm Balanced output, I tested it with the Tin Hifi P1 (first version). Here I increased the volume to 50%, I thought it was enough for my ears. At this level, the sound was more dynamic in the sound as a whole, including the bass. My perception that the D10 can get more power is exactly because with a lower volume level I was able to reach the ideal level, while with other dongles, I needed to set it to 70% or more for the P1 to start sounding better.

I didn’t test the D10 with the Hifiman HE400SE, but based on my experience with the headphone and other dongles, I’d venture to say that the D10 easily pushes the headphone, especially on the balanced 4.4mm output.


COMPARISON: SMSL D10 x FiiO KA11

The most right thing to do was to test two real dongles. In fact, the comparison will be limited to just the 3.5mm output of the devices, since the KA11 only has 3.5mm. Another thing, they are different products, this comparison is just to enrich the text.

It was very difficult to notice the difference between the two, but I could really notice something… Tonally speaking, they are very similar, I would say that the KA11 is just a little warmer than the D10, with bass slightly standing out, but it’s very subtle, like looking for hair on a snake… The big difference for me – and it is also something very subtle – is that the D10 manages to have more spatiality in the sound, it’s as if it had a little more soundstage and instrumental separation than the KA11. The feeling is that some sounds echo more easily in the D10, and in the KA11 the presentation is more compacted (not that the KA11’s presentation is compacted, it’s in comparison with the D10). What happens then is that the D10 manages to create the effect of layers in the sound, but of course, it’s all something very subtle… you need to do a more analytical listening to feel the difference. The D10 sounded a bit more detailed to me, without using any tuning tricks, especially because for me the dongle’s sound was neutral… it’s a detailing in the sense of more clarity and transparency.

In terms of amplification, I set both to 20% and then to 25%, and in reality, I didn’t notice any difference in power between one and the other. I left the D10 at maximum volume, so I controlled both using the Windows10 scale.

If you’re looking for a simple dongle with 3.5mm & 4.4mm output, the SMSL D10 – for the price and the great audio quality – is a very big recommendation. If you’re not going to use the 4.4mm output, then I’d say that the price you’ll pay for the D10 might not be worth it, better to go for the FiiO KA11 and save some money. Now, if you have a little extra cash and are looking for a dongle with more features, 4.4mm output, etc., you can also consider the FiiO KA5 as an option.

PROS AND CONS:

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