SMSL DACs

I have compared the SMSL SU-9 to the Ares II.  Doing A/B comparisons is easy with Roon and Raspberry Pi 4 as the source to both DACs and a Schiit Freya to switch between them.  It is easy to level match and have the only variable being the DACs.  What is hard is actually hearing a difference between them.  The Ares II might be a bit better but again hearing any difference is hard.  I have had much more luck hearing differences between amps or even cables.  My conclusion is sub $1000  DACs are pretty good and hard to differentiate except for features like the remote control which is the reason why I use my SU-9 or Topping D70 in preference to the Ares II.  I have no experience with more expensive DACs.

Excellent pinwa! This is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. Much appreciated!

A few months ago, I sold my Schiit Gungnir Multibit. I used an SMSL 400 for about 2 months while I waited for Denafrips Pontus II arrival. The SMSL functioned perfectly, had some convenient bell & whistles like the full color display info, but the sound was kinda dry and flat. Granted this was the lowest cost DAC I've heard in a while. It had decent amounts of detail, but tonality wasn't too impressive. Soundstage was wide, with okay depth, but instruments lacked air and their own space. 

The Pontus is miles ahead, as it should at double the cost. FWIW. I'd guess that the Ares would be a better choice if your priorities include more organic fleshed out instruments and realistic tonality. The SMSL's strengths were "studio monitor-ish" lots of detailed sounds, with a more analytical slant. Cheers,
Spencer

sbank - thanks!

i found the topping d90 dry and flat, if quite detailed, when i tried it

dena pontus vastly superior in imaging, tonality and timber imo

jjss49 - I guess you get what you pay for. It seems $1700 (dens pontus) gets you a lot better performance and it's still relatively a bargain. Lots of good press...

I saw a used Soekris for ~$1100. That's an another good R2R at a lower price than my Pontus. Cheers,
Spencer

sbank - never even heard of Soekris.
Thanks, I will research this.

i would second @sbank ’s recommendation of the soekris dacs - like denafrips, an over achiever at the price

have had the 1421, now the 1541 - both excellent, subtly different presentation than the dena pontus, but no less musical

jjss49 - thanks. Will check this out tomorrow!

Then, this one came out today, SMSL DO200.
Pretty good review, by a pretty decent reviewer. 

://youtu.be/Vtneco3hr4g