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91% would recommend to a friend 
Massdrop x Grace Design Standard DAC
01 / 19
Massdrop x Grace Design Standard DAC
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Product Description
Made in collaboration with Grace Design, a company known for its incredibly accurate, transparent studio gear, the Standard DAC sets a new standard in entry-level DACs. It applies Grace Design’s pro-audio expertise to a simpler, more accessibly priced model that makes a great addition to any home or office system Read More
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Customer Reviews
4.6
(321 reviews)
5star(234)
4star(67)
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98
Nov 15, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
Having a few DACs in my stable, I think the SDAC is best compared to the Topping D10. Both offer compelling sound quality for under the $100 mark, but are differentiated by their I/O, file support and DAC chips, and less so by the quality of their sound.
While the D10 may have the edge in dynamics, linearity (besides the ESS hump) and clarity, the SDAC is more smooth, listenable over long periods of time, and generally more forgiving with hardware pairings. Both are competent however the D10 has more connectivity options as well as DSD support. Subjectively, the SDAC is more reserved and may blend in with a system easier, while the D10 has an informative display screen which will either look endearing or tacky. Can't go wrong with either... and can't go wrong owning both!
Notes:
- FLAC files spanning hiphop, electronic, jazz, rock and classical
- Tested with the Sennheiser HD580 and Beyerdynamic T1.2
- Source is a Macbook playing via MusicBee
- Amps tested are both the Liquid Spark and SAP-II
phoenixsong
1055
Jan 11, 2020
As you can see, I'm not impressed with my current setup, but as your 1st dac any of the ones you mentioned should suffice. For something else that's single-ended and just a little more expensive you can look toward the Topping D50s which can be found here as well! The Atom should be good enough as a single-ended amp :)
Bingo84
31
Jan 13, 2020
i will say go for sdac or sdac balanced.
i think everyone should have sdac to compare with other dac . it is very right sounding dac to me.
i own otherd dac too (odac rev b, khadas tone board, el dac, ol dac, schiit modi 3).
just waiting for sdac balnced to appeare in drop.
Highdrone
31
Mar 29, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Oh wow! Just trying this out for the first time with my HD 58x & the O2 amp. I'm having a tough time working at my desk because I keep hearing sounds around me that were never in the music (or so I thought). I'm a newb at this so this is blowing my mind right now. If you are reading reviews because you're on the fence about purchasing this, just buy it. Anyone who would have anything negative to say is either doing it wrong or an audio snob. I can't imagine why anyone would need more than this setup (HD 58x + O2 Amp + Grace SDAC). It's overwhelming in the best way imaginable. *I'm using quality cables (USB & Audio) and an Isotel Ultra for filtered power isolation (no hissing from electrical interference).
Noon6
14
Jan 20, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Enjoying it greatly. Huge difference between this and my D30 Dac. Magni 3 is my amp, using 6xx's.
Sound:
Better bass and separation between instruments. Sound-stage feels widened.
The Topping D30 was ok but everything sounded "cloudy/foggy". It felt like I had to really pump the volume up to get real results. Tbh using my Magni 3 with my on-board sound was arguably better. I remember first plugging in the D30 and thinking "wow this sounds...odd?" I wasn't able to quite put my finger on it.
In comparison the Grace feels awesome. Less volume for more results. My ears are thankful haha.
Even in videogames I hear the difference. Sounds seem that little bit more accurate.
Unfortunately I HAVE heard a few odd jitters while listening. In one song it sounded like it was cutting out for a few seconds. Upon going back to the same part of the song it was fine. Very odd. Possible cable issue. Will get a better usb cable and test it out.
Build:
Build quality is fine, simple black metal. Feels sturdy enough. Goes well with my black everything else desk haha.
Verdict:
Awesome :) If I ever upgrade will be looking at a Grace Design product.
FDkevin
19
Oct 21, 2019
Noon6weird, I had the exact opposite experience than you, which is SDAC sounded more muffled, and D30 got more detail up top. Whenever I read a review that's 180 degree opposite than mine, I really want to meet up with the person and do a A-B test and discuss how we are hearing things so differently :D
Roverrich
30
May 28, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Great Value DAC
So I’m a DAC junkie and in particular I love to look for great sounding DACs which represent a great value. This DAC is exactly that. The AKM based DAC is a great sounding piece that is very musical, works will well with my iPad and doesn’t require external power. The musical sound is so easy to listen to for hours and non fatiguing. For the price I don’t think you can beat it. I pair this with the THX 789 and have a terrific combo for not so much money. There certainly are higher resolution DACs out there which will reveal every little nuance of the music, but you will need to spend more money to get that resolution. Closest comparison in price would be the be the Toppings D10. So to me the main difference between the two is the ESS chip in the D10 sounds more analytic, slightly edgier than the AKM based SDAC. I did put in a Sparkos discrete OP amp chip in the D10 and that smoothed out the sound. Bass is punchier on D10 and more rounded on the SDAC. Vocals are better on the SDAC in my eyes vs the D10. You have to move up to a Toppings E30 to get a more musical DAC than the SDAC. The Toppings D50s is higher in resolution and transparency but again more analytic than the SDAC but also more money with BT and some other features which I’m frankly not sure are needed for my use. Only other thing to know is that you can’t power the SDAC with an iPhone, the current draw is too high and the combo won’t work. Hope this helps!
Recommends this product? Yes
nextmat
21
Mar 13, 2021
RoverrichJust a clarification in case it helps someone else. You can use the SDAC with an iPhone (or lower power iPad) but will need to provide external power. With the Apple USB 3 camera connection kit you can power them both at the same. This obviously won't work for on-the-go, but is a good solution if you plan to keep the SDAC in the same place all the time.
More details here.
Kpmajka
21
Mar 5, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
It's great as a basic USB DAC. If it was $10-20 more and had optical too I would have loved that option! MAC, Chrome OS, Android - all work great. Super simple.
Works well for my work setup with the matching amp. The separate DAC version of this should have had optical or coax vs just USB in my opinion.
I should have bought the combo unit instead.
(Edited)
omcnoe
28
Jun 20, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Could be great
But it's will constantly stop playing audio...
If I don't have sound constantly playing, it'll cease playing any audio after maybe 30 seconds, and has to unplugged & plugged back in to start.
Something on macOS isn't playing nice with this DAC, it's like it's going to sleep or something.
Still shows up as an audio device, just no sound.
Recommends this product? No
TheWalkman
11
Mar 27, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Nice little DAC. Dead simple to use. Sounds fine.
One minor complaint - yes, nit pickings here - I'm using this's with the O2 headphone amp and it would have been nice if the power LED's color matched.
(Edited)
GrantmanNZ
11
Jan 9, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Great unit with great audio specs and measurements. I have paired with a JDS Atom and am very happy.
*6 month update.
Very happy with the SDAC paired with JDS Atom amp. Note that a couple of times I've had completely garbled audio from the SDAC fixed by unplugging/plugging back in. Also occasional popping. I'm thinking this could be inconsistent power supply from my laptop.
I purchased a FX-audio Dac x6 and used it for a month to drive my HD6XX headphones. Unfortunately I felt the mids and highs of the X6 just weren't crisp and lows were boosted, but muddy. My laptop onboard which uses Realtek ALC668 had nicer sound.
So in frustration I threw money this SDAC and JDS Atom amp to see if things would be better. I have to say a marked improvement to clarity that I feel was certainly worthwhile. Yes it cost 3x as much, but it bought the satisfaction I had been frustratingly denied with the onboard and X6.*
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
mega_shawn
11
Feb 6, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Tried everything...
I tried it all, the iFi iPurifier 3.0 actually made a difference but it still wasn't quite good enough. The thing is this DAC is either brutally transparent to the source material or it's introducing a bit of harshness. For me it made certain songs I usually enjoy somewhat unlistenable. Someone else mentioned the heavy attack, which for the layperson, is basically the snap in a drum sound, and it's very heavy with the Standard DAC, so much so that while it sounds very dimensional it's also very fatiguing. I just couldn't listen to it for more than a few minutes. I ended up going with the Musical Fidelity V90 instead, which is 3x the price but has a sweeter and more musical sound. Both DAC's are a little on the boring side, but at least I can listen to the V90. Anyway, rant over, not a bad product for $80 but it doesn't sound great in my system.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? No
Kozato
10
Apr 18, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
(Edited)
GrantmanNZ
11
Jul 11, 2019
I'm using the SDAC + JDS Atom with the HD6XX and it does not need high gain. 95% of the time anywhere beyond 11-12 on the volume knob on normal gain is getting too loud.
This is in line with other comments on ASR forums.
Graham43
21
Jul 15, 2019
KozatoI have the same setup. Had the SDAC and an O2 amp and 6xx since last year and while the sound was good it wasn't spectacular. Now with the new Atom i just got today it's taken my music to another level!! Amazing!!
I only use low gain and it's plenty loud enough at 2 o'clock and that's with Windows volume on 64% Spotify or Musicbee on 100%.
Little Dot Mkii coming this week so that'll be another level again hopefully. 
(Edited)
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