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Product Description
Measuring 3.75 by 3 inches and weighing just 7.5 ounces, the SMSL M3 USB DAC/amp helps you achieve better sound without taking up too much space in your bag or on your desk. Equipped with the CS4398 DAC chip, it has a 24 bit/192 kHz sample rate via optical and coaxial, and a 24 bit/96 kHz sample rate via USB Read More
This headphone amp is a really solid option for the price. I originally bought it to power my HD6xx's since they needed 300 ohms, and it's served me really well. There's zero static, no matter how loud they are (and they get REALLY loud), and it offers really precise volume control. My only complaint is that there isn't a way to change how the volume control works or where it tops out, so I find myself only ever using about the first quarter of the dial.
edit: I have seen many other reviews talking about how this is mainly a replacement for onboard audio and I highly agree, it is not going to level up your sound or improve the quality you are getting out of your headphones, but it will power headphones that need more power very well.
its a good amp, probably more useful with mobile phones. its not working well with windows
i cant use windows to mute / volume the dac.
its not a driver issue, the official driver is not accepted by windows.
good device as a standalone, not for a PC
I have this connected to my iMac with USB and use it to drive my Sennheiser 58X headphones primarily streaming from Tidal. It gives me independence from the built-in headphone port which I use a lot for zoom calls and I found switching back and forth a pain, so the DAC is very useful for that purpose alone. I like the LEDs on the front and is gives you real-time feedback on the data rate from Tidal and the manual volume knob is very nice and solid. The sound overall is excellent but I don't notice any particular improvement over the built-in headphone port. Being self-powered over USB is a plus - fewer wires. Altogether solid.
Overall a good Dac, Can drive any low impedance headphone.
A fair share of digital inputs (coax, optical, usb) and a convenient, not amplified RCA out.
There is a tiny bit of noise, noticable when using IEMs, but not so much on regular headphones.
When changing volume there is also a small Left-Right balance issue present, but for the most time easily avoided.
Would reccomend as a replacement for onboard audio, but don't expect over the top performance.
Been using it for over a year and so far so good. This was my first dac/amp and I have not been disappointed. I'm using it with PC37x and it drives it beautifully. I unfortunately don't have spdif on my motherboard so I can't talk for it. But for gaming and some music this is perfect.
the connectors on the back for the USB feel flimsy. the nob fell off, and its lost forever, on my floor, somewhere.
pros: the connector flex-ability
cons: volume knob to loose.
Poor thing died to a Static shock through my headphone all these years later.