And we are back at Massdrop with another fully-unlocked offering, running for the next four days and change from blog-posting time. It is the new condition SMSL M3 USB DAC/Amp going for $60 with a mid-April [something to soothe over Tax Day woes?] shipment estimate from Massdrop. There’s no mention of warranty in the listing.

Despite its compact size and price, this has three audio inputs, USB obviously [it’s in the product name after all], along with Optical and Coaxial. It also has a USB power input which is separate from the USB audio input. Output is RCA (for the DAC part) and headphone-out with an adapter included so you can use it with either 1/4″ or 1/8″ headphones.

What is not included is an AC power cable [it can be powered via USB, YMMV depending on the combination of inputs and outputs]. Also not included are optical or coaxial cables.

It averages over 4 out of 5 based on 17 customer reviews at MadDrops and its discussion has over 330 comments. A filter to separate the signal from the noise is NOT included, that too you have to procure on your own 🙂

Yet another SMSL product is running at the Massdrop website. For the next two days and change [from posting time here] you can get the new condition modest-looking SMSL M6 DAC/Amp for $130 with free USA shipping. You can select between silver or black (but there is no Raiders edition!). It will ship from Massdrop in late December 2018 and as usual with SMSL products, there is no mention of warranty in the listing.

It’s red DAC time at the Massdrop website where for the next five days and change (from blog posting time] they are offering the new condition SMSL Sanskrit 10th SK10 DAC for $75. Melisandre would definitely approve of the red, but you can also select the blue color scheme at checkout 🙂 These will be shipped by Massdrop in mid-December 2018. There is no mention of warranty in the listing…

Massdrop strikes again! Unlocked and ready for purchase with an early December 2018 shipment date is the new condition SMSL SU-8 DAC & SH-8 Headphone Amp drop [aka offer]. There are three options in this listing ~ you select them at the checkout. The SU-8 DAC goes for $200, the SH-8 amp goes for $160, or you can buy both for $340 [a $20 off combined purchase discount; stingy?] There are discussions, reviews and links for these models over there at the aforelinked MD webpage…

Another offering is now fully unlocked at Massdrop, it is the new condition SMSL SAP-II Headphone Amp going for $50 with free US shipping for the next two days and change from blog-posting time. These will ship in early May from Massdrop with all sales final as usual. There is no mention of warranty in the listing.

Another offer has been unlocked at the members-only shopping cart that is Massdrop, they are offering the new condition SMSL M8A DAC for $180 with free shipping, with a mid-January 2018 shipment estimate. Massdrop will do the shipping and all sales are final. No mention of warranty is mentioned.

Another new offer has become fully unlocked today at members-only Massdrop. It is the new condition SMSL IDEA DAC/Amp going for $70 with free shipping. The offer runs for the next four days or so. It comes with three different types of USB cables and can support up to DSD 512. The shipping estimate is CES 2018 (early January 2018). They ship from Massdrop and all sales are final.

If you prefer much faster delivery and the option to return them if you don’t like them, two of the three color options (black or red) are available for $86 by ShenzhenAudio with the orders fulfilled by Amazon, so Prime members get them in two days or so. The gray color ships directly from Shenzhen and it’s not Prime eligible, so there is a Massdrop-level of wait there 🙂

Another offer has reached the “fully unlocked” status at the members-only Massdrop shopping site. It is the new condition SMSL M8A DAC going for $180 with free shipping. The offer runs for the next seven days and it is expected to ship late May 2017. This too is an “All Sales Final” offer. I wish they put that higher up on the page, so people wouldn’t miss it when buying and then have frustrations with Massdrop. It would benefit both the seller and the buyers if this was make more prominent.

Another day, another Massdrop mad drop (ha!). The SMSL M6 DAC/Amp is unlocked for $135 plus $8~ flat shipping over there. It is available in neither or black and will ship in mid-March 2017. The offer runs for the next six days. It currently beats the eBay and amazon.com prices of $170.

Speaking of MD, these two have two days left in them before the expire:
+ AKG K812 for $939~ shipped
+ xDuoo TA-01 DAC/Amp for $129~ shipped

The “Apple tax” is not high on this one, the SMSL Icon Lightning DAC/Amp for iOS is fully unlocked on Massdrop going for $55 plus $3~ flat shipping. It is estimated to ship early January 2017 and the offer is running for the next eight days.

Straddling both portable and desktop use, the SMSL M3 USB DAC/Amp is unlocked at members-only but free-to-join Massdrop for $65 plus $4~ flat shipping. Despite the small size, it offers various input and output and power options, and it also has sampling rate lights (options range from 44 to 192). Check reviews and forums for more details. This runs from the next four days (from blog-posting date) and is estimated to ship early December 2016. Note that the headphone out is 1/4″, not 1/8″, but an adapter is included (and if you are reading this post, you probably have a drawer full of 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapters).

Tiny USB DAC/amps continue to increase in popularity as more and more smartphones become the centerpiece of people’s digital lives. Or some market-research-mumbo-jumbo like that 🙂 Which brings us to the SMSL IDOL+ DAC/Amp, with a microUSB input and a 3.5mm output, going for $32 plus $3~ flat shipping at Massdrop with eight days left to go from today (= blog-posting date). It comes with both USB and an OTG cable and a 1-year warranty thru Massdrop. Shipping estimate is late November 2016.

If you don’t want to wait for that long, a marketplace seller has it for $40 at Amazon, and the order is fulfilled by Amazon, so if you are a Prime member you get it in about two days after you order.

The parade of small USB DAC/amps continues with the SMSL IDOL+ DAC/Amp currently going for $32 plus $3~ flat shipping at the members-only (but free to join) shopping website Massdrop. There are seven days left in the offer, it comes with a 1-year warranty from MD (not the manufacturer) and shipments will begin in mid-October 2016.

SMSL is slowly expanding their line-up of DACs and amps, and one of them, the SD-793II DAC/Amp is currently unlocked at Massdrop for $57 plus $5 flat shipping with a late August shipping estimate.

If you don’t want to wait, a handful of possibly-price-matched marketplace sellers offer it for $65 with the order fulfilled by Amazon, so you get free shipping and if a Prime member, you can have it within a couple of business days (give or take depending on various known and unknown variables). This averages 4.4 out of 5 based on 112 customer reviews and has 80+ questions peer-answered.

This has optical or coaxial digital inputs, but no USB audio input. Check the customer pictures for a sideways picture of the back side (RCA out, Digital inputs).

With the continuing popularity of smartphones as primary DAPs for many, the portable DAC/amps continue to multiply like audio wabbits, including micro-USB models, such as the SMSL Ivy Micro-USB DAC/Amp for Android, currently fully unlocked at Massdrop for $20 plus $3~ flat shipping. The offer runs for the next seven days with a shipping estimate of early September 2016.

If you miss the drop or don’t want to buy from Massdrop, it goes for $29 with free shipping by Shenzhen Audio through amazon.com. It ships from Shenzhen, so it’s not eligible for Prime. However, judging by the shipping estimates, this looks like it may be shipping out of China, not the US.

On the tiny USB-input 3.5mm-output DAC/amps front, Massdrop now has the SMSL IDOL DAC/Amp fully unlocked going for $30 plus $3~ flat shipping. The shipping estimate is early August 2016, fairly soon by Masdrop standards 🙂

This looks like it might even be smaller than the Fiio E6, it is the SMSL Ivy Micro-USB DAC/Amp for Android, fully unlocked at members-only Massdrop for $20 plus $3~ flat shipping. This takes microUSB audio and outputs it via 3.5mm. It comes with a zippered case and ships in early August 2016.

Another offer is now ready to go at its lowest Massdrop price during this particular promotion window, it is the SMSL M6 DAC/amp going for $135 plus $8~ flat shipping. This has six days to go from today (being blog-posting day) and will ship in early July 2016.

If you like nice buttons on your portable budget headphone amps, and not cryptic multi-function nano-buttons, currently in progress at Massdrop is the SMSL Audio SAP-7, available in three different colors for $30 plus $3 flat shipping. You can pick the color during the checkout process. Shipping estimate is early June 2016.

If you want it faster, one marketplace seller at Amazon, HJR Headphone Shop (ships from the state of Washington) offers it thru Amazon for $35 with free shipping. This ships directly from them, so no Prime shipping benefits.