Ok, so far I'm pissed beyond belief. I have 30+ years of computer experience, I work in the IT industry, I have a degree in electronics and for the life of me - I can't get the thing to play DSD audio through USB, nor can I get it to play ANYTHING without static being present in the right channel. 

Does SMSL do ANY quality control testing before they send these out?

On top of that, I'm stuck in the Foobar2000 maze of components and .dll files, trying to match versions that work with other components because developers are lazy; they write code for ONE, SPECIFIC, EXACT version of a .dll AND NOTHING ELSE; so all the planets have to align for ANYTHING to work correctly. It's the 'Linux' mentality where packages have certain dependencies and simply crash if you mix and match. 

So far, I give it:
Looks/build quality: [chart layout=stars max=5]x=5[/chart]
Ease of use in Windows: [chart layout=stars max=5]x=1[/chart]
Sound quality (when it works): [chart layout=stars max=5]x=4[/chart]

I'm looking forward for you impressions.

Massdrop has it for $149 and it seems too good to pass up. I always wanted a DSD DAC and I'm interested in how the ESS Sabre 9018 chip sounds. Here's the specs:

SMSL M8 DAC Details:

   • Sabre Reference 32-bit ES9018 DAC chip
   • XMOS 32bit USB receiver chip
   • Maximum support 384KHZ / 32Bit, DSD
   • Professional circuit layout
   • Aluminum Housing
   • Digital Toslink Optical/Coaxial/USB
   • Analog Output: single ended output via RCA port
   • THD + N is less than 0.0004%, dynamic> 125dB, SNR> 126dB
   • USB support 32bit, 384KHZ PCM signal
   • DSD direct decoding
   • 7 kinds of filter modes
   • Automatic jitter remove control switch
   • High precision DPLL locked bandwidth set automatically
   • OLED display
   • Automatic memory
   • Automatic shutdown environmental design
   • High precision and low phase noise clock system
   • Ultra low noise power processing system
   • High precision ultra-low noise resistor
   • Solid aluminum CNC aluminum alloy chassis pure aluminum buttons
   • 110-240V supported
   • THD + N: < 0.0004%
   • Output level: 2.15 Vrms
   • Dynamic range: > 125dB
   • SNR: > 126dB
   • Channel separation : > 120Db
   • USB Input: PCM = 16bit-24 bit/32kHz-384 kHz, DSD = DSD64, DSD128 (1bit 2.8224MHz - 5.6448MHz)
   • USB support: Windows, Mac OS, iOS (need purchase connector), Android 4.0 or more (most models)
   • Optical fiber coaxial: 16bit-24 bit/ 32kHz-192 kHz
   • Digital Input Format Support:
   • Coaxial: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
   • Optical: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz
   • USB: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, 384 kHz
   • DSDx64 (2.8224MHz), DSDx128 (5.6448MHz)

I'm getting kinda bored with my Audio-GD NFB-12.1 (Wolfson 8740 based DAC/headphone amp) and I wanted something that would compliment my Burson HDA-160 headphone amp. Also, I want a DAC that can playback DSD recordings I make with my Korg MR-2000S - the SMSL M8 seems like a perfect match. The reviews I've seen so far have all been positive but this is a relatively new DAC.

What do you think?

I was cruising YouTube today and found a couple videos posted by the infamous Michael Fremer of Stereophile magazine; he recently started posting videos of his $100k+ Continuum Caliburn turntable setup playing various LP's and they sound amazing!