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Product: Semibreve NP10 - DAC, headphone amp & digital player
Manufacturer: Semibreve - China
Approx. price: ±€120 (shipping included)
Reviewer: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT-Audio Italy
Reviewed: June, 2026

Foreword

Semibreve in music denotes a note value held for the duration of a whole measure. Alternatively, the semibreve corresponds to a 4/4 note value. A HiFi brand named Semibreve is therefore inherently evocative from a musical standpoint. It is a Chinese company, likely a new offshoot of one of the many already-familiar brands. At times, the same components may also appear under the Opoint label.
Several digital players/DACs carrying the Semibreve name are available on the market, differing in components and feature sets. Alongside this NP10 under review, the lineup also includes the NP20 and NP50 models, the DA50 standalone DAC, and various other units. It's available on eBay (around €130-140) and on AliExpress, where it's sometimes discounted to about €110.

A closer look

The Semibreve NP10 is marketed as a stereo audio player, though in practice it is a fully featured DAC with the added ability to play files directly from external USB drives or memory cards via a USB interface. It offers no fewer than four digital inputs (coaxial, optical, PC-USB and Bluetooth), plus an additional USB-disk port. It also includes a convenient coaxial digital output for connection to further external devices. Analogue output is provided via a pair of gold-plated RCA connectors, and a 6.35 mm front-panel headphone jack is also present.

All functions can be operated via the remote control (bearing Chinese characters on the sample tested) or through the front-panel micro-switches. Output volume can be adjusted - allowing direct connection to a power amplifier or active speakers - along with track navigation (forward/back) for the external disk, display brightness, and the selection of seven different digital filters. All operations are shown on a clear and legible 2" IPS (In-Plane Switching) colour LCD display, which also indicates volume level, digital signal type (sampling rate, etc.) and the selected filter. The compact metal chassis (133W × 156D × 48H mm, 600 g) features a brushed-aluminium front panel (black or silver) with rounded edges. The overall impression is of a well-engineered product - especially considering its price point.

Inside, there is more than one surprise. The board handling the USB stream is declared to be an Amanero384 module. After contacting Amanero - the Italian company that designs these high-quality, high-resolution USB interfaces - I was told it is most likely a clone. Nevertheless, the device is immediately recognized (driver-free) by my Linux notebook as “Amanero384 Stereo”, with support for PCM 44.1-384 kHz and DSD64-512 playback (although the latter appears to work only via DoP). A version of this NP10 without the Amanero board also exists, at a slightly lower price.

The heart of the NP10 consists of a dual configuration using a pair of ESS SABRE ES9038Q2M chips. This DAC is found in numerous higher-end products - for example, the Audiophonics Evo DAC we reviewed, the Musical Fidelity M6x DAC, the Emotiva XDA-3 DAC/preamp, the new Mission 778X integrated amplifier, the Eversolo DMP-A6 Gen 2 streamer, and many other well-regarded units.

Output stages (line and headphone) are handled by no fewer than four JRC 5532DD operational amplifiers, socketed on DIP8 for quick op-amp rolling. These op-amps - selected versions of the classic 5532 - have been used in respected digital players such as the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC, Marantz CD players like the CD72, several Philips models, and a large number of headphone amplifiers.

The passive components include Elna Audio Grade black/gold capacitors (2 × 3300 uF), Rubycon units (2 × 330 uF), and Omron parts. The published specs list a dynamic range above 121 dB, distortion at 0.0005%, and a frequency response of 20 Hz-20 kHz (±0.06 dB). Power is supplied externally via a 12 V / 1.5 A switching adapter.

Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity is provided by a Qualcomm QCC3084 chip. The NP10 can read and decode virtually any audio format (WAV, FLAC, APE/WISO, DSF, DFF, DTS, MP3, etc.). In practice, it includes everything needed to connect any source device (PC, smartphone, etc.) and also works as a USB card player. Simply load music onto a USB stick or a memory card with a USB interface, and it will play back any file type. It has no network connectivity, so it cannot access streaming services directly, though this is easily achieved by pairing it with a PC or a streamer.

Given the asking price, the components used, and the overall build quality (SMD assembly), it would be unreasonable to expect anything more.

Let's Play the Right Note!

I didn't have high expectations for this DAC, simply because it offers so much at an extremely low price. And yet, despite that, it actually manages to sound good - surprisingly good. Tonal balance is essentially neutral, built on a low end that is solid, deep and powerful, far beyond what I anticipated given the price tag. It doesn't show any obvious shortcomings even when compared with DACs costing significantly more. I've listened to several budget DACs recently (and more reviews are coming), and I must say that the NP10's bass is among the best. Keep in mind that the power supply is well executed, the two ESS conversion chips are excellent, and the output stage uses two very capable op-amps. If I had to criticize the bass, I'd say I would have preferred it a bit more expansive - that's the most fitting word I can find. It's there, it's strong and deep, but on sustained organ notes, for example, it seems to struggle to fully bloom into the listening room. Then again, many more expensive DACs do even worse in this area...

The midrange is present, detailed and incisive - not the smoothest on vocals, but more than enough to surprise once you consider the cost of the unit. This particular trait is also highly dependent on the op-amps used. With some experimentation - about which I'll report later - this parameter can be fine-tuned and refined by swapping in different op-amps. It's easy: pull the old ones out and plug the new ones in, much like changing tubes.

The high range is present and harmonically convincing, though it naturally lacks the top-end refinement (especially on cymbals and other percussive or plucked instruments) of higher-tier electronics. Still, the gap is smaller than one might think, and to perceive it clearly you need systems whose cost is wildly disproportionate to the setups in which this little all-rounder DAC will realistically be used. You can also play with the selectable FIR output filters - seven of them! - but in the end I mostly listened in filter disable or minimum phase slow mode, partly because distinguishing the differences between the various settings requires saint-like patience: just when you think you've figured it out, you switch filters and it seems to sound exactly the same. The filters affect the high range performance, mostly.

Dynamics - likely helped by the solid power supply - are very good for the price. This DAC handles even aggressive, demanding genres without collapsing. Sure, there's a hint of congestion in the most crowded passages with high energy content, but it would be strange if that weren't the case. Pace and rhythmic drive remain excellent even with difficult tracks, which is genuinely surprising.

The area where the difference between a high-end component and a good budget one often becomes obvious is in the reconstruction of the three-dimensional sound-stage. Here, the NP10 holds its own, producing a wide and detailed stage with well-defined outlines for singers and instruments. What's missing is a bit of overall breathing space, and depth remains somewhat limited, as the sound tends to project slightly forward. Of course, none of this will be noticeable if your speakers are sitting on a desk or a bookshelf close to the back wall - this must always be kept in mind. You need generous free space between the speakers and between them and the surrounding walls, for example. And you need speakers capable of creating a three-dimensional illusion - something not typically achievable with the budget components this DAC will realistically be paired with.

The headphone output stage - driven by two op-amps identical to those in the analogue line stage - also sounds very good and offers excellent driving capability (the sonic character is, unsurprisingly, the same as the line output). The USB input handled by the Amanero-like board performs well too, and high-resolution files are fair game. And let's not forget that the NP10 also works as a player for external memory devices, if you still use USB sticks to store your music.

I think it's clear that, even though I've tried hard to nitpick this little DAC, it ultimately won me over thanks to its stellar price-to-performance ratio and its overall correct, well-balanced sound - good enough to integrate into systems far, far above what would normally be reasonable. And with the ability to experiment with FIR filters and indulge in some easy op-amp rolling, this compact Semibreve NP10 can also serve as an excellent training ground for learning how to fine-tune your system until you find your personal optimum.

Remarks & Complaints

For a little over €100, this NP10 is remarkably well built, both inside and out. A remote control with non-Chinese characters would have been preferable, but after a few attempts it becomes perfectly usable. The unit runs fairly warm for a DAC, though nothing worrying. When powered, the device remains in permanent standby.

Conclusions

A hundred euros for a well-built device with quality components, a nice display, a remote control and impressive operational flexibility would already be surprising, even without considering the sound. The real twist is that, for the same amount, you also get a DAC that manages to sound very good - indeed, surprisingly good for the price. Taking into account all its features and its overall build and sonic quality, I have no hesitation in calling this DAC a genuine bargain. Embarrassingly good, indeed!

I'll leave the op-amp rolling experiments (swapping the output op-amps) for a separate article, as these components are ultimately the main contributors to the final sound of devices of this type. We should also be able to perform accurate measurements on that occasion - stay tuned!

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Copyright 2026 Lucio Cadeddu - direttore@tnt-audio.com - www.tnt-audio.com

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