New SMSL A300 BTL Class-d Power Amp

[Bow_Wazoo]

Sure, why not?!
These headphones cost 700. tl
The m300 has far too little power.

 

[Roland68]

I have to make a 6.3 mm adapter for the he-6 to connect to the speaker output. Minus between L+R is connected, right?

First check whether an amplifier is suitable for this. Not every amplifier has speakers - = ground. You can easily blow up your amp and headphones with it.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

I'll make a balanced cable directly just in case.
At the same time I also wrote to smsl

 

[saberger0357]

Just got my second A300, and have it set up in the dual mono arrangement. Sounds fine. But wondering if there is any advantage to using the Master Slave, BTL connection instead? I am using an external preamp so no concerned with being able to match volume with the A300 remote. Do you get more power bridged vs. dual mono?

 

[TonyJZX]

they are saying 330w at 8/4 ohm BTL... perhaps half that for real world power

maybe 170-200w real world?

 

[saberger0357]

they are saying 330w at 8/4 ohm BTL... perhaps half that for real world power

maybe 170-200w real world?

Thanks.

What I'm trying to understand is if those ratings would be the same if I used the bridge connections described in the manual, or if I didn't use the BTL connection but rather used the amps in dual mono, but with each amp in BTL mode by using the br1 setting, as described here:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...l-class-d-power-amp.34607/page-3#post-1236807

 

[djigibao]

Here is test by Amirm (not so good):

SMSL A300 Stereo Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL A300 stereo class D amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $196. The A300 is slick looking with flush volume control and switches. Alas, I am not a fan of the blue LED display from aesthetic point of view. It is nice...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[saberger0357]

Here is test by Amirm (not so good):

SMSL A300 Stereo Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL A300 stereo class D amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $196. The A300 is slick looking with flush volume control and switches. Alas, I am not a fan of the blue LED display from aesthetic point of view. It is nice...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I saw that, and while I respect the review, the amps sound great to me on my system, which is a pretty good one. Comparing them to amps I own which are well respected and cost many, many times more then the A300, they do very well. Being able to run them in BTL mono is a plus for my needs.

I'm also going to try the well reviewed Fosi V3 to see if I can hear any improvement, but it's all very subjective, as is everything in audio. I use the numbers to help with buying decisions, but at the end of the day I use my own ears and decades of listening experience to decide if something is right for me. The A300 as of now certainly is.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Does anyone know which DAC is installed?

 

[Roland68]

Does anyone know which DAC is installed?

The A300 probably uses the same chip as the AO200 and AO100. It is one of the most widely used Bluetooth chips for audio devices (BT headphones, speakers, MP3 mini boards, etc.).
Since such a "Bluetooth MP3 Mini-Board" costs between $1 and $5, you can calculate what this chip costs. Far from Qualcomm and other products.

This chip has Bluetooth, USB functionality but only 12 MBit/s, MP3 player function with music playback control including HDD connection via USB, HID, an amazing amount of computing power and a pool of interfaces.
Chip JL AS21BP0A223-25D4 from ZhuHai-JieLi-Technolog, probably AC6385A SoC chip from AC63 series in QSOP24 package.
Definitely not the burner, but extremely common and on Github you can find an SDK kit and everything you need for development. However, I did not read Bluetooth 5.0 but Bluetooth core specification: 4.2, even if the device registers with the device name "SMSL BT5.0C". A rogue who thinks something bad

 

[ampguy]

I tried a master-slave connection, but it is difficult to control the volume. The interlocking operation is strange and I can't understand it well. I feel that the sound quality is not good either.

After all, I stopped the master-slave method that uses the BTL-R output and used the two A300s as independent BTL operations.

procedure
1. Turn off the power switch on the back of the two A300s.
Disconnect the BTL-R connection cable. There is no change in the speaker connection. Is the same.

2. Connect the R-ch of the audio output cable from the DAC etc. to the L-ch of IN1 of the first A300, and connect the L-ch to the L-ch of IN1 of the second A300.
If there are other connected devices, connect them to IN2 L-ch in the same way.

3. Turn on the power of the two A300s.

4. Set the amplifier operation to br1 in BTL mode.

5. Set the input mode to IN1.

6. Set the volume to the same level for both units. Subsequent adjustments are operated with the remote control.
The response of the remote control is good, and the volume of the two A300s and the items in the MENU work smoothly in tandem. It is very comfortable to be able to set two A300s at the same time with one remote control operation. Of course, the power can be turned on and off at the same time with the remote control.
Of course, BT and USB cannot be used in BTL mode.

Toku, I can see how this method works as well, but I am not generally experiencing the issues you mention using the BTL from master to the input of L amp. As long as 1) the units balance is calibrated initially, and 2) subsequent use of the remote is able to control both volumes. There was one time when I was so far or mis pointed with the remote, that the remote only affected one volume, and I had to reset the balance, but with pointing of the remote so it will be in the direction of both amp front panels, I can maintain balance. The #'s are all over the place, and I am looking for some dimming solution. It would be nice to see a schematic to determine if the BTL on the main is simply an extension of the R input on main or if something else is going on.

 

[Dwayne1963]

Here is test by Amirm (not so good):

SMSL A300 Stereo Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL A300 stereo class D amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $196. The A300 is slick looking with flush volume control and switches. Alas, I am not a fan of the blue LED display from aesthetic point of view. It is nice...

www.audiosciencereview.com

So, the question which others have asked and remains to be answered is, if not the A300, then what? What other option(s) would the pundits here recommend in place of the A300, preferably an option that (a) includes a SW OUT, and (b) has a decent USB IN? Inquiring minds (who don't have the deepest pockets) want to know!

 

[longma]

So, the question which others have asked and remains to be answered is, if not the A300, then what? What other option(s) would the pundits here recommend in place of the A300, preferably an option that (a) includes a SW OUT, and (b) has a decent USB IN? Inquiring minds (who don't have the deepest pockets) want to know!

SMSL AL200

 

[dr_mick51]

Many people praise the A300, it has good reviews. People never complained about sound quality. But now that Amir measured it suddenly it does not sound good anymore? What does it mean? Measurements don't tell the whole truth? Or people cannot "hear" distortion beyond certain level? It sounds very good to me. What do you think?

 

[saberger0357]

Many people praise the A300, it has good reviews. People never complained about sound quality. But now that Amir measured it suddenly it does not sound good anymore? What does it mean? Measurements don't tell the whole truth? Or people cannot "hear" distortion beyond certain level? It sounds very good to me. What do you think?

Specs are valid, but so are your ears. If it sounds good to you(like it does to me) then that's really all that counts, IMO.

I don't think there's another amp out there that you can bridge to get the type of power that will result in, plus the other bells and whistles that it has, for less then $200. If there is, I'd certainly be interested in learning about it.

I have a couple of Fosi amps that have very good specs per Amir's review, and I really like those also. Do they sound better in my room, with my gear, to my ears? No.

 

[TonyJZX]

i have owned and still owned amps that I know will measure like shit.

eg. I used to own an NAD 3020. You know what this is. You know its going to fail on every objective measure.

I have a Parasound multichannel which is of the same vintage as an Adcom 555 or a Sunfire Cinema Grand or any of these kind of vintage 25yr old battleships.

These do measure poorly. Hell even current Parasound THX amps dont measure that well. And yet my Parasound is one of the best amps I've ever owned.

And so the A300 is sort of in that category. Its it the best? I think the V3 will better it. And that's probably what you should buy. Or wait until October for the V3 2.0 - so my advice would be to hold onto your dollars right now.

I also have a Marantz receiver that I think sounds better than the A300 but I think that'll measure quite poorly too even though its made in japan and has all the silly stuff like copper screws and copper chassis.

 

[saberger0357]

If I could bridge the V3 to get more power, it would be a game changer for me. I use mine on a pair of fairly easy to drive, 4 ohm speakers so 190 watts works well. But I have 2 A300's bridged to drive a pair of 8 ohm speakers, which the amps then see as 4 ohms. According to Amir's review, that's 400 watts and a lot of head room. For $400. I don't know where else I can find that much power for that price, particularly in such a small footprint. For my needs, those amps are perfect.

 

[Dwayne1963]

i have owned and still owned amps that I know will measure like shit.

eg. I used to own an NAD 3020. You know what this is. You know its going to fail on every objective measure.

I have a Parasound multichannel which is of the same vintage as an Adcom 555 or a Sunfire Cinema Grand or any of these kind of vintage 25yr old battleships.

These do measure poorly. Hell even current Parasound THX amps dont measure that well. And yet my Parasound is one of the best amps I've ever owned.

And so the A300 is sort of in that category. Its it the best? I think the V3 will better it. And that's probably what you should buy. Or wait until October for the V3 2.0 - so my advice would be to hold onto your dollars right now.

I also have a Marantz receiver that I think sounds better than the A300 but I think that'll measure quite poorly too even though its made in japan and has all the silly stuff like copper screws and copper chassis.

"The V3"? Are you referring to the Fosi Audio V3? Sorry, but I don't know exactly which amp you're referring to.

 

[saberger0357]

"The V3"? Are you referring to the Fosi Audio V3? Sorry, but I don't know exactly which amp you're referring to.

Yes.

 

[Dwayne1963]

Ahh, but the AL200 doesn't have a subwoofer out... and it's currently pretty darn pricey in Canada ($445.64 + $108.88 shipping & import fees from USA + $12.24 delivery, yikes!)

SMSL AL200