Hi all, I am new here and I just bought a C200 and I would like some advice from the more experts, please bear with me.
I use it connected throught USB to my PC and I use mainly with VLC or Foobar. I installed the Xmos driver from SMSL support page and the USB mode is set to U2.0.
- I set PCM Filter to 3 as it seems it is the best from what I read in this thread, is it correct?
- My IEMs get a sufficient volume with low gain (it's much higher with GH) is there any advantage using GH instead?
- What about the DPLL setting? I have it default at 4, is it OK or should I change it?
- The display shows always 44.1, even if I am playing a Hi-Res 24-96 flac file, shouldn't it show the correct sample rate? Or should I set (from windows audio settings) another sample rate? I have windows 11, in the audio settings it correctly shows SMSL USB DAC, in the output section I can choose several sample rates, from 16bit 44.1 to 32bit 384.0 Hz, should I choose a particular one here?
- When I turn off the unit by long-pressing the knob, is it really completely off or it is still in stand-by mode? I would like to be able to put it off completely when not in use.
- The USB cable coming with the unit is too short for me, so I bought another USB-C to USB-A cable on Amazon but it introduces noise (scratching, cracks) when the original cable and also a cable for my samsung note work correctly. Maybe the cable is defective or is there a particular type of USB cable that should be used? It seems that on Amazon the USB-C to A cables are all charging cables (supporting fast charge) maybe is this the reason of the noise?
Sorry for the many questions
Thank you very much
Hi there. Not an expert but I'll give it a go.
- If you like the sound of it then it's fine. Honestly I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between any of the filters - the difference is very subtle. I think I've set mine to filter 4.
- I think the high gain mode is for less sensitive headphones - some require a great deal more power than others. For sensitive IEM's I'd suggest low gain is fine.
- I've had to increase it to 7 to work with the optical input from my TV. The lower values result in dropouts. 7 is the lowest number that doesn't have any dropouts on that input. My understanding is it only makes a difference on the optical and co-ax inputs - it has no function on USB. The higher the number the more compatible it is with other devices, but I think theoretically jitter can increase the higher the setting too. If you have no audio dropouts, or don't use inputs other than USB, there's no need to change this.
- Yes it should show the actual sample rate of your file if set up correctly. It sounds like your output is using shared WASAPI mode rather than exclusive resulting in resampling happening. Try this - in Foobar2000 preferences in the Output section, change the output device to (what should be something like)
Default : Speakers [2 - SMSL USB DAC] [Exclusive] (this is what it looks like to me in the latest version of Foobar2000). Also change the Output Data Format to 32 bit while you're there. You may also see options like WASAPI (event) : Speakers [2 - SMSL USB DAC] which you can try alternatively. Test. If none of that works as intended then we can set it up to use the ASIO driver, but these should work fine..
- It's in standby. It can be turned on again using the remote or pressing the volume knob so a section of the electronics have to be powered to "listen" for input on these controls. It uses a tiny amount of power in this mode. There's no hard power off switch on this device.
- Possible you've got a bad one? I'm just using an Amazon Basics USB-C to USB-A 3 Amp cable without a problem. Amazon seem to be phasing them out for higher power (100w) capable cables, which I haven't tried. You don't need to pay extra for a USB 3.x capable cable, because this DAC does not use USB 3.2. USB-C is hugely confusing.