SMSL DL200 the best ever value DAC/AMP?

[nick_l44.1]

We don't have measurements for DL200

Actually you have some:
Post 1
Post 2
Post 3

 

[FreakyKiwi]

Thank you for the replies, I actually prefer it to a dongle because it is powered by electricity and doesn't drain my smartphone, so for me it's much more convenient that way.
Actually, given the DL200 static background noise, which is basically due to BT data transmission (having tried airplane mode, no Wi-Fi, but only BT on), in my case it would have been better if I had opted for a Qudelix 5K always connected via USB to the current (preserving its battery). Much smaller, with superlative EQ features and it would have cost me a lot less too.

You would need to charge the Quedelix if you weren't powering it from the phone which would be a bit of a nuisance.
It's a great device though (once you figure out what the buttons do), mine has been relegated to use as my PC DAC now powering my Hyper-X Cloud IIs.
I never used it as a Bluetooth DAC but do love the 10/20 band PEQ.

 

[half_dog]

Thank you for the replies, I actually prefer it to a dongle because it is powered by electricity and doesn't drain my smartphone, so for me it's much more convenient that way.
Actually, given the DL200 static background noise, which is basically due to BT data transmission (having tried airplane mode, no Wi-Fi, but only BT on), in my case it would have been better if I had opted for a Qudelix 5K always connected via USB to the current (preserving its battery). Much smaller, with superlative EQ features and it would have cost me a lot less too.

Mine unit arrived yesterday and at first I got some noise when using BT (did not matter the CODEC) like a repeating pop sound. But if I toggled the input to another one and go back to BT the noise was mitigated - mainly with LDAC.
SBC has some inerent noise that's hard to remove.

 

[nick_l44.1]

Mine unit arrived yesterday and at first I got some noise when using BT (did not matter the CODEC) like a repeating pop sound. But if I toggled the input to another one and go back to BT the noise was mitigated - mainly with LDAC.
SBC has some inerent noise that's hard to remove.

I've reported earliear about bluetooth issues. Maybe it's the same thing.

 

[Fantomax]

After several tests to identify the background static noise of the Bluetooth, this is practically resolved completely by touching the base of the antenna with your fingers (not the plastic part, but the metal part that screws to the device). So, it is not due to the distance of the smartphone transmitting nor the sensitivity of the headphones or IEM, but it seems more like the need for "grounding". My DL200 sits on a wooden nightstand, on top of a parquet floor and I assume they create some kind of insulation for the unit. I will try to see if the solution could be a ground wire twisted around the antenna, which would discharge and eliminate the problem.
Another test I did was to unscrew and completely remove the BT antenna: the smartphone transmitted the music in jerks (the closer it was, the better and the less jerky), but the background static noise during silence was completely gone.

 

[Fantomax]

Guys, the problem is the antenna which comes with the DL200. I've replaced it with one all in plastic and there's no static, no noise at all.
Solved.

 

[half_dog]

I've reported earliear about bluetooth issues. Maybe it's the same thing.

I did some measurements using REW and an audio interface and I had no clipping problems.
The noise that I was hearing (haven't happen recently) was like a very faint low pitch pop sound only in the left channel.

Guys, the problem is the antenna which comes with the DL200. I've replaced it with one all in plastic and there's no static, no noise at all.
Solved.

My "problem" (I can't reproduce it anymore) was different but I happy for you to be able to sort it out

 

[damarfi]

For those (like myself) who have inadvertently installed that firmware available on this thread and found their DL200 to have become less stable, I have just obtained a firmware numbered V1.2 from SMSL itself (upon requesting the original firmware).

Now, according to the text below (translated by Copilot from interface gibberish), Device Model, Firmware Version, and Timestamp listed in V1.2 are rigorously the same as those of the firmware above, which in turn are the same as those shown in a C200 update manual also previously linked to in this thread. Device model, however, seems to refer to an STC MCU, and not to the DL200 itself. I am then not sure if all the info refers just to the controller itself for the firmware update rather than to what is actually being updated. If so, might there also be something else happening in the background that is not being shown in the log below? No clue! If you do not hear from me again, though, assume my DL200 has become stable!

Device Model: STC8G2K64S4

• Firmware Version: 7.3.12U
• Current Configuration:
  • ISP Clock Frequency: 24.089 MHz
  • Internal RC Oscillator Frequency: 12.001 MHz
  • Timer1 Frequency: 35.850 KHz
  • EEPROM Size: 10 K
  • Port P3.2 and P3.3 are not used for UART communication.
  • High-level input during reset.
  • I/O Port Configuration: General-purpose I/O
  • Low-level input detection.
  • Low-level output detection voltage: 3.00 V
  • UART communication with automatic baud rate detection.
  • UART communication with automatic parity check.
  • UART communication without hardware flow control.
  • Analog input voltage range: 1189 mV (specified range: 1100~1300 mV)
  • Firmware timestamp: July 31, 2021
• Post-Update Configuration:
  • ISP Clock Frequency: 24.089 MHz
  • Internal RC Oscillator Frequency: 11.998 MHz
  • Timer1 Frequency: 35.850 KHz
  • EEPROM Size: 10 K
  • Port P3.2 and P3.3 are not used for UART communication.
  • High-level input during reset.
  • I/O Port Configuration: General-purpose I/O
  • Low-level input detection.
  • Low-level output detection voltage: 3.00 V
  • UART communication with automatic baud rate detection.
  • UART communication with automatic parity check.
  • UART communication without hardware flow control.
  • Analog input voltage range: 1189 mV (specified range: 1100~1300 mV)
  • Firmware timestamp: July 31, 2021
  • Device ID: F764C5240B0397
• Additional Information:
  • User-defined oscillator frequency: 12.000 MHz
  • Post-update oscillator frequency: 11.998 MHz (deviation = -0.020%)

Hi Olivia, can you attach the firmware file here? Thanks

 

[capslock]

I got DL200 HPA THD+N under different loads.
Low gain
View attachment 343053View attachment 343055View attachment 343057
High gain
View attachment 343052View attachment 343054View attachment 343056
I should note that due to the high UHF noise, clipping occurred in my notch filter, and not in the DL200. And my measurement does not refute the official data on maximum power output.
And finally IMD SMPTE vs Level at Low/High gain
View attachment 343059View attachment 343058
That's all for now

Is IMD via headphone out or line out? If, line out SE or balanced?

 

[nick_l44.1]

Is IMD via headphone out or line out? If, line out SE or balanced?

It was HPA output with HPF. Please note that REW results can't be directly compared to AP ones. REW calculates imd without noise.
Here's standard SMPTE TRS results (still without noise):

 

[capslock]

It was HPA output with HPF. Please note that REW results can't be directly compared to AP ones. REW calculates imd without noise.
Here's standard SMPTE TRS results (still without noise):
View attachment 356138View attachment 356139

Thanks. What's the difference in test signal or setup between the two graphs?

 

[nick_l44.1]

Thanks. What's the difference in test signal or setup between the two graphs?

If you mentioned my smpte ffts, these are just left and right channels.

 

[capslock]

Yeah, I did. The whole reason I asked was that those IMD vs. level plots on the HPA seem to show an ESS hump. Is that present on the balanced line outs, too?

 

[nick_l44.1]

Yeah, I did. The whole reason I asked was that those IMD vs. level plots on the HPA seem to show an ESS hump. Is that present on the balanced line outs, too?

The hump always exists. It's just not masked by noise in my measurements. The AP results always take noise into account, so the hump may not be visible.
You can compare my result for the balanced TRS output of the DL200 with Amir’s result for the D-6s. The huge hump on my graph (IMD) is completely below the curve obtained by Amir (IMD+N).

 

[th2j]

For those (like myself) who have inadvertently installed that firmware available on this thread and found their DL200 to have become less stable, I have just obtained a firmware numbered V1.2 from SMSL itself (upon requesting the original firmware).

Now, according to the text below (translated by Copilot from interface gibberish), Device Model, Firmware Version, and Timestamp listed in V1.2 are rigorously the same as those of the firmware above, which in turn are the same as those shown in a C200 update manual also previously linked to in this thread. Device model, however, seems to refer to an STC MCU, and not to the DL200 itself. I am then not sure if all the info refers just to the controller itself for the firmware update rather than to what is actually being updated. If so, might there also be something else happening in the background that is not being shown in the log below? No clue! If you do not hear from me again, though, assume my DL200 has become stable!

Device Model: STC8G2K64S4

• Firmware Version: 7.3.12U
• Current Configuration:
  • ISP Clock Frequency: 24.089 MHz
  • Internal RC Oscillator Frequency: 12.001 MHz
  • Timer1 Frequency: 35.850 KHz
  • EEPROM Size: 10 K
  • Port P3.2 and P3.3 are not used for UART communication.
  • High-level input during reset.
  • I/O Port Configuration: General-purpose I/O
  • Low-level input detection.
  • Low-level output detection voltage: 3.00 V
  • UART communication with automatic baud rate detection.
  • UART communication with automatic parity check.
  • UART communication without hardware flow control.
  • Analog input voltage range: 1189 mV (specified range: 1100~1300 mV)
  • Firmware timestamp: July 31, 2021
• Post-Update Configuration:
  • ISP Clock Frequency: 24.089 MHz
  • Internal RC Oscillator Frequency: 11.998 MHz
  • Timer1 Frequency: 35.850 KHz
  • EEPROM Size: 10 K
  • Port P3.2 and P3.3 are not used for UART communication.
  • High-level input during reset.
  • I/O Port Configuration: General-purpose I/O
  • Low-level input detection.
  • Low-level output detection voltage: 3.00 V
  • UART communication with automatic baud rate detection.
  • UART communication with automatic parity check.
  • UART communication without hardware flow control.
  • Analog input voltage range: 1189 mV (specified range: 1100~1300 mV)
  • Firmware timestamp: July 31, 2021
  • Device ID: F764C5240B0397
• Additional Information:
  • User-defined oscillator frequency: 12.000 MHz
  • Post-update oscillator frequency: 11.998 MHz (deviation = -0.020%)

Can you share this firmware please ?
Thanks

 

[th2j]

Can you share this firmware please ?
Thanks

This is strange because i ask for the last firmware to SMSL and they said it is the 1.1 not 1.2
And olivia.rodrigo doesn't not respond

 

[Jorik69]

Forgive me for my English. Hello gentlemen, I just want to share my joy. While I was listening to the old ASUS Xonar D2X, it was like my ears were closed. But with DL200, I rediscovered music.

 

[MbphotoX]

Just got mine today.

Hooked it up via SPDIF to my Compute, because I don't like USB, and because I've had that purdy Oehlbach cable laying around that a friend gifted me a while ago.
Roland TRS cables feeding into my Yamaha HS5 active monitors.
DIY Inakustik Reference shielded RCA cables with fancy connectors from Viablue feeding the tube amp. (1ft long, originally made these for my turntable setup)

Have yet to test the headphone output, but I'm too friggin' mesmerized by finally, for the first time in 10 years, being able to just turn up my studio monitors and NOT having an annoying fieping sound whenever I move the cursor.
I've had an ART DTI (dual transformer isolator) in use for all these years, just to try and tame the interference. Speaker gain at very low level worked somewhat. But now I can friggin blast music and it's just quiet!

I'm gonna see if I can compare the headphone output to my dedicated headphone amp, too. Is it save to take a multimeter to the socket in order to measure output voltage (to volume match the two, I mean)

Set up was straightforward and simple. Plug everything in, hook up the PC, select SPDIF out in Windows.. done.. Had to use the manual to figure out how to use the menue of the SMSL, but that's easy once you know how it works.

One thing I haven't figured out yet: I thought it was possible to give Tidal control over the output signal?
Right now, the 96kHz I selected in Windows is displayed dispite Tidal only being 44.1 kHz (one more week, then they release the Tidal+ to all subscribers at no extra cost)
Does that negatively affect the output at all?

Second thing: Should I leave volume in Windows at 100 and only adjust via the SMSL?
(Currently that's 100 in Windows and 20 on the DAC, and it's plenty loud. (speaker gain at default, so I could set that down, too)


Which brings me to my first set of criticisms on this device:
1. I like big knobs (see my headphone amp) and really love adjusting the volume via those.
The DL200 has a tiny knob.. and that knob has those stupid soft clicks, too.. It's not a great feeling at all.. So much so, that I think I almost prefer the "scroll" wheel on my keyboard (dedicated volume wheel on the Logitech G910)

2. The menue is kinda stupid, which goes hand in hand with the bad display. If you want to keep it ultra-basic, why not just make it really oldschool?!
A bigger display with better resolution would improve menue operation. And the menue will be frequently used in my case, since I need to enter it to switch between Speakers and Headphones.

3. I like big knobs.. and/or buttons. I really like buttons, too..
The user interface of this device could've been so much prettier, doing something like the Phono preamp I have:

Different buttons for different settings, tiny LEDs indicating what's currently selected.
There could be a LED showing the sampling rate, too, instead of the display.. do people really care about this number anyways?! (I get caring about the sampling rate, but I don't see why I should care seeing it while listening to music)

The thing I miss most, I guess, are the buttons to switch between line out and headphone out (and maybe even between TRS and RCA out, too), as well as the gain switch for the headphones. (My Grados get low gain, the DT990 and DT1990 Pro get high gain)



I know I'll get used to the menue operation.
Will test headphone output this weekend and see what I can find to rant about there.

P.S.: I know that the twice-as-expensive DO300 or DL300 have a better display. But they literally don't offer anything else over the DL200. And I don't really care about the display. That LED interface up there would be all I need.

 

[staticV3]

Is it save to take a multimeter to the socket in order to measure output voltage (to volume match the two, I mean)

Don't stick the multimeter probes into the sockets, you may short the outputs.
Instead, use DIY plugs like these:


Or use male->male extension cables and probe the other end.

For the 1/4" output, make sure you use TRS, not TS, as that would again short the output.

Edit: also, for matching output volumes, you may want to use an adapter like this to probe the output voltage with your headphone plugged into the Amp: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256803497862592.html

Reason being that your tube Amp may have substantial output impedance, which will give you incorrect results when you try to match the output with just the multimeter as load.

For example, you may match the unloaded output voltage at 1.0V for both Amps, but when you plug in your headphones, the DL200 will stay at 1.0V while the Tube Amp may drop to 0.xV due to the high output impedance.

By measuring and matching the output voltage with the headphone already inserted into the Amp, you account for any potential voltage drop.

 

[hifime]

did they make the knob smaller than the C200? or is it an optical illusion. Big unit requires big knob!

does it still always show sampling rate rather than volume even if you have headphone plugged in? Another dumb design decision. I only need to see the spl rate briefly when it changes. (My player tells me what spl rate it is sending anyway.) Rest of the time I want to know the volume level.