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2019 CES Asia ---SMSL will bring new product there
- Thread starter SMSL-Mandy
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@SMSL-Mandy Does M200 have dimmable display? Better yet, can you turn the display off?
Topping enclosure looks 10x better. SMSL still looking like chi-fi. Not that I wouldn't rock one, just an observation.
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Three settings dim. For what it's worth. I hate bright blue light (Emotiva Amps). And lowest setting on the M200 is not making you blind.
But it is still visible.
(listening to The Duel :song from The Adventures Of Rintin right now. Heard about this song in a review somwhere. Sounds formidabel).
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OP
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Only usb.
poimandres
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Martist,
What are your impressions of the M200?
What are your impressions of the M200?
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Okay, my impressions. Let me introduce myself.
An 48 year old man from Holland, with interest in audio. Interested in Home theater and stereo audio. I've spend to much on this hobby in the past.
I have had a lot. Speakers, receivers, amplifiers, tube-amplifiers, some dacs, etcetera. I even believed for a short while ( a week or so) in better audio cables.
Anyway. I needed a dac for I have to work a lot on a pc now a days. The dac output from my pc to my JDS Atom amp is not that great. Some noise and interference.
First. Why i bought this dac? Affordable. I am not going to spend more on a Chinese dac. For sure when I am buying in China. I have read problems sometimes with Chinese (and other) equipment. I also don't like the 'heat' problems with the newer ESS dacs. Maybe they aren't there with a good implantation. I don't know.
Everything works on the dac. No clicks. I had dacs before that you heard clicking. I had to use audio programs that kept the connection alive between switching tracks. To avoid this sending white noise, is an option. Kodi does this. Tidal add-on and Kodi and the clicking was gone. I think Roon, JRiver and Audirvana does this also. But with this dac it is not needed.
The round knob. That's a knob from a car stereo. That way you will know what I mean. It feels and works exactly like that. I would have liked a nicer sturdier knob. But as often, there is always something to complain.
The sound. Listening with my headphone setup, I can hear things I never heard in songs. I hear the bells ringing. What's that for an instrument? Even now when I am typing!
O, wait. That's the postman at the door for a package delivery.
A clean sound it has, Luke. The force is in this dac. Volume adjusting needs less then using the dac output from my PC (as expected).
The filters, I almost forgot. I have some sensitive ribbon speakers. With them I noticed that a slow filter is somewhat better. Or maybe its my imagination. But hard to tell the differences. On my HD650 I use the sharp roll off filter. The HD650 can use some sharpness.
But I havent listened long enough between the filters, to judge or can say for sure I hear differencess.
I am constantly listening to this dac after the delivery now. A lot of days off from work. I have to work on my Thesis from the undergraduate phase as a 48 old male. Never to late to learn something. For what it's worth. I keep reaching for my headphones.
Will I buy it agian, if I drop it by accident? Yes, I will.
And now I am very curious about the real measurements.
An 48 year old man from Holland, with interest in audio. Interested in Home theater and stereo audio. I've spend to much on this hobby in the past.
I have had a lot. Speakers, receivers, amplifiers, tube-amplifiers, some dacs, etcetera. I even believed for a short while ( a week or so) in better audio cables.
Anyway. I needed a dac for I have to work a lot on a pc now a days. The dac output from my pc to my JDS Atom amp is not that great. Some noise and interference.
First. Why i bought this dac? Affordable. I am not going to spend more on a Chinese dac. For sure when I am buying in China. I have read problems sometimes with Chinese (and other) equipment. I also don't like the 'heat' problems with the newer ESS dacs. Maybe they aren't there with a good implantation. I don't know.
Everything works on the dac. No clicks. I had dacs before that you heard clicking. I had to use audio programs that kept the connection alive between switching tracks. To avoid this sending white noise, is an option. Kodi does this. Tidal add-on and Kodi and the clicking was gone. I think Roon, JRiver and Audirvana does this also. But with this dac it is not needed.
The round knob. That's a knob from a car stereo. That way you will know what I mean. It feels and works exactly like that. I would have liked a nicer sturdier knob. But as often, there is always something to complain.
The sound. Listening with my headphone setup, I can hear things I never heard in songs. I hear the bells ringing. What's that for an instrument? Even now when I am typing!
O, wait. That's the postman at the door for a package delivery.
A clean sound it has, Luke. The force is in this dac. Volume adjusting needs less then using the dac output from my PC (as expected).
The filters, I almost forgot. I have some sensitive ribbon speakers. With them I noticed that a slow filter is somewhat better. Or maybe its my imagination. But hard to tell the differences. On my HD650 I use the sharp roll off filter. The HD650 can use some sharpness.
But I havent listened long enough between the filters, to judge or can say for sure I hear differencess.
I am constantly listening to this dac after the delivery now. A lot of days off from work. I have to work on my Thesis from the undergraduate phase as a 48 old male. Never to late to learn something. For what it's worth. I keep reaching for my headphones.
Will I buy it agian, if I drop it by accident? Yes, I will.
And now I am very curious about the real measurements.
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The M400 doesn't look like chi-fi.
The filters are DAC built in. You may try software upsampling with other filters which could the DAC bypass it
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One thing noted. It is not known what the three sound colors mean in the M200 settings. They are not described in the manual. I asked Shenzen Audio. They contacted SMSL. The answer was: it is for preferences for the sound.
@Mandy Can you shine a light on this? Or maybe someone with knowledge of the architecture of the AKM4497?
@Mandy Can you shine a light on this? Or maybe someone with knowledge of the architecture of the AKM4497?
Let me explain why i think it does. This my subjective opinion, and is not to dissuade you.
SMSL decided to reuse the rotary dial from a much cheaper DAC. The 90-2000's shiny asthetic much better suits its 200$ counterpart.
Can use the same picture to also comment and ask SMSL why the company logo is splattered all over the more expensive incarnation.
Now another big issue with SMSL products overall, is they source their color LCD's from either old Nokia or Motorola cellphone's.
The washed out light bleed, contrast and bad color demonstrates that the lcd panel's SMSL sources are of lower quality. I couldn't find a real picture of the M400, so I do hope it looks better. But let's not get our hopes up too high, I doubt we will see a Samsung OLED equivalent in the M400.
Lets not get started on the naming conventions. M400 being much more expensive then the M500.
This is just my critique take it as a grain of salt. To me SMSL products lack a bit of refinement, hence the chi-fi moniker.
Now who the hell cares about esthetics of a DAC?
Enjoy whatever pleases your ears.
The volume knob is not that nice, I think. It feels a bit cheap and loosy. In the middle is a button you have to push it for on or off. It is not a nice steady knob like on some equipment. A cheap plastic knob it is, young padawan.
The box is nice. Made from metal and heavy.
Now I am off to bed. Holland time to sleep.
Ugghh.. loose knobs are a turn off. I'm actually happy with the knob on my DA-8S so maybe the SU-9 will have a legit knob..
Thanks. Yeah I’ll keep that in mind and use the remote. That’s my preference anyway.
capitanharlock
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I‘d hope that the M400 perceived quality could be on par with the Rme Adi-2, but I’m pretty sure it won’t.
That’s what it is holding me from buying.
That’s what it is holding me from buying.
I'm also hoping the SU-9 will be announced soon and matches my needs. ESS DAC (better for volume control afaik), a remote, ok looks and balanced output.
Are ESS dacs supposed to have better volume control? How do you mean?
I think I've read somewhere there were less issues with volume control. But what I also read is that more AKM chips have pops when switching between sampling rates.
