AOSHIDA SMSL C200 Review (DAC & Amp)

[guitarshredda15]

Just received my C200. Seems like a very well built piece of kit! So far its been a bit more buggy getting started up and running (all the clicks related to ASIO) as compared to my old Topping DX3 Pro (which now is in my lounge).

So far my last issue is with the Bluetooth antennae. There is a noticeable hum on Bluetooth through headphones, and it disappears when I press a finger on the metal of the actual antennae, then it comes back when I remove my finger. Is it a faulty antennae or some kind of external interference?

 

[bede]

Just received my C200. Seems like a very well built piece of kit! So far its been a bit more buggy getting started up and running (all the clicks related to ASIO) as compared to my old Topping DX3 Pro (which now is in my lounge).

So far my last issue is with the Bluetooth antennae. There is a noticeable hum on Bluetooth through headphones, and it disappears when I press a finger on the metal of the actual antennae, then it comes back when I remove my finger. Is it a faulty antennae or some kind of external interference?

Interesting. I’ve not noticed this but will see if I can replicate.

 

[bede]

My C200 has arrived after much deliberation and poring over these excellent reviews. Thanks!

I'm wondering whether I can connect the C200 through a Thunderbolt hub to my macbook without introducing major issues. This would mean the DAC sharing the 40Gbps TB4 connection with a 18Gbps 4k60 stream. So plenty of headroom on paper, but I probably won't buy the hub if it will cause issues with this DAC.

What are peoples' experiences with Thunderbolt and USB hubs using this DAC (particularly under MacOS)?

For the record my C200 is working perfectly through my monitor’s built in USB dock. Which means single cable connection to my monitor, providing charging and audio through the C200

 

[guitarshredda15]

For the record my C200 is working perfectly through my monitor’s built in USB dock. Which means single cable connection to my monitor, providing charging and audio through the C200

Mine is plugged into back of PC. I went back to their default USB C cable as the one I was using seems faulty (C200 would cut out if I just lifted the C200 off the desk). So I think ASIO and USB cable issues are sorted.

Now it's just the weird bluetooth noise. I was even thinking of swapping the Topping DX3 Pro antennae and the C200 to see if it makes any difference. I'm not really going to use the Bluetooth but if there is something faulty then I'd rather sort it out now while still in warranty.

 

[Uncle]

Hi! Can you switch outputs or does this DAC always send signal to both outputs at the same time? Is it possible to switch outputs by software?

 

[staticV3]

@Uncle you can disable outputs:

 

[guitarshredda15]

Hi! Can you switch outputs or does this DAC always send signal to both outputs at the same time? Is it possible to switch outputs by software?

You can switch between headphone and line out.

 

[Hellboy.]

Hi! Can you switch outputs or does this DAC always send signal to both outputs at the same time? Is it possible to switch outputs by software?

You mean between RCA and TRS? (I don,t own a C200)

 

[Uncle]

You mean between RCA and TRS? (I don,t own a C200)

I mean between 6.35mm/4.4mm (headphone output) and RCA (line out). It would be great if I can switch HP out (headphones) and line-out (speakers) on my PC by SMSL C200 driver without hardware muting or turning on/off actual devices. Doing this by knob is not very handy.

 

[guitarshredda15]

I mean between 6.35mm/4.4mm (headphone output) and RCA (line out). It would be great if I can switch HP out (headphones) and line-out (speakers) on my PC by SMSL C200 driver without hardware muting or turning on/off actual devices. Doing this by knob is not very handy.

As far as I can tell its either headphone out or line-out, you cant select which of the line-outs or headphone outs individually. I don't own TRS balanced cables and a 4.4mm jack so couldn't test if there is output from both at same time as RCA/6.3mm

 

[guitarshredda15]

Interesting. I’ve not noticed this but will see if I can replicate.

Yesterday tested the C200 further. Ran RCA to my powered monitors, that's working just fine. When selecting Bluetooth and playing over speakers I couldn't hear the interference on the speakers. As soon as I selected Bluetooth but through headphone jack I could hear it again, and when I touch the antennae it disappears. If I remove the antennae and select the Bluetooth out, the noise is gone. This was with IEMs, with some less sensitive over ears I couldn't really hear it. The C200 was also plugged elsewhere in the house with a different kettle cable to power it, so I am sure its not some weird ground loop related to a particular plug point. I also tried my Topping Bluetooth antennae and it made no difference.

I am not too bothered by this odd occurrence because I wont ever listen to music via the headphone out using Bluetooth, only over speakers. Bluetooth I guess can behave oddly sometimes especially with Wi Fi signals in the house, and also we live in an apartment complex with other radio signals nearby.

Anyways, the unit sounds amazing!

 

[waKaka]

Yesterday tested the C200 further. Ran RCA to my powered monitors, that's working just fine. When selecting Bluetooth and playing over speakers I couldn't hear the interference on the speakers. As soon as I selected Bluetooth but through headphone jack I could hear it again, and when I touch the antennae it disappears. If I remove the antennae and select the Bluetooth out, the noise is gone. This was with IEMs, with some less sensitive over ears I couldn't really hear it. The C200 was also plugged elsewhere in the house with a different kettle cable to power it, so I am sure its not some weird ground loop related to a particular plug point. I also tried my Topping Bluetooth antennae and it made no difference.

I am not too bothered by this odd occurrence because I wont ever listen to music via the headphone out using Bluetooth, only over speakers. Bluetooth I guess can behave oddly sometimes especially with Wi Fi signals in the house, and also we live in an apartment complex with other radio signals nearby.

Anyways, the unit sounds amazing!

hello, Is there any noise in the power supply of the c200？

 

[Bleib]

C100 is also out. SE only, AKM based and no headphone amp. About 120 USD

 

[guitarshredda15]

hello, Is there any noise in the power supply of the c200？

The power supply is internal. I haven't heard any noise besides the Bluetooth interference.

 

[waKaka]

Why can I hear hiss(noise?) when my c200 is turned off. But no noise can be heard when the machine is turned on. Is there a friend who knows electricity to explain this phenomenon to me.

 

[ironwolf60]

Why can I hear hiss(noise?) when my c200 is turned off. But no noise can be heard when the machine is turned on. Is there a friend who knows electricity to explain this phenomenon to me.

This is coil whine. The same thing happens with PC power supply, or coils in your GPU. With a computer power supply this noise usually occurs with high power load (very high FPS), but this can also happen with low load on the PSU (your case with C200). The noise is totally random, some people will have it very bad, while others will have zero noise. The only thing manufactures can do to reduce (but not emilite) the noise is put some glue on the coils.
This is the downside of internal psu - higher chance of interference.

 

[WondrousHippo]

For the gamers, don’t buy this if you want to use this with your Switch, the UAC1 mode doesn’t actually work with the Switch. Haven’t tried the PS5 yet. But definitely disappointed as this would make so much sense with my setup if the UAC1 mode actually worked.

 

[vitalyx]

I can't make this work with PS5. When C200's input is set to USB mode, the PS5 still doesn't show it in the list of available audio output devices.
Not a deal breaker for me because I was running an optical cable from the TV PS5 is connected to to the DAC. But thought I'd give USB in a try. With optical out I have to use 9 (the highest value) for the DPLL setting to prevent occasional sound interruptions. And in USB mode connected to my mac, I can have this set to the lowest value with no issues. I can't tell the difference in sound quality. Was just chaising the numbers

 

[unfit327]

I just got this for Christmas yesterday. It sounds beautiful with my HD600's and my Kanto YU4's, but every time I play something either music or even youtube, right before the audio plays theres like a half second delay and 2-3 clicks. Does anyone else have this? I have tried installing ASIO drives and also the SMSL Driver and nothing fixes this?

 

[vitalyx]

I can't make this work with PS5. When C200's input is set to USB mode, the PS5 still doesn't show it in the list of available audio output devices.
Not a deal breaker for me because I was running an optical cable from the TV PS5 is connected to to the DAC. But thought I'd give USB in a try. With optical out I have to use 9 (the highest value) for the DPLL setting to prevent occasional sound interruptions. And in USB mode connected to my mac, I can have this set to the lowest value with no issues. I can't tell the difference in sound quality. Was just chaising the numbers

Actually, it does work! When I switched to USB 1.1 mode, the DAC shows up in PS5 audio output options as USB Heaphones "(SMSL UAC1)". And I can now lower DPLL all the way down to 1 with no artifacts in sound.

However, I can't tell the difference. Sounds just as good to me (on Yamaha HS8). And now I have to switch from USB to OptIn and DPLL1 to DPLL9 on the DAC, every time when I switch from PS5 to TV.

Maybe someone can explain what a lower DPLL setting means in practical terms when it comes to this particular DAC?

I found this wikipedia article, but it's too generic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-locked_loop