Measurements and Review of SOtM SMS-200 Network Player

[amirm]

If one of you want to buy the Sonictransporter and route it through my home for testing, I am game.

 

[Milt]

1. It's Micheal Lavorgna. The guy that can hear the difference in everything including Ethernet Cables. But you can't actually get him to prove this ability.

2. It's Micheal Lavorgna, the guy that makes stuff up

3. It's Micheal Lavorgna, supposed IT/Network guy, that couldn't subnet an IP4 address if you put a gun to his amp.

ROON core on the NUC is straight forward.

Both are good options. This is something I can do in my sleep on a NUC.

Funniest sarcasm I've read in a looong time.
I read Audiostream regularly but being a cynic with an open mind, I sometimes roll my eyes.
The other guy that writes for the site is more so.
His sound system is better described as "Infrastructure".

 

[catman]

Hello @amirm, Thank you so very much for hosting such an informative website and writing up these wonderful reports. You have vastly augmented my meager knowledge, and saved me a ton of money too! A quick question please. I am looking at getting an SMS-200 -- largely to separate the MacBook Air, which is the music server, and the Pro-ject DAC Box DS2 Ultra, which is my DAC. They are currently connected directly via USB, and the only concern is that on hot days, the MacBook fan is really loud. In turn, I worry that the MacBook might crash and burn -- an irrational fear perhaps! My idea therefore is to move the MacBook to a cooler room downstairs. The question is this. You mentioned an inexpensive power supply -- made by Meanwell. Could you please be so kind as to provide the specifics about it, a link perhaps? Or indeed recommend something else?

 

[amirm]

Hi @catman. Welcome to the forum and thanks for the kind words.

The Meanwell supply came with another product so I don't have a link to buy it. I can look it up for you but there is really no reason to go there. While the mains leakage shows up in measurements, it should not be an audible problem.

Also, I will be testing a competitor to this product (the Allo BOSS player) so if you are not in a hurry, you may want to wait for that.

 

[catman]

Thank you so very much. I will indeed wait for your review. I should say though that I have tried one Allo product -- the USBridge. Unfortunately, I just could not get it to play any music -- although I could see it on the network. Allo's customer service was amazing in their patience, but after 3 plus hours of trouble-shooting, even they could not get it to work. Hence, I had to send it back. I then saw your review of the SoTm, and this perked up my interest in this sort of thing again -- although $ 450 for spatial separation doesn't sound wonderful. I doubt that I'll perceive any differences in SQ! Yet, the irrational part of my brain is worried enough about a fire, given that the Mac CPU is running hot -- that I am thinking that this might be a useful investment.

 

[catman]

PS. The Boss, if I remember, is a DAC.

 

[amirm]

On the laptop getting hot, that is something to be avoided for sure as they are not made to operate at elevated temps for long periods.

 

[amirm]

PS. The Boss, if I remember, is a DAC.

It is a DAC and streaming player: https://www.allo.com/sparky/boss-player.html

 

[catman]

On the laptop getting hot, that is something to be avoided for sure as they are not made to operate at elevated temps for long periods.

That, in itself, is interesting. If you say that running hot is not good, then I am not as irrational as I had thought! I will indeed then pursue this route.

 

[catman]

It is a DAC and streaming player: https://www.allo.com/sparky/boss-player.htmlView attachment 15188

Interesting. But the problem remains -- the same OS, and the inability to play with the Pro-ject DAC. Allo states, as do others, that it works quite well with other Pro-ject DACs, so exactly why it does not work with mine is a mystery. The other downside of the Allo is that they need quite of tweaking -- especially when the OS is updated. It might be good for someone with the time and inclination, but if the idea is to spend 40 odd minutes each evening listening to music and relaxing, rather than spending time remote chatting with customer support, then it might not be for everyone. That said, I'd love to read your review -- and might well give them a second chance. The USBridge, however, costs more than this thing.

 

[amirm]

I agree it is less of a turnkey solution than these other devices. Has someone used the Sotm with S2?

 

[firedog]

The SOtM, Sonore, and similar players come with a lot of software functionality that is useful to many people. They are also essentially "plug and play", unlike Pi or Allo solutions. Generally these companies also give extensive personal support if needed (including longing onto you system remotely to diagnose and fix issues).
Lots of people don't want to fiddle in any fashion, and like the software and support involved. To them the devices are worth the money. They may also think they sound better. Whether they do or don't is irrelevant as long as they've auditioned them to their personal satisfaction and are happy with them.
Making an overall claim that they sound better (as opposed to personal perception) is something else.

 

[Olli]

These devices are especially useful if you have a central music server and more than one system in different rooms you want to listen to. I use a SOtm 200 ultra in our guest room connected to a WiFi Repeater. With more and more network DACs out there however there might be less need for them in the future.

 

[catman]

These devices are especially useful if you have a central music server and more than one system in different rooms you want to listen to. I use a SOtm 200 ultra in our guest room connected to a WiFi Repeater. With more and more network DACs out there however there might be less need for them in the future.

Many thanks. And, since you own one, do you have any impressions about SQ? Many thanks.

 

[Olli]

Many thanks. And, since you own one, do you have any impressions about SQ? Many thanks.

I think I liked it a bit better than my Aurender N100H that I had before.

The main reason really was that I wanted to have a central audio server running Roon.

But it is nice to play around also in terms of software, i.e. you can compare different server and player softwares, e.g. Squeezebox, Minim, Roon, HQ Player... especially Squeezebox has endless set up possibilities.

However I am ending up mostly using Roon and sometimes Libre Spot for Spotify on the SOtM.

 

[Sal1950]

But it is nice to play around also in terms of software, i.e. you can compare different server and player softwares, e.g. Squeezebox, Minim, Roon, HQ Player... especially Squeezebox has endless set up possibilities.

But if your getting a bit perfect feed of your source files and aren't messing with re-sampling, there's no reason they should sound any different. If they do one of them is in error.

 

[Olli]

I couldn’t detect any difference in SQ either. still, I liked the options given to compare what was presented in other reviews as ‚the best SQ‘
But there are other things why you would chose squeezelite over Roon or something else: Qoubuz, IPeng or Internet Radio. Doesn’t matter to me but maybe to others.

 

[catman]

I think I liked it a bit better than my Aurender N100H that I had before.

The main reason really was that I wanted to have a central audio server running Roon.

But it is nice to play around also in terms of software, i.e. you can compare different server and player softwares, e.g. Squeezebox, Minim, Roon, HQ Player... especially Squeezebox has endless set up possibilities.

However I am ending up mostly using Roon and sometimes Libre Spot for Spotify on the SOtM.

I see. Many thanks. I am planning to use the thing for the same reason as you, so as long as the SQ is not worse than a direct connection, I am good. One thing please. How exactly do you use these other pieces of software? For example, is it possible to play streaming content from Apple Music or Audirvana through the SOtM?

 

[Olli]

Airplay works via sharepoint in the supplied software package, Audirvana doesn‘t at least to my knowledge. The Sonore Streamers are supported though in Audirvana. I had an UR and still have a MR besides the Sotm - no audible difference if that is your next question
So if you want to continue using Audirvana - the Sonore might be your thing.

 

[catman]

Thanks a ton! I do use Audirvana on and off, but for the most part, have switched to Roon, because of its GUI and metadata. Given the teardown and measurements here, I am inclined toward the SOtM. But to get back to Apple Music, how exactly does one play it via Sharepoint? I haven't used Sharepoint, and a Google search sadly does not yield much by way of insight.