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New S.M.S.L. M300 SE 120$

MBO

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Smsl M300se
Just received yesterday.
First impressions are very positive.
As a headphone amplifier, unfortunately, it is of no interest, but as a DAC it is very, very good.
One of these days I will connect to a good PSU, then I will write a test.
 

TonyJZX

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but what constitutes a 'good psu"?

they usually just specify any phone charger say 5v 2a?

i cannot imagine using say a charger off a laptop, ie. up to 4,5 amp 90w is going to make much difference?
 

audiofun

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Smsl M300se
Just received yesterday.
First impressions are very positive.
As a headphone amplifier, unfortunately, it is of no interest, but as a DAC it is very, very good.
One of these days I will connect to a good PSU, then I will write a test.
based on the paper, the headphone amplifier (actually the unit does not have a headphone buffer. the DAC chip can be used as headphone output) is very good with super low noise if you use headphones that are not power hungry. For IEMs it should outperform most DAC+Amp combos.
unless it's not loud enough for you, the headphone output should be enough for most people.
 

TonyJZX

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Laptop chargers are not 5V, they are usually 19V, and cannot be applied to DACs.
here's the thing though

type-c runs apparently a smart protocol (of sorts)

i can readily plug a laptop charger into a phone and it can ask for the specific amount of power it needs

on certain phones they can even take advantage of the power and go into a 'supercharge' mode (like cars)

i dont expect a $120 dac to do as such but as also expect it not to blow up if i do this
 

MBO

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Unfortunately, M300Se has known bag with CS43131, which is audible when DAC is in headphone or pre mode, otherwise when used as pure DAC with good power supply, its audio performance is exceptionally good.
 

audiofun

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Unfortunately, M300Se has known bag with CS43131, which is audible when DAC is in headphone or pre mode, otherwise when used as pure DAC with good power supply, its audio performance is exceptionally good.
that's not true. There's a bug in full level output. but once the volume is reduced there's no such issue. Most people don't listen at full level.
 

MBO

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You probably didn't understand it, there are only errors if the level is below approx. 70%, with the volume fixed at 100% there is no audible error, you can hear that very clearly.
 

MBO

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Continuation for SMSL M300Se

This DAC unfortunately has a known problem with micro-clicks in pre or headphone amp mode, so it can only be used as a pure fixed output DAC, there are no problems with this connection.

I connected the DAC to a 5 volt battery and removed the output switches 3710 after the CS43131, which decently reduce the sound quality, and connected the DAC chips through resistors directly to the output terminals.
The sound quality for this price is simply exceptional!
This is the playback quality of the CS43131, one per channel in direct connection. In my opinion, you can safely forget the multibits and analog sources, the latest CS DACs with a dynamic range of more than 130db overshadow the previous high-end leaders without any problems.
Sound reproduction can be described as absolutely analog, lively, pulsating, free…
 

Dunring

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Just got one of these today and they really sound great. The Hifiman HE5xx is at 38/40 volume and loud enough, but zero headroom for EQ. For IEM's like the Sennheiser IE600 this is just the ticket. Even with the 32 ohm Yincrow X6 I wouldn't go over 30/40 volume, and even these sound really good. The 3.5mm out would be a nice fit for a JDS Atom using a nice short cable. It's the usual deal, for supplemental power, can't use a fast charger or over-volting never has a happy ending. The Truthear Zero is also great on it, going to recommend it to anyone who wants an IEM and compact all in one for them and even many headphones if you don't plan to equalize them.
 

Dunring

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Update: The Hart cable multi kit came today so I was able to test the 4.4mm balanced plug for power using a phone soundmeter app and keeping it in the same spot using the quick connect to swap ends. Tried both with the Samsung phone charger on the supplemental power plug and USB only connection. Hifiman HE5xx headphones for test.

The 440hz test tone was 73db using the 6.35mm, and 78db on the 4.4mm balanced with everything staying the same. I did it when the AC wasn't running and everything else was quiet. Using USB and also having the supplemental power hooked up made no difference (I was testing the other inputs for function, so had it hooked up anyway). It gets the He5xx louder than I would ever listen to, so there's some EQ headroom to play with if you use the 4.4mm with it. No functional problems, I've thrown every file type at it, smooth playback on wasapi event and ASIO. Downside is it takes 3+ weeks to arrive, and no filter selection. Looks really nice if you need a small footprint compared to a stack.

IMG_20230527_134124802_HDR.jpg
 

TonyJZX

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i think the SU-8 would have to really prove its worth at $360 which is 3x the price of the M300... so is it 3x the performance?

color oled is good but does it bring about more info as the plain green matrix oled? diminishing returns i guess
 

Dunring

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i think the SU-8 would have to really prove its worth at $360 which is 3x the price of the M300... so is it 3x the performance?

color oled is good but does it bring about more info as the plain green matrix oled? diminishing returns i guess
I don't know, I got that one for $135 used and I'd never pay more than $200 for any DAC. The best one overall is the Topping E50, but it's just a connectivity decision when you get into modern DACs. Also some amps do better with a DAC that has it's own power supply to avoid ground noise. I have a D30Pro, E50, Liquid Platinum, and original Topping D90 DAC and with settings like a similar filter, I wouldn't bet money on telling the difference between them. Even this SMSL M300SE is flawless. If it tests no distortion, nothing to be gained by spending more unless it has a jitter free optical, and you need it for something like a noisy gaming computer. A 330 watt video card and 125 watt CPU can be like an interference nightmare when you add in the six or so fans they need also. I use optical just in that situation, otherwise USB is always preferred.
 

TonyJZX

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ok i finally got around to plugging mine in

as typical the unit and the two $5 microphone cables was sitting in the trunk of my car for a few days... just couldnt get around to it, life and kids get in the way

and as typical... it took like 45 mins to plug it all in and had to consult my preamp manual!

i was about to remove my preamp temporarily but this one has analog bypass on the XLR input

so its M300 -> XLR -> preamp -> XLR -> power amp

what can one say about the performance... its absolutely fine... i really cant tell much difference from the 24/192 dacs in the preamp... the sound is very natural and i fed it some 24/96 and 192 material... my preamp I think might have crystal dacs inside ironically enough

on an build and operational side the price could be $240+ because the metal finish and glass front doesnt say $120 to me!

the rear end connectors are very professional looking and i just tried opt and coax... i dont care about BT or SE 3.5 out or headphones and the less said about MQA the better

the included type-c cable was way too short... maybe 50cm

the remote is the RC-8C so the RC-8A with my A300 amp does not work with it so its nice to see SMSL sort that out but the screen is kind of small and the vol. knob is fiddly so most people may just set an input and vol. level and let your integrated amp do everything else

i suspect this is the best XLR dac you can buy for under $150... I'd love to see what others can do with balanced dacs under $200

unlike other people here I dont seem to have much issue with the variable out?
 

audiofun

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variable out is a non issue and you can generally remove your preamp as this device may have even lower noise than your preamp's.
This device has around 130db SNR so definitely good enough to run it without a preamp.
there's zero evidence / performance test that can show CS43131 has audible problems at 70% as someone mentioned in this thread.
there is, however, evidence that shows has issue at full volume --- in order to walk away from the bug, many manufacturers now set device full volume 0.5 or 1db below the official chip spec.
As a result you shall never see the bug happening on your device.
 

TonyJZX

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also i used a plain motorola 5v 2a charger

running Dark Side 50th anniversary 24/192 edition on it is something

i'm personally reluctant to run the M300 straight to a poweramp unless the amp has some trim control on the front but i think smsl has a good rep for decent functioning software vol. controls.
 

mischkenator

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I just got an M300 SE a few days ago. So far I'm extremely impressed with it. Sounds great. Much better than I had expected. My most recent budget DAC was the iFi Zen Air, and the M300 SE blows it out of the water in my opinion. On a purely sonic level. as well as the feature set. I have had no issues with micro-clicks or whatever was alluded to above.


IMG_4062.jpg
IMG_4061.jpg
 

poxymoron

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I just got an M300 SE a few days ago. So far I'm extremely impressed with it. Sounds great. Much better than I had expected. My most recent budget DAC was the iFi Zen Air, and the M300 SE blows it out of the water in my opinion. On a purely sonic level. as well as the feature set. I have had no issues with micro-clicks or whatever was alluded to above.


View attachment 289805 View attachment 289803
What headphones or iems are you using?
 

TonyJZX

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ok here's where i have a see a few downsides...

the headphone support is kind of... hmmm

firstly you have to select "HP" from "LINE"... so the socket isnt live until you turn it on with the menu... sure why not?

2nd it doesnt have enough power... I'm at vol 35 with a max of 40... this is the Bowers P7 which I never found to be all the power hungry?

I also tried my Bowers PX5 and my AKG NC700 and its the same story... I dont think it sounds all that good either... unlike my dedicated units like my Xduoo XD5.

BUT I mean you have to expect a dedicated unit to beat whats a 'freebie' on a desktop dac. Its not good, not terrible... 3.6!
 
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