holbob
Active Member
My M300SE popped like a mofo when literally anything was changed. PC, normal TV or nvidia shield. Put my Flex back in and all went away again.
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New S.M.S.L. M300 SE 120$
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A question from an analog guy. My main source of music is a TT, but these days one must have a digital source, too. Am I missing something, being an ignorant... or whatever: since the RCA output is declared at 2.0Vrms, guess the M300SE won't work with my vintage Marantz 1122DC integrated? Will it extremely overload Marantz's 200mV line input sensitivity (10x higher)? Other then that, what I've read here sounds just fine for my needs (occasional casual listening) and budget. TIA.
The M300 SE should work just fine with your 1122DC. 2.0Vrms is the most common output for home components today; CD/DVD players etc., it is not an outlier.
According to Hi-Fi World, many current amps have a 400mV sensitivity, but your 200mV sensitivity used to be the most common and has the benefit of also working with older 1Vrms components. See the discussion here. The actual volume out you get will depend on your source, but remember the relationship between power and volume is logarithmic, so the difference in volume between 200mV and 400mV is extremely small.
I would start out with the SMSL M300 SE in variable audio out mode with the volume turned down. If you can max the M300 SE volume knob without distortion then you could switch the SMSL to fixed line out and just control everything with your Marantz if that is more convenient.
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Thank you very much for your thorough explanation! Which btw also explains how the 1122DC works nice with my current, now dying (after 5 or so yrs), sabaj da3 USB DAC even turned to maximum. Whose specs are unfamiliar to me, though. May I use this opportunity to ask for a recommendation for a matching streamer, since as of recently I've got an optical internet at home.
staticV3
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Thanks to the forum, I bought a smsl m300 se DAC. Taking into account discounts and promotions on Aliexpress 11.11, I paid 87 dollars. Gorgeous DAC. Balanced outputs, modern USB chip. Very miniature, jewelry made. It looks premium, more expensive than its price. The firmware is new from the factory. There is a filter. Neither I nor my friends hear any microclicks. In a blind test I included this DAC and Topping dx3pro+. I couldn’t detect any difference in sound. Thanks to your forum and forum members. I buy electronics after visiting this forum. Thank you very much. The best forum to help you choose electronics! Even for pensioners like me and where everyone will help with advice!
Just in case ,did you test it?
I mean the microclicks is a real issue.
Maybe you are the lucky boy, but something have to say for people who owned M300SE.
Remember to change the USB cable . Find something better, the original USB cable is TRASH.
After your post I turned on the DAC again. I don't hear micro-clicks. I am 63 years old and my hearing is no longer what it was when I was young. But I invited younger friends to listen. I didn't warn them for micro-clicks. They also did not hear anything abnormal. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? (Should there be microclicks when connecting a computer via USB? Or not only? When and under what conditions should microclicks appear?) I used the USB cable only to test the DAC. In my DAC scenario it is not needed. I'm listening to the Wiim pro stream - optics - DAC - amplifier - acoustics.In this circuit I changed the DAC to Topping dx3pro+. In a blind test, all other things being equal, identical conditions, neither I nor my friends could notice or determine the difference in sound.
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The infamous firmware that costs 12e on AE
@Leonm771 I read the article. Thank you. I tried to hear the audio micro-clicks on my DAC. As in the article. At different volumes. I can't hear any clicks. But I found one minus. If you use the knob to increase the volume, increasing the volume does not always work. Sometimes there is a click, turning the knob, but the volume and display number are the same. You need to click the pen again. But when the volume is reduced, everything is fine. There is not a single missed turn of the knob. There can be no wear and tear. Since the DAC is a few days old. The remote control works great. Further and better than the Topping dx3pro+ remote control. I have these two DACs. I compare them with each other.
P.S. The volume increase knob doesn't work well. Turning it one or two clicks often does not change the volume. Especially if you turn it slowly. For example, on the Topping dx3pro+ the volume knob does not skip. Works without errors.((lucky with microclicks, unlucky with the volume knob)
P.S. The volume increase knob doesn't work well. Turning it one or two clicks often does not change the volume. Especially if you turn it slowly. For example, on the Topping dx3pro+ the volume knob does not skip. Works without errors.((lucky with microclicks, unlucky with the volume knob)
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@taudier Maybe the new firmware removed the microclicks? Don't know.Or maybe I don't hear them. Maybe he didn’t create the conditions under which they appear. As the author of the article writes. They may appear under certain conditions. It follows that they may not succeed. Until we could hear them.I am writing through Google Translate. There may be translation errors. Sorry.
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P.S. I've been listening to both Smsl m300se and Topping dx3pro+ DACs all week. excellent DACs.They sound almost equally transparent. But without a blind test, it seems to me that the m300se sounds more relaxed and natural. But in a blind test I can’t accurately determine. Everything is fine in smsl, except for the volume knob. Maybe it's just my bad copy? I didn’t find any cons at all in the dx3pro + topping. Everything works like a Swiss watch so far. Topping
better: More functions of the remote control, higher power to the headphones, better firmware functionality, better quality of the volume potentiometer. Smsl is better: the sound is more natural and pleasant, the presence of balanced outputs, the price is 2 times lower, the range is longer and the directionality of the remote control is wider (though the functionality is lower). This is my purely subjective opinion. But I listened very intently and for a long time. Streams over the network and via Dlna with maximum quality. Almost both DACs have everything perfect. In addition to the operation of the volume knob in smsl m30se. Maybe I got a bad copy. Don't know. But the sound through smsl m300se is fantastic. I have 4 DACs. Esi , Rod Rain Audio, Topping and this Smsl. In my subjective opinion, the Smsl m300 se sounds the most natural. The weakest Rod Rain Audio on the ES9018K2M chip. In general, I really like the Wolfson chips that CS purchased. Many people on the forums highlighted their natural sound. This is my subjective opinion after a week of comparison. IMHO.
P.S. Micro Clicks, in smsl, which were described and heard in the article, were not heard by a single person. For many use cases. At different volumes. There is only one minus: the volume knob works in smsl.
better: More functions of the remote control, higher power to the headphones, better firmware functionality, better quality of the volume potentiometer. Smsl is better: the sound is more natural and pleasant, the presence of balanced outputs, the price is 2 times lower, the range is longer and the directionality of the remote control is wider (though the functionality is lower). This is my purely subjective opinion. But I listened very intently and for a long time. Streams over the network and via Dlna with maximum quality. Almost both DACs have everything perfect. In addition to the operation of the volume knob in smsl m30se. Maybe I got a bad copy. Don't know. But the sound through smsl m300se is fantastic. I have 4 DACs. Esi , Rod Rain Audio, Topping and this Smsl. In my subjective opinion, the Smsl m300 se sounds the most natural. The weakest Rod Rain Audio on the ES9018K2M chip. In general, I really like the Wolfson chips that CS purchased. Many people on the forums highlighted their natural sound. This is my subjective opinion after a week of comparison. IMHO.
P.S. Micro Clicks, in smsl, which were described and heard in the article, were not heard by a single person. For many use cases. At different volumes. There is only one minus: the volume knob works in smsl.
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Dear forum users! Tell? How can this DAC be reset to factory settings? I do it as in the instructions. I press the volume button, don’t release the volume button, keep it pressed, plug in the power via the top or bottom USB, and nothing happens. The DAC starts up as usual.What am I doing wrong? What have I missed?
Does anybody know how the CS chip in this DAC is handling DSD signal?
I mean for AKM chips there is a DSD Direct mode to bypass the Delta-Sigma modulator, wondering how CS works in this regard
Thank you
I mean for AKM chips there is a DSD Direct mode to bypass the Delta-Sigma modulator, wondering how CS works in this regard
Thank you
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staticV3
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Here's the block diagram:
DSD skips the oversampling filter and volume control.
You can find similar block diagrams for AKM chips by googling the chip name plus datasheet.
Cirrus Logic's CS43131/CS43198 does not have a DSD direct mode like AKM and ROHM's DAC chips. The same goes for ESS's DAC chip.
renaudrenaud
Major Contributor
Bought one few days ago, received today. What a surprise, for a ridiculous amount of 103€.
I was afraid the headphones output could be not enough for the Moondrop Para (8ohms) but it is ok.
Connected to the Logitech Touch, recognized immediately.
Excellent, thanks for the thread!
I was afraid the headphones output could be not enough for the Moondrop Para (8ohms) but it is ok.
Connected to the Logitech Touch, recognized immediately.
Excellent, thanks for the thread!
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