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New SMSL A300 BTL Class-d Power Amp

longma

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hey.... so should i get another one of these???

maybe if there's a discount come 11/11?

i'm already using a preamp so i dont care about volume control

this amp really makes you evaluate why you need to spend more... this comes so close enough to stuff that is $1k or more i question why the need to spend on anything more exot

hey.... so should i get another one of these???

maybe if there's a discount come 11/11?

i'm already using a preamp so i dont care about volume control

this amp really makes you evaluate why you need to spend more... this comes so close enough to stuff that is $1k or more i question why the need to spend on anything more exotic
Check Amazon. I got mine for $150, sold directly by SMSL with 30 days return free. It happened 2 times and i bought one each time ( i get 2 total).
 

Toku

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hey.... so should i get another one of these???

maybe if there's a discount come 11/11?

i'm already using a preamp so i dont care about volume control

this amp really makes you evaluate why you need to spend more... this comes so close enough to stuff that is $1k or more i question why the need to spend on anything more exotic
I think the A300 is a great product considering the price.
You can buy one and use it in stereo mode, or buy two and use it in dual monaural mode.
 

vrobec

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I think the A300 is a great product considering the price.
You can buy one and use it in stereo mode, or buy two and use it in dual monaural mode.
Toku what do you think about switching from Harman HK680 integrated to A300? Worth considering the switch?
 

Toku

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Toku what do you think about switching from Harman HK680 integrated to A300? Worth considering the switch?
I researched the HK680 amplifier, which is completely manufactured by a Japanese manufacturer and supplied as an OEM product. The design and internal structure also indicate that it is made in Japan.
Since this product is a class AB analog amplifier, changing to the A300 will bring about a big change in sound quality, but I think that which one is better depends on your taste in sound quality.
I would definitely choose the A300.
 

DanielT

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That was unusual (in this price range), but good. Both LP and HP filters are available if you want to use sub out and run 2.1.:)
Screenshot_2022-10-06_104254.jpg

Screenshot_2022-10-06_104302.jpg

Maybe it was already noted in the thread?

 

TonyJZX

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I have my a300 sitting on my Jungson ja88 120w and its swings and roundabouts.

The 88 has that classic a/b warm sound... its not even that warm... i mean its not a Marantz. Its a pretty linear amp all round.

I cannot say that the a300 is 'better' than the ja88... but the fact that a $200 1.5kg amp even comes close to $1,000+ a/b amps says it all.

I think anyone with just about any integrated amp from say the last 25yrs will be impressed with that a300 unless you have a truly high end unit.
 

longma

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I have my a300 sitting on my Jungson ja88 120w and its swings and roundabouts.

The 88 has that classic a/b warm sound... its not even that warm... i mean its not a Marantz. Its a pretty linear amp all round.

I cannot say that the a300 is 'better' than the ja88... but the fact that a $200 1.5kg amp even comes close to $1,000+ a/b amps says it all.

I think anyone with just about any integrated amp from say the last 25yrs will be impressed with that a300 unless you have a truly high end unit.
With 3% inflation, $1000 after 20 years = at least $2000 now. A300 is less than 1/10 of ja88. We are in the golden age of audio hobby.
 

Kitarist

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Well love the amp except the high frequeincy is kinda too warm or veiled. Is there any similar amp but that its not veiled on the top end?
 

jdg78

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I picked one of these up a few days ago, and am seriously impressed with the performance so far - very clear, full and dynamic sounding, with plenty of power. Amazing what $200 can get these days. Sure the display and user interface is a bit clunky, but considering the price to performance ratio and features offered (2 line inputs, sub out, EQ filters, remote control) I can't imagine anyone having serious complaints about this unit.

I did have a few inquiries for anyone who might be more knowledgeable than me, however.

1. I'm basically using this as a pure power amp, connecting it to the preamp outs of my AV receiver and making all volume adjustments through the receiver. In terms of setting the volume output of the A300, I'm wondering if there is any harm to setting it at the max, or is it better to keep it somewhere in the mid range? Or does it not matter either way?

2. I'm somewhat intrigued by the idea of getting another unit and running them in bridge mode as others have mentioned, but I'm not entirely clear what degree of benefit this would provide. The single A300 in stereo mode has no problem driving my speakers as loud as I would ever need them to be, so if the only benefit is additional power to reach higher volume outputs, then it wouldn't make any sense for me. But if there are other sonic improvements involved (additional clarity, larger soundstage, punchier dynamics, etc.) then I might consider it.

Has anyone made a direct comparison and if so, what were the principle benefits of running 2 amps in bridge mode vs. a single one in stereo?
 

Toku

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I picked one of these up a few days ago, and am seriously impressed with the performance so far - very clear, full and dynamic sounding, with plenty of power. Amazing what $200 can get these days. Sure the display and user interface is a bit clunky, but considering the price to performance ratio and features offered (2 line inputs, sub out, EQ filters, remote control) I can't imagine anyone having serious complaints about this unit.

I did have a few inquiries for anyone who might be more knowledgeable than me, however.

1. I'm basically using this as a pure power amp, connecting it to the preamp outs of my AV receiver and making all volume adjustments through the receiver. In terms of setting the volume output of the A300, I'm wondering if there is any harm to setting it at the max, or is it better to keep it somewhere in the mid range? Or does it not matter either way?

2. I'm somewhat intrigued by the idea of getting another unit and running them in bridge mode as others have mentioned, but I'm not entirely clear what degree of benefit this would provide. The single A300 in stereo mode has no problem driving my speakers as loud as I would ever need them to be, so if the only benefit is additional power to reach higher volume outputs, then it wouldn't make any sense for me. But if there are other sonic improvements involved (additional clarity, larger soundstage, punchier dynamics, etc.) then I might consider it.

Has anyone made a direct comparison and if so, what were the principle benefits of running 2 amps in bridge mode vs. a single one in stereo?
I bought two A300s early on the market and tried BTL-Mono (dual Mono mode).
I didn't notice any difference in the sound quality itself. However, there is some improvement in the "soundstage" and "punchier dynamics".
However, I am currently using one A300 in stereo mode. This was sufficient for my application.
 

TonyJZX

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my feeling is that the amp is good enough that you could buy three of them for $600 and use it on all preouts on an avg. AV receiver and you'd be getting much better performance than most...

what i did find about mine is that the noise floor does go up a fair bit if you roll it past say... 45 on the display

35 is fine... so on my preamp i'd rather have the gain a bit higher (say 50-60 on a max of 80) and have the A300 a bit lower... the noise floor on my preamp is less than the A300

One thing I would like is a firmware release that auto shuts off the display after 30 secs of no activity... but I'm not even sure the USB can take firmware... or its just permananet written ROM.
 

DanielT

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Has anyone tested it with "difficult" amplifier-requiring speakers? That is, speakers that subject the amp to tricky loads. Speakers that dip low in Ohms.
 
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TonyJZX

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thats a good question

i have a pair of speakers that are an amazing 77dB... which I've used on my parasound and jungson and they had no issue

i would think the A300 should be fine for too but i might try it this weekend
 

Romario

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I recently acquired this amp and use it as a power amp in a 2.1 setup. Allthough te sound is ok with a good amount of power I have a few niggles.
The subwoofer out is allways on. You can't turn it off and at night I would like to. Also there's no volume control or settings like -10 db for the sub out like on every AVR.
Maybe for the price I shouldn't complain but hey, it's a discuusion topic, right?
 

TonyJZX

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i agree the subwoofer cutoff at 50hz (!!!???) is kind if strange... they should have made it variable in 5hz intervals from 40-100hz??? yes?

but again, this is a 'free' feature that i dont take seriously like the BT connection
 

MCH

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i agree the subwoofer cutoff at 50hz (!!!???) is kind if strange... they should have made it variable in 5hz intervals from 40-100hz??? yes?

but again, this is a 'free' feature that i dont take seriously like the BT connection
It is in a different price class but it's cousin the Sabaj a30a has selectable high pass and low pass filters.
 

robertospeed

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for me this SMSL A300 feels gold, leaving aside the BT and the usb-pc input that I don't even take into consideration, the sub output and the rca inputs are great, and the sound of this amplifier is really great, i sold my marantz pm7000n
 

kaopad999

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for me this SMSL A300 feels gold, leaving aside the BT and the usb-pc input that I don't even take into consideration, the sub output and the rca inputs are great, and the sound of this amplifier is really great, I gave up too to my marantz pm7000n and sold it
That's interesting, i have a Marantz pm5005, and i've been thinking of buying A300 to replace the Marantz . But i wasn;t sure if it would sound as good, but going by what you have said, it sounds as if it could actually be an upgrade?

In what way do you thinking the A300 sounds better than your pm7000n ?

interested to hear your thoughts!
 

robertospeed

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That's interesting, i have a Marantz pm5005, and i've been thinking of buying A300 to replace the Marantz . But i wasn;t sure if it would sound as good, but going by what you have said, it sounds as if it could actually be an upgrade?

In what way do you thinking the A300 sounds better than your pm7000n ?

interested to hear your thoughts!
SMSL A300 the highs are clearer and more refined, it is more detailed as a sound, and the lows are full-bodied, fast and precise, The highs of the marantz PM7000N are dirty, the PM6007 in the highs sounds better than the PM7000N and has a loudness effect that I like, but anyway in the end i kept SMSL A300, the sound seems more real and refined than the 2 marantz i had.
SMSL A300 is less powerful than the PM7000N but the sound is better for me, and it has the right power that I need in my small room, I think that SMSL A300 has a power of 50 watts into 8 ohms
 
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