Review and Measurements of SMSL SP200 THX HP Amp

[adi518]

It went on sale for $260 on Drop: https://drop.com/buy/smsl-sp200-thx-aaa-888-balanced-headphone-amp. Its corresponding DAC was released today: https://hifigo.com/blogs/news/smsl-m200-dac-released-latest-dac-solution

 

[Veri]

I'm swapping this great amp for the 789 at the end, because I need the additional rca outs

Understandable Personally I was looking for XLR outs but only the upcoming Topping A90 has something like that available..

 

[FireLion]

Would love to see the review for the m200 and maybe a combination review with sp200.

 

[poimandres]

How does the 888 compare to the 887 and the 787?

I’m assuming no audible differences? It appears the snr at 50mv is significantly lower.

Has anyone confirmed that the pot issues have been addressed on the newer units?

I am also looking forward to the m200 review.

 

[Sak]

How does the 888 compare to the 887 and the 787?

I think this topic is more suitable for discussion.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...sl-sp200-thx-amp-measurement-comparison.9952/

 

[poimandres]

I would agree if anyone compared them. The thread is mainly a culmination of Amir’s reviews.

 

[Veri]

How does the 888 compare to the 887 and the 787?

I’m assuming no audible differences? It appears the snr at 50mv is significantly lower.

The 888 looks actually worse at lower mW, but it can output substantially more power than the 887/789.
The upcoming Topping A90 actually looks to be the king of low mW, which is not a THX amp but an in-house design

 

[poimandres]

I have my sp200 and m200, there is zero hiss or noticeable channel imbalance (even at the lowest level) with my psb m4u 4 iems on low gain. I have not tried high gain and doubt that I will.

I can however hear the music very slightly even with the volume turned all the way down on the psb’s. Depending on the track I can listen around 12-1 on low gain.

The volume control seems off as others have stated and seems to have very little resistance. Has anyone replaced the volume knob?

The m200 does not pop when changing tracks of the same sample rate. There is a very low pop (it is very quiet) sometimes when changing sample rates, from memory it is slightly lower than I remember the topping e30 being.

 

[bonesy]

I've just received the SMSL SP200 and M200.

My initial review:

They look awful IMO. They look like how the 80's thought the '20s were going to look. What I don't get is why the LEDs and displays have different blues on the 2 devices so they don't even match : ) It's almost comically bad industrial design. The switches seem solid enough and the body is well made despite the bizarre slant that I'm slowly beginning to fall for. The volume knob is atrocious. It wobbles and flexes and feels like it's going to be the first thing to fail, however, it's got to the point where the looks make me grin and I like the idea of testing myself with something that looks awful but sounds superb.

At 11 o'clock with the M200 at full volume they sound awesome on my HD660s. So clear and transparent but powerful and dynamic. Genuinely some of the best audio I've ever heard. They never feel tiring and I've been smiling listening to music for hours.

However, if I turn the volume all the way down on the amp I can still here remnants of sound and a mild hiss. This can be ignored but I don't think I should have to from a new product. Then there is the channel imbalance. It is very noticable up to 9 o'clock and possibly disappears by 10 o'clock. It's a bit annoying so I've raised a complaint with AliExpress. I've already had to spend £40 import duty via DHL and I've never returned hifi before - let alone internationally so I'm in two minds what to do. Bearing in mind I'm still waiting for my CustomCans XLR cable to turn up (how can I get hifi delivered from China to Birmingham in a week but it takes 4 weeks to get a cable delivered from Cheltenham? :s ) it may be that the XLR output gives me better results even though I suspect they're both being fed the same signal. I'm currently using Ghent Audio RCA phono cables between the M200 and SP200 and the stock Sennheiser 6.35mm for SE output.

Any advice other than waiting for AliExpress's response? Returning hifi seems odd to me because I've never had to do it and I could live with the current SP200 as long as I put up with it's volume flaws.

 

[Veri]

I'm currently using Ghent Audio RCA phono cables between the M200 and SP200 and the stock Sennheiser 6.35mm for SE output.

I would advise using XLR between the two devices. Could totally eliminate your mild hiss problem. If gain gets too loud I would compensate it by lowering volume digitally.

 

[cen0byte]

Hello guys!
I'm new to audiophile... and i have a question regarding this amp. From your experience it should be piece of cake for you guys.
I play electronic drums and i own the dt1770's with zen dac.

I dont like the sound, so i thought an amp would fix the situation. So after a bit research i found this amp and i must say i'm thinking of buying it.
I also plan to buy a Alesis Strike amp12 monitor speaker for my drums.

The questions are.

a) will this drive my 1770's great along with the zendac? will i hear a great improvement compared to the setup i currently have?
b) Will i be able to connect the strike amp12 to this amp and listen from the headphones and the monitor speaker at the same time?
c) will i be able to use a tube as preamp in the future along with this amp and the monitor as well?

Sorry if i sound stupid, but i'm not familiar at all with connections...

thank you in advance.

 

[bonesy]

I would advise using XLR between the two devices. Could totally eliminate your mild hiss problem. If gain gets too loud I would compensate it by lowering volume digitally.

Interesting. I'd been avoiding that but perhaps I'd misunderstood someone's comment on the subject.

Like I said, I love the sound of the amp and DAC when it gets past 11. It really is worth the money. I'll try a couple of XLRs and report back. Thanks.

 

[Veri]

i own the dt1770's with zen dac.

I dont like the sound, so i thought an amp would fix the situation.

If you don't like the sound an amp will most certainly not fix it. An amp is to deliver power, that's its job, it won't sound radically different :/

 

[cen0byte]

If you don't like the sound an amp will most certainly not fix it. An amp is to delivery power, that's its job, it won't sound radically different :/

Hey Veri thank you for your reply.
I got the headphones 5 days ago. i am currently burning them in. I believe they will open more. I like their sound but i believe ZenDac's amp cant drive them well. I like and need power for my drum sessions and it seems i'm not getting it. Thats why i dont like the sound. I believe that dt1770's are good heaphones but a bit hard to drive (if i understand things well).

 

[poimandres]

Has anyone changed the volume knob on their sp200? What if so what size is needed?

 

[bonesy]

Has anyone changed the volume knob on their sp200? What if so what size is needed?

I haven't but I'm going to. I haven't got calipers only a ruler but the knob on the SP200 looks to be 23.5mm and the M200 is 28mm. I'm going to try to get a matching one for the SP200.

 

[bonesy]

I would advise using XLR between the two devices. Could totally eliminate your mild hiss problem. If gain gets too loud I would compensate it by lowering volume digitally.

Hi. Thanks again. I got a couple of No Bull XLRs and they worked a treat. None of the hiss with the phonos and the sound seems a lot clearer generally. Still got the channel imbalance up to at least 9 o'clock but I'm playing around the M200 volume to compensate.

 

[poimandres]

You are going to replace the knob on the m200 as well? Let us know how it all shakes out.

 

[bonesy]

You are going to replace the knob on the m200 as well? Let us know how it all shakes out.

No, I mean because the knobs don't match I'm going to get one for the SP200 that looks like the one on the M200.

 

[poimandres]

Oh gotcha. They certainly don’t match. What are your thoughts on the combo? I find the sound fatiguing. Connected via mogami 6 inch rca cables feeding a HD58X.