Review and Measurements of SMSL SP200 THX HP Amp

[Cisco150]

Annoying for you. Be good to rule out the right xlr output from the dac not being the issue (as you can still send that back) . Do you have anyone close with an xlr input amp (and cables) you could borrow to rule out the dac?

I don't but when I switched the XLR from right to left cross them the issue stays on the right side of the amp not DAC. I tried the Dac left and right XLR out on the left side of the amp input and they both work. I'm not using a balanced XLR from my headphone only the factory cable 6.3mm

 

[Xii-Nyth]

oof the on led died on mine, now im gonna accidentally leave it on even more often

 

[Fox _ Mulder]

Sem ruído, tanto em High como em Low. Fones de ouvido usados: Grado SR80X, Kuba Audio, Openheart op2000, Blon bl 03.
Desculpem o inglês rude.

 

[MetaLchesH]

Thanks to Amirm's amazing review and measurements, i have been using this nice amp with Topping DX7s DAC for 2.5 years. I like it's performance a lot on power hungry headphones. But i am not sure about high sensitivity iems. I think it's too powerful an amp for sensitive headphones.

Friends, should I buy Topping L30 amp for my IEMs in addition to SMSL SP200?

 

[Xii-Nyth]

Hey can someone measure the voltage across the led? Trying to figure out why my burnt out

 

[mrjayviper]

this is amp similar/same to SP400 except that it has lower power output? thanks

eDIT: With only 2 THX chips, is this a true balanced amp?

 

[Roland68]

this is amp similar/same to SP400 except that it has lower power output? thanks

eDIT: With only 2 THX chips, is this a true balanced amp?

The SP200 is just a SE amp. The circuitry of the power amplifiers is the same, the SP400 has 4 instead of only 2.
Other differences are the relay-based volume control in the SP400 (it doesn't get any better!), the two channel-separated power supplies for right and left, the preamp output and the remote control.

The SH-9 is the smaller SE version of the SP400 with a power supply and no preamp.

 

[Snoopy]

That relay based volume control is really beautiful. Great amp. Love it. Worth every cent.

 

[Xii-Nyth]

this is amp similar/same to SP400 except that it has lower power output? thanks

eDIT: With only 2 THX chips, is this a true balanced amp?

no its not internally balanced, so thats why the power is half

 

[Svperstar]

I have been having a bit of fun A/B testing my SP200 today.

I got an RME ADI-2 earlier in the week, my first balanced amp. This gives me the chance to do some testing. I realize none of this is scientific so no need to tell me, its just for fun.

https://imgur.com/s13opS1

I hooked up both of my Windows laptops next to each other. One running Topping D30 -> SMSL SP200 RCA unbalanced connection. The other running RME ADI-2 -> SMSL SP200 balanced XLR connection.

Then I put on the same exact song in MusicBee and hit play at the same time, while the song was playing I was switching between the XRL and RCA connection so the music never stopped playing. I used my Hifiman Arya and brand new Audeze LCD-2 Classic.

At first the RCA connection was way louder so I raised the volume on the Line Out of the RME ADI-2 till they were earmatched.

Long story short I heard very little difference between the Topping D30 and the RME ADI-2, I very nearly bought an AKM 4499 DAC as soon as they became available but none of those DACs have anywhere near the features of the RME ADI-2 so I am glad I skipped them as I doubt my ability to hear the difference anyway.

 

[Xaviedie]

Hello, which RCA/jack cable would you recommend for connecting the SMSL THX SP200 to my LG G7 Think?

PS: My headphones are HD560S, Hifiman he400se & Bose quietcomfort 35 ii

 

[Jimster480]

Hello, which RCA/jack cable would you recommend for connecting the SMSL THX SP200 to my LG G7 Think?

PS: My headphones are HD560S, Hifiman he400se & Bose quietcomfort 35 ii

Any RCA to 3.5 mm cable. The rest does not matter

 

[Dunring]

Hello, which RCA/jack cable would you recommend for connecting the SMSL THX SP200 to my LG G7 Think?

PS: My headphones are HD560S, Hifiman he400se & Bose quietcomfort 35 ii

I just had a chance to test an SP200 with three different 3.5mm to double RCA cables while hooking a Soundblaster X1 as a DAC. In short, the UGreen had the best results, with just a noise floor happening in high gain mode at 90 percent while a song was paused. I tested with Truthear Zero IEM's which are really sensitive to check a worst case scenario. It wasn't noise from USB, it varied with the other two cables (Amazon Basics and Monoprice) put in the same location. They had noise earlier in the volume wheel, but the Ugreen stayed silent up to 90 percent. Using a phone you'll probably have better results I'd guess. I tested with a Topping L30 II and a Sabaj A20H the same way, same results across the amplifiers, so I'm a fan of Ugreen stuff now since it's really inexpensive.

 

[LegionOfHell]

Output Power: 6W x 2 (16 ohms), 3W x 2 (32 ohms), 440mW x 2 (300 ohms), 220 mW x 2 (600 ohms)

Are the power ratings for balanced headphone out or unbalanced ?

 

[Jimbob54]

Output Power: 6W x 2 (16 ohms), 3W x 2 (32 ohms), 440mW x 2 (300 ohms), 220 mW x 2 (600 ohms)

Are the power ratings for balanced headphone out or unbalanced ?

Same. It's not balanced, just an xlr connector

 

[LegionOfHell]

How many revisions does the SP200 have ? Are all of them the same ?

 

[Dunring]

How many revisions does the SP200 have ? Are all of them the same ?

I've come across three different sets of serial numbers on them. I haven't noticed any differences between them, channel matching is always a roll of the dice. Early or recent serials same chance of getting a good one or a dud. Have another one coming in tomorrow, so I'll test it and see how good that one is.

 

[PSKTNML]

People who have suffered from channel imbalance, let's say before 12', I accidentally fixed mine while swapping the caps after the XLR inputs (some Panasonic low ESR ones, 35v) just for being bored. Now even at the lowest possible volumes, the channels put out same amount of volume. Don't know if it's about those "not even close audio class" capasitors I was reading about. Sorry about popping this classic on the front page but had to share because my unit had pretty bad imbalance before 12'. Now I can blast -00db from DAC to amplifier and just use amplifiers volume knob!

 

[Jimster480]

People who have suffered from channel imbalance, let's say before 12', I accidentally fixed mine while swapping the caps after the XLR inputs (some Panasonic low ESR ones, 35v) just for being bored. Now even at the lowest possible volumes, the channels put out same amount of volume. Don't know if it's about those "not even close audio class" capasitors I was reading about. Sorry about popping this classic on the front page but had to share because my unit had pretty bad imbalance before 12'. Now I can blast -00db from DAC to amplifier and just use amplifiers volume knob!

Do you have any pictures of your capacitor swap?

 

[PSKTNML]

Do you have any pictures of your capacitor swap?

Nope, I can take photos for you if you like but there's some documentation on Head-Fi side of the internet already about swapping caps and why some people have done it. Although I used only Panasonic capacitors (as an alternative to the Nichicons and WIMAs that are used in that topic).

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to tell that I changed the interconnects too to Switchcraft's locking XLRs so that might be a part of the fix too, who knows really but would be pretty weird if the interconnects had affected the problem.

EDIT2: Did actually rework the whole stack, also painting it to match my laptop hah! Here's external photos of stacks new looks (don't have time to put in some color work but just quickie shots to get the idea):

https://imgur.com/a/M3qYbTV