S.M.S.L PO100, PO100 PRO & PO100 AK - Measurements (Digital Interfaces & DAC)

[raif71]

Hey all,
I finally got this working against my Topping D70s DAC via IIS.
I think it was mentioned in another post in this thread, but i also had to ...

1. Disable pin 16 on the HDMI cable
2. Set the DSD flag to pin 14 even though the PO100 document states pin 15

So is the manual incorrect for this device?

How do you set 1 and 2, is it via the Topping D70s? My volume output with the D70 is similar to yours, very quiet sound. I read the PO 100 manual...pin 16 is stated as "mute"

 

[raif71]

How do you set 1 and 2, is it via the Topping D70s? My volume output with the D70 is similar to yours, very quiet sound. I read the PO 100 manual...pin 16 is stated as "mute"

OK...I managed to get the info from this forum for the pin 16 modification. One person suggested using a needle to push back the 16th pin and one other used a tape, I suppose to cover the 16th pin. What I want to know is, on the standard hdmi cable, is it enough to do the modification on one end or must the modification be done at both ends of the cable?

 

[lordvader]

OK...I managed to get the info from this forum for the pin 16 modification. One person suggested using a needle to push back the 16th pin and one other used a tape, I suppose to cover the 16th pin. What I want to know is, on the standard hdmi cable, is it enough to do the modification on one end or must the modification be done at both ends of the cable?

Just one end is required.
Make sure you label this cable, as it will no longer function as an ordinary hdmi once you're done!

And yeah - the dsd flag is set on the D70s.

 

[raif71]

 

[Maxrunner]

@thanrl: I suppose people here use PO100 AK with the DAC-functionality only with M$ and not with Linux.

I tried installing the driver and after that the device is not detected in windows11. if i delete the driver its detected but i dont know if there's been any new firmware updates for this.

 

[raif71]

Just one end is required.
Make sure you label this cable, as it will no longer function as an ordinary hdmi once you're done!

And yeah - the dsd flag is set on the D70s.

Thanks for the reply. If I do this on a hdmi cable, and I decide to tape over the pin, just for confirmation, below is the hdmi cable pin output labeled ,

So, I would just tape over the pin 16 (DDC) as labeled above, right?

 

[lordvader]

Yup.
Or if that's fiddly (I couldn't be bothered), use a throwaway/cheap cable and break the pin (seems every device you buy comes with a hdmi cable)

 

[raif71]

I've managed to tape the 16th pin. Hopefully the insides as well, can't really see. Hopefully when I pull the hdmi from the socket, the tape won't get stuck in the female port

Edit : Success. The tape worked like a charm. No more faint sound using the I2S. The taped end of the hdmi, I inserted to the smsl po100 pro. I may just make this permanent and buy another po100 for other players. This I will use for Topping d70 and with other Topping DACs with I2S. Thank you all for the help.

 

[Maxrunner]

Any good amp recommendation for a po100ak?

 

[DEF]

PO100 Pro is weird.
With an simple Automatic Toslink Switcher it produces noise at muted level
I need to replace it with something different. Sad.

Maybe we can figure something out.

Help Needed: Replacing SMSL PO100 Pro and Signal Switching Issues

I'm currently optimizing my setup to eliminate manual signal switching on my RME ADI-2 DAC FS and minimize interference using Toslink or better technologies. Both my iPad and PC connect to an SMSL PO100 Pro, but the automatic Toslink switcher defaults to the PC even when muted. I've deducted...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Roland68]

PO100 Pro is weird.
With an simple Automatic Toslink Switcher it produces noise at muted level
I need to replace it with something different. Sad.

Maybe we can figure something out.

Help Needed: Replacing SMSL PO100 Pro and Signal Switching Issues

I'm currently optimizing my setup to eliminate manual signal switching on my RME ADI-2 DAC FS and minimize interference using Toslink or better technologies. Both my iPad and PC connect to an SMSL PO100 Pro, but the automatic Toslink switcher defaults to the PC even when muted. I've deducted...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Without the switch, the PO100 Pro doesn't add noise to the signal?
And with the switch, the PO100 Pro suddenly adds noise to the signal?
Where is the noise generated?
I would like to hear the technical explanation for this.

I think it's not the PO100 Pro that's weird, but the switch.

 

[DEF]

Without the switch, the PO100 Pro doesn't add noise to the signal?
And with the switch, the PO100 Pro suddenly adds noise to the signal?
Where is the noise generated?
I would like to hear the technical explanation for this.

I think it's not the PO100 Pro that's weird, but the switch.

To answer your question first:

Without the switch - there is no >audible< noise
Doesn't mean we can't sense it.

If you don't think the PO100 Pro could be at fault, think back that amirm had received a new unit because one was defective.
That would also make sense because the noise was only at one of two units, and I could swap them and Noise issue at complete mute was always with that one unit out of 2.
I absolutely would not want to keep equipment like that.

I don't think SMSL can have similar Quality standards than RME does have.

I think this is an intriguing topic and if I had devices to measure that, I might be able to prove my point or maybe one of my SMSL Devices is defective.
I >had< two SMSL PO100 Pro devices. Now they are on the way back to AMAZON.

And sorry for that I did not test all possibilities. Like only taking one SMSL PO100 Pro out and using a different Toslink output instead and swapping again.
It's just frustrating.


This response has been made with partial support of the manufacturer, I will indicate what manufacturer said - who has seen a video of the situation:

1.
--- manufacturer start
The PC is muted, but the switcher still determines that there is a signal, so it switches to the PC channel (1) when the piano(2) is silent. It is not ruled out that SMSL has noise output when it is muted, which causes the switcher to misjudge "there is a signal".
--- manufacturer end

--- DEF start
2.

A) When the two SMSL devices are replaced by
- Motherboard Toslink output
- RME Device Toslink output
Then the switch does work.

B) Therefore, we assume,
since the switcher only checks whether there is signal or not -
without any post operation, that
The SMSL PO100 Pro device - still emits noise which the switcher can sense, even when the PC it is connected to is muted, and all playback software is forcefully killed.

--DEF end

 

[DEF]

Addendum
I would like to see a score of trustworthiness, repairability, maintainability, working conditions etc about manufacturers.
Just looking a bit below here in this thread says "SMSL filters mislabeled on ES9039 DACs".

This reminds me of a story of a Topping Headphone Amplifier.
An acquaintance of mine used one. His IEM on the left side exploded when using the Topping product.
There was no major casualty. But this still makes me think twice before I buy.

RME does have a couple of protections in their Headphone Amps/Dacs trying to avoid such situations.

 

[Roland68]

Addendum
I would like to see a score of trustworthiness, repairability, maintainability, working conditions etc about manufacturers.
Just looking a bit below here in this thread says "SMSL filters mislabeled on ES9039 DACs".

This reminds me of a story of a Topping Headphone Amplifier.
An acquaintance of mine used one. His IEM on the left side exploded when using the Topping product.
There was no major casualty. But this still makes me think twice before I buy.

RME does have a couple of protections in their Headphone Amps/Dacs trying to avoid such situations.

The topic is undisputed, and if you pay a little attention, you would have seen that I am not exactly gentle with these manufacturers when it comes to this topic.

However, RME is now a big and positive exception here, as many other, even older and well-known manufacturers have become extremely worse in this area.

The PO100 Pro is a great device for its price; I have seen much worse for more money.
But a really well-developed DDC would be much more expensive simply because of the development costs and small quantities.
I can recommend the Gustard U16 and U18. The AF200 USB Digital Interface from Xing Audio is also worth a look. Very well developed and is used by many manufacturers in their own devices.

 

[DEF]

The topic is undisputed, and if you pay a little attention, you would have seen that I am not exactly gentle with these manufacturers when it comes to this topic.

However, RME is now a big and positive exception here, as many other, even older and well-known manufacturers have become extremely worse in this area.

The PO100 Pro is a great device for its price; I have seen much worse for more money.
But a really well-developed DDC would be much more expensive simply because of the development costs and small quantities.
I can recommend the Gustard U16 and U18. The AF200 USB Digital Interface from Xing Audio is also worth a look. Very well developed and is used by many manufacturers in their own devices.

Thank you a lot. I am sorry that I have made you feel uncomfortable.
Hopefully I can avoid that in the future.

 

[Roland68]

Thank you a lot. I am sorry that I have made you feel uncomfortable.
Hopefully I can avoid that in the future.

You never made me feel uncomfortable, so don't worry.