Shenzhen/SMSL RAW-HA1 Amplifier Review

[Waxx]

It'sa cheap thing with a lot of functionality and decent performance. For that price hard to complain. But for a class D amp not good enough for me. It's distortion is to high and with a class D amp it's not distortion i like. So for not so critical application it's good. It could be a good kitchen or workshop amp where low noise is less important (as the room is noisy), but not for my critical systems.

But again, for that price nothing to complain about. It packs a lot for the dollar/euro. You can't expect Ncore or Purifi performance for that price and functionality...

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Very good review, Amir. Thank you.

I think the headphone amp is the most disappointing aspect of the whole product. The Dac/Amp performance is ok, particularly at the price, but the headphone amp is seriously underpowered. My Hidezs Martha dongle will output 180 MW at 300 ohms, while the SMSL can only muster around 32. That just doesn't seem like nearly enough. And frequency response load variability at is a solved problem with Class D chip amps at (as Fosi has demonstrated) so it's also disappointing the SMSL falls short of the target here as well.

 

[SHENZHENAUDIO]

Thank you very much for the measurement.
By the way, the model name in the first line is a little misspelled, it should be RAW-HA1.
Thank you, Amir.

 

[Bleib]

It's always quite impressive just how small the heatsinks on these things are.

 

[gpunique]

What a bummer. I was excited about this but I def need a better headphone amp with hd 600s.
Would a Fiio K11 R2R paired with a Fosi Za3 be a better solution?

 

[Bleib]

What a bummer. I was excited about this but I def need a better headphone amp with hd 600s.
Would a Fiio K11 R2R paired with a Fosi Za3 be a better solution?

Sabaj A20h is on a deal right now, that's probably the price/performance king for headphones atm

 

[gpunique]

Sabaj A20h is on a deal right now, that's probably the price/performance king for headphones atm

Thanks but that's just a headphone amp. I need a dac, headphone amp (can run 300ohms) and a passive speaker amp. So I thought the smsl might be good, but it's not. That's why I suggest a different solution. Im open to other ideas but I'd really rather avoid 3 components.

What about the SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase?

SVS Prime Wireless Pro SoundBase | Streaming Integrated Amp

Bring speakers into the future of immersive sound with Apple Airplay 2, Chromecast, WiFi, HDMI, and more.

www.svsound.com

 

[Brian Hall]

The back panel looks very similar to the Loxjie A40, except for not having a phono input. The display on the front is fancier, but also has the same headphone jacks.

Are these made by the same company?

 

[JSmith]

Are these made by the same company?

Sort of... some items are designed by the company/brand, but physically produced by another company.

In this case it is the SMSL brand, but likely produced by Shenzhen Audio.


JSmith

 

[amirm]

In this case it is the SMSL brand, but likely produced by Shenzhen Audio.

Shenzhen Audio is an online retailer. They collaborate with companies like SMSL to build products to their specs/requirements.

SMSL and Loxjie are sister companies.

 

[Brian Hall]

Shenzhen Audio is an online retailer. They collaborate with companies like SMSL to build products to their specs/requirements.

SMSL and Loxjie are sister companies.

That makes sense. I have a Loxjie A40 and like it.

 

[Jeromeof]

Thanks @amirm for the comprehensive review as usual. Seems like a jack of all trades and master of none - lack of PFFB and the poor headphone output sort of make it a poor product in 2024 though reasonable for the price I guess.

But considering Fosi Audio, Aiyima and WiiM now have PFFB output and even that like Fosi Audio DS2 headphone amplifier has a much more powerful headphone. Then this issue with the usb input highlighted in the thread makes me think you can assemble a similar featured setup with better measurements all around for about the same price with a few components bundled together.

I see there is a Subwoofer output? Any idea if they have a HPF on the speaker outputs if an active subwoofer is connected?

 

[Koeitje]

Not bad for the money. I'd probably spend a little bit more and go for the Wiim Amp Pro. You lose the headphone jack but it's an overall better box.

 

[JoetheLion]

Wish list for next version is lack of load variability and higher power headphone output.

Plus auto on and auto off.

 

[Drengur]

This is pretty much the product I need for those relatives I've still managed to keep away from soundbars. Will probably be switching out a couple of gigantic AV amps for this considering it has everything one needs for TV/movies/content consumption in the living room.

 

[Koeitje]

This is pretty much the product I need for those relatives I've still managed to keep away from soundbars. Will probably be switching out a couple of gigantic AV amps for this considering it has everything one needs for TV/movies/content consumption in the living room.

Wiim Amp would be a better option because of Spotify support.

 

[peniku8]

What kind of filter selection does the SW output provide? I couldn't find anything on the website but it might be a decent alternative for an AVR... at least if it had some kind of built-in PEQ functionality.

 

[Drengur]

Wiim Amp would be a better option because of Spotify support.

For most people I would imagine this to be the case. Spotify is not need in my case as much as local radio stations. Regarding the pricing, Wiim is more expensive here than it is on the mainlands, while buying directly from Shenzhen is quite easy and inexpensive. But I am talking about a particular set of circumstances which in no means goes against the value of Wiim for most people.

 

[surroundman]

Please, consider implementing a high-pass filter for the subwoofer out for future models.

 

[gpunique]

Not bad for the money. I'd probably spend a little bit more and go for the Wiim Amp Pro. You lose the headphone jack but it's an overall better box.

I'm new at this and figuring out a setup. Can I add three products together like a
Wiim pro
Fosi Za3
Headphones amp?