SMSL A300 Stereo Amplifier Review

[Toku]

“So depending on what speaker you throw at it, the treble may be a bit bright or subdued.”

Can someone tell me how does "load dependency" affect the speaker?

I think what you are concerned about is the circled part of the graph.
It is true that the measurement results show that in the case of an 8Ω load, the level increases from around 15kHz. However, the average person's ears can hardly hear frequencies above 17kHz, so this has very little effect on sound quality. My ears can't hear even 15KHz anymore.
The effect on sound quality is far greater due to differences in the characteristics of individual speakers.

 

[trevor_bartram]

I've just returned an AO300 after two weeks of listening. I believe the AO300 is similar to the A300 discussed here. AO300 functionality, tonality & performance were PERFECT but sound quality using audiophile CDs was lacking compared to my reference system (NAD C340 amp, Panasonic DVDA player). Music was not as dynamic or involving. Does anyone know the likely culprit: JRC volume/EQ/tone controls, Cirrus Logic DAC, op-amps, Infineon Class-D amp chip, passive parts, power supply?
I believe if the culprit is identified, a modified version of the AO300 would be a world beating design. Comments please?

 

[Romario]

I've just returned an AO300 after two weeks of listening. I believe the AO300 is similar to the A300 discussed here. AO300 functionality, tonality & performance were PERFECT but sound quality using audiophile CDs was lacking compared to my reference system (NAD C340 amp, Panasonic DVDA player). Music was not as dynamic or involving. Does anyone know the likely culprit: JRC volume/EQ/tone controls, Cirrus Logic DAC, op-amps, Infineon Class-D amp chip, passive parts, power supply?
I believe if the culprit is identified, a modified version of the AO300 would be a world beating design. Comments please?

Low power, outdated chip amp, bad design plus all the above? It's a desktop amp. There's nothing worse than advertising 2x165 watts ( still) and then don't deliver. I moved it to the bedroom and hardly gets used ( plop! It's on)

 

[trevor_bartram]

Low power, outdated chip amp, bad design plus all the above? It's a desktop amp. There's nothing worse than advertising 2x165 watts ( still) and then don't deliver. I moved it to the bedroom and hardly gets used ( plop! It's on)

It has plenty of power for me & my speakers. Was there anything in particular you didn't like about its sound quality?

 

[Romario]

Like you discovered yourself the sound quality was not that great compared to a conventional amp. I blame the high crosstalk, same as in lower priced AVR's (sold those) And te build quality is also so so, but for the price it's ok, I guess. I moved on to a Hypex Ncore amp ( iom in my case). But don't let me take your fun away. The sub out is nice, though I kept fiddeling with the settings to improve the sound.

 

[A Surfer]

You can't hear that level of crosstalk

 

[Romario]

On cheaper AVR's the crosstalk is also far from good and my experience in stereo is the same as with this unit. I bought the amp before the measurements were published and tried to find the culprit in those graphs. The review pointed out that the unit underperformed and it wasn't just a bad setup of my part. If the issue is something else than crosstalk so be it but a good sinad ( not this unit) and poor crosstalk isn't something I have encountered on this site.

 

[A Surfer]

I agree that crosstalk is measureable, but it has to be very bad to become audible. I am not an expert though, but if I'm not mistaken the crosstalk here while not stellar is not bad enough to account for the issues being described.

 

[Earwaxer]

My 2 cents that you may find interesting. This amp I believe is very system dependent. My system - Eversolo DMP A-6, Gustard R26, a well designed and built tube preamp using 12AU7 (I built it). SMSL A300, Emotiva tower speakers. I compared the SMSL A300 to the Fosi za3. Completely different sound, with the SMSL on top. That surprised me. I bought the Fosi because I wanted to opamp roll. SMSL has surface mount opamps. The Fosi eliminated the sparkle, harmonics, wide sound stage and everything else that I was getting from my tube preamp. Very surprising. I put the Fosi amp back in the system several times to make sure. I was also surprised that the SMSL played so well with the tube pre. With that said, the Emotiva towers are not easy to drive. 88db at 4 ohm. So gustard R26 benefits greatly with a preamp and in my opinion tubes. The Gustard has a great analog sound but not very exciting at all.

 

[trevor_bartram]

Has anyone here purchased the A300 recently? Has the noise problem been solved? Thanks in advance!
Does anyone know what opamps (brand/part-number) are in the signal path? Cheers!

P.S. I purchased an AO300, functionally & tonally it was perfect, I listened to it for two weeks with audiophile grade CDs, realised the sound was not as good as my reference & sent it back. I did not check the analog input. The A300 with dual analog inputs is an even better fit for me. Thanks!

 

[A Surfer]

Has anyone here purchased the A300 recently? Has the noise problem been solved? Thanks in advance!
Does anyone know what opamps (brand/part-number) are in the signal path? Cheers!

P.S. I purchased an AO300, functionally & tonally it was perfect, I listened to it for two weeks with audiophile grade CDs, realised the sound was not as good as my reference & sent it back. I did not check the analog input. The A300 with dual analog inputs is an even better fit for me. Thanks!

How can something be tonally perfect and yet not have adequate sound quality?

 

[Roland68]

Has anyone here purchased the A300 recently? Has the noise problem been solved? Thanks in advance!
Does anyone know what opamps (brand/part-number) are in the signal path? Cheers!

P.S. I purchased an AO300, functionally & tonally it was perfect, I listened to it for two weeks with audiophile grade CDs, realised the sound was not as good as my reference & sent it back. I did not check the analog input. The A300 with dual analog inputs is an even better fit for me. Thanks!

What was your reference device?

 

[Adis]

Has anyone here purchased the A300 recently? Has the noise problem been solved? Thanks in advance!
Does anyone know what opamps (brand/part-number) are in the signal path? Cheers!

P.S. I purchased an AO300, functionally & tonally it was perfect, I listened to it for two weeks with audiophile grade CDs, realised the sound was not as good as my reference & sent it back. I did not check the analog input. The A300 with dual analog inputs is an even better fit for me. Thanks!

Recently? No, I bought it two years ago.
What noise? I hear noise only when I approach the tweeter within 10 cm (88dB/W/m).

 

[trevor_bartram]

Recently? No, I bought it two years ago.
What noise? I hear noise only when I approach the tweeter within 10 cm (88dB/W/m).

Yes, that noise, louder on some units than others.

 

[Bleib]

Yes, that noise, louder on some units than others.

Also louder if the display is running at full power

 

[trevor_bartram]

What was your reference device?

PaNasonic DVDA player & NAD C340 amp.

 

[trevor_bartram]

Also louder if the display is running at full power

Thanks, anyone know what if any opamps (brand, part-number) are used in the signal path?

 

[Adis]

Yes, that noise, louder on some units than others.

Well, what can I say, don't come that close to the speaker.

 

[Roland68]

Has anyone here purchased the A300 recently? Has the noise problem been solved? Thanks in advance!
Does anyone know what opamps (brand/part-number) are in the signal path? Cheers!

P.S. I purchased an AO300, functionally & tonally it was perfect, I listened to it for two weeks with audiophile grade CDs, realised the sound was not as good as my reference & sent it back. I did not check the analog input. The A300 with dual analog inputs is an even better fit for me. Thanks!

I have both devices and the AO300 is nothing other than the A300 with additional features. The A300 is only useful with an analog input, the USB input is noticeably worse. The A300 is particularly interesting bridged with 400 watts of power at 4 ohms.
In terms of sound, the Topping PA5 II is definitely better for me.

 

[trevor_bartram]

How can something be tonally perfect and yet not have adequate sound quality?

When the AO300 was compared to NAD C340 & both Panasonic DVDA player & Schiit Modi 3 there was something missing with AO300, less 'there'.