SMSL AO200+6Ohm 85dB Efficiency Speaker-A Big No No

[J.M.D]

Hi Allll,

I was running this little Class D AO200 from SMSL with AE Lite-One Speaker (89dB @ 8 Ohm 100W) with ease and was really enjoying them , Until I swapped the speakers with ELAC Uni-Fi Reference UBR62 which is 85dB 6 Ohm 140W Speaker.

Problem :- I cant go past volume 33 step on the AMP as the audio would cut out frequently.

I was in the assumption that this AMP could drive them at least to a moderate volume level listening considering the advertised claim 90W x 2 @ 4 Ohm and 50W x 2 @ 8Ohm as per SMSL, even though 6 Ohm rating is not listed on SMSL's website.

So Any expertise advise welcome friends ?


PS- I have seen some MOD's on the AO200 here on ASR for the correct filter or something, but cant seem to find now..


Regards,

 

[J.M.D]

Bump..

 

[ZolaIII]

Well those are hard to drive and all do declared 6 Ohm's they don't fall under 5.2 and go up a lot and against the phase. Would use at least old chunky AB class Yamaha declared at 100 (up to 140 continously with 10% THD) into 8 Ohm's for them. AO200 is very weak (bat rather clean) 17~18W into 8 Ohm's as I remember from measurements.

 

[chuckt62]

Link

 

[ZolaIII]

Sorry my bad I mixed them with DBR62.

 

[Godataloss]

Yikes. Those things are pigs.

 

[panther]

Ordered one since it was on sale and a coupon. Will try it with Dali Menuets for now in my office. Was thinking of the Sabaj a30a but wanted the easier return policy with Amazon.haven’t decided on a DAC yet though as I am torn between a DO200 mk2 or Schiit Bifrost.

 

[melvinjames]

I'm kind of surprised to read about your experience @J.M.D. I've been using the AO200 with the rather inefficient Mark & Daniel Ruby speakers with great success (music and movies). The manufacture states:

"The nominal impedance is 3-6 ohms with average efficiency being 82.5dB/2.83V/1m. For proper operation, a high current amplifier with no less than 100 watts output per channel is recommended for Maximus-Ruby."

I've also used the AO200 with my Ohm MicroWalsh Talls which are rated at 85dB/2.8V. Never a problem with these either. FWIW I don't listen at ear-bleeding levels but I do like to turn up the volume!

 

[J.M.D]

Hi back again..
I am sorry but to miss represent this thread on AO200.

Later on I came to realize that there was no issues at all on the AO200 itself for those audio cutout I experienced, but rather it was the additional lines i used to hook the Subwoofer on the high level connection which was causing the issue.

@melvinjames , Yes this little AMP can drive almost any speakers which is less of a concern. However I found a bit on the analytical side with more revealing speakers such as elac ubr62's.

 

[melvinjames]

Later on I came to realize that there was no issues at all on the AO200 itself for those audio cutout I experienced, but rather it was the additional lines i used to hook the Subwoofer on the high level connection which was causing the issue.

Good to know and thanks for the update.

However I found a bit on the analytical side with more revealing speakers such as elac ubr62's.

I find this interesting because my Rubys are the most brutally revealing speaker I've owned and they sound fantastic paired with the AO200. Please don't misunderstand, I don't dispute your findings/preferences/taste at all, it's just different from my experience. I've paired my speakers with a variety of class a/b and d amps and the AO200 is not only my favorite but also the least expensive.

 

[JayGilb]

Hi back again..
I am sorry but to miss represent this thread on AO200.

Later on I came to realize that there was no issues at all on the AO200 itself for those audio cutout I experienced, but rather it was the additional lines i used to hook the Subwoofer on the high level connection which was causing the issue.

@melvinjames , Yes this little AMP can drive almost any speakers which is less of a concern. However I found a bit on the analytical side with more revealing speakers such as elac ubr62's.

For my clarification: You tried to drive a passive subwoofer in parallel with your main L/R speakers and it overloaded the amplifier which caused it to shut down ?

 

[panther]

Connected the AO200 to DALI Menuet SE and it plays no problem in my small room. 28 volume got me to over 75 SPL. Very impressed with this amp. I haven't even connected an external DAC yet and it's easily comparing to my QUAD Vena amp that was 5x the price when I got it.