SMSL DL200 the best ever value DAC/AMP?

[Smislov]

No one test SMSL DL200, WHY?

Maybe SMSL afraid of Amir findings and not recommending for this things

 

[th2j]

Maybe SMSL afraid of Amir findings and not recommending for this things

Look at the D-6s test, it is the same thing for sure

You will see that the measurements are perfect...
BUT we don't need more SINAD, etc -->> we need that SMSL gets rid of pops, clicks, etc...

 

[hoverdonkey]

i found a tutorial for the fimware update of the C200, it is the same process for the DL200 :

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

How did you obtain the DL200 firmware update, please? You mentioned Hifi Express in a previous post, but I could not find the link on their DL200 product page. I like to be sure of the source of things before installing them.

It is odd that Hifi Express provide this update when SMSL say:

It no need to update with firmware.

Many thanks.

 

[th2j]

How did you obtain the DL200 firmware update, please? You mentioned Hifi Express in a previous post, but I could not find the link on their DL200 product page. I like to be sure of the source of things before installing them.

It is odd that Hifi Express provide this update when SMSL say:


Many thanks.

Hifi-express send me the firmware,
it is not on SMSL website

but many firmwares are available but not accessible on SMSL website from support pages
for exemple this one :

https://www.smsl-audio.com/upload/portal/undefined/C200FWV101.zip

i think they don't want people update their firmware as there is always a risk at doing this king of thing

 

[jamesmafyew]

Thanks for posting the firmware update! I wish it had a changelog. I haven't had any of the clicking problems that others have had with my DL200, but have been extremely frustrated by the pop at turn on. It happens on both TRS and RCA outputs (but never on headphone, which is relay-muted at startup on a delay), whether powering up from a switched outlet or coming out of standby via remote or knob push. The new firmware had no effect on the startup pop. I suspect it is a hardware design flaw with the line output muting.

I was also dismayed that the left TRS output has a DC offset of 70mV on my unit. All the other outputs (including headphone) are 1mV or less. 70mV is inexcusable and possibly the result of an out-of-tolerance component. That said, all outputs have the startup pop, so the DC offset on L TRS is a separate problem.

 

[hoverdonkey]

Hifi-express send me the firmware,
it is not on SMSL website

but many firmwares are available but not accessible on SMSL website from support pages
for exemple this one :

https://www.smsl-audio.com/upload/portal/undefined/C200FWV101.zip

i think they don't want people update their firmware as there is always a risk at doing this king of thing

Okay, thank you.

 

[th2j]

If you use Squeezelite, the clicks between tracks seems to disappear if you put a silence between tracks which have different rates :
it works with a silence of 1,4s :
-r 44100,48000,88200,96000,192000:1400

 

[Bleib]

Gotta love that windows 11 prevents me from using the exe file..

 

[wavetrade]

I have one of these coming today and am hoping for minimal issues. Wanted the D-6S but am mostly an Amazon purchaser for these things and got impatient. While looking at the SMSL website I notice the manual for this has almost no information on the settings. Should be fun! I also noticed they have an LD300 that uses the AKM flagship chipset. Kind of a bummer they just keep pumping these out rather than focusing on issues encountered along the way.

 

[Grooved]

Hifi-express send me the firmware,
it is not on SMSL website

Hi, unless I missed it, I see that nobody tried to change the DPLL setting, which might be the cause for some problem:

 

[wavetrade]

My DL200 arrived and I have had a couple of hours to listen to it. I am very pleased as I am not getting any pops or clicking using USB out (with a A to C cable) to a small, fanless pc running windows 11. I am listening to Tidal in exclusive mode and my favorite mix has all sorts of bitrates and formats. Might also be worth mentioning that I am using it with the DL200 volume at max of 99, as my amp has volume control with a remote. I noted a review that mentioned going the other way by cranking the amp to max volume and then using the dac to control the volume, the pops and clicking were bothering him. But when he switched back to keeping the dac volume at max the issue was minimized.

As a bonus the DL200 is doing something much better than any of the other 5 dacs I recently purchased, it is lightning fast at getting going with MQA songs. My E50 takes a half second or so for the MQA indicator to light up and the sound hiccups when it does. Pretty much every time. The SU-1 also seems to have a delay but it just doesn't play anything until it is ready, so you end up missing a second or so of the beginning of a song. The DL200 isn't hiccupping or missing a thing. It sounds fantastic.

 

[Nutul]

Hi, unless I missed it, I see that nobody tried to change the DPLL setting, which might be the cause for some problem:

View attachment 321631

It might help, you seem to be right, BUT...
How can you explain there are clicks and pops (reported by at least one user, FWIW) also when playing local files?
It seems that the streaming (allow me the term, I mean the stream the DAC produces) is abruptly interrupted, and then, again, abruptly started, once the DAC has finished setting itself up.
Adding silence between track transitioning when sr/bd changes has proven eliminating the silencing of the tracks' beginning (seems logic, as now the DAC mutes silence, instead of music...), but a chap also mentions that it has eliminated, or drastically reduced the clicks (which isn't expected, IMO).
I think there must be a setting to keep the DAC always "working"; whether this is a setting of the chip itself that might not have been (correctly) implemented, or is something that can be done on-the-fly by software (update?) I, obviously, don't know.

It seems, in the end, utterly weird that SMSL, with all the DACs on its shelves, might have put on the market such a device... It could have been limited in the formats it could play, but not in producing artifacts that render the music experience impossible to cope with... Or... defects? And then, where is the QA?

 

[FreakyKiwi]

Mine does make two quiet clicks/pops between tracks but not enough to bother me.

I'm thinking that this is a Linux issue as the DAC is only detected as a generic USB sound card, I am using the Squeezelite plugin in Volumio on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W over USB.

I have just setup Squeezelite on a Windows 10 PC with the official driver installed and hidden settings enabled to set the "Always On" streaming mode which has been suggested to eliminate the clicks and missing track start.

I'll report back when I have tested this setup.

 

[th2j]

Mine does make two quiet clicks/pops between tracks but not enough to bother me.

I'm thinking that this is a Linux issue as the DAC is only detected as a generic USB sound card, I am using the Squeezelite plugin in Volumio on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W over USB.

I have just setup Squeezelite on a Windows 10 PC with the official driver installed and hidden settings enabled to set the "Always On" streaming mode which has been suggested to eliminate the clicks and missing track start.

I'll report back when I have tested this setup.

If you use Squeezelite, you can try to add this to your parameters (the :1400 part) :
-r 44100,48000,88200,96000,192000:1400

 

[FreakyKiwi]

If you use Squeezelite, you can try to add this to your parameters (the :1400 part) :
-r 44100,48000,88200,96000,192000:1400

Thanks, I already tried that.
It only fixes clicks when switching
bitrate, I still get them between tracks of the same bitrate which I think is caused by the DAC switching power modes.

 

[Nutul]

Mine does make two quiet clicks/pops between tracks but not enough to bother me.

I'm thinking that this is a Linux issue as the DAC is only detected as a generic USB sound card, I am using the Squeezelite plugin in Volumio on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W over USB.

I have just setup Squeezelite on a Windows 10 PC with the official driver installed and hidden settings enabled to set the "Always On" streaming mode which has been suggested to eliminate the clicks and missing track start.

I'll report back when I have tested this setup.

I may agree with you, although you also say "enabled to set the "Always On" streaming mode which has been suggested to eliminate the clicks and missing track start".
Now, why in hell should you need to do that on first instance?!? I mean, why is the DAC turning streaming off as soon as a track finishes... couldn't it, eventually, do so after, say, 10 minute? Or even 5 seconds...
Or let there also be a setting in the DAC's menu for that (which could be achieved even tomorrow by a firmware update...)

 

[FreakyKiwi]

I may agree with you, although you also say "enabled to set the "Always On" streaming mode which has been suggested to eliminate the clicks and missing track start".
Now, why in hell should you need to do that on first instance?!? I mean, why is the DAC turn streaming off as soon as a track finishes... couldn't it, eventually, do so after, say, 10 minute? Or even 5 seconds...
Or let there also be a setting in the DAC's menu for that (which could be achieved even tomorrow by a firmware update...)

Agreed, that's why I'm testing it. This option is only available using the Windows driver but I presume could be set as the default with a firmware update.

 

[Nutul]

I presume could be set as the default with a firmware update.

Helloooo, SMSL?!? Do you copy?

 

[th2j]

With Squeezelite, you can keep the dac opened. This is the default setting.
Look at your parameters and remove -C parameter if you have it

 

[th2j]

I still get them between tracks of the same bitrate which I think is caused by the DAC switching power modes.

This is really strange, i don't have this problem