Hello everyone,
Firstly i'd like to say i am an avid reader of the forum but in no way an expert, in fact i am probably a n00b. now i've got that out the way here is my questions.
Gear:
SMSL SP200 (RCA In )
SMSL M400 (RCA out) (Optical in)
Audio Engine D1 (superseded)
Sebaj PHA-2 (superseded)
Headphones: Beyerdynamic 1990 Pro's
Music taste: just about everything, but currently a lot of electronic
So i recently purchased the SP200 THX AAA amp by SMSL. Originally i hadn't had the M400 and was using a Audio Engine D1 as an interim as i waited for delivery.
My first thought were that it was an absolute powerhouse, to some extent maybe a little too fatiguing as many have pointed out.
When i finally got my M400 i did feel the overall sound got a lot better and a lot louder so i did feel it was a major improvement but i still feel im not 100% happy with the amp. Mainly i feel i always feel a need to scratch the itch and turn the music louder, but i can't quite find what i like. High gain is great for some stuff like drum and bass, it really has a lot more dynamics. While low is great for easy listening to some extent, but sometimes just feels very flat and boring.
I also noticed that there is a hum around 11-12 oclock on low gain and lower still on high gain, although this could be because i am splitting the RCA signal using a Y splitting cable. I have tried the set up without the RCA splitter previously so i will unplug and test the hum and reply to this thread with findings.
Another issue which is probably a minor thing, i think maybe the power cable was loose but this morning i turned on the amp and got a popping/grinding noise.i turned the amp off, I put the volume to low, turned low gain on and checked the cable. Switched it back on and the issue was gone seemingly.
But overall these issues all seem to add to an overall conflicted feeling of disappointment. Sometimes i feel i prefered my previous amp the Sebaj PHA-2 which is currently out of production and i have given to a friend for the time being.
Some days i love this amp, i have had it now 9 days, i know it's not much to go off but i am getting a gut feeling i am not quite happy with it. I will take any suggestions on anything i can do to improve the set up.
Just note that i am in the UK and i don't have access to massdrop items, although i am not completely impartial to importing goods overseas, although id prefer to avoid it if possible.
I have also attached a photo for my set up so you can see space requirements Thanks everyone for your patience if you have read this far.
So to summarise my questions are:
1) is this a good Dac & amp combo (M400 / SMSL SP200)?
2) Will going from balanced outputs on the DAC to the SP200 be beneficial as the SP200 isn't truly balanced regarding wiring?
3) Is there any Better pairings for the M400? (i had heard mention of a SP400 being released this year but SMSL are quiet on this)
4) i am splitting the RCA out of my DAC to my Hifi amp, what splitters should i use
Firstly i'd like to say i am an avid reader of the forum but in no way an expert, in fact i am probably a n00b. now i've got that out the way here is my questions.
Gear:
SMSL SP200 (RCA In )
SMSL M400 (RCA out) (Optical in)
Audio Engine D1 (superseded)
Sebaj PHA-2 (superseded)
Headphones: Beyerdynamic 1990 Pro's
Music taste: just about everything, but currently a lot of electronic
So i recently purchased the SP200 THX AAA amp by SMSL. Originally i hadn't had the M400 and was using a Audio Engine D1 as an interim as i waited for delivery.
My first thought were that it was an absolute powerhouse, to some extent maybe a little too fatiguing as many have pointed out.
When i finally got my M400 i did feel the overall sound got a lot better and a lot louder so i did feel it was a major improvement but i still feel im not 100% happy with the amp. Mainly i feel i always feel a need to scratch the itch and turn the music louder, but i can't quite find what i like. High gain is great for some stuff like drum and bass, it really has a lot more dynamics. While low is great for easy listening to some extent, but sometimes just feels very flat and boring.
I also noticed that there is a hum around 11-12 oclock on low gain and lower still on high gain, although this could be because i am splitting the RCA signal using a Y splitting cable. I have tried the set up without the RCA splitter previously so i will unplug and test the hum and reply to this thread with findings.
Another issue which is probably a minor thing, i think maybe the power cable was loose but this morning i turned on the amp and got a popping/grinding noise.i turned the amp off, I put the volume to low, turned low gain on and checked the cable. Switched it back on and the issue was gone seemingly.
But overall these issues all seem to add to an overall conflicted feeling of disappointment. Sometimes i feel i prefered my previous amp the Sebaj PHA-2 which is currently out of production and i have given to a friend for the time being.
Some days i love this amp, i have had it now 9 days, i know it's not much to go off but i am getting a gut feeling i am not quite happy with it. I will take any suggestions on anything i can do to improve the set up.
Just note that i am in the UK and i don't have access to massdrop items, although i am not completely impartial to importing goods overseas, although id prefer to avoid it if possible.
I have also attached a photo for my set up so you can see space requirements Thanks everyone for your patience if you have read this far.
So to summarise my questions are:
1) is this a good Dac & amp combo (M400 / SMSL SP200)?
2) Will going from balanced outputs on the DAC to the SP200 be beneficial as the SP200 isn't truly balanced regarding wiring?
3) Is there any Better pairings for the M400? (i had heard mention of a SP400 being released this year but SMSL are quiet on this)
4) i am splitting the RCA out of my DAC to my Hifi amp, what splitters should i use
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