SMSL M500 DAC and HP Amp Review

[Toku]

Wondering if the M500 is capable of Dolby DTS or 5.1 surround audio to watch from TV optical? Most streaming services such as Netflix has multi channel audio outputs...can M500 relay that? Thanks

Most USB-DACs can only input stereo 2ch signals. Similarly, the M500 can only input stereo 2ch signals. Signals including multi channel audio and Dolby surround cannot be connected.

 

[w1000i]

I just got my M500 and play it on Win 10. Using Roon to play my Tidal playlist.
I used my Mr.Speaker AEON Closed. the comfort volume level is 20 and maybe lower later.
It sound very BIG and the bass is so strong and never running out of steam. from my memory it sound better than mojo but I will get mojo to compare it against it .

 

[MusicNBeer]

I gave up with the optical input from TV. M500 has been demoted to bedroom duty. It was not behaving at all today. So I'll end this futile effort with this...

WARNING: IF YOU NEED TO USE OPTICAL INPUT FROM TV, BE AWARE THAT SMSL M500 MAY NOT FUNCTION CORRECTLY.

 

[Palex]

I have connected the LG OLED TV on an optical cable to an old receiver of Yamaha RV 657, what at supervision of the movie to use 5.1 (very well). I use M500 with the Marantz PM 8005 amplifier for music listening. Why to mix the movie and music?)

 

[tmtomh]

I know this isn’t directly helpful, but as an FYI, TV optical outputs are notorious for being wildly variable from brand to brand, even model to model. The formats and protocols they do and don’t support are usually poorly documented, or even undocumented.

In fact, I’ve even encountered situations where the same TV will and won’t work with a DAC over optical depending on which input is selected in the TV: depending how the TV processes (or doesn’t process) the signal, a cable box signal might not get its audio passed through in a format the DAC can handle, but a streaming device might work fine - or vice versa.

It’s usually a crapshoot, alas.

 

[MusicNBeer]

I have connected the LG OLED TV on an optical cable to an old receiver of Yamaha RV 657, what at supervision of the movie to use 5.1 (very well). I use M500 with the Marantz PM 8005 amplifier for music listening. Why to mix the movie and music?)

I have no interest in surround, nor do I have the room on my rack anyway for a surround receiver. PCM optical out to PCM optical in should not be considered a strange configuration.

 

[strangeskies]

I gave up with the optical input from TV. M500 has been demoted to bedroom duty. It was not behaving at all today. So I'll end this futile effort with this...

WARNING: IF YOU NEED TO USE OPTICAL INPUT FROM TV, BE AWARE THAT SMSL M500 MAY NOT FUNCTION CORRECTLY.

Has the optical out from your TV been working with other dacs?

 

[MusicNBeer]

Has the optical out from your TV been working with other dacs?

Yes, two Benchmark Dac1 units and Topping DX3 all work perfectly.

 

[Hemi-Demon]

Just in case this helps, my M500 works just fine connected to my Panasonic Plasma TV via optical out (PCM). This may be a Samsung specific issue.

I am not sure who has the Samsung TV, but most of the modern Samsung TVs, you have to go into settings, dig into the audio settings, and change the audio output to PCM, to get the optical output to work properly with ANY device not a Samsung soundbar. Samsung locks the audio stream to sync with their high priced soundbars for some reason.

 

[NG3]

As I reported here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ac-and-hp-amp-review.9606/page-25#post-262986
I own a Samsung TV and have had similar issues with SMSL SU-8
My TV is set to PCM stereo output and with this setting I have had no issues with at least 4 other DACs from other brands. I think, that even if I buy new other DACs from other brands it would work. In the SU-8 thread you can find also reports from people using other TV brands, so I think it is not even related to only Samsung TVs. Maybe some kind of incomatibility between the SMLS and some TV brands / models. Would be interesting to see if the optical input circuit within SMSL SU-8 and M500 is similar. Maybe SMSL has used its SU-8 optical input circuit when developing the M500. This would explain the same issue with both DACs.

It's not about multi channel formats. Like MusicNBeer I've no interest in multichannel and I'm only using stereo which should be no problem for the SMSL. Also the error pattern I have had, does not fit to "feeding the DAC with a multichannel signal". When feeding a stereo DAC with a mulitchannel signal, the only sound you may get is not music, but loud crackling noise. In my case I could here music, I must say with really good quality, but without constant lock, means with playback gaps every 5-10 secconds.

If SMSL is able to fix this issue I would remove the ADI-2 DAC from my setup for the M500. Because soundwise I really liked the SU-8 and I assume that M500 even a tick better.

 

[Veri]

As I reported here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ac-and-hp-amp-review.9606/page-25#post-262986
I own a Samsung TV and have had similar issues with SMSL SU-8
My TV is set to PCM stereo output and with this setting I have had no issues with at least 4 other DACs from other brands. I think, that even if I buy new other DACs from other brands it would work. In the SU-8 thread you can find also reports from people using other TV brands, so I think it is not even related to only Samsung TVs. Maybe some kind of incomatibility between the SMLS and some TV brands / models. Would be interesting to see if the optical input circuit within SMSL SU-8 and M500 is similar. Maybe SMSL has used its SU-8 optical input circuit when developing the M500. This would explain the same issue with both DACs.

It's not about multi channel formats. Like MusicNBeer I've no interest in multichannel and I'm only using stereo which should be no problem for the SMSL. Also the error pattern I have had, does not fit to "feeding the DAC with a multichannel signal". When feeding a stereo DAC with a mulitchannel signal, the only sound you may get is not music, but loud crackling noise. In my case I could here music, I must say with really good quality, but without constant lock, means with playback gaps every 5-10 secconds.

If SMSL is able to fix this issue I would remove the ADI-2 DAC from my setup for the M500. Because soundwise I really liked the SU-8 and I assume that M500 even a tick better.

I'm pretty sure it's their Altera reclock implementation, present in both SU- series and M500. They could potentially resolve it by letting the user select DPLL setting, rather than selecting a default which apparently does not work for each and every device.

 

[Palex]

So, the "dry" facts on a sound:

1) Stereo for all channels, including HD channels are broadcast in MPEG-1 Audio Layer II 192Kbps Joint Stereo.

2) The multichannel path is available to some channels in the AC3 5.1 384Kbps format. (in each country there will be differences, but I don't think that considerable)

Why a sound of such quality to bring to DAC M500?

 

[Palex]

M 500 are "loved" by such bitrate)))

 

[Toku]

I gave up with the optical input from TV. M500 has been demoted to bedroom duty. It was not behaving at all today. So I'll end this futile effort with this...

WARNING: IF YOU NEED TO USE OPTICAL INPUT FROM TV, BE AWARE THAT SMSL M500 MAY NOT FUNCTION CORRECTLY.

This OPT connection problem is very similar to the Topping D50, D50s COAX connection problem.
Topping's D50 and D50s COAX connections do not work at all depending on the connected device.
At this time, if you connect the COAX cable to DX3 Pro or DX7s M500 SU-8, it works perfectly.

 

[NG3]

Why a sound of such quality to bring to DAC M500?

There are many reasons for doing that. In my case, for example, I use a power amp which is directly fed by the RME ADI-2 DAC. No analog inputs. I use the dac in my living room for serious listening session via USB. When watching TV, movie, Blue Ray or playing games (PS4 - in this case with higher bit rates), I use the optical out of my TV. Sources are connected via HDMI to the TV. Even for watching TV, the sound via a serious DAC and following chain (good amp and speakers) is much better, than using the TV internal speakers or internal DAC of the TV (if your TV has one).

Please no depates anymore if connecting TV to DAC via optical makes sense. It should just work.

 

[MusicNBeer]

@NG3, thank you for the well written insight and confirmation of my issue. Hopefully a firmware update can fix, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Palex]

For viewing I use Dune HD Max 4K ( movie , Blue Ray)
- Than differs coaxial from coaxial DA Hi-Fi?
- M500 supports coaxial DA Hi-Fi?
in the instruction - Hi-Fi digital audio outputs: XMOS-based high-fidelity digital audio outputs (coaxial S/PDIF and I2S-E) for low-jitter bit-perfect reclocked audio

 

[VintageFlanker]

For viewing I use Dune HD Max 4K ( movie , Blue Ray)
- Than differs coaxial from coaxial DA Hi-Fi?
- M500 supports coaxial DA Hi-Fi?

"Coaxial DA HI-FI" doesn't exist... That's a simple COAX digital output as anywhere else.

 

[Palex]

"Coaxial DA HI-FI" doesn't exist... That's a simple COAX digital output as anywhere else.

"Hi-Fi digital audio outputs: XMOS-based high-fidelity digital audio outputs (coaxial S/PDIF and I2S-E) for low-jitter bit-perfect reclocked audio" - how to use it?
It is possible given vent to use at connection to M500?

 

[VintageFlanker]

"Hi-Fi digital audio outputs: XMOS-based high-fidelity digital audio outputs (coaxial S/PDIF and I2S-E) for low-jitter bit-perfect reclocked audio" - how to use it?

That's nothing but marketing talk!

That is a digital coax out. Nothing more. Plug it to any 75ohms digital coax cable and to any DAC. Period.