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SMSL M500 DAC and HP Amp Review

galanakop

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Feb 22, 2021
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Good afternoon. I am waiting for the genelec 8030c to arrive as well
Sennheiser HD 650.I'm looking for a dac and I see this here, SMSL M500.Is it believed that I will be called with this dac ??? I will connect it to pc win 10
 

miguelx74

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Well, you're from UE as me.
I raccomend you:
Fiio K5 Pro
Topping E30 and New L30
Smsl m500

In order from cheaper to more expensive

I choosed smsl m500 because I need remote control. And then I connect TV too
 

galanakop

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[QUOTE = "miguelx74, post: 682570, member: 7680"] Λοιπόν, είσαι από την UE ως εμένα.
Σας προτείνω ρατσιστικά:
Fiio K5 Pro
Κορυφαία E30 και Νέα L30
Smsl m500

smsl 500 I see that it has v 1 and v 2. How can I be sure that it is the v 2 version ???
 

Jimbob54

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I'm wondering if @amirm answered this already or not ? (sorry if you did, I couldn't find it in the 82 pages here)
I would be very interested to know anyway ;)

Thanks
To the best of my knowledge its now the rme adi dac 2 he uses.
 

bilzebubba

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I will report again the points of concern using the M500.

1. When the XLR balanced output of the M500 is connected to a power amplifier, a large pop noise appears when the power is turned off with the front panel or remote control. It does not occur at all with RCA unbalanced connections. Pop noise comes out at a constant level regardless of the volume level. This is especially important for power amplifiers that do not have volume at the input

The su9 also seems to have this issue with at least one owner, as do I with my Matrix mini-i (v1) . I would like to get a competent Dac with volume control for feeding directly into a Purifi power amp, and I really want to avoid this issue, so whether I buy this, the Su9, the X16 or the new D30pro I need to suss out if this is a design related or quality control related issue. Complicating matters still further is that some Roon users have reported a similar pop or thump when Roon changes from mqa to non mqa tracks, so not just on power on power off!
 

aebln

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Since the device used in your system, connection conditions, type of playback file, etc. are unknown, the symptom cannot be searched.
The point that immediately comes to mind is that the output voltage of the M500's XLR is much higher than the rated 4V, so depending on the rating of the connected amplifier, the input may be over and the sound may be distorted.
In that case, try lowering the output level of the M500 to about 30.

I have exactly this problem using RCA out on mine, connected to an SMSL SA300. At 32 and below it's fine again.
 

AppointedAngel

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Greetings.

Initially I wanted to go with DX7 Pro. But as I understand it, I can use this as DAC + Amp for some time, and then buy separate Amp, connect it to SMSL M500 output on the back using two XLR cables and then get balanced and clean signal out of my standalone Amp? In this correct?

I'm new to this stuff. After bunch of gaming headphones I bought Sundaras and I have Mayflower Arc MK2 but I think even Sundaras could benefit from better DAC/Amp.

So I'm thinking between Topping DX7 Pro and SMSL M500. As I understand it, SMSL M500 can't go balanced and is slightly worse, but if I could upgrade it with better amp later I think it would be a good option for now. That's the advice from SMSL M500 vs DX7 Pro vs Sabaj D5 thread, to use M500 as DAC only. But I don't want to buy M500 and then realize it cannot be used as separate balanced DAC only.
 

foxxx0

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Greetings.

Initially I wanted to go with DX7 Pro. But as I understand it, I can use this as DAC + Amp for some time, and then buy separate Amp, connect it to SMSL M500 output on the back using two XLR cables and then get balanced and clean signal out of my standalone Amp? In this correct?

I'm new to this stuff. After bunch of gaming headphones I bought Sundaras and I have Mayflower Arc MK2 but I think even Sundaras could benefit from better DAC/Amp.

So I'm thinking between Topping DX7 Pro and SMSL M500. As I understand it, SMSL M500 can't go balanced and is slightly worse, but if I could upgrade it with better amp later I think it would be a good option for now. That's the advice from SMSL M500 vs DX7 Pro vs Sabaj D5 thread, to use M500 as DAC only. But I don't want to buy M500 and then realize it cannot be used as separate balanced DAC only.

The SMSL M500 has both single-ended RCA outputs as well as balanced XLR outputs.
When setting the volume in the M500 to 34 you will have nominal ~4V Output, and according to amir's review it will reach up to ~6.8V Output at max volume setting of 40.
So you can use it in simple DAC mode too when paired with a separate (headphone) amplifier.
 

SeikON

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How is the headphone channel balance for the M500? Is there any imbalance problem ?
 
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foxxx0

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The volume is digitally controlled and thus there should be no channel imbalance due to potentiometer variance.
Also, the headphone output has a fully separate output stage and you can hear the relais click inside the M500 when switching output between XLR/RCA out and headphone out.

Personally I've never had any channel imbalance issues with the headphone output.
 
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