SMSL M500 DAC Only “Thermal Issue” not “Golden Sample”

[Aleman]

Sorry, I forgot to disable the translator ....
I said that on Amazon for the sale of the M500 they use the image of the SINAD test made by Amrin ....
the perfect one to be clear!
This is tricky for anyone to buy!

 

[ninetylol]

Now if only we didnt have this thermal isses, this would be the perfect device for me. But this issue in combination with other SMSL products being changed last minute (and being different from review samples) and worst of all, SMSL not even making some kind of statement, makes me really want to avoid SMSL products all together for now. Actions like these just dont build any confidence in their products for me.

 

[Aleman]

Thanks for your hints：

HW1.5 SW1.2

Warming up is a good idea ... In fact, I have warmed up for about 2 hours before measuring ...

Then ... Now it's about 6 hours of continuous operation ...




View attachment 41676

Hi guys, then I received my SMSL M500 yesterday morning .....
It has always been in operation and although I cannot measure its behavior, I can say that it is cold, it does not heat up and above all there are no differences in audio performance!
I have to specify that I use Mac as a pc ...... therefore no ASIO driver;
I was afraid of this temperature situation but I can say that the dac e'stupefaciente !!!!

 

[Koeitje]

I've sent mine back. I'm pretty sure I ran into a thermal issue. I had connected over optical to my LG OLED and it would randomly drop sound for like a 100ms. My other DACs didn't do it when hot swapping the cable to them. The M500 also had no issue on USB as far as I could gather, I didn't test Coaxial. The reason I think this is a thermal issue is because it would become more frequent the longer it was on and because I couldn't get it to malfunction again until I turned up the heat in my room (don't have a thermostat but I'm guessing 23c). Unusable for me during spring/summer then...

Were the thermal tests here done over spdif or usb? Maybe I just got a bad sample?

It still sounded fine and this might be unrelated to the issue with the ESS DAC itself.

 

[Gonzo]

I've sent mine back. I'm pretty sure I ran into a thermal issue. I had connected over optical to my LG OLED and it would randomly drop sound for like a 100ms. My other DACs didn't do it when hot swapping the cable to them. The M500 also had no issue on USB as far as I could gather, I didn't test Coaxial. The reason I think this is a thermal issue is because it would become more frequent the longer it was on and because I couldn't get it to malfunction again until I turned up the heat in my room (don't have a thermostat but I'm guessing 23c). Unusable for me during spring/summer then...

Were the thermal tests here done over spdif or usb? Maybe I just got a bad sample?

It still sounded fine and this might be unrelated to the issue with the ESS DAC itself.

I have the same problem in my setup but I think your assumption is not quite right.

I have a similar setup (TV: LG OLED55B7D Optical Out -> SMSL M500 -> SMSL SP200) and tested it with my XBOX with stereo audio out over hdmi and optical the same time. So I got the same signal from 2 different sources (TV and XBOX) to the SMSL M500.

The signal directly from the XBOX was not interrupting but the signal from the TV got micro stuttering after about 2 hours playback time.

 

[Koeitje]

I have the same problem in my setup but I think your assumption is not quite right.

I have a similar setup (TV: LG OLED55B7D Optical Out -> SMSL M500 -> SMSL SP200) and tested it with my XBOX with stereo audio out over hdmi and optical the same time. So I got the same signal from 2 different sources (TV and XBOX) to the SMSL M500.

The signal directly from the XBOX was not interrupting but the signal from the TV got micro stuttering after about 2 hours playback time.

Oh really? Well maybe its the TV then, but in any case 2 ****** DACs had no problem with it and this one had so its unusable for me

 

[netcipher]

The signal directly from the XBOX was not interrupting but the signal from the TV got micro stuttering after about 2 hours playback time.

I have a similar situation with sound drop.
Setup: (TV: LG OLED55C7 Optical Out -> SMSL M500 -> Cambridge Audio 851W).

PS However, there is a possibility that this is the overheating of the S/PDIF LED on the TV, since everyone who has a problem has LG TVs. When problems begin, you can check whether the light in the fiber goes out by disconnecting it from the DAC.

 

[Modellbobby]

I don’t understand this here. I thought it is clear and found that the M500 has a technical heating issue. Why are people still buying it ?

 

[netcipher]

I don’t understand this here. I thought it is clear and found that the M500 has a technical heating issue. Why are people still buying it ?

I bought the M500 before it became known about the technical heating issue. I think many have a similar situation.

 

[mkawa]

all 9038pro implementations suffer from thermal envelope issues. the performance from the m500 is good for its price class and it has a more conveniently form factor for some situations. shrug.

 

[Aleman]

hi everyone .... sorry we talk about heating problems? but when ever? my e'tiepido and works regularly on all outputs and with an LG TV;
but then when would it reach 50 degrees centigrade in operation from having a 113 db SINAD? never!
There is a problem that is not growing!

 

[Yachary]

For record. I have the same 'optic problem' with sony tv. If I try optic output from my pc there is no ptoblem. Now I in doubts to return it

 

[AndyLu]

I don’t understand this here. I thought it is clear and found that the M500 has a technical heating issue. Why are people still buying it ?

The technical heating 'issue' still provides very good measurements. So in practice it is not a real issue. It measures a bit worse, but still very good and inaudible for a human being . What would be the reason for not buying it except for some inaudible measuring differences?

 

[netcipher]

The technical heating 'issue' still provides very good measurements. So in practice it is not a real issue. It measures a bit worse, but still very good and inaudible for a human being . What would be the reason for not buying it except for some inaudible measuring differences?

If we are talking about the apparent loss of sound from digital interfaces, then this is a defective product and the reason for its return. In this case, the inaudible of the influence of heat on the sound is not enough.

 

[renaudrenaud]

If we are talking about the apparent loss of sound from digital interfaces, then this is a defective product and the reason for its return. In this case, the inaudible of the influence of heat on the sound is not enough.

In the 90s I worked a lot on the subject of jitter. With a friend we were modding cd players to have a beautiful SPDIF output at full 2V (and their clocks) and we also modified the DAC input (especially Wadia X32, X64, 1000, 2000).

If you want less jitter, you have to reduce the window, you have to be more precise. If you enlarge the time window, jitter is raising, but you can lock on more components.

So to my comprehension, your TV digital output is crap and it is why the SMSL cannot lock on it. That's what I think but I will not debate on this subject, I have no TV and I do not care at all.

 

[Tks]

In the 90s I worked a lot on the subject of jitter. With a friend we were modding cd players to have a beautiful SPDIF output at full 2V (and their clocks) and we also modified the DAC input (especially Wadia X32, X64, 1000, 2000).

If you want less jitter, you have to reduce the window, you have to be more precise. If you enlarge the time window, jitter is raising, but you can lock on more components.

So to my comprehension, your TV digital output is crap and it is why the SMSL cannot lock on it. That's what I think but I will not debate on this subject, I have no TV and I do not care at all.

Just wondering as I have a dormant fascination with SPDIF Optical as a technology. What does it mean "your tv digital output is crap", and what does it mean when a DAC can't lock on to it?

 

[miguelx74]

I have a similar situation with sound drop.
Setup: (TV: LG OLED55C7 Optical Out -> SMSL M500 -> Cambridge Audio 851W).

PS However, there is a possibility that this is the overheating of the S/PDIF LED on the TV, since everyone who has a problem has LG TVs. When problems begin, you can check whether the light in the fiber goes out by disconnecting it from the DAC.

I also have a Lg TV and I have the problem with the sound. smsl m500 is connected with an optical cable. Approximately every Two minutes the audio cuts out for a moment

 

[MusicNBeer]

I had to buy this to resolve the issue. I put it on the HDMI cable inputted to TV.

https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digit...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[miguelx74]

You are a genius! thank you very much.
You reminded me that I have this device at home:

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B07BSBMZT7/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_i_W1FGVZSS7F6GAFVJ98ME?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I will connect the TV to the prozor with an optical cable and with a coaxial cable I will connect the prozor to the Smsl m500.

 

[Laserjock]

You are a genius! thank you very much.
You reminded me that I have this device at home:

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B07BSBMZT7/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_i_W1FGVZSS7F6GAFVJ98ME?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I will connect the TV to the prozor with an optical cable and with a coaxial cable I will connect the prozor to the Smsl m500.

Report back if that works or not?