SMSL M500 MKII Review (DAC & HP Amp)

[bYOndo]

On Amazon.de there's a review of the Sabaj D5 mentioning the same dropout issues with the D5 and with the M500 MK1 using an LG C9 via Toslink.
Sounds to me like LG's TVs just can't keep a stable clock and just stumble every once in a while.
If only they supported audio output via USB, after all they support Ethernet input this way.

Anyway, that's the last from me regarding this issue. Sorry for going off-topic.

indeed, it could be interesting to know if this mk2 has the DPLL function, the only way to be sure that this problem could be solved with any TV set. I have a TCL and was going mad with my M500 mk1. Now I have a SU9 and I'm happy with it (see my reply in the thread).

 

[respice finem]

Very good DAC/preamp, and, considering you also get a very good HPA, it's not expensive.
A firmware update will hopefully swap the "PCM" and the volume.

 

[respice finem]

Three options:
1) it is very short and doesn't interfere with XLR plug above.
2) It's bent at 90° on one side...
3) It's upside down.

Indeed - this looks like oh sh.t we forgot about the antenna
but from that little experience I've had with BT, the antenna still picks up enough signal, pointing straight back.

 

[Gremlins]

It would be food to test units from preamp perspective.

I own a dac with volume in front of class d amp : i am not happy with the result as preamp if i compare to another scenario where is use a dedicated preamp

Are these units good as preamp?

Amir, please now include preamp.section test

 

[PeteL]

Most people play nothing but PCM anyway.

I think the vast majority of people listen to Bluetooth and lossy Codecs, Only audiophiles like us listen to pure PCM. Yes it could be argued that after decoding it's still PCM, and yes I know I purposely take this out of context, just as a reminder that we are the odd ones, it's important to keep this in mind when we look at a product that we are not the general public and many products are not designed to please us as a community (talking generally, not about this review or statement)

 

[renaudrenaud]

"I really like the look of the new SMSL UI. It is more modern and nicer to look at. I am surprised though that they still show the input data type in large letters (PCM) rather than volume level which is far more important. Most people play nothing but PCM anyway. Would be nice to also see the selected DAC filter on the home screen."

Just 3 words :
Fu** fu** and fu**.

 

[VintageFlanker]

I think the vast majority of people listen to Bluetooth and lossy Codecs [...] it's important to keep this in mind when we look at a product that we are not the general public and many products are not designed to please us as a community

Serious question : do "general public" or "vast majority of people" buy a 440$ DAC? I don't think so.

Only audiophiles like us listen to pure PCM

... And are precisely the target audience.

(talking generally, not about this review or statement)

Alright.

 

[pavuol]

Product page is "tech / specs" oriented with no audiophile poetry BS, yet I was able to find some funny line (I mean this positively ):

 

[Nango]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL M500 MKII DAC and Headphone Amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $440.
View attachment 175493
I really like the look of the new SMSL UI. It is more modern and nicer to look at. I am surprised though that they still show the input data type in large letters (PCM) rather than volume level which is far more important. Most people play nothing but PCM anyway. Would be nice to also see the selected DAC filter on the home screen.

Another nit is that the 4-way arrow in the remote control does nothing unless you are in the Menu. Would have wanted a set of those to control which input is playing.

Otherwise, the unit is nice and easy to navigate and use. Here is the back panel showing the usual connections:

View attachment 175494
The unit is based on ESS ES9038Pro DAC chip.

SMSL M500 MKII Measurements
Let's adjust the output to get 4 volts nominal output and run our dashboard:
View attachment 175495

This is excellent performance and easily lands the M500 MKII in our top 20 DACs ever tested:

View attachment 175496

Output capability is higher though and with it, better SINAD can be had, matching company advertising:
View attachment 175497

RCA output as usual drops performance a bit but still superb:

View attachment 175498

Dynamic range is exceptional showing great attention to keep noise at absolute minimum:

View attachment 175499

Note again that the output is at 4 volts. It does get better if you allow full output.

Multitone test shows the exceptionally low distortion again:
View attachment 175500

Linearity is textbook perfect as one would expect in this class:
View attachment 175501

USB Jitter is as good as it gets:
View attachment 175502

And rather surprisingly, so is Coax and Toslink which tends to not be as good in other products:

View attachment 175503

IMD distortion is kept at minimum with almost no sign of classic "ESS IMD Hump:"

View attachment 175504

You have the usual choice of filters:

View attachment 175505

Fast linear is the default from factory.

Finally, here is our THD+N vs frequency with that filter:

View attachment 175506

Other filters produce different results due to different levels of attenuation as you see in the previous measurement (but still very good).

SMSL M500 MKII Headphone Output Measurements
You can select to turn headphone on and off through remote and it has its own volume control which is nice. Let's measure its power output relative to distortion and noise:

View attachment 175508

View attachment 175509

These are very respectable power levels for an included headphone amplifier with superbly low noise and distortion.

Dropping the level way down to 50 mv to see noise for very sensitive IEMs and we get very good performance but shy of state of the art:


View attachment 175510


View attachment 175511

Sorry but have not had time to listen to it. I expect it to sound superb though.

Conclusions
The tests I run probe audio devices from different vectors to attempt to find weaknesses in them. Often one or two tests show something. Not the case here. It is clear SMSL engineers have meticulously tested and optimized this design as to leave nothing for me to complain about. You have a superbly performing DAC with more than good enough headphone amplifier in one box. And price is reasonable compared to anything higher performance.

It is my pleasure to recommend SMSL M500 MKII.

P.S. I did test for one channel being active which was an issue with the original M500 and the bug is not here so all is good.

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Serifs and sans-serifs on one and the same panel looks more than just strange. They simply don't get the clue. Wondering why they did not also include semi-serifs with only upper or down serifs on the same panel.

@amirm: No more testing of Chinese Hifi without a certificate saying they paid a designer or whatever the right name for such a job description is. ASR needs to teach them in that respect.

 

[PeteL]

Serious question : do "general public" or "vast majority of people" buy a 440$ DAC? I don't think so.

They don't but they won't hesitate to purchase 249 USD AirPod Pro, or 349 USD WH-1000XM4, or 400$ Sonos speakers, so not that far off on what they are willing to pay for music enjoyment. That said I agree with you, I just piggy backed on a statement to make a general statement of my own. Already pleaded guilty of not being relevant to the product review.

 

[Fernando]

More power at the headphone output would have been great.

 

[Azathoth]

I can imagine placing the M500 on the notch and it'll be perfect

 

[pavuol]

Specialty upcoming firmware for @Nango :

all fonts serifs and capital, and display goes into this screensaver after 1 minute:

 

[capslock]

Wow, -140 dB or better for all harmonics. I don't remember having seen as low harmonics here. Is there any DAC in the sampe price range that has achieved this in Amir's testing?

Might make a nice generator for testing...

 

[charleski]

Yes, if you have purchased highly recommended DACs from me in the last couple of years, there is no reason to upgrade to this unit. These reviews are aimed at people making new purchases giving them the data to find the best performing ones within their budget. It is not a call to upgrade. This is why I don't upgrade my own everyday system either.

Of course this isn't going to stop clueless subjectivist warriors coming here to moan about how we worship vanishingly-small SINAD above all else . This seems to happen every week at least. Basic concepts of common sense that are obvious after a brief reflection appear to elude these people.

 

[Crohnic]

Anyone want to buy my old, bugged M500 that won't update, lol. This looks like a very nice updated version.

 

[Georgrig]

Serifs and sans-serifs on one and the same panel looks more than just strange. They simply don't get the clue. Wondering why they did not also include semi-serifs with only upper or down serifs on the same panel.

@amirm: No more testing of Chinese Hifi without a certificate saying they paid a designer or whatever the right name for such a job description is. ASR needs to educate them in that respect.

Does "Chinese HiFi" include Matrix Audio?

I'm tired of your stereotypes and racism.

 

[respice finem]

Serifs and sans-serifs on one and the same panel looks more than just strange. They simply don't get the clue. Wondering why they did not also include semi-serifs with only upper or down serifs on the same panel.

@amirm: No more testing of Chinese Hifi without a certificate saying they paid a designer or whatever the right name for such a job description is. ASR needs to educate them in that respect.

Perhaps it happens, because our alphabet is not native to them.
也许它会发生，因为我们的字母表不是他们所固有的。
The safest bet might be IMHO, to employ a designer from the "Latin alphabet zone".

 

[Nango]

Perhaps it happens, because our alphabet is not native to them.
也许它会发生，因为我们的字母表不是他们所固有的。
The safest bet might be IMHO, to employ a designer from the "Latin alphabet zone".

This is probably true. But I can't imagine (the persons in charge with) Mercedes or BMW doing that kind of "mistakes" in China with their products or their advertisement. I think it is more an exaggerated attitude towards costs saving.

 

[beagleman]

Very good DAC/preamp, and, considering you also get a very good HPA, it's not expensive.
A firmware update will hopefully swap the "PCM" and the volume.

I think it measures great,
......... but also think IT IS expensive.

Not based on what I can afford or think is a lot of money, but simply on what you get for $440 .....