SMSL M500 MKIII DAC & Amp Review

[arrow0309]

Low? Certainly not in power, because this headphone is spec'd at 100 mW power handling capability. Most headphones are spec'd lower.
At a nominal SPL of 96 dB at 1 mW the max "safe" (for the headphones, not your hearing!) SPL is 116 dB. Turn up the volume beyond that point (100 mW or 116 dB SPL) and you risk permanently damaging the drivers anyway.

As usual power is not the issue. The 32 ohm version is much harder to drive, for example, as it needs 3x the current for the same SPL.
People keep confusing power with lack of gain, which typically is the actual issue.

In my listening level spreadsheet I calculated that in the worst case with completely uncompressed high dynamic range classical music you only need ~24 mW for "safe" (depending on your listening time) average listening levels. And this is not continuous power but will only be required in very rare peaks in the music.
If you listen to modern pop/rock then you only need ~1 mW for the average level.

96db spl rated these DT 880 and I'm keeping them in gain 3 with my L30 II.
The Amiron Home are fine in gain 2 (over 1 o'clock).
I only listen at high volume sometimes but still.

@Jimbob54 you're right about the K7 (damm publicity specs).
I think I'm keeping my (last) D10s / L30 ii cheap combo.
Although one of these mkiii should suffice in power as well and they're sexy that's for sure.

 

[Ian Wendt]

I picked up an M500 MkIII last year after favorable reviews here and elsewhere. Despite some minor quibbles with the UI, I enjoyed it a great deal and had been using it for both headphone duties and to feed my speakers. That's until it started acting up, with the audio output randomly stopping, requiring a restart or switching between inputs to fix temporarily. Oddly, even though the output would stop, my PC would not lose connection to the DAC (USB) which seemed to indicate that it wasn't on the connection side that the issue came from. A firmware update to the latest one available made no difference.

I contacted SMSL as it's under warranty, and initially received no response. It took a couple of emails to finally hear back, although when they did finally get back to me, they told me to send it in so I could get a replacement. They've had it now for almost a month, and I've yet to receive any tracking information for the replacement, despite inquiring now twice. Frankly curious if I'll even get it back at this point, but I figure I'll keep trying for a bit longer.

I'm semi-peeved about the whole thing, as I frankly expected better from a 500 dollar device, both in regards to the device itself, but also the level of customer service and how much it seems that it requires constant prodding to get anything done. Although of course, I'm still without my supposed replacement.
Prior to this, I would have gladly recommended the M500, it looks nice, it sounds great (when it's working, natch), but given the issues with apparent longevity and the customer service... That's pretty difficult for me at this point.

 

[Westsounds]

I picked up an M500 MkIII last year after favorable reviews here and elsewhere. Despite some minor quibbles with the UI, I enjoyed it a great deal and had been using it for both headphone duties and to feed my speakers. That's until it started acting up, with the audio output randomly stopping, requiring a restart or switching between inputs to fix temporarily. Oddly, even though the output would stop, my PC would not lose connection to the DAC (USB) which seemed to indicate that it wasn't on the connection side that the issue came from. A firmware update to the latest one available made no difference.

I contacted SMSL as it's under warranty, and initially received no response. It took a couple of emails to finally hear back, although when they did finally get back to me, they told me to send it in so I could get a replacement. They've had it now for almost a month, and I've yet to receive any tracking information for the replacement, despite inquiring now twice. Frankly curious if I'll even get it back at this point, but I figure I'll keep trying for a bit longer.

I'm semi-peeved about the whole thing, as I frankly expected better from a 500 dollar device, both in regards to the device itself, but also the level of customer service and how much it seems that it requires constant prodding to get anything done. Although of course, I'm still without my supposed replacement.
Prior to this, I would have gladly recommended the M500, it looks nice, it sounds great (when it's working, natch), but given the issues with apparent longevity and the customer service... That's pretty difficult for me at this point.

Interesting, and I totally agree, with a device of this price you'd expect better back up. There's more to just good measurements when buying a DAC it seems.

 

[Ian Wendt]

I did finally receive a warranty replacement. It seems they shipped me an entirely new M500 instead of attempting to repair my original one. So to be fair, that's at least nice. I could have wished for a lot less back and forth to get it sorted. Initial email from me was August 21st. They received it September 11th. I just received my replacement today.
So... 2 months? That could be worse, I suppose.
Interestingly, this replacement unit seems to have a much more positive action on the volume knob, especially with regards to the click-in function.
Of course, now I'm torn on keeping the Fiio K7 I've been using in the meantime and selling the M500, since I rather like the K7 and it was considerably cheaper... Decisions, decisions.

 

[Westsounds]

I did finally receive a warranty replacement. It seems they shipped me an entirely new M500 instead of attempting to repair my original one. So to be fair, that's at least nice. I could have wished for a lot less back and forth to get it sorted. Initial email from me was August 21st. They received it September 11th. I just received my replacement today.
So... 2 months? That could be worse, I suppose.
Interestingly, this replacement unit seems to have a much more positive action on the volume knob, especially with regards to the click-in function.
Of course, now I'm torn on keeping the Fiio K7 I've been using in the meantime and selling the M500, since I rather like the K7 and it was considerably cheaper... Decisions, decisions.

Glad you got it sorted. Unless you need to keep the new M500, just use the cheaper K7 if it's bringing you just as much music enjoyment and cash in on the new M500 unit that's been sent. There's far too much emphasis placed on the measurements and subjective opinions these days of DACs. They are all pretty much to a standard of good enough these days. Some cheap ones do tend to sound a bit cheap and nasty but most can hold their own even with the high priced ones.

 

[Ian Wendt]

Glad you got it sorted. Unless you need to keep the new M500, just use the cheaper K7 if it's bringing you just as much music enjoyment and cash in on the new M500 unit that's been sent. There's far too much emphasis placed on the measurements and subjective opinions these days of DACs. They are all pretty much to a standard of good enough these days. Some cheap ones do tend to sound a bit cheap and nasty but most can hold their own even with the high priced ones.

That's somewhat what I'm leaning towards. I like the extra power available with the K7 via the balanced output, especially for my HD 6XX, and the fact that the interface is handled with a few switches on the front instead of having to scrub through menus and what-not. Aside from that power difference, they're both pretty darn transparent, and both are perfectly fine sources for my audio needs. The K7 isn't quite as pretty and shiny though. And who doesn't love something shiny?

 

[Westsounds]

The K7 isn't quite as pretty and shiny though. And who doesn't love something shiny?

I agree, it does look good. I like the form factor as well. Is the K7 a more powerful headphone amp?

 

[Ian Wendt]

I agree, it does look good. I like the form factor as well. Is the K7 a more powerful headphone amp?

On the single-ended output, only a few mW. But since it's actually a balanced amp, it has a LOT more oomph on the 4.4mm output, where the M500 just offers the 4.4 connection as a convenience.

 

[OldTimer]

It’s the best functionality among top 5 DAC measured SINAD. The only downside are USB C instead of USB B and tubes instead of solid state.