SMSL M500 MKIII DAC & Amp Review

[worms]

I have at home because I rented for a week to see if it is the equipment for me, but to buy still far away due to the fact that others I still want to check listening at home. Stores in my country rent equipment with a deposit. So you can check how what plays before buying.
So that if I were to buy an amplifier is missing a dac.
Do the stacks play better than what I have listed what I still want to try, if so which ones?

 

[3dcnc]

"Do the stacks play better than what I have listed" - in theory!. But there are too many good options these days. I think it depends on the headphone you are using. I am not an expert. maybe someone else can give you better advice. I have just ordered the Topping G5, but I think there are better options for home use.

 

[Westsounds]

Why 1000% pointless? So that means measurements are 100% the way to go in the quest for sound quality? ASR is starting to scare me off a bit when I read stuff like that more and more often here. I'm not some audiophile who puts cables on risers or gets cables for hundreds of bucks, but I don't blindly believe in measurements and technical data either. I think that some here on ASR just want to be different so desperately from those hardcore audiophiles that they put more trust in measurements than their own ears. In the end this hobby should be about enjoying music and not making pure science out of it.

PS: Btw... the term "1000%" is kind of unscientific in that context.

Now refresh my memory, please. Wasn’t it you that said in this thread, a while ago. You had the M500mk3 and tried it in a system where a topping DAC sounded much better. In your system, of course, and wasn’t it moved to another thread? I remember looking into that DAC as well, wasn’t it a DX pro or something of the like. Although you don’t seem to have that now, you have a 70 Velvet in your bio. Am I right in thinking that?

 

[Jimbob54]

Now refresh my memory, please. Wasn’t it you that said in this thread, a while ago. You had the M500mk3 and tried it in a system where a topping DAC sounded much better. In your system, of course, and wasn’t it moved to another thread? I remember looking into that DAC as well, wasn’t it a DX pro or something of the like. Although you don’t seem to have that now, you have a 70 Velvet in your bio. Am I right in thinking that?

He has left the building .

 

[Deleted member 79552]

I recently swapped out an SMSL Sanskrit for one of these and it was very well worth the purchase. It resolves much more naturally, especially when pulling TV duties in my guest lounge. Pretty awesome how great these DACs are getting for so little $.

 

[Panelhead]

I know the numbers show D500 MkIII cannot sound different than a Sanskrit. But I had an original Sanskrit NIB. Purchased for a friend. He did not want it.
Hooked up after sat it in the attic for maybe eight years. I could hear the difference between it and a good audiophile dac and a SMSL RAW MDA1. Listened with coax input for all three. Sanskrit is back in the attic.

 

[Deleted member 79552]

Test numbers on DACs are important, and immensely valuable. At the same time, I don’t think the human hearing experience has been mapped to such perfection that we should dismiss (currently) non measurable aspects as they relate to hearing. To do so is unscientific. Any neurologist will tell you that the puzzle of human perception and corresponding brain function is still very much being studied, because it is not fully understood.

Besides, if we could measure and be done with it, none of us would be here on this forum. We’d all have the same equipment because to choose anything else, on any basis other than cost, would be non sensical.

Hifi is a designed product like everything else, but I don’t think the experience of Hifi is lab grown.

 

[C. Cook]

Test numbers on DACs are important, and immensely valuable. At the same time, as an engineer, I don’t think the human hearing experience has been mapped to such perfection that we should dismiss (currently) non measurable aspects of the brain as it relates to hearing. To do so is unscientific. Any neurologist will tell you that the puzzle of human perception and corresponding brain function is still very much being studied, because it is not fully understood.

Yeah and it's just a huge coincidence that every manufacturer of snake oil claims to be able to address those "non-measurable" aspects of HiFi and human hearing. Also coincidental that the more $ they charge, the more "non measurable" aspects they will claim their products can address.

Besides, if we could measure and be done with it, none of us would be here on this forum. We’d all have the same equipment because to choose anything else, on any basis other than cost, would be non sensical.

That's not true at all. This forum is almost exclusive predicated on lab measurements. And not everyone can afford the same equipment, has the same needs, desires the same form factors, same functionality, or same performance/measurement levels. But this forum exists in large part to provide a scientific context, control for variables, and make measurable comparisons for every product reviewed - to help members make choices on value and performance.

Hifi isn’t lab grown.

Not sure what you mean by this. Any product labeled "HiFi" that doesn't measure up well, according to respective intended parameters in a lab or development environment, shouldn't make it onto an assembly line or be marketed & sold as "HiFi."

 

[C. Cook]

"ASR members don’t tolerate differing opinions. I’m a trained scientist. We don’t act that way."

Differing opinions based on measurable facts are always tolerated, in my experience. It's when people start in with the woo woo stuff that isn't based on any type of measurements that people push back. The site is based on T&M. And a lot of us here are also scientists and engineers. If another engineer or scientist claims that one component "sounds better" or "sounds different" than another and it isn't backed by any of the measurements made (or available), it's imperative on that person - as a scientist - to propose a possible mechanism or property known to science which isn't being considered, and should be. I'd argue 99% of the time it's in the listener's mind or due to an easily explainable outside variable (like ambient noise, room reflections, etc.).

 

[Deleted member 79552]

Differing opinions based on measurable facts are always tolerated, in my experience. It's when people start in with the woo woo stuff that isn't based on any type of measurements that people push back. The site is based on T&M. And a lot of us here are also scientists and engineers. If another engineer or scientist claims that one component "sounds better" or "sounds different" than another and it isn't backed by any of the measurements made (or available), it's imperative on that person - as a scientist - to propose a possible mechanism or property known to science which isn't being considered, and should be. I'd argue 99% of the time it's in the listener's mind or due to an easily explainable outside variable (like ambient noise, room reflections, etc.).

I understand, but despite the thorough testing ASR does, it’s a fraction of what’s going on. Wire someone’s brain up and then we’d be talking. Going full monty on measurements and saying they’re the end all be all assumes every possible measurement has been done. Absent many millions in grants and a baker’s dozen white coats I doubt that can be said to be the case.

 

[Lupin]

At the same time, I don’t think the human hearing experience has been mapped to such perfection that we should dismiss (currently) non measurable aspects as they relate to hearing.

Music is nothing more than an electric signal for a DAC. What “magical” part of that electric signal can not be measured?

 

[IvanBG]

Please give a link to download ASIO driver for SMSL M500 MKIII. I use Jriver, but DSD loops with the driver from Topping d10. Or maybe it's some other problem. Please for ASIO.

 

[staticV3]

Please give a link to download ASIO driver for SMSL M500 MKIII. I use Jriver, but DSD loops with the driver from Topping d10. Or maybe it's some other problem. Please for ASIO.

The driver is one of the first things you see on the M500's product page: https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/797.html

 

[IvanBG]

Драйверът е едно от първите неща, които виждате на продуктовата страница на M500: https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/797.html

Yes, I downloaded this driver, but DSD does not work. Jriver plays SACD, but the DAC only outputs PCM 384 kHz. I think there is another ASIO driver for DSD. Please help me. For more than a year I thought that my computer had weak parameters. But I saw a friend playing DSD on a Lenovo Thinkpad, which I think is an older machine than mine. Mine is an i5 second generation 12Gb Ram.

 

[staticV3]

Yes, I downloaded this driver, but DSD does not work. Jriver plays SACD, but the DAC only outputs PCM 384 kHz. I think there is another ASIO driver for DSD. Please help me. For more than a year I thought that my computer had weak parameters. But I saw a friend playing DSD on a Lenovo Thinkpad, which I think is an older machine than mine. Mine is an i5 second generation 12Gb Ram.

I don't have an M500 MKIII, so can only help so much.

There is no special DSD driver for the M500 MKIII, the one on the website is the correct driver.

It's likely just a setup issue.

Here's how you can play Native DSD in foobar2000:
[https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...sl-actually-support-dsd512.42194/post-1491753

I don't have experience with JRiver, sorry.

 

[IvanBG]

The problem is solved. bitstreaming is set to DSD, ASIO driver is used and DSD is unchecked via DoP