SMSL M500 - Owners' Thread

[GratefulDAC]

Thanks for the input. For that amount I was considering the SMSL SU-9n, But then again, they use the same chip. I have not heard that many complaints of problems overheating with the SU-9n, though I did read about some here.

Does the Mark2 have a heat sink? I don't think there is much difference between the two.

 

[Dmaumau]

I am strongly considering buying this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X287BXC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?smid=A3DLIZX4T1QPH&th=1
It is a refurbished version 1 from SMSL. I assumed it is a malfunctioning unit that the upgraded the firmware on and are reselling it. I asked if the firmware was up to date and this is the response I received:
Hello Mario,
Glad to see your reply.
The firmware for the M500 is now all up-to-date. But to your disappointment there is no radiator. Any purchase of our products you can have a one-year warranty period. We welcome your return and exchange at any time. Hope our answer is helpful to you.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you.
Best Regards,
S.M.S.L

Is it safe to buy this? I thought one o f trhe problems was a lack of heat-sink, which this does not have. I am worried about what I have read about it perfoming poorly when it overheats or when it warms up. I am also considering the SU-9n and D300. I was just going to buy those and maybe a Topping 10 balanced and compare them. I am buying the TOpping 10 to see if there is a discernable difference when paying more. The D300 intrigues me with the new chip and reviews so I want see if there is truth to the raving reviews. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mario, just confirm if the HW is V1.3. If it is, buy without worries.

 

[kowallosu]

Hello
I own an M500 in the HW 1.3 version.
I bought on amazon as used from the official SMSL store. Do I need to worry about anything? I don't hear any worrying problems. My Airpulse A300 pro speakers play deliciously with the M500. I use an XLR connection.
I read about this 3d harmonic, but my ear can't pick up anything wrong.

Should I be worried about something?

 

[raif71]

Hello
I own an M500 in the HW 1.3 version.
I bought on amazon as used from the official SMSL store. Do I need to worry about anything? I don't hear any worrying problems. My Airpulse A300 pro speakers play deliciously with the M500. I use an XLR connection.
I read about this 3d harmonic, but my ear can't pick up anything wrong.

Should I be worried about something?

Since your ears don't pick up anything amiss knowing there is a 3rd harmonic element in it, like me, I would say don't worry about it. I'm enjoying my m500 with an unknown amp whenever I listen to the stack connected via xlr.

 

[Lupin]

Hello
I own an M500 in the HW 1.3 version.
I bought on amazon as used from the official SMSL store. Do I need to worry about anything? I don't hear any worrying problems. My Airpulse A300 pro speakers play deliciously with the M500. I use an XLR connection.
I read about this 3d harmonic, but my ear can't pick up anything wrong.

Should I be worried about something?

Don't worry.
Nobody heard anything wrong with the M500 until measurements showed up and suddenly the M500 sounds worse than a Audio-GD.... the human mind is a funny thing.

 

[kowallosu]

@Lupin For me, the M500 sounds great

 

[Dmaumau]

Guys, not absolutely shure it is related, but my M500 is not playing DSD 512 anymore.

Foobar says it´s not supported and if I try to play from my Rasp Pi4 it garbles the sound.

If you already had the firmware updated for the 3rd harmonic issue, could you verify if it is playing DSD 512 correctly ?

It´s not the end of the world, but it worked flawlessly before and the firmware update was the only new variable in this equation.

@SMSL-Mandy could you verify internally if this can be related ?

 

[Dmaumau]

Guys, not absolutely shure it is related, but my M500 is not playing DSD 512 anymore.

Foobar says it´s not supported and if I try to play from my Rasp Pi4 it garbles the sound.

If you already had the firmware updated for the 3rd harmonic issue, could you verify if it is playing DSD 512 correctly ?

It´s not the end of the world, but it worked flawlessly before and the firmware update was the only new variable in this equation.

@SMSL-Mandy could you verify internally if this can be related ?

 

[NorthGraves]

Your "sample rate 1411200" suggests that it's your plugins' issue, not a hardware issue.
It tries to play it as PCM or DoP or something.
44.1kHz/16-bit: 44,100 x 16 x 2 = 1,411,200 bits per second (1.4Mbps) - nothing to do with DSD512.

Install the correct plugins and you should be good to go.

Input:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_input_sacd/foo_input_sacd-1.4.13.zip/download

Output:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_out_asio%2Bdsd/foo_out_asio%2Bdsd-0.1.7.zip/download

P.S. The current foobar2000 version is 1.6.11, not 1.6.9, but that wouldn't make a difference.

 

[Dmaumau]

Thanks for your time and trouble, but if you read my post, 512 WAS playing before, thru foobar (just like it is) and Rasp PI and neither are working now. The ONLY thing that changed was the firmware update. The entire stereo have been boxed for the past 2 monthes and I just put it together this weekend.

Nevertheless I´ll use yout tips to update my update my Foobar and plugins.

 

[Dmaumau]

Updating, I decided to try and flash the dac again and now DSD 512 is back playing.

It makes no much sense, but...

 

[NorthGraves]

The entire stereo have been boxed for the past 2 monthes and I just put it together this weekend.

Not sure, but possibly the default sound output in Windows changed during the 2 months, and it somehow changed the foobar2000 settings?
It's unclear from your original screenshot what device foobar2000 was trying to ouput the sound to. Possibly - not SMSL at all?

 

[Dmaumau]

Not sure, but possibly the default sound output in Windows changed during the 2 months, and it somehow changed the foobar2000 settings?
It's unclear from your original screenshot what device foobar2000 was trying to ouput the sound to. Possibly - not SMSL at all?

Man, that´s borderline offensive.

 

[NorthGraves]

Man, that´s borderline offensive.

Wasn't trying to be offensive - it's just that from my own experience, "I haven't changed a thing in two months" does not necessarily mean that nothing actually changed.

Glad it's all working fine for you now.

 

[Dmaumau]

hi all, i've just received an SMSL M500 MKII. pls where and how do i find the information about the current version of my DAC's hardware/software/firmware? (its serial number is 1540010200380, if it maybe helps).
sry i'm a complete DAC-newbie, thus looking for idiot-proof instructions. thanks

On the menu.

 

[foxxx0]

Welp, the headphone output on my M500 mk1 just died.
I do have a SP400 hooked up so I haven't lost the ability to drive headphones, but I found it quite nice to have my HD660S plugged into the SP400 and my IEMs directly plugged into the M500. Then I could just switch the output of the M500 if I wanted to use IEMs or switch on the SP400 when I wanted to use the headphones. Without having to unplug something, switch cables or flip a ton of switches...

I am well outside of the 2 year warranty and not quite sure what to do from here. I've looked through a couple of other DACs with integrated HP amps but I really don't feel like spending another 350-500 bucks right now. Guess I'll have to make do and start unplugging/replugging stuff when I want to switch from headphones to IEMs and vice-versa.

 

[Dmaumau]

in the menu, the only related info i've found was the SW version under the RESET option: "SW ver : 1.0".
no mention abt HW or firmware version there. (or "SW" and "firmware" are synonymous here?)

In my mk1 the last option on the menu is SYSTEM and that´s where it shows it.

 

[Dmaumau]

Welp, the headphone output on my M500 mk1 just died.
I do have a SP400 hooked up so I haven't lost the ability to drive headphones, but I found it quite nice to have my HD660S plugged into the SP400 and my IEMs directly plugged into the M500. Then I could just switch the output of the M500 if I wanted to use IEMs or switch on the SP400 when I wanted to use the headphones. Without having to unplug something, switch cables or flip a ton of switches...

I am well outside of the 2 year warranty and not quite sure what to do from here. I've looked through a couple of other DACs with integrated HP amps but I really don't feel like spending another 350-500 bucks right now. Guess I'll have to make do and start unplugging/replugging stuff when I want to switch from headphones to IEMs and vice-versa.

That´s the burden of the ChiFi. Not much can be done.

 

[jp_asr]

hi all, i've just received an SMSL M500 MKII. it works OK when listening tracks from a CD player or from a WINDOWS 10 laptop's USB output (Mp3 and FLAC).
anyway, i plan to connect it to a streamer in the future to play "CD quality" tracks.

user Dmaumau kindly helped me to find out that my DAC's software version is "SW ver : 1.0".
now pls:

• is there a need to update to a higher SW version to play e.g. TIDAL HiFi tracks through a streamer in the future?
• and is it even possible to update my DAC from "SW ver : 1.0" to any higher version?

(not sure yet how to find out the HW version and whether "SW version" and "firmware version" means the same).

sry i am a complete DAC-newbie, pls anticipate that i'll continue to ask further.

thanks

 

[Dmaumau]

No, you do not NEED to upgrade anything to connect it to a streamer.

Install the Windows Tidal app and try for yourself

Just remeber to configure on Tidal

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