SMSL PL100 Review (CD Player)

[Droid_chinchilla]

So, in the end, is it really a problem that it might have an automotive cd mech?

 

[NTTY]

Noooo! This is not true.

OK

 

[DavidM1]

So, in the end, is it really a problem that it might have an automotive cd mech?

No. It’s a good thing. I was pleased to see a Philips mechanism used. As we know, Philips and Sony co-developed CDs as a product. Philips with Lite-on has been prominent with slot loading.

If you like expensive CD players you might check out the Prisma CD15 that also uses a Philips slot loader developed for cars. They use it because of resonance rejection, which sounds very high end.

Company vid here:

 

[Ruffy]

Oh, ok, that is a very interesting indirect question.

I tested from the phones out in this context, into a 100kohms load (of my Cosmos Scaler).
The PL100 outputs 2Vrms max (so I guess it can drive your amp to max output, but to check) and I saw the same performances:

View attachment 472510

View attachment 472511

I also tested the same but reducing the output by 6dB (1Vrms output):

View attachment 472513

No changes, which is good news. And I saw that the volume control is obviously in digital domain since it goes by very precise steps of 0.5dB. So I thought of two complementary tests

First, I wondered if (at this lower output level) we'd loose linearity/precision and/or get more noise to the point of negatively impacting our famous 3DC test? And no:

View attachment 472514

This is still one of the best and most silent trace I got from this test.

What about resistance to intersamples over? Well, not a surprise, but because of the lower digital level, the interpolateur of the oversampling filter has now all required headroom to process ISOs:

Intersample-overs tests Bandwidth of the THD+N measurements is 20Hz - 96kHz	5512.5 Hz sine, Peak = +0.69dBFS	7350 Hz sine, Peak = +1.25dBFS	11025 Hz sine, Peak = +3.0dBFS
SMSL PL100 (RCA out)	-53.1dB	-31dB	-19.1dB
SMSL PL100 (Phones out -6db into 100kohms)	-73.5dB	-74dB	-75.5dB

Note this is inclusive of noise up to 96kHz and it's impacted by the noise shaper of the converter. The THD alone ranges from -104dBr to -93dBr, ie there's no distortion to complain about.

All other tests were not impacted (at this -6dB lower output level) and actually some IMD tests improved.

These few tests mean that using the phones out to power an amp (or an external phones amplifier) is more than a good idea!

I'll update the initial post with these findings.

Thanks for the very in depth reply @NTTY!

Turns out that I was given a Fiio DM13 as a birthday present yesterday (the wife had seen me lusting over one), so this with its line out will take over those duties in to the Gjallarhorn when needed!

Thanks again though, appreciate what you do for this site! Long live CD haha.

Andrew

 

[aagstn]

So, in the end, is it really a problem that it might have an automotive cd mech?

I don't think so. Phillips made good CD mechanisms. My car is a decade old so it still has a slot loading CD player. I have played hundreds in there and it has never scratched one. I'm not saying you might not get a bum SMSL that does scratch (defects happen with every manufacturer) but I think you would discover that pretty quickly and could return it. For the price I really don't have a problem with what SMSL is doing. The gapless thing is weird, but as shown it is easy to avoid if you don't FF or RW.

 

[multichannel_guy]

It's several months I use the PL100, never heard any clicks...

After he sees "noise" on a chart, he'll start "hearing" it. Until then, he heard nothing. Chart readers have a lot of biases like that.

 

[TimF]

Is it likely the SMSL PL100 will become available again? It is sold out now everywhere.

 

[DavidM1]

Chart readers have a lot of biases like that.

The psychology of all of this is interesting. Expectations that come from charts, from forum comments, from “guru” reviewers can influence our perceptions. The need for validation in things we buy, decisions we make… life, hey?

I’ve been enjoying the shift in appreciation of Chinese engineering and manufacture we’ve seen over the last decade or so. It seems western consumers have largely dropped the prejudice and started to appreciate the mix of high quality, high volume and high sophistication coming out of China, not just with hifi but lots of products.

The objective attitudes encouraged here at ASR are a good thing so I guess that means I’m an advocate of chart reading.

 

[Bleib]

Is it likely the SMSL PL100 will become available again? It is sold out now everywhere.

Likely discontinued, it's not even sold at the official SMSL shop

 

[aagstn]

Is it likely the SMSL PL100 will become available again? It is sold out now everywhere.

If they ran out of the CD mechanisms, that might be it for the line. I doubt Philips has made anything like that in awhile. They are a shell of their former selves. The Cheapaudioman video might have also got them to discontinue it to avoid further controversy. Cheapaudioman made that video private so I'm betting SMSL reached out to have it pulled.

 

[DavidM1]

I doubt Philips has made anything like that in awhile. They are a shell of their former selves.

Philips is huge in health electronics including MRI etc. They downsized consumer electronics but seem to be doing fine elsewhere.

If SMSL has discontinued the PL100 it is likely because the PL150 sells for a higher price and has a style folks asked for while being essentially the same machine. Shorting out the PL100 helps establish the PL150.

 

[Corvuscorone]

Not surprised that they are using surplus Philips slot loaders. Philips doesn't really exist much outside of electric razors so all these CD parts would have to be old stock. CD players are going to run into the same issues cassette players ran into when all the Sony and other quality parts ran out. Now we are left with Chinese clones of the worst quality cassette mechanisms.

Have you ever heard of Philips televisions

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Have you ever heard of Philips televisions

In terms of home entertainment products, Philips is just a licensed-out brand name -- AFAIK, they don't actually build or market any of that sort of stuff nowadays. I have a Philips-branded PeeCee monitor sitting in my storage unit -- the actual manufacturer/marketer is somewhere in East Asia. I found that out years ago when I went looking for a Windows driver for the thing -- the URL didn't even contain "Philips".

 

[anonyless]

Philips is huge in health electronics including MRI etc. They downsized consumer electronics but seem to be doing fine elsewhere.

If SMSL has discontinued the PL100 it is likely because the PL150 sells for a higher price and has a style folks asked for while being essentially the same machine. Shorting out the PL100 helps establish the PL150.

there's a shortage in PL150 units as well - I first ordered black PL150 on AE at 28/7 . seller sent me a private message asking me to consider canceling the order as he doesn't really have it in stock. it didn't bother him to continue selling it with "999 units" in stock shown on the product page though.
after a couple of weeks (!!) this appeared - "Sorry, this item is no longer available!". i waited for about a week with the POS seller on AE and then canceled.

tried Amazon US - same thing: item appeared as "in stock" (at least when I ordered) but it wasn't really. waited for over 2 weeks, contacted the seller who advised me there isn't really stock, and got to a point where Amazon horrible CS agent gave me 200$ in gift cards just so I would stop talking to them about this - they also blocked me from using their chat. i shit you not.
then the grey PL150 appeared as "in stock" and the seller advised me that it is actually in stock, so ordered that (after canceling the black "no stock" one ) . Right now, the grey one appears as "Temporarily out of stock." on Amazon US .

Got it delivered only the day before yesterday, it's working very well so far. Connected both the RCA outputs and the optical to WiiM Ultra to see if I can tell the difference sound wise (switched sources on the fly with the WiiM's remote) - but I couldn't really, though I'm sure there is.

 

[Corvuscorone]

In terms of home entertainment products, Philips is just a licensed-out brand name -- AFAIK, they don't actually build or market any of that sort of stuff nowadays. I have a Philips-branded PeeCee monitor sitting in my storage unit -- the actual manufacturer/marketer is somewhere in East Asia. I found that out years ago when I went looking for a Windows driver for the thing -- the URL didn't even contain "Philips".

You are right. Originally, Philips stopped manufacturing televisions itself in 2012 and sold it to Hong Kong-based TPV.

TPV's subsidiary TP Vision has been responsible for manufacturing and selling Philips televisions since then.

Philips therefore continues to use its brand, but manufacturing and distribution are handled by an external party.

 

[NTTY]

Got it delivered only the day before yesterday, it's working very well so far. Connected both the RCA outputs and the optical to WiiM Ultra to see if I can tell the difference sound wise (switched sources on the fly with the WiiM's remote) - but I couldn't really, though I'm sure there is.

I received a request for review from the shop and I was tempted to reply "Don’t you think it’d be reasonable that I receive it first?"
Their delivery status says "On its way", I guess they have room for improvement when it comes to automate their email notifications.
The true review will come… here on ASR.

 

[Corvuscorone]

In terms of home entertainment products, Philips is just a licensed-out brand name -- AFAIK, they don't actually build or market any of that sort of stuff nowadays. I have a Philips-branded PeeCee monitor sitting in my storage unit -- the actual manufacturer/marketer is somewhere in East Asia. I found that out years ago when I went looking for a Windows driver for the thing -- the URL didn't even contain "Philips".

I still have the Philips 52" PFL 9704 from 2009, assembled in Hungary. It has good picture quality and works flawlessly. It was Philips' flagship model at the time.

 

[Smitty2k1]

While I like the looks of the PL150 I need something smaller like the PL100. Also don't want to spend more than $100...

 

[anonyless]

I received a request for review from the shop and I was tempted to reply "Don’t you think it’d be reasonable that I receive it first?"
Their delivery status says "On its way", I guess they have room for improvement when it comes to automate their email notifications.
The true review will come… here on ASR.

is from the official Amazon store for SMSL? the person I was messaging with on the US store was very nice

 

[aagstn]

Have you ever heard of Philips televisions

The Philips name has been licensed out to other manufacturers. I believe Norelco is still a genuine Philip's product but at least for consumer electronics they are mostly out of the market.