SMSL PL200 (CD Player)

[Chrispy]

A fairly limited optical disc player....meh. Least of my needs is cd playback in an optical disc player since I rip the cd on receipt and play the file 99%+ after that. Now if it could do all of them....

 

[JaccoW]

I was able to spend a little while using it at CanJam earlier this month. Cool little device! The buttons feel very nice.

Looks like they used some sort of low-profile Cherry MX switch knockoff. Should be pretty durable and repairable if necessary.



EDIT: Kailh Choc Round Blue maybe?

 

[TonyJZX]

A fairly limited optical disc player....meh. Least of my needs is cd playback in an optical disc player since I rip the cd on receipt and play the file 99%+ after that. Now if it could do all of them....

i get this but if you have got to the stage where you rip to a device w/ a built in hdd then you're reasonably advanced

if you can rip using a pc w/ cdex or eac well then you're not the target audience!


there's a lot of folks who think a pc is pc for MSword and Chrome and email and they dont know what a flac or mp3 is... i know its alien but they exist.

But $700 is still a fair ask... to me you should at least had a recepticle for a 2.5 or 3.5 hdd and network support so its a quasi nas for your music?

but even that would be strange to some in a world of streaming

 

[JaccoW]

i get this but if you have got to the stage where you rip to a device w/ a built in hdd then you're reasonably advanced

if you can rip using a pc w/ cdex or eac well then you're not the target audience!

there's a lot of folks who think a pc is pc for MSword and Chrome and email and they dont know what a flac or mp3 is... i know its alien but they exist.

I'd argue that a lot of Gen-Z that is getting into CDs rarely uses a PC with disc drive anymore. All the ones I see come by on social media only play them on dedicated players. Most of the machines from the 80's and 90's have been dirt cheap in the past couple of years. Even models like the Sony X222ES are just black boxes with lots of buttons to those who don't know. But prices are rising.

A relatively budget, but vertically visible, player like the Sony CMT-EX1 is selling for $100-300 second-hand. To me it looks way too 90's but Gen-Z loves it.

 

[Mart68]

It's as ugly as sin.

Half black, half white? Why? It's not a Star Trek episode. And that grotty looking dial right in the centre.

I like the piano keys idea, just a shame they couldn't get anything else right. I take that vertical Sony player over it any day of the week.

 

[sonci99]

The fun thing is that can spin even without the cover.
I think the price is ok, considering what others are selling for high end cd players.

 

[CleanSound]

@amirm if SMSL hasn't reached out to you on reviewing this new product, maybe shoot them and email?

 

[V.b.]

Using coaxial and optical ports as outputs makes the device rather pointless.

1 why would someone need a different dac to the included SOTA Ak4499ex?

2 you cannot use them to link a streamer and/or a TV to replace a preamp.

 

[TonyJZX]

and what are you expecting that there will be a better dac in the future than the AKM4499... FOR redbook CD???


you're already tapped out

but saying that the future seems to be moving to type-c as the best digital input method?

maybe they should have made the suite of digital connects switchable to in or out?

or perhaps just buy something else as this is kind of stupid

 

[CleanSound]

Again, with the ability to rip and tag CD and SACD, the device is very late to the party.

If it plays SACD, I would have already placed an order.

 

[JaccoW]

If it plays SACD, I would have already placed an order.

I think the issue with SACD is still that the device is not allowed to output the signal digitally without some very strict ensurances that it cannot be intercepted somehow. That's why those either work with HDMI or a proprietary interface like PSaudio has done.

Sony should stop locking that technology down like that. It has long been hacked and ISO rips are widely available on the internet, ready to be played straight from the ISO or ripped to other forms of DSD. But most likely they have contracts with the record companies that have locked down direct access to the "Master Tapes".

But a compact CD/SACD player/DAC/Bluetooth/Headphone amplifier? Yes please. I have a small collection of physical SACD albums and a *ahem* somewhat larger collection of ISOs that I have converted to .DSF.

 

[JaccoW]

Per their Youtube channel. Just asked them about SACD support and a transparent plastic cover in addition to the aluminium one on Facebook.

 

[restorer-john]

The fun thing is that can spin even without the cover.

There has to be a cover otherwise it will fail the Class 1 laser designation. There is likely a switch in the machine which forces the player to do a TOC check when the cover is placed on the top.

It's a sensible design for 2023. Use a commodity very low cost laser mech, and don't build a complex and expensive loading mechanism. Just use a puck/locking table, hopefully a decent chipset (maybe a low cost DVD derived) and strap a D/A on the end and call it done.

Thing is, their specs are for the D/A, not the CD play back capability. I'd love to get one and test it with proper test discs, including all the calibrated error discs.

 

[JaccoW]

If you're are looking for a transport only (which I do myself), I would rather go for the Shanling ET3, also a top loader, but with the CD cover made of dark glass (so you can see the CD spinning ).
View attachment 320748

Why ? Because Shanling does have a long term experience manufacturing CD players, and as far as I know, should have less failure rate than S.M.S.L in general.

I took a look at their website and they came out with a bunch of different CD transports, players, music centers and amplifiers;

• EC Mini - $350? DAP, CD player, battery operated and bluetooth.
• CD80 CD/DAC/Bluetooth - $400
• CA80 CD/DAC/speaker AMP/Bluetooth - $600
• EC3 CD/Bluetooth - $600
• ET3 CD transport/DAC - $700

Kinda digging the CD80 for its looks.

 

[snaimpally]

With this top load design, I think they are trying to appeal to the nuevo vinyl folks who talk about the visceral nature of vinyl playback: how great it feels to pull the LP out of the sleeve, place it on the platter, and cue the tonearm. They want to try and create a similar experience when playing back a CD.

I have plenty of CDs so have no problems with companies coming out with new CD players but this one is a bit odd. There are plenty of good DACs out so why not just provide a CD transport? They could bundle the CD transport with one of their DACs asn an option. For a CD transport plus DAC, the price seems reasonable but the lack of SACD support is puzzling as is the placement of the headphone jack at the rear.

 

[restorer-john]

With this top load design, I think they are trying to appeal to the nuevo vinyl folks who talk about the visceral nature of vinyl playback: how great it feels to pull the LP out of the sleeve, place it on the platter, and cue the tonearm.

I have plenty of CDs so have no problems with companies coming out with new CD players but this one is a bit odd. There are plenty of good DACs out so why not just provide a CD transport? They could bundle the CD transport with one of their DACs. For a CD transport plus DAC, the price seems reasonable but the lack of SACD support is puzzling as is the placement of the headphone jack at the rear.

It's actually a very sensible design in my opinion. You get a SOTA D/A converter and a CD player in a beautiful package. Apart from the rear mounted H/P jack which is just head-scratchingly silly...

If it wasn't nearly AU$1100 here, I'd buy one to play with and test. I asked SMSL Mandy if they had a loaner unit here, but no dice. Hopefully they'll send one to Amir and he can test the D/A side and then send it to me to test the CD capabilities. I figure that is where it will fall down- maybe, who knows.

 

[sonci99]

There has to be a cover otherwise it will fail the Class 1 laser designation. There is likely a switch in the machine which forces the player to do a TOC check when the cover is placed on the top.

It's a sensible design for 2023. Use a commodity very low cost laser mech, and don't build a complex and expensive loading mechanism. Just use a puck/locking table, hopefully a decent chipset (maybe a low cost DVD derived) and strap a D/A on the end and call it done.

Thing is, their specs are for the D/A, not the CD play back capability. I'd love to get one and test it with proper test discs, including all the calibrated error discs.

Thing is that the cd player can sound even better, just I2s transfer, no cables, no jitter correction, and the dac chip is the same.

 

[sonci99]

Is this the same brand?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004316003214.html

 

[shanyechungu]

I have ordered one. Should arrive soon. I did noticed that the Shanling EC3 and ET3 set. However, the price is a bit too high comparing to this SMSL PL200. Also, I like the SMSL design. It looks more modern. The Shanling is too old school. I will share how it sounds like. I will also compare the following ones:
1. SMSL PL200 (CD)
2. SONY D-303 (CD)
3. SONY D-250 (CD)
4. SMSL M400+SP400 (Macbook Pro + wav file)
5. SMSL M200+SP200 (Macbook Pro + wav file).


I already noticed huge difference between the M400 (4499) and M200 (4497). The M400 sounds a lot better. This is also one of the reasons I ordered the PL200 since it uses the same chip as the M400. I like the sound the M400 renders. So when I saw the PL200, I placed the order immediately.

To be updated.

 

[CleanSound]

I have ordered one. Should arrive soon. I did noticed that the Shanling EC3 and ET3 set. However, the price is a bit too high comparing to this SMSL PL200. Also, I like the SMSL design. It looks more modern. The Shanling is too old school. I will share how it sounds like. I will also compare the following ones:
1. SMSL PL200 (CD)
2. SONY D-303 (CD)
3. SONY D-250 (CD)
4. SMSL M400+SP400 (Macbook Pro + wav file)
5. SMSL M200+SP200 (Macbook Pro + wav file).


I already noticed huge difference between the M400 (4499) and M200 (4497). The M400 sounds a lot better. This is also one of the reasons I ordered the PL200 since it uses the same chip as the M400. I like the sound the M400 renders. So when I saw the PL200, I placed the order immediately.

To be updated.

Please be sure to provide us a review on the functionality and reliability.