PL200 has Bluetooth. Can You tell me, if I can also use PL200 bluetooth input to stream music from a smartphone so that music will go to it's Toslink output ? Or it is not possible and sound can only go out via line otputs (ballanced/headphone/RCA) ? Manual is not mentioning digital outputs at all.
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SMSL PL200 Review (CD Player)
- Thread starter NTTY
- Start date
Roland68
Major Contributor
SMSL has released firmware version 1.2 for the PL200.
SMSL PL200
v1.2
1. Fixed some known bugs
2. Fixed an issue where some CD-TEXT tracks could not be played.
Please do not confuse this with the firmware update for the PL200T, as it could render your device unusable.
SMSL PL200
v1.2
1. Fixed some known bugs
2. Fixed an issue where some CD-TEXT tracks could not be played.
Please do not confuse this with the firmware update for the PL200T, as it could render your device unusable.
Roland68
Major Contributor
Last edited:
Psylocyber
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Hey,
Sorry for the long post.
New to the forum but love your reviews even tho' I don't understand all of it. I get some of it. I'm really thinking about purchasing one of these and I apologize for being so ignorant on the subject but what is the difference between the CD player and the 200T Transport model? The transport still has a DAC, correct? It doesn't have analogue outputs, or very few? I would much rather pay $500 rather than $650 because I'm not looking for a lot of extra features. I want a CD (or DVD) player to play Hi-Res audio files from the optical disk and from a USB stick or SD type card.
I was shocked and confused to find that many CD players under $1k (and even above) can't play FLAC or other Hi-Res files from the CD, and maybe not at all. Even if they can play them from USB, they can't play them from the CD player. The only exception I found was the Yamaha CD S-303, which you also reviewed. Even the Marantz 6007 and CD 60 can't play FLAC files from the CD, even tho' they can play them from the USB. Why is that? The decoding is not done in the DAC? Why is yamaha, one of the lowest priced players the only one that can do it? (Somewhat rhetorical). I was going to get the S-303 just because of that but I heard some mixed reviews on it's musicality. Nothing bad, but not much excitement either and I read your review and was a little concerned about the high noise floor except you said you couldn't hear it, so I probably would have pulled the trigger
After reading your PL 200 review, why would I want the Yamaha when for either $50 (200T) or $200 (PL-200) I could get "Top of the line" "Fantastic" performance?
Anyway, can the PL200 decode FLAC or other Hi-Res files from the CD? Or which files can it decode? Is the USB input a USB-A? It looks more like a B or C. I want to use It with my home 2-channel audio system.
How hard is it to make, or find recordings of these (to me) exotic formats ? (dst, dsd? MQA)?
Thank You so much for your research and if you have time to provide any answers.
Thanks Again
Sorry for the long post.
New to the forum but love your reviews even tho' I don't understand all of it. I get some of it. I'm really thinking about purchasing one of these and I apologize for being so ignorant on the subject but what is the difference between the CD player and the 200T Transport model? The transport still has a DAC, correct? It doesn't have analogue outputs, or very few? I would much rather pay $500 rather than $650 because I'm not looking for a lot of extra features. I want a CD (or DVD) player to play Hi-Res audio files from the optical disk and from a USB stick or SD type card.
I was shocked and confused to find that many CD players under $1k (and even above) can't play FLAC or other Hi-Res files from the CD, and maybe not at all. Even if they can play them from USB, they can't play them from the CD player. The only exception I found was the Yamaha CD S-303, which you also reviewed. Even the Marantz 6007 and CD 60 can't play FLAC files from the CD, even tho' they can play them from the USB. Why is that? The decoding is not done in the DAC? Why is yamaha, one of the lowest priced players the only one that can do it? (Somewhat rhetorical). I was going to get the S-303 just because of that but I heard some mixed reviews on it's musicality. Nothing bad, but not much excitement either and I read your review and was a little concerned about the high noise floor except you said you couldn't hear it, so I probably would have pulled the trigger
After reading your PL 200 review, why would I want the Yamaha when for either $50 (200T) or $200 (PL-200) I could get "Top of the line" "Fantastic" performance?
Anyway, can the PL200 decode FLAC or other Hi-Res files from the CD? Or which files can it decode? Is the USB input a USB-A? It looks more like a B or C. I want to use It with my home 2-channel audio system.
How hard is it to make, or find recordings of these (to me) exotic formats ? (dst, dsd? MQA)?
Thank You so much for your research and if you have time to provide any answers.
Thanks Again
Roland68
Major Contributor
The PL200T is a pure CD transport, without a DAC, which is true for all other CD transports as well.
The PL200 only has USB (for PCs, Macs, or streamers with a host output) and Bluetooth inputs; everything else is output. Therefore, it's not particularly useful as a DAC in a hi-fi system.
The PL200 can only play standard CDs. MQA was nonsense from the start and no longer exists.
Sony, Panasonic, and others offered multi-format players that could also play files, but perhaps a used OPPO player is an option. The Shannling ET3 (transport only, DAC required) and EC3 could be expensive alternatives that can also play files.
Another option would be a streamer that can play your files via USB stick or LAN/NAS, a CD transport like the PL150, and possibly an external DAC.
USB A, B, and C are just different connectors; these devices usually run on USB 2.0.
AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
Somewhat tangential, but how much music do you have in FLAC format, and where is it?
Psylocyber
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Not that much now but I plan on accumulating it with a streaming service. It's stored on my computer mostly but I want to be able to put it on USB sticks or SD cards. That's the only Hi-Res format I'm familiar with. I'm trying to learn about DSD or DTS or MQA. Do you use a different format?
Thanks
Psylocyber
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Hey
Thanks for replying. You said PL200 only has USB for PC mac or streamers. So you can't plug a small drive into it? That's why I asked about A, B or C type b/'c most USB sticks are type A, but they have C's too, I believe. But that USB in the back next to the optical, that's an input, right? I only need the DAC to decode the CD and the audio files on USB. When you say only plays standard CD's do you mean redbook ? It can't play any home recorded music recorded on CD R? I want a quality CD player that can also play Hi-Res digital files. That Yamaha S-303 can play flac and other Hi-Res files from CD or USB. You said you couldn't hear the high noise floor. Did you like the sound at all?
Thanks
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AudioSceptic
Major Contributor
We have a NAS for both backups and music. The music is in ALAC (Apple's equivalent of FLAC) format, ripped from CD using XLD and managed using Apple Music (used to be iTunes). The NAS is a Synology and has a Media Server app but it's got annoying deficiencies so we use MinimServer <https://minimserver.com/downloads.html>. We can stream our music anywhere in the house using UPnP/DLNA, with the main use being Volumio running on a Raspberry Pi, feeding USB output to a Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital, in turn feeding our main system. We can also sync our music to our iPhones for use away from home.
FWIW I don't believe that Hi-Res does anything other than waste space. Done right, CD res is all we need.
Roland68
Major Contributor
USB A, B, and C are simply connector types that don't tell you anything about USB functionality or standards. The USB standard used in almost all HiFi devices is USB 2.0.
Hard drives or USB flash drives for playing music files require a so-called host function in the device. The device itself needs a suitable CPU and software to play the files, as well as a way to control it. Neither the PL200 nor the PL200T have this functionality.
Both devices can play standard audio CD-Rs, but not other formats.
DavidM1
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Just a thought, but I am a big fan of standalone high functioning DACs with various inputs, remote control and perhaps balanced outputs. I think these take over the role of preamp in many modern systems.
Choice of streamer, power amp and CD transport all open up with one of these as the hub.
Choice of streamer, power amp and CD transport all open up with one of these as the hub.
Roland68
Major Contributor
This idea isn't new, but it hasn't yet reached the manufacturers.
I regularly criticize the lack of this functionality in newer DACs, though of course not in every single one.
SMSL has released the D200, a DAC with a dedicated analog output stage and analog volume control. What's missing are simply the analog inputs (SE/Balanced) with buffering. Then you'd have a device to which you could connect both digital and analog sources, including analog volume control.
In my circle of friends and at home, I use the MiniDSP ADC to create an analog input for a turntable/phono preamp on the D200 and other DACs.
And just like that, you have the central control unit for two digital and one analog source, without any compromises or loss of sound quality.
eliash
Senior Member
@NTTY
Great review, thanks!
One essential feature to integrate a PL200 into my Vinyl-supporting preamp setup is floating analog ground to avoid ground loops with preamp grounding.
- Did you, eventually, measure the resistance between power/case ground and analog out (RCA, XLR-Pin1)?
...I guess in case analog ground is floating (>1kOhm), it's on the safe side...at least the RCA connectors show an isolating frame...
(btw. currently using a recapped and well adjusted Philips CD100 (1983), which deserves an upgrade due to newer nitty-gritty CD standard variations and implementations)
Great review, thanks!
One essential feature to integrate a PL200 into my Vinyl-supporting preamp setup is floating analog ground to avoid ground loops with preamp grounding.
- Did you, eventually, measure the resistance between power/case ground and analog out (RCA, XLR-Pin1)?
...I guess in case analog ground is floating (>1kOhm), it's on the safe side...at least the RCA connectors show an isolating frame...
(btw. currently using a recapped and well adjusted Philips CD100 (1983), which deserves an upgrade due to newer nitty-gritty CD standard variations and implementations)
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DavidM1
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Interesting. I've seen grounding connections on pre-amps for phono and I've seen reciprocal grounding connections on turntables. This is the first I've heard of a grounding connection for a CD player. Is your setup a special case or is there something I'm missing?
eliash
Senior Member
Indeed, the problem arises in the moment, a CD player and a preamp are both grounded. The CD player via its 3-pole power connection and the preamp through the turntable grounding*. The cause behind this specific ground loop is the mandatory EMI/RFI filters fitted into the CD player. It causes a slight mains voltage drop on the ground line of its power cable. Due to the RCA cable's internal resistance a mains hum voltage is transferred into the preamp because it's also grounded. A ground loop builds up, you'll hear a mains hum.
In case of my current stone-age CD100 player, it has just a 2-wire mains connection because it doesn't need 3-pole power connection due to its non-switching isolated power supply design. No EMI/RFI generated, no filter necessary, to explain it in easy words.
Meanwhile SMSL has also answered, looks like they nail all the ground connections (RCA/XLR, USB and case/power ground) together - a ground loop, as described above, is the consequence. Any means to avoid this electronically or by transformer will probably ruin the PL200 intrinsic performance.
Therefore the PL200 is not suitable for my setup!
*Actually, in my T+A R-series preamp (great original design btw), even though it is also grounded by a 3-pole power connection, the analog circuitry is "floating (5KOhm resistance)" against its grounded power supply. Therefore the whole preamp circuitry can be separately grounded, as required by the turntable setup.
An equivalent implementation seems to be missing in the PL200 design for its analog outputs (to bring its "horsepower onto the road").
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Since I have a Bluetooth transceiver in one of the line inputs of my APT/Holman preamp (for sending audio from my desktop computer that is in another room), that is a perfect way to not have a ground loop.
Psylocyber
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I'm somewhat confused. It can play standard pre-recorded CDs, right? Is the "redbook standard" considered a format? From what I read, WAV is a standard format in the recording studio but I don't know if that transfers to the final redbook CD? From your quote "both can play standard audio CD-Rs" but that is not a format, correct? A standard CD-R can hold various formats including FLAC WAV or MP3.
What little info I could get from their marketing says it plays MQA and MP3 formats on the CD. It also says "it uses an uncompressed CD program", whatever that means.
For the USB it says it can play
- 32-bit/768kHz lossless audio - Does this mean it can play FLAC or WAV files?
- DSD512
- MQA full decoding - You said this is a discredited format already?
- MP3 - Why even have a CD player with the great spec.s you measured if you're only going to play MP3 quality files?
Thanks.
Roland68
Major Contributor
No SACD, HDCD, or DVD Audio.
MQA is dead and buried, RIP.
Before you get the Yamaha, I'd recommend getting a good used CD player or transport; NTTY has tested some very good ones.
Actually, MQA is undergoing a rebranding but the technology is just as awful as before. The only thing that changed is the removal of blatantly false advertisement ("better than lossless" and the like).
Roland68
Major Contributor
What's currently running under the MQA Labs umbrella has nothing to do with the old MQA. As it stands, there's no compatibility whatsoever, but perhaps they'll integrate it into their own devices for CD and file owners.
At the moment, things aren't looking good for the project.
Unless independent testing proves that it offers real advantages, it will likely either die or remain a niche product.
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