SMSL PL200 Review (CD Player)

[Nicolas]

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?

I'm still trying to figure out if I want to buy this or just get the Yamaha S303.
Thanks

Indeed I believe you are conflating different concepts/technologies and end up somewhat confused because of it.
Here's an attempt - hopefully correct - at clearing some of the confusion :

As far as I can tell some of it stems from the term "format".
- The Audio CD (CD-DA) is one of many audio "formats" (among cassettes, vinyl records, SACD etc.)
- WAV and FLAC are file formats, (structured information stored as part of a filesystem on a computer, usb memory, burnt on a CD-R, etc.)
Both terms are not interchangeable: their meaning is derived from the context of the conversation.

An Audio CD is in essence a long stream of data and a table of contents indicating where tracks start and end in that stream.
There are no "files" on such a CD: burning a few WAV/FLAC files on a blank cd makes it a CD-R with audio files on it, not an Audio CD (if you want one you have to ask the burning software to make an audio cd out of the WAV files).
FLAC and WAV files have to be decoded into an audio stream by a device/software that understands file systems/formats.

The PL200 is a an audio CD player, and as such will only read Audio CDs.
The audio stream on the cd is read by the transport and sent to the internal DAC to be converted to an analog signal.
Same thing for the USB input: it can only receive an audio stream from an external source, to be sent to the DAC.
It is not capable of reading a filesystem, recognizing and decoding files, etc. This is why an external hard disk or usb stick cannot be used on this device.
If you want to use FLAC files, they must first be decoded by a separate device (computer, phone, etc.) and sent as an audio stream to the usb input of the PL200.

I see nothing about MP3 files in the PL200 description on SMSL's website.
Depending on the encoding parameters you can get very high-quality audio, that a lot of people (including me) would be hard-pressed to distinguish from a FLAC file, but that's another discussion altogether.

Hope this helps.

 

[eliash]

MQA is dead and buried, RIP.

The world will be better without (MHO)

 

[EJ3]

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).

They are trying to revive it because someone was stupid enough to buy it to try to make money on a dead and buried thing.
And DEAD & BURIED (and we are trying to keep it that way). Not promote the same shit coming back so a new group can get ripped off is what we are promoting because its a total crap marketing again. To uninformed people who have not actually tested it. Or actually seen the tests.
Maybe you need to chose the side of science or fantasy snake oil.

 

[Danieru Senpai]

Just want to thank you for the detailed review with objective and subjective impressions.

I've had the PL200 for over a year and it's been exceptional, it replaced my aging Sony CDP-215 from 1995 which is a fine unit by itself but the headphone out is lackluster and it had undergone many repairs and got tired of maintaining it just so it stopped skipping.

When I was in the market for a "decent" CD player the "audiophile" options from the big players like Marantz, Arcam, Cambridge, Denon, etc. were all nearing or above $1,000 USD, and while I would happily shell out that money I really wanted a top loading player since I've had so many bad experiences with failing front slot loading and tray mechanisms. Plus, the PL200 had a top of the line DAC, a seemingly capable headphone amp (love my HD 800S headphones) and also supports USB DAC mode and Bluetooth with aptX and LDAC for half the price of the big boys.

Needless to say there weren't many reviews back then but I'm happy I pulled the trigger. The only true complaints I have are that it sometimes fails to play my bootleg Verbatim CDs, but just popping the disk back in fixes it 9/10 times and the FF/RW is very imprecise and slow, this feature on my old Sony was perfect: real time second by second precision and the playback started exactly when I released the button on the SMSL there's a slight delay which means you often miss the mark by 5-10 seconds.

The negatives are forgiven since I only use the FF/RW features maybe once a month and it's never failed to play my original CDs so, huge thumbs up and recommended for anyone still on the fence.

 

[EJ3]

Just want to thank you for the detailed review with objective and subjective impressions.

I've had the PL200 for over a year and it's been exceptional, it replaced my aging Sony CDP-215 from 1995 which is a fine unit by itself but the headphone out is lackluster and it had undergone many repairs and got tired of maintaining it just so it stopped skipping.

When I was in the market for a "decent" CD player the "audiophile" options from the big players like Marantz, Arcam, Cambridge, Denon, etc. were all nearing or above $1,000 USD, and while I would happily shell out that money I really wanted a top loading player since I've had so many bad experiences with failing front slot loading and tray mechanisms. Plus, the PL200 had a top of the line DAC, a seemingly capable headphone amp (love my HD 800S headphones) and also supports USB DAC mode and Bluetooth with aptX and LDAC for half the price of the big boys.

Needless to say there weren't many reviews back then but I'm happy I pulled the trigger. The only true complaints I have are that it sometimes fails to play my bootleg Verbatim CDs, but just popping the disk back in fixes it 9/10 times and the FF/RW is very imprecise and slow, this feature on my old Sony was perfect: real time second by second precision and the playback started exactly when I released the button on the SMSL there's a slight delay which means you often miss the mark by 5-10 seconds.

The negatives are forgiven since I only use the FF/RW features maybe once a month and it's never failed to play my original CDs so, huge thumbs up and recommended for anyone still on the fence.

I got the PL200 so that I can have more fun recording with my SONY CDR-500 W100:
While I listen to the PL200.

 

[EJ3]

FWIW I don't believe that Hi-Res does anything other than waste space. Done right, CD res is all we need.

A big YES! for that!

 

[Chanur]

I have been thinking about buying a CD player for a while as we went back to records this year too. The wife and I will put on a record and enjoy it together. I now also have high quality speakers (BMR) and so want to continue the journey.

All that BS aside I am struggling to find a reason to spend more on a CD player than this or the transport model. I was also looking at the Leak CDT and Marrantz CD60( i believe) , plus some cheaper models like the new Onkyo Icon.

My only concern is lifespan because it's so small, makes me worry about heat and such.

I am slightly leaning towards the PL200T so I can swap from a neutral to a warm dac if I want. I'm just not sure it will really be worth it when the this one looks so good. I also love the top loading.

 

[Roland68]

I have been thinking about buying a CD player for a while as we went back to records this year too. The wife and I will put on a record and enjoy it together. I now also have high quality speakers (BMR) and so want to continue the journey.

All that BS aside I am struggling to find a reason to spend more on a CD player than this or the transport model. I was also looking at the Leak CDT and Marrantz CD60( i believe) , plus some cheaper models like the new Onkyo Icon.

My only concern is lifespan because it's so small, makes me worry about heat and such.

I am slightly leaning towards the PL200T so I can swap from a neutral to a warm dac if I want. I'm just not sure it will really be worth it when the this one looks so good. I also love the top loading.

98% of CD players are based on simple drive units whose lifespan is limited by the laser. This is largely independent of brand or price range. Another common cause of failure is the drawer mechanism, but these two devices don't have one.

Lasers and complete drive units are relatively easy to replace and cost between €30 and €100, although this depends on the availability of spare parts.

Where do your concerns about heat generation come from? I haven't noticed such a problem with any CD player in the last 35 years.
As long as you can place your hand on the device for 5 seconds without burning yourself, there's no cause for concern. This actually applies to all audio equipment, with the exception of special cases like Class A and tube amplifiers.

 

[Chanur]

98% of CD players are based on simple drive units whose lifespan is limited by the laser. This is largely independent of brand or price range. Another common cause of failure is the drawer mechanism, but these two devices don't have one.

Lasers and complete drive units are relatively easy to replace and cost between €30 and €100, although this depends on the availability of spare parts.

Where do your concerns about heat generation come from? I haven't noticed such a problem with any CD player in the last 35 years.
As long as you can place your hand on the device for 5 seconds without burning yourself, there's no cause for concern. This actually applies to all audio equipment, with the exception of special cases like Class A and tube amplifiers.

My heat concerns were only because the unit looks so small. Was worried it might be hard on the components inside long term. Probably not an issue but it was my main concern.

 

[Roland68]

My heat concerns were only because the unit looks so small. Was worried it might be hard on the components inside long term. Probably not an issue but it was my main concern.

You've let yourself get caught up in the heat hysteria. I wouldn't worry about any device up to 50 degrees Celsius, whether it's an amplifier, CD player, streamer, etc. And that's a temperature that already hurts us humans to touch.

On the contrary, a certain temperature is actually desirable (for a stable operating point). As a friend of mine, an engineer, developer, and scientist, once said, don't trust any circuit below 30 degrees Celsius. Many of the old amplifiers from the 80s and 90s survived 30-40 years at internal temperatures of over 40-50 degrees Celsius and had no problems with the heat. The external temperature of these devices was often lower due to the internal heat sinks.

So, as I said, as long as you don't burn yourself, don't worry about it.

 

[Chanur]

You've let yourself get caught up in the heat hysteria. I wouldn't worry about any device up to 50 degrees Celsius, whether it's an amplifier, CD player, streamer, etc. And that's a temperature that already hurts us humans to touch.

On the contrary, a certain temperature is actually desirable (for a stable operating point). As a friend of mine, an engineer, developer, and scientist, once said, don't trust any circuit below 30 degrees Celsius. Many of the old amplifiers from the 80s and 90s survived 30-40 years at internal temperatures of over 40-50 degrees Celsius and had no problems with the heat. The external temperature of these devices was often lower due to the internal heat sinks.

So, as I said, as long as you don't burn yourself, don't worry about it.

Great info thanks. Denon has made me super paranoid about heat and electronics. Sorry for the insanity.

On another note it seems like the DAC in this is better than the DAC in many/most AVRs?

 

[Danieru Senpai]

My heat concerns were only because the unit looks so small. Was worried it might be hard on the components inside long term. Probably not an issue but it was my main concern.

FWIW I actually forgot to power off mine when I went out for the weekend so it was powered on for over 72 hours (no playback, however). When I got back home and noticed the unit powered on I panicked a bit, it was hot, not uncomfortably so but definitely hotter than the usual temperature. At least I know the chassis is doing its job as a heatsink lol.

 

[Chanur]

FWIW I actually forgot to power off mine when I went out for the weekend so it was powered on for over 72 hours (no playback, however). When I got back home and noticed the unit powered on I panicked a bit, it was hot, not uncomfortably so but definitely hotter than the usual temperature. At least I know the chassis is doing its job as a heatsink lol.

Good to know. Sounds pretty robust!

 

[eykxas]

One question: with the nos filter, your measurements indicate -75db of distortion. As it’s already inaudible, why does it matter?

 

[Chanur]

One question: with the nos filter, your measurements indicate -75db of distortion. As it’s already inaudible, why does it matter?

I don't know if it's true but according to my browsers AI generally over -70db is inaudible. Hopefully someone that actually knows something will respond!

 

[EJ3]

I don't know if it's true but according to my browsers AI generally over -70db is inaudible. Hopefully someone that actually knows something will respond!

Perhaps this will help: