SMSL PS100 *$30.00* DAC (some limitations apply)

[formdissolve]

I did not express myself clearly. I need a replacement for my Chromecast Audio and am wondering if I can plug a “normal” HDMI Chromecast directly into this device and thus have a device that I can use for music streaming.

You'd have to plug the Chomecast into the TV, enable HDMI ARC on the TV (if your TV supports it), then plug an HDMI cable from the TV to this SMSL DAC.

Otherwise just use what @mc.god uses if your TV does not have ARC

 

[Count Dacula]

I just bought one for $22

I took my last FiiO D3 out from the box, and it wont sync to optical.

So I spun the wheel on this unit, it's just for an out back deck system with a Fosi V3 powering some Yamaha 6" outdoors. I use a tiny TV for a source and DAC it to the amp, even at home. I use YouTube for everything, all day. But this DAC should be fine, and replace the FiiOs. I had about ten of them at one point, but most handed out like candy. No big deal, everybody wants USB now anyway. The End of an era, lol. Kinda surprised the Fiio was DOA, but it looks like a different style newer one.

 

[Jimster480]

I just bought one for $22

I took my last FiiO D3 out from the box, and it wont sync to optical.

So I spun the wheel on this unit, it's just for an out back deck system with a Fosi V3 powering some Yamaha 6" outdoors. I use a tiny TV for a source and DAC it to the amp, even at home. I use YouTube for everything, all day. But this DAC should be fine, and replace the FiiOs. I had about ten of them at one point, but most handed out like candy. No big deal, everybody wants USB now anyway. The End of an era, lol. Kinda surprised the Fiio was DOA, but it looks like a different style newer one.

Fosi V3 can sound real nice. Honestly I just used them to test out some Klipsch RP-8060FA II (V3 Mono Block) and RP-500M II (V3 Stereo). The PS100 looks like it is only an 11-12 Bits DAC based on some testing that went on with this forum. I think it would be better to get the SU-1 at a minimum if you want to have atleast competent audio.

 

[gaston312]

So, is this essentially 11 bit DAC? Reading through the whole thread there were 2 tests, but different results?
The thing is, for TV it would be a good choice given its HDMI arc port… but i’ve read it changes volume by leaps of 6 steps, and when you turn the TV on it resets to full volume….
I liked the conveniance of using 1 remote control for TV and sound, but with this issues i’m not so sure…
The cheapest Dac i can find that has a remote control (besides the “infamous” Prozor) is the Aiyima Dac A1, do anyone have this?

 

[Count Dacula]

It seems like shipping out of China is dicey now. I have one en route, it'll take a month. The AliExpress order was a pain, with fake tracking numbers and such. I reordered thru EBay.

I have one or two LG TVs with no optical out, and now a days BluRays don't come with optical either, so instead of trying to match up the units with/without optical or using a HDMI sniffer, this will be money well spent for TV sound.

 

[antcollinet]

Reading through the whole thread there were 2 tests, but different results?

Which tests are you referring to.

 

[gaston312]

Which tests are you referring to.

Post #88 by Rja4000 (Apr 16, 2024)
Post #92 by Keerati (Jun 24, 2024)

 

[antcollinet]

Post #88 by Rja4000 (Apr 16, 2024)
Post #92 by Keerati (Jun 24, 2024)

Thanks.

Test results look pretty similar to me.

Rja described it as 14 bits. It seems to be a 14 bit dac with distortion at he level of an 11 bit DAC.

Many people still won't be able to hear the defects though.

 

[rhythms_crazy]

Ordered one of these on Amazon ($30) before seeing this thread — my expectations are low, it's for a 2nd system I set up in a home office with an old receiver.

What's a good way to connect an iPhone 15 (usb-c, not lighting) while still powering up the phone and powering the PS100? It seems like a usb-c splitter could work, but I hadn't noticed the 48KHz limit for usb so now I'm wondering about ways to get toslink or optical out of the phone.

 

[antcollinet]

Ordered one of these on Amazon ($30) before seeing this thread — my expectations are low, it's for a 2nd system I set up in a home office with an old receiver.

What's a good way to connect an iPhone 15 (usb-c, not lighting) while still powering up the phone and powering the PS100? It seems like a usb-c splitter could work, but I hadn't noticed the 48KHz limit for usb so now I'm wondering about ways to get toslink or optical out of the phone.

The 48kHz limit is not an audible limit so don't worry about it.

Plus if USB is limited so will any other output from the phone (because it will necessarily first have to come from USB).

 

[Chuckles]

So, is this essentially 11 bit DAC? Reading through the whole thread there were 2 tests, but different results?
The thing is, for TV it would be a good choice given its HDMI arc port… but i’ve read it changes volume by leaps of 6 steps, and when you turn the TV on it resets to full volume….
I liked the conveniance of using 1 remote control for TV and sound, but with this issues i’m not so sure…
The cheapest Dac i can find that has a remote control (besides the “infamous” Prozor) is the Aiyima Dac A1, do anyone have this?

I’m using a PS100 and experiencing the same issue where the volume steps are too large, especially at low levels. The first 3 or 4 steps are not linear and cause big jumps in volume, making it hard to fine-tune for quiet listening. After that, the volume increases more smoothly and isn’t a problem. I’ve tried to mitigate the issue by adding a line-level attenuator before my powered speakers to get the volume control into a more usable range. However, I have to be careful not to limit the max volume.

Does anyone know if the other SMSL ARC DACs, such as the DO100 Pro, DO200 Pro, or DL100, have the same problem?

 

[Hobbit13]

So, is this essentially 11 bit DAC? Reading through the whole thread there were 2 tests, but different results?
The thing is, for TV it would be a good choice given its HDMI arc port… but i’ve read it changes volume by leaps of 6 steps, and when you turn the TV on it resets to full volume….
I liked the conveniance of using 1 remote control for TV and sound, but with this issues i’m not so sure…
The cheapest Dac i can find that has a remote control (besides the “infamous” Prozor) is the Aiyima Dac A1, do anyone have this?

Yes, indeed, it always resets to 100% volume when powercycled. This made it useless for TV use for me personally. It's a pitty, the DAC does remember the last used input, so there is some sort of persistant memory available.

I did find the audio quality perfectly adequate for TV use, miles better than the headphone out of an average TV.

For those interested, this is how it looks from the inside:

clearly family of the PS200

Surprised by the populated full size USB port for service use, guess to flash the firmware. This only needs to be done once, a simple pin header would have been cheaper.

Curious to know which SOC they used. Don't know of any popular chip that does USB / SPDIF / HDMI to I2S and has a Bluetooth Radio integrated.

 

[Snoopy]

Im using a SMSL PS100 with my LG OLED , Apple TV and a Vintage receiver (from 1978) for my bedroom setup.

Works flawlessly so far. I set the Apple TV to 16 bit stereo and enabled pcm output and eARC on the LG tv.

I can control volume through the TV remote and I use the Apple TV as roon endpoint (airplay) so I even get to use roon in the bedroom without spending money on additional hardware.

 

[gogoggoo111]

I recently got the SMSL PS100 and have been trying to connect it to both my phone and laptop via Bluetooth.


My MacBook connects without any issues, but when I pair it with my iPhone, the output level is extremely high. Even with the iPhone’s volume set to zero, the sound is still too loud. This wouldn’t be a problem if I were using an amplifier with adjustable volume, but since I’m running a mono amp, the PS100 effectively needs to act as my pre-amp. This makes using it with the iPhone quite inconvenient, even though the device works perfectly otherwise.


I also tested the USB connection. The output level is still high on the iPhone, but at least when the volume is set to zero, it really goes to zero. By adjusting the volume very precisely—just a couple of ticks above zero—I can get a usable listening level.


It seems like this might be a firmware issue.


I’m planning to try the WiiM Pro Plus for wireless playback instead.

WiiM Pro Plus Streamer Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Pro Plus streamer, DAC and preamplifier with Bluetooth support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While the case is plastic, it still "looks the part" as the Brits would say relative to other more famous brands of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[PortableMusic]

may i ask if i may use my desktop PC's usb-c output into thie SMSL PS100's usb-c input, and then i'll connect the RCA L and R outputs into active speakers?

thank you in advance.

 

[Guddu]

may i ask if i may use my desktop PC's usb-c output into thie SMSL PS100's usb-c input, and then i'll connect the RCA L and R outputs into active speakers?

thank you in advance.

Yes

 

[PortableMusic]

https://aoshida-audio.com/products/smsl-ps100

was linked in another thread and while it sounds good on paper being less than half the price of a SU-1 there may be some show stoppers for some people

Sampling Rate

USB ..............................................................................44.1 ~ 48kHz
Optical/ Coaxial.................................................44.1kHz ~ 192kHz


this will not suffice for pc use

i assume the hdmi is routed thru to the 192 dac... but this may be fine for the vast majority of people given the current 384/768 high sample rates arent used much

thank you @TonyJZX

however, please see post #1 of this thread, the OP wrote: "this will NOT suffice for pc use".

may i ask what he meant by that please? that was what caught me by surprise and i couldn't understand why.

thank you.

 

[staticV3]

may i ask what he meant by that please?

What OP meant is that he needs >48kHz sample rate support via USB, which the PS100 cannot do as 48kHz is the limit via USB.

48kHz is fully transparent to any human ear though, so this should not be a dealbreaker unless you need the DAC for scientific research.

What is a much more likely to be a dealbreaker though is the PS100's rather poor analog output: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dac-some-limitations-apply.47033/post-1949535

But OP did not know that at the time of posting.

 

[PortableMusic]

@staticV3

thank you kindly for your thoughtful input in the other thread when i asked about which might be the best connection option from my desktop pc to my f one subwoofer.

i ordered the PS100 2024 already, and ordered a well reviewed Toslink to toslink cable from Amazon.

however, seeing this image posted by another forum member, i am confused about what is the SETTING I SHOULD CHOOSE please.

the genelec F One's manual says that it can accept inputs up to 24/96kHz (please see this screenshot of the F One's manual):

so, you just mentioned that the usb-c's LIMIT is 48 kHz. is usb-c's limit really that low???

would i NOT be able to select on the PC's SMSL sound options interface 24/96kHz please?

on that german screenshot of options available, i'd be forced to select something lower like 24/48kHz?

confused here. i thought that i might be able to go up higher!

look forward to hearing your reply. thank you.

 

[staticV3]

so, you just mentioned that the usb-c's LIMIT is 48 kHz. is usb-c's limit really that low???

48kHz is the limit of the SMSL PS100's USB input.

USB itself can do way more than that, as can the SMSL PO100 which presumably you bought.