SMSL PS200 Budget DAC Review

[gozaine]

He estado investigando el rendimiento de los DAC, y vi algo en un video de YouTube que me llamó mucho la atención. Era una comparación con un osciloscopio, y me pregunto si lo que mostró sobre el SMSL SU-1 y el Topping D10S es cierto.

Por lo que pude observar en las pruebas del video, parecían tener muchas dificultades en frecuencias más altas:

• A 20 kHz : la onda sinusoidal estaba mayoritariamente limpia, pero tenía una ligera oscilación.
• A 40 kHz : la onda sinusoidal se alteró bastante y se pudieron ver apareciendo armónicos adicionales.
• A 80 kHz : la salida se describió como "mal dibujada"; básicamente, se veía mal.
• A 120 kHz : la señal estaba muy distorsionada con armónicos significativos.

Por otro lado, el Topping D10S pareció manejar estas frecuencias altas como un campeón, manteniendo una señal perfecta y limpia:

• A 120 kHz : onda sinusoidal perfecta, sin distorsión alguna.
• A 170 kHz : sigue siendo una señal limpia sin problemas significativos.

Mi pregunta principal es: ¿Es esta drástica diferencia de rendimiento realmente perceptible en la escucha en condiciones reales, o estas lecturas del osciloscopio muestran algo que realmente no nos importa? Además, ¿existe alguna razón técnica por la que el SMSL SU-1 A se descomponga a frecuencias más altas, mientras que el Topping D10S se mantiene firme?

Estoy intentando averiguar si el Topping es realmente mucho mejor que el SMSL en este tipo de pruebas de alta frecuencia, como parecía sugerir el osciloscopio del video. Cualquier idea o explicación sería genial, especialmente si tienes experiencia con estos DAC o entiendes este tipo de mediciones.

 

[Toku]

Neither product can reproduce such high frequencies.

 

[audiofromaustria]

What are the differences to the S.M.S.L. SU-1?

 

[thehague]

@audiofromaustria, they both have different chipsets, each with their own characteristics.

 

[Lupin]

@audiofromaustria, they both have different chipsets, each with their own characteristics.

You don't listen to a chipset.
I'm daring to say you won't be able to tell these two DACs apart in a properly conducted double blind test.

 

[VientoB]

@audiofromaustria, they both have different chipsets, each with their own characteristics.

Their own characteristic sounds? How?

 

[Theriverlethe]

Did you install SMSL's driver and make sure that in the driver panel, Streaming is set to Always on?

Should get rid of the clicks.

The driver can be downloaded on their website: https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/882.html

I can't believe they still haven't fixed this. I guess I need to dig out an Apple charger for a Topping E30II Lite.

 

[msuts]

Overall enjoying my PS200 but having issues with it cutting off the first half second of songs when played back in VLC, foobar2000, even playback via Google Drive on Firefox. Can't quite figure out why. My old Schiit Modi 2 didn't do this (but it started having other issues necessitating replacement). Has anyone encountered this and knows of a fix?

EDIT: Spoke a little too soon. Switching the back switch to UAC1 and restarting the DAC somewhat resolves the issue, but I still notice that the first track when going from WASAPI output (e.g. foobar) to DS output (e.g. VLC) still has a little cutoff. After that first sound, though, no cutoff until I switch back.

 

[sabih]

Overall enjoying my PS200 but having issues with it cutting off the first half second of songs when played back in VLC, foobar2000, even playback via Google Drive on Firefox. Can't quite figure out why. My old Schiit Modi 2 didn't do this (but it started having other issues necessitating replacement). Has anyone encountered this and knows of a fix?

EDIT: Spoke a little too soon. Switching the back switch to UAC1 and restarting the DAC somewhat resolves the issue, but I still notice that the first track when going from WASAPI output (e.g. foobar) to DS output (e.g. VLC) still has a little cutoff. After that first sound, though, no cutoff until I switch back.

How do you describe the sound quality?

 

[JSmith]

How do you describe the sound quality?

As you are well aware, this DAC is completely transparent to the source and thus has no "sound".

JSmith

 

[AtticReclus3]

I looked for a cheap single ended DAC, and while using this one for almost a full year while gaming/computing bs, has held itself well compared to my old Schiit Dac's w/ old AKM chips... which is crazy because they cost 3-6x as much..

 

[sabih]

Thank you.

 

[staticV3]

Overall enjoying my PS200 but having issues with it cutting off the first half second of songs when played back in VLC, foobar2000, even playback via Google Drive on Firefox. Can't quite figure out why. My old Schiit Modi 2 didn't do this (but it started having other issues necessitating replacement). Has anyone encountered this and knows of a fix?

EDIT: Spoke a little too soon. Switching the back switch to UAC1 and restarting the DAC somewhat resolves the issue, but I still notice that the first track when going from WASAPI output (e.g. foobar) to DS output (e.g. VLC) still has a little cutoff. After that first sound, though, no cutoff until I switch back.

Try setting the DAC to UAC2, installing the SMSL Audio driver (Link), then in the Xmos control panel, set Streaming to Always On.

If you can't see a Streaming option, then this workaround may help:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...os-driver-settings-for-no-cutoff-delay.25838/

 

[AcousticTheory]

Wow. Outside of a few corner cases, like a genuine need for balanced output (as opposed to thinking it sounds better),

Some amps with balanced input, such as Hypex or ICE modules, benefit from the larger voltage differential between + and - sides of a balanced audio signal, because your actual signal is the differential. If you just feed one side of the balanced input, you get half the differential the amp expects to get, and both the input sensitivity and the headroom are less, then your input is less high above the noise floor of whatever device so SNR is reduced. That's not necessarily a true 'need' for balanced input for people that listen at sane levels, but it's something I 'want'.

 

[adelaidestevens]

This DAC is such a gem bc it's compatible with consoles like the switch and ps5 which still uses the old UAC 1 protocol. And if you're playing with headphones on PS5 - the only way to get 3D Audio to work is through USB since they got rid of the optical port from past consoles and 3D audio does not work via HDMI. I would've loved an additional 3.5mm line out on this DAC but otherwise this is as flawless as you can get for a DAC under $90 (actually got mine on sale for $107AUD=$70USD) the price proposition is just insane.

 

[staticV3]

This DAC is such a gem bc it's compatible with consoles like the switch and ps5 which still uses the old UAC 1 protocol. And if you're playing with headphones on PS5 - the only way to get 3D Audio to work is through USB since they got rid of the optical port from past consoles and 3D audio does not work via HDMI. I would've loved an additional 3.5mm line out on this DAC but otherwise this is as flawless as you can get for a DAC under $90 (actually got mine on sale for $107AUD=$70USD) the price proposition is just insane.

For $20 more SMSL sell a UAC1 compatible DAC+Headphone amp combo unit: https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/813.html

Edit:
Qudelix 5K also a great option for this, supports Parametric EQ, Crossfeed and more.

 

[adelaidestevens]

Been running the PS200 into my JDS Atom Amp+ for a few days now, and honestly this DAC is stupidly transparent. No extra warmth, no fake sparkle, just a super clean honest signal. Treble is well controlled (maybe a little too well at times) mids came through clean, and bass is tight without any artificial boost.

For reference, I tried it with my Senns (HD 6XX, 560S & 550) and compared it to both the Sound BlasterX G6 and the M2 MBP's internal DAC which were definitely on the brighter side. The PS200 easily comes across as the most natural sounding of the bunch

 

[JSmith]

this DAC is stupidly transparent

Like the majority of DAC's, yes.


JSmith

 

[Bleib]

A pro version has been released

SMSL PS200 PRO ES9039Q2M High-End DAC

Buy SMSL PS200 PRO ES9039Q2M High-End DAC on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

No more BT, quite a bit heavier and slightly better performance numbers

 

[vrobec]

I have the first version, but I will buy this new one simply for metal housing and better OPA.