SMSL PS200 Budget DAC Review

[sabih]

Bluetooth feature makes device portable.
You can use it in picnics and parties / outside/rooftops or maybe in a car when device gets old.

 

[Ismapics]

I am really loving this tiny DAC. It's my first dedicated DAC with a Mac mini and new (to me) Yamaha S301. Your (Forum) recommendation was not to use the Yamaha internal DAC, and sure this works for me. It's as described here, completely transparent and does its thing completely in the background. Don't care for BT so have not tested that. For $79 I am really pleased. It's really light, so I had some heavy RCA and need to go back to regular ones. USB-C from the MMini, with a dedicated short cable. Just love it.

 

[BlueGuerrilla]

Currently, the new PS200 PRO is available at a discount price $50.90 at the AliExpress November discount. There are SMSL SU-1 and AKLIAM D3, but I ordered it out of curiosity.

 

[Toku]

I purchased the PS200 Pro and am currently testing its operation. I'm using it for continuous playback of a mix of PCM44.1kHz to PCM768kHz, various MQA formats, and DSD64 to DSD512 files, but playback suddenly stops only when connected via USB. With MQA files, switching songs causes playback to suddenly stutter. This issue resolves when I power cycle the device. I performed the same test with my current SMSL and Topping DACs, and they work perfectly. The issue only occurs with the USB connection; playback is fine when connected via OPT/COAX.

 

[vrobec]

I will check this issue. Ordered this DAC before a few days.

 

[fahrenheitaudiostyle]

I purchased the PS200 Pro and am currently testing its operation. I'm using it for continuous playback of a mix of PCM44.1kHz to PCM768kHz, various MQA formats, and DSD64 to DSD512 files, but playback suddenly stops only when connected via USB. With MQA files, switching songs causes playback to suddenly stutter. This issue resolves when I power cycle the device. I performed the same test with my current SMSL and Topping DACs, and they work perfectly. The issue only occurs with the USB connection; playback is fine when connected via OPT/COAX.

Dear Toku, My SMSL PS200 PRO has been working continuously for two days.
Please install the driver and try again.

PS200 PRO

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...

www.smsl-audio.com

If you continue to experience these issues, unscrew the two screws on the USB and RCA back panel, remove the PCB/board and clean it with pure alcohol using a lint-free cloth.
If this doesn't help, please return your faulty device to the seller.
Good luck.

 

[fahrenheitaudiostyle]

Regarding SMSL PS200 PRO.
I don't understand why the SMSL engineer/engineers used FR4 fiberglass for the back panel and even etched the letters, flushing out copper and using other chemicals. Where's the lean manufacturing?! There's no team or agreement within the team. Big Boss came in and told us to flushing out copper? Nonsense.
Why couldn't they have ordered aluminum panels with paint and printing from the factory? Were they in a hurry? Perhaps. But it turned out ugly. The front panel is plastic, the back panel is fiberglass, and the case is extruded aluminum. It's a Frankenstein case. Ha-ha.

 

[Toku]

Follow-up report on the PS200 Pro performance test

Every time I acquire a new DAC, I perform a continuous playback test using a very tricky file combination: PCM 44.1kHz–PCM 768kHz 16–32-bit, DSD 64–DSD 512, and various MQA files. I've performed this test with several other DACs in the past, and playback has always been smooth. Unfortunately, the PS200 Pro is experiencing issues with DSD and MQA playback.

1. Sound suddenly stops during DSD playback.

When playing DSD files with different sample rates continuously via USB, audio output stops midway. The LED display on the PS200 Pro's front panel remains unchanged and displays normal.

Once audio output stops, it cannot be restored without resetting the PS200 Pro. Even when playback stops, the connection between the PC and the PS200 Pro remains normal, and the PC player continues to function normally.

Continuous playback of DSD files with a single sample rate works normally. Continuous playback of files using only PCM files also works normally.

2. MQA files do not play properly.

When playing an MQA file via USB and switching to another song, the sound suddenly and repeatedly cuts out. Once this symptom occurs, the PS200Pro must be reset.

When playing an MQA file via an OPT/COAX connection, the sound cuts out for about a second at the beginning of the song, then plays normally.

These symptoms will likely be resolved with a firmware update, but it is unclear whether SMSL will support this.

The same test was performed on the SU-1, a similar product to the SP200Pro, and it worked normally without any issues.

It is unclear whether this symptom also applies to the PS200.

The audio players used for testing were the long-standing Foober2000 V2.26 and TuneBrowser V5.8.1. The USB driver used was SMSL's XMOS USB DAC Driver V5.70.0. SMSL PO100 AK DDC is used for OPT/COAX signals.

 

[fahrenheitaudiostyle]

Dear Toku,
I suspect there is a problem/conflict with interrupts within the firmware.
There are three ICs without marking on the PCB, one of which has its own logic gates. You can also see a service connector for firmware updates.
I recommend you send a detailed report to SMSL support so they can take action as soon as possible.
I suppose the SMSL PS200 Pro model life cycle in the market is no more than 6-9 months and it will be replaced with a different model.

As far as I understand, you have SU1, D1 and PS200 Pro. Could you describe in a few sentences which one you like best of sound, ignoring its technical flaws please?
Thank you.

 

[Toku]

Dear Toku,
I suspect there is a problem/conflict with interrupts within the firmware.
There are three ICs without marking on the PCB, one of which has its own logic gates. You can also see a service connector for firmware updates.
I recommend you send a detailed report to SMSL support so they can take action as soon as possible.
I suppose the SMSL PS200 Pro model life cycle in the market is no more than 6-9 months and it will be replaced with a different model.

As far as I understand, you have SU1, D1 and PS200 Pro. Could you describe in a few sentences which one you like best of sound, ignoring its technical flaws please?
Thank you.

Since receiving the PS200, I've been closely monitoring its operation.
I eventually discovered that when playing a folder (album) containing a random mix of songs ranging from DSD64 to DSD512 over USB, the audio output suddenly stops. This problem does not occur with PCM files.
At this time, the connection between the PC and PS200 Pro is normal, but some kind of error occurs in the DAC chip's processing, causing the audio output to stop.
If this problem occurs, simply switch the input to something other than USB and then switch it back to USB to resolve the issue.
This problem does not occur with folders (albums) containing a single sampling rate rather than a mix of DSD64 to DSD512.
Based on this problem, I considered returning the PS200 Pro, but since it is an affordable product and the sound quality is transparent, different from the SU-1 and D1, I decided to keep it.
There are also issues with MQA playback, but since I don't use MQA, it's fine.

 

[fahrenheitaudiostyle]

Dear Toku,
DSD files require more processing power than 16-bit/44 kHz, so upsampling simply increases the required processing power. Getting to DSD512 is even more difficult than you might think.
I assume that the hardware part is also weak.

Technically, MQA is a format within a format. Because the MQA-encoded stream is packaged into familiar lossless container files - FLAC, WAV, AIFF, and ALAC.
The MQA format saves space thanks to some algorithmic "magic" known as fast convolution algorithms. An MQA file can deliver high resolution in a size comparable to a 16-bit/48 kHz lossless file.

The advantage of MQA.
Backward compatibility: Even if you don't have software or hardware that supports MQA audio data, the tracks will play on any device that can read them—a FLAC-enabled player or an old CD player from the 90s. You can burn tracks with all the additional MQA audio information to a CD and an older player will treat it as a standard CD audio disc.
The future is MQA for low speed network!

Good luck.

 

[staticV3]

An MQA file can deliver high resolution in a size comparable to a 16-bit/48 kHz lossless file.

It just can't do so without damaging the content within the audible frequency band.

And since that's all we really care about (ultrasonic content has no value for music playback), MQA is effectively just another lossy compression algorithm, with the unfortunate characteristics of peculiar compression artifacts and comparably terrible file size efficiency, since it allocates so much data to worthless ultrasonics.

The choice then becomes easy:

Do you want lossless? Use FLAC or ALAC.

Do you want small file sizes? Use AAC or Opus/Vorbis.

MQA simply has no place in rational audio infrastructure.

 

[somebodyelse]

The advantage of MQA.
Backward compatibility: Even if you don't have software or hardware that supports MQA audio data, the tracks will play on any device that can read them—a FLAC-enabled player or an old CD player from the 90s. You can burn tracks with all the additional MQA audio information to a CD and an older player will treat it as a standard CD audio disc.
The future is MQA for low speed network!

And its disadvantages have been done to death in other threads. Please take anything more about MQA to one of them.

 

[Toku]

Dear Toku,
DSD files require more processing power than 16-bit/44 kHz, so upsampling simply increases the required processing power. Getting to DSD512 is even more difficult than you might think.
I assume that the hardware part is also weak.

Technically, MQA is a format within a format. Because the MQA-encoded stream is packaged into familiar lossless container files - FLAC, WAV, AIFF, and ALAC.
The MQA format saves space thanks to some algorithmic "magic" known as fast convolution algorithms. An MQA file can deliver high resolution in a size comparable to a 16-bit/48 kHz lossless file.

The advantage of MQA.
Backward compatibility: Even if you don't have software or hardware that supports MQA audio data, the tracks will play on any device that can read them—a FLAC-enabled player or an old CD player from the 90s. You can burn tracks with all the additional MQA audio information to a CD and an older player will treat it as a standard CD audio disc.
The future is MQA for low speed network!

Good luck.

Thank you for your advice.
I have a thorough understanding of the product's electrical operation and configuration.
I have tested a number of inexpensive products similar to the PS200Pro, and when I performed the same test on the SU-1, D1, and PO100AK, they all worked perfectly fine and stable, which leads me to believe there is some kind of problem with the PS200Pro's firmware. The PS200 is a product with the same configuration as the PS200Pro, so it would be good to conduct a comparative test, but I did not purchase it.
I should normally report the test results to SMSL, but based on my experience with SMSL's support to date, I will not do so.

 

[tlkw79]

Is this dac still good to buy? I already have D-1 and SU-1.....

 

[tlkw79]

Hmmmmm.......looks like PS200 pro is not a good choice then. Will choose Fosi audio SK02 since it is also in the affordable price range.

 

[ricardomontalbahn77]

Is this dac still good to buy? I already have D-1 and SU-1.....

does anyone have insights on this question? thinking of purchasing the ps200pro. thx

 

[Toku]

does anyone have insights on this question? thinking of purchasing the ps200pro. thx

If you care about DSD or MQA playback, I don't recommend this. You'd be better off buying the SU-1.

 

[ricardomontalbahn77]

If you care about DSD or MQA playback, I don't recommend this. You'd be better off buying the SU-1.

Thanks! I'm just getting to use with a cd player with coaxial out.

 

[Get a hearing test]

Thank you for sharing your experience with DACs. That has not been mine. Even at the restrictive bitrates provided by Youtube, the difference between these two DACs was surprisingly apparent in the reviewer's test--especially the dynamic range. That said, my response to another member's question included all the caveats for which they can evaluate the reliability of my observations.

Have a good evening.

How can one hear a difference from a compressed youtube recording while using a different setup (dac, amp whatever) entirely from the one in the video. Wouldnt it just sound like your dac + crap youtube compression muddying it some. Someone explain.