SMSL PS200 Budget DAC Review

[Zgrado1970]

Is it worth the money to upgrade the Wiim Ultra? Or is the wiim on its own good enough?

As others have said, not for sound quality, but for features (Volume control, HDMI ARC, display).

 

[IanRoberts]

Opamps are OP1656. DAC is ESS9039Q2M.

SMSL IF YOU ARE LISTENING? PLEASE MAKE A PC AUDIO INTERFACE WITH PERFORMANCE LIKE THIS. I want a Behringer UMC202 or Scarlett 2i2 with good performance

I think the problem with audio interfaces is the available chips that can do ADC and DAC. Topping has a line of interfaces and their performance as DACs is only slightly better than the competition which leads me to believe it is a limitation of the available chips. You know they are squeezing every drop of performance out of it they can get. I was thinking they could add a regular DAC chip like this one has to handle audio output but that would probably create more latency issues, and latency is more important to users than absolutely pristine audio.

 

[Merifon]

There is no price for MQA anymore I think as MQA went bankrupt.

All 44.1KHz 16bit MQA are still present on Tidal, despite its 48KHz 24bit MQA replacement by hi-res flac and formal abandon of that format.
Anyway MQA is far more complex and versatile than depicted. Its different features can be mixed, from just custom antialias filter to acrobatic triple folding.
It suffered bad press, mainly due to bad presentation from creators.
Despite general beliefs, it's lossless up to 24KHz for the encoded hi-res masters and just the very rarefied ultrasonic part is lossy compressed. Also, cd quality MQA (those 44.1KHz 16bit ones), carry the same pcm content of cd master are derived from,they just activate custom filter if available.
The custom antialias filter, does very well and could be even preferred to those standard dac chips offer.

 

[Mathijs Kok]

As written many times, DACs are a solved problem. There is surprisingly little to gain by spending a lot of money more. I attended a few side-by-side tests, and nobody could hear the difference between $100 and $1000.

 

[ssashton]

I think the problem with audio interfaces is the available chips that can do ADC and DAC. Topping has a line of interfaces and their performance as DACs is only slightly better than the competition which leads me to believe it is a limitation of the available chips. You know they are squeezing every drop of performance out of it they can get. I was thinking they could add a regular DAC chip like this one has to handle audio output but that would probably create more latency issues, and latency is more important to users than absolutely pristine audio.

There is no reason a separate DAC and ADC chip can't be used in an audio interface. It would not present any technical issues such as latency, just a small cost increase above a combined DAC/ADC 'codec'. I just purchased my 3rd EMU 0404 as its still the best at an affordable price, which is a ridiculous state of affairs when that unit is over 10yrs old.

 

[AdrianusG]

All 44.1KHz 16bit MQA are still present on Tidal, despite its 48KHz 24bit MQA replacement by hi-res flac and formal abandon of that format.
Anyway MQA is far more complex and versatile than depicted. Its different features can be mixed, from just custom antialias filter to acrobatic triple folding.
It suffered bad press, mainly due to bad presentation from creators.
Despite general beliefs, it's lossless up to 24KHz for the encoded hi-res masters and just the very rarefied ultrasonic part is lossy compressed. Also, cd quality MQA (those 44.1KHz 16bit ones), carry the same pcm content of cd master are derived from,they just activate custom filter if available.
The custom antialias filter, does very well and could be even preferred to those standard dac chips offer.

Uh Huh

 

[MarkBee123]

Opamps are OP1656. DAC is ESS9039Q2M.

SMSL IF YOU ARE LISTENING? PLEASE MAKE A PC AUDIO INTERFACE WITH PERFORMANCE LIKE THIS. I want a Behringer UMC202 or Scarlett 2i2 with good performance!

What about the Motu M4?

 

[Tell]

Sure it's nice seeing DACs that's a bit more decently prices being test and performing way beyond audibility threshold, but common this is SMSL DAC number 84829, it's getting a bit boring :\

 

[Labjr]

Great measured specs. However, I won't be buying another DAC without balanced output.

 

[Timmy]

shame that it includes MQA

To me, the MQA ability of this model would be an essential advantage. I still enjoy listening to some modern tunes from the pop/rock/indie camp coded in MQA.

 

[Mario_jr]

thats amazing for $90.
I really would like to see the BT performance

 

[Herbert Shooler]

Once again the patron saint of hi audio shows us the way for arguably the best VFM DAC on the market...I wager it will beat the new Chord Dave 2 as well.Thanks Amir!

 

[Klonatans]

A good performing affordable DAC with limited functionality. For instance, a perfect solution between a telly and a DAC-less integrated amp. When I needed such a device 7 years ago, I got Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 that used to cost more even second hand.

 

[Bruce Morgen]

I want a Behringer UMC202 or Scarlett 2i2 with good performance!

I'd go for that sort of sensible upgrade too -- although my UMC202HD seems perfectly adequate here.

 

[gvl]

Measurements are abbreviated in order to make progress with the backlog.

Given the history of increased distortion at mid levels we saw it would be good to include IMD data even as a part of reduced tests.

 

[NTTY]

You can find detailed measurements of the PS200 by @NTTY here:

SMSL PS 200 internal view

I wonder what's holding up a review on this? I keep checking, but never anything interesting.

www.audiosciencereview.com

I'm happy to see I got exact same results. It validates my little measurement setup

 

[Labjr]

Measurements are abbreviated in order to make progress with the backlog.

Maybe giving preference to reviewing DACs with advanced features like PEQ, room correction etc. will encourage manufacturers to add more features instead of the redundant product cycles.

 

[Jimster480]

Opamps are OP1656. DAC is ESS9039Q2M.

SMSL IF YOU ARE LISTENING? PLEASE MAKE A PC AUDIO INTERFACE WITH PERFORMANCE LIKE THIS. I want a Behringer UMC202 or Scarlett 2i2 with good performance!

Yes now that would be really nice!

Looks great, shame that it includes MQA as that probably added a few dollars to the price of the unit. A device worth remembering if friends ask for recommendations for a new DAC.

Got any measurements of the filter(s)?

I doubt it really does, but in the case of a device like this; I would want the MQA support especially at a low price. Then it just becomes a "set and forget" type device incase you come across something MQA in the future at any time.
Otherwise this is a really nice little box for cheap, I debate if it would be worth upgrading the DAC to my Klipsch R-15PM or even if it is worth to connect it to my Heos Link... since it only drives a sound bar anyway.

 

[Robbo99999]

Nice, who needs anything better than this if you're after the simplest of DACS (no volume control).

 

[JDS]

This is a review and measurements of the SMSL PS200 stereo budget DAC. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $89.99.
View attachment 426374
The unit comes in a lightweight plastic package which allows my rather stiff RCA test cables to yank on it. A simple toggle switch changes inputs. There is an indicator for DSD and another for MQA. Back panel shows a feature I haven't seen in a while: selection of USB audio class:
View attachment 426375
Looking at product description, it says that is to enable playback with Sony PS5 which I assume only works with ancient class 1 devices. Other than, power and data is provided through USB-C.

Measurements are abbreviated in order to make progress with the backlog.

SMSL PS200 DAC Measurements
Let's start with our dashboard:
View attachment 426377

Wow, I must say, I was not prepared to see such excellent performance! Distortion is vanishingly low at near -130 dB. So it is our dynamic range that sets SINAD to the tune of 118 dB, easily landing the DAC in our "excellent" category:
View attachment 426378

Multitone shows off yet again the very low distortion of PS200:
View attachment 426379

Even wideband measurement doesn't disadvantage the PS200:
View attachment 426380

Conclusions
Being so used to metal boxes for DACs, I was dismayed at the light, plasticky feel of the PS200. I expected measurements to be just "good" but it was way, way better. There is nothing remotely to apologize for. Hide the DAC some place people won't see and you will have all the performance you need, while saving some money for a cup of coffee.

I am happy to recommend the SMSL PS200.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Wow. Outside of a few corner cases, like a genuine need for balanced output (as opposed to thinking it sounds better), spending more than $100 on a simple DAC is, at best, a jewelry purchase. Nothing wrong with buying jewelry, but those fancy boxes and lights and connectors aren't delivering meaningfully better performance.

DACs are a solved problem. Until a manufacturer decides to pay us to use theirs, how does this category deliver more value?