This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL SH-8S. It was kindly drop shipped to me from SMSL by ShenzhenAudio. Unfortunately I do not have price or availability. As soon as I find out, I will update the review.
EDIT: the price for this will be US $229.99 and ship date is June 10th, 2021.
I don't know how many colors the SH-8S comes in. The silver one looks fine but made it hard to read the labels:
As you will see later in the measurements, the XLR output is for convenience and does not produce more power. There are balanced inputs however which I like:
Inclusion of mains power supply is a nice touch as it eliminates desk clutter.
Good to see regulatory certification on the back.
Note that you only have low and high gains. No medium.
SMSL SH-8S Measurements
I configured my unit with XLR input and tested with both 1/4 and XLR outputs. Results were identical. Here is the XLR one:
This is exceptional performance and lands the SH-8S at the top of the chart with its competitors:
This is one quiet unit with superb dynamic range:
As such it should very much be suitable to ultra sensitive IEMs.
Frequency response is ruler flat well beyond what we need for audio:
Performance as stated is exceptional in low gain mode but high gives up a bit of that:
Still, plenty of power available at 300 ohm. To show that there is no difference between output headphone jacks, here is the comparison:
Low gain remains excellent at 32 ohm but high gain slides a bit more competitively:
There is essentially no load dependency other than drop in output voltage as impedance get lower:
Channel balance is excellent for an analog volume control but the unit you buy may be very different:
SMSL SH-8S Headphone Listening Tests
I will make this short: with both my Sennheiser HD-650 and Ether CX headphone, there was a ton of power available even in low gain mode. High gain had ample headroom well beyond what I would dare to play. There was no distortion I could attribute to the amplifier. Excellent performance all around.
Conclusions
We had a DAC race start a couple of years ago to get perfection. We are now well into headphone amplifier perfection gain, with one instrument grade amplifier after another. Each has a different form factor, pricing, and availability though so having options is good. Such is the story of SH-8S. Superb measured and subjective performance.
It is my pleasure to put the SMSL SH-8S on my recommended list.
Note: this is a brand new product. Some headphone amps have had teething issues when released. If you are worried about such things, let others go before you and get some data on reliability.
------------
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/
EDIT: the price for this will be US $229.99 and ship date is June 10th, 2021.
I don't know how many colors the SH-8S comes in. The silver one looks fine but made it hard to read the labels:
As you will see later in the measurements, the XLR output is for convenience and does not produce more power. There are balanced inputs however which I like:
Inclusion of mains power supply is a nice touch as it eliminates desk clutter.
Good to see regulatory certification on the back.
Note that you only have low and high gains. No medium.
SMSL SH-8S Measurements
I configured my unit with XLR input and tested with both 1/4 and XLR outputs. Results were identical. Here is the XLR one:
This is exceptional performance and lands the SH-8S at the top of the chart with its competitors:
This is one quiet unit with superb dynamic range:
As such it should very much be suitable to ultra sensitive IEMs.
Frequency response is ruler flat well beyond what we need for audio:
Performance as stated is exceptional in low gain mode but high gives up a bit of that:
Still, plenty of power available at 300 ohm. To show that there is no difference between output headphone jacks, here is the comparison:
Low gain remains excellent at 32 ohm but high gain slides a bit more competitively:
There is essentially no load dependency other than drop in output voltage as impedance get lower:
Channel balance is excellent for an analog volume control but the unit you buy may be very different:
SMSL SH-8S Headphone Listening Tests
I will make this short: with both my Sennheiser HD-650 and Ether CX headphone, there was a ton of power available even in low gain mode. High gain had ample headroom well beyond what I would dare to play. There was no distortion I could attribute to the amplifier. Excellent performance all around.
Conclusions
We had a DAC race start a couple of years ago to get perfection. We are now well into headphone amplifier perfection gain, with one instrument grade amplifier after another. Each has a different form factor, pricing, and availability though so having options is good. Such is the story of SH-8S. Superb measured and subjective performance.
It is my pleasure to put the SMSL SH-8S on my recommended list.
Note: this is a brand new product. Some headphone amps have had teething issues when released. If you are worried about such things, let others go before you and get some data on reliability.
------------
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/
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