SMSL SH-8S Review (headphone amplifier)

[frogmeat69]

The price should be in the same ballpark as the SU-8 DAC, me thinks.
You would think SMSL could put a volume knob in a similar color on this unit, lol.

 

[amirm]

Maybe this will help for price:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SP200-Head...r/dp/B07ZJ6S1DX/ref=psdc_560868_t3_B07JQ1QDR9
Looks the same but model No. is 200.

That's a different box/implementation. This one is not based on THX design but composite op-amps.

 

[Acerun]

Is this unit different from the SH-8 or does SH-8S denote Silver?

 

[cursive]

Is this unit different from the SH-8 or does SH-8S denote Silver?

At first I thought the same thing, but this is a completely different model. SH-8 has flush knob in the center, and small screen on it, while this is all switches and knob on the right.

 

[amirm]

Is this unit different from the SH-8 or does SH-8S denote Silver?

I know it is a different design. What the S stands for, I think it means "special." There are more bits to this story and once the weekend is over, I may get more to share on it.

 

[Acerun]

I sure hope it comes in black!

 

[cestmoi]

.

 

[Aperiodic]

I was asking about !INPUT! impedance.

Yes not much specs on Chinese pages. Only the selected "nice" ones.

That's the same spec I was trying to find out about on my Sanskrit II. No dice.

 

[pma]

That's the same spec I was trying to find out about on my Sanskrit II. No dice.

Sanskrit II is a DAC, right? As a DAC, it has no analog input so the input impedance parameter is pointless. However, the SMSL reviewed here is a headphone amp and has RCA and XLR analog inputs. Then input impedance is one of the important parameters and should be tested by any serious test engineer. For some strange reason it is not happening at ASR.

 

[Aperiodic]

Sanskrit II is a DAC, right? As a DAC, it has no analog input so the input impedance parameter is pointless. However, the SMSL reviewed here is a headphone amp and has RCA and XLR analog inputs. Then input impedance is one of the important parameters and should be tested by any serious test engineer. For some strange reason it is not happening at ASR.

Correction, output impedance.

 

[solderdude]

output resistance of the line out of a DAC is irrelavant for DACs like this.

 

[Aperiodic]

Both my previous headphone amp and the new one have 10kOhm input impedance. That is on the low side for a line level input, which is more commonly in the 25 to 50 K range If the output impedance (not resistance, which is a DC spec) is above 1.2k, it is potentially not ‘irrelevant’.

 

[Labjr]

Lousy aesthetics IMO. The knob doesn't fit.

 

[solderdude]

Both my previous headphone amp and the new one have 10kOhm input impedance. That is on the low side for a line level input, which is more commonly in the 25 to 50 K range If the output impedance (not resistance, which is a DC spec) is above 1.2k, it is potentially not ‘irrelevant’.

The output resistance of a DAC such as the Sanskrit is most likely below 100 ohm and in the audible band most likely fully resistive.
It is no problem to connect it to (also almost purely resistive) inputs even as low as 2.5kohm (L30)

Only some rare tube output DACs can have unusually high output resistance (sometimes with a capacitive component in the lows) of > 1kohm.
For those specific products, yes 100k or so would be preferred.

The Sanskrit is not one of those DACs and 10k, 50k or 100k resistive loads are irrelevant.

 

[Human Bass]

I would buy the sh-9, but the 8s seems too tempting for the price. It doesnt have the relay volume control of the 9 but seems ultra clean enough.

 

[Human Bass]

I know it is a different design. What the S stands for, I think it means "special." There are more bits to this story and once the weekend is over, I may get more to share on it.

Well, the weekend is over

 

[Flognarde]

The exact same cheap feeling volume knob as my SP200 ... I had to pimp her ! I hope they have upgraded the potentiometer, though ...

 

[hawk01]

I would buy the sh-9, but the 8s seems too tempting for the price. It doesnt have the relay volume control of the 9 but seems ultra clean enough.

happy SH-9 owner here. depending on your side of the pond and how much you can buy either amp, i personally will not buy the SH-8S unless it is justifiably dirt cheap, and even at that i may just shell out the additonal moolah to get my hands on something that has a relay type volume control! believe me it is really THAT good! ridiculous amount of resolution with every click of the knob. if i had to nitpick the SH-9 would have been better off minus the display (and remote perhaps) which may (inevitably) fail moving forward and deem the unit difficult to control via remote only! eliminating these unnecessary bling items would have even helped reduce its SRP. but its SMSL’s marketing perhaps to set it apart from the topping A30pro? bliss if they could make the display user replaceable though...

 

[Blake Klondike]

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.

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:

View attachment 124519

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:

View attachment 124520

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:

View attachment 124521

This is exceptional performance and lands the SH-8S at the top of the chart with its competitors:
View attachment 124523

This is one quiet unit with superb dynamic range:

View attachment 124522

As such it should very much be suitable to ultra sensitive IEMs.

Frequency response is ruler flat well beyond what we need for audio:

View attachment 124524

Performance as stated is exceptional in low gain mode but high gives up a bit of that:
View attachment 124525

Still, plenty of power available at 300 ohm. To show that there is no difference between output headphone jacks, here is the comparison:

View attachment 124526

Low gain remains excellent at 32 ohm but high gain slides a bit more competitively:

View attachment 124527

There is essentially no load dependency other than drop in output voltage as impedance get lower:

View attachment 124528

Channel balance is excellent for an analog volume control but the unit you buy may be very different:
View attachment 124529

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.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

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Thanks for the review! Is there a matching DAC with comparable performance?

 

[Noodles]

Thanks for the review! Is there a matching DAC with comparable performance?

99% yes as SMSL and Topping tend to one up themselves/each other on ~6 month cycle. It's very likely to be called the SMSL SU-8S