SMSL SH-9 THX Headphone Amplifier Review

[wasnotwasnotwas]

I'm aware of all of them. They are good but I would still say that there is some room for improvement. Especially with strange FFT peaks of LA-QXD1 etc. I'm very curios what will upcoming models bring to the table.

There is always technical room for improvement. But they are all audibly transparent. As consumers we need to be careful not to focus too much on measurements past a certain point. Build , features etc are ultimately more important at this level of performance. If your current DAC goes bang you are spoilt for choice IMHO.

I think we all need to stop obsessing about strange peaks at a heady -130dB to -140dB

 

[somebodyelse]

It's not impossible to get a ground loop from balanced inputs but it's pretty damn hard to accomplish.

If it was that damn hard the 'pin 1 problem' wouldn't be common enough to have a name and there would have been no need to write AES-48 to tell people how easy it is to avoid

 

[Veri]

If it was that damn hard the 'pin 1 problem' wouldn't be common enough to have a name and there would have been no need to write AES-48 to tell people how easy it is to avoid

Isn't that entirely a wiring issue though? But yes. That, and the common mode rejection inherent to balanced interconnects are two different things of course.

 

[jasonhanjk]

Who would imagine Benchmark HPA4 sitting at the _10th_ position.

HPA4 is currently out of the game. It's volume control seems not having finer resolution for the -20dB to -40dB range.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...hasing-sinad-33-ohm-at-5mw.17527/#post-569933

 

[boXem]

HPA4 is currently out of the game. It's volume control seems not having finer resolution for the -20dB to -40dB range.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...hasing-sinad-33-ohm-at-5mw.17527/#post-569933

Based on a flawed criteria . HPA4 has volume steps of 0.5 dB.

 

[jasonhanjk]

Based on a flawed criteria . HPA4 has volume steps of 0.5 dB.

I will re-look into it again.

 

[THIBAULT]

Hi, the SH-9 THX is released but still no SP400. Why ?

 

[Veri]

Hi, the SH-9 THX is released but still no SP400. Why ?

Why? Because they are still working on it.

 

[Lero]

Why? Because they are still working on it.

unfortunately

 

[THIBAULT]

Apparently It’s faster to make an SH-9 than an SP 400....;-)

 

[Veri]

Apparently It’s faster to make an SH-9 than an SP 400.... ;-)

About... half the work, I presume

/insert snarky comment about Balanced

 

[ayane]

Damn. I regret buying an SP200 earlier this year lol. Oh well. I needed the power anyway.

 

[Veri]

Damn. I regret buying an SP200 earlier this year lol. Oh well. I needed the power anyway.

If you needed power, it's still a solid choice

 

[Lero]

Damn. I regret buying an SP200 earlier this year lol. Oh well. I needed the power anyway.

Except balanced amps and some exotic singol endend i think this is one of the best in term of audible cleaness and power...
(Emotiva a-100 is a valid opponent)

 

[YuruYuruCamp]

Dang, I just started getting into audio stuff. I purchased a Sundara, Monolith thx aaa 887, and a Schiit Modius on Saturday. Then, i found out about this release Sunday night..
I got the Monolith for $350. Do you guys think it’s worth the $50 price difference in terms of end game use? Or should I return the 887 and purchase the new sh-9? I don’t know if this info is relevant, but I do hope to incorporate speakers into this system in the future, i just haven’t begun to research that yet.
Also, what is the “pass” on the back of the 887 used for? Do you put an eq in there? Could that increase the longterm versatility of the 887 over the sh-9?

 

[Tks]

It's not impossible to get a ground loop from balanced inputs but it's pretty damn hard to accomplish.

I was asking if the fact that it was simply balanced input, was the factor that produced the reduction of ground loops. Sorry if I was unclear.

Dang, I just started getting into audio stuff. I purchased a Sundara, Monolith thx aaa 887, and a Schiit Modius on Saturday. Then, i found out about this release Sunday night..
I got the Monolith for $350. Do you guys think it’s worth the $50 price difference in terms of end game use? Or should I return the 887 and purchase the new sh-9? I don’t know if this info is relevant, but I do hope to incorporate speakers into this system in the future, i just haven’t begun to research that yet.
Also, what is the “pass” on the back of the 887 used for? Do you put an eq in there? Could that increase the longterm versatility of the 887 over the sh-9?

The 887 is killer, has what people would consider "balanced" for all intents and purposes. And also has higher power output along with 3 gain settings.

Audibility shouldn't be a concern for any of these devices. All that matters at that point are build and whatever pulls at your heart strings for whatever reason.

 

[Veri]

I was asking if the fact that it was simply balanced input, was the factor that produced the reduction of ground loops.

Answer is decidedly "Yes". Balanced inputs rock

Dang, I just started getting into audio stuff. I purchased a Sundara, Monolith thx aaa 887, and a Schiit Modius on Saturday. Then, i found out about this release Sunday night..
I got the Monolith for $350. Do you guys think it’s worth the $50 price difference in terms of end game use? Or should I return the 887 and purchase the new sh-9? I don’t know if this info is relevant, but I do hope to incorporate speakers into this system in the future, i just haven’t begun to research that yet.
Also, what is the “pass” on the back of the 887 used for? Do you put an eq in there? Could that increase the longterm versatility of the 887 over the sh-9?

-The 789 and 887 are great amps. I would not worry one bit.
-The pass is just a passthrough for further upstream device. NO eq.

 

[Tks]

Answer is decidedly "Yes". Balanced inputs rock

One final question. In terms of main's hum reduction. On a 789 or 887 etc.. The level of reduction is the same regardless if I use the 3.5mm out, or the 4 pin XLR-out? As long as I'm using something like the XLR-out of my RME DAC, simply balanced input is all that matters, and balanced out is useless (aside from power which I understand doubles, but this I don't care at all about).

 

[Veri]

simply balanced input is all that matters, and balanced out is useless (aside from power which I understand doubles, but this I don't care at all about).

Yes. Balanced also has better crosstalk specifications generally, higher power output. But the (lack of) noise comes from the better balanced interconnect.

 

[Deleted member 5035]

No passthrough for my powered studio monitors... What do I have to do to get a setup with a decent DAC, and a headphone amp with one watt or more per channel, very low output impedance, perfect channel volume matching, and a volume controlled line out...