SMSL SP200: Do We Get Golden Samples For Review?

[Giulio]

So far I can tell the retail ones have pretty shit pot. My dear friend Oluv got sp200 today and channel balance is absolutely horrible. Audible channel imbalance even at 10 o'clock.

Which headphones were you using?

 

[VintageFlanker]

My dear friend Oluv got sp200 today and channel balance is absolutely horrible.

Oluv, The Oluv?

 

[M0du1e]

Well, as far I get ready to pull the trigger on this I found this thread. What a shame if this really has build quality issues, because the other THX variations such as Drop 789 or Monoprice 887 can't be even shipped to my country directly without forwarding services which makes it even more expensive and inconvenient.

 

[Keelo117]

Well, as far I get ready to pull the trigger on this I found this thread. What a shame if this really has build quality issues, because the other THX variations such as Drop 789 or Monoprice 887 can't be even shipped to my country directly without forwarding services which makes it even more expensive and inconvenient.

The amount of amps that have sold and your hearing the very few vocal on the Internet don't let that fool you. SMSL make amazing products just buy it and worse case scenario just send it back get refund

 

[MRphotography]

I recently reviewed the SMSL SP200 THX headphone amplifier and gave it very high marks for excellence in performance. Given that this product was not yet available, I accepted the opportunity to review. Same happens with offers from other manufacturers. Invariably someone after the review wonders if I have received a "golden sample," i.e. a handpicked unit to measure well. My answer is that the chances of that is very low but that if there is some doubt, people should send another one and we can verify. Well, that has happened. A member ordered a SP200 and kindly sent it to me for evaluation.

For this assessment, I am just performing some spot checks as opposed to re-running all the tests. If there are differences, these tests should easily show them.

Let's start with our dashboard view using the same settings as the review unit:

View attachment 37683

SINAD which represents noise and distortion relative to our source signal is only 1 dB down. I see variations like this and more in products I test. There is always some variability with respect to temperature, environment, run to run variation in measurement, etc. So this is definitely within the accuracy limit of our measurements.

What I can't explain is the spectrum of distortion products changed. Here it is from the review unit:
View attachment 37685

We are still below -130 dB but the role of 2nd and 3rd harmonics has changed.

Next I tested the signal to noise ratio for the same input and output level:

View attachment 37684

We see a 1.7 dB difference which likely the reason SINAD changed similar amount. Again, nothing to worry about.

Let's see how our power curve relative to THD+N looks with 300 ohm load:

View attachment 37686

Performance is as identical as you can get. Both high and low gain product the same power and very low distortion and noise.

The one element that I thought would have variation would be the analog volume control. So I tested channel balance:

View attachment 37687

This is quite different than the review sample. First, the level would not change for quite a while and once it started to change, it fell apart a lot sooner than the review unit. You can only get 30 dB of attenuation before channel balance becomes extreme relative to 70 dB before.

Hard to tell if this is an outlier, typical of these analog controls, the one I got was hand picked or what. If you are going to use sensitive IEMs, this may be an issue for you.

Conclusions
I see little evidence of SMSL having picked a special unit to send me. Performance is as superb as the review unit. Volume control has some issues but as mentioned, I think there are other explanations for this than a golden sample.

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

If you like to support articles like this, please donate using : https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Thanks for re-testing the unit, I actually purchased this unit based on your review and several others. It should be arriving today or tomorrow. All in all do you think the unit still holds up to the other two THX offerings or do you lean to recommending one over another at this point and after the re-test?

 

[amirm]

Thanks for re-testing the unit, I actually purchased this unit based on your review and several others. It should be arriving today or tomorrow. All in all do you think the unit still holds up to the other two THX offerings or do you lean to recommending one over another at this point and after the re-test?

It does. I would be happy to use it myself every day. You do have to make the final judgement yourself relative to cost, features, long term reliability/support.

 

[HDavidson]

Hello Amir. I just got mine and noticed a problem (or not). For the moment there is no one who can answer me.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rements-of-smsl-sp200-thx-hp-amp.9242/page-25

 

[MRphotography]

It does. I would be happy to use it myself every day. You do have to make the final judgement yourself relative to cost, features, long term reliability/support.

thank you, I appreciate your quick response. This is my first Desktop amp and I am pairing it with the smsl su-8 v2 DAC hoping to get good results from them both. I was considering going with a Schiit stack for my first desktop set up but I kept reading reviews that people should just invest in THX tech if buying their first desktop setup. Hopefully it works out!! I guess I have a 30 day return policy if not. Do you think those two paired together will bring good results? I was at the top of my budget, and couldn’t spend anymore. I was trying to get the very most for my money.

 

[snowsurfer]

I bought it and I'm not even nervous about this, since I can use my SU-8s volume just fine, which is 32 bit so snr will not be an issue, but I definitely think that this warrants not reviewing and testing any more SMSL pre-production units.

 

[Veri]

I bought it and I'm not even nervous about this, since I can use my SU-8s volume just fine, which is 32 bit so snr will not be an issue

Yeah. won't be an issue

 

[amirm]

Do you think those two paired together will bring good results?

Yes. And by buying the same brand, there should not be any questions about the two working together.

 

[MRphotography]

Yes. And by buying the same brand, there should not be any questions about the two working together.

awesome thank you!

 

[Whodiini]

I have the su8 and have used it with the mono price thx which is similar to the sp800. I also have the schiit Asgard 3 with akm dac and have done a comparison. At first the Asgard 3 sounded great. It’s got warmth and dynamics. But the su8/thx combo is cleaner and less distorted but not as warm and dynamic, I ultimately preferred the su8/thx combo as the cleaner less distorted sound was preferable. I think you should be very happy with the su8/sp200.

one question to all
Which sounds better: the su8/sp200 or the m500?

the m500 has the better dac, the sp200 the better headphone amp. And both are close to the same price,

 

[MRphotography]

I have the su8 and have used it with the mono price thx which is similar to the sp800. I also have the schiit Asgard 3 with akm dac and have done a comparison. At first the Asgard 3 sounded great. It’s got warmth and dynamics. But the su8/thx combo is cleaner and less distorted but not as warm and dynamic, I ultimately preferred the su8/thx combo as the cleaner less distorted sound was preferable. I think you should be very happy with the su8/sp200.

one question to all
Which sounds better: the su8/sp200 or the m500?

the m500 has the better dac, the sp200 the better headphone amp. And both are close to the same price,

Awesome to hear! Do you ever play with any other devices hooked up to your gear to bring out more warmth in certain tracks of the THX DAC combo is sounding to clinical?

 

[Whodiini]

I don’t think the su8/sp200 is too clinical. I think it is more accurate and the Asgard is colored. So if you are asking how to add warmth to a system, I heard tube buffers do that. Warmth tends to be a slight emphasis in the mid bass and some additional harmonic distortion in the even orders. Just remember that as Nelson pass discovered, adding distortion sometimes makes gear have a more pleasant sound.

 

[MRphotography]

Definitely been exploring tube amplifiers for my next purchase, I also explored the Schiit Loki if I wanted to bring up the mids for certain tracks. My budget is likely tapped until next year but definitely looked at those two options. Thank you for your response!

 

[tvr2500m]

I recently reviewed the SMSL SP200 THX headphone amplifier and gave it very high marks for excellence in performance. Given that this product was not yet available, I accepted the opportunity to review. Same happens with offers from other manufacturers. Invariably someone after the review wonders if I have received a "golden sample," i.e. a handpicked unit to measure well. My answer is that the chances of that is very low but that if there is some doubt, people should send another one and we can verify. Well, that has happened. A member ordered a SP200 and kindly sent it to me for evaluation.

For this assessment, I am just performing some spot checks as opposed to re-running all the tests. If there are differences, these tests should easily show them.

Let's start with our dashboard view using the same settings as the review unit:

View attachment 37683

SINAD which represents noise and distortion relative to our source signal is only 1 dB down. I see variations like this and more in products I test. There is always some variability with respect to temperature, environment, run to run variation in measurement, etc. So this is definitely within the accuracy limit of our measurements.

What I can't explain is the spectrum of distortion products changed. Here it is from the review unit:
View attachment 37685

We are still below -130 dB but the role of 2nd and 3rd harmonics has changed.

Next I tested the signal to noise ratio for the same input and output level:

View attachment 37684

We see a 1.7 dB difference which likely the reason SINAD changed similar amount. Again, nothing to worry about.

Let's see how our power curve relative to THD+N looks with 300 ohm load:

View attachment 37686

Performance is as identical as you can get. Both high and low gain product the same power and very low distortion and noise.

The one element that I thought would have variation would be the analog volume control. So I tested channel balance:

View attachment 37687

This is quite different than the review sample. First, the level would not change for quite a while and once it started to change, it fell apart a lot sooner than the review unit. You can only get 30 dB of attenuation before channel balance becomes extreme relative to 70 dB before.

Hard to tell if this is an outlier, typical of these analog controls, the one I got was hand picked or what. If you are going to use sensitive IEMs, this may be an issue for you.

Conclusions
I see little evidence of SMSL having picked a special unit to send me. Performance is as superb as the review unit. Volume control has some issues but as mentioned, I think there are other explanations for this than a golden sample.

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

If you like to support articles like this, please donate using : https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

 

[tvr2500m]

That volume pot thing... ...but first, a bit of back story.

I received mine today. My first SMSL product. My first THX product. I'm in the current Drop queue for their 789 and that should be showing up soon.

I am especially attracted to the SMSL over the Drop and Monoprice because of the SMSL's smaller footprint. From what I've heard and read, the smaller SMSL is pretty much the sonic measured equal of the other THX amps, but in a tidier, slightly leaning package. I like it.

I am exploring these THX options to see how more power, and more quality power, might work with some of my more power-hungry planars. I have some nice transistor amps, but all much lower power and on occasion aren't enough power.

That volume pot thing. The first thing I did upon unboxing my SP200 is turn the volume pot. I did this to examine the feel of the pot's rotation. The first thing I noticed is that it isn't rotating concentrically. Gently rocking the potentiometer knob, it, well, rocks. There's lateral movement there. It rotates smoothly, but there's play in the shaft.

AND, off the full attenuated position, there's a lot of channel imbalance. One channel comes up much sooner than the other. No other audio product, even those with cheap potentiometers, show this much noticeable channel imbalance anywhere in their rotation. Interesting that in the little bit of a manual that came with the amp it mentions as a feature a selected low-distortion volume potentiometer.

The amp otherwise sounds great, and soundstage and imaging is as you'd expect with the pot rotated to listening levels. I don't have a way of measuring channel balance precision.

BUT this is disappointing, for my first SMSL and THX product. Looking at the photo of the amp's PCB, it looks like the pot is just a plain old PCB mount pot. I'd be happy to replace it myself. It would be plenty easy and inexpensive enough. Any one have a part number???

I have to take a deeper look before I do anything. That's the current plan.

 

[MRphotography]

Just out of curiosity if you were to leave the analog volume control on the amp set to the max listen level for your headphones to say 12-1 o’clock then just use your DAC to adjust volume up or down would this be an acceptable workaround? Excuse me as I am new to some of this technology?

 

[tvr2500m]

Just out of curiosity if you were to leave the analog volume control on the amp set to the max listen level for your headphones to say 12-1 o’clock then just use your DAC to adjust volume up or down would this be an acceptable workaround? Excuse me as I am new to some of this technology?

That's a fine and fair query and experiment. I feel that mostly you want as few of these attenuation changes in the signal path. None of my DACs have a volume control. An option similar to your suggestion would be to use the player software volume control. JRiver claims MediaCenter has a very high quality software volume control. Maybe Foobar, does, too? Where I have a volume control on a piece of kit, like this SMSL SP200 THX 888, I'll disable the volume in JRiver. I use the player to control the volume of my Musical Fidelity Explorer2; the Explorer2 doesn't have a volume control, but has it's own digital domain volume control.