SMSL SP400 Balanced Headphone Amplifier THX AAA

[Veri]

ye this very case is that. I was planning to buy susvara as my endgame cans but the output power of sp400 seems not to meet the manufacturer's claim. "beTteR dESIgNed"? Why do ppl set the "high gain" mode at the first place?

Calm down, being aggressive and mocking won't do you any good. In any case, the L30 spec discussion is repeated here once again. Input voltage >4V will result in higher maximum output power. SP200 will have higher power when 4V input is used for both, due to its higher gain. Mind you, the SP200 I owned was way too loud for most use cases...

As always, who needs all this power, anyway? I wonder how loud you guys are blasting audio at.

 

[leben]

Calm down, being aggressive and mocking won't do you any good. In any case, the L30 spec discussion is repeated here once again. Input voltage >4V will result in higher maximum output power. SP200 will have higher power when 4V input is used for both, due to its higher gain. Mind you, the SP200 I owned was way too loud for most use cases...

As always, who needs all this power, anyway? I wonder how loud you guys are blasting audio at.

yea someone who tries to drive susvara believing that the manufacturer's claim of their amp, maybe?

as if L30 provides any XLR input lol "more input voltage provided"

 

[SMSL-Mandy]

oh so he's probably just a downright liar or he must be mistaken? that's what you're trying to say here?

Just want to find out the real cause and evidence of the error.

 

[leben]

Just want to find out the real cause and evidence of the error.

ye, I'm just being salty tbh waiting for the delivery of the sp400. hopefully it's just an 'error' just like the RCA output of the early M400.

 

[JohnYang1997]

ye, I'm just being salty tbh waiting for the delivery of the sp400. hopefully it's just an 'error' just like the RCA output of the early M400.

You'll be alright.

 

[ninetylol]

lol at all those guys wanting to put 10 Watts into their headphone drivers. RIP!

 

[Veri]

as if L30 provides any XLR input lol "more input voltage provided"

I'm driving 4V into my L30 with use of a balanced>SE transformer. Cheaper than buying a A90, haha. Works very well for me. Now gain 3 is way, way too loud though. No idea what kinda headphones need this output I'm on gain 1 maxed out most of the time.

 

[Lero]

lol at all those guys wanting to put 10 Watts into their headphone drivers. RIP!

nha u'll never put 10 w into headphones, u'll put headroom, dynamic and control imo.

 

[THIBAULT]

Hello, I have just received my SP400 which I will couple to my M400 in balanced in and out mode. I keep you posted knowing that before I had the SP200. Regards

 

[THIBAULT]

Hi,
1st SP400 / M400 balanced input (Vovox Sonorus Direct S XLR) / output (Focal Elear headphones).
PC (Audirvana)> M400 (Furutech DL Formula 2 USB cable).
M400: Vol Fixed , SP400: low gain
Fleetwood Mac Rumors Remastered (MQA)
I reach a volume of 45 for a pleasant listening that I can push to 55 but there maximum supported by my ears.
So compared to the SP200 always in low gain it is identical (I was max at 1H)
Otherwise good balance of channels. The Rumors tracks that I have listened to and re-listened to have a nice dynamic and a clarity that highlights the sublime voice of Stevie Nicks. Nothing to say for me listening is perfect under the conditions described and which were those of my SP200
Waiting for your answers.
Best regards.

 

[THIBAULT]

(continued) By modifying M400 > Prémode : Volume Variable and putting on 80 therefore to the maximum, I am obliged to lower the volume of the SP400 by 5

 

[Artaois]

Hi,
1st SP400 / M400 balanced input (Vovox Sonorus Direct S XLR) / output (Focal Elear headphones).
PC (Audirvana)> M400 (Furutech DL Formula 2 USB cable).
M400: Vol Fixed , SP400: low gain
Fleetwood Mac Rumors Remastered (MQA)
I reach a volume of 45 for a pleasant listening that I can push to 55 but there maximum supported by my ears.
So compared to the SP200 always in low gain it is identical (I was max at 1H)
Otherwise good balance of channels. The Rumors tracks that I have listened to and re-listened to have a nice dynamic and a clarity that highlights the sublime voice of Stevie Nicks. Nothing to say for me listening is perfect under the conditions described and which were those of my SP200
Waiting for your answers.
Best regards.

Hmmm. I'm not sure what to think anymore. Using a USB of of a PC this is almost exactly what I ran except I was using the Elex instead of the Elear but they're basically the same thing. I had the m400 locked at 80 and was around 50 on High Gain. I don't think I listen to music at crazy levels either. I have a little Fiio e17k Alpen that I would run at 30 out of 60 on high gain.

 

[THIBAULT]

@Artaois
In my configuration, middle and high gain are not necessary. I tested them. Regards

 

[avoidwork]

@THIBAULT are you having any problems with the pots? I received my sp400 today and i find both VOL modes have debouncing problems; sometimes i can spin for >4 clicks before the software registers the change, in both modes. It's wildly inconsistent from my brief testing (hour or so). I have it plugged into my m400 via balanced connection, set to fixed output.

 

[syn959]

I've been listening to my SP400 paired with M400 and seems to sound pretty good to me. I've been doing most of my listening with my Sony Z1R during work and haven't done much critical listening. After reading the thread I decided to listen with my Susvara and it has enough power to drive to my ears.

I listen to Z1R around 20-25 volume low gain, and Susvara around 50-55 on low gain. So should have enough power and headroom for most people if using mid-high gain I think. Maybe people received bad units?

I have M400 set to fixed volume, XLR to SP400, and balanced headphones.

I do find that the volume knob doesn't register consistently though. The step relay seems to function similarly to my Benchmark HPA4. I don't think you can get away from the annoying clicks with relays.

I'm actually afraid to compare directly to HPA4 soundwise knowing how much more I paid for it. Build quality wise the Benchmark is better, but with SP400 I think you're getting good value with similar features.

 

[leben]

yup, i've got mine today, and compared it to my sp200. same XLR input - XLR output. sp200 on high gain, 3 o'clock-ish is way louder than sp400 on high gain, 99 volume. can's arya. pfft..

 

[syn959]

yup, i've got mine today, and compared it to my sp200. same XLR input - XLR output. sp200 on high gain, 3 o'clock-ish is way louder than sp400 on high gain, 99 volume. can's arya. pfft..

Yea, something doesn't seem right. Should probably return or exchange. I won't be happy either if I had same results.

 

[leben]

Yea, something doesn't seem right. Should probably return or exchange. I won't be happy either if I had same results.

idk i wanna see what's the cause here.. mb i should wait for amir to do his measurements and see if this actually meets the claim or not

 

[JustAnandaDourEyedDude]

Apos Audio delivered my SP400 last Saturday, amazingly quickly from Shenzhen Audio in China. I tested the SP400 briefly to make sure it works. Today, I compared volume level of SP400 with that of Topping A90. Each driven by Topping D90 at 0 dBFS, balanced connection with XLR cables. Yes, A90 does sound louder at 12 o'clock than SP400 at volume level 50, but that depends on the scales. The volume change from Low to Med to High at fixed volume knob position is more on the A90 than on the SP400.

But the SP400 has more than enough power to drive normal headphones well. I can run single-ended HD650 to comfortably loud volume at volume level of 54, and Focal Elex on XLR cable is loud enough at about 42, both at Low Gain. Even 470 ohm ATH-R70x with single-ended cable is loud enough at volume level 65. I can raise the volume level with R70x to 96, which would result in hearing damage if longer than a minute I think. Though at that level there is some distortion, whether from R70x or SP400 I do not know.

At normal volumes, the sound of the SP400 is great like that of the A90. Who will win the SINAD battle here I have no idea. Will have to wait for Amir's review. Though I doubt if even a colony of trained bats could tell the difference. The 50mV SINAD would be most interesting.

Actually bought the SP400 for its remote control and perfect channel balance, likely for use as a pre-amp to drive SMSL DA-8s and future power amp. Though I still have no idea what the function of a pre-amp is. Is it mainly to gather multiple inputs and select among them? In this day and age, wouldn't a DAC with multiple inputs (like an AVR) function better in this regard, as many sources may output digital signals?

 

[Artaois]

Apos Audio delivered my SP400 last Saturday, amazingly quickly from Shenzhen Audio in China. I tested the SP400 briefly to make sure it works. Today, I compared volume level of SP400 with that of Topping A90. Each driven by Topping D90 at 0 dBFS, balanced connection with XLR cables. Yes, A90 does sound louder at 12 o'clock than SP400 at volume level 50, but that depends on the scales. The volume change from Low to Med to High at fixed volume knob position is more on the A90 than on the SP400.

But the SP400 has more than enough power to drive normal headphones well. I can run single-ended HD650 to comfortably loud volume at volume level of 54, and Focal Elex on XLR cable is loud enough at about 42. Even 470 ohm ATH-R70x with single-ended cable is loud enough at volume level 65. I can raise the volume level with R70x to 96, which would result in hearing damage if longer than a minute I think. Though at that level there is some distortion, whether from R70x or SP400 I do not know.

At normal volumes, the sound of the SP400 is great like that of the A90. Who will win the SINAD battle here I have no idea. Will have to wait for Amir's review. Though I doubt if even a colony of trained bats could tell the difference. The 50mV SINAD would be most interesting.

Actually bought the SP400 for its remote control and perfect channel balance, likely for use as a pre-amp to drive SMSL DA-8s and future power amp. Though I still have no idea what the function of a pre-amp is. Is it mainly to gather multiple inputs and select among them? In this day and age, wouldn't a DAC with multiple inputs (like an AVR) function better in this regard, as many sources may output digital signals?

Was your Elex on high gain? I had to put the Sennheiser 58x at 60 on high gain and it's significantly lower impedance than the 650 but technically still not hard to drive.