strange SMSL M500 high 3rd harmonic

[lucadoc]

At this point I think that even if ASR is a drop in the sea, @amirm should not give SMSL public view nor testing their devices because 1) they are not what they should be (read OPA1612) and 2) they don't perform as they should in real life (read stereo music) and 3) they have no satisfying customer service

 

[MusicNBeer]

At this point I think that even if ASR is a drop in the sea, @amirm should not give SMSL public view nor testing their devices because 1) they are not what they should be (read OPA1612) and 2) they don't perform as they should in real life (read stereo music) and 3) they have no satisfying customer service

Absolutely. SMSL should not be recommended, period!

 

[Destination: Moon]

Absolutely. SMSL should not be recommended, period!

So what do you recommend instead of the 500 or DA9 at their respective price points??

 

[MusicNBeer]

So what do you recommend instead of the 500 or DA9 at their respective price points??

Anything and everything.

 

[mycose]

So what do you recommend instead of the 500 or DA9 at their respective price points??

Even though SMSL really screwed up on this one (and the SU-9), I think their prices are really competitive. If they somehow managed to engineer this DAC properly I really, really doubt there's anything better in the market at the same price with the same features, technical specs and measurements.

You could probably get something from Topping for the same price and slightly less performance, but their devices aren't as aesthetically pleasant as SMSL's.

 

[Jeclub]

Even though SMSL really screwed up on this one (and the SU-9), I think their prices are really competitive. If they somehow managed to engineer this DAC properly I really, really doubt there's anything better in the market at the same price with the same features, technical specs and measurements.

You could probably get something from Topping for the same price and slightly less performance, but their devices aren't as aesthetically pleasant as SMSL's.

Topping was dignified enough to make an official statement online and work with their official retailers to figure out a solution for exisiting customers when they had made a mistake. That requires some honesty and dignity. SMSL has acted like a child hiding under their bed quietly patching the firmware for new batches and hoping that existing customers don't figure out their current units are performing well below specification. They are waiting for all this to blow over while still being active in other parts of this forum or elsewhere online, completely ignoring the issue yet recognizing it was a enough of an problem to warrant a discrete firmware update on the newer models while snubbing existing customers.

 

[chefffe]

No, not at all. Its a £150 device claiming but not delivering the performance of a £400 device. As we all know, diminishing returns sets in early for electronics. Function wise this is a decent device but it performs worse than a £100 dac. I'll allow £50 for the headamp.

Thats it and therefore I bought a 150€ device after returning SU9 and I am the same happy with it

 

[Laserjock]

Until every DAC tested so far has the same “stereo” test that this DAC has had the issue, how can we determine it’s a “one” off situation?

 

[grzlybear]

I've purchased my M500 from the official SMSL ebay store in December 2020 (SW 1.7 HW 1.3).

I've written to the email address from the official SMSL website contact us page, linking to this thread and raising my concern that I have a faulty unit. I asked them if they were going to offer a replacement or repair service for my unit.

They quickly answered that they can send me an "upgrade tool", asking for my address and promptly shipping it out. The package is still on the way from China so I don't know what's in it or what the upgrade process entails.

Unfortunately I don't have a way to verify that my unit suffers from the problem, nor will I be able to verify the fix.

Hi guys, I've received the package from SMSL today. In it was a USB cable and a Jlink debugger:



It didn't come with any instructions or firmware, it might be flashed on the micro controller? I have no way to tell.


I opened up my unit and it was quite easy to find the socket for the flat cable.

I connected the flat cable and the micro usb cable to the jlink debugger. I turned on my unit.
Everything seems to be working but there was no UI indication about any process (no progress bars, no update notification, nothing...).
I've reached out to SMSL to see if they can provide me with instructions.
I'll update once I have some more details.

 

[GeekyBastard]

Everything seems to be working but there was no UI indication about any process (no progress bars, no update notification, nothing...).

That's because it is a standard Jlink debugger with no modifications what so ever, S.M.S.L. must provide you with instructions, driver, debugging tool and firmware, or else it's just not gonna work.

 

[3125b]

how can we determine it’s a “one” off situation?

We can't. But it doesn't seem to be very common judging from the tests of other devices shared in this thread. I couldn't find the same issue with either the Apple dongle nor the E30.

 

[jani80k]

Let's just spam their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/S.M.S.LOfficiaI/
Or rather post comments asking them when they will fix things.

 

[Hemi-Demon]

Hi guys, I've received the package from SMSL today. In it was a USB cable and a Jlink debugger:

View attachment 136009

It didn't come with any instructions or firmware, it might be flashed on the micro controller? I have no way to tell.
View attachment 136010

I opened up my unit and it was quite easy to find the socket for the flat cable.

I connected the flat cable and the micro usb cable to the jlink debugger. I turned on my unit.
Everything seems to be working but there was no UI indication about any process (no progress bars, no update notification, nothing...).
I've reached out to SMSL to see if they can provide me with instructions.
I'll update once I have some more details.

After you receive the firmware, would you mind sharing that cable and files, to other ASR members in like a community firmware share by mail event? I would pay for the shipping both ways, and then pass it on the next user. I will assume all risk. SMSL and Shenzhen audio are giving me the runaround, unfortunately. Thanks

 

[Jeclub]

Let's just spam their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/S.M.S.LOfficiaI/
Or rather post comments asking them when they will fix things.

Yeah gently reminding them on their social media and posting about the error and their refusal to fix it for existing buyers on YouTube reviews (that's where most people find out about the DAC) should help inform future buyers and/or persuade them to act and provide a real solution for existing owners.

After you receive the firmware, would you mind sharing that cable and files, to other ASR members in like a community firmware share by mail event? I would pay for the shipping both ways, and then pass it on the next user. I will assume all risk. SMSL and Shenzhen audio are giving me the runaround, unfortunately. Thanks

That's a good idea. I am in contact with an official SMSL reseller and they are telling me that even they cannot get the flashing tool from SMSL, so I am surprised that they would send it to you without instructions. This situation is absolutely ridiculous, at the very least they should provide the flashing tool to official dealers so they could carry out the flashing of the firmware for customers outside of China. Really wish I bought the Topping D90 now...

 

[mycose]

That's because it is a standard Jlink debugger with no modifications what so ever, S.M.S.L. must provide you with instructions, driver, debugging tool and firmware, or else it's just not gonna work.

Is it really a standard JLink debugger interface? I can read "Update tool v1.2" on the PCB so I'm not quire sure of that. I also couldn't find anything even remotely similar on aliexpress with the same pinout and looks (this one looks almost like the one in the picture). I really hope they are at least going to try to contact affected customers and offer them the update tool. That would literally make this unit the real deal when it comes to good measurements and a good price tag.

 

[JSmith]

USB cable and a Jlink debugger

Maybe Prof. @WolfX-700 can give you the process he followed... as fair as I know the "tool" came pre-loaded with the new firmware, however maybe he can clarify this too. There were screenshots of the update earlier in the thread.



JSmith

 

[GeekyBastard]

Is it really a standard JLink debugger interface?

The big chip on one side is a "clone" STM32, and it's a pretty common architecture judging by the pcb, so yeah, it's a standard Jlink debugger.

I really don't like the way S.M.S.L.'s treating this problem, their customer support really needs to step up the game, even in China their supports were quite slow & unhelpful, and not replying this thread or make a announcement seems shady to me.

 

[lucadoc]

Just done on Facebook.... We will see how many seconds my post will last before it'll be removed


https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/strange-smsl-m500-high-3rd-harmonic.22710/page-39&h=AT0-fx1QBQQic-EDV9m2Zf30MnlYxlfYCDbibmQ-_XugQG-RD-xaEOQUVeCBSQfxi-mDsLZ7tgu-xrRuyNqKwr_EpIrEVQzqdOOiG9CXn7HP-iDg3NQWRx9SH_sEhjgQiky_f9dnh9Lsl7nUOUH6&s=1&sfnsn=scwspmo

 

[mycose]

The big chip on one side is a "clone" STM32, and it's a pretty common architecture judging by the pcb, so yeah, it's a standard Jlink debugger.

Then that could be good news for us. If both wolf or grzlybear upload the firmware here then we could buy a JLink debugger clone and flash the firmware manually by our own hand.

It's so laughable the fact that we have to discuss the options we have to fix this device instead of SMSL providing us the update tool.
I contacted SHENZHENAUDIO => told me to contact the factory (SMSL).
I contacted SMSL => told me "contact your seller for warranty".

I'll just say bruh.

 

[GeekyBastard]

Then that could be good news for us. If both wolf or grzlybear upload the firmware here then we could buy a JLink debugger clone and flash the firmware manually by our own hand.

Bad news, by my searching, you might be right in the first place, one side of the debugger is a standard Jlink debugger, but the 7-ish pin flat cable connector might be a S.M.S.L. modified part, it seems like there's really no compatible Jlink debugger with 7-pin flat cable support for sale right now, crap.