Wolf's Measurements of SMSL M200 DAC

[Tatteredmidnight]

thanks for the great post, i'm in the market for a balanced dac and was curious about what you think about the SMSL M300 MkII, I just got a Drop THX 789 and wanted to get a new dac to go with it.

It looks like a perfectly fine DAC from the measurements, but I’m the wrong guy to ask if you like chasing the new hotness. I’m still using an SMSL M8 v1 and an SMLS SU-8 v1. At this point I believe the choice really comes down to features and price, there are so many well engineered and audibly transparent options to choose from.

 

[batfunk]

well,subjectively,I was totally disappointed with the flat sound and lack of of punch of my loudspeackers(and 32 ohm Headphones) with the topping dx7pro .So the combo Smsl m200+Sp200 is on its way to try something different.According to many,nothing will change.
Well,we'll see in a few days and i'll give you my subjective opinion.

 

[Nooborghini]

Thanks!

But would still like an explanation of those ridiculous "Sound Color" modes. Out of the three is one of them "no coloration"? You have to select one of them with no option to turn off. Also, is Bluetooth always active? Be great to turn off an unwanted transmitter.

I've been asking SMSL for a bit and scouring the internet for an explanation. From my ears I get:

1. SC1= FLAT? Their neutral?
2. SC2 = Expanded vocals, mids/highs.
3. SC3 = Tube emulation? Echo distorting + low end seems to have a slight more impact. Kinda sounds like SC1 with bit of echo at the end.

DS Filters? LOL can't hear the difference unfortunately. I can't tell if I am just not listening careful enough but after about 5 mins fiddling around with it, couldn't bother with it.

If anyone can explain accurately with numbers, that'd would be cool.

SMSL FB support replied with:

The sound color is design for the Akm 4497, it hard to explain the sound.
It is hard to name a sound.
You can choose the tone according to your preference, but it is difficult for me to name it, it is designed according to akm chip, if the name needs to be named by akm company

Disappointing.

 

[batfunk]

well,subjectively,I was totally disappointed with the flat sound and lack of of punch of my loudspeackers(and 32 ohm Headphones) with the topping dx7pro .So the combo Smsl m200+Sp200 is on its way to try something different.According to many,nothing will change.
Well,we'll see in a few days and i'll give you my subjective opinion.

Well guys, we have a winner here! Subjectively, everything that was lacking with Topping Dx7pro (flat sound, lack of oomph and bass) is back again. Smsl m200 gives me what I wanted, a significant increase of transparency (compared to my Teac Ud 501) with same qualities(punchy bass, "warm" sound...).Sound stage improved a lot too.
I don't know if it's the change of Dac Chip(Ess to AKM), different architecture(Topping to Smsl), better input voltage correspondence with my source(PW link which have an output of only 1.332 vrms(according to Amirm) or brain illusion...
Anyway, it works with me, my Quest for a better dac is over.
I agree about so-so build quality:Volume knob works but is loose at best. As shown in my pictures:
 Sp-200 knob(headphone amp) is exactly the same knob used on my Dynavox switch amp:it's knob cover was only glued and stayed in my hand 6 months after buying switch...
Another problem, the remote:you see in my picture that the up battery( a regular one) prevents remote cover to close and fit perfectly(up left corner of the image) . That's really bad designed...

 

[batfunk]

Well, another problem with build quality with USB port. I plug one USB cable day one and tried to unplug it today:totally stucked!
I forced(a lot) and succeeded in unplugging it by moving it laterally.
Does anyone have same problem?
I tried another cables, there's still some resistance(but a lot less) when you unplug it. My opinion is that USB port is fixed loosely.

 

[ModDIY]

On mine the USB socket hold the cable very well and with good resistance. I must say that the resistance surprised me a little and I am satisfied because usually it is the opposite that I notice on other devices.

 

[dpippel]

No issues with the USB port on mine. The plug resistance is just right.

 

[777]

I bought SMSL M200. Excellent sound, excellent BT. Everyting is almost perfect. I have Topping D90 upgraded too but SMSL M200 is better value. Great job SMSL !

 

[Veri]

I bought SMSL M200. Excellent sound, excellent BT. Everyting is almost perfect. I have Topping D90 upgraded too but SMSL M200 is better value. Great job SMSL !

Nice !

 

[jpanic4]

I bought SMSL M200. Excellent sound, excellent BT. Everyting is almost perfect. I have Topping D90 upgraded too but SMSL M200 is better value. Great job SMSL !

Are you using this with a A90 since you have the D90 a well? If so how do you like it?

 

[jpanic4]

Well, another problem with build quality with USB port. I plug one USB cable day one and tried to unplug it today:totally stucked!
I forced(a lot) and succeeded in unplugging it by moving it laterally.
Does anyone have same problem?
I tried another cables, there's still some resistance(but a lot less) when you unplug it. My opinion is that USB port is fixed loosely.

Mine works fine. No issues with the port.

 

[batfunk]

I agree about bluetooth. Streaming YouTube to smsl m200 is a second nature for me now

 

[777]

USB port is fine on my unit too. Streaming on bluetooth is the best part from M200. It is almost perfect.
I don't like the colour of the display. I don't see very well that blue colour. I would have preffered the orange one like in Topping Dx3Pro.
Anyway, at 300$ is a winner. The sound difference between M200 and D90 is very small, you can ignore it.

 

[jpanic4]

USB port is fine on my unit too. Streaming on bluetooth is the best part from M200. It is almost perfect.
I don't like the colour of the display. I don't see very well that blue colour. I would have preffered the orange one like in Topping Dx3Pro.
Anyway, at 300$ is a winner. The sound difference between M200 and D90 is very small, you can ignore it.

Hi @777, have you compared the D90 and M200? I currently have an M200 and was curious.

 

[777]

I have both, D90 and M200. The sound is almost the same, maybe D90 a little better

 

[Rja4000]

oh that multitone...

Yeah, but beware:
0dBr here is probably 30dB below the 0dBFS for a 1kHz sine wave.
So -100dBr is around -130dBFS, and, if you compare to the 1kHz tone, at noise level.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Yeah, but beware:
0dBr here is probably 30dB below the 0dBFS for a 1kHz sine wave.
So -100dBr is around -130dBFS, and, if you compare to the 1kHz tone, at noise level.

It doesn't matter it looks ugly. Modius, e30, and many other ess based products are way better on this test.

 

[Rja4000]

It doesn't matter it looks ugly. Modius, e30, and many other ess based products are way better on this test.

Ugly but, most probably, without any audible impact.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Ugly but, most probably, without any audible impact.

Was audibility ever a concern?

 

[Gyroscopics]

I need another balanced DAC to use as preamp for a 2ch speaker system. I was about to buy the M200 seeing the value for $. But I'm afraid it has the same issues as my SMSL SU-8 v2 which is the reason why I don't use it as preamp. The SU-8 v2 issues are:
1) it makes loud popping noise when I switch between inputs (usb/opt/coax)
2) it makes popping noise (not as loud as #1) when it plays a new file type (MP3/ALAC to FLAC/DSD)
3) my Volumio R-Pi restarts (software-restart) whenever I switch from USB to opt/coax then back to USB, which tells me that the SU-8 stops it's usb-dac function when switched to another input.

On the contrary, I use a Topping D70 as pre-amp on my main stereo speaker system and I never encountered the issues listed above. I sometimes use my Topping D50 as preamp and never encountered such issue. I've read somewhere that these are common issues with SMSL DACs. BTW, I just use the SMSL SU-8 v2 as DAC in my headphone setup as my headphones (Elex, HD600, etc) are much cheaper than my speakers for the SU-8 to blow up.

Can anyone who use the M200 as DAC/pre-amp confirm if the issues above have been resolved on the SMSL M200? Otherwise I don't want to waste $279 on M200 and just go for D90.