The SOtM sHP-100 is a portable dac/amplifier combo designed for computer audio. It's built on the same principles as their sMS-100 music server, which means tiny size, ease of transport, and good value for money.
Some of the most meaningful specifications follow:
DAC Chip: Cirrus Logic flagship CS4398
USB Class 2.0 input, using a XMOS multi-core RISC processor, support for 24bit/192kH playback and DSD x64, x128
Optical, Coaxial inputs with AKM AK4113 chipset and support for 24bit/192kH playback
Analog Output: LME49720 and TPA6120A2 opamps
ALPS volume potentiometer
The sHP-100 uses special ASIO driver which can be downloaded on SOtM website. The installation is quite straightforward, only requiring to pay attention to one thing: if using Windows 8 (or later version), the user must install the drivers in compatibility mode, by clicking on the setup.exe file, selecting properties -> Compatibility mode tab, “Run in compatibility mode for” checkbox, and choosing Windows 7 in the drop down menu.
The sHP-100 is a perfect solution for work environment, it's low profile and I personally use it at my office desk, with my Sennheiser Momentum. It's much better than listening to music from the computer from a headphone out (I find it untolerable) as well as a mobile phone, and looks/questions from collegues tend to disappear very quickly. It’s also much easier and low profile to operate than a high end DAP, which would need to be controlled by hand (and not within the computer). Out of curiosity, I have even tried Xiaomi's pistons (which a collegue kindly lent me for the occasion) and they sound much, much better, with much better separation, clean (and pulsive bass), and an overall interesting, toe tapping sound. The Sennheiser Momentum are obviously much better and retain their character, but improve strongly in stereo separation and imaging, compared to my regular portable usage (which involves two very good sounding Android phones, the Moto X 2014 and Photon Q, both of them I rate much higher than any iPhone).
The sHP-100 has a neutral character. It’s a character that’s very flexible, allowing for the sound to be fine tuned by other elements in the audio chain (in my case, the headphones). It doesnt have any kind of peak in the treble (no sibilance), nor any excess in the bass area. The bass is clean and quick, it doesnt have the ultimate punch, but in this regard it’s not worse than DACs like Metrum Octave Mk2, jKenny Ciunas, Yulong D200, Mytek 192.
While not having the same magical midrange of certain Metrum DAC’s, and some other analogue-sounding DAC's, it has a smooth, pleasant balance, and doesnt sound recessed. It's also free from the kind of digital glare found in Sabre DAC's. Due to its neutrality, it doesnt interfere with the frequency response of the headphones and this aspect makes it very adaptable, since no frequency range overpowers the other.
I have been using the portable battery with it, but to the the improvement was not major with the Sennheiser Momentum (and Momentum 2.0, which I also tried for a brief period with it). It's possible that the perceivable gain from adding the battery PSU (or a regulated PSU) varies depending on the headphones used: the Sennheiser Momentum and Momentum 2.0 are very easy to drive; on the other extreme, having tried my HifiMan HE-1000 for fun, I found some better definition and bass heft with the battery usage, but those require a monster amplifier (I normally use the MacIntosh MHA-100), and the overall amplification section is just not enough. Better tailored choices for what the sMS-100 ìs (and to appreciate the improvement of a battery) could be the Audio-Technica AD2000 or Grado RS-1, which are more demanding than my portable Sennheisers, but still reasonably easy to drive by the SOtM amplification circuitry.
For home usage, it could be a great choice to pair the sHP-100 DAC output (which is the highest point of the sHP-100), with something like a Stax Lambda system, or SRS-005II system, for very high quality sound on a budget.
Some of the most meaningful specifications follow:
DAC Chip: Cirrus Logic flagship CS4398
USB Class 2.0 input, using a XMOS multi-core RISC processor, support for 24bit/192kH playback and DSD x64, x128
Optical, Coaxial inputs with AKM AK4113 chipset and support for 24bit/192kH playback
Analog Output: LME49720 and TPA6120A2 opamps
ALPS volume potentiometer
The sHP-100 uses special ASIO driver which can be downloaded on SOtM website. The installation is quite straightforward, only requiring to pay attention to one thing: if using Windows 8 (or later version), the user must install the drivers in compatibility mode, by clicking on the setup.exe file, selecting properties -> Compatibility mode tab, “Run in compatibility mode for” checkbox, and choosing Windows 7 in the drop down menu.
The sHP-100 is a perfect solution for work environment, it's low profile and I personally use it at my office desk, with my Sennheiser Momentum. It's much better than listening to music from the computer from a headphone out (I find it untolerable) as well as a mobile phone, and looks/questions from collegues tend to disappear very quickly. It’s also much easier and low profile to operate than a high end DAP, which would need to be controlled by hand (and not within the computer). Out of curiosity, I have even tried Xiaomi's pistons (which a collegue kindly lent me for the occasion) and they sound much, much better, with much better separation, clean (and pulsive bass), and an overall interesting, toe tapping sound. The Sennheiser Momentum are obviously much better and retain their character, but improve strongly in stereo separation and imaging, compared to my regular portable usage (which involves two very good sounding Android phones, the Moto X 2014 and Photon Q, both of them I rate much higher than any iPhone).
The sHP-100 has a neutral character. It’s a character that’s very flexible, allowing for the sound to be fine tuned by other elements in the audio chain (in my case, the headphones). It doesnt have any kind of peak in the treble (no sibilance), nor any excess in the bass area. The bass is clean and quick, it doesnt have the ultimate punch, but in this regard it’s not worse than DACs like Metrum Octave Mk2, jKenny Ciunas, Yulong D200, Mytek 192.
While not having the same magical midrange of certain Metrum DAC’s, and some other analogue-sounding DAC's, it has a smooth, pleasant balance, and doesnt sound recessed. It's also free from the kind of digital glare found in Sabre DAC's. Due to its neutrality, it doesnt interfere with the frequency response of the headphones and this aspect makes it very adaptable, since no frequency range overpowers the other.
I have been using the portable battery with it, but to the the improvement was not major with the Sennheiser Momentum (and Momentum 2.0, which I also tried for a brief period with it). It's possible that the perceivable gain from adding the battery PSU (or a regulated PSU) varies depending on the headphones used: the Sennheiser Momentum and Momentum 2.0 are very easy to drive; on the other extreme, having tried my HifiMan HE-1000 for fun, I found some better definition and bass heft with the battery usage, but those require a monster amplifier (I normally use the MacIntosh MHA-100), and the overall amplification section is just not enough. Better tailored choices for what the sMS-100 ìs (and to appreciate the improvement of a battery) could be the Audio-Technica AD2000 or Grado RS-1, which are more demanding than my portable Sennheisers, but still reasonably easy to drive by the SOtM amplification circuitry.
For home usage, it could be a great choice to pair the sHP-100 DAC output (which is the highest point of the sHP-100), with something like a Stax Lambda system, or SRS-005II system, for very high quality sound on a budget.
