[Sonic Defender]

I have recently picked up the SMSL M200 and have been very impressed. I am surprised to never read any mention of it here so I thought I would see if others have tried or have this DAC. I am quite pleased with it. Great features and as in my view a properly implemented DAC should not change the sound, it sounds transparent in my system. Curious what others have been experiencing with the M200.

 

[gibby]

I'm looking at it and comparing to the Topping DX3 Pro now. Currently watching Z reviews video on it...

 

[Sonic Defender]

I'm looking at it and comparing to the Topping DX3 Pro now. Currently watching Z reviews video on it...

I am extremely pleased with it myself and highly recommend it with no hesitation at all.

 

[340519]

I have recently picked up the SMSL M200 and have been very impressed. I am surprised to never read any mention of it here so I thought I would see if others have tried or have this DAC. I am quite pleased with it. Great features and as in my view a properly implemented DAC should not change the sound, it sounds transparent in my system. Curious what others have been experiencing with the M200.

I just bought it to go with the sp200. What filters do you use for neutrality? Is there a filter that emphasizes bass?
Thanks

 

[340519]

And how does the volume work? It changes the vrms I guess?

 

[Sonic Defender]

And how does the volume work? It changes the vrms I guess?

I believe so, but I leave the volume on the DAC full and simply use my integrated amp for volume adjustments. As for filters, I have never been able to hear a difference so I have left everything defeated or at stock. My understanding is that the filters really work in the ultrasonic domain anyway so not sure if they could produce truly audible effects?

 

[340519]

I believe so, but I leave the volume on the DAC full and simply use my integrated amp for volume adjustments. As for filters, I have never been able to hear a difference so I have left everything defeated or at stock. My understanding is that the filters really work in the ultrasonic domain anyway so not sure if they could produce truly audible effects?

Cool thx. I should have it Friday.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Cool thx. I should have it Friday.

Nice. I am very impressed and completely happy with the purchase. I finally have a Bluetooth DAC that measures well and sounds perfect to me. I almost never use it with USB as the Bluetooth sounds fantastic and is so darn convenient. Instead of having to turn on my computer and a television, use a wireless keyboard I now simply take out my phone which is filled with Flac albums and stream using LDAC to the M200. I just put my phone on do not disturb when I am enjoying music. Great to have the flexibility and I like the balanced output to drive my amp with. I will be shocked if you are not also impressed. It isn't inexpensive, but it is quite affordable at the same time and it is well featured and I like the footprint.

 

[340519]

Nice. I am very impressed and completely happy with the purchase. I finally have a Bluetooth DAC that measures well and sounds perfect to me. I almost never use it with USB as the Bluetooth sounds fantastic and is so darn convenient. Instead of having to turn on my computer and a television, use a wireless keyboard I now simply take out my phone which is filled with Flac albums and stream using LDAC to the M200. I just put my phone on do not disturb when I am enjoying music. Great to have the flexibility and I like the balanced output to drive my amp with. I will be shocked if you are not also impressed. It isn't inexpensive, but it is quite affordable at the same time and it is well featured and I like the footprint.

I don't plan on using the bluetooth but I'll try it out. Probably usb because I dont know if uapp recognizes bluetooth? But using bluetooth would bypass the internal dac in my tablet thereby getting aroung the reason for uapp to begin with. So maybe I will use the bluetooth? Hmmmm.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I don't plan on using the bluetooth but I'll try it out. Probably usb because I dont know if uapp recognizes bluetooth? But using bluetooth would bypass the internal dac in my tablet thereby getting aroung the reason for uapp to begin with. So maybe I will use the bluetooth? Hmmmm.

The Bluetooth is excellent and once you get used to the convenience it is pretty compelling. I listen to well recorded music as I have yet to find anything through Bluetooth that sounds even remotely different than it sounds when using a wired connection. I strongly encourage you to try. If you have an Android phone make sure to enable developer options so that you can go into the Bluetooth settings there. My G7 seems to set a 96KHz, 32bit at the lowest transmission rate LDAC connection by default. I go in through developer options and change it to 44.1, 16bit and set at 660Kbs for the transmission rate.

If I am to be honest, I really can't hear a difference versus say AAC which is reputedly a technically very competent codec to use. I have read a few technical opinions on why AAC is actually capable of better musical fidelity than Apt X, but again, not sure that I can hear any difference. However, if you happen to have LDAC as I do there really is no reason not to use it. Really, you owe it to yourself to test out the Bluetooth. You could then have several great players to choose from. I have been using Onkyo HF Player for years, but I also have Neutron which I don't use as I find it far more complex than I could benefit from.

 

[gibby]

I returned mine. BT performance was really bad, the knob felt like it was going to fall off, and the remote did not work

I bought a Topping D90 that seems a lot better.

 

[340519]

From what I understand about the remote is that you have to hit c first. Well the sp200 build quality is excellent so I'm expecting the same of the m200.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I returned mine. BT performance was really bad, the knob felt like it was going to fall off, and the remote did not work

I bought a Topping D90 that seems a lot better.

My experience couldn't be more different from yours, Bluetooth has been flawless, and I have been using Bluetooth extensively for years with many devices so I am very experienced with Bluetooth. Did the knob fall off? I can't imagine why people would even use the knob except for once in a blue moon. Set it and forget it, and use the remote control. Clearly some compromises have to be made to keep prices reasonable. I get that build quality is important, but ultimately it is secondary as compared with sound quality and connectivity features. This is a DAC, really no need to fiddle with it. Set the volume, set the filter that you want and once and a while adjust the input. It isn't a toy to play with so not sure how robust the knob needs to be. Yes, if you need to adjust the volume because you have no preamp, fine, but even then, use the remote.

The Topping gear is really pretty much the same thing in terms of quality, generally speaking. It isn't like Topping is a luxury brand, both are very similar. I would also suggest that the price difference with the D90 has been invested into better build, but again, to me a DAC really is barely touched after initial setup so if I have to decide between paying hundreds more or not fiddling with things as much, I tend to feel that the money in my pocket is better for my needs. Your needs are of course yours. I am sure the D90 will perform well for you, based on what I have read it is a nice piece of kit.

 

[gibby]

My experience couldn't be more different from yours, Bluetooth has been flawless, and I have been using Bluetooth extensively for years with many devices so I am very experienced with Bluetooth. Did the knob fall off? I can't imagine why people would even use the knob except for once in a blue moon. Set it and forget it, and use the remote control. Clearly some compromises have to be made to keep prices reasonable. I get that build quality is important, but ultimately it is secondary as compared with sound quality and connectivity features. This is a DAC, really no need to fiddle with it. Set the volume, set the filter that you want and once and a while adjust the input. It isn't a toy to play with so not sure how robust the knob needs to be. Yes, if you need to adjust the volume because you have no preamp, fine, but even then, use the remote.

The Topping gear is really pretty much the same thing in terms of quality, generally speaking. It isn't like Topping is a luxury brand, both are very similar. I would also suggest that the price difference with the D90 has been invested into better build, but again, to me a DAC really is barely touched after initial setup so if I have to decide between paying hundreds more or not fiddling with things as much, I tend to feel that the money in my pocket is better for my needs. Your needs are of course yours. I am sure the D90 will perform well for you, based on what I have read it is a nice piece of kit.

It could be mine was defective. It looked to be used. It did sound good, but my remote did not work and that’s how I’d prefer to change inputs.

I now have my D90 working perfectly on all inputs using the remote to change them. I might just get an A90 to try.

I hear you on more money in the pocket for more headphone.

 

[340519]

The m200 is incredible. A dac that sounds as good as my benchmark and looks better as well. I absolutely love the bluetooth feature. I'm very happy with the purchase.