StarTreker
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Presenting The S.M.S.L M200 Desktop DAC!
The Suspense Is Killing Me...I Hope It Will Last
So neatly packed away, good thing too, Amazon didn't bother to put in any packing material whatsoever! Notice how the SP200 uses a standard computer power cable, thats because it has the transformer inside. But the M200 uses a power brick style instead, and plugs in via a barrel jack.
Hey look, a remote! I love things which validate my couch potato lifestyle!
Ohhhhh, shes so pretty, I can see my reflection! She has a slanted personality though, just like the SP200 HEHE.
The outside is not complex at all, just a volume knob, which doubles as a selector knob, and power button, all in one. But do you really need to turn a DAC off? The answer is NO! Should you turn your DAC on and off all the time? Absolutely not! Leave it on.
These are the rear connections. Left & Right XLR Outputs, Left & Right RCA Outputs. Coaxial Input, Optical Input, USB Input. Antenna Port, and of course last but not least, Power Port.
This Is The Power Brick SPECS & Certifications
This is the moment where you realize, that all the steps in your life, have led you to this point. You've become a man, and now the job of plugging those ports 1 by 1, shall begin. Yep, I think my display is sexy!
This is the moment where I felt like getting a bit artsy after setting it up....
NOTE: The # 48 as seen on the display indicates sample rate. Icon above it indicates Optical Connection.
After retiring the old Fiio D3 DAC, and upgrading to the S.M.S.L M200 DAC, I immediately noticed the difference. There are 3-things that I can state right off the bat, that I consider improvements. The number 1-most important improvement, is that the M200 has a much wider sound-stage, like holy shitucky! The 2nd thing I noticed, is that the high frequencies are yet more pronounced then before. Not only do these two things allow you to hear more detail, but if there are any issues in songs, your gonna hear them.
Despite what many would leave you to believe, there are a lot of crappy recordings from the past that were never remastered. It just means that the M200 is a very honest DAC, and is not trying to hide anything, which I appreciate. The 3rd thing I noticed, is that its a lot louder in volume. With my volume set to 0DB on the M200, my headphones get quite loud at 40% volume instead of 50% on the SP200 amp! The less I have to push my amp to produce sound loudly, should lengthen the life of the amp, so thats another win in my book.
Going from low resolution sound, to high resolution sound, is like a night and day difference. Many of us choose not to upgrade, because we tell ourselves, that were not going to hear any difference. Well, I am here to tell you, that couldn't be further from the truth. I am running the S.M.S.L M200 DAC, with my S.M.S.L SP200 AMP, along with a Realistic 12-band equalizer in the chain, all which are connected in the chain with Monoprice 22-gauge gold plated RCA cables. And even my headphones are using a Canare 22-gauge Star Quad AUX Cable.
The S.M.S.L M200 DAC uses the AK4497EQ Delta Sigma chip. Its what we have to thank for the deliciously clean sound, and the excellent soundstage that I am enjoying. It uses high quality capacitors, and has the same high quality design, that we have seen from the SP200 AMP. I'm not really intending this post to be a full in depth review, you can already find those all over the net. I really love my new DAC, and I highly recommend it, 5 out of 5 STARS!
The Suspense Is Killing Me...I Hope It Will Last
So neatly packed away, good thing too, Amazon didn't bother to put in any packing material whatsoever! Notice how the SP200 uses a standard computer power cable, thats because it has the transformer inside. But the M200 uses a power brick style instead, and plugs in via a barrel jack.
Hey look, a remote! I love things which validate my couch potato lifestyle!
Ohhhhh, shes so pretty, I can see my reflection! She has a slanted personality though, just like the SP200 HEHE.
The outside is not complex at all, just a volume knob, which doubles as a selector knob, and power button, all in one. But do you really need to turn a DAC off? The answer is NO! Should you turn your DAC on and off all the time? Absolutely not! Leave it on.
These are the rear connections. Left & Right XLR Outputs, Left & Right RCA Outputs. Coaxial Input, Optical Input, USB Input. Antenna Port, and of course last but not least, Power Port.
This Is The Power Brick SPECS & Certifications
This is the moment where you realize, that all the steps in your life, have led you to this point. You've become a man, and now the job of plugging those ports 1 by 1, shall begin. Yep, I think my display is sexy!
This is the moment where I felt like getting a bit artsy after setting it up....
NOTE: The # 48 as seen on the display indicates sample rate. Icon above it indicates Optical Connection.
After retiring the old Fiio D3 DAC, and upgrading to the S.M.S.L M200 DAC, I immediately noticed the difference. There are 3-things that I can state right off the bat, that I consider improvements. The number 1-most important improvement, is that the M200 has a much wider sound-stage, like holy shitucky! The 2nd thing I noticed, is that the high frequencies are yet more pronounced then before. Not only do these two things allow you to hear more detail, but if there are any issues in songs, your gonna hear them.
Despite what many would leave you to believe, there are a lot of crappy recordings from the past that were never remastered. It just means that the M200 is a very honest DAC, and is not trying to hide anything, which I appreciate. The 3rd thing I noticed, is that its a lot louder in volume. With my volume set to 0DB on the M200, my headphones get quite loud at 40% volume instead of 50% on the SP200 amp! The less I have to push my amp to produce sound loudly, should lengthen the life of the amp, so thats another win in my book.
Going from low resolution sound, to high resolution sound, is like a night and day difference. Many of us choose not to upgrade, because we tell ourselves, that were not going to hear any difference. Well, I am here to tell you, that couldn't be further from the truth. I am running the S.M.S.L M200 DAC, with my S.M.S.L SP200 AMP, along with a Realistic 12-band equalizer in the chain, all which are connected in the chain with Monoprice 22-gauge gold plated RCA cables. And even my headphones are using a Canare 22-gauge Star Quad AUX Cable.
The S.M.S.L M200 DAC uses the AK4497EQ Delta Sigma chip. Its what we have to thank for the deliciously clean sound, and the excellent soundstage that I am enjoying. It uses high quality capacitors, and has the same high quality design, that we have seen from the SP200 AMP. I'm not really intending this post to be a full in depth review, you can already find those all over the net. I really love my new DAC, and I highly recommend it, 5 out of 5 STARS!
