SMSL M300 MK2 Owners Thread
Apr 27, 2020 at 6:46 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 54

DW75

Headphoneus Supremus
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Since a thread for the new M300 MK2 does not exist, I thought I would create it. A few people on headfi now own this DAC, myself included.
 
Apr 27, 2020 at 6:54 PM Post #2 of 54
Then we need pics!!

11223343.jpg


It's the RED one. :beyersmile:

Still trying to get the G6 / SMSL work at something above 48KHz. I got a couple of new cables / tips coming.
 
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Apr 28, 2020 at 1:56 AM Post #3 of 54
@DW75 I settled on Filter 4, Short Slow. The Decay/Release of the Fast ones is too quick IMO and makes it sound a tad unnatural. Too bad there's no Minimal/Linear filters. :shrug:
The Slow is too sloppy and a tad dark. Short Slow seems the most natural sounding, the decay having a chance to be expressed. (IMO of course)

Also did some AB testing with the G6 optical vs USB direct, and if there's any audible changes, I don't hear them. I just need to get an optical toslink cable that can do 24/96 or better. (The Creative software says the Toslink is capable of 24/96 PCM.) So this should suffice for now. I still enjoy my 7.1 SBX VSS.
 
Apr 28, 2020 at 3:52 AM Post #4 of 54
Did you try out the sound color settings ? You will find there are 3 in there to pick from too. Indeed, because you are using a tube preamp, your settings will probably end up different from mine. I did not like filter 6 - LD Sharp. I found filter 2 - Slow to be too dark. Over the last day or so I have been trying out the filters. On my setup, the filter 1 - Sharp is the best.
 
Apr 28, 2020 at 1:17 PM Post #5 of 54
I think I am at the point where I can tell people not to invest in soundcards at all, and just get a DAC, and use coax/toslink. If one needs a mic, get a USB interface for it or a model that has one. Only purpose I can see a PC soundcard/device is for virtualization, but there are software solutions for that.
 
Apr 28, 2020 at 3:41 PM Post #6 of 54
I use my Nu Audio Pro 7.1 card for analog multichannel to my home audio system. This is very useful for having analog multichannel surround sound in old games. I do not bother using the sound card for my headphone setup at all. I just use my M300 MK2 DAC and my Audio-GD C-2 (2017 Edition) headphone amp.
 
Apr 29, 2020 at 2:27 AM Post #7 of 54


After watching this, and his conclusion review video< I started doing some higher volume listening, trying to recreate the presentation in that video. :) Now I understand why the engineer liked Filter 5 "Super Slow" It really does allow for the lower registers to wake up. I was able to do some compensation on the mids/treble by giving the preamp one notch in the gain. (my tube preamp) And so i played some the music he lists in his playlist using Amazon Music HD, and opened the Asgard 3 to about 2:30. Damn... I had my own private concert. Really was a great experience, and glad the DT-1990 scaled accordingly. I have new respect for these cans.
 
Apr 29, 2020 at 3:02 AM Post #8 of 54
After watching this, and his conclusion review video< I started doing some higher volume listening, trying to recreate the presentation in that video. :) Now I understand why the engineer liked Filter 5 "Super Slow" It really does allow for the lower registers to wake up. I was able to do some compensation on the mids/treble by giving the preamp one notch in the gain. (my tube preamp) And so i played some the music he lists in his playlist using Amazon Music HD, and opened the Asgard 3 to about 2:30. Damn... I had my own private concert. Really was a great experience, and glad the DT-1990 scaled accordingly. I have new respect for these cans.
Video is too long. What is TLDW ? I guess slow filter causes some treble roll of but makes the transient response better. Not sure though.
 
Apr 29, 2020 at 1:38 PM Post #9 of 54
Discovered why you need to turn off your tubes after several hours... had some nasty harsh, metallic highs coming from the right side. Turned off, count to 10, turn on: harsh be gone.
 
May 2, 2020 at 6:02 AM Post #10 of 54
Just got the m300 MKII a few days ago - but still waiting on my sp200. Impatient AF

Didn't notice any filter options though? Is that something that can only be accessed with the remote? I still haven't picked that up yet
 
May 2, 2020 at 6:54 AM Post #12 of 54
Anyone know how this would compare soundwise to the M500 or other DACs with the ES9038pro chip? I have the M500 and have been thinking of getting a desktop AK dac for variety's sake and as the Zishan DSDs AK4499 that I also have sounds good too.
 
May 2, 2020 at 3:24 PM Post #14 of 54
SMSL has the M400 DAC coming out in the next couple weeks. It has the AKM 4499 in it. You may want to wait for that.

It is way overpriced at $800 which is not something I would pay for slight variety. M300 is more interesting.
 

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