[Soundizer]

Originally I had an issue and concern about a product experience purchased from Shenzenaudio. The product itself was not faulty, but was not to my preference. Anyway Shenzenaudio was excellent at helping me return the product. They provided superb support via email.

many thanks Shenzenaudio.

I feel confident and comfortable purchasing again from Shenzenaudio. I live in UK..

 

[Skullar]

Originally I had an issue and concern about a product experience purchased from Shenzenaudio. The product itself was not faulty, but was not to my preference. Anyway Shenzenaudio was excellent at helping me return the product. They provided superb support via email.

many thanks Shenzenaudio.

I feel confident and comfortable purchasing again from Shenzenaudio. I live in UK..

Ha

 

[bOO9OO]

Hi I am an audio noob, can I use the m500 with powered speakers using the rca connectors with usb input and do I need to change any settings ?
Thanks...

 

[Mellowship]

Hi I am an audio noob, can I use the m500 with powered speakers using the rca connectors with usb input and do I need to change any settings ?
Thanks...

Yes you can!
The m500 has variable line output on the rca connectors. It means you can control the volume using the knob on the m500.
You just need to connect your computer in the usb input and the speakers in the RCA outputs, select the input as USB and the output as line and you are ready to go.

 

[bOO9OO]

Brilliant thanks very much for your help : - )

 

[robmano]

Hi, I live in Austria which is in EU. I wanted to buy from Hifi Express with black friday discount of $50.
I have chosen option to buy from UK which ships free without customs fees to Austria.
Unfortunately, SMSL contacted me saying they will ship from China instead which I wanted to avoid due to customs duties as well as length of shipping.

Later I went to Aliexpress SMSL store and they do offer shipment from UK and I have asked them in inbox message and they have confirmed it.
Also, I sent same question to Mandy via different email and they also confirmed it they will send from UK or EU region.

Is there any experiences about this? Anyone was able to buy at black friday sale?
Why I couldn't buy wanted m500 for discounted price and also I got $5 extra for email subscription.
I am disappointed to be honest with SMSL customer support and marketing. Can something be done?

 

[pollyjingjing]

Hi, I live in Austria which is in EU. I wanted to buy from Hifi Express with black friday discount of $50.
I have chosen option to buy from UK which ships free without customs fees to Austria.
Unfortunately, SMSL contacted me saying they will ship from China instead which I wanted to avoid due to customs duties as well as length of shipping.

Later I went to Aliexpress SMSL store and they do offer shipment from UK and I have asked them in inbox message and they have confirmed it.
Also, I sent same question to Mandy via different email and they also confirmed it they will send from UK or EU region.

Is there any experiences about this? Anyone was able to buy at black friday sale?
Why I couldn't buy wanted m500 for discounted price and also I got $5 extra for email subscription.
I am disappointed to be honest with SMSL customer support and marketing. Can something be done?

May be you can wait.
HiFi-express the Black friday also has a discount. Thanks.

 

[Mellowship]

Hi, I live in Austria which is in EU. I wanted to buy from Hifi Express with black friday discount of $50.
I have chosen option to buy from UK which ships free without customs fees to Austria.
Unfortunately, SMSL contacted me saying they will ship from China instead which I wanted to avoid due to customs duties as well as length of shipping.

Later I went to Aliexpress SMSL store and they do offer shipment from UK and I have asked them in inbox message and they have confirmed it.
Also, I sent same question to Mandy via different email and they also confirmed it they will send from UK or EU region.

Is there any experiences about this? Anyone was able to buy at black friday sale?
Why I couldn't buy wanted m500 for discounted price and also I got $5 extra for email subscription.
I am disappointed to be honest with SMSL customer support and marketing. Can something be done?

It is usual, I believe, that the item is sent from China to a EU country first and then sent from that country to yours.
I don't even know if the AE sellers have warehouses in EU countries, and if they do, maybe they don't keep a lot of stock.
I remember it happened to me with some products. One of them was even ordered from the UK, and I ended up receiving an Amazon package from Germany. I believe it was the Loxjie P20, which is from the same company as SMSL.

 

[robmano]

May be you can wait.
HiFi-express the Black friday also has a discount. Thanks.

so will you have it on same discount but you can guarantee there is no custom duty fees?

 

[robmano]

May be you can wait.
HiFi-express the Black friday also has a discount. Thanks.

Will you have discount on AliExpress also?

 

[JohnnyOps]

I have a related question to one raised here before, but about balanced outs vs. RCA outs.

Is it possible to use the balanced outputs on the back to directly drive a balanced set of headphones (with the right cables)?

In other words:

• Can I use the onboard volume control to drive the level of the XLR outputs?
• Can I get a cable that will connect the XLR outputs on the back to balanced headphones (eg, Sennheiser HD-6XX)?
• Is the power on the XLR outputs sufficient to drive a pair of low-impedance headphones?

Or... is this a fundamentally misguided idea, and I should be using the balanced outs into a dedicated balanced amp (eg, Schiit Jotunheim) in order to get this performance? And if so, is it crazy to use the M500 vs., say, the SU-9?

Realize this is a lot of questions, but appreciate everyone’s help.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Balanced out is at a level designed to drive gear (amps, digital recording devices) with balanced input. It is not for headphones.

Depending on the DAC, the XLR can be set to fixed level suitable for driving an amp and the volume should be controlled at the amp. Or, it can have variable output. However this can be dangerous.

 

[Mellowship]

I have a related question to one raised here before, but about balanced outs vs. RCA outs.

Is it possible to use the balanced outputs on the back to directly drive a balanced set of headphones (with the right cables)?

In other words:

• Can I use the onboard volume control to drive the level of the XLR outputs?
• Can I get a cable that will connect the XLR outputs on the back to balanced headphones (eg, Sennheiser HD-6XX)?
• Is the power on the XLR outputs sufficient to drive a pair of low-impedance headphones?

Or... is this a fundamentally misguided idea, and I should be using the balanced outs into a dedicated balanced amp (eg, Schiit Jotunheim) in order to get this performance? And if so, is it crazy to use the M500 vs., say, the SU-9?

Realize this is a lot of questions, but appreciate everyone’s help.

It is possible, yes.
But it is not a usable option. XLR outputs on the back of the m500 are line outputs, not amplified ones. Even at maximum volume they will not feed the required amounts of power to headphones.
The back balanced outputs are better used to connect a balanced amplifier.

 

[JohnnyOps]

Hi all-

Wondering if any have had experience with the ”pop/click on format change” with the M500, or if @smsl mandy can give any advice here...

My chain is NAS(FLAC) / Tidal -> Roon -> Ropieee (USB) -> SMSL M500. Works wonderfully for all local and Tidal FLAC. However, every time I start a new Tidal MQA track, I get a “hiccough” where the first 1/3 of a second of the track is cut off and there’s a low volume ”pop-pop” and then the track starts playing a second into it. Sometimes there’s a second ”pop-pop” a moment after the track starts playing. Only happens when I start a new album in MQA, or when a playlist/Roon Radio is switching formats from non-MQA to MQA. It’s audible enough that it’s really dstracting, and never being able to haar the first moments of any MQA track is kind of a non-starter for me, no matter how good the sound quality is once I get there. Sometimes this even happens within an album (like within Coltrane/s Blue Train in 24/192 MQA), so I can’t hear the beginning of any of the tracks.

My M500 is SW 1.7 / HW 1.3 / 2020-06-30.

Any help would be very much appreciated. I haven‘t tried the DAC directy from USB on my computer, though I can. However, this is really the signal path I purchased this DAC for so I’m hoping we can make it work - I can’t have a PC in my listening location.

Thank you!

 

[Mellowship]

Hi all-

Wondering if any have had experience with the ”pop/click on format change” with the M500, or if @smsl mandy can give any advice here...

My chain is NAS(FLAC) / Tidal -> Roon -> Ropieee (USB) -> SMSL M500. Works wonderfully for all local and Tidal FLAC. However, every time I start a new Tidal MQA track, I get a “hiccough” where the first 1/3 of a second of the track is cut off and there’s a low volume ”pop-pop” and then the track starts playing a second into it. Sometimes there’s a second ”pop-pop” a moment after the track starts playing. Only happens when I start a new album in MQA, or when a playlist/Roon Radio is switching formats from non-MQA to MQA. It’s audible enough that it’s really dstracting, and never being able to haar the first moments of any MQA track is kind of a non-starter for me, no matter how good the sound quality is once I get there. Sometimes this even happens within an album (like within Coltrane/s Blue Train in 24/192 MQA), so I can’t hear the beginning of any of the tracks.

My M500 is SW 1.7 / HW 1.3 / 2020-06-30.

Any help would be very much appreciated. I haven‘t tried the DAC directy from USB on my computer, though I can. However, this is really the signal path I purchased this DAC for so I’m hoping we can make it work - I can’t have a PC in my listening location.

Thank you!

Only through the last month I was able to use MQA with the m500, as I didn't have a Tidal subscription before.

The same happens to me.

My chain towards MQA is the following: Tidal through mConnect app to UPNP -> Raspberry Pi 4 with Moode Audio -> USB to m500

These pops/clicks, usually in a number of two in the first two or three seconds, only happen when a new music starts, and only in >= 24/92 . It does not happen in 16/44. It never happens within an album. And it does not happen when I connect the m500 to a Windows 10 PC with the Tidal app, thus I believe this is the result of the lack of ability of the Raspberry Pi and its software to inform a correct format to the XMOS chip before the sound starts to output. When I hit play, the USB input icon in the m500 does not change to the MQA icon until the first click, and then, after changing to the correct MQA and displaying the sampling rate info, there is usually another click.

It is annoying, but I really think the relation between Roon/Raspberry Pi/Pi software/network etc are to blame here, and not the m500.

I tried Roon for a week or so, with the Raspberry Pi acting as endpoint, and I don't recall having this problem, but I was not able to explore Roon to its full potential, as I had an old notebook acting as core.

I won't complain to the Moode Audio designer, although I think he could do something to mitigate this. He is not particularly fond of the MQA format, and every time someone brings a MQA-related question he goes into hater mode.