[Makiah S]

Schiit Vali 1. My Alo CV5 also works well with them imo.



I'm partial to smaller amps but always get the feeling the T1 was designed for huge tube amps playing compressed music.

My source is a fanless Win10 PC that I hand-built just for audio. Then I use a Soekris dac1101 fed into an iTube and Schiit Loki before the SP200. Just placed order for an iTube2 and waiting to confirm order for a Metrum Flint dac.

I think the thing your hearing is the lack of distortion, Tubes do introduce distortion but it's pleasent an often makes music sound more "real" as long as it isn't excessive. Yes SP 200 is quite lean or dry. Very low distortion so it won't have the same presentaion. Whether or not you find that lack of distortion tolerable and desireable depends on your prefferance. I'll also say ALO Amps have a more natural sound like tubes. I pulled out my ALORX MKB3 today thinking I'd like it with Aeon 2 Closed... turns out I added to much wetness to A2C and I still preffered SMSL SP200

An the Beyerheadphones I feel do nice with tubes, I loved my DT880 on Vali 1

I don't think I have tried my Vali 2 with them yet. Have to put that on the list.

Shane D

Vali 1 I really like! Vali 2 I respect but was never a fan of,

 

[gr8soundz]

I think the thing your hearing is the lack of distortion, Tubes do introduce distortion but it's pleasent an often makes music sound more "real" as long as it isn't excessive. Yes SP 200 is quite lean or dry. Very low distortion so it won't have the same presentaion. Whether or not you find that lack of distortion tolerable and desireable depends on your prefferance. I'll also say ALO Amps have a more natural sound like tubes. I pulled out my ALORX MKB3 today thinking I'd like it with Aeon 2 Closed... turns out I added to much wetness to A2C and I still preffered SMSL SP200

An the Beyerheadphones I feel do nice with tubes, I loved my DT880 on Vali 1



Vali 1 I really like! Vali 2 I respect but was never a fan of,

Enjoying the SP200 too much to think about it. Perhaps the T1.2 isn't warm enough for such a neutral SS amp.

I get the impression that older, TOTL headphones like the T1 (designed a decade or so ago) seem to be even pickier with modern amps. I mostly use them when playing compressed recordings (that have yet to be remastered). By my ears only the T1.2 is able to 'decompress' the audio and make it sound right.

Never tried the Vali 2. Love the tube sound but don't tube roll and try to avoid exposed glass so I stuck with the original Vali. Tried using a much larger 20+ pound tube amp which did thicken the sound of the T1.2 but the Vali certainly held its own by comparison. In the end, felt the 10x higher cost/weight/size wasn't worth it.

 

[tim0chan]

Just got mine. Finally understand what MOAR power can bring to a system. Gain is a little high for iems but can be attenuated via passive preamp that I have ordered. It's a very effortless but honest amp. If U feed it shiit then that's what you'll get out of it. Monoprice liquid spark is more forgiving. Guess I'll have to get some sort of tube amp for my poorly recorded stuff.
Side note: the LED is so damn bright and the knob needs replacing

 

[Makiah S]

Enjoying the SP200 too much to think about it. Perhaps the T1.2 isn't warm enough for such a neutral SS amp.

I get the impression that older, TOTL headphones like the T1 (designed a decade or so ago) seem to be even pickier with modern amps. I mostly use them when playing compressed recordings (that have yet to be remastered). By my ears only the T1.2 is able to 'decompress' the audio and make it sound right.

Never tried the Vali 2. Love the tube sound but don't tube roll and try to avoid exposed glass so I stuck with the original Vali. Tried using a much larger 20+ pound tube amp which did thicken the sound of the T1.2 but the Vali certainly held its own by comparison. In the end, felt the 10x higher cost/weight/size wasn't worth it.

Mmhm Vali 1s nice for exactly that,

Just got mine. Finally understand what MOAR power can bring to a system. Gain is a little high for iems but can be attenuated via passive preamp that I have ordered. It's a very effortless but honest amp. If U feed it shiit then that's what you'll get out of it. Monoprice liquid spark is more forgiving. Guess I'll have to get some sort of tube amp for my poorly recorded stuff.
Side note: the LED is so damn bright and the knob needs replacing

Led I don't mind, and I also would like to see a better pot with a different taper.

 

[tim0chan]

Mmhm Vali 1s nice for exactly that,



Led I don't mind, and I also would like to see a better pot with a different taper.

The LED is fine as long as you're not looking direct but in a dim room it's no bueno. Maybe we can try replacing the pot ala DIY?

 

[Makiah S]

The LED is fine as long as you're not looking direct but in a dim room it's no bueno. Maybe we can try replacing the pot ala DIY?

If I have to open it up and start doing some DIY changes I'd rather build something myself... it's really just a small complaint of mine and maybe not something every one will even notice

 

[Makiah S]

Phew ok my full review is up!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/s-m-s-l-sp200-thx-888-amp.24028/reviews#review-22944

Alsooooo here's a nice pairing

 

[tim0chan]

Phew ok my full review is up!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/s-m-s-l-sp200-thx-888-amp.24028/reviews#review-22944

Alsooooo here's a nice pairing

Could I get more details on that particular pairing? I'm considering getting that hp

 

[Makiah S]

Could I get more details on that particular pairing? I'm considering getting that hp

It's good lol, Aeon 2 C doesn't have any glaring tonality issues imo that need to be addressed, a clean well voiced headphone is matched nicely by a clean powerful amp! I will say at the moment I like Aeon 2C the most with SMSL SP200

 

[tim0chan]

It's good lol, Aeon 2 C doesn't have any glaring tonality issues imo that need to be addressed imo, a clean well voiced headphone is matched nicely by a clean amp! I will say at the moment I like Aeon 2C the most with SMSL SP200!

How about dynamics and speed? Does it have enough slam? Can the HP keep up with the smsl?

 

[Makiah S]

How about dynamics and speed? Does it have enough slam? Can the HP keep up with the smsl?

You've got that one backwards! An yea dynamic contrast is better on this unit than the previous, and yes it's certainly slammin! The amp is more than enough to do A2C justice, I wouldn't really advise running A2C on anything less than SP200. The issues I had with RME ADI 2/Atom on HD600 will even MORE apparent when driving something a little more difficult like A2C

 

[arielext]

My Classic's were okay. I have not tried the T5p.2's yet as I don't think it will be a good match.

So, far (only a few days), my results are:
1) Grado GH2's - my favourite headphones. The combo sounded a little bright to me. Not a good combo.
2) Meze 99 Classic's - my go-to mobile headphones and a Very nice all rounder. Nothing special at all. Clean and clear, but didn't grab me.
3) Senn HD58X's - my cheapest and most surprising headphone. They sounded great together. A nice mix.
4) Shure 1540's - a new addition that I am still trying to figure out. Not a HUGE fan at this point, but with this amp, a very nice combo, but of course limited being a closed back. A few hours today and I will use this rig again tomorrow for some jazz.

I have been reluctant to plug in the T5p.2's as I tend to find them, sometimes, a little bright or dry. I respect the headphones immensely for their skills and abilities, but have never loved them. I suspect these two together will be a little grating, but I will try them by the weekend.

Going off topic a bit, I have started to love the T5's when hooked up to my LCX. It seems to soften their edge and give them a little soul. That was a surprise to me.

I should get through all of them by this weekend. Then with a good amount of experience listening to this amp I will go through the HP's again for maybe an hour each and see if my opinions have changed. It definitely sounds different than all my other amps and I am sure that I have some built-in biases.

Shane D

I appreciate the work you put into this. We share some gear like the T5p and SU-8 and I was wondering what the SP-200 can put to the table. I'll wait for your results of your test weekend

 

[gr8soundz]

Phew ok my full review is up!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/s-m-s-l-sp200-thx-888-amp.24028/reviews#review-22944

Nice review.

I'll be ordering some Pangea power cables as well. No hum in my system though so not expecting giant leap in performance. I know from experience cables can make a difference and their 14SE mkII cables seem like good value.

I've tried a couple SMSL amps and have yet to see one with a great volume knob. No doubt one way they keep costs down and I anticipated the same here since the SP200 is over $100 less than the other THX amps (despite having better 888 internals).

 

[Cat Music]

After reading all the comments, I can come to the conclusion that SP200 is indicated for headphones that are not bright, dry or thin, on the contrary it seems to combine well with headphones preferably with warm sound signature, another solution could be to combine it With an DAC AKM (with a warmer sound), it seems that it will not get along with the DAC ESS (cooler or flat sound), I will take advantage of the SP200 when the topping D90 is presented (with AK 4499), I hope it is a good combo!

 

[Shane D]

After reading all the comments, I can come to the conclusion that SP200 is indicated for headphones that are not bright, dry or thin, on the contrary it seems to combine well with headphones preferably with warm sound signature, another solution could be to combine it With an DAC AKM (with a warmer sound), it seems that it will not get along with the DAC ESS (cooler or flat sound), I will take advantage of the SP200 when the topping D90 is presented (with AK 4499), I hope it is a good combo!

That has been my experience so far, but we all hear differently and I am hesitant to put that out there as a "fact". Just an opinion.

Shane D