[williamz]

Hi guys,

After more than 10 days of listening to my SM-3 (mine ordered on Mar.1), I've got very deep impression! Actually nothing more needs to say! It's been a gift to me and it's just fantastic!! But...

My SM-3 comes with 3x buffer and 2400uf cap (I am sure it's a gift indeed, Dr. Xin.). I am so satisfied with it and more, I'd like to say "Thank you Xin!", you've created such lovely nice goody that I can enjoy and experience a wonder that never done before.

Now it's burned in for more than 50hours, and sounds more and more open and deep-wide-accurate image, everything is just there you can feel and even touch in the dark background. It's capability to drive is amasing!

My setting is ER4P + S-convert + SM impedance up (110 + 75 ~= 185 ohm), that's one of my discovery of patent pending

= . The source is APE files which are ripped using EAC from and without any loss of my original CD sound track data. The sound cards include a Indigo IO and a Creative Live 5.1 platinum (with a little earphone amp output in its front panel).

My listening CDs include: Secret Garden (XRCD), The Four Seasons (Hybrid SACD), Tutti Orchestral Sampler, The great hits of Caiqin (HDCD, the best kind of female songs/sounding), A Bin Collection (the famous eyes disabled Chinese folk artist), The Fi/Analogue Productions (blues, pop, jazz), Sound of Rhythm (the best Chinese music for the world).

I'd like to say that over all, the shining particularity of SM-3 are its balanced sound response, the bass (!) and the features of course!

Thanks to my ety's which is best for water-pure like response to almost the whole band of 20-20khz, making it famous for its clarity, transparency ... public praise. However before, without SM, it sounds just a little lack of punchy, thickness with my relatively "poor" creative card - but with Indigo IO, ety's still glories in its nature. What makes the sounding really shine is, finally, the SM-3 with Indigo IO or even with the creative. Indigo without SM-3 is less tight in bass, etc.

I would say that I always prefer to leave the bass switch up, except for some rare CDs. Enabling the bass pump does only good to the sounding with SM-3, to my surprise, the bass now becomes much more punchy and sound image of the bass is much more clear such that you can not only feel the surface trembling of the drum but also hear the surface's "scratch" with every hit! Very dynamic. This is totally different experience from that of some intentionally colored bass. No! This is so natural bass indeed that I've never heard with such kind of little beauty.

Adding S-convert line + SM impedance up (110 + 75 ~= 185 ohm) to ER4P will push the sound stage some distance away from where you are and at the same time, the sound image becomes more clear and thick and comfortable to listen.

Adding only S-convert or SM impedance up is nearly the same good, but seems more airy (good thing) and sound stage more close to you. Both ER4s and ER4s+ (my invention again

) are so good. One short, I am not so likely to live with ER4p without extra impedance -- too monitor like sounding and looser bass -- just my thoughts and taste. Note, when listening to "Igor Stravinsky , Berceuse And Finale" (Tutti Orchestral Sampler), the soundstage is so hall like and the drum will shake your head, ...... as well as easily break your ER4p into pieces. So be careful with the volume nob, etc.

The SM-3 offers the balanced sound replay. I don't see any colored or over stressed band there. With the help of the bass pump setting, the sounding only comes to true live.

The features are nice too. I can leave the 8 cells to be recharged in the SM closure. And shining again, the unique feature being the power consumption - long battery life means continuous happy and less pain. I can easily run SM-3 with my amp OPA627s for more than 20 hours listening! It's true extremely low battery consumption design, and my hat off again to Dr. Xin.

At this "review" close, one thing I noticed is: the AC power adapter that comes with MY SM-3 does have some kind of defects, have it plugged in you can always hear tiny humming, very subtle, but it is there no matter what configuration I've tried, meaning with/without batteries in, 9v or 12v setting, ER4S+ or ER4s ..., etc., whatever. Maybe I'd like Xin to fix it up, but because of SM-3's long life battery power usage and recharging feature, I see no use currently for listening with AC adapter.

Again thanks to the SM-3 creator - mother or father

.

The last thing I would say is, I live so near to the shop that offers those various Chinese earphone amps which are talked about a lot in this forum. I can easily get one or compare with between them with many very good earphones. So I'd think to do something more

william

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by williamz The last thing I would say is, I live so near to the shop that offers those various Chinese earphone amps which are talked about a lot in this forum. I can easily get one or compare with between them with many very good earphones. So I'd think to do something more

Welcome to Head-Fi, William. Sorry about your wallet!

Congratulations on your new amp. I'm looking forward to hearing a Super Macro 3, myself.

 

[jamato8]

I have read that Xin has fixed the humming problem with the charger hooked up. Have you compared the V3 to another amp and what opamps are you using?

John

 

[robk]

You can read it agin right here. No humming while charging the batteries.

rob

 

[williamz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 I have read that Xin has fixed the humming problem with the charger hooked up. Have you compared the V3 to another amp and what opamps are you using? John

Hi John,

I don't have much time with other amps for now. But right after I got SM-3 in hand, I did listened with my default OPA227, also rolled to NE5534, but only for a very short time listening with either of them. My feel if I remember right, was that the NE5534 was really shining in sound silk smoothness from low to high -- it DID leave room there, which might make you think that it must have some nice potential. The 227 left me not much impression because of very short time listening.

Hey you know, owning so many amp ics (all models on Xin's list) and rolling is no easy deal as to choose one or anther

. You have to spend much nore time comparison too.



william

 

[williamz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robk You can read it agin right here. No humming while charging the batteries. rob

Hi rob,

Mine is not humming charging related. My ac adapter just humming once plugged in and i turn on my SM, very subtle but continuous - no matter i turn volume up or down, with sound input or not, with battery in or not, 12v or not ... whatever. Also tried different power outlets in the rooms.

I believe mine is only the individual case since there's no any other reported similar case. Anyway, I don't care much. I can easily find another AC adapter to replace (with myself modifying the plug maybe).


william

 

[robk]

So does your amp hum with no adapter, but just the battreries?

rob

 

[williamz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robk So does your amp hum with no adapter, but just the battreries? rob

sound with battery only is perfect - if no other word can describe.

BTW, I've done a little research, now I think I've uncover the true...

edit: coming soon ....

william

 

[goto2003]

What the true is?

 

[williamz]

Hi guys,

I said I would do a little research...

Today after a quick purchase from a local store, I got a 2 and a 1:

the 2: one 1000ma AC/DC adapter, model name: xm-100db , one 500ma AC/DC adpter, model name: xj-988, both with multipurpose plugs.

the 1: one power source cleaner supporting 3000w output, which is the best one among the hifier's recommendations in China. The builder is Mr. Wu Gang who also gives the birth to his low-end headphone amp G&W TW-J1 (http://www.av-2000.com/shop/spjj.asp?ProductNO=606). He also built his hi-end headphone amp (http://www.av-2000.com/shop/spjj.asp?ProductNO=215) .

Then I compared the Coby, xj-988, and xm-1000db with all of them plugged into the source cleaner (true hi-end). Guess what ?

The humming was not more and not less than before! But, ... the comparison does unveil something that has been a lesson to me.

The result is also very interesting and, very very tricky

.

Let's begin with clarifying something -

Firstly, let's do not talk about humming with batteries powering the amp

... let's start focusing on AC/DC adapters:

Secondly, The humming is nothing to do with sound input or volume (nob) or the base pump or the gain.

Third, my batteries are near full. Adapters are set to 12v to test at first. The room power supply is 220v AC.

And the humming is described as loud -> clear -> subtle -> hard to hear/be noticed -> (disappear/gone/feel no humming).

The following is the monitoring with ER4p in ER4s+ setting. If someone says there's no humming ... -- I hope it's monitored with the good enough noise canceling rig. I tend to believe that only noise canceling earphones can do this monitoring.

Here are:

1. With the batteries in the SM-3:

Coby, it is the most noisy one humming all the way and I cannot bear with this humming... no one could. With er4s+ (see my review) setting, the humming still can be heard clearly, then after a while (maybe done charging?) becomes subtle, then even more subtle, hard to hear, but won't disappear - at this time, switch to 9v then humming can hardly be noticed, to 6v then it's gone (feel no humming).

xm-1000db, the second noisy one. Only slightly better than Coby, but when set to 9v, it's gone (feel no humming) (with er4s+).

xj-988, the one with best performance. Fully usable. That is, with ER4p setting (no extra impedance, no s-line), at 12v, humming is already hardly noticed if not subtle, at 9v (or at 12v and with extra impedance or s-line) you can safely think it is gone.

The above are about 30+ minutes listening.

2. Without batteries in the SM-3, 12v:

Coby, it's the best, very tricky. Completely no humming.

xm-1000db, it's the same best!. No humming at all.

xj-988, this time it is the loser. Only with er4s+ setting, the humming is gone.

It takes more than 1 hour for the above tests.


Here comes the conclusion as the research outcome:
(Xin, you owe me one newly designed AC/DC adapter

)

1. Considering the above 2 (Without batteries used...), we see that no humming with 2 of the adapters in the situation, which means at least one point -- the humming is nothing to do with the house power supply.

2. Considering all the above tests and especially the 1 (with batteries in SM-3), we see that the humming in fact comes from both the AC/DC adapter and the SM-3's charging/power supply circuit. It's the synthetical effect on the SM-3 output circuit.

edit: 3. These cheap (my new comers are beyond/far more cheap

) AC/DC adapters should have ground line. Without the ground line, the source cleaner can help little. Any AC/DC adapters without a ground line, should it be put into hi-fi or mi-fi use case, would be considered as kidding or as no serious hi-fi.

All in all, I'll keep the xj-988 and hope Xin to show some light.



william