Not many reviewers benefit from as many quality amps,dacs& headphones. Probably you can find a few audio showrooms with less gadgets available 🙂 With that much power Smsl reached a very high place in the market and finally the enthusiast can now spend most of his money on headphones &dacs because there is no need for more expensive amps. Great job, man, you are growing in the same way as Smsl😉👍
Great review! In detail, when you can, how does this compare to the Topping A90, since you were particularly impressed with that model? What about it playing the LCD4 or Susvara? How do they both compare?
Hi Marlon. SP400 is better at driving harder loads, there is no question about that. SP400 is close to flawless with Susvara, where A90 is just good with them. The biggest difference was heard in the bass and control department. SP400 sounds almost like a high-end Power amplifier while driving the Susvara (I'm not joking since I'm driving them that way most of the time). If Susvara / HE-6SE / AB-1266 are not on your menu, then A90 and SP400 are more alike than different, both are extremely clean and transparent with a pinch of naturalness and warmth. SP400 had by a hair a better slam and also a wider soundstage with top-end planars, again the difference is not huge, but it's there. If SP400 would have 20 dB or at least 15 dB of analog gain on its high-gain position, I would call it the new giant killer.
@@Soundnews Thank you. that is exactly what I was looking for. Any experience with the M400 DAC? Recently listening to music off Tidal, and looking for a DAC that can do MQA. Again, the main decision is between it and the D90. Hopefully you will review it as well! :)
@@MrHarmsworth SMSL wanted to send a unit over sometime in autumn 2020, then they forgot about it and postponed my review a month later , then a wild fire happened at AKM factory and then M400 remained as forgotten dream for me. BUT, being quite good with electronics and knowing all the internal op-amps and the output stage of the M400, I'm pretty sure it would sound as a warmer version of the Topping D90. D90 was already quite smooth and meaty sounding and M400 should be even warmer and sweeter than that, almost on the level with R2R units.
@@Soundnews I can't wait to hear your Susvara review! Do you have a timeline on when that will be released to the public? Any future plan to get the AB-1266 in for your testing?
@@MWeston2 If I wanted a mediocre Susvara review, I would post it by now (most, if not all Susvara reviewers on UA-cam didn't hear it properly). Problem is finding a perfect amplifier for Susvara is not for the faint of heart. It is a much harder task than I anticipated. HPA4 shuts down with it, sub-bass goes completely missing with TA-30, with SH-9 and A90. SP400 was a much better amp with them (especially while feeding a ~6V signal via XLR). Flux Lab FA-10 with its 16 Watts was the best option, but it also shut down itself several times. Kinki Studio EX-M7 - a power amplifier with 18A rails and 225 Watts Was Shutting Itself OFF with Susvara...So far only Keces S300 with its 45A rails powers fully the Susvara - problem is I also use it with my KEF loudspeakers. Long story short, Susvara review will happen when Flux Lab Acoustics will release their Volot amplifier - specially designed to drive the damn Susvara, it will happen in February.
Hi, really good reviews. Have coupe of question: does it make sense to add money to SP400 or just buy SH9? I will try it to pair with some Hi end Focal headphones (and SU9 DAC) and want to be sure that amp would not cause any problems (so it wouldn't be weak chain). Btw about the DAC, which one you would recommend M400 or SU9? Thanks!
I feel so weird right now, you are totally correct! I had too much ales yesterday. I did some further investigations yesterday and if I'm unlocking the full power of Element X on its XLR ports (it can go as high as 15V on XLR and 7.5V on RCA), SP400 sounded even better with Susvara. SP400 needs at least ~5V (but ideally 6V) to shine bright in a headphone setup.
I wish the answer would be "yes", but SP400 doesn't have any digital inputs or any other ports that could update it. I'm afraid only SMSL could do it in their factories.
One is a DAC/Amp, another one is an amp only....apples vs oranges, but if you need only an amp, then SP400 is considerably more powerful and clearer sounding.
The issue I struggled with the THX line 789 and A90 is the pairing with 1266 Phi TC and HE6SE they sounded thin, lacking sound stage & depth, and were almost sibilant in some areas. Did you feel that the SP400 had similar performance in these areas as the A90? I tend to enjoy a warmer more musical sound signature and less of the crispy analytical variety. Do you think SP400 leans more analytical? I was going to go with Flux FA-10 but I've been waiting the Volot because I want an amp with a fully balanced topology. Maybe SP400 would work instead...
Volot review is incoming in February. I'll be short with you: If you want ONLY a single headphone amp to work with all your headphones, you love an open wide soundstage and some class-A warmth, then Volot is that unit. About your second question: SP400 is considerably warmer to THX-789 and just by a little to A90. The thinness you are experiencing has to do with two things: tonality And output power. A90 and THX-789 can't properly drive the HE6-SE/Susvara, no chance, but SP400 does that better, bass slam is better, stage is wider, but it's still a neutral sounding hp amp, with a minor shift towards naturalness. Now about those 1266 Phi TC....any chance for a loaner? :) Never heard them
@@Soundnews I have the Susvara, the LCD-4, and both the Flux Lab Fa-10 and the Topping A90 among others. My main interest now is in your upcoming review of the Volot, and in weighing how it might compare with the FA-10 in driving the Susvara (and of course the LCD-4, but this is relatively easier to drive, as compared to the Susvara, so I'm less concerned about it). I have to ask though how the SP400 stacks up against the FA-10 in driving the Susvara? Secondly, since you mention the Volot's wide soundstage and class-A warmth, you've made me curious as to how it might stack up against the FA-20 in these specific respects, and also in bass response, that is if you can comment briefly on these without getting ahead of yourself. I am clearly not asking you to do your Volot review here (which would be inappropriate). However, I'm seriously weighing the idea of saving up for a Volot, and would like to begin now if I'm convinced that upgrade from the FA-10 would be worthwhile. I just need to be pointed in the right direction, so to speak. By the way, the DAC in play is the sonnet Morpheus and it pairs fabulously with the FA-10
Love youre reviews i have A90 Dac is D90MQA but im thinking to get that SP400 AMP... Is it worth it with Ananda? Aah, the answer is allready in the comment section but anyway maybe i someday get the Susvara because its my dream to buy/own those detail monsters!
The level of signal gain or lack of it is a major issue for me. Even the SU-9 is not enough. It appears you need the expensive DAC like the SM400 with high output, to drive it which I'm not prepared to spend.
The review is flawless, unlike the amp🙂 Just one question: would you pay the extra from the A90 if someone doesn't own such heavy duty headphones? Or just go with A90 and be happy? Thanks!
^^ 와우!! 서스바라 헤드폰을 충분하게 작동시켜 주는 앰프 입니까??? 와우! 서프라이즈 입니다 ^^ 불과 70만원 밖에 안되는 적은 비용으로 서스바라를 충분히 작동 시키는 앰프라서 아주 아주 큰 매력 입니다 ^^ 이런 고급 정보!!! 소중한 리뷰 감사합니다 ㅠㅠ 형님의 장비 소개 리뷰는 언제나 최고 ^^
This mans body of work is first class, always love your reviews my friend! I love the SP200 (actually bought two!) I'm tempted to grab the SH-9 but this SP400 looks tempting!
Sorry to be off topic but does any of you know a trick to get back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost my account password. I love any tricks you can give me!
@Bryant Kristopher Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out now. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
the DAC that I used has a variable voltage on its XLR out, up to 15V at full power, so I'm pretty sure I squeezed the most out of SP400. M400 is low stock everywhere due to AKM factory fire, nobody could loan me one.
Went to the ASR forums and their review/measurements had the A90 with more power than SP400 at 33 & 50 ohms which is weird given the price point and it being fully balanced.
That is correct, SP400 was mostly made to work with their M400 DAC which spits 5.4 Volts on XLR, with a signal like that SP400 would offer its full power. Element X that I'm using right now can have up to 15V of pure analog gain on its XLR outputs, SP400 sounded marvelous with it.
@@Soundnews the first picture in that review shows them only using 3.9V. I dunno if they kept that the same throughout but that would completely neuter the sp400.
@@Soundnews yeah I was just stating that the numbers they're showing are low because it's being underpowered using only 3.9. I'm using the complete 400 stack. =)
The tiny performance increase and much higher price makes it not worth it over the SMSL SH-9. plus I'm not really into the super powerful/power hungry requirement headphones, don't get me wrong I have headphones that are quiet pricey and require a lot more than a smart phone or dinky amp but nothing like what you got
Not many reviewers benefit from as many quality amps,dacs& headphones. Probably you can find a few audio showrooms with less gadgets available 🙂 With that much power Smsl reached a very high place in the market and finally the enthusiast can now spend most of his money on headphones &dacs because there is no need for more expensive amps. Great job, man, you are growing in the same way as Smsl😉👍
Great review! In detail, when you can, how does this compare to the Topping A90, since you were particularly impressed with that model? What about it playing the LCD4 or Susvara? How do they both compare?
Hi Marlon. SP400 is better at driving harder loads, there is no question about that. SP400 is close to flawless with Susvara, where A90 is just good with them. The biggest difference was heard in the bass and control department. SP400 sounds almost like a high-end Power amplifier while driving the Susvara (I'm not joking since I'm driving them that way most of the time). If Susvara / HE-6SE / AB-1266 are not on your menu, then A90 and SP400 are more alike than different, both are extremely clean and transparent with a pinch of naturalness and warmth. SP400 had by a hair a better slam and also a wider soundstage with top-end planars, again the difference is not huge, but it's there. If SP400 would have 20 dB or at least 15 dB of analog gain on its high-gain position, I would call it the new giant killer.
@@Soundnews Thank you. that is exactly what I was looking for. Any experience with the M400 DAC? Recently listening to music off Tidal, and looking for a DAC that can do MQA. Again, the main decision is between it and the D90. Hopefully you will review it as well! :)
@@MrHarmsworth SMSL wanted to send a unit over sometime in autumn 2020, then they forgot about it and postponed my review a month later , then a wild fire happened at AKM factory and then M400 remained as forgotten dream for me. BUT, being quite good with electronics and knowing all the internal op-amps and the output stage of the M400, I'm pretty sure it would sound as a warmer version of the Topping D90. D90 was already quite smooth and meaty sounding and M400 should be even warmer and sweeter than that, almost on the level with R2R units.
@@Soundnews I can't wait to hear your Susvara review! Do you have a timeline on when that will be released to the public? Any future plan to get the AB-1266 in for your testing?
@@MWeston2 If I wanted a mediocre Susvara review, I would post it by now (most, if not all Susvara reviewers on UA-cam didn't hear it properly). Problem is finding a perfect amplifier for Susvara is not for the faint of heart. It is a much harder task than I anticipated. HPA4 shuts down with it, sub-bass goes completely missing with TA-30, with SH-9 and A90. SP400 was a much better amp with them (especially while feeding a ~6V signal via XLR). Flux Lab FA-10 with its 16 Watts was the best option, but it also shut down itself several times. Kinki Studio EX-M7 - a power amplifier with 18A rails and 225 Watts Was Shutting Itself OFF with Susvara...So far only Keces S300 with its 45A rails powers fully the Susvara - problem is I also use it with my KEF loudspeakers. Long story short, Susvara review will happen when Flux Lab Acoustics will release their Volot amplifier - specially designed to drive the damn Susvara, it will happen in February.
Thank you for the exhaustive review. Do you think it would work well with my SU-9 DAC? Or the A90 would be a better match?
Hi, really good reviews. Have coupe of question: does it make sense to add money to SP400 or just buy SH9? I will try it to pair with some Hi end Focal headphones (and SU9 DAC) and want to be sure that amp would not cause any problems (so it wouldn't be weak chain). Btw about the DAC, which one you would recommend M400 or SU9? Thanks!
Which is better smsl sp400 or k9 pro ess?
For Arya stealth headphones
DId you forgot that doubling the power you get only 3Db gain? So it looks like its correct if SU-9 shows only 2-3 DB less power.
I feel so weird right now, you are totally correct! I had too much ales yesterday. I did some further investigations yesterday and if I'm unlocking the full power of Element X on its XLR ports (it can go as high as 15V on XLR and 7.5V on RCA), SP400 sounded even better with Susvara. SP400 needs at least ~5V (but ideally 6V) to shine bright in a headphone setup.
@@Soundnews No worries mate, you got much reviews on the plate :D All are made at top level.
@@Thevikingcam Sending imaginary beers your way. Thanks man
Could the gain issue be fixed with a firmware update or it is just an hardware topic? Thank you so much
I wish the answer would be "yes", but SP400 doesn't have any digital inputs or any other ports that could update it. I'm afraid only SMSL could do it in their factories.
Mojo 2 vs SP400, strictly for IEMs?
One is a DAC/Amp, another one is an amp only....apples vs oranges, but if you need only an amp, then SP400 is considerably more powerful and clearer sounding.
Hey, would you recommend SP400, Flux Labs FA10 or something else for demanding headphones like HE6se? Any help much appreciated 🍻
Do you think they match well against the A90?
The issue I struggled with the THX line 789 and A90 is the pairing with 1266 Phi TC and HE6SE they sounded thin, lacking sound stage & depth, and were almost sibilant in some areas. Did you feel that the SP400 had similar performance in these areas as the A90? I tend to enjoy a warmer more musical sound signature and less of the crispy analytical variety. Do you think SP400 leans more analytical? I was going to go with Flux FA-10 but I've been waiting the Volot because I want an amp with a fully balanced topology. Maybe SP400 would work instead...
Volot review is incoming in February. I'll be short with you: If you want ONLY a single headphone amp to work with all your headphones, you love an open wide soundstage and some class-A warmth, then Volot is that unit. About your second question: SP400 is considerably warmer to THX-789 and just by a little to A90. The thinness you are experiencing has to do with two things: tonality And output power. A90 and THX-789 can't properly drive the HE6-SE/Susvara, no chance, but SP400 does that better, bass slam is better, stage is wider, but it's still a neutral sounding hp amp, with a minor shift towards naturalness. Now about those 1266 Phi TC....any chance for a loaner? :) Never heard them
@@Soundnews I have the Susvara, the LCD-4, and both the Flux Lab Fa-10 and the Topping A90 among others. My main interest now is in your upcoming review of the Volot, and in weighing how it might compare with the FA-10 in driving the Susvara (and of course the LCD-4, but this is relatively easier to drive, as compared to the Susvara, so I'm less concerned about it). I have to ask though how the SP400 stacks up against the FA-10 in driving the Susvara? Secondly, since you mention the Volot's wide soundstage and class-A warmth, you've made me curious as to how it might stack up against the FA-20 in these specific respects, and also in bass response, that is if you can comment briefly on these without getting ahead of yourself. I am clearly not asking you to do your Volot review here (which would be inappropriate). However, I'm seriously weighing the idea of saving up for a Volot, and would like to begin now if I'm convinced that upgrade from the FA-10 would be worthwhile. I just need to be pointed in the right direction, so to speak. By the way, the DAC in play is the sonnet Morpheus and it pairs fabulously with the FA-10
Love youre reviews i have A90 Dac is D90MQA but im thinking to get that SP400 AMP... Is it worth it with Ananda? Aah, the answer is allready in the comment section but anyway maybe i someday get the Susvara because its my dream to buy/own those detail monsters!
Did you also happen to test the pre-amp capability with active speakers?
I did with passive speakers (KEF Reference 3) and it performed good, but not as good as the HPA4. With active ones it should work the same.
@@Soundnews thanks Sandu!
Great content man !!! 🔥🔥🔥 nothing but facts in a nice and friendly manner. You gained a subscriber my friend :)
The level of signal gain or lack of it is a major issue for me. Even the SU-9 is not enough. It appears you need the expensive DAC like the SM400 with high output, to drive it which I'm not prepared to spend.
The review is flawless, unlike the amp🙂 Just one question: would you pay the extra from the A90 if someone doesn't own such heavy duty headphones? Or just go with A90 and be happy? Thanks!
Check my reply to Marlon, it is all there.
^^ 와우!! 서스바라 헤드폰을 충분하게 작동시켜 주는 앰프 입니까??? 와우! 서프라이즈 입니다 ^^
불과 70만원 밖에 안되는 적은 비용으로 서스바라를 충분히 작동 시키는 앰프라서
아주 아주 큰 매력 입니다 ^^
이런 고급 정보!!! 소중한 리뷰 감사합니다 ㅠㅠ
형님의 장비 소개 리뷰는 언제나 최고 ^^
This mans body of work is first class, always love your reviews my friend! I love the SP200 (actually bought two!) I'm tempted to grab the SH-9 but this SP400 looks tempting!
Sorry to be off topic but does any of you know a trick to get back into an Instagram account?
I somehow lost my account password. I love any tricks you can give me!
@Bryant Kristopher Thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out now.
Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Bryant Kristopher it worked and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much you saved my account :D
@Deshawn Vance no problem :D
Any reason that it was not tested with SMSL M400?
the DAC that I used has a variable voltage on its XLR out, up to 15V at full power, so I'm pretty sure I squeezed the most out of SP400. M400 is low stock everywhere due to AKM factory fire, nobody could loan me one.
@@Soundnews Thanks for detailed reviews and a fast reply to my question! Hope to see a review of the M400 in the future.
Went to the ASR forums and their review/measurements had the A90 with more power than SP400 at 33 & 50 ohms which is weird given the price point and it being fully balanced.
That is correct, SP400 was mostly made to work with their M400 DAC which spits 5.4 Volts on XLR, with a signal like that SP400 would offer its full power. Element X that I'm using right now can have up to 15V of pure analog gain on its XLR outputs, SP400 sounded marvelous with it.
@@Soundnews the first picture in that review shows them only using 3.9V. I dunno if they kept that the same throughout but that would completely neuter the sp400.
@@Artaois13 They lowered it to 3.9 (since is this how they measure all DACs), but M400 outputs 5.4V at full power.
@@Soundnews yeah I was just stating that the numbers they're showing are low because it's being underpowered using only 3.9. I'm using the complete 400 stack. =)
Finally an upgrade for the Sp200 :)
The tiny performance increase and much higher price makes it not worth it over the SMSL SH-9. plus I'm not really into the super powerful/power hungry requirement headphones, don't get me wrong I have headphones that are quiet pricey and require a lot more than a smart phone or dinky amp but nothing like what you got
Good review but Topping A90 has more power in most situations.
I'd actually be upset if they raised the gain without a way to upgrade mine.
What headphone stand is in your video and where can I get it? Thanks.
Silverstone EBA1: www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=490&area=en - there are plenty on Amazon or ebay.