Finally! A Sub $200 DAC/AMP that does it All! The SMSL DL200 is a Masterpiece...
Вставка
- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- SMSL DL200 bit.ly/456jmIs
SMSL DL200 (Amazon) amzn.to/465TYnv
Thumbnail background by dim-studio on freepic
check out my other channel / channel
Enter to Win free hifi! subscribe, like, follow me / cheapaudioman
and fill out this form forms.gle/w6qbPKGPFGUKiasX9
Intro graphics by johnvilardi.com
Support the Channel! Shop on Amazon amzn.to/3W8vsgK
Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
Join the best hifi community out there! / cheapaudioman
TRY ROON roonlabs.com/r/RTmYWdCP9kitqo...
Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF
Amazon Unlimited Music Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9
Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH
amzn.to/3GkNaop
CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K
apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P
massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5
Amazon Unlimited Music Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9
Tidal Deal bit.ly/3fQvNkq
www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman
High Res Music Streaming for FREE!!!!
Amazon Music Unlimited Free Trial amzn.to/3fiiMPC
Test Track Playlist:
music.amazon.com/user-playlis...
Satanic Panic Playlist:
music.amazon.com/user-playlis...
Leg Warmers Playlist
music.amazon.com/user-playlis...
cheapaudioman
If you click on this link and sign up for a free trial I will receive a small referral fee.
If you use any of my links to purchase products I will receive a small commission on the sale of that item. Won’t cost you any more to purchase with the link.
Recommended Streamer
WIIM Mini amzn.to/33CL99w
Bluesound Node shop-links.co/cgGiqJ2UFIO
Recommended Speaker List
Around $100 (These prices will fluctuate between $75 - $150)
Sony SSCS5 - Lively amzn.to/3pZNnGk
Neumi BS5 -Neutral amzn.to/3q0SR3B
Elac BS41 amzn.to/3SBmEgq
Around $200
Emotiva Airmotiv B1+ - Crystal Clear and Punchy emotiva.com?aff=9
Jamo Concert howl.me/cf295uVQJA0
Elac Debut b5.2 - Neutral amzn.to/2WPNQxw
JBL Stage A130 - Neutral/Great All Arounder at $179 the best value amzn.to/3t7gOHe
Around $400
Emotiva B2+ emotiva.com?aff=9
Jamo C93ii Bit - Boosted on Top howl.me/cf295uVQJA0
Q Acoustics 3030i - Neutral with Punch - amzn.to/2OQkpLo
Around $500
SVS Prime bit.ly/2LozJgF
Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 bit.ly/2ZckoD9
Wharfedale Denton 80th amzn.to/3Sv8RIq
Around $600
Elac Uni-Fi UB5.2 - Neutral amzn.to/3s3srPG
Elac Debut Reference - Buttery but Detailed amzn.to/39bt6WC
Polk Reserve R100/200 howl.me/cf29UeQAWsD
Aperion Novus - Neutral and probably the best desktop speaker one can get $599 bit.ly/2Q1H9rW
Aperion Novus Open Box $449 bit.ly/3us8zGx
Wharfedale Diamonds Lush and Detailed amzn.to/3aBAso0 Come as singles
Recommended Amp List
Under $100
Aiyima A07 - Neutral and Full amzn.to/3g9YLNf
Fosi Audio V3 - Extremely Clean - Audiophile Sound (Best Amp under $250) amzn.to/3rhrpDL
Fosi Audio TB10D amzn.to/43cJtwh
Fosi Audio BT20a Pro amzn.to/3r8pgdH
Around $130
Aiyima T9 amzn.to/3F8eOb6
Around $250
SMSL DA-9 Balanced Amp amzn.to/34SdbLs
Around $400
Emotiva TA1 - DAC, Phono Stage, Pre Outs - Balanced and Tasty emotiva.com?aff=9
Recommended DACs
Geshelli Labs J2 geshelli.com/product/jnog2/
SMSL SU8s amzn.to/2SWTGiw
Denafrips Ares 2 www.denafrips.com/ares
Subs
Emotiva SE8 emotiva.com?aff=9
Emotiva SE12 emotiva.com?aff=9
SVS SB1000 Pro bit.ly/3scmwsc - Розваги
SMSL DL200 bit.ly/456jmIs
SMSL DL200 (Amazon) amzn.to/465TYnv
Thumbnail background by dim-studio on freepic
check out my other channel www.youtube.com/@cheapwatchman_official
Enter to Win free hifi! subscribe, like, follow me instagram.com/cheapaudioman
and fill out this form forms.gle/w6qbPKGPFGUKiasX9
Intro graphics by johnvilardi.com
Support the Channel! Shop on Amazon amzn.to/3W8vsgK
Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
Join the best hifi community out there! patreon.com/cheapaudioman
TRY ROON roonlabs.com/r/RTmYWdCP9kitqouBa5pcIw
Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF
Amazon Unlimited Music Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9
Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt
Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH
amzn.to/3GkNaop
CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K
apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P
ahhh.... so i have bought MuseHiFi M3 ii
Fantastic job as always Randy! Thanks for the review. I already have a J2, zen dac, and xduoo mt602 on my desk along with a sabaj amp for the jamo s802s, but I still wanna add this one in somehow, but I won’t, probably 😊
Kind of a big foot print for a desktop DAC / headphone amp but it looks nice. I'd be really cool to see SMSL come out with a DAC pre-amp with more I/O and matching power amp to to stick under it to make a minimalist separates stack.
Long time no see Cheapaudioman
I'm amazed that you have now 200k+ subscribers. You helped the Cheapaudiomen around the world because of your reviews. You deserved it.
Thanks so much!!!
I have this one, although I’m not taking advantage of the proposition value… I have them connected to a pair of Tannoy active monitors and the improvement is more than noticeable, mainly in the lows and gain. I have also connected a subwoofer. I’m very happy with it.
como conectas el sub?, estoy pensando en adquirir este dac junto a unas tannoy gold 8, y me pregunto como conectar un sub para reforzar.
@@homecloud3757 uso las salidas balanceadas Jack TRS a XLR para los monitores y las salidas RCA para el subwoofer (derecha y izquierda aunque el sub va en mono). Funciona.
What about the FiiO K7? How do these two compare? That should be another decent affordable combo in that price range.
Very high praise for this product. Well done review.
Question: my idea is to listen to music stored in hard disk through digital audio player like AIYIMA DP01 what is better solution to pair that audio player ? DAC DL200 and Amplifier AL200 - only amplifier AL200 or new entry AO300 ? have you PROS and CONS ?
Any other suggestion or combo is welcome. Thank you for your help.
I was waiting for this review. Now I am listening to it on my DL200
I played with my filters a lot! Only thing it seems to change the sibilance and overall focus (slightly). There’s only three options. Took an eon to notice. Enjoy your videos of the high end stuff, very entertaining. Appreciate that you keep it real.
If your budget is 200 or lower... Avoid anything SMSL! I've had three (yes 3!) DL200's within a few weeks. The first one was pretty much DOA, the second one was fine except for one of the channels of the balanced 4.4mm out not working. Three times a charm? Nah, SMSL quality issues. So the third unit worked fine and I nearly got use to having it on my desk. Until... It developed a weird interference when streaming over bluetooth. No matter what I connected it too, how far I moved it away from anything that could interfere, it had a very noticeable hum on any bluetooth source I tried to feed it with. So it went back and I can sincerely recommend anyone to look elsewhere. Yes, it's nice and good value when it works, but there are just too many QC issues to make it worth your time. Oh and yes, SMSL reached out with a solution when the third unit was a dud too... I was allowed to opt for a 15 dollar refund if I kept the defective unit. Not sure whether they intended to offend, but seriously, what were they thinking?!
I bought a unit for 160$ during the 11.11 sales and no issues so far. I can tell qc isnt perfect as the metal body on the front of the unit has some flex but other than that it seems to work perfectly on all inputs/outputs. Not sure if I got lucky or you got really unlucky. My previous dac the SU-1 also worked perfectly. As other cheap dacs it makes some popping sounds when changing tracks but I think thats acceptable for the price.
Best alternative please? My DAC died on me somehow and I need a replacement. I plug my DAC to an amp and use for audio and movies. Thanks!
I just bought the AO300 as I wanted to upgrade my faithful SMSL AD18 and what a disappointment with the AO300.
The sound is flat! No matter what setting I tweak it doesn’t improve. Don’t know how to call it as I’m not an audiophile but when you are in the center of the speakers you hear the instruments on one side and the other, it’s called image? Well, this unit lacks that. Totally flat sound. I sent it back to Amazon
I spent 2 days trying to make it work and nothing, still the same
Good to know
@@user-de6mk1gf4wi know this is old, but now that you used the DL200 for a few months, can you say that DL200 definitely sound better the SU-1?
Randy, you should have a seminar for us audiophiles that are into vintage equipment but are curious about this new stuff. :)
Another great find!!! Thanks Randy! 👍🤞👍
Hi Randy, I have bought bluesound node 2i, Hifman Edition XS, and now SMSL DL200 by viewing and subscribing to your channel. Thank you for your reviews and recommendations!
I assume the Headphone Amp will be good for a Sennheiser HD650 300Ohm ? Or would it make sense to Use SMSL DL200 as DAC plus a separate Headphone Amp ?
@Cheapaudioman Thanks for all the videos and tips. After watching numerous videos by you and others on the SMSL DL200, I went ahead and purchased one from Amazon. I'm hooking it up to a Lenovo X1 Carbon Thinkpad (Gen 3) USB 3.0 to the SMSL DL200 to a Denon AVR-4802 RCA jacks. I've tried the phono in, LDP in, and the VAUX in. I have set the output to Pure Direct. I have to be doing something wrong as they all sound awful. Any suggestions for correcting the issue? I'd sincerely appreciate some guidance. Thank you.
I bought this for my computer for music and games, using open back headphones. Sennheiser 598 and Philops X2HRs. Looking forward to diving in as itll be my first DAC and first Amp.
can you control the volume from windows?
@@G_unz yes but it won't change the volume on the unit itself. You will want to keep windows at 100 percent volume and adjust the volume on the unit itself.
How has it been ?
I really love your job! Thank you keep going !!!!
Hi Randy, thanks for this interesting review. Talking about low impedance headphones, two years ago you reviewed the Verum 1, an 8 Ohm beast.
I was wondering how this amp would drive them.
I hope you still have the Verum 1🙂
Hi, great review, I purchased the AL200 on your advice and it’s wonderful so thank you❤. Do you think the DL200 DAC for my speakers will provide a noticeably better sound, in terms of staging, imaging, separation, etc. compared to a Schiit Modi 3+?
Does the output switch automatically when you plug/unplug the headphone? Or do you need to select it using the remote?
I forgot to mention I love your reviews and appreciate all you do.
Were you able to get MQA above 16/44.1 on the Wiim? The reason I ask I thought they were having problems updating their app since Tidal has updated to FLAC and everything was being down sampled to 16/44.1 for 3rd party apps. I don't know if that was for all files or just FLAC?
Since you mentioned that it needs drivers to do the usb 2.0 to go above the 24-96 limit, does that mean that ios devices are limited on this device to 24-96? Or does it only need drivers when using windows?
Dammit Randy... My first impulse was to hit the buy link but I took a minute to think about what this would do to our shared computer space. We have a six-foot by three foot table with her at one end and me at the other. With the monster Brother laser printer sitting in the middle and the Zen Dac II sharing that space, this device would just over power that area.
The good news is that the house we built will be ready to move into sometime this winter and that computer center will expand greatly. so yeah. I'm a-gonna buy this. My partner loves to tinker in any kind of settings so she'll get that figured out.
So thanks again for making me spend money, man. You are the best in the business at doing so. ;-0 I am really looking forward to using this.
This might be the perfect replacement for my outdoor two channel theatre setup! Replacing my old FiiO A1 chip amp.
Ughhhh I just bought the SMSL M300SE based on the review here, and this seems like the same but more! Sigh, it never ends lol!! I do wish you did more DAC testing though - that would have been really really good to know.
And I totally agree on the analog input comment. I feel a DL200SE version in the future lol
Would this DAC be a good solution to connect via USB to a laptop and pair it with the SMSL SH-6 to drive my Drop+Hifiman HE-X4 headphones, JBL LSR305 monitors and a BIC F12 powered sub? The idea is laptop usb to dac, dac trs to monitors, dac rca out to sh-6 amp to power headphones that need 25ohm & 91 dB/mW (DL200 only 16ohm) and send a single rca out signal to LFE on the sub with onboard crossover. Or is there a cheaper Dac out there that can do the same for less?
Just in my price wheelhouse, but do I 'need' it? Oh no, feed the monkey on my back, or starve it a bit longer?😂 Thanks for the helpful review and tempting me again. You are the voice in my head that drives my FOMO syndrome. 😂, but I can't stay away. Take care, brother.
So I'm debating between this and the M300SE. Either will go into the Fosi ZA3 (one for now, maybe two down the road) and then B1+'s. I really like the ZA3 because it has two inputs, one for my record player pre-amp and the TRS/Balanced for the DAC. So my DAC has to have balanced out. I have a CD player via coax and a laptop on USB C.
I'm not seeing the value in getting this, $50 more, but maybe I'm missing something? Just DAC chip? I don't care about M300SE only have a 3.5 out instead of RCA as I'll be using balanced solely.
Looking forward to a 2023 DAC tier ranking.
Though I don't smoke, I've got a drawer full of matchbooks on hand in case eight track tape makes a come back. Kindly add me to the Sith Audio product alert list so I won't miss out! Thanks!! Wondering if you can change the settings on the DL200 from the front panel for the times the remote has taken a submersible dive into the sofa.
Another excellent review by the superb CAM ! Was wondering how the sound stage was with the Edition XS, as I have been patiently waiting for an affordable DAC Amp to drive them.
I'm wondering if you can answer a question. I've been trying to figure out how to mate my TV (which has no RCA outs) to my vintage receiver (a Marantz 2270 or my Marantz 2230). At the end of the day, I want to have remote volume control, the ability to stream through my TV or through my computer (and maybe from my phone by bluetooth, though I can do that to the TV and then through the Marantz).
Have been researching DAC options. I have an old Schiit Modi but it's the old one without optical in so it won't do the job. I ruled out the newer Schiit because it has no remote. So I was thinking maybe the Toping E50 or E70 (i don't think you've reviewed the latter) and then I saw this SMSL. Thing is I don't need a headphone amp. The Marantz receivers have great headphone amps. I'm not clear if one can use the SMSL DL200 as a stand-alone DAC, inputting the signal into the Marantz (as clearly it's not designed to take in an amplified signal).
I can go straight from the TV to the Marantz through the headphone jack but it doesn't sound great that way. It sounds better when I run sound from my Macbook Pro to the Marantz through a very cheap DAC (that should be upgraded) but I'm sure both TV and computer would benefit from a better DAC. I just can't figure out which one to go with. I don't mind spending a bit more to get better quality but I want the remote volume control so I don't think the Geshelli Labs J2 that you speak so highly of is the way to go. And I'm not an audiophile who notices super subtle differences.
Given my needs, what would you suggest? If you take the time to address my question, I really appreciate it. Thanks.
Google optical to rca adapter
Wouldn't I lose the ability to control volume from the TV? Also, how do I know if the DAC is any good?
@@Parallax982
By googling reviews of optical to rca converters, or by just buying and trying. Many of these converters only cost a few bucks.
Don't expect CAM - with 200k subscribers - to have the time to personaly guide you through these type of processes.
ahoy good sir, great review, im looking into getting a new dac/amp but its another smsl, the ao300 but i cannot find a review or anything in depth about it and it looks real good for about 250. dont suppose it has crossed yours or anyones path, and thoughts vs the dl200
Hi there Randy, im triying to upgrade my desktop system, but i see a big footprint here, how would it compare with something like the Fiio k5 or k7?
I didn't know my Edifier MR4s were that good until I plugged them in to the DL200's TRS output. Unbelievable.
Great Video! review suggestion of the Schiit Vidar 2, I have this amp and absolutely love it!
Thanks Randy
Thanks for your update about SITH Audio.
Randy, I’d love for you to do a review of the Arylic BP50. I imagine others have brought this up, recently. It’s what you wanted - the B50, but only a DAC; no amp section. If you do review it, please compare the sound quality to the S.M.S.L SU-1.
Cheers!
Stuck in a decision between smsl a300 and d9 amp, plan on feeding with Aiyima a3 pro preamp with ge5654 tubes, not interested in monoblock function. Can anyone help me
Yaaa Im glad you reviewed it. I've had it for around 3 weeks now. Personally I like F6 filter the best. This is replacing a Topping DX3 Pro+ that I had to return due to a faulty display. The DX3 Pro+ never impressed me, the DL200 blew me away from the get go.
Funnything... I made a mistake doing a review on ASR for this compared to the DX3 Pro+. Now I get why there's so much hate for that community. Theres some great people with really good insight, the rest just want to argue and poke holes in anything you say.
Wow.... I can't believe ASR removed my review, all my replys helping people, and your link to this video. All because the attack dogs wanted to argue that there's no way I could hear a difference between the DX3 Pro+ and the DL200. I've owned both and gave my honest impressions.
What audio forums do you all recommend for hobbyist?
@@shawnhitchcock7541the post you did on the DL200 thread helped me decide to get the dl200. I wanted the features of the dx3+ but wanted it to be better, less hard to listen to. This hits all the bells and then some. Excited to get it and try my first dac and amp.
@@ChiblingThanks my friend, how do you like it? I'm still loving it and never regretted sending back my DX3 Pro+.
@@shawnhitchcock7541 I like it a lot. Perfect for gaming and synthwave which is what I use it for mostly haha.
Hi, I have the DX3 Pro+ as my first dac amp and was wondering what makes the DL200 better than that?
Hey I'm planning of buying my first speaker/headphone setup. I'm mostly listening from CD (maybe SACD in the future), lossless files from my laptop, records and bluetooth from my phone. I'm wondering if it was possible to plug an avr to a headphone amp in any way possible.
I was planning on getting a Denon 760h AVR, but there isn't a RCA pre-out, only sub.
You should be able to take the optical or coaxial digital out from the avr to the headphones... At least for 2 channel audio, I'm not sure how multichannel would work.
I've got the big brother SMSL DO400 DAC/AMP. I love the thing.
I'm thinking of getting one of these. Is there a significant improvement of sound quality over the WIIM Pro Plus? Have they sorted out the QC issues?
I've been looking for a DAC/AMP and like the SMSL... I'll add this to my wishlist and see if it hits the Prime Big Deal Day here in a week or so
Thanks!
Topping E30 II has 5 filters you can choose from by pressing the FIR button on the remote. To begin with, E30 II is not harsh at all, the Velvet series AKMs it comes with are, well... velvety. But you can tame the sound even more if you need so by choosing the right filter for the right audio material.
How does this compare to a su-6/sh-6 stack? I just bought the 6 stack used for 190 € shipping included
I have what is probably a dumb question, but how does output switching work with this? If I have the DL200 (or any other SMSL combo unit) and I am playing music through the DAC to a separate speaker amp and then plugin headphones, will the music switch from the line-out to the headphones, or do I have to go through the SMSL device settings and switch the output from line-out to headphones? I cannot seem to find an answer to this anywhere, nor have any reviews shown it.
WOW!!! Sub DAC is what I need thanks for your amazing information you are the TRUTH
Just getting started. Headphones I want are HD600, Edition XS, someday the HD800. Would you choose the DL200 over the DX3 Pro+
Would this power 250ohm headphones?
Thanks for explaining the “H o” and “L o”, I have them on my Sabaj A10h too, same software 🤔
got it a few weeks ago it sounds amazing especially for that price a fucking steal!
Is this a good one for a DT 1770 Pro?
Getting close to the 200k Randy! Congrats. BTW I would totally buy a Rocktopus Model if you sold them. It looks so cool.
Can I control the dac lineout volume as a preamp?
How does this compare to SU 1 if just for the DAC ?
Can this device dive low impedance headphones which are 8ohm such as a Moondrop Para which are 8
Any suggestions I got a budget of
$800-$1000 Dac/amp for desktop speaker and headphones.
Thanks,
I'd like to know how the SMSL DL200 compares to the Topping DX3Pro+ another highly regarded dac/amp and similar price.
The DX3Pro + has the older chip and is purported to have a brighter sound that can be more taxing to listen for higher frequencies. Also lacks MQA, which may not mean anything, also lacks a balanced output, doesn't have an internal power supply. None of these are deal breakers but the reasons I went with dl200.
sir good day i have a old pair of folk audio bookshelf speaker rti6 125 watts. is SMSL DL200 compatible for my speakers..tyvm and more power to your channel.
Are these enough to power HD600, or Sundara ?
How does this sound connected to the al200 vs its internal dac? They make for a nice stack, but not sure if it's worth it. (when al200 already has a dac in it)
I have al200. It`s DAC and HeadAmp are good enough. I don`t understand the sense of dl200
I would like to know as well
@@ekess7458
I compared the al200 vs the 500 mk2. the first one sounds cleaner, slightly more musical, but slightly less detailed, which benefits the melody in general. The headphone amplifier is slightly less powerful
I for one am happy MQA is still alive. Despite all the haters, MQA is the only format that considers time domain throughout the entire chain.
Most people bag on it solely based on what someone else says about it never having even tried themselves.
You forgot to mention, "if you can't hear the MQA improvement then your interconnects are too cheap", also something about earth being flat.
@@sidethan never had that issue…. Sounds great
It's snake oil meant to steal people's money. That's why most people have issue with it.
Will this Dac/amp drive the audio-technica R70x headphones? +400 ohm headphones
Bought one. Very good hardware. Happy. Maybe will buy another one, I see no reason why should I pay more for another DAC/H-AMP.
Im waiting for you stamp of approval on the new SMSL AO300 All in One - DAC & Headphone AMP & Power amplifier!
Is there any reason your playlist is no longer on Amazon hd music?
I can't find a budget DAC with inbuilt DSP for room correction. I just want to add a PEQ to TV's optical output.
That would be a nice device!
I bought this on impulse because of its impressive specs. However there are some quirks with how it plays with Windows.
On paper the Topping DX3 Pro has even slightly more headphone amp power with a much smaller footprint. How would you compare them?
@@darren591 what are the quirks? I’m also interested in how it compares to the dx3 pro plus
Will this be better than the fiio k11?
For the moment i have a 560s and i have a pair of active speakers that i want to plug + subwoofer that i plan to purchase the next month
the FiiO K11 doesn't have balanced output for active speakers (if yours are studio monitors, you'd definitely want to feed them a balanced signal)
The Topping DX5 does have balanced output, as does the FiiO K9
The SMSL DL200 is probably the best you can get for the money, though.
Both have RCA outputs but the DL200 also has TRS balanced outputs. The coax connector is only an input on the DL200 whereas on the K11 it's both an input and output. As for headphone output, the K11 can only run at full power over the balanced output. The single ended output has much less power, as opposed to the DL200 where the 4.4mm isn't a true balanced connection and just mirrors the single ended signal which can run at full power. The 560S isn't very power hungry though, so your focus should probably be more on the difference in speaker outputs.
Thanks for the review Jared Polin. Lol
how does this compare to a fiio k7 in terms of sound?
Randy…I love the shirt. You’re a fan of the Fro too?! That’s awesome!
He’s the man. I can confidently say that he’s one reason why I have a UA-cam channel
Well on this and other rave reviews I picked one up via your Amazon affiliate link. Admittedly this cool little box really punches up my Sennheiser IE300's, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's and my Bose desktops. This is connected to my MacBook Pro via the USB 2.0 connection. What is troubling is that after a few hours the output starts to jitter. I've used all of the DP settings to correct it but the only way to fix it is to turn the unit off/on. Not sure if it is the unit or something else. There is no way to get support that I have found.
Will it run 300ohm headphones ?
Just got one my first impressions are gobs of clean power but its cold as ice. I'm hoping it burns in and softens up some. It has cool hieroglyphics display too, reminds me of sony menus. I like the k7 better, at least the k7 has some warmth and a pleasing stability to its tonality. But then again i grew up in the 70s and 80s , got spoiled on sansui and pioneer and Technics, the smsl unit is fatiguing to listen to.
Did it end up softening? Stuck between this and the k7
I can't make up my mind between this and the Dopping DX3 Pro+. What do you think?
Hey Randy,
Between this vs Schiit Modi/Magni stack which one would you recommend. Both reviews were positive so just curious. Use case is dedicated headphone amp/dac for desk.
Well you can’t go wrong with schiit for sure. I didn’t directly compare them as I don’t have a set. I think the SMSL has more power so it would depend on what you headphones need
@@cheapaudioman Thanks for the opinion Randy. I have had my eye on the Schiit for a while and think I will go that way. Power needs aren't really a factor at this time. Thanks again man.
when I set the DAC to USB 2.0 my Mac doesn't detect it
THANKYOU VERY MUCH BLOKE ! G'day from Australia 🌏🦘🪃🇦🇺. I needed a decent headphone amp to drive my Hifiman 400 i's (old original edition) . I purchased a Fiio Q11 portable girl and thought that would do the job. It drove the in ear planar Magnetics absolutely hardcore loud as I wanted clean and crisp. But when it came to the big planar Magnetics 400 I's it didn't go (like you are there loud) so I investigated into it and thought that model would do the job and after listening to your video I knew 100 percent that's the new Girl. And wow ! Yes it drives it loud as I like. It is almost maxed out sometimes. (Depends on the audio I play) Mainly it's UA-cam. I do have heaps of HD music files in all formats to check out as yet. I did have a Fiio X5 portable player, but now have gone the phone as a source route.
Thanks again mate. 👍🤠
Hi audio man, can this dac connected to android phone?
As soon as he said that the Dan Clark's ran amazingly out of this amp I instantly went and bought it.
Yes, my BetaMax 4 Life tattoo is not going to look so ridiculous!
Thanks for the temptation, but NOT TODAY DEVIL! LOL. Great review, Randy
Hi John!
@BCX2016 is that you, Satan 😳
You guessed it! But ya I’m tempted too, as is the case with almost every review that doesn’t hate the product, fomo is tough…
How is this compared to Sabaj Ad20d?
Can you please test the SMSL H300 next? :) I think it's pretty impressive for the buck
is the dac better on SMSL DL200 compared to the SMSL SU 1 dac? Is it worth spending 150$ more for this one?
Now if they could just put all that together in a single unit that also would power speakers I would replace the one I have now
Can it be connected to android phone?
In your videos and those of many other audio vloggers, one sees lots of amps and DACs and headphone amps what not, but surpassingly few items resembling traditional preamps; something with multiple inputs, volume control, balance control, tone control, etc. that don't cost the proverbial arm and leg. Maybe they're there, and I'm missing them. What's up with this?
Gaaa! Just picked up a fiio k5 pro... Handles what I need, but this one isn't that much more and it has BT? 😮
Only 3000 to go come on Randy!
Yo review the new dacs with the new ak chips!
Is it okay to drive IEMs with this? I'm worried that it has too much power for them
Just turn down the volume.
I compared the specs of this and the C200, since I read a few places that the C200 is great for IEMs. The C200 has almost the same specs, so I think the DL200 is safe for them.
Nice nod to Jared
Well this sucks. I've been saving for a Geshelli Labs J2 and then this pops up. I do a lot of headphone listening and have never felt the need for a standalone headphone amplifier. However, I've never listened through one either. Decisions, decisions. Also, "Specifications... there's a lot of them" LOL!
I’m here to win stuff😂 also great work