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SMSL VMV D1SE Review - Headfonia Reviews SMSL VMV D1SE Review - Headfonia Reviews
The TI TPA6120A amp chips are the reason behind the massive output offered by the DO400, which goes up to an astounding 6 W at 16 Ω. It looks like a matte-black metal brick, it is milled on a CNC machine with just two panels attached on top and under the unit.Both are volume controllable or fixed, depending on the settings and you can even disable a pair of analogue outputs if you will.
SMSL M400 High-Fidelity MQA Bluetooth Distortion-Free Audio
SMSL M400 has multiple input options, including USB, Optical, Coaxial, Bluetooth, and IIS input modes.The DPLL value, which can be set through the menu to values between 0 and 15, helps combat jitter and stuttering: by default it is set to 5, but it can be raised if you encounter issues. You can also select whether line out should be variable (so you can control the volume from the DAC: quite useful e. Even though another testing platform (Audio Science Review) ranked the SU9 quite good (based on techical specification like noise and distortion), sound wise, SU-9 is quite behind SMSL M400 (in my opinion). I’m still using a 16-Watt Flux Lab Acoustics FA-10 on a daily basis when I want to rock out hard with some planar magnetic headphones. There is one flaw that bothers me deeply, I will be mentioning in the third chapter so keep reading.
SMSL SP400 Review - A Flawed Masterpiece - Soundnews SMSL SP400 Review - A Flawed Masterpiece - Soundnews
In some ways SP400 was better, in other ways HPA4 was better, but in a high-end loudspeaker setup there wasn’t a contest, as HPA4 was on another level altogether.Finally, a THX amplifier that carries more warmth, more body, that sounds fast, but also visceral and engaging. Its LCD screen is not that big, but thanks to its bigger lettering, you can clearly see the volume level, the selected input and the gain position. In the latest chapters it will be compared to its brother SH-9 and then to a Benchmark HPA4, be sure to read until the end for some entertaining comparisons. There is more authority in the bass, there’s impact and some body slam, there is more sweetness with vocals, there is some liquidity with instrumental music, there is more air traveling around and there is more depth information.
Review: SMSL SU-9 DAC – Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness Review: SMSL SU-9 DAC – Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness
Apart from this, starting with IEMs and finishing with notorious headphones like Hifiman Susvara, SP400 was pumping a high engagement factor, it had a very high level of detail, offered an open wide soundstage and it had one of the best diaphragm control I’ve experienced with headphones. There is just a single metal plate attached underneath it, making it the first uni-body design of SMSL.At first it was connected to a reference Audiobyte HydraVox DAC that would help me checking its flow and soundstage as a headphone amplifier, then it was connected to a Matrix Audio Element X that helped with detail retrieval, transparency and speed / decay of the notes and after that it worked as a preamplifier, feeding a Keces S300 power amplifier that was driving a pair of KEF Reference 3. If you have multiple audio sources (DACs, CD players, Turntables) and you need the most precise and uncolored headphone amplifier and preamplifier section then you should proceed with this comparison. It makes sense now why there’s a VMV A1 power amplifier that is being recommended for the D1SE, as it seems to work nicely with headphone based systems and with stereo setups alike.
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