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I've been wanting to build my home theater, at first i wanted a soundbar, but i realized the potential that came with speakers and an amplifier. At the moment this is what i've got in mind: For the speakers i am between 2 models that go around the same price point: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2. Klipsch R-41M Both of them fit my pricepoint with Elac being just a tiny but more expensive. And for the sub the one i've been looking for is the Klipsch r-12sw – Subwoofer. My biggest problem at the moment is that, the only audio amplifier that i've found that is: Not too much expensive Has a 2.1 interface Has a optical input for the tv Is the S.M.S.L AD18, i would like to upgrade that later. I would like to read other alternatives, options or routes that i could go with. I live in mexico so prices and availability are kind of difficult specially in markets not as massive as others.

hi i have a smsl m2 that i want to use with my samsung galaxy s4 and im looking at the lindy 0.5m micro b to micro b otg cable will this combo work?

Hi, im currently searching for a subwoofer, i have the SMSL AD18 as a Speaker amp and have my Jamo c-93 (my speakers) connected to them. now since i live in Germany it is kinda hard to find good stuff, i cant seem to find a good passive subwoofer that doesn't cost too much (max. = 300€). What i did find tho is several active subs, that have high lvl inputs like the Canton SUB 8.2, can i use those (high lvl inputs) to connect everything with each other ?

I recently bought and SMSL M3 for my HD598's, which seems perfectly fine for now. I have plans on buying the Monolith M1060s though if they go on any sort of sale and I will definitely need a better amp for those. Theoretically, could I have the SMSL M3 as a dac (I really don't think I'll need a better dac) and connect the line out to something like the magni 2? I plan on getting that since honestly, if I like the monoliths as much the hype is saying (which I'm hoping I like them since I'd be ok with those being my endgame), then I will probably never buy a more expensive or difficult to drive set of headphones (HD650's at most after this probably since I'm never going to be able to buy something like an LCD-X.). Not sure if I'm going to be modding the monoliths either, other than taking out the foam under the outer grill (too afraid to damage drivers by doing tape mod and I don't want to spend $80 on earpads as of right now, especially when I have to glue them). Also if there are any suggestions of a similar amp to the magni 2 (around same price, not including the O2 because that goes for more and everything is front port...), that would be appreciated. I'm looking at a B-Stock magni 2 for now since I don't care a minor cosmetic error. Thought about getting a SAP-8 but not sure if it has the current to drive planars.

Before Reading: I'm not really a fan of using super colorful words because they really aren't helpful for people just starting out so I will try not to use them. Everything here is MY IMPRESSION. This means that some things will not be the same for you. If there's one thing that I've learned from this hobby, it's that everyone is different so my impression will be different from yours. Also my bank account hates me for getting into this. I'm pretty much just writing down whatever I think without paying too much attention to what others may think, kinda like Zeos I guess, but with less "it sounds like UUUUUUGH" - Zeos 2017, and a little more describing of how they sound. Reviews that I write up will most likely not have pictures. I don't think it's worth the effort taking pictures through my phone and moving them to my computer (especially when you can just look them up online for products that have been out for a while) unless there are anomalies or things that I think I need to clarify. I buy anything I feel like reviewing, just like pretty much every reviewer on this forum. I am not paid by any companies or sent any products for review. I'm just some guy that likes to share his opinion. IMPORTANT: It is crucial that you read this section. I mentioned this in my review of the Sennheiser HD598s and I will mention this in any write that I do. The scoring in the SOUND and OVERALL sections are relative. This means that the scores in other sections will all a regular 0-10 scale. An 8 is good and a 1 is garbage like in a normal scale. However in the sound and overall sections, an 8/10 in one review does not mean it is equivalent to an 8/10 in another review (a one is still garbage). This is to give me a wider range of ratings without making the scale extremely wide, which makes things hard to really compare (and a 40/100 does not look good even if I say that it is good) and this will prevent perfect scores since no headphone is perfect. This is largely to keep things in different price brackets somewhat away from each other. For example, the HD598s that I gave an 8/10 will definitely not be the same as or even close to a 9/10 that I give to higher end headphones. The 8/10 will most likely be equivalent to a 6/10 in the review for the higher end cans. This allows them to be comparative in some ways while also distinguishing the price differences. An 8/10 is still very good for any review, but just remember it is relative to the products in the same price bracket, so it is definitely not the same as an 8/10 for an LCD-2 type of review, which are about 6x more MSRP (an example. I don't own LCD-2s). Review: The SMSL M3. A budget DAC Amp combo that supposedly delivers great sound for a great price. At $83.99, it is clearly a direct competitor to the Schiit Fulla 2 and the Fiio E10k (although it sits in the middle of the two in terms of price), and is about $30 greater than the FX Audio DAC-x6. Unfortunately I do not own any of the other amps to compare, and the only other amp I have to compare the M3 to is the NFB 11.28, a significantly more expensive DAC Amp combo. With that said, there will be some comparisons in order to clarify and better illustrate some things (just no direct sound comparisons). Specs: Output levels:1.9Vrms THD+N:0.0006% Dynamic Range:112dB SNR:107dB CHANNEL separation:105dB 32Ω 108mW @THD=0.1% 64Ω 85mW @THD=0.1% 150Ω 49mW @THD=0.001% 300Ω 24mW @THD=0.001% THD+N:0.0002% SNR:100dB 24-bit 92khz over USB 24-bit 192khz over optical or COAX I'm not completely sure about output impedance but I believe it is .1 ohms. I could be wrong because someone is saying that it is 10 ohms on another forum. Looks and Build The M3 comes packaged in a small square looking (but not, so don't try to force it back in the wrong way) white box with black text and designs, which looks very nice. Be careful when you take off the outer covering of the inner box since once you take it off, the M3 can fall right out if the box is upside down (the top of the box is open and only covered by the outer shell). Once you take the cover off you'll see, what is thankfully, soft cell foam. A little unnecessary for such a small and tightly packed product but it is definitely not a downside; better safe than sorry. The box also has the specs listed out on the side, which is convenient. Under the M3 and its protective foam, you'll find a white micro usb to micro usb cable, a decently long (I think 6ft) white usb A to micro usb cable, and a 3.5mm to quarter inch adapter. I'll get to why I italicized later, but it might be pretty obvious after reading this part. The SMSL M3 has a metal housing, with a matte black finish and non-sharp edges (looking at you Schiit). At the front (from left), you'll see the power button, which has a white LED, a grid of more white LED indicators, a quarter inch jack (fun fact the headphone jack is the socket, not the plug, which I may be guilty for mixing in my HD598 review), and a volume pot. The volume pot is plastic and also finished with a matte black paint and ridged for grip. On the back (from left), you'll see RCA outputs for both right and left channel, COAX input (IN 3), Optical (IN 2), micro USB (IN 1), and another micro USB (IN DC) for power. In short, the M3 is very well built and looks great, without attracting finger prints unless you have oily or sweaty hands. The volume pot feels very nice to turn too. The problem comes in with the WHITE CABLES. It's a very minor complaint and it's certainly not as bad as the blue, aquamarine-ish, transparent and thick USB cable that Audio-gd gives but why would you ship a BLACK DAC Amp with WHITE cables? The Audio-gd cable isn't even that bad since the amp is so big that it pretty much hides the cable if you put it at the back of your desk. The M3, on the other hand, is small so it definitely won't be at the back of any desk since the volume pot has to be reachable, and it doesn't cover the cable because it's small and not at the back of the desk. Again, a minor complaint, but extremely annoying at the same time. The white LEDS on the other hand are not really minor. Yes, they are not blue, thank you, but they are tiny, bright, fuck you LEDS that don't even look dimmer when you look at it from above like with the NFB 11.28, which has a tiny, bright, fuck you blue LED but looks dimmer at an angle and it only has ONE. The M3 has one big tiny, bright, fuck you LED and another 3 other smaller tiny, bright, fuck you LEDs. I think you get the point now. With that said, if you don't stare at them at night or you have brighter things near it like monitors, it really isn't too bad. Still very distracting and somewhat painful at times. Looks and build: 9/10. Fucking LEDs Features Let's start from the front again. The power button is actually more of a standby button. Holding the button turns on the DAC and Amp. Holding it again turn it off. Strangely SMSL decided that the standby should shut off both the amp and DAC, which makes Foobar freak out. If there is a later revision of this, the DAC should at least stay on. The power button also has another function when turned on. Pressing it changes the input modes, leading into the next feature, the grid of LEDs. The first column indicates inputs 1, 2, and 3 (USB, Optical, COAX respectively). The next sets of LEDs indicate the sample rate. The sample rate changes automatically depending on the source. Initially it will start with 44khz when Windows starts but it will eventually go to what Windows outputs. One thing to remember is that the M3 is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 16 BIT AUDIO - only 24 bit, which is fine, just set Windows and Foobar to output 24 bits. The quarter inch jack is hardly a feature and honestly every amp should just use quarter inch except for the thin, portable amps. Although this is portable, it is clearly meant to be used as a desktop amp that can be connected and powered by a phone. The volume knob for the pot feels like plastic ridges with a metal cap - not too sure and I can't confirm anymore since I sold it to the same friend who bought the HD598s from me (again, two days ago as of writing this review). I can say, though, that the volume pot feels very smooth and it is most likely logarithmic since sound levels are logarithmic. Moving on to the back. I've already listed the possible inputs and outputs so I won't be explaining those any further. Things to note are that the RCA outputs are LINE OUT meaning they do not control the volume. The RCA outs are mostly for using the M3 as a pure DAC and connecting it to an external amp. The optical and coax inputs are the only ways to get 24 bit 192khz because the USB input only goes up to 92khz, so if you have optical you might as well use it. Here's the important part. The IN1 (USB) and IN DC (also USB) are completely different things. IN1 does data and power so if there is a USB connected to IN1, IN DC does not function. You do not get extra power from plugging in a second USB cable. As this suggests, IN DC only does DC power and is for using the amp with coax or optical inputs. If you are going to use coax or optical, you will most likely have to use IN DC and not IN1. I'm not sure if IN1 is even functional while optical and IN DC are plugged in - I don't have optical or coax because MSI decided that it would be smart to remove it for more random analog jacks that have bullshit features on them (Like Surround Sound). It doesn't matter since it's not like having all them of them would affect anything. The input selection will just ignore other inputs. Interestingly the amp portion is more of a feature to the M3. It is not even listed under the amp portion on their website, only under DACs. It's also always on high gain, as there is no gain switch. DOES NOT WORK WITH APPLE PRODUCTS. Don't ask why, that's just how its made. I guess it's the plug and play aspect of it, since a lot of plug and play products seem to be like this. Features: 9/10. For this price it's pretty good but a gain switch would've been nice to have rather than the array of LEDs. While they are convenient and look cool, a gain switch would make these better for IEMs. What Can It Drive? Unfortunately I only have (had, sold my HD598s around two days before the writing of this review) two headphones to vouch for. People have reported that they can drive HD650s to decent levels because they are somewhat sensitive headphones. What I can say, though, is that these surprised me quite a bit. My usual listening levels are around 80db for any loud music and 60db for classical music. Unsurprisingly, these can drive HD598s easily and can reach 85db at around 9-10 o'clock depending on the track. However, the real kicker is that these can get HE560s to 86db max (from my measurements) and that was honestly too loud for me anyway. At my normal listening volumes, I was anywhere between 11 to 2 o'clock on the volume pot, which didn't give it much headroom until max since the dial can only turn to 5 o'clock. I am certain that if these can drive HE560s, anything else that is more efficient will be driven properly by this amp. Drive: 7/10. It can drive my HE560s to reasonable levels but I cannot say anything for high impedance headphones or more inefficient ones but I'm pretty sure the more inefficient planars would not get passed 70db. That said, pretty damn good. Sound So, it can drive HE560s to comfortable and satisfying listening levels (unless you're a fiend and listen to music at 90db), but does it drive them properly? Let's start with the HD598s first. I mentioned in my HD598 review that these do in fact make them sound better, and a noticeable yet somewhat subtle difference from on board audio. The difference wasn't too noticeable at first but going back to on board, I could immediately tell the difference. Compared to on board, the bass was more controlled, detailed and not overrunning the mids. In general, the bass was very clean. Mids had a lot of vocal clarity and were generally brought out more and highs were much clearer and less veiled on the 598s. With the HD598s already being mid centric and bass light, it was a little annoying to have the bass pulled back slightly. It was more pleasant to have them controlled and not muddy, but the HD598s were already known for having less bass than other headphones, so that put me off a little. There wasn't any impact in sub bass but that was because of the headphones and not the amp itself. Mids were absolutely magical on this combo and gave me the chills everytime (listen to Walkure from Macross Delta for mid centric music, they are amazing). The highs that were veiled were also brought back, but without the sibilance, so they still had less highs than other cans but they were definitely better than the on board audio. Sound stage was noticeably wider than on board and imaging/positional audio was slightly improved but not by much. The HD598s are not exactly great at positional audio from my experience. HD598 combo: 7/10. Kinda lifeless in songs that are mastered that way, but I don't fault the amp for that. It will really depend on the track. Although the bass was pulled back and highs were brought out, this amp is actually slightly warmer than what I would consider neutral. It's just that the on-board was a cluster fuck of garbage pulled through Realtek's CEO's ass and passed right into MSI's CEO's hands who just smashed it all together then went about his day without washing his hands of the disgusting material. All of which made the M3 sound brighter/neutral. Some compared this to the Fulla 2 and Magni Modi combo (for some reason) and stated that both were brighter/neutral compared to the M3. The M3 is stated, for the most part, to be more detailed than the E10k. Now for the HE560s. This is going to be difficult to describe without direct comparisons to my NFB 11 and reviewing the HE560s at the same time (which I haven't written yet so I'd rather not say too much), but I will try my best. I honestly did not think that this was a bad combo in anyway. The SMSL M3 was surprisingly engaging and nothing sounded thin or tinny. With the HE560, the sound was slightly (like very slightly) warm with bass having impact and the low rumbles in electronic music was very fun to listen to. Mids were still very clear and distinct and highs were clearly more present than the HD598s which was somewhat fatiguing, but that is the fault of the headphones and not the amp. It is not NFB 11 in terms of highs, since those are ear rape with highs and this pair of cans. That being said, it was clear to me, even without having listened to higher end amps before the NFB 11, the M3 struggled with bass extension and even some bass detail. There were times that the bass was not as clear or the grungy-ness was too amplified or not there. Bass control was clearly a problem. In any tracks with somewhat louder bass, the bass almost always had the rumble and punch to it, which was fun to listen to, but it was almost always there (which will be a turn off for some people in certain tracks). It did not overflow into the mids and did not detract from the music (in fact I think I prefer this). With classical music, I wasn't blown away by this combo. It wasn't bad - clarity was still fine - but the highs (while not veiled) didn't have the sparkle that I wanted to hear from a violin or piano (although it was great for piccolo, flutes and high octave clarinets because no ear rape and fuck piccolo players). This was strange but I'm guessing it was due to the recordings and the amp not being super neutral). It was certainly better than the highs of the HD598s IMO. I don't want make a direct comparison with the NFB 11 so I will leave it there. HE560 combo: 7.5/10. It was definitely fun to listen to this combo but bass in heavy bass or low level bass tracks, while not thin sounding, had clear control issues. Some will be able to tell (although anyone who hasn't listened to anything more than Beats or Streets by 50 won't because they don't know much better), and most audiophiles will pick up on this. I did enjoy the M3 more than the NFB 11 in some of the bass light or mid heavy tracks because it was more engaging, which is a huge plus. I saw one report that there is channel imbalance at lower positions on the volume pot. I looked around for similar posts and could not find any. While I do not have IEMs to test this and really no longer have the amp on me, I can say that I did not hear any channel imbalance with either of the headphones I tested. Noise could not be heard with both headphones either with the volume pot maxed out. I would be wary about the imbalance and noise with IEMs if you have them (will have an update once I get earbuds or IEMs). Overall If you're on a tight budget and you don't plan on buying planars that are more inefficient than the HE560 (HE400i and HE400s are less sensitive and may be better with the M3) or don't plan on buying planars at all, this is definitely a good budget option. It's compact enough to be taken around, has a quarter inch jack, good build, looks, and features. It even sounds pretty good and is, in my opinion, more engaging and fun, at times, than the more neutral NFB 11 (not all the time but I'll get into that in my NFB 11.28 review, which will not be out until I finish the HE560 review, which will most likely not be out until I get my Ori pads from Massdrop, which are estimated to ship on October 31, so not for a while). I would definitely take this over the E10k, since the E10k doesn't really have as many features (the bass boost is pretty much unusable) and the M3 just sounds more detailed in the lows. I cannot say anything about the Fulla 2 personally since I have never heard it, but I'm sure there is a comparison somewhere online. I hope that in later revisions, and there better be some, the LEDs are less fuck you and more "here's some info you might want to actually look at without hurting your eyes" (keep them white though, just dimmer), the DAC isn't shut off when in standby, and a high low gain switch is added. Highly recommended at this price (especially for dynamic headphones), and even more if you can get one for cheaper. Overall: 8.5/10. It does what it says and I really enjoyed listening to music through this DAC Amp combo. This review is subject to change. Not in opinion but in content. I will add an IEM section, although the IEMs are cheap MEE Audio instead of their more expensive line, since I don't really have earbuds or IEMs. They're not coming in for a while because I ordered them off Massdrop. Some of the wording may be edited as well since I wrote this at 4AM.

My onboard sound coming from the motherboard is very bad sounding, and i want to buy an external USB dac. I was looking at smsl su-8 v2 but it is a bit old now. I don't need headphone amp, because i will hook it up to my separated amp / preamp. I'm not a big audio dac IC specialist but i looked up that ak4499EQ and ESS ES9038PRO are one of the best dacs. My budget is 300$ max. Please help me out because i'm lost in this topic because there are too many options. Some say that Topping dacs are great but i'm not sure about that, and for this amount of money the dac needs to play at least a DSD 512 file.

So I bought the SMSL M2 DAC from eBay and a pair of Senhheiser HD 6XXs from massdrop and they don't sound great nor open. Is it my setup or some settings or the headphones possibly?

SMSL M3 vs DAC-X6? I need the optical and USB. Looking to drive HyperX Cloud Alphas, possible expansion in the future. Mainly for gaming and casual music/media. Would be nice if I could use it at home, at university etc. Seems the X6 is will drive more things, the M3 apparently gives better bass BUT the main thing that is killing me right now is that the M3 seems to get a lot of reviews of them breaking and the X6 get significantly less. As much as people hate the Tritton Pro+ I've been using, the sound hardware has never failed me, and I want what I buy next to last the same few years at least. The X6 uses external power and the M3 isn't restricted by that, opening up more options for on the go listening, a little more suitable for my potential environment of use. Finally, I can get the X6 for £60 and the M3 for £44. Any thoughts? Tips? I'm struggling to make the choice. Thanks

hi ive got an smsl m2 and i want to use it with a phone but i dont know whoch phones i can use it with i am looking at 3 phone and dont talk about which is better and whatnot i just want to know if my m2 works with them or not the phones are samsung galaxy a5 (2016). The lg g4 and the huawei p9 lite

Which of these would be the best for like 70% music 30% gaming?

hi i just get an smsl m2 like 10 min ago i plug it in and it works fine and every thing is good but then i plug it in to my phone which is an nokia lumia 635 didnt work sith my phone so i plugged it back in to my pc and then nothing it dosent even show up in device manager please help

Hi LTT forum, Recently I'm trying to improve the audio setup on my PC, which previously only has a sound card (Xonar DX) , a pair of headphones (ATH-AD700X) and a cheap speaker setup. I decided to upgrade my speakers and bought the Q Acoustics 2020i which has this set of specs: Enclosure type: 2-way reflex Bass Unit: 125m Treble Unit: 25mm Frequency Response: 64Hz - 22kHz Nominal Impedance: 6ohm Minimum Impedance: 4.0ohm Sensitivity: 88dB Recommended Power: 25 - 75w Crossover Frequency: 2.9kHz Dimensions H/D/W mm:265 x 278 x 170 Unbeknown to be, I had no clue that passive speakers need to be powered by an amp. Now what I know is that I will have to power them with an amp/DAC that is of Class T or D? This is the part where it gets confusing. Can the SMSL SA50 50Wx2 TDA7492 Class D Amplifier drive the speakers? From I see, the power output is sufficient and the rear I/O has the required ports. My questions are: 1) What is the difference between the above mentioned amp and other Class T amps, like the SMSL Q5 PRO 2x50W? Is it just difference in sound quality? 2) The 2020i recommends power of 25 - 75W, so does that mean that the Topping TP22 30WPC Class T TK2050 T-AMP HiFi Digital Amplifier with an amplifier output of 30W@4Ω barely meets the requirement to drive the speakers? And something like the Topping VX1 24Bit / 96KHz TA2021B Class T Vertex Headphone Amplifier + USB DAC with output of 24.4W@4Ω would choke? Can someone please kindly guide me through this?

Hey Guys, Long time reader, but finally decided to make a thread since I am in a pickle. Im buying an Odac along with an amp and have decided ont he SMSL sAp II: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110889315357?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 but I came accross this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111278925841?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Does anyone have experience with any of the two amps? Whats the difference between the sAp II and III, the internals look different but which one will perform better? I cant really find anything at all on the sAp III so I am unsure as wether it is better or not. Any help is appreciated, thanks.