SOtM smS-200 unveiled at Munich Hi-End

[Confused]

1 hour ago, flkin said:

 

There are a few versions of the sms200 accepting different voltages - it all depends on what you purchased. So if you have the 12V version, you can't use a 9V supply on it. But if you had the 6.5V-8.5V version then you can. Although it's rated to 8.5V, it can accept 9V (I checked with May).

Curiously, the 12v version will run perfectly on a 9V feed.  It just runs a little cooler.  I’m not sure if it makes any difference to SQ, I have not tried the comparison since I have had the Neo version.  I am running my 12v Neo now on 9V with no issues.

[Confused]

19 minutes ago, ronfint said:

In case you haven't yet noticed, Eunhasu ver. 0.4.5 has been released. I just upgraded via micro sd card restore. It was painless and a really nice upgrade. Aside from bringing the software of the various playback programs up to date, the Linux kernel has been rewritten. (This seems to be ‘in style’ these days.)

 

 

 

Thanks, I certainly hadn’t noticed.  Does anyone know the significance of the Linux kernel changes?  (If there is anything significant here)

[Confused]

Thanks guys, I shall definitely give this a try at the weekend and report back.

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Why does the update take “2 to 5 hours”.  Seams a very long time?

[Confused]

46 minutes ago, ronfint said:

If you update as described in lasker98’s post above, the whole process should take less than a half hour.

Yes, agreed.  I’m just curious as to why the on line method takes so long.

[Confused]

This morning I tried to burn 0.4.5 to an 8GB SD card, the image was 7.7GB and too large for the available space on the 8GB card.  For those that have an 8GB micro SD card in their sMS-200 (I believe 8GB is supplied as standard?), maybe this is causing some of the update issues?

 

Another minor point, when I went into the Eunhasu system upgrade area I noticed that I was running 0.4.17, so I was a few updates behind anyway.  OK - It is easy enough to check, but why don't SOtM provide some kind of notification of when updates are available?

[Confused]

24 minutes ago, mikeyb said:

It's been tried on a 16gb card too and still glitching issues on Squeezelite setting.

I was thinking about the update issues that some are having, that is being stuck on 90% for hours.  After all, it will either update or it will not, so I agree that this is not likely to influence the glitching issues.

[Confused]

Has anyone had success getting V0.4.5 to work with HQPlayer NAA?

 

Reading back through the last couple of pages of this thread I cannot see that anyone has?  Some success with Roon with tweaked settings etc., but not NAA?

[Confused]

his weekend I downloaded the latest V0.4.5.1 firmware, then tried to burn it to a 16GBmicro SD card using Balena Etcher using my PC's built-in SD card slot. Much faffing around to swap the SD cards in the sMS-200Ultra, and no success, the sMS would not even boot up. You could turn the power light on, but the unit would then shut itself down. Clearly burning an image to my PC's SD card slot was not working for some reason. More faffing around, I eventually got imageUSB to work, but this would not recognise the PC's SD card slot, further faffing, I found an old USB to SD card adaptor and burnt the image using imageUSB. Put the SD card into the sMS-200Ultra, and success! The sMS-200Ultra booted up, it was recognised by Eunhasu, which showed the device was now on V0.4.5.1, so all good. Or so it seemed. I tried selecting HQPlayer NAA and this would not switch to "active", I just got the blue circle going around and around indefinitely. Puzzled, I then selected shairport mode as something to try, this did the same thing. Ummm. After yet more faffing, I discovered that you needed to click the config cog for both HQPlayer NAA and shairport, and reload the app. This was curious as I have never needed to do this, not even when I first had the sMS and used Eunhasu. So all a bit frustrating, but I got there in the end.

Now some good news, via HQPlayer NAA, the sMS-200Ultra appears to be 100% stable, so far it has worked perfectly. I only had time for a quick listen yesterday with V0.4.5.1, the initial impression was very positive, definitely sounding good, but I did have a slight niggle that maybe the highest treble was somehow a bit more metallic.

This morning I spent a couple of hours comparing, first running V0.4.5.1, then back to my old SC card with V.0.4.4, then returning to V0.4.5.1. I have found a definite improvement with V0.4.5.1. Overall, I would say V0.4.5.1 is more engaging and enjoyable to listen to. Of particular note were things like female vocals, in one case moving from a slightly sibilant sound to something far more natural sounding. (actually moving from slightly sibilant to ethereal sounding in one case, can ethereal be described as more natural? It is certainly better to listen to) Also notable was the presentation of the bass, better definition, more dynamic. Not more bass as such, but more bass impact. With extended listening and A/B comparison, the initial observation regarding the treble holds up. This could be system dependent, but some tracks that sounded fine with V.0.4.4 sounded just a fraction bright with V0.4.5.1. As an experiment, I used my Devilaet's remote to adjust treble whilst listening. Give the dial a big twist up and down, I cannot see the Devialet's display from the listening position, so in effect this blind test for treble adjustment. I tried this with a couple of tracks on V.0.4.4 and ended up very close to 0 dB, with V0.4.5.1 my treble preference seemed to be nearer -1 or -2 dB. Most curious. For now I am sticking with V0.4.5.1. I tried some listening with the treble set to -2 dB and everything sounds great, this does upset my purist tendencies a little, but I can live with that when things are sounding so good. One thing occurs to me, last year I tried my old microRendu powered with the sPS-500 versus the LPS-1, I preferred the LPS-1 and when using the sPS-500 with the mR the system suffered from a very similar issue to the slightly metallic treble I am experiencing now. So I think I will revisit this one when my "end November 2018" batch Paul Hynes SR-4's arrive. (If they ever arrive)

 

As a final point, I most definitely have blinking light syndrome with my imageUSB burnt version of V0.4.5.1. 

[Confused]

To add to the above, I have spent quite a bit of time on 0.4.5.1 now.  As mentioned in an earlier post, this was via burning an image to a micro SD card via a Windows PC.  (ScanDisk 16GB)  Most of my listening has been with HQPlayer NAA and this works fine and is stutter free.  Yesterday I tried Roon RAAT, using the 0.2 buffer and 0.05 Resync delay as recommended by @octaviars earlier in the thread.  I only tried this for an hour or so, but during this time it was 100% stutter free.  On and off I have also used the Shairport mode, this too seems to work OK.

 

So everything seems to work OK for me, but then again I have not been using the playback options that appear to be problematic for others.  For those still struggling, I can only hope SOtM get there act together and provide a stable update.

[Confused]

3 hours ago, Traildog said:

I'm using dlna mode and at first found the sound quality better in the bass, but had a very slight hard metallic top. I set the buffer to 100% which is what I had before and the top end seemed to improve. The bass has more detail and it's just cleaner and more realistic and seems deeper. My system isn't full range so this improvement is welcome and surprising.

2

Interesting comments.  My system is "full range" but if you look at my post on P56 you will see that we have similar observations regarding both the bass and treble differences.  When you say you have set the buffer to 100% in DLNA mode, are you referring to the buffer before play setting in Eunhasu?  I might give this a try with JRIver when I get some free time.

[Confused]

One slightly curious observation. I checked for updates in Eunhasu yesterday, V0.4.5.1 was still the latest. I clicked on the kernel update, it updated and rebooted. Now I have just noticed that the "blinking light syndrome" has stopped. I have no idea if this is due to the kernel update or just a coincidence.

[Confused]

8 hours ago, SYM said:

 

What I observed is that the blinking lights is a random behavior. Out of 10 time I’ve booted the player about 3-4 times the blinking lights disappear. And if its there when its boot up - I find using the reboot function in eunhasu takes care of it quite well. 

Ah, interesting.  So this suggests that I solved the the blinking issue just because I happened to reboot at the weekend.  As it happens, i was reconfirming some stuff in my hifi rack on Sunday morning.  During this time I had the sMS-200Ulta unplugged for maybe half an hour, then was disconnected / reconnected about ten minutes after that, as I sorted some things out.  so it had a few reboots that morning.  I will keep an eye on this to see if there is some kind of a pattern.  It always puzzles me when electronic kit exhibits seemingly random behavior.

[Confused]

V0.4.5.2 has landed .........

[Confused]

I updated to V0.4.55 this morning.  The upgrade was very quick and simple, maybe taking only two minutes or so.

 

I have just had a quick listen via HQPlayer NAA.  Everything works as it should, 100% stutter free and stable.  

 

Unfortunately, I feel that 0.4.55 is perhaps a step backwards with respect to SQ, maybe system dependent, but I am finding it a little thinner and harsher than previous versions, a bit like going from the Neo version back to the original sMS-200Ultra.

 

It is always difficult to be sure of these things due to the vagaries of aural memory, but I still have the download of V0.4.51, so If I get time tomorrow I will burn this to a spare micro SD card that I have and attempt a direct A/B comparison.  let's say I have heard enough today to prompt me to at least try this.  Maybe tomorrow I'll post that my little brain was fooling me, let's see.

[Confused]

23 hours ago, Confused said:

I updated to V0.4.55 this morning.  The upgrade was very quick and simple, maybe taking only two minutes or so.

 

I have just had a quick listen via HQPlayer NAA.  Everything works as it should, 100% stutter free and stable.  

 

Unfortunately, I feel that 0.4.55 is perhaps a step backwards with respect to SQ, maybe system dependent, but I am finding it a little thinner and harsher than previous versions, a bit like going from the Neo version back to the original sMS-200Ultra.

 

It is always difficult to be sure of these things due to the vagaries of aural memory, but I still have the download of V0.4.51, so If I get time tomorrow I will burn this to a spare micro SD card that I have and attempt a direct A/B comparison.  let's say I have heard enough today to prompt me to at least try this.  Maybe tomorrow I'll post that my little brain was fooling me, let's see.

Yesterday I found time to burn a new sd card with V0.4.51.  I am glad I did this last night because it took a long time, together with the kernel update, reloading HQPlayer NAA and all the rest of it, plus lots of time looking at blue circles going around and not knowing if it will ever work.  This kind of stuff puts me in a bad mood, and bad moods are not good for critical listening.  Anyway, I got this done yesterday, which meant that this morning I had three working sd cards, V0.4.51, V0.4.55 and my original 8GB card with V0.4.22.

 

I started with V0.4.51, listened to a playlist and made notes, also noting the volume level for each track.  I then swapped to V0.4.55.  Thankfully the switch was relatively quick and trouble free.  I have leanrt that you need to completely shut down and restart Eunhasu when you try stuff like this, or it can lock up or stall somewhere, but shutting down the sMS, shutting down Eunhasu, restart the sMS, restart Eunhasu, and all is good.

 

Doing a direct A/B like this and checking my notes, I found it very hard to decern any SQ differences between V0.4.51 and V0.4.55, they are pretty much identical, if not identical.  So having done this test I need to completely withdraw my statement from yesterday.  In fact, at the very margins, I think that V0.4.55 might actually be a touch better with respect to the HF issue I mentioned yesterday, although the subjective difference I observed here is right at the margins of what can be heard, so it may be a degree of expectation bias, I cannot be sure.  Either way, this test was enough to convince me that V0.4.55 is easily as good or identical to those the V0.4.5X versions that proceeded it.

 

With this done, and mindful of @kelvinwsy 's earlier comment, I thought I would revisit V0.4.22, why not?  I had a V '22 sd card ready to go, my playlist and notes.  Interestingly, I think @kelvin has a point.  To give some background, my system typically sounds good, but with some material it can drift from sounding neutral to being a touch bright, there is plenty of bass, but any HF issues in recordings or overly bright recordings come shining through.  In this context, V0.4.22 did sound tonally very slightly better in my system than V0.4.51 or V0.4.55.  We are not talking much here, but discernable, my Devialet amps have tone controls and to neutralise the difference between V0.4.55 and V0.4.22 would take maybe a -1dB or -2dB tweak on the treble setting.  That is not the end of the story though, I did find V0.4.55 to be superior in some other areas, noticeably less sibilance in one track, more engaging, in particular in terms of sound stage, general ambiance in recordings, just generally a more natural and better reproduced sound.  V0.4.55 is the one I would want to sit and listen to.

 

So in summary, I am more than happy to run the latest V0.4.55, although in my specific system I might tweak the treble down to -1dB or so.  Later on I was just casually listening to some random material (I was trying out the new Roon Radio), some material sounded utterly spectacular with V0.4.55 in play, I had a few moments when I was surprised at just how good my own rig was sounding, so I think SOtM are getting something right here.

[Confused]

I have upgraded to V0.4.56.  No issues for me, although Eunhasu is still a little slow in responding, but then again, it always has been.

 

One thing I find is that if my PC is running and has Eunhasu open in a web browser somewhere, I get the blinking light even if I am not playing music.  Shut down Eunhasu, and so far I have no blinking light.  Maybe I have just been lucky? 

 

A very minor issue I know, but I am not keen on the new background to Eunhasu.  It looks a little post-nuclear war apocalypse to me....

[Confused]

On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 5:34 PM, auricgoldfinger said:

 

How are you finding the SQ with 0.4.56?

That depends what you are asking.  I have not noticed any differences between any of the 0.4.5X versions, but I do find that the 0.4.5X versions are a clear step up from any of the previous firmware versions.  So 0.4.56 sounds much the same as 0.4.55, but that's ok, because 0.4.55 was sounding splendid anyway.

[Confused]

21 hours ago, tedwoods said:

 

You do know that I have a fear of Daleks?

[Confused]

What is the function of the “Sync Mode Mount”?

[Confused]

Just to add to the recent posts regarding "My Eunhasu", I too have had problems.  I first noticed this when I was changing some cables recently.  When doing this, I would shut down the sMS-200ultra, then power up again when done.  I would then find that Eunhasu would not connect.  At one time I actually thought I had bricked the sMS.  I tried all sorts of things to get it to work, but without success.  Eventually, I tried logging into my router, found the IP address for the sMS, used this to log in directly and all was good.  Not exactly what you would expect from a "plug and play" consumer device.  Thanks to all those that have recommended "Fing", by the way.  Fing is much quicker and easier than logging into a router.

 

I have not used my system for a few days, and this morning I again could not connect to Eunhasu.  This was strange, the PC has been off, but the sMS-200ultra has been permanently connected and powered up during this time.  Trying "My Eunhasu", and nothing happens, nothing at all.  Very strange, and I certainly have not had these issues in the past.  OK, a couple of minutes with "Fing" finding the IP address, and I am up and running again.  For those that are computer literate, this is little more than a minor niggle.  Being frank, anyone not computer literate would be completely stuffed by this, which is not really acceptable.  Hopefully, this is a minor glitch and SOtM will get it sorted out.

[Confused]

My audio PC has been off all week.  I started it up this weekend and hence needed to load Eunhasu.  I selected "My Eunhasu", which was showing an IP address ending .0.38, this would not connect to Eunhasu.  This is hardly surprising, because checking with Fing he sMS-200ultra has an IP address ending .0.8., not .038.  But it does beg the question, why does "My Eunhasu" show an IP address ending .0.38 in the first place?

 

OK - I then tried entering the IP address directly, no problem, I know what the IP address is.  This did not work either.  Next up, I tried a hard reboot on the sMS, entering exactly the same IP address in exactly the same way, and Eunhasu connects and works just fine.  

 

"My Eunhasu" used to work without issue.  I am finding this current behavior a little puzzling.

[Confused]

It's a shame that some are still suffering problems with LMS and having other issues, I can only hope SOtM get everything sorted out before too long.

 

In my case, I mostly use HQPlayer upsampling to 24/192, and I have found all the recent updates to be stable.  Plus, I have found the  V0.4.5X versions have provided a useful increase in SQ.

 

Yesterday afternoon I updated to the latest V0.4.57  version, I selected the 100BASE-T option and sat down to listen to some familiar tracks.  This was quite a moment, the change was transformational.  I perhaps need to put this into context, since running a Devialet 1000Pro, I have always been slightly niggled by a kind of annoying "digital fog" that seems to sit quietly in the background of some recordings.  If anything, this aspect was made worse by the addition of the sMS-200Ultra in the system, but in fairness, I experience similar just using Devialet's built-in AIR streaming.  However, with V0.4.57 and 100BASE-T, this issue is gone.  Listening to some tracks that I am extremely familiar with, I was noticing extra detail and content in the music, I was quite simply getting greater insight into the music.  The detail thing is not the most important aspect though, I have been listening to all sorts of music today, and I am just simply enjoying the music more now, the niggling digital glare issues have gone and I am left with something far more natural sounding.  How is this even possible?

 

I will be honest here, in the week I read @tedwoods comment "This is a serious upgrade, not of the subtle kind, and it is especially prominent in the midrange.", and I thought "yeah right".  I mean, how can a firmware update give that kind of improvement?  After many hours of listening this weekend, I can only agree, for me it is indeed a serious upgrade.  SOtM may be causing a few issues elsewhere, but credit where it is due, they are doing something right.  This is a fine upgrade in my system, personally, I could not be happier.

[Confused]

I reported last week how much I liked the improvement in sound quality with V04.57 and the 100BASE-T option.  However, after reading @afrancois's post about the orange / green switch lights I checked my switch and noticed the same issue.  With 100BASE-T selected, I had a bright green light, not orange.  This is with a TP Link TL SG108 switch.  I sent an email to May regarding the issue and she advised that I should try the V04.58 firmware, which included a bug fix.  Interestingly, she advised that the 100BASE-T option is actually working on V04.57.  After this, I finally got some time to listen to my system yesterday.  I thought I would try some comparisons beteen 100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T running V04.57.  I did think that it sounded maybe a fraction smoother with 100BASE-T, but I would say it was easily within the margins that I could be kidding myself.  Running 1000BASE-T, I still really liked the sound with V04.57, very detailed yet at the same time smoother and less harsh than before.

 

Later, I burned an image of the new V04.58.  This did not go well!  With 100BASE-T selected I could not get it to work at all with HQPlayer, nothing would play, HQPlayer would crash, Roon (feeding HQPlayer) would lock up, very frustrating.  I did manage to get Roon / HQPlayer running with V04.58 and 1000BASE-T, I switched back to 100BASE-T, it would not work, I tried back with 1000BASE-T, and this would not work either!  Very frustrating.  

 

It's Saturday morning here now, and after yesterday's woes my plan was to simply switch back to V04.57, which dispite the green light bug worked fine for me and sounded good.  Now I see that we have V0.4.59 available, I shall give this a try this morning.

[Confused]

As an update, I tried everthing I could think of to get Roon / HQPlayer working with V04.59, but nothing seams to work.  As I mentioned earlier, I did get it working briefly with 1000BASE-T selected yesterday, but today even this does not work, HQPlayer crashes or Roon locks up.  Curiously, I could get V04.59 to work with Shairport, both with 100BASE-T and 1000BASE-T.  Thankfully I had kept a separate SD card with V04.57 on it.  Switching this back in, Roon / HQPlayer works without any issues, it is playing perfectly now.  This is with 100BASE-T selected, and yes, my Ethernet switch is back with it's 1000BASE-T bright green light active.   

 

It is curious that @afrancois and myself get a green light with V04.57 and 100BASE-T, whereas @octaviars gets an orange light with exactly the same configuration.  Just to check, I have also tried Shairport and Roon (Roon direct, no HQPlayer) both with V04.57 and 100BASE-T, both cases work fine, no stuttering or "an audio file is loading slowly" message, and in both cases my switch is displaying the green light.  For the record, with V04.49 100BASE-T and Shairport, which did work, the light was orange.  I'd love to know what is really going on here.

 

Anyway, V04.57 is sounding great again, 100BASE-T bug or not, I'm happy to stick with this until the issues get sorted.