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SOtM smS-200 unveiled at Munich Hi-End


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I have the non-neo SMS200 Ultra and SMS500 power supply. A couple of days ago I updated from 4.6 to 4.7 firmware. I only did so because it was available. Not because of something contained in the update or because there was any issue.

 

To my surprise the very next day the new 4.81 update became available. So, what the heck, I applied that update as well.

 

I heard no sonic difference between 4.6 and 4.7 - nor was any expected. However, "something" has changed with the 4.81 update. I struggle to put my finger on exactly what's different. My best guess is that bass is more pronounced and instruments are more clearly separated and defined.

 

I should stress that I expected no change in SQ. I don't really think there was any reason to believe there would be an improvement when looking over the list of changes in the update.

 

Perhaps... I'm just running the volume a tad higher and that accounts for the changes. But even though I don't think there should be any change or improvement. Something... has noticeably changed and for the better.

 

YMMV

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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  • 3 weeks later...

I update the Kernal after I update the firmware. Don't know which way is better. That's just how I handle it.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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4 hours ago, Abyss Man said:

Hi guys,

May I know what PSU everyone is using to power their units? I’m using sps-500 with nice results. I even tried a sps-1000 but preferred the sps-500. Ppl keep telling me to get a LPS but I feel the sps-500 suits better, am I the minority here?

I'm using the SPS-500. Sounds good, but then I haven't tried anything else. I bought mine with the 500 PS.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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I was running 4.9v on my SoTM SMS200 Ultra and updated a few minutes ago to 4.91v. All went well and I rebooted the system when done.

 

After the reboot finished I reloaded Eunhasu and clicked on the config "gears" icon to be sure nothing was different. There it said I was running 4.90v and not 4.91v.

 

So, I brought up the Update page again and it shows 4.91 available and says I'm running 4.90v.

 

I'm rerunning the upgrade to see what's happening.

 

OK, the second time it went fine again only this time it now says I'm at 4.91v. I'm not sure what happened that first time. I had no issues either time I applied the update. I don't know if this was limited to me or if it is a recurring issue for others. Perhaps everyone should check the version number AFTER updated to 4.91v.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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  • 1 year later...

There is not one Chord DAC on their list of Natively Supported DSD DACs. I sent them my DAC Info for my Chord Qutest via email. We'll see what happens.

 

Due to the issues folks encountered with their last few updates I will wait and see if others have any issues with this Kernel update before proceeding.

 

I'm especially interested in the NAA update.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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2 hours ago, stefano_mbp said:

To update NAA you just need to uninstall NAA and reinstall it

Humm, I uninstalled the HQP NAA and then reinstalled it, and even restarted it but it still shows:'

 

HQPlayer Network Audio Adapter  

Network Audio Daemon version : 4.1.1

 

I have not done the Kernel and 5.2 firmware install yet. Must they go hand in hand?

 

I assume the firmware update still takes 3+ hours to run? If not I'll run it during the day, if it does I'll run it overnight.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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1 hour ago, stefano_mbp said:

Just 10 minutes, more or less.

Based on your comment I was going to go ahead with the firmware update to 5.2 but when I started it I got a message window telling me to expect 4 to 6 hours for the update to install.

 

So, I'll postpone that until bedtime tonight.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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  • 4 weeks later...

So I finally got around to attempting to update my SMS200 Ultra via the Eunhasu utility from 5.1 to 5.2 and it failed twice. I don't have any USB discs attached to the SMS200. I'm on a Mac with the latest OS Monterey 12.3.1

 

I don't know where it failed at, I ran it and when I came back a few hours later there was a Failed notice on screen. Tried it again and got the same result.

 

It suggested that I use the disc image route.

 

When I go to the download 5.2 disc image link there are two files, an .img.gz and a .img.md5. I assume the md5 is some sort of checksum.

 

I downloaded them both. the .img.gz and unpacked it.

 

I don't want to over write my microSD in the SMS200 because it's working. So, I'll buy a new one. Two questions:

1. Can I use a microSD larger than 8gb - the unarchived disc image is 8.06 - so I assume I can

2. What do I do with the sMS-200_20211122-V0.5.2.img.md5 file? Anything?

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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I bought a new 32gb card and applied the image using the DD-Image application that SoTM provides links to for Mac. I have the same issue as @Mahler and Bach on Computer (wow, long username). The SMS200 Ultra just sits and doesn't load the OS. I tried it a couple of times - nothing.

 

Normally, when it's booting you see the network activity lights. Also, my router can't find Eunhasu on the network. Period. Not at any IP.

 

I removed the 5.2 MicroSD and put the 5.1 back in and voila... everything loaded normally

 

Anybody with Mac experience have a suggestion? I wonder... if I booted my Mac into Windows 11 and use the windows app if I could have better luck?

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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I tried Balena and it failed around 11% in 3-times in a row.

 

One of the issues is once you put the image on the mSD card the Mac loses track of it. And what Balena said on the failure was that it couldn't find the disk. When you re-insert the SD into the Mac card reader the disk isn't recognized. If you wait a minute or so you'll get a popup that says the card isn't recognized and then you can choose an Ignore option and the Mac will see it in the Disk Manager and Balena and DD-Image will see the card.

 

But as the image is put on the card the Mac seems to loose it again. So, even though DD-Image says it's completed 100% I'm more inclined to believe Balena that it loses the card and can't finish writing to it.

 

I would reformat the card - because a new card is always recognized - but the last time I tried that it bricked the card and I had to buy a new one.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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11 minutes ago, Tommd64 said:

My thoughts ; the Sms200(ultra) isn’t capable for more than 16gb . Best advise keep your latest update and burn a new one on 16gb.(like i did mine)

It's not that. Turns out my old v5.1 mSD card was already a 32gb card. So, yeah, the SoTM works fine with 32gb mSD cards.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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6959583_ScreenShot2022-04-02at4_10_36PM.thumb.png.e071d3fed5f5a0d14d54ffeb71020d97.png

I run a newer M1 (ARM) based Mac. I have Win 11 ARM installed on a virtual drive. Windows seems to recognize the disk without a lot of issues. I keeps wanting to reformat it. But at least it is seen.

 

So, I downloaded the Win32diskimager app and I'm trying to write the image in Windows now.

 

It's been a long time since I had to do this - but using Win to write this image rings a bell for me. It seems like a long time ago I had to do this on another SoTM "update."

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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Well, that didn't work either. 4% into the disk imaging it loses the disk and can't write to it.

 

Good thing my 5.1 works great.

 

I was able to reformat that 32gb mSD card, but it took a lot of finagling - first I had to format it in Windows, but Win thought it was only a 289mb card. But it put FAT on it. Once FAT was on it then the Mac recognized it and I could reformat it - in FAT again - on the Mac and now it's 32 gb again.

 

After reformatting it I did try to disk image it again in Windows - but it failed again at 4% with an IO error.

 

I'm pretty much at a loss of what to do next. As long as I can reformat it and salvage the mSD to try a different approach I don't mind messing with it over and over again.

 

Actually, it's been years since things just didn't work on my computer. This kind of reminds me of before I switched to Mac.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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1 hour ago, Mahler and Bach on Computer said:

I used the exactly the same process with the brand-new card of the named-brand.  Not working as you reported.

Are you by any chance on a Mac? Maybe a M1 Mac? Just wondering if that could be an issue?

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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Thanks I'll give this a try and report back.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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So far no joy for me with ApplePi Baker. With the new mSD card inserted it just doesn't boot up. Just like the 3 or 4 other disc image programs I've tried. It starts to write to the mSD then it stops about 30 secs in.

 

On some of the image writers it just stops. On others it throws a image failed message and on ApplePi Baker it goes from 4 min to go before done to DONE all of a sudden. No errors or anything.

 

I'm starting to suspect it's the MI related ARM version of MacOS. I have an older Intel MacBook. That will be my next attempt.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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It's too early to tell yet, but flashing the mSD with ApplePi Baker on my MacBook Pro (Intel) is certainly acting completely different than when I did the same thing on my M1 iMac. On the M1 it ran for 30 - 40 seconds and said DONE! But on my older MBP it's been running for 30 minutes and still going. It's about 60% done.

 

It seems SoTM needs to get themselves a M1 Based Mac and figure something out on how to do this process.

 

As soon as I know if this is all going to work now I'll post it here.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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OK, it took over an hour to write the image to the disk. But it appears to be finished.

 

My SMS200 Ultra has been rebooting and reading the disk for a good 20 mins and still seems to be working.

 

It also seems to have moved it's IP address. I found it on my router Admin page so I know the new IP but when I try to visit I got 403 FORBIDDEN - You don't have permission to access this resource.Server unable to read htaccess file, denying access to be safe.

 

I've read to expect a long first boot up, but don't know how long is long. I am seeing network activity and my router sees it. So, it's there... but.

 

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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An hour later, I rebooted the SoTM SMS200 Ultra. Now I get at it's IP address:

Service Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.

 

Seems the hour spent writing the 5.2 upgrade (actually the weekend of doing so) has been for naught.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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I'm using a Sandisk Ultra Class 10 A1 32GB mSD card. And I did download for a second time the disk image. Watching the lights on my SMS200 Ultra It looks like it starts to boot up and then reboots again. About every 20 seconds I see it flash that one very bright light that you see when you first turn on the device, then a lot of small activity blinks followed by the BRIGHT light.

 

I may give it another try - or I may bail out on this. I spent most of the weekend trying to get this to work. I'm happy that v5.1 works well.

 

The thing is - I don't want to be in a situation where I can no longer upgrade the firmware/software of this device. That can't be good long term.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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27 minutes ago, Oepsie said:

Have you tried copying the 5.1 image from the old sd card onto the new card and doing an update through eunhasu interface? That would be my next move if you haven’t tried that. And by copy I mean creating an image from the old sd card and burn in onto the new.. ☺️

Humm, not a bad idea. I did attempt to update via the Eunhasu interface three times previously with the current working 5.1 mSD. It failed with a Failure message - it didn't just hang. It said to go the new disk image route. I had considered trying the update again but didn't want to compromise my working mSD card.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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All fixed. It turned out to be that lousy SanDisk mSD card. I heard from May via email and she said to get another mSD card, one that's faster and try it again.

 

So, I did. My original mSD card - the one that didn't work - was an $8 SanDisk U1 A Class 10 so it should be fine. But when the image was being written to the disk it would bog down around 60% complete and then stall and complete very slowly. In fact, it took about 20 to 30 mins to finish.

 

The new card is a PNY XHC Elite U1 A Class 10 that cost $16. It imaged in one continuous 2 min write with BelanaEscher on my old MacBook Pro. I didn't try it on the M1 iMac. But I'd bet I would have worked.

 

So, now I know - only GOOD microSD cards in the future. None of this SanDisk crap.

 

By the way, I got the cards at Walmart - we live 25 miles out of town and Walmart or Walgreens is the only choice out here. The Electronics/Camera dept had the lousy SanDisk but the Auto Dept had the PNY disk. Why there? For use in a Dashboard Camera.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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OK, new issue. The HQP NAA daemon won't install.

 

Dozens of attempts, many reboots. No joy.

 

When I try to install the HQPlayer NAA it goes through the install process, then says Done 3, Done 2, Done 1 and Done. When I go back to the Eunhasu control panel the Play/Start button is there but before I can click on it it disappears.

I've tried rebooting 4 or 5 times. But no luck.

 

When I click the Install button it says: Network Audio Daemon version : not installed - even after a dozen attempts.

 

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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Uninstalling LMS/Squeezelite now.... That worked. Thank you!

 

Should I remove the other services (MPD &DNLA) I'm not using? Any benefit in doing that??

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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Wow, that was unnecessarily convoluted process to get updated from 5.1 to 5.2. OK, I learned a lot. Which is good. But I started this process on Sat and today is Tuesday!

 

Thanks so much for all the help.

 

I should have given up on the slow SanDisk mSD card right away. I just didn't understand that the problems I was having were symptoms of that issue.

 

And if there isn't room for all the various Services to be installed at the same time then none of them should be pre-installed OR there should be a note about that somewhere.

Analog: Rega P8 > Ortofon Cadenza Black > Bob's Devices 20:1 SUT > EAR 834P Deluxe MM/MC tube phono stage

Digital: Shanling ET-3 CD Transport. Streaming via SoTM SMS200 Ultra Neo w/ SPS500 power supply > Chord Hugo TT2

Sound: PS Audio PowerPlant3 >  Naim Supernait3 > Harbeth P3ESR

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