SOtM smS-200 unveiled at Munich Hi-End

[YashN]

Would love to know more about your PSU, especially your output impedance measurements as I have yet to have anyone show me measurements that are consistently better over such a broad frequency range.

 

I'm always open to anything better but it's extremely rare that people can provide measurements.

 

My thinking is how do you really know how good your PSU is unless you can measure it?

 

It's rather obvious you haven't paid attention to what I wrote.

[MayfromSOtM]

Ciao May,

First of all many thanks for your kind answers.

I have installed the plug in as you indicated but the authentication with Tital is not working, after login/password a blank page is displayed (site is not reachable). Do you have a solution?

 

The reason to have the Tidal integration without Roon and without any additional software is a matter of practicality. In case I just need Tital I can turn off the NAS and use SMS200 only in DLNA Mode.

Now I see the error in Linn Kazoo: "Tidal is not available. Your DS needs to be running Davaar 23 or later"

 

Ciao Granosalis,

I haven't had a such issue which is not reachable to Tidal, but assuming if your region is out of Tidal service territory, it would be happened, are you able to change your location to somewhere else which Tidal service is active on icKstream?

 

I will share your information with our team and try to reach you out soon.

Thank you!

[romaz]

(simulated, as yet untested, so the usual caveats apply).

Sorry, my bad, I read it through without rushing this time.

 

Batteries have their own intrinsic noise profile which can even increase greatly under a load such as a DAC.

 

This is true but it applies to transformer-based PSUs also with respect to core saturation which is why you can almost never go too big. It is interesting to me to see a low power device like the sMS-200 which consumes 3-4 watts benefit noticeably from a 250VA mains transformer with a 125W continuous power rating and a 480W transient power rating.

 

These are great specs, noise and impedance could be better although how much is audible with these better specs, I still have to determine in my system.

 

 

With a low impedance device like the sMS-200, I don't think the output impedance of a PSU can be low enough and I am inclined to believe that any impedance will have an audible impact.

 

This is according to Paul Hynes:

"The ideal power supply would have zero impedance at all frequencies of operation as you cannot develop any voltage into zero impedance no matter how much current passes through it. In the real world, all circuits have some level of impedance and any current passing through this impedance will generate a voltage fluctuation, which in reality becomes an additional noise source in the system, which degrades signal integrity."

 

How you achieve low impedance is also important and this is something we know to be true with respect to DACs and preamps also. Consequently, you really need to assess a combination of factors beyond just impedance when you are assessing the quality of a power supply. Specifically, this would include operating bandwidth, transient response and settling time which is why I quoted these figures for Paul's SR7. Again, here is what Paul has to say:

 

"Typical circuit topologies in voltage regulator designs often achieve impedance reduction by an error amplifier using high levels of negative feedback, which introduces all manner of problems with operating bandwidth, transient response and settling time. For exceptional power supply design, it is important to consider all of these parameters and optimize them to the best of your ability. Neglect one or more of these parameters in the design stage and you will have noticeably lower performance. I do not use typical circuit topologies in my voltage regulator designs to achieve low impedance over a very wide operating bandwidth."

 

- It may not model all the phenomena that become important in the build, especially the physical layout and actual implementation

 

I agree, there are more things to consider that won't show up on a sim including mechanical noise generated by the PSU that will have an impact as well as the impact of the DC leads with respect to lead length, metallurgy, gauge, dielectric effect and even the impedance of the connectors.

 

At these specs, the layout itself and the grounding implementation can have really large effects.

 

Agreed. Here is what Paul has to say:

 

"All circuits require a reference to operate and react with each other. This is typically via a ground (0V) system. Some circuit sections also require a voltage reference above (or below) ground to provide precise operation and this voltage reference is usually connected to ground for its own reference. If the power supply is not clean and free from noise and transient disturbances, it will pollute the ground reference and anything connected to it creating uncertainty of reference voltage. This noise and transient disturbance can be passed on from stage to stage once embedded in the signal and it is quite capable of causing timing errors in data streams."

 

Those universal PSUs can be very good, but one can get better SQ with Regs tailored to each sub-system, not really a trivial affair.

I completely agree.

[YashN]

With a low impedance device like the sMS-200, I don't think the output impedance of a PSU can be low enough and I am inclined to believe that any impedance will have an audible impact.

 

I don't have an SMS-200, but for having implemented and tested my updated Linear Regulated PSU design yesterday for very low and flat output impedance for my DAC, i.e. line-level, I can concur - the sound becomes immense, all three regions expand greatly. Both ripple and noise are reduced in my new iteration. To think that I have at least 3 more levels of enhancement planned... I wonder where this takes the SQ from now on, or how much of it is still audible - I've said that a few times, and yet, every time, the benefits are really apparent so far.

 

This is according to Paul Hynes:

 

Paul has been at it for years, he definitely knows what he's talking about, so thanks for sharing his perspective.

 

I agree pretty much with the rest of the post except to say that some phenomena can be modeled with the simulator, but not all (things like trace length in the different layouts can be if you know how, which I do).

 

That GND reference is of prime importance, therefore everything having to do with GND plane pollution is as well.

 

I have seriously re-engineered what a direct USB connection for high-speed async USB audio should be because of this and right before building the Linear Regulated PSU. All the enhancements so far are really, really obvious, down to the caps at output and the above-mentioned - heard these for myself, including remote sensing vs none, un-optimised layout vs optimised layout/grounding, and now further ripple rejection and so on...

 

A side, but nonetheless important, change with the above is that I also reduce Leakage Currents that would otherwise have used the USB connection.

[romaz]

I don't have an SMS-200, but for having implemented and tested my updated Linear Regulated PSU design yesterday for very low and flat output impedance for my DAC, i.e. line-level, I can concur - the sound becomes immense, all three regions expand greatly. Both ripple and noise are reduced in my new iteration. To think that I have at least 3 more levels of enhancement planned... I wonder where this takes the SQ from now on, or how much of it is still audible - I've said that a few times, and yet, every time, the benefits are really apparent so far.

 

 

 

Paul has been at it for years, he definitely knows what he's talking about, so thanks for sharing his perspective.

 

I agree pretty much with the rest of the post except to say that some phenomena can be modeled with the simulator, but not all (things like trace length in the different layouts can be if you know how, which I do).

 

That GND reference is of prime importance, therefore everything having to do with GND plane pollution is as well.

 

I have seriously re-engineered what a direct USB connection for high-speed async USB audio should be because of this and right before building the Linear Regulated PSU. All the enhancements so far are really, really obvious, down to the caps at output and the above-mentioned - heard these for myself, including remote sensing vs none, un-optimised layout vs optimised layout/grounding, and now further ripple rejection and so on...

 

A side, but nonetheless important, change with the above is that I also reduce Leakage Currents that would otherwise have used the USB connection.

I imagine that you have an awesome system. Your attention to detail is impeccable.

[YashN]

I imagine that you have an awesome system. Your attention to detail is impeccable.

DAC-wise and computer-wise it's rather modest: I am after all using a portable DAC as main DAC, but is capabilities are quite interesting and it sound great - deserves to be heard on full battery operation or else as currently playing, with an ultra low-noise Linear Regulated PSU, Audirvana+, etc...

 

The DIY Single-Ended Triode, however, is the Jewel of the chain, it's the biggest reason people tell me they never heard their favourite songs sound so good.

[t@rmac]

Hi , everyone

 

Sice yesterday the sms-200 is connected to my setup ! but Eunhasu do not find ny Nas

 

Pls. help me with the network library config in Eunhasu and my Synology Nas ....for Squeezelite

 

name : Nas

path : //server/Music/music/music

 

Where " server ".........are the name of Nas ? the ip of my NAS ? I don' t understand

 

Thank you in advance , Massimo

[t@rmac]

Ok, solved.....

 

After a Synology restart all si ok

[doraymon]

Today I installed an ASUS USB-AC56 wifi dongle with antenna.

The installation was very easy following the procedure indicated on the sotm site, however I have another problem.

 

The dongle is quite large and so is the termination of my USB Silver Dragon cable to the DAC so they touch each other.

It is still possible to put both dongle and USB audio cable in place but it's a little bit "forced" and i don't like it.

 

Sound quality wise I just started listening so I can't tell for sure but for sure I can't hear any improvements. Will report more in the coming days.

 

EDIT: I took the time to go back to wired connection and I confirm the WiFi solution doesn't seem to give any improvement as others have posted, on the contrary...

This despite my sMS-200 is connected to the router via power line extender.

[shoom]

A quick heads up for Regen users.

 

I've replaced the supplied USB hard adaptor with a short (4'') cable. (home brew)

 

Much smoother sounding to my ears so may be worth giving it a go.

 

SMS200 sounding really good here. with Minimserver/soxr.

 

I'm waiting for Roon to upgrade before spending my 60 day trial. looking forward to that.

[ElviaCaprice]

A quick heads up for Regen users.

 

I've replaced the supplied USB hard adaptor with a short (4'') cable. (home brew)

 

Much smoother sounding to my ears so may be worth giving it a go.

 

SMS200 sounding really good here. with Minimserver/soxr.

 

I'm waiting for Roon to upgrade before spending my 60 day trial. looking forward to that.

 

With or without the 5Vbus?

[shoom]

With or without the 5Vbus?

 

Sorry good point which I forgot to mention.

 

I also have an IFI Defender between Regen and DAC. As I understand it the Defender handles the handshake between SMS and DAC but disconnects +Vbus and Ground.

 

BUT

 

Without the defender I would leave +Vbus unconnected in my DIY cable as my DAC is self powered.

[Mercman]

Mine was shipped today-looking forward to it.

[simone]

I have been listening to the unit for a couple of weeks and I think it's great! Better than the sms-100. Quicker to boot, OS is versatile and complete, better looking and better sound. Used with Roon. Couldn't be happier. Powered with the same Keces PSU.

Simone

[guerph]

Picked up the Edimax EW-7811UAC connected it, but for some reason my 5GHz network not showing up in list. Any thoughts on why? It is picking up other 5GHz networks in the area, but mine is not. I have an Airport Extreme in dual output mode, one at 2.4 and the other at 5. The 2.4 picks up fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[tboooe]

Is anyone using the SMS-200 as an NAA with the Singxer SU-1 usb converter? If so, can you please let me know if you can play native DSD (not DoP)?

[phusis]

Picked up the Edimax EW-7811UAC connected it, but for some reason my 5GHz network not showing up in list. Any thoughts on why? It is picking up other 5GHz networks in the area, but mine is not. I have an Airport Extreme in dual output mode, one at 2.4 and the other at 5. The 2.4 picks up fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

 

Are other devices in your home picking up the 5G signal from your router? Do you have to set up 5G manually from the router, or perhaps the 5G signal is too weak (5G is said to sport less range compared to 2.4)? Using the Edimax myself, with success.

[guerph]

Yeah all my other devices pick up the 5GHz signal fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[phusis]

Yeah all my other devices pick up the 5GHz signal fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

 

Are they placed in closer proximity to the router compared to the sMS-200?

[MayfromSOtM]

Yeah all my other devices pick up the 5GHz signal fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

Hope this information would be helpful for you, I asked it to Edimax,

 

Based on different country, 5G has different band to open..

Like USA is band 1 & 4 follow FCC regulation and band 1, 2 and 3 for CE regulation..

 

We follows CE, 5G band 1&2 open and band 3 is disabled..

Please check your AP, is it 5G band 1 & 4 enabled or not? If not, just enable 5G band 1 & 4..

You will be 5G Hz AP SSID visible from the EW-7811UAC…

[gionaz]

hi folks but which are the right voltage ?! 6v 9v 12v or 14v ?!and the best PSU ?i use this spectacular gear with my dac TOTALDAC plus the Reclock and the improvement is very marked!

[hurka]

hi folks but which are the right voltage ?! 6v 9v 12v or 14v ?!and the best PSU ?i use this spectacular gear with my dac TOTALDAC plus the Reclock and the improvement is very marked!

I'm using 3x2.7v ultracaps.8v or down, no problem.

[gionaz]

on the Sotm manual:

 

Power requirementInput Voltage : +6.5 ~ 14VdcPower : Max 15W

[TopQuark]

hi folks but which are the right voltage ?! 6v 9v 12v or 14v ?!and the best PSU ?i use this spectacular gear with my dac TOTALDAC plus the Reclock and the improvement is very marked!

I'm using 12v right now and an LH Labs LPS4 PSU. If you can find a burned-in LPS4 on sale, get it. They are going cheap on the used market. The initial units have reliability issues but once they work, they continue to work. If you can spare more, get a Teddy Pardo or anything with multistage and Walt Jung super regulator as a minimum. Don't get those with cheap Linear Semiconductor IC's. Those don't help much.

[IanRM]

I'm using a Mytek Brooklyn with my SMS200 and playing out from Roon Server 1.3 on a Mac Mini to Roon Ready on the SMS200. I am unable to get Native DSD to work. DSD 256 is being converted to PCM. With the SMS200 set to Native I am still seeing the DOP options in Roon.

 

The SMS is on latest firmware 3.3 and is set to DSD Native. All volume controls and DSP are turned off. I have been in touch with SoTM and they have not suggested anything that works yet.

Anyone with a similar setup able to get Native to work.

Thanks.